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Buying and Selling Artwork
Please use the contact form on this page to reach out to us. If you are a collector considering the sale of treasured family work and feel drawn to a low key, circumspect and pleasurable passing of your artwork to its new home, give Jordan Berman a call at (215) 740-0205 or email tig@illustratedgallery.com. He would be most pleased to hear from you and very excited to view your artwork!
All of Illustrated Gallery’s artwork are original illustrations and are guaranteed to be authentic and in fine to mint condition. Contact us directly for more detailed information.
About the Illustrated Gallery
The illustrated gallery did not start from the desire to create a commercial venture. Instead, it developed organically as a natural outgrowth of one man’s love and devotion to the art, and a private collection that, quite simply, got out of hand.
When all of the residence walls were completely covered to the ceiling, with paintings in rows vertically as well as horizontal, it was evident something had to be done. There just was no more room for newly acquired works and yet, the joy collecting this art brought the collector was not to be denied. The time had come to seriously review the situation and determine a new route for the passion to continue to express itself.
It made sense that the best way to continue to satisfy this desire and evoke even more joy was to spread the happiness around by transforming this now 300+ private collection into a public offering thereby sharing it with a larger audience. It is from that motivation and intent that the illustrated gallery was created May 1998.
Things moved along when the passionate collector, Jordan Berman, turned to his granddaughter Holly and asked her to become his partner in this venture. Together they opened a downtown Philadelphia gallery in addition to a Fort Washington location.
HOLLY BERMAN, PRESIDENT
Perhaps genetically, through the Berman ancestry, and certainly experientially imprinted through earliest childhood memories – with the wall-to-wall influence of growing up in her beloved grandparent’s home – this artwork has been and continues to be a natural part of Holly’s every day life.
She fondly speaks of her memories playing with her many cousins in their house and her favorite painting, a Good Housekeeping illustration by Tom Lovell that holds the place of honor above the fireplace mantle. It’s a wintery twilight neighborhood scene of three happy young adults arm in arm, two navy men with a woman in pink in-between, walking briskly away from a house. Engaging in animated conversation with looks of joyful anticipation they step away from the porch and into the frosty evening air perhaps not even noticing the coldness. A Christmas tree presides prominently over the snowy scene from the house’s picture window.
Holly idolized her grandfather as a loving granddaughter can and watched the collection as it grew. So it comes as no surprise that she shares his love and natural inclination for illustration art. Through her college experience and several years of internships in New York galleries Holly’s innate appreciation was groomed and developed into the business acumen that oversees and manages private sales and day to day operations.
If you are a private collector with questions about the collection, Holly would be happy to speak with you and can be reached at 267-992-7166 or holly@illustratedgallery.com
JORDAN BERMAN, ACQUISITIONS
It was in 1971, early morning sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee and perusing The Philadelphia Inquirer, that Jordan read a notification of the liquidation of assets of the then bankrupt Pennsylvania Railroad. Curious, he decided to make the time in his day to go and check it out.
It was at this seemingly innocuous but auspicious event from which a dormant passion ignited as he stood before three paintings. He knew nothing about the works, the artists or the genre. He was not a collector or in any way an aficionado. He was a family man who owned and operated an auto parts business. And, he most certainly did not know that he was destined to father a massive collection of this particular genre of art, become well known and regarded within the specialty, and indelibly and positively imprint the industry as a whole. But he did know what he liked, and this type of art, whatever it was, peaked his interest and evoked a feeling of happiness, and that was good enough. Thrilled with his treasures he brought them home.
Seventeen years later, standing in a New York City gallery, Jordan was once again in love with three paintings. And like before, he found himself riveted by the story and the sentiment so clearly and profoundly conveyed by the images. It was then, in speaking with the gallery owner, that Jordan learned this type of art was illustration art. And this was when his collection, which was later to become the illustrated gallery, began in earnest.
From that beginning over 40 years ago, Jordan has purchased over 1700 original pieces from over 400 different illustration artists developing one of the world’s largest and significant collections of this genre.
MICHAEL BERMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
We welcomed Michael to the team in 2020 after receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations with a minor in Business Leadership & Management from American University. After leaving Washington D.C., he returned home to Philadelphia to work with his grandfather Jordan and cousin Holly to support the rapid growth of The Illustrated Gallery.
Michael’s favorite painting is John George Brown’s “The Monopolist.” This particular painting was hung in his grandparents dining room where he spent eating all of their cherished family meals. The brush strokes this story tells is quite moving, with each impoverished kid looking so intently, almost idolizing the boy with the cookie. This one-of-a-kind John George Brown illustration always served as a good refresher for Michael at a young age how lucky he was as he sat breaking bread with his family. For this reason, it has sat among one of his favorites in the collection.
You may have read The Illustrated Gallery’s newsletters and social media posts, all of which have been researched and authored by Michael. He has spent enormous time reading and learning about the genre. When you speak with him, you will hear his passion for the art and his personality for each of you quite clearly.
Michael is leading our future development and growth initiatives. He will be here to assist you with any of your questions and purchase inquiries. He can be reached at michael@illustratedgallery.com or 267-223-7707.