{"id":9055,"date":"2026-02-23T15:18:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T20:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.luxuryhomemagazine.com\/thepalmbeaches\/blog\/?p=9055"},"modified":"2026-02-23T15:18:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T20:18:04","slug":"a-conversation-with-edward-and-deborah-pollack-fine-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.luxuryhomemagazine.com\/thepalmbeaches\/blog\/2026\/02\/23\/a-conversation-with-edward-and-deborah-pollack-fine-art\/","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation with Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]Q. How did the journey begin for Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art, and what drew you to focus on 19th and early 20th-century American paintings?<\/strong>
\nWe both were inspired by our fathers\u2014my dad was an art collector, whose auction catalogues I would peruse when I was a little girl. I felt the art of American Impressionism was dreamy, romantic, as seen through the gauze of aestheticism and appreciation for beauty, and I was attracted to it as if it were a fairy tale. I later obtained a degree in art history. Ed\u2019s dad was an antiques dealer in New York, and Ed started in the business dealing in various antiques, but soon realized that he had an eye for fine art and could capitalize on it. Although he had no background in art, Ed believed that the key to excelling in the field was by doing, rather than academic study, so in 1971 he began learning the trade by becoming a picker to many venerable Manhattan galleries. He subsequently opened the Pollack Gallery on Madison Avenue in New York City in 1976. By then he was known by colleagues to have the best eye in the business, handling the finest nineteenth and early twentieth-century American paintings and sculptures in town.
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50″ css=”.vc_custom_1706130703858{border-radius: 30px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”9058″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=””][vc_column_text]Frederick Frieseke (American, 1874\u20131939), Femme lisant \u00e0 c\u00f4t\u00e9 d\u2019une lampe (Woman Reading by a Lamp), signed and indistinctly dated, circa 1905, oil on French canvas, 32 x 26 inches. Exhibited, according to Frieseke\u2019s notebook, p. 17, at the 1905 Salon de la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Nationale des Beaux\u2013Arts. Also exhibited the same year at the Art Institute of Chicago. Included in the Frederick Frieseke Catalogue Raisonne.
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″ css=”.vc_custom_1739288322117{border-radius: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Q. What is the core mission or philosophy behind your gallery\u2019s collection and exhibitions?<\/strong>
\nOur gallery focuses on works by major American artists from the nineteenth to mid-twentieth century, with a specialty in important Florida paintings. We also like bringing forgotten artists, who were once important, back to their former prominence. Additionally, we enjoy enhancing museums and private collections.<\/p>\n

Q. How do you decide which artists or specific works to feature in your current and future exhibitions?<\/strong>
\nWe only handle artists\u2019 works which appeal to us, both historically and aesthetically. We also do not specialize in contemporary artwork, drawing the line at mid-20th century modern paintings, such as those by Orville Bulman (1904\u20131978). Although we appreciate some of contemporary art\u2019s more beautiful examples, we feel the current market has more than enough participants. We offer our own niche of older paintings for people to enjoy.
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50″ css=”.vc_custom_1706130703858{border-radius: 30px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”9056″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=””][vc_column_text]A. E. “Beanie” Backus (American, 1906\u20131990), Royal Poinciana on the Indian River, Florida, circa 1960, signed, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″ css=”.vc_custom_1739288322117{border-radius: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Q. Can you share a memorable story about rediscovering an artist or artwork that had been forgotten or underappreciated?<\/strong>
\nOf course, Laura Woodward (1834\u20131926) comes to mind. Many years ago we discovered her works of tropical jungles and admired them; only to find out they were actually of early Palm Beach, before any mansions or condos. We had never heard of her at that time, but what a thrill to realize the history of this once forgotten woman artist of the Hudson River School, who came to Florida in the nineteenth century, and influenced Flagler in developing Palm Beach as a resort! Since then, my award-winning biography of Woodward resulted in an acclaimed PBS documentary, as well as many publications and exhibitions featuring her work\u2014for instance, her important Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens retrospective in 2018.
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″ css=”.vc_custom_1739288322117{border-radius: 30px !important;}”][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#050505″][vc_single_image image=”9188″ img_size=”728×90″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” qode_css_animation=”” link=”https:\/\/tesoroclub.com\/”][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#050505″][vc_empty_space height=”50″ css=”.vc_custom_1706130703858{border-radius: 30px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”9060″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=””][vc_column_text]Laura Woodward, Fort Dallas, Miami, Florida, oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches, ca. 1895, inscribed on reverse, Laura Woodward Artist, Fort Dallas, Amy Bennett [Woodward\u2019s caregiver]. Also inscribed on stretcher: \u201cFt Dallas Miami, Laura Woodward Artist, From Amy Bennett with Love.\u201d In 1895 Laura Woodward visited Julia Tuttle at Fort Dallas, where the Miami River converges with Biscayne Bay. From that visit, Woodward painted Fort Dallas, Miami.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″ css=”.vc_custom_1739288322117{border-radius: 30px !important;}”][vc_column_text]Q. You\u2019ve written and published several books on art and artists \u2014 how do writing and curating inform each other in your work?<\/strong>
\nThe more we\u2019re armed with knowledge, the better we can choose the paintings for our inventory.<\/p>\n

Q. What advice would you give to emerging collectors interested in early American art or Florida-related works?<\/strong>
\nWe advise them to buy what they love but quality should be foremost. It\u2019s that simple.
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″ css=”.vc_custom_1739288322117{border-radius: 30px !important;}”][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#050505″][vc_single_image image=”8690″ img_size=”728×90″ alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” qode_css_animation=”” link=”https:\/\/edwardanddeborahpollack.com\/”][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#050505″][vc_empty_space height=”50″][vc_single_image image=”9057″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=””][vc_column_text]Orville Bulman (American, 1904\u20131978), Du Sud, signed, also signed on reverse and dated 1976, oil on board, 10 x 8 inches. Original Bulman frame. Provenance: Private collection, Manalapan, Florida.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_column_text]Q. How do you build relationships with private collectors and institutions, and what makes those partnerships meaningful?<\/strong>
\nWe appreciate our clients immensely and try to show them in many ways, including flexibility with prices whenever possible. We have been blessed with collectors who have become friends, some for many years. They have continued to stick with us, probably because they appreciate Ed\u2019s quirky sense of humor and my constant blushing from embarrassment. It means everything to know they still enjoy the paintings we provided, and still like us! As for museums, we love to work with them as well and we are thrilled that they seek us out.<\/p>\n

Q. Are there any particular themes or trends in the current art market that excite you or influence how you approach exhibitions?<\/strong>
\nWe will always exhibit what we personally enjoy, not what fads dictate. Nevertheless, we are hearing reports of people getting tired of just buying on trend any piece of junk. They are becoming more discriminating, which makes us happy. The market, we sense, is changing, and turning again more toward traditional art. I\u2019ve felt that the art market reflects society; i.e. ugly-chic is a major part of pop culture, and it may appeal to some who disdain fine, nineteenth and early twentieth century art as \u201cgrandma taste.\u201d But classic art is today\u2019s treasure and tomorrow\u2019s aesthetic. Hopefully, good taste will eventually win out. While we do not normally handle contemporary art, we are pleased that many talented artists today emulate past masters.<\/p>\n

Q. Looking forward, are there artists, movements, or historical periods you\u2019re especially excited to explore next?<\/strong>
\nWe have been interested lately in American women surrealist painters, but anything that we come across in art history that moves us will be the next on the agenda.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50″][vc_single_image image=”9059″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” qode_css_animation=””][vc_column_text]Hermann Herzog (American, 1832\u20131932), Deer in Woods (Florida), signed, oil on canvas.
\nCollection of Edward and Deborah Pollack
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_column_text]Q. Besides dealing in fine American art in general, your gallery is noted for important Florida and tropical paintings \u2014 what makes this genre uniquely compelling to you? <\/strong>
\nSimply because we live in this beautiful state and appreciate its nature. We are grateful for the important artists who have expertly shown the beauty of Florida, and we delight in not only dealing in their works, but collecting them as well. Additionally, we feel that we should honor those historical artists from the past who first helped form Palm Beach County visual arts culture.<\/p>\n

Q. Deborah, your scholarship includes biographies of artists like Laura Woodward and Hermann Herzog \u2014 how does your research influence the way you present these artists in the gallery?<\/strong>
\nEd deserves the credit for most of the scholarship pertaining to Hermann Herzog. His passion for and study of this artist\u2019s work led to our book about him. We discovered he was the most important Florida landscape painter of the late nineteenth to early-twentieth century. We feel that collectors and museums should know more about the artists we present, and it enriches the entire experience if we can elucidate them. Just as we were fascinated to study and learn surprising facts about each one, we feel that our audience would be just as intrigued. And it turns out, they are.<\/p>\n

Q. What gaps or misconceptions in American art history do you hope your books help address?<\/strong>
\nWe try to correct inaccuracies that have been parroted for decades. For example, regarding Hermann Herzog, many galleries and museums have published incorrect data about the artist, but thankfully, since we informed them that our documentation refutes it, some have corrected their sites. We would also like to remind some Southern museums outside of our state that Florida artists were and are part of the South, and to include them in exhibitions and scholarly books.
\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50″][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#050505″][vc_empty_space height=”50″][vc_single_image image=”9061″ img_size=”medium” qode_css_animation=””][vc_empty_space height=”30″][vc_column_text]Edward and Deborah Pollack Fine Art, LLC<\/strong>
\n205 Worth Avenue, Suite 202 (Second floor)
\nPalm Beach, FL 33480
\n561-655-1425
\nEddeb1@aol.com<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”50″][vc_separator type=”normal” color=”#050505″][vc_empty_space height=”50″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1739396644171{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}”]<\/p>\n

Visit Luxury Home Magazine of The Palm Beaches<\/a> to learn about more Art Galleries in South Florida.<\/p>\n

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