The collection is arranged as nine series. Series 1: Administrative Records, 1965-2011 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-2) Series 2: Correspondence and Subject Files, 1919-2016, bulk 1971-2005 (4 linear feet; Boxes 2-6) Series 3: Artist Files, 1906-2017, bulk 1971-2011 (31.5 linear feet, Boxes 6-37, 48; 4.081 gigabytes, ER01-04) Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1921-2014, bulk 1972-2014 (7.4 linear feet, Boxes 37-45; 0.724 gigabytes, ER05-07) Series 5: Art Fair Files, 1988-2011 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 45-46) Series 6: Printed Material, 1970-2016 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 46-47) Series 7: Photographic Material, 1970-2010 (0.2 linear feet; Box 47) Series 8: Peridot Gallery Records, 1948-1971 (1.3 linear feet: Boxes 47-50) Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1980-2023 (0.4 linear feet: Box 51)
Access Note / Rights:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Summary:
The Washburn Gallery records measure 48.3 linear feet and 4.805 gigabytes. The collection dates from 1906-2017, with the bulk of material dating from 1971-2010. Founded in 1971 by Joan Washburn, the New York gallery specializes in the work of 19th and 20th American artists, and has mounted hundreds of exhibitions in its four decade history. The collection documents the gallery's activities through administrative records, correspondence and subject files, artist files, exhibition files, art fair files, printed material, photographic material, and records from the Peridot Gallery, purchased by Washburn in 1971. There is a 0.4 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2024 that includes exhibition announcements and brochures. Materials date from circa 1980-2023.
Citation:
Washburn Gallery records, 1906-2023, bulk 1971-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Joan Washburn conducted by James Wechsler in 2007 and letters from Washburn in response to Lee Hall's book, <em>Elaine and Bill: Portrait of a Marriage</em>.
Biography Note:
The Washburn Gallery (1971-2024) was a gallery in New York, New York, founded by Joan Washburn and specializing in the work of 19th and 20th American artists. Prior to Washburn's ownership in 1971, the gallery was know as Peridot Gallery.
In its inaugural year, the gallery exhibited watercolors and paintings by Jean Xceron from the 1930s, portraits by Joshua Johnson (Johnston) from the early 1800s, and bronze figurative sculptures by Richard Miller. Over the years, Washburn Gallery has represented artists working in a range of styles including abstract expressionism, surrealism, folk art, and contemporary painting and sculpture. Their stable has included James Abbe, Richard Baker, Richard Benson, Ronald Bladen, Norman Bluhm, James Brooks, Byron Browne, Arthur B. Carles, Nicolas Carone, Stuart Davis, Elaine de Kooning, Burgoyne Diller, Arshile Gorky, Marsden Hartley, Martin J. Heade, John William and John Henry Hill, Harry Holtzman, Bill Jensen, Joshua Johnson (Johnston), Gerome Kamrowski, Alice Trumbull Mason, Gwynn Murrill, Ray Parker, Ammi Phillips, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Anne Ryan, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Rolph Scarlett, Charles Shaw, David Smith, Leon Polk Smith, George Sugarman, Jack Youngerman, among many others.
Joan Washburn graduated from Middlebury College in 1951 and worked at the Kraushaar Galleries, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Museum of Modern Art, Graham Gallery, and Sotheby's Parke-Bernet before founding Washburn Gallery. Washburn purchased Peridot Gallery in January 1971 and formally changed the name to Washburn Gallery in September of 1972. The gallery has had a number of locations on the Upper East Side of Manhattan since opening its doors, including operating an additional downtown location at 113 Greene Street from 1980-1986. Before relocating to the Chelsea neighborhood in 2017, Washburn Gallery was located at 20 West 57th Street since 1992.
There is a 0.4 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2024 that includes exhibition announcements and brochures. Materials date from circa 1980-2023.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2017 and 2024 by Joan Washburn, gallery founder and director.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
