In 1974, he joined Coe Kerr Gallery in New York and became a partner with the principal owner, R. Frederick Woolworth, the following year.
The gallery regularly exhibits works by artists such as George Bellows, Charles Burchfield, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Thomas Eakins, Childe Hassam, Winslow Homer, John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, Maurice Prendergast, John Singer Sargent, and Andrew Wyeth, among others.
In addition, Adelson Galleries represents several contemporary artists including Jacob Collins, Andrew Stevovich, and Jamie Wyeth.
[7] Under his direction, Adelson Galleries has produced numerous exhibitions and books, including Sargent Abroad: Figures and Landscapes,[8] From the Artist's Studio: Unknown Prints and Drawings by Mary Cassatt,[9] Maurice Prendergast: Paintings of America,[10] Andrew Wyeth: Helga on Paper,[11] Sargent's Venice,[12] Frederic Edwin Church: Romantic Landscapes and Seascapes,[13] Jamie Wyeth: Seven Deadly Sins,[14] Mary Cassatt: Prints and Drawings from the Collection of Ambroise Vollard,[15] John Marin: The Late Oils.
In November 2006, Adelson and Fowler presented the exhibition, Andrew Wyeth, Helga on Paper[28] at the New York gallery (then at 19 East 82nd Street).
From 1986 to 2001, Adelson served as a board member to the Art Advisory Panel of the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, DC.
He also currently serves as the Chair of Boston University's College of Arts and Sciences Dean's Leadership Advisory Board.
Jan previously worked for Curry Fine Art and at the Ankrum Gallery in Los Angeles in the late 1970s early 1980s and assisted the painter, Shirl Goedike.