The Jack Rasmussen Gallery records measure 8.3 linear feet and date from 1936 to 1984, with the bulk of the records dating from 1978 to 1982. The records shed light on the Washington, DC gallery's operations through administrative records, financial and legal records, artist files, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The Jack Rasmussen Gallery records measure 8.3 linear feet and date from 1936 to 1984, with the bulk of the records dating from 1978 to 1982. The records shed light on the gallery's operations through administrative records, financial and legal records, artist files, and printed material.
Administrative records consist of files related to art organizations, several of the gallery's exhibitions, collectors, and Jack Rasmussen's career. Files include correspondence, an interview with Rasmussen conducted by Robert Bove, price lists, by- laws, guestbooks, memos, writings, and some sales records. Artist files are comprised of correspondence, exhibition announcements, price lists, slides and photographs of artwork and artists, sales records, statements, and agreements. Some newspaper clippings, sketches and illustrations, and loan agreements are also present. Financial and legal records consist of contracts, sales records, account ledgers, bills, invoices, and stationery. Printed materials include press releases, exhibition announcements, posters, and catalogs, newspaper and magazine clippings, and a couple of scrapbooks.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series.
Series 1: Administrative Records, 1976-1984 (Box 1-3; 2.6 linear feet)
Series 2: Artist Files, 1936-1983, bulk 1978-1982 (Box 3-6; 3.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Financial and Legal Records, 1978-1983 (Box 6-9; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1978-1982 (Box 8-9; .5 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
The Jack Rasmussen Gallery was established in 1978 in Washington, D.C. by painter and art dealer Jack Rasmussen. The gallery's first show was an exhibition of paintings by artist Reginald Pollack. Rasmussen Gallery went on to exhibit contemporary painters, sculptors, and audiovisual artists, many of whome were from the D.C. area. Artists exhibited at the gallery include Annie Gawlak, Robert Gates, Tom Green, Sy Gresser, Taro Ichihashi, Walter Kravitz, and Reginald Pollack. Rasmussen closed the gallery in 1983.
Jack Rasmussen began his career in 1975 as assistant director of the Washington Project for the Arts under its founder Alice Denney. After closing the gallery, Rasmussen helped launch the Rockville Arts Place program in Rockville, Maryland, and then served as executive director of Maryland Art Place in Baltimore, Maryland for 10 years. Rasmussen served as director of di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa, California, and has served as Director and Curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC, since it opened in 2005.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 1982 and 1997 by Jack Rasmussen.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- Washington (D.C.)
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Citation:
Jack Rasmussen Gallery records, 1936-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
