RYE ART STUDY

W e l c o m e


december artist tribute

Dody Kolb


Dody Kolb:

Dear Friend and Art Mentor

by Stan Moeller


Let me tell you about my friend Dody.

One day about 20 years ago I got a call from Dody Kolb asking me if I wanted to be in a show at the Wentworth-Coolidge Gallery at the Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion in Portsmouth.

This was a big deal for me to be showing with other artists I admired like Don Stone, George Augusta, along with his sons Chris and Phillip, Frank Corso, and too many other artists to mention. She saw the potential in painters and knew how to nurture their careers. I was making the transition from full time musician/part time painter to full time painter. I was teaching two painting classes at the New Hampshire Institute of Art in Manchester, but I was always looking for opportunities to show my work. I believe I was in almost every show at Wentworth-Coolidge Gallery for seven years. That call from Dody began a friendship that lasted until she passed away at the age of 82, in 2013.

Dody not only became a good friend to Tammy and me, along with her husband Frank, but also an art mentor. Her experience in the business side of art, which is something that I had pretty much avoided, was very helpful. Her knowledge about the ins and outs of galleries, promotion and marketing were very helpful to someone who mostly uses the right side of his brain. She would often call me at my old studio in Rollinsford, at the Salmon Falls Mill, to talk about my current ad in American art review, or if she had visited my website.  She invited me to speak at the Rye Art Study Group at least 3 times and I have many good memories and friends from those talks.

Dody had also worked with The Gardner Colby Gallery, in Naples, Florida. I knew she put in a good word for me there when they were interested in adding me to their list of gallery artists. We stayed with Dody and Frank on Marco Island when I had shows in Naples. From the 11th floor balcony I was inspired by the view and got my first idea and paintings for my pool series. We had great fun going out to eat and talking art. Tammy and I even went up with Frank, a retired TW

A pilot, and flew around the Everglades. He allowed me to take the controls of the Cessna (even though he still had control), something I had always wanted to do, as my father had been a pilot with TWA after WW2.

Dody was an interior designer/art consultant at the Rye Home Center for 20 years; she was curator at the Wentworth-Coolidge (Mansion) Gallery in Portsmouth for eight years and had an uncanny ability to know which collectors would like certain paintings. She was a founder and member of the Rye Art Study Group and served on the board of directors of UNH Art Gallery and the Currier Gallery in Manchester.

Rye Art Study Group is so grateful to Dody's legacy and love of Art and Artists. The group is still influenced by the artists she introduced to Rye Art Study Group.







Please visit www.stanmoeller.com to learn more about Stan Moeller and his work.


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