Paintings and sculptures of area artists will be on display during a four-hour preview opening of Gallery St. Avit in downtown Cape Girardeau today from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

"The public is invited to attend," said Evelyn Boardman. "Coffee and tea will be available during the preview."

Gallery St. Avit is owned by John and Evelyn Boardman. The downtown art gallery will provide a showcase for area artists, and is housed in a structure previously renovated by John Boardman, an architect, artist and sculptor.

Evelyn Boardman said her husband had been considering the idea of opening such a gallery for some time. "There needed to be more space for local artists to show their works, and many of his friends are artists. This is a different concept; there are no consignment fees."

She explained that artists will be able to rent space to display their creations. Money from the sale of the art work will go to the artists.

"We have artwork from about eight artists now, said Evelyn Boardman. "Hopefully that will increase. We have plenty of room for expansion."

Boardman said the gallery will occupy about 3,000 square feet of space and everything from paintings to sculpture and handmade jewelry will be displayed.

"We have several paintings and a few pieces of sculpture now," said Boardman.

Gretchen Magwitz, a Cape Girardeau artist, will manage the art gallery, situated at the corner of Independence and Spanish. Magwitz, a student at the Memphis College of Art, is home for the summer.

The structure at the corner of Independence and Spanish actually consists of three buildings, said Boardman. The first building, at the corner, was originally constructed as a grocery and mercantile store.

The corner building was constructed by John St. Avit Sr., who settled in Cape Girardeau during the 1850s.

"The St. Avit family was one of the few French families that settled in the area," said Boardman. "The family was quite wealthy, and very cultured people."

St. Avit was a pork packer, and later went into the mercantile business, selling groceries and English creamware and dishes. A son, John St. Avit Jr., became a Cape Girardeau physician. He died in 1942. The other son, Eugene St. Avit, ran the family business after his father died. Eugene St. Avit died in 1921.

The buildings were renovated by the Boardmans several years ago for use as their residence. It also housed an antique shop operated by Evelyn Boardman and John Boardman's architecture office.

The Boardmans later moved from the building and into one at 31 N. Main. That building serves as their residence and also houses Evelyn Boardman's Madder Rose Ltd., a retail business that sells trendy fashion accessories for women.

John Boardman operated his architecture office from 31 N. Main until recently, when he moved his office back to the St. Avit building.

"I needed more space for the Madder Rose Ltd., and he needed to hire a draftsman," Evelyn Boardman said in explaining the move. "We really didn't have the room here."

The corner building

was constructed by

John St. Avit Sr., who

settled in Cape

Girardeau during the

1850s. `The St. Avit

family was one of the

few French families

that settled in the

area.'