Duluth artist AJ Atwater and By&By Estate & Moving Sales have collaborated to display and sell estate sale prices of her original art, in her studio and gallery. AJ’s studio is also known as the historic 1886 Frank and Alison Crassweller home. On the Register of Historic Places, the Crassweller home was the first in Duluth’s Lakeside neighborhood. The same home where Frank Crassweller played chess with renowned author Sinclair Lewis. Address: AJ Atwater Art, 4701 Cooke Street

The sale is a debut of AJ’s New York City and Lake Superior abstract art works. Six prominent galleries fill the two-floor house, with sections labeled for each gallery theme. AJ said that the two things that inspired her work are Lake Superior and Manhattan. She had painted in New York City at the Art Students League and in a studio in Chinatown.

From her travels on the East Coast and in the Midwest, Atwater takes inspiration from the essence of the places around her. “What you’re doing, what I do with abstract art, is I portray the essence of what I see,” she said. “The essence of West 57th Street, the essence of Lake Superior. And that is what I’m putting down as I compose the painting.”

The show is some of her most prized works, with 130 pieces of art displayed in a gallery around the house. AJ said she took a focus on composition while making her abstract works.

“I think composition is the biggest thing,” Atwater said. “Because you look at the shoreline of Lake Superior, it’s just so massively interesting with the boulders, with the cliffs, with the lake. Every day you have fog, or you have sun, or you have placid lake, or you have a stirred up lake, a restless lake in Manhattan. It’s full of people rushing, talking, deal making.”

130 art pieces to sell

The sale is happening on Saturday, April 12th, from 11am to 4pm. And is open to the public. AJ Atwater will be there to sign paintings personally and help first-time art buyers. As she hopes the unique gallery sale will give people a glimpse into how the art may look in their homes.

For the gallery estate sale, only cash and credit are accepted. There is also optional bidding on marked pieces, which closes at 4 pm. Address: AJ Atwater Art, 4701 Cooke Street