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PRINCIPALS
OF KAMP GALLERIES Nicholas
G. Vahlkamp Raised in St.
Louis, Nick’s love affair with art began with his early exposure to
wonderful turn-of-the-century architecture in the old neighborhoods,
which was to have a profound impact on his future.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Washington University as a
sociology and political science major with the intent of becoming a
lawyer. But he also took as
many art history classes as his schedule would allow.
By senior year, he knew he wanted to become an art dealer and
wrote his thesis on the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright in St. Louis,
focusing on how to differentiate between authentic Wright and his
imitators. His road to
expertise in connoisseurship – or restoring paintings to their
original state – had begun. In
1976, only three years after graduation, he opened his own gallery in
St. Louis exhibiting and selling American paintings dating from the
Civil War to the early 20th Century.
He focused on unsung artists from the Midwest, who provided
visual narratives about how people lived by depicting early street
scenes, still lifes of the food they ate and landscapes that showed what
they most valued. Nick’s
passion for the Midwest and its history was almost as great as his love
for art. He moved to
Chicago in 1981 as a newly wed to find his fortune in a city he calls a
power center replete with ambitious people. For the next five years, Nick was a consultant and wholesaler of fine art exhibiting antique paintings at shows. In 1987 he formed a partnership to open Vahlkamp & Probst in the prestigious 620 N. Michigan Avenue building. The year 1989 was pivotal when he moved with his young family to Highland Park and began to realize that much of his clientele lived on the North Shore. For a year, he mounted solo shows of antique paintings and then, as coincidence intervened, a modernism exhibit at the Winnetka Community House on Lincoln Avenue. Down the block, a space perfectly suited for an art gallery had just become available and Kamp Gallery was born in January 1991. Barbara
Vahlkamp Barbara
Vahlkamp brings her own unique attributes and complementary talent to
the Kamp Gallery team. Possessing
an excellent eye for fine art, she is expert at selecting paintings to
buy and then matching an artist or style to an individual customer’s
space, taste and budget with exceptional sensitivity to their needs.
Her empathic people skills enable her to forge long-standing
personal relationships with artists, as well as with clients. Born in
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Barbara attended the University of Kansas where she
graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education as an English major.
Subsequently, she earned her master’s degree in education from
the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
A very spiritual person who teaches meditation, she met her
future husband in St. Louis in the 80s where they worked together to
establish a French poster business as her first art venture and marked
the beginning of more than 25 years in the business. Emily Jane Dawson Director,
Kamp Gallery in The Drake Hotel Arcade, Chicago |
