Adrienne Conzelman ’92

By Lila Reid ’20

The Menconi & Schoelkopf Fine Art gallery was the smallest gallery we visited, as it had one main showcase room rather than multiple rooms or even floors to display artwork. However, in hearing Adrienne Conzelman speak about her work experience and her role at the gallery, it was immediately apparent that the quality of the gallery and the expertise of its staff was high. The difference in scale of the galleries we visited demonstrated how even within a specific field of the art world (art dealership and galleries), there is still variability and choice in the type of environment one can work in. 

    Another part of the talk at the Menconi & Schoelkophf Fine Art I found interesting was hearing about Adrienne Conzelman’s decision to leave Christie’s in order to focus on raising her family, despite her love for the work she did there. This, in comparison to Alice Duncan’s experience, where she decided to keep on working after getting married and bringing her baby to work, shows how two people chose different options in their career. Adrienne Conzelman’s opening of her own gallery in her barn reflects the option of working privately, in order to gain a more flexible schedule and sometimes a better ability to juggle a family and profession. A reminder of a decision to be made in the future, it was helpful hearing how Adrienne Conzelman and Alice Duncan faced this decision differently, but both in ways that suited what they wanted. 

    In Conzelman’s experience in opening her own gallery, she could only do so successfully because of the groundwork and connections she made throughout her career. This reinforced what many of the speakers said about the importance of networking and how opportunities are a mix of knowing the right people, being there at the right time, and having the confidence and skillset to move forward in one’s career. Her story of opening the gallery reminded me a bit of the reading on Edith Halpert, where they both opened galleries for themselves by using their connections to artists, collectors and dealers purposefully. Adrienne Conzelman’s experiences were helpful to hear about in thinking about both the short and long term of a career, and was one of the many interviews we conducted that gave us meaningful advice applicable not only to just people pursuing a profession in the arts, but to everyone trying to figure out a career path.