TRIBUTE TO IAN EADE 
                      by ROBERT S. BEAL

LADIES and GENTLEMEN, for those of you who do not know who the man in the above surrealist painting is, his name is IAN EADE. He is more than a friend, he was the MAIN INSPIRATION to us all and he was the man responsible for creating a place for us all to exhibit online, THE HAMMOND GALLERY. Unfortunately, there is no more HAMMOND, due to the financial strains and difficulties in keeping the site online, Ian had to move on. I was working as the Gallery Manager on the site, while Ian was conducting his own affairs, but unfortunately, the site was eventually pulled offline. Ian is not only a great friend but a saint. He paid for everything to help exhibit us all, a truly thankless job, but his love for Surrealism and Art was so overwhelming, that the home Ian gave to us, is now a Legacy and Legend.

For those of you who do not know the true story of how HAMMOND GALLERY evolved, I can give you a short synopsis of the site and its beginnings. THE HAMMOND GALLERY was created back in 1999 and it was originally called NOWSURREAL UK.  It was the best Surrealist Art site on the Internet, not only for Surrealism, but other genres as well. Unfortunately, for Ian, he was the man who had to put up with a lot of unnecessary grief and harrassment from some real vicious and nasty scumbag people who claimed they were "surrealists" appointed by Andre Breton (which was impossible since Breton, our founder, died in 1966) and they tried to hijack and take over the site. This scheme backfired on these people bigtime and they were eventually banned from the site, permanently.

However, there was a major setback, when back in 2002, myself and three other artists were planning an online show, SURREALISM 2002, which was cancelled due to the problems that these scumbag people caused to the site. We all moved forward and Ian decided to pick up the pieces and go forward with a better site and a complete makeover, which evolved into HAMMOND. The new and improved site was a huge success, pulling in over a quarter-of-a-million hits a month. Some of the biggest names in Surrealism were exhibiting on HAMMOND and the site was growing more and more popular, with new and exciting artists wanting to come on to exhibit. Time does take a toll, because what the newer artists and the public did not realize was that it takes a real lot of money to foot the bill for everyone to enjoy the site. Ian was the sole provider of the site and it was only inevitable that he had to move on with his life.

I was deeply moved to be appointed by Ian Eade to help run his online gallery for him. He is more than a friend, he is a true surrealist. A man who created a universe of Surrealism for the world to view on his great site. HAMMOND was truly a magical place, not just another art site on the Internet where artists can exhibit for free. HAMMOND was a Home! Ian is sorely missed by us all and I am damn honored to be his friend and having the privilege to not only exhibit on NOWSURREAL UK and HAMMOND, but also helping run HAMMOND in his absence.

Robert S. Beal was another Surrealist Comrade who also exhibited on THE HAMMOND GALLERY with me and many others. Robert has painted one of the most moving portraits of IAN EADE, in his own magnificent and magical style that only R.S. Beal can do, its magic, like Ian. You see, Ladies and Gentlemen, Ian Eade is bigger than Life itself, giving us all the Magic that only Surrealism can give.

Keith Wigdor, Surrealist/August 2006