60 Main Art & Antiques opens in Wiscasset

You never know
Tue, 07/12/2016 - 2:00pm

On the off chance anyone thinks Wiscasset is lacking for interesting, new shops or galleries, it isn't.

There are new businesses (and flower boxes) blooming all along Main Street, and they're helping put Wiscasset on the map.

Case in point: 60 Main Art & Antiques.

The art and antique gallery open in mid-June. Ryan Hinton, from New Jersey, is the director of the gallery owned by Julee and Bradbury Ketelhut, who also have a gallery in Vail, Colorado. Bradbury has been in the art business since he was 18. He was the president a gallery corporation involving four galleries — three in the U.S and one in London, for 14 years. Other than the Vail location, and now Wiscasset, most of his art dealings are done online, through a site called 1stdibs.

Hinton met the Ketelhuts through dog-sitting when he was running a dog daycare business in New jersey. “They have two pugs,” he said. “I started watching them, and checking on their house while they traveled.”

The Ketelhuts liked Hinton's sense of responsibility and outgoing personality, and asked him to help out in their Vail gallery. “And now here I am in Wiscasset, Maine,” he said.

The new gallery in Wiscasset showcases a wide variety of art. It ranges from antique, to contemporary, to art deco. There are some World War II Naval binoculars. There's a saddle from the 1930s. There’s three-dimensional wood art by contemporary reclaimed wood artist Paul Jacobsen. There are bronze sculptures by Salt Lake City artist Jim Rennert.

And you may be surprised the first time you walk into 60 Main. Straight ahead on the far wall, you'll see a large gold-framed painting of an ocean scene. “Sunrise off Easton Point, Rhode Island” was done by the Hudson School painter, William Trost Richards. It's for sale for $288,000 if you're interested.

Look to your left and there's another large painting ensconced in a heavy, ornate gold gilt frame. It's a portrait of a woman, by the 18th century Belgian painter Fernand Toussaint. The painting is called “La Jeune Femme.” The cost? $58,000.

And then, as you look around, your eyes might come to rest on a smallish ornately gold-framed painting of a street with a line of shadowy blue buildings, some trees, and an American flag. It is inconspicuously placed low on a wall, surrounded by larger, possibly more interesting paintings, unless you have a background in fine art, or have some knowledge of art history.

The small painting, “New York City,” by Frederick Childe Hassam, will fetch $150,000, when it is scooped up by some lucky art lover. “People have walked in here and done a double-take,” Hinton said. “They look at the Hassam, then they see the Richards, and then they look at me and say 'Where did you get this stuff?'”

Hinton said the gallery’s goal is to make it a new experience for people every time they walk in. He'll change the art and the placement often. Each time they come back it will look entirely different, “but with the same kind of super over-the-top eclectic vibe.”

“We have some of the highest end art in the county,” Hinton said. “With us, and a few other galleries in town, we're putting Wiscasset on the map.”

There are a lot of valuable paintings, sculptures and three-dimensional art in the small gallery. And many will surprise you with their seemingly random placement. You might want to sit in one of the comfortable chairs, take a deep breath, and relax while looking around and taking in the wealth of the art surrounding you.

We strive to be unique, and provide a memorable experience for everyone who walks through the door with our very eclectic selection,” Hinton said.

“We like surprising people. The best lesson I've learned in this business is 'You never know.' You never know what you're going to find when you walk in here.”

Call 973-747-8665 and check out the facebook page and website.