Clarendon Fine Art showcases a variety of art works in its two-floor Main Street gallery, including, photo at right, by artists Joan Miro, Adi Michael and Dan Pearce. / Photos by Gary Webster
Clarendon Fine Art, a business based in Britain, recently opened its first gallery in the U.S. at 22 Main St.

By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — This town has a long history as a community that celebrates the arts, and so it should be no surprise that Clarendon Fine Art, an international art gallery headquartered in London, has been enthusiastically welcomed since opening here earlier this month.

“People are very excited that we are here,” said Eve Gianni, Clarendon’s local gallery manager. The number of visitors and sales at the new gallery, 22 Main St., “has beat every expectation.” 

The Main Street building, which was extensively remodeled, formerly was the site of Benefit Cosmetics Boutique & Brow Bar, which did business there for more than a decade.

The British business strives to make art accessible to everyone, Gianni said. A variety of art is on offer, including well-known artists such as Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Joan Miro, as well as emerging artists. Some of the artists represented are portrait painters, others are street and pop artists, she said, and sculptors are also represented.

The sales price of the works currently displayed in the Westport gallery range from $475 to $300,000, she said. That gives options to customers seeking works of art for investment, to decorate their homes or simply to enjoy. “It’s quite a range,” Gianni said.

Among the art works displayed at the new Clarendon Fine Art gallery is, at right, a sculpture by famed surrealist Salvador Dali, one of several pieces by the Spanish artist for sale.

Services, such as in-home consultations where gallery staff bring artworks to the customer, also make the company’s art more accessible, said Chelsea Rouse, a Clarendon gallery director who came from London to help launch the Westport gallery.

“Art is for everybody,” she said.

The Clarendon staff is happy to help educate anyone interested in the joy and value of art, both Rouse and Gianni said. Purchasing art can be overwhelming and the staff is ready to help demystify the process, said Gianni, who was a gallery director in the Hamptons on Long Island for 10 years, and also is an interior designer and art dealer.

Welcoming visitors to the new Clarendon Fine Art gallery in Westport are, from left: Stephanie Solerti, art consultant; Chelsea Rouse, gallery director, and Eve Gianni, gallery manager.

Gianni, a Wilton resident, is full of energy as she walks around the two-floor gallery, pointing out the great variety of art available in the store, explaining that much more is in the Clarendon online catalog. 

The company represents more than 200 artists in over 70 galleries throughout the U.K. Westport is the first Clarendon gallery in the U.S.

“They were looking from Boston to New York” to open a gallery, Gianni said of Clarendon company principals. “On the way to Greenwich, they stopped in Westport and loved it.”

Westporters are invited to visit the gallery and enjoy the many different varieties of artworks there. “We’d like people to come in and share a good time and just enjoy the art,” she said. 

“Art feeds the soul.”

Clarendon Fine Art, 22 Main St., is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 am. to 5 p.m. Sundays. For more information, and to see the gallery’s catalog of art works, visit the Clarendon website or call 203-293-0976.

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Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.

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