The Vera Gallery opens on the Square

The Vera Gallery is a high-end art showroom and gallery that opened on the Square earlier this year.

The business sells paintings and scarves by American artist and entrepreneur Vera Neumann, as well as work by local female artists. It is located at 110 West Eighth Street, the former site of the Georgetown Antique Mall.

Christina and Greg Sharp own the gallery and the licensing rights to Vera’s art collection. Ms. Neumann was born in 1907 to Ukrainian immigrants and grew up in New York City. She attended art school and later worked as an illustrator for a marketing firm. Tasked with copying other artists, she was inspired to copyright her own work — a move that proved to be a wise business decision.

In 1972, Ms. Neumann became the first female business owner in the U.S. to generate more than $100 million in revenue, Ms. Sharp said. Vera’s work — including small items like placemats, napkins and scarves — were in 90 percent of American households at one point, and her wallpaper appeared in Bess Truman’s design of the White House.

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Ms. Neumann passed away in 1993, but left her mark on the art world.

“We see the gallery as a preservation project as well,” Ms. Sharp said. “It’s meaningful, especially considering what Vera accomplished with joy, humility and kindness during that era.”

Mr. Sharp’s mother worked in the fashion and merchandising industry. She bought the Vera art collection and trademark rights then passed it on to the family through a trust. This included about 30,000 vintage scarves and thousands of original paintings done by Ms. Neumann between 1942-1993.

Mr. Sharp spent years traveling to art fairs and collections across the country, but felt it took time away from his family. They decided to open the gallery close to home.

“We thought it’d be nice to have a home base [in Georgetown] and have it be a destination,” Ms. Sharp said.

The family moved to a historic home in Old Town after several years of living in Austin. They prefer life in Georgetown.

“It’s been a really good community to us,” Ms. Sharp said. “I feel like I’ve made more friends faster here than I did my whole time in Austin, Texas.”

The Vera Gallery also serves as a showroom for businesses that license Vera’s designs. Most of the gallery’s revenue comes from various licensing deals, like brand Anthropology, which used Vera designs on home decor and clothing from 2015 to 2020.
While Ms. Neumann’s works aren’t directly tied to Georgetown, the gallery has upheld some traditions and values of the Georgetown Antique Mall.

Employee Jan Kendall had worked at the Antique Mall for three years before it closed. When she walked in to check out the new gallery, Mr. Sharp asked if she would be interested in working there. She took him up on the offer.

“The Vera gallery is such an open, airy, welcoming place,” Ms. Kendall said. “I remember Vera from my childhood in the ’60s. My mother had laminated Vera placemats, that I vividly remember, with the poppy design on them.”

The gallery also features art by local artists and plans to host periodic gallery events.

“We want to uplift other local artists — female artists in particular — because that’s really important to us,” Ms. Sharp said.

Holly Glenn, a painter from Liberty Hill, has work displayed in the front window. Sonia Stinger, a Georgetown-based textile and mixed-media artist, has pieces near the register and will have a solo show in July. Kana Fukuhara, a sculptor and bespoke jewelry designer based in Georgetown, has work displayed on the credenza behind the couch.

Learn more about the gallery at www.veraneumann.com.