Rob Pitzer, who passed away in the spring, was an art collector and founder of several galleries, including Pitzer’s Fine Arts in Wimberley, Texas—located between Austin and San Antonio. He also assembled an impressive collection of art from the artists he worked with during his almost 50 years in business. One of his most interesting ventures was what his son, Tyson, describes as a sub-collection that he refers to as the Artists’ Palette Collection.

 

Painted Palette, Mikki Senkarik, oil on panel

 

That collection is the product of an art lover who also thought outside the box—or the frame, if you will. While hosting artist demonstrations, Pitzer would ask participating artists if they would leave their palettes with him. Not only did they leave their palettes, many of them did paintings on those palettes before giving them to Pitzer.

The result is an unusual and wonderful collection of 14 palettes that were created by some award-winning artists. They include Cyrus Afsary, Luke Frazier, Don Stone, Mike Larsen, Wayne Wolfe, David Alexander, and Julie T. Chapman. The images on those palettes range from landscapes, a swan, a wolf and a seascape to flowers, a bear, and a Native American in bright red regalia.

 

Painted Palette, Mike Larsen, oil on panel

 

Tyson also shares a little background about how his father opened his first gallery and credits sculptor Kent Ullberg with setting him on that path. “My uncle was an accountant for a piano dealer in Corpus Christi, and Dad bought that company in 1978,” he says. “Kent came in one day and said, ‘If you can sell high-end pianos, I bet you could sell one of my sculptures. Kent brought one in, and Dad sold it. Then Kent brought in two more. There was a vacant space next door, so Dad opened a gallery in it and sold the piano company.”

Pitzer later moved to Carmel, California, and opened a gallery he named Pitzer’s of Carmel. When he returned to Texas almost 20 years ago, he opened Pitzer’s Fine Arts. Tyson, who recently stepped in as director of that gallery, says it will close in its current form but has plans to re-open as a more contemporary gallery in the coming months.

Stay tuned.