Georgetown residents Christina and Greg Sharp opened the gallery at the beginning of summer in the downtown square, according to previous Community Impact reporting. Together, they serve as the business's owners, but prefer to be known as caretakers of Neumann’s work and legacy.
“We're not selling anything here,” Greg Sharp said. “We're educating folks. So if somebody comes in and we get two minutes of their time and we educate them on who Vera is and was, and what her goals were, and what this gallery is about, and they buy nothing, [I’m] happy.”
The features
Neumann was born in 1907 and was a watercolor and gouache artist in New York. She was known for her floral designs and patterns, which appeared on bed linens, towels, scarves and other high-end textiles in homes across the country.
The gallery shows some of Neumann’s estimated 13,000 original paintings, serigraph silkscreen prints, sketches and 20,000 vintage silk scarf samples.
Along with the vintage samples, the owners did a limited silk scarf release with the 12 most-popular designs from Neumann’s work. The designs were voted on by her fans and feature popular prints like “Springtime in Central Park,” which is a best-seller for the store.
“I love seeing women walk in with a vintage scarf on their belt or on their purse,” Greg Sharp said.
The new space also has art for sale from Central Texas artists, including Liberty Hill painter Holly Glenn. Greg Sharp said the gallery aims to uplift female artists, giving them a place to promote their artwork.
A family affair
Greg Sharp’s history with Neumann’s work runs deep. It was his mother, Susan Seid, who purchased The Vera Company in 2005, with him as a silent investor. Seid went to the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked in the fashion industry before she purchased all physical assets, copyrights and trademarks to Neumann’s art.
“My mother did a lot of contributing to preserving the essence of what was Vera,” Greg Sharp said.
In 2023, Seid established the Vera Neumann Artwork Trust, with her daughter Tiffany Salyards as trustee. The trust holds Neumann’s original works and prints with the mission to "preserve, catalog, digitize and share Vera’s art with the world.”
Afterward, the Sharps formed Vera Neumann, Inc. to manage original silkscreen prints, vintage archives, trademarks and copyrights.
The specifics
The gallery opened as a way to make fine art more accessible to the general public, Greg Sharp said, which aligns with Neumann’s philosophy of “art for everyone.” Sale prices for Neumann’s art ranges from $49,000 for a painting, to $100 sketches from her archives and $40 vintage scarves.
“When I can see a young woman come in, [who’s an] artist [or] designer, and be able to walk out very happily with a sketch that was created in 1962 of a butterfly that she loved for $100 and get that framed and be inspired by Vera, I've succeeded,” Greg Sharp said.
Going Forward
Greg Sharp said he’s focused on preserving and digitizing Neumann’s art for future usage.
For the last two years, family and staff have photographed all of her work, color corrected and perfected the images to create files for designers to access. With thousands of artwork left to photograph, Greg Sharp said he anticipates needing three more years to create a full database with enhanced search features.
“We want to make sure that we're doing right by Vera in that in 2350 somebody can go into an archive,” Greg Sharp said. “A young lady at Savannah College of Art and Design can be taking a class on design and go back and find out about this fantastic woman that really trailblazed the design industry back in the 1900s.”
In the meantime, Vera Neumann, Inc. has collaborated with Savannah College of Art and Design to donate about 160 pieces to the university for students to access.
“We chose them because they're a women-owned university with predominantly female designers and artists at the college,” Greg Sharp said. “Those are the types of philanthropic activities that we are wanting to continue doing.”
The company will also partner with Otis College of Art and Design in 2025 to donate 200 scarves and designs for students to use in creating new works for a fashion show next year.
- 110 W. Eighth St., Georgetown
- www.veraneumann.com
