The records of Los Angeles Art Space gallery measure 13 linear feet and date from 1971 to 1992. The majority of the collection consists of the gallery's exhibition files which contain correspondence, clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, slides, photos, invoices, price lists, loan records, and other materials. There is also correspondence with artists and organizations, financial and administrative records, and slides of artwork and exhibitions.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Los Angeles Art Space gallery measure 13 linear feet and date from 1971 to 1992. The majority of the collection consists of the gallery's exhibition files which contain correspondence, clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, slides, photos, invoices, price lists, loan records, and other materials. There is also correspondence with artists and organizations, financial and administrative records, and slides of artwork and exhibitions.
Most of the correspondence in the collection is from artists regarding exhibition opportunities, with other galleries and organizations about sales and collaborative exhibits and event, including with the 18th Street Gallery, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, Texas Commerce Bank, Venice Family Clinic regarding the Venice Art Walk, and The Works Gallery.
About two-thirds of the collection consists of extensive exhibition records for individual and group shows held at Art Space. Contents of files vary but may include correspondence, exhibition announcements and programs, price lists, sales records, loan agreements and other legal forms, artist resumes and statements, photographs and slides of artwork and exhibition installations, and other printed material. Particularly rich files exist for artists Marta Chaffee, David Hines, Walter Gabrielson, Janice Lowry, Lorraine Lubner, Robert Lubner, Kent Rush, Mary Schairer, Marg Starbuck, Robert Tomlinson, and Clark Walding.
Scattered financial and administrative files document the gallery's business dealings, and include price lists, a cost sharing agreement form, an inventory, business correspondence, invoices, and financial statements. Additionally, a substantial number of slides in this collection include images of artwork and of exhibitions held at Art Space. Artists Shigeo Miura and Tracy Colvill have particularly sizeable slide files. Most of the artists with slides are also represented in the exhibition files.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 4 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, circa 1977-1991 (Box 1; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1972-1992 (Boxes 1-11; 9.45 linear feet)
Series 3: Financial and Administrative Records, circa 1977-1991 (Box 11; 0.35 linear feet)
Series 4: Slides, 1971-1992 (Boxes 11-13; 2.4 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
The Art Space gallery operated in Los Angeles from 1977 to 1991 and was owned by artist, philanthropist, and activist Lucy Adelman (1909-2007). Settling in Los Angeles in 1938, Adelman was also one of the founders of the Womanspace Gallery, a cooperative gallery for feminist activities established in 1972 in Los Angeles.
Located at 10550 Santa Monica Boulevard, Art Space's first show honored the work of women artists. Specializing in contemporary art, the gallery, according to Adelman, had two purposes: "[Art Space] is for artists, creative people who communicate through many different fields of expression...It will also be a meeting place for people who wish to acquaint themselves with different concepts and directions." The gallery held 118 exhibitions before closing its doors in 1991.
Adelman and her husband, Isadore, were involved in other activities and gave generously to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Venice Family Clinic, which honored them at its annual fund-raising Art Walk Festival in 1988. Lucy Adelman died in 1997.
Provenance:
The records were donated in 1992 by Lucy Adelman, the director of Art Space.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- California
Genre/Form:
Slides (photographs)
Photographs
Citation:
Art Space records, 1971-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
A recording on two audio cassettes of "An Evening with the Los Angeles Modernists," November 7, 1990, held in conjunction with the exhibit "Turning the Tide: Early Los Angeles Moderns 1920-1950," organized by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California. Speakers include Susan Ehrlich, Paul Karlstrom, and artists Karl Benjamin, Jules Engel, Frederick Hammersley, June Wayne, and Lee Mullican.
Biographical / Historical:
Santa Barbara Museum of Art (established 1941) is an art museum in Santa Barbara, California.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The papers of Los Angeles art historian, art critic, and writer Merle Schipper measure 12.1 linear feet and date from circa 1930s to 1999. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writing and research project files, printed material, writings by others, photographs, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Los Angeles art historian, art critic, and writer Merle Schipper measure 12.1 linear feet and date from circa 1930s to 1999. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writing and research project files, printed material, writings by others, photographs, and artwork.
Biographical material consists of a notebook planner and professional contact addresses, as well as Schipper's resume and bibliography. Scattered correspondence is both personal and professional with family and colleagues.
Over one-half of the collection consists of Schipper's writing, research, project, and exhibition files. There are drafts, essays, manuscripts, notes, and research documentation about California art and artists, an exhibition of craftsman William Spratling curated by Schipper, Schipper's dissertation and additional projects on Jean Helion, the exhibition Americans in Paris in the 1950s (1997), additional exhibitions, as well as transcripts of interviews with artists. The research files on Helion include an interview transcript with Willem de Kooning about Helion and correspondence with artists about Helion, including Charles Biederman, Alexander Calder, Philip Guston, Carl Holty, Jack Tworkov, and others. Additional exhibition files are found for Visions of Inner Space (1988) and Marmo: The New Italian Stone Age (1989). Artists interviewed by Schipper include Billy Al Bengston, Willem de Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Laddie John Dill, Kenneth Noland, Eric Orr, and others.
Extensive printed materials include clippings and copies of journals and periodicals containing Schipper's writings.
There are a few scattered writings by others about art and artists. Photographs are of Schipper, artists, artwork, and places, including Paris. Artwork includes one original poster print by Kiki Smith and one drawing by Matt Mullican.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 7 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1970s-1998 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: General Correspondence, 1944-circa 1998 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writing and Research Project Files, circa 1930s-1999 (7.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-9)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1933-1997 (3.1 linear feet; Boxes 9-12, OV14-16)
Series 5: Writings By Others, circa 1944-1991 (0.2 linear feet; Box 12)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1960s-circa 1992 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 12-13)
Series 7: Artwork, 1982-1992 (0.1 linear feet; Box 13, OV16)
Biographical / Historical:
Merle Schipper (1922-2001) was an art historian, writer, and art critic active in Los Angeles, California.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Merle Solway Schipper was naturalized in Los Angeles in 1950 and received a PhD in art history from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1974. Schipper was a familiar figure on the Los Angeles art scene. Her primary scholarly focus grew out of her dissertation research on Jean Helion, but much of her writing attention was devoted to Los Angeles artists and art world events. She was a regular contributor to many art periodicals, including ArtScene, Images and Issues, Artweek, ARTnews, and the Los Angeles Daily News.
As an independent curator, Schipper's research interests led to several exhibitions, including Americans in Paris: the 50s (1979) at California State University, Northridge, Visions of Inner Space (1988) co-curated with Lee Mullican at UCLA's Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, Marmo: the New Italian Stone Age (1989), Being There/Being Here: Nine Perspectives in New Italian Art (1991), traveling exhibition sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute, and an exhibition of William Spratling for the Craft and Folk Art Museum in 1997. Schipper also taught and lectured at UCLA, USC, CSU Northridge, and Claremont Graduate School.
Merle Schipper died in 2001.
Provenance:
The Merle Schipper papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2002 by the Merle Schipper Estate via Schipper's daughter Amy Schipper Howe.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
Occupation:
Art critics -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Art historians -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
