Boston dealer Victoria Munroe, who runs galleries on Newbury Street and in East Hampton, NY, is closing up shop in Boston leaving her local artists and local collectors one less outlet. Since the credit crisis began, 9 Boston galleries have packed it in, according to WBUR’s report.

That’s possibly far fewer than most expected but also evidence that the middle market remains—buffeted by high rents, the recession, competition from online dealers and art fairs—the most fragile place in the art world:

Sara Miller, an independent art adviser, will miss using Victoria Munroe Fine Art as a resource. One of her main clients is Boston architect and philanthropist Graham Gund. She manages his vast private collection.

“It’s a strange sort of art market out there,” Miller observed, “in the sense that it has been tough on the mid-range and down galleries.”

Meaning galleries like Victoria Munroe’s. “Blue chip” art, top-tier artists and the priciest galleries haven’t been battered by the economy in quite the same way, she said. […]

Miller explained how Victoria Munroe has helped feed collectors (and aspiring collectors) a diverse and steady diet of locally made art that doesn’t have a $1 million price tag.

How One Gallery Closing Affects the Art Market Food Chain (WBUR)