01/16/2016
Fond Farewell from Ann Jacob Gallery, after 49 Years
Ann Jacob Gallery will close for business at the end of this month, January 2016. Stop by these last weeks to say hello, or sadly, goodbye for now. And take away something of the rich history of one of the oldest art galleries in the Southeast.
Ann and her husband Fred Jacob were young and passionate art lovers who relocated to Atlanta in the early 1960s from New York. Fred was a dashing Berliner, and Ann an attractive and sassy hostess in designer mini-skirts and go-go boots. It wasn’t long before they had built a stunning modern house far out in Cobb County with a follower of Frank Lloyd Wright and were beginning to collect contemporary art. They hosted Great Books meetings and nourished Fred’s love for racing Porsches and Mercedes-Benzes. Fred had some of the first Mercedes Gull Wings in the region. These were the cars that they took to carpool drop-off for their two little daughters, Yvonne and Yvette. Their avant-garde home became a salon for the smart arty set in Atlanta.
Tragically Fred passed away from a complication of diabetes while on a business trip in 1966 at the age of 36. Ann had her two girls to bring up and support, so she naturally turned to her winning persuasive personality and passion for art to start the business in 1968. The first gallery shows were held in the house, but the popularity of Ann Jacob Gallery soon created the need for its own commercial space, a cottage on East Paces Ferry, near Maple Drive. Soon she graduated to a dramatic gallery in Peachtree Center, newly designed and developed by John Portman. From there she later had galleries at Rhodes Center, Phipps Plaza, Buckhead, Palm Beach, New York, and, for the last thirty-five years, Highlands, North Carolina.
From that base, Ann represented national and international artists like Carlo Battaglia, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Gary Bukovnik, and others. In the ‘70s Ann specialized in big sculpture shows, rare for the era, and she placed monumental sculpture across the Southeast. She helped shape the careers of many of Georgia’s artists including Ben Smith, Peter Polites, jewelry designer Bill Lamb, Carlo Marcucci, and Sallie Whistler Marcucci, to name just a few. We would fill pages to list each talented artist’s name.
Since the early 1980s, Ann has been a legend in Highlands, NC, stalking up and down Main Street in her signature fur capes, sparkly jewels, and designer shoes. Ann’s talent for selling was unrivaled. She was known to pick items from an artist’s stock in a morning and sell several pieces the same day. She sold art and expanded to gifts and antiques. She was a veteran workaholic—never putting in less than seven days and always opening most holidays. For the past several years, Alona Khorolska has been the faithful, efficient, and buoyant manager of the gallery, and she has helped keep the gallery going in Ann’s same spirit. She has been a true friend and indispensable companion. In 2014 Ann suffered some health setbacks. Since then she’s chosen to slow down in earnest and spend her days with beloved friends, family, and her best art.
On behalf of her daughters, and Ann Jacob herself, please accept our thanks and genuine affection for this half-century of joy, friendship, and livelihood which the gallery provided. Our whole life has been a work of art: beautiful, sometimes tragic, full of emotion, and always charged with energy, laughter, and hope. Adieu for now.
Please come by soon to say farewell, pick up an interesting new piece, and say farewell. A few of Ann’s choice pieces will also be sold over the next months at Ahlers & Ogletree in Atlanta. Watch for future details.
Gallery phone is 828-526-5550 and email is [email protected] .
