Cheryl Newby Gallery celebrates 25 years
Last Updated on 12/4/2008
Published on 9/4/2008
Written by Clayton Stairs
Gradually, she began exhibiting selected fine paintings created by living artists with their own distinct style. Now the Cheryl Newby Gallery, which opened in Pawleys Island in 2000, offers paintings and sculpture from nine local and regional artists, as well as antique art.
"We are admittedly very picky about our artists," Newby said. "There are certain artists that sort of rise to the top of the profession and what impresses me is when I see an artist who is so confident in his (or her) style that he never tries to imitate another artist."
Celebrating the gallery's 25th anniversary, Newby plans to continue providing an exhibit space for these artists while working with customers who have discriminating tastes. Since neither of the Newbys' two grown children -- Redding Kensinger of Washington, D.C., and Bryant Newby of Charleston -- plans to take over the gallery, she is not sure what will happen after she retires.
However, retirement is not in her plans as of now.
"I'm not ready to retire yet," Newby said. "I definitely don't see that possibility on my immediate horizon."
Background
Born and raised in Spartanburg, Newby is a daughter of the late Paul and Evelyn Moore. Her father was an attorney and circuit court judge who was very active in politics, serving in the state house of representatives and the state senate. Her mother was a housewife.
She has younger twin sisters -- Pam Barrett, who works in Hospice care in Charlotte, and Cindy Sparks, who is a librarian in Kershaw County schools near Columbia. Influenced by her father, Newby was a political science major at the University of South Carolina.
Later, after opening her first gallery, she went back to art school because she was a collector who had become a dealer.
"My mother had always wanted me to go to Converse College and study music," Newby said.
Community involvement
Involved in several local organizations, Newby has remained immersed in the art community of Georgetown County through the years. She is very involved with Brookgreen Gardens, serving on the Friends of Brookgreen Board of Directors.
This year, she is co-chair of the 2009 Brookgreen Spring Gala with Gretchen Downer. That black-tie event, to be held in May, is the Friends' major fund-raising activity for the gardens.
Robin Salmon, vice-president for collections and curator of sculpture at Brookgreen Gardens, has known Newby for more than 15 years.
"As one of the friends of Brookgreen Gardens which is an auxiliary support group, she gives us unqualified advice, support and hard work," Salmon said. "She is a marvelous resource and she also has a very good eye for bottom line on a project, which is good in any auxiliary organization."
She has also served on the Board of Visitors for Coastal Carolina University's Edward College and is a patron member of the National Sculpture Society.
Salmon adds that Newby has a talent for finding inspiring art for her gallery.
"As a person who selects art and offers art in her gallery, she has excellent taste," Salmon said. "She knows her audience very well and she knows how to select artwork and how to display it. That makes all the difference in how the art and the artist are perceived."
Quality of art
The first living artist that Newby chose for her gallery 22 years ago was Ray Ellis, who she describes as "an incredibly wonderful nationally- and internationally-known artist." Until she moved to her Pawleys Island location, he was the only living artist she represented and he still has several pieces in the gallery.
She says the main thing she would like people to come away with after visiting her gallery is the quality of the artwork. She also chooses artists who are very different from each other.
"When you look across a room and you can pick out an artist's style, that is a good thing," Newby said. "You can tell when an artist is grasping at straws and trying to find him or herself, but when you find an artist like some of these, the work really stands out."
Another artist represented at the gallery is Joseph Cave, a locally renowned artist, who will be featured in a one-man show beginning Oct. 11. He has exhibited at the gallery for about eight years.
"Joe is a master of his style and he has an excitement for the arts," Newby said.
Cave said that the Cheryl Newby Gallery is a very good showplace for his artwork.
"The facility itself is excellent and Cheryl is very experienced," Cave said. "It is a very professional environment to show art."
He adds that 25 years is a long time for a gallery to be open since it is a "tricky business."
"Staying that long is a real accomplishment," Cave said. "Cheryl and her gallery are an asset to the whole community."
For more information about the Cheryl Newby Gallery, visit www.cherylnewbygallery.com, or call 843-979-0149.
