|
Norman Crump Studio Gallery
A little girl with mother securely in tow ambles down East Broadway and stops by the open door of the Norman Crump Studio Gallery. She points to a striking painting in the window of the bandstand near Farragut Circle and exclaims, "I know that place."
|
NORMAN CRUMP STUDIO GALLERY
|
|
Location: 622 E. Broadway, Boston
Phone: 617-268-8050
Get directions
|
|
"That's near Castle Island," her mother says. "It's beautiful. I love that painting."
It was a perfect opening for Norman Crump, the affable artist and born salesman: "Tell dad about that painting," says Crump looking at the child, "maybe he'll buy it for Mom as a Valentine's Day gift."
South Boston has for decades been home to one of the state's largest and most vibrant artist colonies. The factory spaces along the Fort Point Channel have been an affordable haven, but their location is more Downtown than The Town.
Crump, who until recently rented space in Fort Point, was born and raised in Southie. He later spent more than a decade away, painting in places such as Rockport and the South Shore. When the self-taught artist returned in the early '90s, it was with a new outlook toward his old neighborhood.
"Before, I was just too close to the place," says Crump, who calls himself a realist landscape painter. "It was where I lived, not some place I wanted to paint. But being away gave me a new sense of the beauty here. And returning has proven to be natural; the right thing to do."
A year-and-a-half ago he made a leap of faith and converted a former barbershop into a studio/gallery on a block once known for its "bucket of blood" barrooms. And, according to Crump, it's been an unqualified success.
"I sell a lot to new people who are looking for something for their condo wall as well as to the long timers who want a piece of Southie," says Crump, who also displays paintings of several other Boston-area artists. "I've sold paintings to parents, to their kids, and to their kids' kids."
Once skeptical, Crump has embraced much of the change he sees sweeping Southie. "It's like a village around here now," he says. "Friendly people, no crime, and no fear of crime. It seems a lot better than it was."
Most of his paintings, which range from under $100 to $3,000, are of South Boston: rooftop scenes, Gate of Heaven Church, Castle Island, the yatch clubs, and the beach. The gallery also cfeatures his works of the Harbor Islands, Boston Public Garden, and other Hub locations as well as still-life florals.
But for Crump, all roads lead to Southie.
"I've painted beautiful scenes and been to beautiful places," he says. "But South Boston - with its beaches and walkways and parks - has a beauty that rivals those places."
| 
