DELIND GALLERY TO OPEN AT WATTS

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

The DeLind Gallery of Fine Arts, 400 E. Mason St. is soon to move east on the same block into new quarters within the George Watts & Son store at 761 N. Jefferson St.
The art gallery, founded in 1969, is to occupy the space that traditionally featured the more casual, everyday kitchenwares of the venerable downtown merchant, known for its "Tabletop and Gifts since 1870."
That new location will require some work to upgrade electrical and other systems and to create storage and display space for the gallery.
DeLind hopes to occupy the new space sometime in April, preferably by Spring Gallery Night & Day, April 17th & 18th, 2009. (Alas, too late for the traditional Breakfast with Benjamin Bunny at Watts Tea Shop.)
Watts manager Lance Kleeba said the move is part of an overall strategy to invigorate and reinvent Watts. The store will continue to sell the products customers have come to expect inside the signature Golden Boxes.
Watts chairman J.D. Watts said he is excited by DeLind's move, and for the new opportunities available for the store with its new tenant.
Watts will continue to use a portion of the windows in the gallery to display its wares, while the gallery will likely range a bit within the building, wherever a lonely wall looks like it could use a good painting. Another plus is that Watts holds a valid Class "C" Wine license, which could come in handy during openings. The registered agent is Martha C. Watts, mother of J.D. She is a great chum of Piers Anthony Weymouth Wedgwood, 4th Baron Wedgwood, a frequent visitor to the shop. (Wedgie's next visit is planned for Halloween.)
DeLind is approaching the move with some vigor. The gallery had been holding an "Inventory Reduction Sale" for the past few months, which will quite possibly morph into a "Moving Sale" before you know it. A leaky pipe in the basement storage area of the current gallery also served to reduce some inventory.
But there is a whole lot left, no doubt, including some pieces that are clearly selling for less than the value of their frames alone.