Finding Art That's Fit For Prints

Sam Davidson remembers exactly when and how he got hooked on fine art prints. It was the mid-'60s. Davidson was an art history student at the University of Massachusetts. He'd taken some printmaking classes and was becoming interested in the process. Then one day he found his way to a print gallery and plunked down $22 for a print by the 20th-century American sculptor and printmaker Leonard Baskin. Soon after, he bought a print by the 19th-century French printmaker and social satirist Honore Daumier for $40.

"I thought, here are some of the giants of the art scene, and I can own an original by them for not very much money," said Davidson. "And the more I learned about prints the more I realized that prints are so often tied to local history. You look at the context of the print, who's depicted; pretty soon you're sucked in."

Davidson's professional life has revolved around prints ever since. His Davidson Galleries in Pioneer Square is known throughout the region as the place to hunt down hard-to-find antique prints or to see the latest in contemporary printmaking. Though he also sells contemporary paintings and sculpture by regional and international artists, Davidson is particularly respected for his deep knowledge of prints, both historical and contemporary, and his willingness to share what he knows. No panel discussion on printmaking or print collecting goes by in this city without the presence of Davidson, a congenial giant whose low-key style makes him seem more like a helpful college professor than a guy who'd like to sell you some art.

And though in the fickle world of art, prints have not always been in fashion, Davidson's enthusiasm, expertise and hard work have paid off. His gallery this summer marks its 25th anniversary, no small milestone in a failure-prone business.

"Sam's been making a contribution to the art scene in this town very quietly for many years," said Greg Kucera, owner of Greg Kucera Gallery. "He's been showing things that nobody else shows, and developing an incredibly loyal clientele with his no-nonsense, straight dealing. He takes prints, an area that can seem very complicated and arcane to people, and makes it seem very straightforward and clear. He reduces the mystery of the medium without diminishing the intrigue."

There's a lot about Davidson that doesn't fit the stereotype of an esthete. At 6 feet 7 inches tall, and at 52 rangy and athletic, his insight into the often-confusing print world isn't always the first thing people notice. A Boston native who moved to Seattle when he was 5, Davidson played rugby from the time he was in high school until well into his 40s.

Then there's Davidson's trademark bow tie, a sartorial touch that may seem arty to those who haven't noticed that fashion-conscious male art dealers these days often don't wear ties at all. Like his dry sense of humor and unpushy sales style, the bow tie seems at odds with the au courant image that many galleries aim for. But the bow tie does fit his old-fashioned sense of fair play.

"Sam is the most honest, hardworking, dedicated person I've ever met in the art world," said Chase Rynd, director of the Tacoma Art Museum and a former art consultant who once shared gallery space with Davidson. "He's so solid and so trustworthy . . . And he works so hard for his artists."

In some respects, prints were in fashion when Davidson first got into the business almost 30 years ago. Armed with graduate and undergraduate degrees in 19th- and 20th-century American and European paintings, Davidson left the University of Massachusetts in the late '60s to work for the distinguished Ferdinand Roten Galleries in Baltimore. There Davidson's job included traveling around the country selling prints to private collectors and colleges and universities, many of which in the late '60s were flush with money to spend on university art collections. "I was handling prints every day, looking at them and learning from the best people in the business. You couldn't have asked for a better exposure to prints," said Davidson.

By the early '70s, Davidson had a young family to support, and he wanted to move back to his native Seattle. With his brother, mother and former wife, he bought a frame shop on Mercer Island in 1973 and tried to also sell fine-art prints on the premises. After a few months of dismal sales, he moved the print business to Pioneer Square. His first location was in the basement of the building at 313 Occidental Ave. S., where his gallery is now located.

His wife and mother soon left the business, and his brother retained the frame shop, leaving Davidson sole proprietor of the print gallery. The vagaries of downtown real estate forced Davidson during the following 13 years to relocate from Pioneer Square to First Avenue near Pike Place Market and back to Pioneer Square. Sometimes his antique print business was in one location, and his contemporary business in another. After he married former book dealer and art gallery owner Elizabeth Donnally in the early '80s, she sometimes housed part of his business in her gallery, which also had various Pioneer Square and First Avenue locations. Davidson Galleries moved to its present location in 1986.

From specializing in antique prints, Davidson soon branched out to selling contemporary prints. In the mid-'70s he sponsored an annual, international print competition that he called "Foot Print," since the prints could be no larger than 12 inches by 12 inches.

"We'd sometimes get 1,800 entries from around the world," Davidson said. "It was wonderful in being able to see what was happening everywhere. It was great fun."

In the '80s Davidson started selling contemporary painting and sculpture - and sometimes it had an international flavor. As the Pacific Northwest became increasingly involved in trade with China and Russia, Davidson decided it was time to look at the contemporary, non-government sanctioned art from those nations. He organized one of the first shows of contemporary Chinese art in the Pacific Northwest, and in 1990 he organized four shows of contemporary Russian work to coincide with the Goodwill Games. He ended up showing work by more than 100 Russian artists; he still represents six of them.

By showing antique and contemporary prints, along with contemporary painting and sculpture, Davidson essentially runs three galleries in one space, methodically putting up three new shows each month, a grueling schedule. As he looks toward his 26th year in business, however, Davidson says he has no plans to slow the pace.

"I always have plans to change things, and there are a lot of shows I haven't done yet," said Davidson. "I love working with artists, and the prints are still exciting."