New Owners Take Helm of Marine Art Gallery
By Barry Scher
After 22 years as the owner of the Annapolis Marine Art Gallery at 110 Dock Street in downtown Annapolis, Jeffrey Schaub has decided to retire.
The gallery, which opened in 1978, has been a fixture in City Dock for four decades. Now it’s getting a fresh coat of paint and a new team at the helm.
Kate and Samantha Wilkerson of Crofton are the mother-daughter duo that will now work to maintain the gallery’s maritime spirit.
Samantha was working as a sales associate at the gallery when Schaub when announced his intentions to sell the business. She had no difficulties convincing her mom Kate that purchasing the gallery would be a great family investment and would allow the iconic gallery to continue to operate.
Samantha, who has a master’s degree in art administration, is now a co-owner with Kate, who was looking for a second career as she contemplated retirement from the healthcare field.
“Once the sale was finalized, our first order of business was to remodel. In addition to fresh paint throughout the gallery, we opened the main display sales area by moving a wall to bring in more light,” said Kate. “We also decided to renovate the upstairs storage space by painting the area and installing new carpeting to create additional display space in what we now call the Crow’s Nest.”
The space may look different, but the contents of the gallery continue a long tradition of featuring original works from artists such as John Barber, William Bond, Tim Thompson, Paul Landry, and Joyful Enriquez. The gallery also features a number of local artists such as Sharon Littig, Collin Cessna, and Christopher Forrest.
Being just steps away from the Naval Academy, the gallery carries a large collection of USNA artwork from local artists and offers prints and original art depicting maritime military history.
The gallery is open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Visit: annapolismarineart.com or Instagram: @annapolis_marineartgallery.