Vladimir Arts History

Vladimir Arts got its start in 1975, after Lew Iwlew, stationed in Germany, was honorably discharged from active duty in the U.S. Army.  He noted that U.S. servicemen and women stationed overseas were buying "art" from vendors positioned outside military bases and offering such items as paintings on black velvet.

Encouraged by Iris, now his wife, who was completing her master's program, "I spent half of 1975 and 1976 touring Europe in a camper," meeting talented artists and buying their original works.  He had little background in art at the time except a long-term interest in photography.

"I was a helicopter pilot," Lew said, "with 23 years of active and reserve duty," including almost 20 months as a helicopter gun ship pilot in Vietnam.  Like a great many people, Lew said, "I didn't know about art, but I knew what I liked."

To test his idea that Americans would want quality works by European artists, Lew spent $200 running a small ad for seven days in the Wall Street Journal.  "Ambitious American has access to thousands of paintings..." the ad began.  Lew was gratified by the 500-some responses that his modest ad evoked.

Thirty years after that beginning, Vladimir Arts and Lew and Iris Iwlew have established a worldwide, multi-million dollar business as publisher, distributor, wholesaler and retailer of original oils, acrylics, watercolors and collector graphics.