STONE HARBOR - When Barbara Schreckengaust opened the William Ris Gallery in 1971, it was one of only two fine-arts destinations in the tiny shore town.
The solitude did not last.
Today, William Ris is one of four galleries located within a one-block radius, and part of what is informally known as the borough's gallery row. Like similar informal art districts that have sprung up in Ocean City and Cape May, the borough's galleries have had to learn how to coexist. And despite having to survive through an economy in which artists and galleries are struggling, the businesses manage to thrive with a mixture of friendly competition and community solidarity.
William Ris, the Beacon Art Shortwave Gallery and Peter McPhee Fine Arts are all neighbors on the 9400 block of Second Avenue. Ocean Galleries, which opened in 1990, sits one block over on Third Avenue
A fifth gallery, Dorothy Carrol Gifts & Fine Arts, is located several blocks away from the downtown shopping district.
Schreckengaust's daughter Mary Cantone, who runs William Ris, said her mother hoped the borough would eventually establish a gallery row.
"The more opportunities that the community has to get educated and familiar with the arts, the better it is for all of us," Cantone said. "Each gallery has its own group of artists, and I think we're very much supportive of each other and encouraging."
Beacon Art is the youngest of the Stone Harbor galleries. Gary Jacketti, an artist who owns a summer home in Avalon, opened the gallery's doors shortly after Memorial Day. The idea of sharing the center of town with three other galleries reminded Jacketti of his hometown of Beacon, N.Y., an artsy community that is home to the Dia:Beacon, Riggio Galleries and a popular destination for art lovers from New York City.
"(Beacon) became a destination where people who like art can go look at three galleries or six galleries," Jacketti said. "We advertise for each other and cast a wider net."
Neal McPheeters was less concerned with his neighbors and more worried about finding a spot near the busy downtown area when he opened Peter McPhee Fine Arts in 2002.
"It was the only space that was available that made any sense," McPheeters said. "It was a perfect location."
In the past seven years, McPheeters has found that having gallery owners as neighbors has been beneficial to his business and made the borough a destination for art patrons.
"The way one person put it ... is that it's like having a bunch of car dealerships in one place," McPheeters said. "Four dealerships located really close to each other attract people who are looking to buy a car. In some ways, it's a good comparison."
Business has been slow this summer thanks to the struggling economy and string of rainy days that made June all but a washout for shore businesses, but the competition remains friendly rather than cutthroat among the galleries.
"We're all friends," McPheeters said. "I go down and see their art, they see mine."
Each one seems to has found its niche. Ocean Galleries features high-profile national and international artwork with a list of celebrity exhibitors that includes Yoko Ono and actress Jane Seymour, who is due to return to the gallery Labor Day weekend.
William Ris and Peter McPhee Fine Arts specialize mainly in paintings and sculpture by artists from the Northeast. Their neighbor, Jacketti, shows modern art from as far away as Japan.
"I think if I started moving in Jersey seashore paintings I might not have been received so well," Jacketti said. "But I'm showing completely different contemporary work than the other two galleries."
There has been talk of organizing a group event among the galleries, similar to the Third Friday celebrations held in Millville's Glasstown Arts District. But the gallery owners say they have yet to come up with a solid plan to make it happen.
"In the summertime it's kind of pointless because you're already as busy as you can possibly be most of the time," McPheeters said. "For us, the optimum time to do it would be after Sept. 1."
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