Enriching today’s décor with exceptional paintings from the past

our story

Bedford Fine Art Gallery – A totally different fine art gallery that is all about you!

Like you, we (Joan and Jerry Hawk) have worked hard in our professional careers. We both are professional geologists. We met in 1982 and married in 1987. We started out with nothing (literally!). Our work ethics, and drive to be the best, have allowed us to live out the American dream. Like you, we own a beautiful home that we are proud of. Way before we met or started our careers, however, we both had a love of art.

This is where the story gets interesting. You see, instead of just some run-of-the-mill type hobby, decorating our house with art became our true passion. Like many that first start out buying or collecting in the art market, we were a novice 30 years ago. The one thing we did know for certain was that we both loved antiques and fine art. At that time, we felt fortunate, however, because there was a fine art expert appraiser/restorer that had a gallery near us. We quickly found out that our local “art expert” seemed to know everything about every 19th century artist/painting we would purchase and take to him for an appraisal and restoration.

There are over 240,000 listed artists. We, therefore, found it hard to believe someone can be that knowledgeable about every 19th century artist/painting we brought to them. We quickly began to suspect this art expert was just telling us what he thinks we wanted to hear. A trip to a free appraisal day at Christies confirmed our suspicions and we found out that not only did our local art expert not know everything, but the new “art expert” told us some of the paintings we purchased were fake.

We rose to this challenge, however, and have spent the past 30 years finding solutions to the intimidating fine art market. Our solutions may have initially started out via the school of hard knocks, but we quickly turned back toward the roots of our day job – education, hard work and perseverance (don’t let them wear you down!).

Today, we are proud that customers can come visit our 1889 Victorian home/fine art gallery in beautiful historic Bedford, Pennsylvania or visit our outstanding website. Both venues allow our customers to fall in love with a painting they will treasure forever. We are honored to have a great many very smart customers (IT specialists, financial advisors, chocolatiers, doctors, lawyers, dentists, fortune 500 CEO’s, market securities experts, college professors, home improvement consultants, engineers, small business owners, etc.). We are also humbled that our customers trust us as their guide in purchasing unique fine art that they love. Maybe we are old-school, but we truly believe in being honest, fair, and reasonable and that only our customers know what painting speaks to them. In short, we do what we say and really do live our story.

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Bedford Fine Art Gallery Slideshow

19th Century Artwork
19th century artists
nineteenth century art
19th century art for sale
1800s art
nineteenth century paintings
nineteenth century artists
19th century paintings for sale
nineteenth century artists
19th century artwork
1800s paintings

Commitment

For over 50 years, Bedford has always been considered home. We (Jerry and Joan Hawk), have over 25 years of fine art collecting experience. Gallery co-owner, Joan (Claycomb) Hawk, was born and raised in Bedford, living a few houses up the street from the gallery (often visiting the gallery house, which was a public library at that time). We are wholeheartedly dedicated to Bedford and our gallery. Our customers can trust our passion, commitment and experience in guiding both the new and seasoned collector towards acquisitions that they find aesthetically pleasing.

Small Town Value

Having a fine art gallery in a small, beautiful, historic town like Bedford provides a value-added benefit for our customers. We are not dependent on the gallery for a living and do not have the overhead of a typical fine art gallery such as those in New York or Washington, DC. This allows us to offer superior pricing to someone buying multiple paintings or to the repeat collector.

Quality

As most customers know, fine art can be followed like comparables in the housing market. You must, however, be sure to compare apples-to-apples. With increasing popularity of 19th century and early 20th century paintings and the limited supply of really great works, it is important to buy the best. Our diverse inventory boasts some of the best examples from many well-listed artists. We love realism and each painting was carefully selected to maintain the highest level of quality. We believe we are safeguarding our customers purchase by providing the best quality works available.

Period Correct Design

The foundation of our gallery is to establish and maintain mutually beneficial trusting relationships with home owners, collectors, art connoisseurs, corporations, investors, and interior designers. Whether the painting is for a new home, a stately older home, or an executive office space, our paintings help complement many interior designs. It seems logical to us to incorporate that perfect painting in great condition with your interior design, as opposed to some modern art or prints that tend to be worth pennies-on-the dollar within a very short time.

Trade-In Guarantee

Bedford Fine Art Gallery backs each purchase of artwork though our trade-in guarantee. If you purchase a painting from us, you may trade-in that painting at any time after purchase for credit against the purchase of a higher cost painting we have for sale. This is ideal for customers who wish to upgrade their collections or just redecorate their wall space. We reserve the right to reject, at our discretion, any painting for trade-in if the painting is in a condition other than that of the original purchase. We believe this trade-in guarantee gives our customers the confidence that their Bedford Fine Art Gallery purchases will retain their original value. The trade-in guarantee does not apply to a consignment painting.

Layaway Plan

Bedford Fine Art Gallery offers a convenient, flexible layaway plan, as well as accepting major credit cards. If we personally ever had a major purchase that required us to make payments, we have always been very disciplined and regimented with an established payment schedule. This helped us build trust and a great relationship with everyone in the fine art community over the past 25 years. Through time, this allowed us to acquire top-of-the-line artwork to enjoy and invest in, for our personal collection. We believe our flexible layaway program gives our customers this same benefit. Bedford Fine Art Gallery keeps the painting until the agreed to payment schedule is met and the painting is paid off in full.

Select Buying/Consignment

Centrally located in historic Bedford, Pennsylvania, Bedford Fine Art Gallery buys 19th (and early 20th) Century fine art paintings. We are always actively seeking original works by well listed American and European artists. We purchase original works and do not buy prints of any kind. Bedford Fine Art Gallery has a standard for authenticity and condition of paintings we buy and look forward to discussing fine art you are selling. You can call Jerry Hawk (co-owner of Bedford Fine Art Gallery) directly at 724-459-0612 or send an email directly to Jerry at jerryhawk@comcast.net Please provide images of the painting (front, back, close-up of signature, etc.), as well as details such as: provenance (purchase history; prior ownership, etc.); artist name; title of painting; medium (i.e. oil on canvas, etc.); sight size of just the painting; overall size of the frame; where the painting is signed (i.e. lower right corner, etc.); any labels or stickers on the back of the frame; and condition (if known, such as any repairs, in-painting, relining, etc.). Jerry will respond to your inquiry about selling fine art immediately and will answer any questions you may have. Unlike an auction house, there is no gamble (painting may not sell for pre-auction estimate), commission, or fees on the amount of money you will receive from selling your fine art to Bedford Fine Art Gallery. We strive to make selling fine artwork to Bedford Fine Art Gallery a straight-forward process that is fair and reasonable. We provide a Purchase Agreement and our payment to you is prompt.

Custom Packaging and Shipping

Bedford Fine Art Gallery does not provide in-house packaging and shipping; however, we know our customers can rely on a local Bedford specialized packaging and shipping associate. Our customers are serviced exclusively by the owner. Her packaging and shipping services are outstanding. Packaging is customized according to the specific fine art painting, with specialized wrapping, boxing and cushioning materials being used. If requested, MasterPak® shipping boxes for framed artwork can be utilized. These provide three layers of foam protection that snugly encases the artwork, all within a strong corrugated container that offers plywood strength without the weight, cost, and shipping expense.

Please call 724-459-0612 to schedule an appointment at your convenience. Thank you for choosing Bedford Fine Art Gallery as your gallery of choice.

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