History of the Gallery

Featured in the July 9, 1981 edition of the Vermont Standard was an article about Ellison Lieberman's 25th anniversary as the owner of Gallery 2, the predecessor to Woodstock Folk Art Prints & Antiquities. Mrs. Lieberman started Gallery 2 in 1956 as a summer only art gallery, occupying an unused kitchen in the White Cupboard Inn, which now is home to another art gallery, Gallery On The Green. In 1965 Gallery 2 became a year-round gallery representing only Vermont artists as those artists had few venues available within the state for having their work seen.

Over the years Gallery 2 had a succession of locations within Woodstock and eventually grew into a fine art gallery located on Central Street and a folk art gallery located at 6 Elm Street. Mrs. Lieberman's goal was always to provide budding artists with talent a showcase for their work.

In 1980 the Vermont Council on the Arts honored Mrs. Lieberman with an Award of Merit, the only gallery owner to be recognized. This citation was presented to Mrs. Lieberman for her work on behalf of the arts and artists of Vermont.

Several of the artists represented at Woodstock Folk Art Prints & Antiquities go back many years to its predecessor gallery. Sabra Field, a renowned print maker, was first represented by Mrs. Lieberman in 1967. Eleonora Eden, a ceramics artist, had a show with Gallery 2 in1974. William B. Hoyt was given his first show at Gallery 2 in 1975 and husband and wife artists Roger Sandes and Mary Welsh a show in 1980.

In 1995 the Print and Folk Art portion of Gallery 2 came under new ownership and a new name. Although Woodstock Folk Art Prints & Antiquities has broadened its selection of art as well as representation of artists outside of Vermont, its primary goal remains to provide a venue for artists to showcase their work. A quick glance at the list of artists represented, however, shows that Gallery 2's successor continues to have a concentration of work by Vermont artists. 

An interesting aside to this history is that Woodstock Folk Art Prints & Antiquities continues to have the same problem Mrs. Lieberman cited in 1981 on the 25th anniversary of Gallery 2. To quote Mrs. Lieberman:

"I suppose everyone has an impossible dream and I am no exception-but mine is outsize! I dream of having a whole beautiful building inWoodstock with enough space for all the art to be properly shown and with at least one full time staff person in addition to our present devoted group. Then Vermont artists would really be well served-which was the original idea 25 years ago." Twenty years later the same holds true.