Jessel Gallery: Four Decades of Art, Creativity, and Community in Napa Valley

By Amber T.

Back in the fall of 1984, Jessel Miller opened a small, 300-square-foot gallery showcasing the work of four artists in the former Hedgeside Whiskey Distillery on Atlas Peak Road in Napa. At that time, the surrounding fields were vast and vacant, and the area was a very different place. Today, Miller’s namesake gallery is alive and well, celebrating 40 years in business with numerous accolades as Napa’s best art gallery.

With a robust calendar of programming, classes, and events, the gallery is a hub of creativity. Along with regular receptions to introduce new artists, each month offers classes, with themes like watercolor birds or potluck acrylics classes. Miller, the founder of the Napa Valley Mustard Celebration, also hosts local writers’ salons, group shows, and open studios. Additionally, a wide variety of art, books, gifts, jewelry, and clothing are for sale onsite.

While the space has grown to 7000-square-feet, featuring dozens of artists working in a myriad of mediums, Jessel Gallery stays true to a mission of supporting the arts, and the people who create it, through thick and thin. It is the largest and oldest art gallery in the entire Napa Valley.