Chicago Fine Art Company co-owner Barbara Vahlkamp stands inside the business’s new gallery space on Antique Row in West Palm Beach.
Photo courtesy of Barbara and Nick Vahlkamp.
A seasoned couple specializing in art conservation and collection recently opened a gallery on West Palm Beach’s Antique Row.
Nick and Barbara Vahlkamp own and manage the 1,100-square-foot gallery, Chicago Fine Art Co.
The Vahlkamps have worked in the art world for decades and owned the Kamp Gallery in Chicago for 40 years. They decided to sell that gallery several years ago and move to West Palm Beach, where they discovered Antique Row during their search for a gallery space.
“Antique Row is made up of 40 small businesses whose owners are all specialists in their field, and it’s thrilling to welcome a professional conservator to our design family,” said Faustina Pace, the president of the South Dixie Antique Row Association and owner of Faustina Pace Antiques and Interiors. “Chicago Fine Art Co. is a wonderful addition to our walkable neighborhood of shops and galleries.”
Nick Vahlkamp has restored paintings for private collectors and museums, and he offers state-of-the-art cleaning and restoration services at the new gallery.
The gallery’s “painting restoration services fill a unique niche for a downtown district like Antique Row,” West Palm Beach Commissioner Christina Lambert said.
A Dutch/Flemish early 18th century oil painting following restoration.
Photo courtesy of Nick Vahlkamp.
For those looking to purchase art, Chicago Fine Art offers hundreds of unique paintings in various styles and periods. The Vahlkamps love to help customers find the perfect artwork for their desires.
“We help many people who tell us they’ve just bought an old home and want to furnish it in a certain period style, or someone who needs something in a particular size or even new artwork for their yacht,” Nick Vahlkamp said. “In addition to the paintings on display in the gallery, we have many paintings in storage and others we can get. We have longstanding relationships with artists’ agents and other dealers, so we can procure just about anything a customer is looking for.”
The distinguished artists they have collected include Austrian romantic landscape painter Alois Arnegger, Russian contemporary painter Evgeny Kuznetsov and French scenography artist Pierre Möri.
