Leila Hollowell and me at Gallery 54, September 2010
By Thomas B. Harrison, Press-Register
The death of Gallery 54 owner Leila Hollowell on Christmas Eve leaves an enormous void in the Mobile-Baldwin arts community. Many of us fortunate enough to have shared her company cannot believe she is gone.
As friends and customers, my wife Lynn and I spent many delightful afternoons in her cozy, light-filled gallery. Often the conversation, and the laughter, went on long after our purchases had been gift-wrapped.
Leila was on my speed-dial and my short list of 4-star reliable sources for longer than a decade. She was smart, funny and knowledgeable in her grasp of the local arts scene. She knew almost everyone and generally what they were up to. From time to time, she would mention an artist I should meet or an upcoming event that merited coverage, and she always had terrific “backstory” information.
I once suggested that she needed her own Web site. “You could call it ‘Leila’s Corner,’” I said, “a one-stop-shopping place for art, art news and the Other News you won’t get in print or at 5’o’clock on TV.”
She laughed and said Gallery 54 already was Leila’s Corner, and she only shared the Other News with people she trusted. I always left the gallery feeling better than when I arrived. That was her gift, and it explains why she had so many friends.
Bertice McPherson found it difficult to put into words what Leila meant to her.
“She was a friend, a colleague, a taskmaster,” says McPherson, a ceramic artist. “She gave me my first show right out of grad school. Others followed, and I was fortunate to sell my work through her gallery for more than 15 years. We shared many laughs and a few frustrations. I will always remember the fun.”
Billie Goodloe says Leila’s presence “was defined by a quiet strength, fair and balanced judgment, unfailing dedication to work, support of artists and friends, and a delightful sense of humor.”
“Those of us who enjoyed discussions with Leila around the little table in the gallery will miss our friend and colleague very much.”
Lynda Smith Touart says her first thought was the brick in Cathedral Square that bears Leila’s name and the inscription: “Always There for Art.”
“I don’t know who was responsible for that, but it sums her up very well,” she says. “We were friends for some 30 years, and Leila was always there, always ready to help, and often probably too giving in her effort to promote artists. She had a hard time of it, and she will be greatly missed.”
© 2011 al.com. All rights reserved.
Leila Hollowell was always there for art and artists
January 2, 2011 by Susan Downing-White
Leila Hollowell and me at Gallery 54, September 2010
By Thomas B. Harrison, Press-Register
The death of Gallery 54 owner Leila Hollowell on Christmas Eve leaves an enormous void in the Mobile-Baldwin arts community. Many of us fortunate enough to have shared her company cannot believe she is gone.
As friends and customers, my wife Lynn and I spent many delightful afternoons in her cozy, light-filled gallery. Often the conversation, and the laughter, went on long after our purchases had been gift-wrapped.
Leila was on my speed-dial and my short list of 4-star reliable sources for longer than a decade. She was smart, funny and knowledgeable in her grasp of the local arts scene. She knew almost everyone and generally what they were up to. From time to time, she would mention an artist I should meet or an upcoming event that merited coverage, and she always had terrific “backstory” information.
I once suggested that she needed her own Web site. “You could call it ‘Leila’s Corner,’” I said, “a one-stop-shopping place for art, art news and the Other News you won’t get in print or at 5’o’clock on TV.”
She laughed and said Gallery 54 already was Leila’s Corner, and she only shared the Other News with people she trusted. I always left the gallery feeling better than when I arrived. That was her gift, and it explains why she had so many friends.
Bertice McPherson found it difficult to put into words what Leila meant to her.
“She was a friend, a colleague, a taskmaster,” says McPherson, a ceramic artist. “She gave me my first show right out of grad school. Others followed, and I was fortunate to sell my work through her gallery for more than 15 years. We shared many laughs and a few frustrations. I will always remember the fun.”
Billie Goodloe says Leila’s presence “was defined by a quiet strength, fair and balanced judgment, unfailing dedication to work, support of artists and friends, and a delightful sense of humor.”
“Those of us who enjoyed discussions with Leila around the little table in the gallery will miss our friend and colleague very much.”
Lynda Smith Touart says her first thought was the brick in Cathedral Square that bears Leila’s name and the inscription: “Always There for Art.”
“I don’t know who was responsible for that, but it sums her up very well,” she says. “We were friends for some 30 years, and Leila was always there, always ready to help, and often probably too giving in her effort to promote artists. She had a hard time of it, and she will be greatly missed.”
© 2011 al.com. All rights reserved.
Like this:
Posted in News & Comments | Leave a Comment
Comments RSS