In 1995, Burt and Missy Finger opened Photographs Do Not Bend in a small house on Dallas’ Routh Street. As they built an international reputation, and a gallery that highlights some of the world’s best photography, the Fingers moved the gallery to Dragon Street, and then once more, in 2016, to Glass Street.
It was in the Dallas Design District that the art dealers put their gallery on the map curating exhibits and eventually representing about 20 photographers. This fall, the Fingers are making the gallery’s next move.
They’re bringing Photographs Do Not Bend closer to home in Denton with a plan to open in September.
The couple said they weren’t ready to close the gallery or retire. But if they were to move, Missy Finger said the only location she’d consider was a space on the downtown Denton Square “or just off the Square,” she said. The couple lives near the headquarters of a local property management company in Denton, and through the company they found the new location: a space on the basement level of the Wells Fargo Building at 101 S. Locust St.
The new space is smaller than their Glass Street digs, but in the Fingers will have a gallery, storage space for their collection and an office space in the new 2,600-square-foot operation.
“I mean, I think this is where the culture is, the livelihood is, you know, it’s such a wonderful area of downtown,” Missy Finger said. “We basically have been Dallas people and we know the restaurants there, but we don’t know the restaurants here because we’re always cooking when we’re home here. You know we love to cook. So we’re not real restaurant aficionados in Denton. So we’re looking forward to exploring.”
The Fingers said they have come a long way since they opened the gallery in Dallas and made the commute from Denton and the house they’ve loved for decades. Missy Finger said she and Burt have listened to a small library’s worth of audiobooks on their drives from Denton to Dallas and back again.
They decided to open the gallery in Dallas because the location would put them closer to artists and Dallas’ burgeoning international art scene. On Glass Street, PDNB Gallery was across the street from the Dallas Contemporary.
“It was different than what we thought when we first decided to go into business,” Burt Finger said. “We lived in Denton, and we were private dealers. So then we moved to Dallas expecting that, you know, things would be bougie.”
For the first five years, he said, the gallery was bustling. They opened shows to big crowds, and traffic in the gallery was busy.
But sales?
They were really slow.
“And then eventually it started working out,” Burt Finger said. “But the greatest thing about the gallery was the people that we met. You know, a lot of young people just had children. They would bring the children by, and they would sit at my big desk, and we’d give them drawing materials. So they grew up in the gallery. In fact, Missy and I are the godparents [of] one of our clients.”
The couple was able to parlay their reputation as fine art photography dealers into a longstanding gallery that linked international photography shows to an anchored space in the Southwest, and they landed some iconic artists in the stable of photographers they now represents.
Steve McCurry might not be a household name, but his 1984 cover shot for National Geographic, Afghan Girl, is one of the magazine’s most recognized images. McCurry’s photograph of a young Afghan girl, Sharbat Gula, with her blue-green eyes penetrating into the viewer from beneath a burnt sienna head covering, is one of the most famous photographs in the world.
Earlie Hudnall Jr., whose work captured the lives and experiences of Houston’s Third and Fourth Wards, is among the Fingers’ represented artists, too. They also represent the clever, curious Patty Carroll, whose Anonymous Women series surprises and charms through its careful composition and eye-grabbing colors.
While photography is their bread and butter, the couple also represents Denton artist Pam Burnley-Schol, whose paintings pair the majesty of gold with the more rustic, but equally regal objects and figures of the natural world.
“When we got into this business, there was a good market in photography,” Missy Finger said. “And you know, we just really were excited about it and learning about it. And the Dallas Museum [of Art] was very supportive of what we were doing.”
Their business grew with their understanding of photography.
“We started people collecting,” she said. “We started working with young collectors. And then we couldn’t really depend on the Dallas area alone. So we did art fairs. We actually became members of the Association of International Photography Art dealers. We started doing annual shows in New York. And so that brought in another audience that was more sophisticated.”
They connected with curators at those shows, which opened a line to museums.
“We met new collectors, other collectors. And so that branched out our markets. We didn’t have to depend just on Dallas,” Missy Finger said.
Their influence has stretched beyond the gallery and their collections. Burt Finger has been a frequent expert guest on Antiques Roadshow, lending his eye and mental encyclopedia to people who have stumbled across rare photos in attics and sales. One of Burt Finger’s most successful exhibits, “Shine,” featured his collection of shoeshine boxes and vintage photos of boys hard at work spiffing up shoes. Finger said he’s considering bringing “Shine” back out for another show.
Missy said they noticed a pattern among visitors and shoppers when they were in the Design District.
“Some people in Denton just didn’t go past the lake,” she said, referring to Lewisville Lake. “They just weren’t going to go to the gallery. The same might be the case for some of the people in Dallas that won’t come here. I think we’re going to meet new people. Get a new audience.”
Burt and Missy Finger said that Denton’s lively arts and cultural scene is an exciting prospect. Both the University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University have established photography programs and impressive faculty, such as Dornith Doherty at UNT and TWU emeritus professor Susan kae Grant.
“We want to be involved as much as we can,” Burt Finger said. “So if it makes sense for us and it makes sense for them, we’re there.”
To watch out for the September grand opening announcement, follow the gallery’s website.