From art professor to Russian art specialist.
Bob Garren was the owner and founder of Robert Garren Gallery in Georgetown, Tennessee. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1968 and began teaching that same year. He taught at the university level for 29 academic years.
Toward the end of his teaching career, Bob hosted two Russian artists who visited the United States to teach classes and hold an art show. In return, through the Russian Artists’ Union, they arranged for him to visit Russia, meet other artists, and learn about the Russian academic system for art. He made his first visit in December 1994.
Bob was impressed by the quality of the artwork he saw, but he was also concerned that artists newly released from the confines of the Soviet era often did not know how to sell or export their work outside the country. He returned to Russia the following May to buy art and see whether there was a market for it in the United States.
Bob learned that there was a market for this art and began traveling to Russia during school vacations. In 1997, he left teaching to deal in Russian art full time. From then until May 2010, he traveled to Russia several times each year to buy art and bring it back to the United States. The gallery’s collection is the result of the works imported during these visits.