About Us
Photographer: Rush Jagoe
Doug Gitter began collecting contemporary American folk art and sporting art when he was in his earlies twenties and over the last thrirty years he has cultivated close and rewarding relationships with many of the artists, several of whom are now recognized in the Smithsonian Institution and many other museums. Doug treasures the time he has spent with these these self-taught artists. Most of their work came from the heart and I was really moved by it. Traveling to visit the artists reached national acclaim when a reviewer of his collection claimed, "Doug Gitter collects some of the best folk and primitive art in the South." (Southern Living Magazine, July 1995). Doug, a former restauranteur, owned Doug's Place in New Orleans, the first two restaurants in America which combined folk art with dining prior to the creation of The House of Blues. Doug created Gitter Gallery in 2006 because he wanted to share his love of the artwork with others. He began with canvas art. For the following six years,, Doug designed and developed The Clementine Hunter Collection which features hand-made ceramic serving platters and bowls. Each piece depicts what everyday plantation life was like in the rural south prior to mechanization coming to agriculture. According to Doug, when Clementine Hunter was living you could drive to Melrose Plantation, go talk to her and buy a painting for a few dollars. Nowadays the same painting might sell for several thousands of dollars. I wanted to take artwork which was once very affordable and make it affordable again so that others could enjoy a piece of American history. In August 2015, we designed and developed three new product categories to The Clementine Hunter Collection: hand-embroidered pillows, hand embroidered tea towels and hand made dinnerware. In November 2017, we introduced six new serving platters to the Clementine Hunter Collection which include: Saturday Night At The Honky Tonk, Cane River Wedding, Rocking The Baby While Grandma Knits, Tending The Flowers, Playing Cards, and Pickin' And Weighin' Cotton. For Fall of 2019, we are introducing our handmade Clementine Hunter Christmas Ornament Collection and our Mango Wood Collection. For all Clementine Hunter Collection products sold, a portion of the proceeds go towards her estate. We rececently funded the preservation, restoration and interpretation of the Clementine Hunter House at Melrose Plantation, A National Historic Landmark.
Doug Gitter resides in Metairie Louisiana with his wife Cathy and two children Chase and Annie.
