Kathy Renwald reveals a rare find. The Factory Gallery is changing the art market.
You never know what will come through the door at The Factory Gallery.
It could be a vintage European poster, a rare Canadian woodblock print or an obscure art book. Customers are looking to sell, others to buy and it’s all done in the stylish gallery located in The Cotton Factory on Sherman Avenue North.
Owners Hugh Little and Stephen McCanse opened the gallery after determining the Hamilton art market is underserved. Little specializes in buying and selling European art, McCanse is an expert appraiser and dealer in Canadian art.
McCanse learned about the appetite for art here after buying the Hamilton-based Whitehalls Auctioneers & Appraisers (he and partners have since sold it). Auction inventory was stored in a warehouse at The Cotton Factory, and McCanse loved the building and the supportive atmosphere among artists.
So McCanse and Little combined their expertise and inventory to open the eclectic gallery in a wonderful space that showcases their collections.
The exposed brick, immense windows and high ceilings give the space a loft feel, and the art, from posters, to prints to original paintings benefits from the beautiful backdrop.
Posters in particular get the space they need for display. Travel posters, department stores, food, and medical illustration posters run floor to ceiling.
“Posters are being reproduced at a dizzying rate and sold online for 50 bucks,” Little says. “But, believe me, when you put them side by side with originals the difference is instantly obvious.”
On Little’s desk, a portfolio book is open displaying a charming Édouard Vuillard print. The portfolio of 20 prints was produced in 1964, but as often happens, prints were removed for framing. While the original portfolio may have sold for $5,000, Little is selling the remaining 11 prints for $250 each.
Like every other business, the art market has changed. According to Little, buyers have moved away from 19th century pieces, and the word “antique” has too much baggage for young buyers.
But the eclectic inventory at The Factory Gallery is an incentive to start collecting, says McCanse.
“You can buy original paintings, artists that are in our public institutions, for well under $1,500. There are great opportunities here, even for the younger generation. We have things here that you won’t see anywhere else.”
In another corner of the gallery, Jenna Shamoon is doing some online research. With her recent masters in art history, and experience working at the Art Gallery of Hamilton shop, she assists in any way she can.
“I felt like I knew a bit when I graduated, but there’s so much more to learn about the art market and Canadian artists.”
She walks over to admire a limited edition wood block print titled Protest by Hamilton artist Leonard Hutchinson. Wood block and wood engravings are very popular now, and Shamoon is expanding her knowledge of the genre.
The Factory Gallery (factorygallery.ca) is open by appointment only but with prices ranging from $50 to $2,000 for prints and $200 to $5,000 for paintings, it is a welcoming place to explore. Little, who spent the major part of his career as a manager at Sam the Record Man has a low key but engaging perspective on art.
“I always collected art and books and, in what is often the case, my collecting habit became financially unsustainable. So I began to sell as well as buy.”
The Factory Gallery will be open to the public Jan. 18 during ‘A Night Market & Celebration.’
McCanse will have an A. J. Casson painting for display and sale, and many other shops and spaces in The Cotton Factory will be open.
“We love the vibrant community here,” Little says of Sherman Avenue building. “It was the right move.”