Meet Boots Harris, owner of Discovery Galleries in Bethesda, MD

Art Business News, May, 2005 by Susanne Casgar

Q. What was your very first job?

My first job was as a paper boy. My second job was selling shoes at A.S. Beck about a thousand years ago.

Q. Tell me about yourself and your start in the industry.

I opened up a gallery in a warehouse, thinking that I would do the semi-retired thing, and work about 20-24 hours a week. I thought that I'd cruise through it and take it easy. It worked so well, it turned into a real job.

Q. What do you see as becoming the hottest art trend in 2005?

I don't see a specific trend, but art sales are a reflection of people's tastes and feelings. People's tastes are all over the place.

Q. What type of art is your bestseller?

Seventy to 75 percent of my sales are originals. I sell everything from magical realism to botanicals. Our collectors have always been young, in the 28- to 34-year-old age group, and I see that trend continuing.

Q. How has the quality of art changed?

Giclees are better. So many of them are hand-embellished, so it is like purchasing an original. The art is also better because of so much competition in the industry.

Q. How do you choose your artists?

I travel 10 to 12 weeks out of the year, all over the world, looking for new artists.

Q. What was the last movie that you saw?

"Sideways," and I loved it.

Q. What was the last book that you read?

"Hour Game," by David Baldacci.

Q. Where did you go on your favorite vacation?

There were so many. I love to visit castles in Scotland, the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy and St. Bart's. The day that I took my daughter to Disney World when she was six was the single happiest day of my life. I will never forget how her eyes lit up.

Q. What CDs are in your changer at the moment?

Toots and the Maytails.

Q. What is your biggest accomplishment in the art world?

We have helped to promote the career of Rob Gonsalves. He is considered by many to be the most famous living Surrealist painter in North America, and has been compared to Dali and Escher. Two books have been published by Simon and Schuster with his works, and he was featured on the cover of "Masters of Deception," by M Seckel, published by Sterling Press.

Q. Professionally speaking, what keeps you up at night?

Nothing keeps me up at night.

Q. If we went into your fridge, what would we find?

Diet Pepsi. It's empty. I eat out every night.

Q. Do you have time for hobbies? If so, what are they?

I love to travel and play a lot of tennis. I spend a lot of time with my family. I am also an avid poker player.

Q. Who was your biggest inspiration?

My father.

Q. Is "Boots" your given name?

My Russian grandmother couldn't say "Bruce," so I became "Boots" at a very early age.

For reprints of this article, contact La Tonya Brumitt at 314-824-5503, or e-mail labrumitt@pfpublish.com.