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.
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:
This collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing and digitization. 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 -- Los Angeles
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.
This series includes correspondence from artists regarding exhibition opportunities as well as correspondence with other galleries and organizations about purchases and collaborative exhibits. There are scattered price lists and sales records among the files. Additionally, the series includes papers that document Lucy Adelman's involvement in the Venice Art Walk, an annual fundraising activity to benefit the Venice Family Clinic.
Arrangement:
This series is arranged as 2 subseries:
Missing Title
1.1: With Artists, circa 1977-1991 (Box 1; 0.8 linear feet)
1.2: With Galleries and Organizations, 1980-1990 (Box 1; 6 folders)
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing and digitization. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
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 or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Modern Multiple records, 1970s-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Gerald and Bente Buck.
