Noel states:
“One photo could never represent the image for my ‘About’ page because I am truly the culmination and beneficiary of every art encounter; be it from artists, collectors, scholars, curators, art handlers, architects, framers, fellow museum trustees, and gallerists   ..literally everyone that has brought insight and perspective to my art journey. The collage above is just a glimpse of the many who have enlightened and enriched me and contribute to the resources I bring to bear to share with you!”

About Noel

After a fulfilling career as an RN, Nursing Administrator, and Oncology Research Associate at Montefiore Medical Center -Albert Einstein School of Medicine NYC, B.E. Noel decided to explore another facet of her interests. She credits the courage, the zest, and appreciation for life that her patients exhibited as the fearless, empowering underpinning for her move and career change. Noel says “There was never a dream of becoming a gallery owner… It felt more like a calling…I still remain fascinated by how my art career transpired”. It appears she applied the skills that made her a compassionate and highly respected professional in the medical field to the art world. She observed what she described as a “visceral void”; she researched solutions to fill the void and then with dogged determination went about the business of presenting consistent unquestionable excellence as her cure. She had a dual plan1) to present and avail, without compromise, a level of artistic excellence by African American artists heretofore unseen in the region and 2) to create an exquisite environment that exuded warmth and welcome to the entire community.

There were several iterations before her eponymous Noel Gallery, designed by Gantt Huberman Architects opened in the heart of Charlotte, NC burgeoning center city in 1997. Noel’s art contributions to Charlotte began early. She accepted the request to serve as an advisor to Spirit Square Arts Organization1990, which was followed by a mayoral nomination to serve on the Board of Trustees to the Mint Museum of Art where she served from 1990-1993 before being asked to serve on the Arts & Science Council Board of Trustees where she served with aplomb from1993-1999 with positions on the Executive & Grant Committees. Noel also served on the Board of Trustee for The Penland School of Craft and Design from 1999-2006 and was appointed to serve on the Governor’s Mansion Fine Art Committee by Governor Easley 2003-2005. In addition to art-related service, Noel was in Leadership Charlotte class of 1990 and The Leadership Development Initiation of The Foundation for The Carolina’s class of 2003.

Noel has received numerous awards for Best Gallery and Best Exhibitions and is the recipient of the Mint Museum of Art “Spirit Award” and The Charlotte Observer “Pride Award”
She continues to be acknowledged for her contributions and spirit of collaboration as demonstrated in the acknowledgments of Carlos Basualdo of The Philadelphia Museum of Art in the “Barbara Chase Riboud Malcolm X Steles” monograph and other gallery monographs and most recently acknowledged or her contribution of African American monographs, text and documents to the Mint Museum of Art.

Noel states “My connoisseurship was not developed over 4 years in a classroom but rather over 25 years at the foot of artists like Benny Andrews, John Biggers, Richard Hunt, Barbara Chase Riboud, Sam Gilliam; in studio visits with Juan Logan, Kehinde Wiley, Rashid Johnson, Nick Cave, Joyce Scott, and Willie Little, in the presence and presentations of African American scholars Drs Regenia Perry, David Driskell, Richard Powell, and Michael Harris; and with curators Lowery Sims, Brook Anderson, Marshall Price, Trevor Schoonmaker as well as with my most astute collectors who expand my knowledge and share my passion”.

Reflections on the “about page”
Noel states “In 2018 The New York Times ran an article with the title “Why Have There Been No Great Black Art Dealers?” What a slap in the face! On one hand, it seems to acknowledge an awareness that Black Art Dealers exists while at the same time having the audacity to declare none are “great”! The question seemed rooted in supremacy, arrogance, and ignorance. Perhaps it was a clever ploy intended to provoke an intelligent, historically accurate acknowledgment of generations of “great” Black Art Dealers. However, in phrasing the question to read more like a statement The New York Times was complicit in perpetuating a myth of inferiority towards the Black art dealer. The irony is the word “great” is defined merely as above normal. SO, to the Black dealers and gallerists who came before me, to those who were my peers and those today, the truth is we are unicorns!! I acknowledge our untold stories and laud our collective work ..our very existence as “extraordinary”. Ultimately, it was never about our individual greatness but rather the greatness-the creative genius of the Black artists we served and the phenomenal collections we helped to build.“