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# Abrams Claghorn asks Albany to help keep it going
- URL: https://www.albanyscanner.com/2026/08/28/community/albany-abrams-claghorn-gallery-asks-for-help/
- Published: 2026-08-28T23:46:30.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-29T00:14:07.000Z
- Description: The gallery is looking for ways to boost sales without losing its community focus.
- Author: Allyson Aleksey
- Tags: Community, Business, Solano Avenue, #articles, Arts & Culture

For 45 years, the gallery that is now [Abrams Claghorn](https://abramsclaghornshop.com/?ref=albanyscanner.com) has been a fixture on Solano Avenue, weathering recessions, changing shopping habits and the pandemic.

But after years of financial struggle, owner [Robby Abrams](https://www.robertabramsart.com/?ref=albanyscanner.com) is asking customers to do more than just stop by.

Abrams co-purchased the gallery in December 2014\. Over the past decade, he's watched people walk through its doors, admire displayed artwork and handmade goods, attend an opening or community event, and tell him how much they love having the space in town.

Lately, he's found himself wondering whether loving the gallery will be enough to keep it open.

Trouble began for Abrams Claghorn when COVID-19 restrictions forced it to close for about six months in 2020.

Abrams told Albany Scanner that business has "never returned to its pre-pandemic level" — even though the five months leading up to the shutdown were among the most profitable in the gallery's history.

"Before the pandemic, I had two full-time people, two part-time people," he said. "February 2020 was a great month for us."

A month later, the gallery was forced to close, along with other Bay Area shops deemed nonessential. When it reopened in the fall, sales never recovered.

With rising costs to organize workshops and events, and fewer customers spending money on artisanal goods, Abrams is trying to figure out how to keep the lights on. 

There is no set closing date, he said. But something has to change if the gallery is going to survive.

"I can't stress how much I understand how people just don't have the money for luxuries right now," Abrams said. "But my PBS moment is, I can't do this for free, and I no longer have the reserve funds to keep it going." 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/b0/b5b0b7ec-798c-4cb6-ab42-472b59c05589/content/images/2026/08/Mural_Panorama2.jpg)

Abrams Claghorn Gallery is located on the corner of Solano and Masonic avenues. Shown here: The 40-foot-long [Anna Vaughan](https://www.annavaughan.com/?ref=albanyscanner.com) mural on Masonic. [**Diane Jones*](https://www.photosdiannejones.com/?ref=albanyscanner.com)

That is the difficult contradiction at the heart of the gallery's livelihood.

Abrams Claghorn Gallery has become a vibrant community space largely because its owners, including founder [Susan Adamé](http://www.susanadameart.com/?ref=albanyscanner.com), spent decades making it one.

For Adamé, losing the gallery would mean more than just another vacant storefront.

"Everybody that I've talked to loves having the gallery here," she told Albany Scanner. "I don't want people to take it for granted." 

## A gallery, not just a shop

Abrams Claghorn occupies a somewhat unusual place in Albany's business landscape.

Abrams considers it the only dedicated, privately owned art gallery in Albany, rather than a retail shop that happens to display art.

"My gallery features what I call early-career artists," Abrams said. "It doesn't matter how old they are, where they are at \[in skill level\] or whether they've done a solo show before."

Some exhibitions bring crowds but little in the way of sales. Others, like the gallery's current exhibition of paintings by El Cerrito-based artist [Lucy Ames](https://www.lucyames.com/?ref=albanyscanner.com), have been more commercially successful.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/b0/b5b0b7ec-798c-4cb6-ab42-472b59c05589/content/images/2026/08/777383910_4302436296558688_7114725833810138017_n.jpg)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/b0/b5b0b7ec-798c-4cb6-ab42-472b59c05589/content/images/2026/08/778139729_4302436333225351_8835246659903244022_n.jpg)

Artwork by Lucy Ames is displayed inside Abrams Claghorn Gallery. **Susan Adamé*

That's part of Abrams' balancing act. He wants the gallery to give artists a chance to show their work, but he also needs those exhibitions to generate enough sales to sustain the business.

"Some people can spend $1,600 or so on artwork, but it's rare, and I understand why," he said. "We're just not in the collector business. And that does work against us." 

Lately, most of the gallery's customers come from outside the city, from Richmond and elsewhere in the East Bay.

"Albany isn't my main customer at the moment," he said. 

Abrams attributes that in part to the gallery's location on the corner of Masonic and Solano avenues.

"This is a hidden little nook," he said. "People are not making their way here unless they already know it's here."

## What can Albany do to help Abrams Claghorn? 

To be clear, Abrams isn't asking for community donations to keep Abrams Claghorn afloat.

In fact, he'd rather people shop at the gallery — and is eyeing the holidays as a potential boon. The gallery sells a range of handmade goods, including soaps and lotions, clothing and purses, silk prints, pottery, candles and more, all made by local artists.

"If people buy something here, then the artist gets 50%," Abrams said. "I'm happy to take any sort of financial support — but my job is to help these artists pay for their passion, their living, their materials."

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/b0/b5b0b7ec-798c-4cb6-ab42-472b59c05589/content/images/2026/08/IMG_2039.jpg)

Abrams Claghorn Gallery sells a range of handmade goods. **Allyson Aleksey*

The gallery also offers [figure-drawing workshops](https://abramsclaghornshop.com/collections/workshops/Workshop?ref=albanyscanner.com), including a Friday evening session for more experienced artists and a Sunday salon with an instructor for beginners. 

Abrams is now exploring additional offerings, including programs that could incorporate wellness and art.

The goal is to find ways for the space to generate revenue without losing what makes it valuable to the community.

The current economic environment, Abrams said, is affecting not only his gallery but many of the people around him — teachers, artists and other small-business owners who are cutting back because they simply have less money to spend.

"I know there are many people who appreciate having a gallery \[in Albany\], there's no question," Abrams said. "Everyone's trying to make do with little. I'll keep going as long as I can."

## The gallery has weathered storms before

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b5/b0/b5b0b7ec-798c-4cb6-ab42-472b59c05589/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-28-at-3.00.25---PM.jpg)

Susan Adamé in the gallery's studio shortly after it opened in 1981\. **Courtesy* 

Although Adamé no longer has an ownership stake in the gallery, the prospect of losing the space hits her especially hard.

When she opened her gallery in 1981, the timing wasn't exactly ideal. 

A recession hit soon after she signed the lease, and she lost $20,000 in the first six months, eventually having to mortgage her house to keep the business going.

"I lost a lot of money then, and it was devastating emotionally," she said.

But Adamé paid off her loans, and the gallery survived the challenges that followed — the recession of the early 1990s, the dot-com boom and bust, the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, more than four decades after she opened its doors, Adamé wants to help the gallery survive another difficult chapter.

"I deeply appreciate what Robby \[Abrams\] has done with the gallery and how he's brought the community together," she said. "My hope is that we can generate enough support to keep it open."

[**Abrams Claghorn Gallery**](https://abramsclaghornshop.com/?ref=albanyscanner.com) **is located at 1251 Solano Ave. A family-friendly Gelli printing workshop will be held Saturday, Aug. 29, from 3-5 p.m. in conjunction with Lucy Ames' solo exhibition. Figure Drawing Fridays are scheduled weekly through October.**

*Have questions for Albany Scanner, or want to share story tips?* [*Here's how to reach us*](https://www.albanyscanner.com/tips/)*.*

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