John Pellew 

(1903-?)

The very, very first! December 1965, I attended my first Salmagundi Club auction in New York. I had spent the preceding several months wandering about the North Shore, Massachusetts, region during my sales training period with my employer, Colgate- Palmolive. I had met many Cape Ann artists who were also members of the Salmagundi Club and encouraged me to attend the winter auctions. At starting bids of $25 and raises in $5 increments, perhaps even I could afford a small painting. A sun- and shade-filled woodland interior really caught my eye, I had heard the artist’s name and vaguely understood his full National Academician status was high praise; to use the terminology of my corporate colleagues, he was “blue chip.” John Pellew was English-born and trained, and from photos appeared the quiet, reserved English gentleman. A teacher, writer of instructional art books, and widely exhibited artist with numerous awards, I could hardly do better with my $75. Nevertheless, that did not prevent a deep gasp and brief questioning of my sanity upon return to my tiny one-room apartment in the city. Yet I admitted that I got a rush, liked the feeling, and concluded right then and there: this is a lot more fun—and possibly even more rewarding—than loosing money in the stock market (which just about everybody I knew at work was doing). This was my first small step with a lot more to come.