For 54 years, the Bethlehem Art Gallery has been a Hudson Valley mainstay. It still will be, but it”™s losing its brick-and-mortar location in Salisbury Mills and taking the Internet route into homes and businesses instead.
The sons of John and Mary Gould ”“ Robert, Bill and Paul ”“ grew up surrounded by the artwork their father produced ”“ from his early drawings  for pulp magazines to his work for the Saturday Evening Post and advertising artwork. Gould and his wife, Mary, bought a farm in Cornwall, raised their children and brought the Bethlehem Art Gallery to life in the process.
Gould”™s paintings and watercolors captured the beauty of the region as he went up and down the Hudson River ”“ specializing for more than 20 years in painting trains as art consultant to General Electric”™s locomotive division. Now, his work and that of his sons will be traveling ”“ only this time, it will be through the air with the speed of 4G.
Trains and boats as well as eagles soaring above the Hudson ”“ anything in motion ”“ were a Gould trademark. “He loved to spend his time up and down the river,” said his sons, who kept the spirit of the Bethlehem Art Gallery alive:Â Bill, with his expertise in framing and photography; Paul, the multimedia artist; and Bob, who has mastered marketing the works of his father and siblings.
After John and Mary died, their sons kept the spirit of the Bethlehem Art Gallery alive, moving from its Cornwall location to Salisbury Mills. “That was in May 2001,” Robert said. “And we all know what happened on September 11 that year. The world stopped.” And the Internet ”“ along with the 2008 financial crisis ”“ has changed the way people do business. The art world is no exception.
“The economy is one of the reasons we are shutting down our store on December 31st,” Robert said. “People who would not hesitate to spend $200 to $300 for a painting were suddenly looking for things in the $20 to $30 range, and it”™s understandable. It”™s also much easier to shop online. While we have a wonderful customer base for dads and Paul”™s artwork. It just makes more sense for us to reach a wider audience through the Internet.”
Bill is continuing to finish his framing orders, but stopped taking new ones on Dec. 14. “There are many fine master framers right here in the Hudson Valley,” Bill said. “If someone needs a recommendation, that”™s not a problem. People might buy a $10 print but spend $200 framing it. It truly is an art to put a piece together and make it an addition to a space.” His photography work will go on, however. “I love it, and I love digital art as much as I love our older 35mm artwork. They both have amazing qualities.”
The brothers have mixed feelings about closing the store, but all agree it was time to rev up their existing website and market it to a larger audience. They also plan to continue working with the small retail outlets across the Hudson Valley with which they have established business relations.
John Gould worked with lithography, “which meant if he did a lithograph and wanted to make copies, they had to be done all at once,” said Robert Gould. “Now, we can work with giclée art, which allows us to reproduce a print or photo with the same color and clarity at any time….and also change the size, if it is necessary. I”™m sure dad would be amazed ”“ but not shocked ”“ at how far we”™ve come technologically.”
All the Goulds”™ work won”™t be online, however. Paul will continue to provide art instruction, oil painting restoration and continue ongoing exhibits at his Hudson Valley Gallery in Cornwall-on-Hudson. Bill will concentrate on his photography. Robert will continue marketing their masterpieces. Â Their website, bethlehemartgallery.com will be in full gear, and the brothers expect to reach a much wider audience.
Paul”™s gallery will be hosting its fourth annual “World”™s Smallest Stretched Canvas” painting exhibition and sale through Jan. 8 at the Hudson Valley Gallery, hudsonvalleygallery.com.
