近距离内射合集

Mary Ann Weems was not a typical art dealer. Big-hearted and bold, she made it her life鈥檚 mission to bring fine art within reach of ordinary people.

鈥淪he loved Albuquerque. She loved being part of the art scene here and creating a space for artists and for people to shop who thought they couldn鈥檛 afford real artwork,鈥� her daughter, Elizabeth Weems, said. 鈥淚t was really important to her to make artwork affordable and available to everybody.鈥�

Weems died on July 21 at the age of 78. At the time of her death, she was suffering from heart and lung disease, as well as a rare form of bladder cancer.

鈥淚t was a multisystem shutdown,鈥� Elizabeth Weems said.

Born in Carlsbad in 1948, Weems was the daughter of Nadine Miller Rosenberg and Mike Rosenberg, a prominent lawyer who once served as president of the New Mexico Bar Association.

鈥淢y grandfather had a ton of chutzpah. Everybody in our family is pretty extroverted, but she definitely learned from him never to take crap from anybody 鈥� and that if you set your mind to it, you can succeed at anything,鈥� Elizabeth Weems said.

After graduating from William Woods College in Fulton, Missouri, with a degree in art education, she married her childhood sweetheart, Regan Weems in 1969. The couple moved to Albuquerque the following year.

Dan Stouffer, a watercolorist whom she would later represent, met her in 1975.

鈥淲hen we met, we were both artists doing arts and crafts fairs and street shows, and we hit it off immediately,鈥� Stouffer said. 鈥淪he made an incredible impression on me 鈥� She just had this appeal. There was this magnetism, and you could feel an energy there 鈥� and you wanted to be part of it.鈥�

Weems opened the Weems Gallery in 1981 at the Eastdale Center on Eubank and Candelaria, advertising it as 鈥淎lbuquerque鈥檚 most exciting new gallery.鈥� Although the gallery would change locations more than once over the decades, its purpose remained the same: to make art accessible while supporting local artists.

鈥淢ary Ann believed that every person deserved great art, whether they could afford $5 or thousands of dollars. She made that her core mission in all of her galleries and events,鈥� Sarah Greenwalt, the gallery鈥檚 current owner, said. Greenwalt acquired the business in 2025.

According to B.C. Nowlin, a prominent local artist who has shown with the gallery for over 20 years, Weems鈥� legacy is in good hands under the new ownership.

鈥淭he new Weems Gallery is a continuation of her spirit,鈥� Nowlin said.

While Weems championed many kinds of art, from oil paintings and pastels to jewelry and ceramics, her tastes trended toward the traditional. She preferred recognizable imagery over abstraction and placed a high premium on beauty and technical skill.

鈥淪he didn鈥檛 like the Jackson Pollocks, where they鈥檙e just throwing paint all over the wall or they put up a footprint and call it art,鈥� Elizabeth Weems said. 鈥淪he really liked the fine arts and people who could paint and draw.鈥�

Weems was an innovator when it came to promoting her artists, with bold marketing strategies that made her an industry disrupter, according to Greenwalt.

鈥淚鈥檓 literally paging through a binder of artifacts that were bequeathed to me 鈥� actual in-the-mail newsletters that were sent to all the people on the mailing list,鈥� Greenwalt said. 鈥淎nd I think what is novel is the kind of blatant advertising that she did for the artists in a way that some of our contemporaries might think is uncouth. It鈥檚 like, 鈥楾his is on sale!鈥� 鈥楶ut art above your fireplace!鈥� 鈥楶ut art everywhere!鈥� It鈥檚 (a lot of) exclamation points. It鈥檚 not subtle in any way. But I think they really illustrate Mary Ann鈥檚 fervor.鈥�

Weems took out full-size ads on highway billboards and the sides of buses to promote her artists and sometimes even turned her artists into walking billboards for the gallery.

鈥淚 used to run out along Tramway, which wasn鈥檛 too far from where she lived at the time,鈥� Stouffer said. 鈥淪he saw me running along Tramway, and the next time I came in the gallery, she had a pair of red running shorts with 鈥榃eems鈥� in big white letters on the rear end. She said, 鈥楬ere, Dan, run with these.鈥� And I did. And people would honk at me. She said, 鈥楧an, I鈥檝e always had your back. Now I鈥檝e got your rear end!鈥�

While some fellow art dealers may have turned their noses up at Weems鈥� marketing efforts, it was hard to deny that they worked. Weems Gallery became one of the most popular and successful galleries in the region.

In 1982, the year after opening the gallery, she launched Weems International Artfest, a juried art event that would draw tens of thousands of attendees each November for the next three decades.

鈥淲eems Artfest 鈥� became well-known on an international level, and there were even international celebrities who took part in the preview nights,鈥� Stouffer said. 鈥溾�� But to Mary Ann, I think what was dearest to her heart in that show was the Children鈥檚 Art Mart, which was a place where kids could shop for art. 鈥� And they would bring kids in from neighborhoods that were poor, and we would make sure each kid had some money to buy a piece of artwork for Christmas for their folks.鈥�

Weems hosted numerous charity events, including at Artfest, which raised millions of dollars for local children鈥檚 hospitals and animal charities.

鈥淪he helped build both children鈥檚 hospitals at Presbyterian and at UNMH (University of New Mexico Hospital),鈥� Elizabeth Weems said. 鈥溾�� She was a big philanthropist, and she really believed in helping children and dogs 鈥� especially children, because my son was born so medically fragile.鈥�

Weems鈥� charity events attracted celebrities from Jay Leno to Bo Derek to Jane Seymour to Sophia Loren. Their star power helped draw bigger crowds and even bigger donations.

But whether someone was a celebrity, a rich collector, an unknown artist, a tourist or a child, Weems wanted everyone who came into the gallery to feel special and valued.

鈥淓veryone was important to her,鈥� her close friend Sue Hettema said. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 matter if they knew anything about art. In fact, the people who didn鈥檛 know anything about art were probably the ones she enjoyed the most.鈥�

Weems and her husband divorced over 30 years ago but remarried seven years ago.

鈥淭hey actually got divorced for, like, 25 years, when I was 11,鈥� Elizabeth Weems said. 鈥淭hey got back together when my mom got really sick.鈥�

Hettema was one of the witnesses at their second wedding.

鈥淭hey got married in shorts by their pool,鈥� Hettema said. 鈥溾�� I brought a cake and flowers and stuff. 鈥� It was so wonderful. It was so Mary Ann.鈥�

Weems鈥� casual style was a big part of her charm, according to those who knew her best.

鈥淪he wanted people to feel comfortable, so she wore T-shirts and her funny shorts and her socks and tennis shoes,鈥� Elizabeth Weems said. 鈥淪he gave people Tootsie Roll Pops and doggie treats, so people felt really comfortable.鈥�

A memorial service in celebration of Weems鈥� life will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7, at the Albuquerque Rail Yards, 777 First Street SW.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not doing a typical reception, because she wasn鈥檛 typical,鈥� Elizabeth Weems said. 鈥淎ll she wanted at the reception was Diet Coke, chocolate chip cookies and Tootsie Roll Pops. So, that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing.鈥�

On Aug. 28, Weems Gallery will celebrate its 45th anniversary with a special art opening that evening.

鈥淲e will have an anniversary exhibition and homage to Mary Ann,鈥� Greenwalt said. 鈥溾�� It will be an opportunity for the community to gather and take in some of the memories.鈥�

Weems is survived by her husband, Regan, her brother, Michael, two children, Elizabeth and Brian, two grandchildren, Parker and Elijah, and two dachshunds, Roxie and Rocky.

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the 近距离内射合集. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at .