Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Masciarotte.
Ann, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Art has been a big part of my life and my family’s life, more broadly, for generations. My grandfather, Anthony, was an artist who took classes at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), and my uncle, Peter, carried on the artistic legacy with a career as an artist, producing many wonderful pieces of contemporary art. Peter also taught at MassArt, the art school associated with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, where I was able to sit in on some classes when I was in town visiting as a child. My father and mother are also art lovers and great supporters of the arts. I grew up in a house where we had more art than walls to display it. You wouldn’t find skeletons in our closets, but instead many framed and unframed pieces of art leaning against closet walls and hiding under beds.
Although I have some talent, my artistic gift is that of having an eye for standout art and using art to elevate interior design. After a long and successful career in business, during which I dabbled in art collecting and built my own personal collection (which includes a number of pieces that still don’t have a corresponding wall to display them), I decided to make a career for myself doing what I love: finding fabulous art and using it to beautify interior spaces. My skills in business development and project management from my “previous life” as a strategy consultant and web product manager, coupled with my eye for great art, translated well to art consulting, and it’s been a whirlwind of activity ever since.
Has it been a smooth road?
I think anyone who tells you that being an entrepreneur has been smooth and easy is lying to you, or to themselves. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced happened before I even had my business. Self-doubt is a huge hurdle and, even with the experience I’ve garnered, it still rears its ugly head every now and then. Making the decision to follow my heart and my gut and move forward with starting this business was the biggest struggle to date. As business has progressed, however, the struggles are more around keeping up with marketing and developing a strong pipeline of clients while still ensuring that existing clients receive the highest quality of service.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Whitney George Collection story. Tell us more about the business.
The Whitney George Collection matches homeowners, business-owners and interior designers with art and artists that will transform an interior space from one that is well-designed to one that stands out. We specialize in identifying amazing pieces of fine art, within nearly any budget, that speaks to our clients, and express and create the feelings and emotions that they want their homes and offices to elicit. Art has an unmatched ability to affect how people feel, and we believe that it is an absolutely critical component of any good interior design. I cry a little inside when I see well-decorated houses with mass-produced artwork, especially when I know they spent a ton of money on it. Such a missed opportunity.
One thing that sets us apart from other art consultants, dealers or galleries is that we are artist-agnostic and style-agnostic. We have some local artists that we represent, but we search high and low to ensure that the pieces that we present to our clients meet the exact aesthetic, financial and emotional requirements that they have laid out for us, regardless of who represents the artist. We are also able to work within any artistic style that is required for space. Our favorite projects are those where we are able to use art to really surprise and shift assumptions that might be driven by a particular interior design style. We absolutely love very modern art with very traditional interior spaces or very formal or antique pieces within modern architecture and decor.
Another thing that sets us apart is our ability to work with someone who has never before purchased a piece of art, who might be completely intimidated by the process, or who might have a beginner’s budget. We love introducing people to the joy of owning art, and we are willing to take as much time as is needed to make the process enjoyable and satisfying. It really can be so fun to hunt for the right piece with a client who is new to art buying. You don’t have to have an art history degree or know all the right lingo to introduce art into your home. All you have to do is be able to say “I like that” or “I don’t like that.” Pretty simple, right? At the same time, we can just as easily work with someone who already has an established collection or already knows how to navigate the art world, but who needs or wants another perspective.
I think we are most proud of our work when we are able to watch our clients stand back and stare at the art that we’ve brought into their lives, whether it’s their first piece or one of many. You can just tell from their body language and the energy in the room that we’ve made a difference, that we’ve brought something moving and beautiful into their life that they are going to love and live with for a very long time.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I go back and forth with my answer to this question when it is asked of me. When I’m feeling particularly optimistic, I see the art world flourishing as global culture becomes more accepting of people’s individual talents, and as we need more and varied ways of translating and processing the good and bad that is going on around us, nationally and globally. Art is a wonderful mirror of popular and political culture in that it can both reflect and refract what we see and hear in the news and on the street. I think it’s also a great way for people to transform their homes into true personal havens, places that people want to come home to when the outside world might be beating us down.
I was going to give some air to my more pessimistic answer, but I think I’ll stick with the positive one. I really want our world to be more beautiful, and for us to support our visual and performance artists. The more we can promote and accelerate the acceptance of those ideas, the industry and our business will continue to grow.
Pricing:
- The majority of the art we procure for our clients falls with the $500-7500 range
Contact Info:
- Website: whitneygeorgecollection.com
- Phone: +1.415.350.6204
- Email: info@whitneygeorgecollection.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whitneygeorgecollection/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whitneygeorgecollection/
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
