About The Artist

Welcome to Bedford Fine Art Gallery. We are located in the historic Barclay Mansion in downtown Bedford, Pennsylvania, about one mile from the world famous Bedford Springs Resort. We are a premier US gallery specializing in the sale of 19th and early 20th Century fine art. Whether you are a seasoned collector or are buying fine art for the first time, you can count on finding investment quality paintings from the best artists of the period. You don’t need an expert art critic to immediately understand and fully appreciate realistic art that pleases now and for many years to come. Some of the Pittsburgh artists that we feature in our gallery include: John Donaghy, Louis Heitmuller, George Hetzel, Lila Hetzel, A.F. King, Martin Leisser, Charles Linford, Charles Wilson MacCord, E.A. Poole, A. Bryan Wall, W.C. Wall, Joseph Woodwell, and A.C. Wooster. In addition to Pittsburgh regional artists, we also feature many of the most well listed 19th century American, British, and French academic artists. Visit our website at: http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/ Themes of paintings for sale - Landscape: http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/subjects/landscape_artwork.html Marine: http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/subjects/marine_artwork.html Still life: http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/subjects/still_life_artwork.html Genre: http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/subjects/genre_artwork.html American Historic / Political: http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/subjects/historical_and_political_artwork.html Sporting Art: http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/subjects/sporting_art.html Animal Theme: http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/subjects/animal_artwork.html To view our entire gallery of paintings for sale visit: http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/gallery.html About us: ABOUT PITTSBURGH VICTORIAN HOME DECOR A MESSAGE TO OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS. The Lookout The Bedford Fine Art Gallery is like no other fine art gallery, beginning with the ambiance created by its location in the historic Bedford Mansion. The gallery does exhibit the requisite amenities of the professional gallery--state of the art picture hanging system and track lighting; however, that is where the similarity ends. The sterile environment of most modern galleries is replaced by, an although formal, a nonetheless, comfortable venue for exhibiting and viewing fine 19th century paintings. The elegant late Victorian home is accented with unique antique pieces, which counter its rather imposing aura. The owners Jerry and Joan Hawk are not cast in the mold of most gallery owners- -although they are knowledgeable about 19th century art and artists, they are both professional geologists. The nature of their professional work, which requires extensive research, attention to detail, and an appreciation of nature, is expressed in the artwork that they offer in the gallery. Jerry and Joan serve as host and hostess, leading their visitors through each room of the gallery, educating the art novice and exchanging art perspectives with already initiated art aficionados. The owners recognize that people desire to own something both exquisite and rare. Jerry and Joan are committed to providing the buyer of fine art with exceptional value and a pleasurable buying experience. Historic theme, genre, still life, landscape, and sporting art paintings by many well-listed American, British, and French academic 19th century artists are prominently displayed. The quality of the paintings and the diversity of the compositions rival big-city galleries, however, the historic setting and the passion for fine art one experiences while visiting the Bedford Fine Art Gallery is one-of-a-kind. COMMITMENT For over 50 years, Bedford has always been considered home. We (Jerry and Joan Hawk), have over 25 years of fine art collecting experience. Gallery co-owner, Joan (Claycomb) Hawk, was born and raised in Bedford, living a few houses up the street from the gallery (often visiting the gallery house, which was a public library at that time). We are wholeheartedly dedicated to Bedford and our gallery. Our customers can trust our passion, commitment and experience in guiding both the new and seasoned collector towards acquisitions that they find aesthetically pleasing. SMALL TOWN VALUE Having a fine art gallery in a small, beautiful, historic town like Bedford provides a value-added benefit for our customers. We are not dependent on the gallery for a living and do not have the overhead of a typical fine art gallery such as those in New York or Washington, DC. This allows us to often offer discounts to someone buying multiple paintings or to the repeat collector. QUALITY As most customers know, fine art can be followed like comparables in the housing market. You must, however, be sure to compare apples-to-apples. With increasing popularity of 19th century and early 20th century paintings and the limited supply of really great works, it is important to buy the best. Our diverse inventory boasts some of the best examples of work from many well-listed artists. Some of our paintings have been in museums, major fine art magazines, and books. We love realism and each painting was carefully selected to maintain the highest level of quality. We believe we are safeguarding our customers purchase by providing the best quality works available. PERIOD CORRECT DESIGN The foundation of our gallery is to establish and maintain mutually beneficial trusting relationships with home owners, collectors, art connoisseurs, corporations, investors, and interior designers. Whether the painting is for a new home, a stately older home, or an executive office space, our paintings help compliment many interior designs. It seems logical to us to incorporate that perfect painting in great condition to your interior design, as opposed to some modern art or prints that tend to be worth pennies-on-the-dollar within a very short time. TRADE-IN GUARANTEE Bedford Fine Art Gallery backs each purchase of artwork though our trade-in guarantee. If you purchase a painting from us, you may trade-in that painting at any time after purchase for credit against the purchase of a higher cost painting we have for sale. This is ideal for customers who wish to upgrade their collections or just redecorate their wall space. We reserve the right to reject, at our discretion, any painting for trade-in if the painting is in a condition other than that of the original purchase. We believe this trade-in guarantee gives our customers the confidence that their Bedford Fine Art Gallery purchase will retain its original value. Occasionally a good customer will ask us to sell one of their paintings through a consignment with Bedford Fine Art Gallery. The trade-in guarantee does not apply to a consignment painting. LAYAWAY PLAN Bedford Fine Art Gallery offers a convenient, flexible layaway plan, as well as accepting major credit cards. If we personally ever had a major purchase that required us to make payments, we have always been very disciplined and regimented with an established payment schedule. This helped us build trust and a great relationship with everyone in the fine art community over the past 25 years. Through time, this allowed us to acquire top-of-the-line artwork to enjoy and invest in, for our personal collection. We believe our flexible layaway program gives our customers this same benefit. SELECT BUYING/CONSIGNMENT Centrally located in historic Bedford, Pennsylvania, Bedford Fine Art Gallery buys 19th (and early 20th) Century fine art paintings. We are always actively seeking original works by well listed American and European artists. We purchase original works and do not buy prints of any kind. Bedford Fine Art Gallery has a standard for authenticity and condition of paintings we buy and look forward to discussing fine art you are selling. You can call Jerry Hawk (co-owner of Bedford Fine Art Gallery) directly at 724-459-0612 or send an email directly to Jerry at jerryhawk@comcast.net Please provide images of the painting (front, back, close-up of signature, etc.), as well as details such as: provenance (purchase history; prior ownership, etc.); artist name; title of painting; medium (i.e. oil on canvas, etc.); sight size of just the painting; overall size of the frame; where the painting is signed (i.e. lower right corner, etc.); any labels or stickers on the back of the frame; and condition (if known, such as any repairs, in-painting, relining, etc.). Jerry will respond to your inquiry about selling fine art immediately and will answer any questions you may have. Unlike an auction house, there is no gamble (painting may not sell for pre-auction estimate), commission, or fees on the amount of money you will receive from selling your fine art to Bedford Fine Art Gallery. We strive to make selling fine artwork to Bedford Fine Art Gallery a straight-forward process that is fair and reasonable. We provide a Purchase Agreement and our payment to you is prompt. CUSTOM PACKAGING AND SHIPPING Bedford Fine Art Gallery does not provide in-house packaging and shipping; however, we know our customers can rely on a local Bedford specialized packaging and shipping associate. Our customers are serviced exclusively by the owner. Her packaging and shipping services are outstanding. Packaging is customized according to the specific fine art painting, with specialized wrapping, boxing and cushioning materials being used. If requested, MasterPak® shipping boxes for framed artwork can be utilized. These provide three layers of foam protection that snugly encases the artwork, all within a strong corrugated container that offers plywood strength without the weight, cost, and shipping expense. http://www.pittsburghvictorianart.com/about_pittsburgh_victorian_art_home_decor.html