NVL people & art
Photo by Layne Randolph
JESSEL MILLER Divine Inspiration
BY LAYNE RANDOLPH
J
essel Miller is having the time of her life. She has spent decades at the heart and soul of Napa Valley’s art world, owning and operating the beloved Jessel Gallery on Atlas Peak Road since 1984. Jessel originally envisioned the former whiskey distillery as a giant gallery promoting her own and other artist’s avant-garde work, 114
NAPAVALLEYLIFE.COM
only to discover that was not commercially viable in the Napa Valley. She began painting vineyards and landscapes — “Whatever it took to keep a roof over us, and the bills paid,” she candidly explains. Over the years, the 6,500 square foot space evolved into an intoxicating mix of gallery-business-studioteaching facility-Napa Valley landmark.
Jessel is a bit of a Renaissance woman, fitting for an artist who studied her craft in the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence, Italy. She is an acclaimed artist, the author of six books (a seventh to be released soon), an art and painting instructor, a songwriter, and an accomplished businesswoman.
