While I would like to take complete credit for Richard’s development over the last fifty years, our business relationship actually began with his show in the winter of 1982. Back then our gallery was located at 1258 Third Street South (our first space for twenty-four years, commencing in 1964). Having started as assistant director of the “Harmon Gallery” in the fall of 1972, I was naturally inquisitive about what the few other galleries in town had to offer. Sharing the same courtyard on Third Street was Robinson’s gallery, (which opened in 1961, but by 1972 was then incorporated into R & R Interiors). Richard’s simple Woodstock (NY) themed small oils and watercolors seemed out of place in an antique and décor shop’s back room gallery. But during his annual openings, folks would pack themselves into the tiny room to view the twenty works he would bring to Naples. In the center of the crowd you often found Joe and Olga Hirshhorn, with Mr. Hirshhorn telling everyone how great this artist was and insisting this person or that needed to have a couple of Segalman’s works in his or her collection. In 1974 the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden opened on the Washington Mall; then everyone paid even more attention to what he was saying.

I enjoyed sneaking over to see Richard’s show during the day and admired his work very much. Likewise in the late 70s he would come into our gallery, lamenting that his New York gallery, Graham Modern, was questioning why he was still bothering to show in a “decorator shop”. I would later come to realize that loyalty was one of Richard’s many attributes. After I purchased the gallery from Foster Harmon in January, 1978, Richard and I would have long talks about what he envisioned the future might bring, along with a new set of problems he was attempting to work through at the time. I listened and gave what little advice I could but we both agreed that eventually he would have to muster the nerve to switch galleries. When Rosemary Robinson finally closed the little room altogether to make room for other uses, I called Richard immediately and he used that as the excuse to make the move. Rosemary’s response: “You should have switched three years ago; you need to move on to expand your career”. Richard was relieved and our history together took off.

The Harmon-Meek Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 10 am to 5pm. We hope you can join us for this and the other exhibitions that are part of this season’s scheduled exhibitions. As always, works by any of our artists are available for show by request or appointment. Please call or stop by. A show catalogue is available for $5 including postage

Warm regards,

J. William Meek III
Owner-Director