Name Larry Shar | ||
 | ||
Larry Shar is the president of family-owned Lowy Frame and Restoring Company, the largest and oldest fine arts services company in the country. The second of three generations, Larry is a top frame dealer, art dealer and conservator. He graduated from Brandeis University in 1969 with a degree in fine art, but has worked in the business since he was a small child under the tutelage of his father, Hilly. For many years, Larry has been a member of the American Institute for Conservation, the Art and Antique Dealers League of America, and the Appraiser’s Association of America. .He has lectured about period frames all over the country, including at the prestigious NYC Winter Antiques Show.
Contents
Lowy Frame and Restoring Company
Lowy was started in 1907 by Julius Lowy, who opened a small shop on the corner of 56th and Sixth Ave, NYC, catering to local art dealers, private collectors and museums. Hilly Shar and partner John Sisto began working at the company in the 1930s, and took it over after Lowy died. Hilly and John continued to expand Lowy into a full fine arts services company, including paintings and paper restoration. Larry began working alongside his father full-time in 1970, succeeding him as President in 1979.
Lowy has one of the largest frame inventories in the world, featuring thousands of frames. Larry is an expert on style and period frames, and they offer reproductions of just about any frame, along with guidance regarding the appropriate nature of a particular artwork.
Today, Lowy finds its home in a six-story town house on the upper east side, with in-house master gilders, art conservators, carvers and photographers. Lowy continues to cater to top institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Crystler Museum of Art, as well as auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's. Larry remains President, and his son, Brad Shar, acts as Vice President and General Manager.
Brad Shar
Brad Shar has spent the last 18 years working in the family business. He started working at Lowy while still attending the New School, receiving a bachelor's degree in art history in 1996. Having both a technical and artistic side, Brad also develops and manages Lowy's computer systems and website.
He started Lowy Scan, a state-of-the-art digital imaging system which matches paintings with appropriate frames, making Lowy the first fine arts company with virtual framing.
Selected exhibitions
2007 "The Secret Life of Frames: One Hundred Years of Art and Artistry from the Lowy Collection" LOWY FRAME AND RESTORING COMPANY January 2007 - April 2007; THE BUTLER MUSEUM OF ART June 2007 - August 2007; THE CRYSTLER MUSEUM OF ART October 2007 - January 2008: a traveling exhibition of around 100 period frames as well as an illustrated book featuring Lowy's frames. The exhibition displayed antique frames of historic significance, ranging from early Italian works to twentieth century American designs.
1996–present; THE WINTER ANTIQUES SHOW: various exhibitions each year including 2009 featuring all Stanford White frames.
Books
"The Secret Life Of Frames: One Hundred Years of Art and Artistry" (Filipacchi Publishing) by Deborah Davis 2006: The book, featuring hundreds of period frames from all over the world, leads the reader through Lowy's 100 greatest frames, and includes looks at Lowy behind the scenes. “Almost a history of frame-making” says reader A.Miller on Amazon.com. Deborah Davis also authored the best-selling books, Strapless: John Singer Sargent and the Fall of Madame X (Tarcher/Putnam, 2003) and Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black and White Ball (Wiley, 2006).
Selected publications
Lowy has published hundreds of articles on antique frames, reproduction frames, framing restoration and art conservation.
Sherer, Barrymore Laurence, “Picture Perfect,” Art & Auction Magazine, February 2007,
Anderson, Mattias, “Framework: A New York Institution Turns 100,” Fine Arts Connoisseur, February 2007, Vol. VIII,
Davis, Deborah, “Julius Lowy Turns 100,” Picture Framing Magazine, January 2007.
Davis, Deborah, “The Lure of Antique Frames,” Antiques and Fine Art, January 2007.
Stoodley, Sheila Gibson, “Beyond Borders,” Robb Report, December 2006.
Tashjian, Cindy, “Larry and Brad Shar of Lowy,” Antiques and Fine Art, January 2005.
Donnenburg, Linda, “Frames of Reference,” House Beautiful, November 1999.
Articles about Lowy have been published in the New York Times, House Beautiful, Art & Antiques Magazine, and many other notable publications.