Why a 37-year-old decided to take over a fine art gallery

If you’ve browsed the works of art at Shain Gallery in Myers Park, you’ve likely met gallery director Sybil Godwin.

Godwin, 37, started working at fine-arts-focused Shain Gallery when she moved to Charlotte in 2013. In addition to working on gallery exhibitions, client acquisitions and in-home consultations, Godwin has been busy raising her 2-year-old and 4-month-old daughters with her husband Bill.

After returning from maternity leave this year, Godwin said she had a new sense of needing to work hard.

”Some girls are great at being stay-at-home moms and I thrive at working and juggling,” said Godwin, who has worked in the fine arts field for 15 years, including roles as gallery manager at Anne Irwin Fine Art in Atlanta and assistant manager at Madison Gallery in Atlanta.

When Shain Gallery owner Gabrielle Shain decided to retire this year, Godwin immediately knew that was the role she wanted.

“I can’t describe it,” she said. “I’ve wanted my own gallery since I started working in galleries right out of college. It’s almost like I’ve been feeling myself going in that direction and nothing was going to stop me.”

Nothing stops her from getting others to fall in love with fine art, either, especially people her age. She said that over the years she would notice friends buying expensive shoes but not a nice painting.

“For those two shoes you just bought you could buy a great painting and it would last a lot longer,” she’d point out.

In Charlotte, a lot of her friends have started collecting art. The key, she said, “is to have some artists where you can get a bigger painting for less money.”

So among the more than 45 nationally and regionally acclaimed artists represented at Shain Gallery, Godwin works to bring in emerging artists who have bigger pieces for under $2,000 to appeal to younger collectors.

As the new gallery owner, Godwin doesn’t plan to change much about the business aside from continuing to bring on new artists as she continues to travel to galleries around the country with her husband.

“I love finding new artists,” she said. “I’m just always looking.”

On Aug. 18, her first full day in the new role, Godwin was busy preparing for an opening reception at the gallery for two artists out of Atlanta and Tennessee, Lynn Johnson and Emyo.

She was busy but she wasn’t nervous.

“I’ve been doing it for so long it’s kind of second nature to me,” she said. Except: “I’ve always had a boss — it’s kind of scary to me to be my own boss.”

She’ll miss her relationship with Shain, her former boss, she said. But there is a lot to look forward to.

“Today is a new day for me,” Godwin said. “It’s my first full day of being the boss and I’m just looking at it as a new adventure.”

Shain Gallery: 2823 Selwyn Ave.

Photos: Courtesy of Shain Gallery

This story was originally published August 21, 2017 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Why a 37-year-old decided to take over a fine art gallery."