On Valentine's Day, a St. Augstine art gallery invited the public to meet a Spanish painter considered one of the greatest living landscape artists. Ramon Vilanova’s paintings sell for $10,000 to $40,000. And the gallery hosting him Vilanova is no stranger to super-sized art sales.
For 16 years, Cutter and Cutter Fine Art has been selling art out of three galleries in historic downtown St. Augustine. Its website also attracts a global clientele. Yet owner Len Cutter says many people up the road in Jacksonville haven't heard of his gallery.
Cutter says, “They're surprised to learn that there’s an art dealer that sells works that range from $2,000 to $100,000 and higher.”
Cutter says he recently had great success selling original watercolors by surrealist master Salvador Dali. With the economy improving, he says he's also seen an increase in original works bought by tourists. Now, people will have the chance at one by Spanish painter Ramon Vilanova.
“I’m certainly not saying he's Van Gogh, but for our times, for someone who paints en plein air, who lives for painting en plein air,” Cutter said. “this is the closest I've come yet to someone like Vincent Van Gogh.”
"En plain air" is the French term for painting what you see outdoors.
Vilanova's paintings are on display at Cutter and Cutter's Brilliance in Color gallery on King Street.
