Miami art scene’s ‘grand dame’ and gallery pioneer Barbara Gillman dies at 86

She was one of Miami Beach’s first gallery owners, a pioneer of the city’s nascent art scene, the woman who brought Andy Warhol to South Beach, and the cook of a brisket recipe so delicious it converted vegetarians.

Barbara Gillman, a legendary Miami gallerist, died Sunday. She was 86.

She served on the advisory committee that brought Art Basel to Miami Beach, changing the city forever. She was involved in artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapping Biscayne Bay islands in hot pink. She loaned art for “Miami Vice.” She dealt with some of the world’s most important contemporary artists, including but not limited to, James Rosenquist, Herman Leonard and Nam June Paik.

Barbara had been dealing with dementia in the years before her passing, her sons said. She is survived by her adult children, Ed, Henry, Carolyn and Andrew; and her eight grandchildren: Brooke, Lindsey, Daniel, Michael, Sarah, Saskya, Rebecca and Sophia. A funeral service will be held Thursday afternoon at Mount Nebo Miami.

Barbara’s family remembers her as a loving mother and grandmother, a fierce businesswoman, a fabulous party host and one of the greatest gallery owners to grace Miami.

“She was the grand dame of the Miami art scene,” Henry Gillman said.

Making history and lemon squares

Barbara’s career left an undeniable mark on Miami and its arts scene.

Most of all, her sons stressed, she was a “champion” for Miami artists. Barbara took care in educating and promoting local artists like Purvis Young to help their careers reach new heights, Henry said. She believed that Miami’s artists were just as talented as anyone in New York City.

“Her artists were like her kids,” Henry said. “They were like family.”

And she fed them like family, too.

Her dinner parties were the stuff of legend, her sons said. After every gallery opening, she’d host hordes of people at her Belle Towers condo and feed them her famed brisket sandwiches and lemon squares. (The recipes were so renowned they were featured in a 2001 Herald article and republished below.)

Her airy apartment looked like a gallery. It was teeming with art and sculptures on every wall. A custom-made sectional sofa was positioned just right to face the view of the bay. And she kept a guest book on the console for her artists to sign and draw sketches.

“I wanted a place that would allow me to display art,” Gillman told the Herald in 2001. “I wanted this to have the look of a New York loft, with the view of Miami Beach.”

Andrew said he is touched by the outpouring of support from his mother’s former colleagues, friends and artists.

“It’s been humbling and unbelievable to hear from her former artists and people I didn’t even know,” he said. “Reaching out over the last few days, offering their condolences, but also sharing their recollections and what she did for them. I’m very proud.”

‘Ahead of her time’

Barbara’s roots run deep in Miami Beach.

Her grandparents escaped Russian pogroms and arrived in Miami in 1910. They were among the first Jewish families to settle in Miami. The family co-founded the Miami Jewish Federation, Beth David Synagogue and the Miami chapter of Haddassah, Andrew said.

Barbara proudly kept her Jewish Russian heritage alive, cooking her grandmother’s recipes on Passover and celebrating Hanukkah with her family. She grew up in her beloved Miami Beach, swimming in the ocean and reading comic books at the drugstore. As a kid, Barbara would sweep outside the apartment building her family owned and tell tenants that she was the manager.

In many ways, Barbara followed her ancestor’s pioneering footsteps. She was a visionary, Ed said.

“She was cutting edge,” Ed said. “She was ahead of her time at all times.”

She was born Barbara Seitlin on Jan. 14, 1937, making her one of the first babies born at Jackson Hospital. She attended Miami High, H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College and the University of Miami.

She opened the first iteration of the Barbara Gillman Gallery in 1979 near what is now the Design District. Today, the neighborhood is replete with luxury fashion stores, expensive restaurants and social media influencers. In the ‘80s, not so much. It was riddled with crime, Barbara said in a 2012 interview documented by Florida International University’s digital archives.

After the gallery windows were smashed for the fourth time, she relocated to Lincoln Road in 1990, she said. She later moved the gallery to Buena Vista and Wynwood. The gallery officially closed in the early 2010s.

The gallery represented Robert Thiele, Martin Kreloff, Gilberto Ruiz, Carlos Macia, Rosemarie Charlione, Purvis Young, Robert Calvo, Joseph Davoli, Dina Knapp, Janet Paparelli, Stacey Mancuso and many others. Barbara made it her business to secure grants and museum exhibitions for her artists, her sons said.

Throughout her decades-long career, Barbara remained old school. She believed art should not be bought as an investment, she said in the FIU interview.

“You buy because you like it,” she said.

The Boss, the muumuus and Warhol

Barbara’s love for the arts left a lasting impression on her children.

She taught her children to be open-minded and worldly, her sons said. Carolyn and her mother shared a love for New Orleans, music and food. She took her kids to see Ella Fitzgerald and camped out with them to snag tickets for a Bruce Springsteen concert.

And, of course, there was the time the Gillman family took Andy Warhol on a tour around Miami and to dinner at Versailles. It was 1980, and Barbara brought him down to Miami for an exhibit at the Lowe Art Museum. Warhol, who was having a blast, told the kids to stand around him and act like his bodyguards.

“It was just an experience that you’ll never get being the son of somebody else,” Andrew said.

Susan Brustman, Barbara’s best friend and longtime public relations guru, remembers her sense of humor and wit. The two would “laugh until we cried.”

Brustman laughed as she recalled the time she gave Barbara a makeover. Barbara had a habit of wearing nothing but muumuus and artsy jewelry, her friend said. Brustman opened up her closet and dumped the two dozen muumuus on the bed.

Barbara leapt onto the pile of muumuus and yelled, “Noooooo!” Brustman told her to pick two and donate the rest to charity.

Brustman especially admired Barbara’s passion, she said. Barbara was wholly dedicated to the success of her artists. To this day, she said, nobody is doing it like Barbara.

“She was a force of nature,” Brustman said. “She was somebody that glowed when things went well for the people she worked with. She was vulnerable, real, generous, down-to-earth, sweet. I’m so going to miss her.”

Though Barbara traveled all over the world and hopped all over Miami-Dade County, there was no place like the beach. When an interviewer asked if her roots were in Miami Beach, the answer was a no-brainer. She was wearing a “South Beach” t-shirt, after all.

“Oh, of course. This is where I was born,” Barbara said. “Your roots are always where you are born.”

Barbara Gillman’s after party recipes

You don’t have to be a famous Miami Beach art gallery owner to host a killer party. The following was originally written by Linda Bladholm and published in the Herald June 2001.

Russian brisket:

For Barbara’s brisket, you want it undivided and untrimmed, known as a “packers cut.” This has a strip of fat rippling through the center and a layer on top called the fat cap.

The brisket is placed in a giant roasting pan lined with foil, along with chunks of carrot, sliced onions, a sprinkling of brown sugar, a little ketchup, one packet of onion soup mix and some garlic powder. It is then covered tightly with foil and roasted 12 hours at 350 degrees.

The thick dark brown juices are drained off and poured into jars and refrigerated; the fat is removed after it hardens on top. The juice is later heated and served as gravy. The cooled brisket is sliced across the grain and can be prepared two days ahead of time. On the night of the party, Gillman simply warms up the brisket in the oven and puts out the rolls, condiments, coleslaw, desserts and coffee in a big silver warming pot.

Lemon squares:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces; 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar plus additional for sifting over bars; 2 large eggs; 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; 1/2 teaspoon double acting baking powder

In a bowl, blend 1 cup of flour, the butter and 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar until the mixture resembles meal. Pat mixture into an 8-inch square baking pan and bake in the middle of a preheated 350-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until pale golden.

In another bowl, with an electric mixer, beat eggs until thick. Beat in granulated sugar and lemon juice; mix for 8 minutes. Sift in remaining 2 tablespoons flour and the baking powder; stir mixture until combined well and pour over the baked layer.

Bake in the middle of a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes, or until golden. Sift confectioners’ sugar on top. Makes 16 2-inch squares.

This story was produced with financial support from The Pérez Family Foundation, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.