But the metaphoric distance is far greater.

Credit: Courtesy of Jackson Fine Art

Credit: Courtesy of Jackson Fine Art

Jackson spent her first year in business hustling a portfolio around town. Jackson Fine Art now has a staff of 14, including new Chief Operating Officer Alexandra Sachs. In the 20 years since Creative Director Anna Walker-Skillman and business partner Andy Heyman, founder of ASH Investment Partners private equity firm, purchased the gallery, its budget has increased tenfold.

The new building, then, is also an embodiment of longevity and success not typical in Atlanta’s gallery scene. The story of its evolution includes that rare mixture of smarts, people skills, timing, business acumen, capital investment — and luck.

In on the ground floor

When Jackson began her venture, it seemed quixotic. She had no gallery experience, and photography as a collectible fine-art medium was, she says, in its “toddler stage. At that time, there were more photographers than collectors.”

Yet Jackson, who had begun collecting photography with her husband, Clay, felt there was a need, and she plunged in. A few Atlanta collectors helped keep her going, among them the late philanthropist and photographer Lucinda Bunnen and Bertram Levy, who was building a collection for his law firm, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP.

She also benefited from the late High Museum of Art Director Gudmund Vigtel’s prescient decision in the ‘70s to build a photography collection. The museum stimulated awareness of and credibility for the medium.

Credit: undefined

Credit: undefined

Starting early in the game also had its perks. Says Jackson: “The community of dealers was small. It was nice because New York and European dealers needed to expand their markets, so they were helpful in consigning work to me.”

Then came a life-changing stroke of luck. Award-winning singer/songwriter Elton John came into her little gallery on New Year’s Eve 1990 looking to buy photos for friends attending his holiday party. He seemed interested, so she loaned him a stack of books, which he read. Soon he became a collector himself, eventually amassing a sterling trove of 12,000 photos and counting.

Working with someone as motivated, wealthy and famous as John had a huge impact on the gallery’s growth. It was not just a matter of sales. “Having him as a client gave the gallery power. I was able to get better artists and higher quality works,” Jackson says.

She was able to move to larger digs on East Shadowlawn Avenue in 1992 and six years later hired Walker-Skillman, who was gallery director of the late artist Todd Murphy’s studio.

“She was a real fireball,” Jackson says. “She soaked in everything. She was great at getting people to look and see things and to pull the trigger.”

Credit: Charlie McCullers

Credit: Charlie McCullers

Blend of art and business

A couple years after Walker-Skillman joined the gallery, she began using her sales commissions to become a collector herself. Her focus is female artists. What was fascinating and surprising to her, however, was how her taste changed as she experienced life. Each work she owns creates a vivid memory and represents a time in her life, such as marriage, then children, followed by divorce, then remarrying and, most recently, experiencing her children going to college.

“It is a 23-year history that demands reflection and still inspires me,” she says. “Some collectors find it easy to let go of work, but, for me, the works are the architecture of my life — they tell my story as well as their own.”

Walker-Skillman’s story included a big shift in her role at the gallery. In 2003, Jackson became the director of John’s collection and spoke to Walker-Skillman about buying the gallery.

Intrigued, Walker-Skillman set about looking for a partner. “Todd [Murphy] mentioned that I should speak to his close friend Andy. I knew Andy, though not well, but he was a patron of the gallery, and we decided to meet.”

For Heyman, it seemed like fate. Growing up in Atlanta, he had always wanted to see the city’s cultural life expand but didn’t have the financial wherewithal to help. By the time this opportunity arose, he did.

Credit: handout

Credit: handout

Heyman assessed the business’ growth potential. “I felt that photography is uniquely capable of being marketed from afar, through digital marketing and art fairs,” he said. In addition, his firm specializes in providing small businesses with expertise in the types of systems — digital marking, database-building, employee management — that would help the gallery grow. He was in.

“It was a perfect fit, a meeting of art and business minds,” Walker-Skillman says.

Heyman immediately beefed up the website, which jump-started a new revenue stream. The partners developed a budget to support regular attendance at key art fairs, which Walker-Skillman notes are important for visibility and marketing.

New home fosters cozy vibe

Both Walker-Skillman and Heyman describe their modus operandi as “high-touch.” That attention to client experience is reflected in the new building’s design. Walker-Skillman worked with Siegel Construction & Design to create a welcoming atmosphere.

The new structure suggests a house, a nod to the bungalows on the street and to the former gallery, which Walker-Skillman loved. Warm woods and lots of light streaming through windows contribute to the effect. “I wanted it to feel like a house — but with lots of storage!” she says.

The main floor features gallery spaces of different scales to accommodate the medium’s many permutations, from classic black-and-white to digital manipulations and mixed-media work. There is art everywhere, and no room feels off-limits.

A stairwell lined with vintage photographs leads to the second story, which houses back-of-house facilities, a conference room and a library filled with art books, which visitors are encouraged to study. The space overall is scaled to be a cozy place for conversations.

Like most people who own galleries, Walker-Skillman considers education part of her responsibility, and she has observed a change among visitors and clients. “Atlanta’s prosperity is bringing in younger people,” she says. “There is an increase in the level of sophistication.”

Given the often-precarious nature of art galleries in Atlanta, if this investment in bricks and mortar is a statement of confidence in the gallery’s momentum, perhaps it also reflects confidence in Atlanta‘s future as a market place for art.

More info

Jackson Fine Art. Exhibitions on view through Aug. 5 include Mona Kuhn’s “Kings Road,” Bastiaan Woudt and George Hoyningen-Huene’s “Icons” and Maria Svarbova’s “Swimming Pools.” 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, and by appointment. 3122 E. Shadowlawn Ave., Atlanta. 404-233-3739, www.jacksonfineart.com.

::

Catherine Fox, an award-winning art critic, co-founded ArtsATL and served as its executive director and executive editor for five years. Fox was the art critic for The Atlanta Journal Constitution from 1981 to 2009.

Credit: ArtsATL

Credit: ArtsATL

MEET OUR PARTNER

ArtsATL (www.artsatl.org), is a nonprofit organization that plays a critical role in educating and informing audiences about metro Atlanta’s arts and culture. Founded in 2009, ArtsATL’s goal is to help build a sustainable arts community contributing to the economic and cultural health of the city.

If you have any questions about this partnership or others, please contact Senior Manager of Partnerships Nicole Williams at nicole.williams@ajc.com.