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thePeorian.com
Hotel Art
Hotel purchase translates into
business op for art fair artist
By Cathi Hawkinson
S
eek art and find what you
love in your own backyard.
That was the sentiment of
Kristen Charlton, former general
manager of the Mark Twain Hotel
in Peoria, when she learned that
a particular Chicago artist would
be exhibiting at the Fine Art Fair
in 2008. Familiar with Dolan Gei-
man’s work via her artist brother,
the fair gave her the opportunity
to investigate the artist further
and see his work in person.
Charlton purchased a piece
for her home and with her eye
for design, had the idea that
Geiman’s work would also look
particularly good in one of the
Studio rooms at the hotel. So she
purchased a smaller box print
from Geiman as a prototype for a
new wave of Studio rooms.
“I always loved the artwork
in that room because it was the
perfect piece to complement the
exposed brick wall,” said current
general manager Naomi Shea.
“When I became general manager
and was in charge of a full-floor
renovation of Studio rooms, I just
knew that we needed to display
Geiman’s work in all the rooms.”
Shea started the process of
selling the concept of “real art” to
her boss, hotel owner and former
Peoria Mayor Bud Grieves. That
was the easy part. The hard part
was all the details that had to be
discussed and confirmed before
the purchase, such as how many
pieces of art to buy, whether the
same work would be in each
room, whether they all would be
the same size, and the costs.
After confirming all the details,
Shea negotiated with the artist
to produce 20 larger works of art
measuring 40” x 27” for each of
the rooms on the 7th floor. The
rooms on that particular floor of
the hotel are called Studio rooms
with exposed brick walls and hip,
contemporary furnishings.
“The Mark Twain is consid-
ered a boutique hotel that caters
to the out-of-town business
person during the week,” said
Shea. “We pay close attention to
making our rooms modern, invit-
ing and eco-friendly. Dolan’s art
certainly fits the profile.”
Dolan Geiman is a nationally
recognized mixed media art-
The Present