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Most consider art a luxury, especially in a down economy. It's no surprise, then, that many artists and galleries are suffering.

H&F Fine Arts, a gallery in Mount Rainier, opened about three years ago. But a "major downswing" in business forced owner Cheryl Fountain to reopen it as a framing business under the name Fountain Framing.

"People were still coming — just not spending money," Fountain said. Some months she did "no business," she said, while in some months she "made enough to cover the marketing costs."

Still, some artists and others in the industry are faring well. After all, the recession hasn't hit the typically affluent arts patron nearly as hard as most people.

A customer base built over 48 years has helped maintain traffic at the Museum Shop in Frederick, said co-owner Vicky Kornemann. The gallery is visited by "serious print collectors who don't appear to have been affected" by the recession, she said.

Kornemann described 2009 as the gallery's "best year ever," with sales up about 20 percent, and she expects them to grow another 20 percent this year.

Maryland's arts industry generated an economic impact of $1.05 billion in fiscal 2006, the most recent year for which data are available, according to the state arts council, part of the state Department of Business and Economic Development. That was up from $970 million the previous year.

The arts generated an estimated $37.3 million in state and local taxes in fiscal '06, up from $35 million the year before, and provided 13,762 full-time jobs, according to a study for the arts council.

The arts council itself is a significant funding source for the industry, providing $13.5 million in grants to arts organizations in fiscal 2010.

Public sector ‘booming right now'

The public art sector is "booming right now," because most states have programs allocating money for art for projects such as the expansion of a university, said Chevy Chase sculptor Barton Rubenstein.

Rubenstein creates stainless steel and bronze sculptures, incorporating water and wind. The pieces can be installed in pools and in the ground with underground reservoirs with water pumps.

Rubenstein, a former scientist, said he turned to art in 1994 because he "missed making stuff with my hands."

Even though his mother was a curator at the Smithsonian Institution, and art was often discussed at home, becoming a full-time artist "was not encouraged" by his family, he said.

More than 40 of his public art projects are on display nationwide, with about 20 projects in the area, including at Strathmore Hall in North Bethesda and Brookside Gardens in Silver Spring. He is now working on projects for the University of Massachusetts, University of Connecticut and Seminole State College in Florida.

Rubenstein has turned to cyberspace to help control his costs.

"The Internet has made bidding much more competitive," he said. He used to buy stainless steel exclusively from one provider, but he can now shop around on the Web for the best deal.

"I can just type in ‘bronze rod' and get five different manufacturers," Rubenstein said. "I've saved hundreds or thousands of dollars."

His privately commissioned work has dropped off, he said, but he's had "dry spells" even during better economic times. Also, some projects commissioned for commercial purposes have been put on hold because of the recession.

The private sector is "very hit and miss," Rubenstein said.

For R. Boots Harris, owner and operator of Discovery Galleries in Rockville and Bethesda, the misses are outnumbering the hits these days, as his galleries — like most other retail businesses — have seen lower sales.

But he is concentrating on artists whose work is still on display at his galleries.

"There are several artists with waiting lists for people to buy their products," he said.

Art is the first thing to go when personal and corporate budgets are tightened, says Joseph Craig English, a printmaker, painter and sculptor in Washington Grove. However, he also believes better times are ahead for artists.

"The recession is on the path to being over," English said. He recently attended an art show in Richmond, Va., that he thought was successful, and helped to "turn a corner" for artists.

Other income helps

Emily Greene Liddle of Brentwood teaches art in Montgomery County Public Schools while fostering her career as a painter. Her art is on display in galleries throughout the area, including the Art Whino gallery at National Harbor in Oxon Hill.

Liddle is still building her sales as an "emerging" artist and said that while sales overall haven't fallen, the type of art people are buying has changed.

"I'm not selling as many big pieces but more small pieces," she said. "It's also harder to make a sale because of the recession; people will think it over for a while and are less likely to follow through when buying a piece."

Liddle said she typically sells five "large" pieces a year, including her large-scale paintings of various fruit. However, in 2009 only three of the large pieces sold, while more of the smaller pieces were purchased.

She has kept sales up by cutting the price of her bigger pieces by "a few hundred dollars" while offering her smaller pieces for $50 less. The larger pieces usually sell for up to $1,000, with smaller ones priced at up to $250.

People are more likely to buy prints instead of original pieces, Liddle said. She also makes sure that she spends money only on necessities for her supplies and other expenses, which she said can cost $1,000 annually.

"I wait until I squeeze that last drop of paint before I buy a new tube," she said.

The recession has forced Silver Spring artist Jay Hall Carpenter to postpone some of his bigger projects. Carpenter, a sculptor, has spent 20 years creating pieces for the Washington National Cathedral and has other pieces displayed locally and across the country.

Carpenter's gross income has doubled in the last year after a tough 2008, when he worked on long-term projects for which he wasn't paid until completion.

Carpenter, who will begin teaching sculpture at Catholic University in Washington in the fall, said taking the teaching position is not directly related to the current economy.

But the teaching gig won't hurt.

"Gallery sales are down pretty significantly," Carpenter said, adding that two galleries that showed his work have closed.

Museums, arts groups hit, too

Prompted by the recession, the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore imposed a selective hiring freeze and eliminated 16 positions, according to director Gary Vikan.

"It was a hard thing to do but something we had to do," Vikan said.

The museum has also seen a significant cut in its funding from the state and Baltimore, while Baltimore County has been more stable with its funding, he said. But the museum's annual fund, fueled by private donations, has increased.

The museum, with annual attendance of close to 200,000, has a $13.4 million budget, down from $14.2 million last year, when it spent $13.7 million.

Revenues from the museum's gift shop and membership program have helped the museum weather the recession, Vikan said.

The Frederick Arts Council is trying to cope with the hard times in part by merging with the annual Frederick Festival of Arts, which is run by another nonprofit, said Shuan Butcher, executive director of the council.

The merger allowed the council to reduce the event's overhead and eliminate the admission fee, Butcher said.

Public support for arts organizations has decreased in general, Butcher said, as his council has seen a decrease in funding from local, county and state governments.

Frederick city government cut its funding by 17 percent, while county funding fell 5 percent and state funding was off 12 percent, Butcher said.