Photo By Jon Hughes/photopresse.com

Phyllis Weston has shaped Cincinnati's visual arts scene for four decades. Now she has her own gallery in Oakley, and she's still working hard.

Not for the first time, Phyllis Weston is looking for new young artists. And new young collectors. The difference is that this time it's for her own gallery.

"I loved being with Closson's, loved working with B. and Burton Closson and am very indebted to them both," Weston says. "But it's so exciting, at this time in my life, to be establishing my own place."

Her own place, Phyllis J. Weston Gallery at M. Willis Fine Art and Design (3235 Madison Road, Oakley), opened on Dec. 4 with a particularly appropriate exhibition -- works by some of the established artists whose initial shows, the first public step of their careers, were arranged by Phyllis Weston. The exhibition includes John Ruthven, Michael Scott, Constance McClure, Cole Carothers, Frank McEl-wain, Jens Jensen, Jack Meanwell and Pat Renick, among others.

"We've put this together in two-and-a-half weeks, although a show usually takes months. It's a welcoming thing, to let people know I've moved on and where I am," Weston says. Annie Bolling, once Weston's assistant at Closson's, also has gallery space within the Willis establishment, and Willis himself is a former Closson's designer. As Closson alumni, "We're all very comfortable with each other," Weston says. She and Bolling plan often to present complementary shows, perhaps spilling over from one space to the other.

Weston's earliest Cincinnati gallery experience was at Flair, the first of Carl Solway's art ventures, in the early '60s when she was new to town but brought city-wise experience with her. Before long she was recruited to rejuvenate Closson's gallery, which had been part of that establishment since its founding in 1836. She stayed with the firm for 40 years, most recently at 2643 Erie Ave. in Hyde Park.

"I can't remember not being interested in paintings and artists. I loved museums as a child, and I really think all the arts are related. Symphonies make me think of paintings, for instance, while chamber music is more like drawing. If I have a talent, it's in discovering the emotions in the painting, where its emotional impact lies. It's not the period but the quality of the work that interests me. I respond immediately to good work."

The work she has been most intimately involved with is the rich tradition of Cincinnati art, the 19th- and early 20th-century greats -- Frank Duveneck, Elizabeth Nourse, Henry Farny, both Herman and Bessie Wessel, along with many others -- but also and always with people working right now.

Speaking of some of these earlier artists she says, "American Impressionism now is very hot, and Cincinnati artists were among the best in the field." Prices for those works have risen steeply, but less fashionable, perhaps newer, work remains affordable.

Weston might make you an art collector. She's done it before, with people and even with as corporate a client as Procter & Gamble (can't get much more corporate than that). The formation of the important Procter & Gamble collection of Cincinnati art, recently contributed to the Cincinnati Art Museum's permanent collection, is perhaps her greatest and most lasting professional accomplishment.

"We put it together during the 1980s, with the idea of showing the world the deep cultural roots of Cincinnati. I had been thinking along these lines for a long time, but it was John Smale who made it happen. When he became head of P&G, he liked the idea and we began work on it. It took 10 years to form the collection. I went all over the country, to auctions, dealers, small towns. We never advertised, but the art world is a small world, really, and people got in touch with me. The works date from 1840 to 1950."

In another high-profile project, she serves as curator for revolving loans of Ohio-linked art in the Governor's mansion in Columbus. "It was Hope Taft's idea, and I enjoy working on it," Weston explains. "We borrow from institutions and collectors, and each installation is different."

But what about the ordinary collector, who doesn't have the resources of P&G or those who lend to the Governor? "People will tell you I started their collecting ... I like to work with young people as collectors, as well as finding artists and helping to launch them. I'm eclectic; quality is the key, not the period. I like to see people still progressing (in making art and in collecting it)."

Our talk takes place in the handsome living room of Weston's house, which dates from before the Civil War and overlooks a generous curve of Ohio river. Chairs and couches are discreetly covered in white so as not to distract from more important things, ceiling height is double that of a modern apartment, and the room is long enough to accommodate two fireplaces as well as a considerable selection from its owner's personal art collection. A Dürer etching hangs near a portrait by Bessie Wessel; a tall oriental screen shields one wall while nearby are African objects; and an unusual metal plaque by Henry Farny is among several pieces propped on a mantel shelf. Here and elsewhere in the house unframed canvases lean against baseboards, not yet assigned permanent status. The art is anything but static, seemingly rejoicing in the juxtapositions.

"Put in what you like, and it all goes together, if it's good. The learning process is continual. It's wonderful to be alive in the world of art," says Weston. "I've had so much fun. Who knows, I may find the next Rembrandt. Or Farny. Or Duveneck."