Gallery founder dies at 83

Art dealer and entrepreneur Jack Solomon, whose S2 Art Group became a fixture in Las Vegas' downtown Arts District, died Saturday in a local hospice because of complications from prostate cancer. He was 83.

Although Solomon spent almost 10 years fighting prostate cancer and other health problems - including heart surgery a few years ago - he "was at home almost to the very end," according to daughter Alisa Solomon, who noted her father's determination to remain active and involved despite his illness.

Solomon and his wife, Carolyn, moved from Chicago to Las Vegas in 2001, bringing with them the S2 Art Group and Jack Gallery, which they launched in 1996.

For a decade, their offices and studio - featuring rare, century-old lithography presses made in Paris - stood as an Arts District anchor on Charleston Boulevard; the S2 Art Center is now on South Valley View Boulevard.

Before founding the S2 Art Group and Jack Gallery, the Solomons operated Circle Fine Art Corp., a national network of 38 galleries that specialized in limited-edition fine art graphics, which they operated until 1993.

Solomon spent more than five decades producing, publishing and selling fine art prints, representing a wide range of art, from the Americana of Norman Rockwell and the art deco of Erte to the op art of Victor Vasarely and the vibrant energy of LeRoy Neiman, who used to visit Solomon at S2's Arts District location.

Solomon was born Oct. 25, 1928, in Omaha, Neb. He earned cum laude bachelor of science and bachelor of laws degrees from the University of Nebraska, where he was a champion debater and wrote musical revues. Solomon later attended the University of Michigan School of Law, where he earned a master of laws degree.

Solomon began his legal career with a Chicago corporate firm and rose to become a senior managing partner of a firm specializing in art and entertainment law, where his high-profile clients included Gloria Swanson, George Raft and Margaret O'Brien.

Also in Chicago, Solomon founded Piper's Alley Corp., helping to redevelop the city's Old Town neighborhood with the Victorian-themed shopping center.

With his wife, Carolyn, and daughter, Alisa Solomon of New York City, Solomon is survived by daughters Debby Simon of Overland Park, Kan., and Rena Solomon of Evanston, Ill.; son Michael Solomon of Ann Arbor, Mich.; and three grandchildren.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Shalom Memorial Park in Chicago; details of a planned Las Vegas memorial have not yet been determined. The family requested contributions to The Hope Foundation (www.thehopefoundation.org), which conducts clinical trials to treat and combat cancer, or to the Epilepsy Therapy Project (www.epilepsy.com).

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.