Jerry's Artarama

Jerry's Artarama is an American art-supplies retailer and discount art-materials company founded in 1968 by Gerald "Jerry" Goldstein and his wife, Arline Goldstein. The business began in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, after Goldstein, who had been managing a toy store, persuaded his employer to add art supplies to the store's assortment. He subsequently established an independent business focused on serving artists, art students, educators, and other creative professionals. The company developed around a value-oriented retail proposition: offering a broad assortment of art materials at discounted prices through physical stores, catalogs, and online retail. Its assortment includes materials for painting, drawing, illustration, printmaking, crafts, framing, and related studio activities. Product categories associated with the retailer include fine-art paints, canvases and painting boards, brushes, palette knives, easels, frames, and other studio equipment. Jerry's Artarama has also operated custom canvas and custom framing departments, extending its role beyond the sale of packaged supplies into made-to-order services for artists, collectors, and households. The retailer expanded its presence in the New York area during the late twentieth century, with a New Hyde Park location documented by 1986 and a Deerfield Beach, Florida, operation during the 1990s. Its stores and catalogs became part of the experience of generations of artists, including former student customers who later returned to reconnect with Goldstein and describe the influence of the business on their careers. A 1986 catalog from the New Hyde Park location, titled “A Definitive Reference to Artists' Supplies,” illustrates the company's effort to function both as a seller and as a reference source for art-material buyers. By 2013, Jerry's Artarama was described as offering more than 70,000 products from multiple art-material manufacturers, alongside proprietary product lines. Its retail model combined superstores, an art-supply catalog, and an online store. In addition to conventional commerce, the company has supported artist engagement through instructional workshops, art contests, free online video lessons, product demonstrations, and art-related events. It has also sponsored scholarships for students pursuing art education at colleges and universities. In 2015, the company established The Gerald Goldstein Foundation in memory of its founder. The foundation's stated purpose is to provide scholarships to student artists, reinforcing the brand's connection with art education and emerging practitioners. The company's corporate headquarters are in Raleigh, North Carolina. Publicly available reference material does not establish a current chief executive, ownership structure, precise store count, or a separate corporate parent. Jerry's Artarama is best characterized as a specialist U.S. art-supplies retailer whose differentiation rests on assortment breadth, discount pricing, custom services, educational programming, and long-standing relationships with artists.

Jerry's Artarama was founded in 1968 in Great Neck, a community on Long Island, New York, by Gerald "Jerry" Goldstein and his wife, Arline Goldstein. Before launching the company, Goldstein managed a toy store in Long Island. He convinced his employer to stock art supplies, an experience that appears to have provided the commercial foundation for his later specialist retail business. Jerry's Artarama was subsequently built around the sale of art materials to professional artists, students, educators, and hobbyists. The company's early development was tied to the New York metropolitan area. In 1979, Congressman Benjamin Rosenthal reportedly listed purchases from Jerry's Artarama as a disbursement from his contingency fund for drafting-related supplies. Around 1984, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 810 led a three-week strike against a Queens location, documenting a labor dispute in the retailer's history. By 1986, the business had a location in New Hyde Park, New York. That store issued a 132-page catalog, “A Definitive Reference to Artists' Supplies,” reflecting the retailer's use of catalogs not only as sales tools but also as detailed product guides. During the 1990s, Goldstein operated a Jerry's Artarama store in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The company maintained relationships with artists who had first encountered its stores as students in the 1960s and 1970s. Some of those former customers later returned to meet Goldstein and discuss the role the retailer had played in their artistic development. This continuity helped reinforce the business's identity as a long-running specialist institution rather than a general merchandise seller. By 2013, Jerry's Artarama had developed a multichannel retail model comprising superstores, an art-supply catalog, and an online store. It was described as offering more than 70,000 art materials from various manufacturers, together with its own product lines. The range covered core fine-art media and studio equipment, while custom canvas and framing departments added made-to-order services. The retailer also expanded its non-retail activities through workshops, art contests, product demonstrations, free online video lessons, and special art events held across the United States. Education and artist development became an additional part of the company's public role. Jerry's Artarama sponsored scholarships for art students at colleges and universities and supported programming intended to help artists select and use materials. In 2015, it established The Gerald Goldstein Foundation in memory of its founder. The foundation grants scholarships to student artists, connecting the company's philanthropic work to its origins and to its long-standing student customer base. The company's corporate headquarters are in Raleigh, North Carolina. Available reference material confirms the retailer's continued operation and its broad U.S. art-supplies focus, but does not provide a complete current account of its ownership, executive leadership, store network, financial performance, or international operations. Its documented historical profile is that of a U.S. specialist retailer that combined discount positioning, extensive assortment, custom services, artist education, and community support.

• 2015

  Gerald Goldstein Foundation established

  [1]Jerry's Artaramaen.wikipedia.org

  Jerry's Artarama created a scholarship foundation in memory of founder Gerald Goldstein.

• 2013

  Large multichannel assortment documented

  [1]Jerry's Artaramaen.wikipedia.org

  The company was described as offering more than 70,000 art materials through superstores, catalog retail, and an online store, including proprietary product lines.

• 1986

  New Hyde Park catalog publication

  [1]Jerry's Artaramaen.wikipedia.org

  The New Hyde Park location issued a 132-page reference catalog titled “A Definitive Reference to Artists' Supplies.”

• 1984

  Queens labor strike

  [1]Jerry's Artaramaen.wikipedia.org

  Teamsters Local 810 led a three-week strike involving a Queens Jerry's Artarama operation.

• 1979

  Documented congressional supply purchase

  [1]Jerry's Artaramaen.wikipedia.org

  Benjamin Rosenthal reportedly recorded purchases from Jerry's Artarama as a contingency-fund disbursement for drafting-related work.

• 1968

  Founding in Great Neck

  [1]Jerry's Artaramaen.wikipedia.org

  Gerald and Arline Goldstein founded Jerry's Artarama in Great Neck, Long Island, New York.

A specialist, value-oriented art-supplies retailer combining broad product selection with physical stores, catalog and online commerce, custom framing and canvas services, and educational support for artists.

• Painting materials

  Fine-art paints

  Jerry's Artarama's assortment includes fine-art paints serving painters working across traditional studio practices. The supplied reference material identifies paints as one of the retailer's core product groups, alongside supports, tools, and equipment.

• Painting surfaces

  Canvas and boards

  The retailer sells canvas and boards for painting and related fine-art applications. Its offer also includes custom canvas work, allowing the business to serve needs beyond standardized, prepackaged supports.

• Artist tools

  Brushes and palette knives

  Brushes and palette knives form part of the company's core selection of hand tools for painters and studio users. They complement the retailer's paints, surfaces, easels, and other painting equipment.

• Studio equipment

  Easels and studio equipment

  Jerry's Artarama offers easels and other equipment used to organize and operate an art studio. These products broaden the retailer's role from a consumables supplier to a source for substantial studio furnishings and tools.

• Framing services

  Custom framing

  Custom picture framing is a documented service offered by the company. It gives artists, collectors, and households an option for made-to-order presentation and preservation rather than limiting the business to retailing standard frames.

• 2015The Gerald Goldstein Foundation

  United States

  Jerry's Artarama established a foundation in memory of founder Gerald Goldstein to support student artists through scholarships.

  Outcome. The foundation grants scholarships to student artists.

  Source

1. 1Jerry's Artaramaen.wikipedia.org