Photo: Linden Scheff
On Saturday, May 28, the Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, NY is celebrating its quarter century in business with a 25th anniversary exhibition opening and artists’ reception. Although the gallery owner had originally planned to be a famous dancer (she won a scholarship with Alvin Ailey), studied acting and did some modeling and tv commercials, she found her true vocation in working with artists and presenting their work. “Artists are the coolest people," she says. I’ve always loved art. I lived in Soho before moving to Clermont, New York, and knew a lot of artists in in the city. I was fascinated by them. I became friends with Howard Crouch and his wife, Jazz, who are both artists, and they encouraged me to open an art gallery in an empty space my husband and I owned. The antique dealers had already established themselves on Warren Street, so there was a clientele. There were only about a dozen antique stores at the time, but the scene was definitely happening. So we opened our doors in 1991 and sold things that very first day. The most fun of having an art gallery is working with the artists. They look at the world and interpret it for us. I am so blessed to have these wonderful people around me. And, of course, I’ve bought so much artwork myself! We were originally located on the 300 block, but now we’re on the 600 block. The second floor is all photography, all the time. We’ve shown a lot of landscape artists, but I especially like abstract contemporary art. One exhibition that was really memorable was the one in which the artist Kiki Smith assisted us. It was about women, called “Body and Soul," and you couldn’t get in without walking on 20 feet of bathroom scales. We decided to be open every day right from the beginning, and now Hudson is slowly becoming a seven-day town, which I think is important to keep the vitality. Only a small portion of our visitors buy something, but it’s just nice to have people come in. We love to let kids come in here, too. When we first started, we didn’t even have a computer. Now everything is online. We do a lot of sales on 1st Dibs. In fact, we just sold a $50,000 painting to a women’s spa in Saudi Arabia! We struggled with what to do about our 25th anniversary. Instead of doing a big commemoration, we decided to celebrate with a regular opening. But the artists in this one are especially appropriate. Leigh Palmer, who we’ve shown from the very first day, has been one of the strongest artists we’ve had. Our oldest artist, sculptor Leon Smith, represents all the years I’ve been open. And there are two artists we’ve never shown before. I have to mention that I am assisted by two women in the gallery, without whom I could not manage. Linden Scheff is the gallery director. She went to school with my kids!
