After 120 years of operation, The Old Print Shop has moved from lower Lexington Avenue—where from neighborhood restaurants masalas, cardamom, cumin, ginger, and garlic scents waft—to the Flatiron district so named because of the dominating namesake building at 23rd and Broadway which shadows the lovely Madison Square Park.
The Old Print Shop is my gallery/museum of choice, the inspiration for my fantasy of owning a print by Reginald Marsh, Jean Marin, Martin Lewis (pictured), George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, the photographer Margaret Bourke White, or by others more affordable, but less ‘well-known’.
The shop is quiet and never over-crowded despite allowing staff to regale you, one-on-one, with what they know about what you see, and there is plenty to see. After these encounters my ownership of a piece feels less important than the comfort felt knowing my next visit will be similarly welcomed. In addition to all else (and well worth viewing) is a deep and affordable collection of war and anti-war themed works on paper worthy of consideration for purchase.
One thing about acquiring at this ‘level’ of the art business is that whatever you pay is likely to be recoverable, at least a large portion of it, by re-selling, should you ever need to get your money back. The market for recognized, authenticated work from this shop’s provenance is that strong.
