Howard’s Not in the House

One of a dozen Victoria Haven shows at Howard House: putting big names on the map.

Gallerist Billy Howard stunned Seattle last month by closing Howard House after thirteen years to become a financial advisor for Ameriprise Financial. “I’m advising a couple [art] clients privately,” says Howard.

People were also shocked back in 1997 when he opened his first space in his Capitol Hill home two days a week. “Regina [Hackett] called in her breathy voice and said, ‘Billy, I tried to come, I don’t know where it is, if this is a great performance piece or what, but wow!’” More wows followed as he expanded to Belltown and Pioneer Square.

“Billy changed the art scene,” says Suyama Space curator Beth Sellars. He launched Robert Yoder, Matthew Picton and Mark Takamichi Miller. “He introduced the ‘alternative’ space,” says Sellars, “giving permission to examine new ways of presenting art, as he did on his stairway, his dining room table, his own bed. He also helped to inspire the notion of artist-run spaces.”

“We proved that Seattle artists could be placed in great collections, from the Metropolitan Museum to the Whitney to SAM,” says Howard. “A Tacoma Art Museum curator brought me a list, and he said, ‘This is what I want from your gallery,’ and I found him a collector to buy it. The secret is, you’re like Ari Gold on Entourage, trying to get the best opportunity for the artist, and on the other side, you’re the connection to the money people.”

Now that Howard is a money person, what place does he think art should occupy in a balanced portfolio? “I don’t recommend art as an investment. The art market follows the S&P pretty closely. I’ve seen artists’ work appreciate 500 percent, like Will Ryman’s.” He could have sold you a Matthew Day Jackson for $8,500 in Seattle; now you’d pay six figures at Sotheby’s. “That’s called opportunity risk in the financial world.”

Howard says the point is to cultivate taste. He has a friend who started out liking box wine and worked his way up to become a Barolo connoisseur; in art, Howard helped him graduate from Dali to Joseph Park. “My friend asked, and I advised. And now my friends ask about financial products and I advise. It’s fun.” Which is more than you can say about the art market these days. •