The Koplin Gallery and Koplin Del Rio Gallery records measure 4.0 linear feet and date from 1972 to 2006. The records document the history of the galleries through photographic material, loan agreements, press releases, and other exhibition files for specific exhibitions, as well as exhibition catalogs, resumes, photographic material, and other materials on artists who have exhibited at the gallieries.
Scope and Contents:
The Koplin Gallery and Koplin Del Rio Gallery records measure 4.0 linear feet and date from 1972 to 2006. The records document the history of the galleries through photographic material, loan agreements, press releases, and other exhibition files for specific exhibitions, as well as exhibition catalogs, resumes, photographic material, and other materials on artists who have exhibited at the gallieries.
Exhibition files consist of inventories, loan agreements, press releases, and some photographic material for specific exhibitions held at the galleries. Some of the exhibitions include "Figure Heads & Red Herrings," "Drawings," "Eleven Former LA Artists Who Went to NY," and some of the annual International Contmeporary Art Fair files from 1986 to 1993. The "Figure Heads & Red Herrings" exhibition also contains video recording related to the exhibition.
Artist files were compiled for artists who have exhibited at the gallery. Some of the included materials in the files are resumes, photographic material, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and newspaper and magazine clippings. Some of the files also contain audio and video recordings of the artists. Some of the artists include Ida Applebroog, Sandow Birk, Joan Brown, Robert Conal, Minoko Grimmer, Martha Koplin, and Eleana Del Rio. Some of the files also contain material on the artists from before the gallery was founded.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series.
Series 1: Exhibition Files, 1982-2004 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Artist Files, 1972-2006 (3.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-4)
Biographical / Historical:
Koplin Gallery opened in West Hollywood, Calif. under the direction of Martha Koplin in 1982. In 1996, Eleana Del Rio became business partners with Koplin. In 2002, at Koplin's retirement, the name changed to Koplin Del Rio Gallery.
Provenance:
Donated 2007 and 2009 by Eleana Del Rio, gallery director and Martha Koplin, retired Koplin Gallery director.
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. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- California
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Citation:
Koplin Gallery and Koplin Del Rio Gallery Records, 1972-2006. 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.
University of California, Los Angeles, Chicano Studies Center Search this
Type:
Printed Materials
Date:
1975 Sept. 14
Citation:
Chicanarte: statewide exposicion of Chicano art, 1975 Sept. 14. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto research material on Chicano art, 1965-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The records of the Los Angeles Stendahl Art Galleries measure 7.5 linear feet and date from 1907 to 1971. The collection is comprised of administrative and financial files, correspondence, exhibition files, and subject files on numerous artists, organizations, and other art-related topics. There is one scrapbook of clippings on the artist Edgar Payne.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the Los Angeles Stendahl Art Galleries measure 7.5 linear feet and date from 1907 to 1971. The collection is comprised of administrative and financial files, correspondence, exhibition files, and subject files on numerous artists, organizations, and other art-related topics. There is one scrapbook of clippings on the artist Edgar Payne.
Administrative and financial files concern advertising, publicity, consignments, inventory, purchases, sales, leases, and biographical information on Earl Stendahl.
The bulk of the correspondence is pre-World War II and is fairly extensive. It is with artists, organizations, collectors, art historians,and galleries. Signicant correspondents include Alexander Archipenko, Federico Beltran-Masses, Alexander Calder, Federico Cantú, Jean Charlot, Couvoisier Galleries, José de Creeft, Demotte Inc., Jerome Eddy, Lillian Genthe, Arthur Hill Gilbert, George B. Guthrie, Rockwell Kent, Louis Kronberg, Gisella Loeffler, Carlos Mérida, Isamu Noguchi, Walter Pach, Diego Rivera, Waler Elmer Schofield, David Alfaro Siquieros, Ladislas Szecsi, Wildenstein & Company, and many others.
Files are found for about ten exhibitions, including Etching and Engravings by the Old Masters (1921), Airview Paintings (1930), American Landscape Art (1930), Arts of New Guinea (1964), and for exhibitions of Emil Gelhaar, Wassily Kandinsky, Sydney Laurence, and Roberto Montenegro.
Subject files are found for numerous artists, art topics, galleries, and foundations. Most of the files consist of printed materials, but there is correspondence and additional primary source material found in files for Nicolai Ivanovich Feshin, the Thomas Gilcrease Foundation, Armin Hansen, Joseph Kleitsch, Aston Knight, José Clemente Orozco, Edgar Payne, Ralph M. Pearson, Pablo Picasso, William Ritschel, Diego Rivera, Ethel B. Rose, Guy Rose, Walter Elmer Schofield, David Alfaro Siquieros, Ladislas Szecsi, William Wendt, and Ignacio Zuloaga.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 4 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Administrative and Financial Files, 1923-1957 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1923-1968 (2.0 linear feet; Box 1-3)
Series 3: Exhibition Files, circa 1921-1967 (0.4 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 4: Subject Files, 1907-1971 (4.6 linear feet; Box 3-8, OV 9)
Biographical / Historical:
Earl Stendahl established Stendahl Art Galleries in 1911 in Los Angeles, California.
Earl Stendahl (1887-1966) came to Southern California from a small town in Wisconsin. He began showing young Los Angeles artists at his downtown restaurant, The Black Cat Café. He opened his gallery in The Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard and organized shows focusing primarily on California Impressionists of the early twentieth century, including Edgar Payne, Guy Rose, William Wendt, Nicolai Fechin, and Joseph Kleitsch.
Stendahl Art Galleries also began to sell European and Latin American modern art. In 1939, Stendahl hosted one of only two non-museum exhibitions of Pablo Picasso's masterwork, Guernica, to benefit Spanish War orphans.
As early as 1935 Stendahl began promoting ancient artifacts from Mexico and Central America. Stendahl's first client for pre-Columbian art and artifacts was noted collector Walter Arensberg. Stendahl and the Arensburgs became friends and Stendahl helped the Arensburgs build one of the most significant collections in the U.S.
The galleries are currently owned by Ronald W. Dammann, Stendahl's grandson.
Provenance:
The Stendahl Art Galleries records were donated by Alfred Stendahl in 1976. An album of clippings was donated by Stendahl in 1995 via Nancy Moure.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the 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.
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:
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.
Business correspondence, photographs, slides of artists' works, press releases and clippings, primarily documenting the 1967 exhibitions in Los Angeles and Paris of Henry Miller's 70 watercolors and etchings. Sale of these art works donated by Miller went to a building fund for the Westwood Art Association.
Biographical / Historical:
Art gallery, Los Angeles.
Provenance:
Donated 1994 by Richard Campbell, director of the Los Angeles Art Association, who found the records in the archives of the Los Angeles Art Association (which he also donated, 1990-1992).
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 records of Jancar Gallery, located in Los Angeles, California, measure 2.5 linear feet and 23.80 GB and date from circa 1972 to 2015, with the bulk of the papers dating from 2006 to 2014. The collection includes exhibition and artist files; administrative and financial records; printed and digital material; and records of the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Jancar Gallery, located in Los Angeles, California, measure 2.5 linear feet and 23.80 GB and date from circa 1972 to 2015, with the bulk of the papers dating from 2006 to 2014. The collection includes exhibition and artist files; administrative and financial records; printed and digital material; and records of the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery.
Exhibition and artist files make up the bulk of the collection. They include artist resumes; artist statements; exhibition planning materials; slides and photographs of work; exhibition announcements and catalogs; price lists; consignment agreements; correspondence; clippings; and digital media such as digital photographs and videos. Also included are materials related to the "narratives of the perverse" exhibition (circa 2008) and materials related to the gallery's exhibition history.
Artists documented within the exhibition and artist files include Martha Alf, Judy Chicago, Robert Cumming, Linda Day, Hildegarde Duane, Micol Hebron, Mary Jones, Harriet Korman, Melissa Meyer, Susan Mogul, Richard Newton, Ilene Segalove, and Marie Thibeault, among others.
Administrative and financial records include mailing list materials, invoices and agreements, and digital records.
The printed materials include exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, exhibition posters, clippings, and ephemera.
Also found in this collection is a selection of Tom Jancar's records related to the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery, which Tom Jancar operated in Los Angeles with Richard Kuhlenschmidt from 1980 to 1982. These records are primarily administrative/financial records and printed material, and also include a file on artist David Askevold; some records are in digital format.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series.
Series 1: Exhibition and Artist Files, circa 1972-2015, bulk 2006-2015 (Box 1; 1 linear foot, ER01-ER46; 21.34 GB)
Series 2: Administrative and Financial Records, circa 1980s, 2006-2014 (Box 2; 0.3 linear feet, ER47-ER48; 0.128 GB)
Series 3: Printed and Digital Material, 2005-2014 (Box 2; 0.4 linear feet, OV 4, OV 5; ER49-ER52; 0.239 GB)
Series 4: Records of the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery, circa 1977-1982 (Boxes 2-3; 0.6 linear feet, OV 6; ER53-ER56; 2.09 GB)
Biographical / Historical:
The Jancar Gallery (established 2006-closed 2016) was a Los Angeles, California art gallery operated by Tom Jancar. The gallery opened in a building on Wilshire Boulevard before relocating to its Chinatown location on Chung King Road in the summer of 2008. Jancar Gallery did not specialize in any particular kind of art, exhibitions included collage, painting, photography, sculpture, multimedia installation, etc., but it showed predominantly women artists for much of the time it was open. In a short 2014 interview with Christine Palma (possibly at the Photo LA art expo), Tom Jancar gives the statistic as 70-80% female artists showing at the gallery.
Tom Jancar has a BA in art history and an MFA in studio art from the University of California, Irvine. In 1980, he and Richard Kuhlenschmidt opened the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery. That gallery closed in 1982. In 2006, he opened Jancar Gallery, which he operated until it closed in 2016.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Richard Kuhlenschmidt Gallery records, 1980-1992. This collection includes materials related to the Jancar/Kuhlenschmidt Gallery.
Provenance:
The Jancar Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art by Tom Jancar.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of born-digital records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
The Irving Blum Gallery and Ferus Gallery announcements consist of 32 announcements for exhibitions at the Los Angeles Ferus Gallery (1957-1966) and its successor the Irving Blum Gallery (1966-circa 1972). Exhibition announcements are for many exhibitions of southern California contemporary and pop artists, as well as New York artists. Artists represented by announcements include John Altoon, Don Bachardy, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Robert Irwin, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Craig Kauffman, Roy Lichtenstein, Edward Moses, Kenneth Noland, Ad Reinhardt, Ed Ruscha, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol, among others.
Scope and Content Note:
The Irving Blum Gallery and Ferus Gallery announcements consist of 32 announcements for exhibitions at the Los Angeles Ferus Gallery (1957-1966) and its successor the Irving Blum Gallery (1966-circa 1972). Exhibition announcements are for many exhibitions of southern California contemporary and pop artists, as well as New York artists. Artists represented by announcements include John Altoon, Don Bachardy, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Robert Irwin, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Craig Kauffman, Roy Lichtenstein, Edward Moses, Kenneth Noland, Ad Reinhardt, Ed Ruscha, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol, among others.
Although these announcements are scattered, they provide insight to and documentation of the southern California LA art scene and the Beat era. The exhibition announcements themselves are quite unique.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Ferus Gallery Announcements, 1961-1965 (Box 1; 20 folders)
In 1957, Walter Hopps (1932-2005) and Edward Kienholz (1927-1994) opened the contemporary art Ferus Gallery on North La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Kienholz sold his share to Irving Blum (b. 1930) one year later. Hopps left in 1962 to become curator and, later, director of the Pasadena Art Museum. Ferus Gallery closed in 1966 and Irving Blum maintained sole ownership and changed the gallery's name to Irving Blum Gallery.
Ferus Gallery was the first gallery in the Los Angeles area to show contemporary American art, and focused heavily on contemporary Southern California artists, such as John Altoon, Larry Bell, Billy Al Bengston, Wallace Berman, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, Ed Kienholz, Ed Moses, Richard Ruben, among many others. Likewise, Ferus Gallery helped to solidify the reputations of many established New York artists, including Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Richard Diebenkorn, Andy Warhol, and others.
The inaugural exhibition at the Ferus Gallery was "Objects on the New Landscape Demanding of the Eye" (March 15 - April 11, 1957), a group show including the work of Frank Lobdell, Jay DeFeo, Craig Kauffman, Richard Diebenkorn, John Altoon and Clyfford Still. Los Angeles artists who had their first solo shows at the gallery included: Wallace Berman (1957), Billy Al Bengston (1958), Ed Moses (1958), Robert Irwin (1959), John Mason (1959), Kenneth Price (1960), Llyn Foulkes (1962), Larry Bell (1962) and Ed Ruscha (1963).
In 1957 the gallery was temporarily closed after LAPD officers arrested and charged Wallace Berman with obscenity over work in his exhibition. It was his first and last solo show.
In 1962 "Andy Warhol: Campbell's Soup Cans" was Andy Warhol's first solo pop art exhibition and the first exhibition of the Soup Cans. Five of the canvases sold for $100 each, but Blum bought them back to keep the set intact.
Irving Blum designed many of the exhibition announcements for the gallery with a graphic aesthetic.
In 2007, "The Cool School" was released, a documentary film about the Ferus Gallery and its eccentric artists.
Related Material:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Irving Blum conducted by Paul Cummings on May 31-June 23, 1977.
Provenance:
Mrs. Rochella Orchard donated the Ferus Gallery and Irving Blum Gallery announcements on February 22, 1979.
Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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 -- California
Citation:
Irving Blum Gallery and Ferus Gallery and announcements, 1961-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
The records of Los Angeles art gallery Richard Kuhlenschmidt Gallery measure 7.6 linear feet and date from 1972 to 2018 with the bulk of the material dating from 1980 to 1992. The collection comprises administrative records, correspondence with colleagues, artists, galleries, and museums, artist files, exhibition files, and printed materials for the Kuhlenschmidt Gallery and other galleries.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Los Angeles art gallery Richard Kuhlenschmidt Gallery measure 7.6 linear feet and date from 1972 to 2018 with the bulk of the material dating from 1980 to 1992. The collection comprises administrative records, correspondence with colleagues, artists, galleries, and museums, artist files, exhibition files, and printed materials for the Kuhlenschmidt Gallery and other galleries.
Administrative records consist of address and appointment books, guest books, gallery history records, and business records. Artist files are for Cindy Bernard, Nayland Blake, Barbara Bloom, John Knight, Louise Lawler, William Leavitt, Allan McCollum, Matt Mullican, Jack Pierson, Mitchell Syrop, James Welling, and others.
Exhibition files include records of the final exhibition held at the Jancar Kuhlenschmidt Gallery in 1982, the Coop Himmelb(l)au exhibition Six Projects for Four Cities (1990), the symposium "Welcome to the Millenium: Architecture Strikes Back," and a few other exhibitions. Printed materials are for the Kuhlenschmidt Gallery and other galleries.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series.
Series 1: Administrative Records, 1979-2014 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1984-1992 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Artist's Files, 1972-1996 (4.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-6)
Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1981-1992 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 6-7)
Series 5: Printed Materials, 1977-2018 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 7-9)
Biographical / Historical:
The Richard Kuhlenschmidt Gallery (est. 1980-1993) was a commercial gallery in Los Angeles, California, that focused on conceptual and post-conceptual art.
Richard Kuhlenschmidt (1951- ) studied art and film before becoming an exhibition designer at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana where he worked with Tom Jancar. The two friends opened and operated the Jancar Kuhlenschmidt Gallery from 1980 until 1982. Kuhlenschmidt continued to operate as the Richard Kuhlenschmidt Gallery from 1982 to 1985, the Kuhlenschmidt Simon Gallery from 1986 to 1988, and again as the Richard Kuhlenschmidt Gallery from 1989 to 1993.
Artists such as Cindy Bernard, Nayland Blake, Barbara Bloom, John Knight, Louise Lawler, William Leavitt, Allan McCollum, Matt Mullican, Jack Pierson, Mitchell Syrop, James Welling, and others were represented by Kuhlenschmidt. The gallery held the exhibition Joe Bishop / AIDS Benefit (1985) and the exhibition Six Projects for Four Cities (1990) highlighting the work of architecture firm Coop Himmelb(l)au.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an interview with Richard Kuhlenschmidt conducted on June 27, 2014 by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, for the Archives of American Art, at the Jonathan Club in Santa Monica, C.A. and the Jancar Gallery records, circa 1972-2015, bulk 2006-2015.
Provenance:
The Richard Kuhlenschmidt Gallery records were donated in 2001 and 2014 by Richard Kuhlenschmidt.
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. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
The Rosamund Felsen Gallery records measure 28.9 linear feet and date from 1949 to 2014, with the bulk of the records dating from 1978 to 2014. The records shed light on the gallery's operations primarily through administrative records, artist files, exhibition and event files, financial records, born digital material, photographs, and slides.
Scope and Contents:
The Rosamund Felsen Gallery records measure 28.9 linear feet and date from 1949 to 2014, with the bulk of the records dating from 1978 to 2014. The records shed light on the gallery's operations primarily through administrative records, artist files, exhibition and event files, financial records, born digital material, photographs, and slides.
Administrative records consist of advertising files, property records, a gallery notebook, gallery digital files, and more. Also included in this series are several folders comprised of Rosamund Felsen's personal and professional papers and photographs. Artist files consist of resumes, slides and photographs of artists and their work, printed mnaterial, some sales and consignment records, and correspondence. Artists represented in the collection include Richard Jackson, Kaz Oshiro, Tim Ebner, John Boskovich, Jeff Gambill, Jeffrey Vallance, Mitchell Syrop, Mac James, Marnie Weber, Keith Sklar, Leland Rice, Erika Rothenberg, Peter Lodato, Paul McCarthy, Jim Shaw, Al Ruppersberg, Ilya Kabakov, Lari Pittman, Cisco Jiménez, Chris Burden, Mike Kelley, and Heidi Kidon.
Exhibition and event files relate to Rosamund Felsen Gallery exhibitions and performances as well as a number of art fairs and exhibitions held at other galleries and museum spaces. The files contain consignment and sales records, check lists, born digital material, photographs and slides, installation directions, printed material, and more. Financial records contain primarily sales records, invoices, some correspondence, and receipts.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as four series.
Series 1: Administrative Records, 1968-2013 (2 linear feet; Box 1-2, OV 30-33)
Series 2: Artist Files, 1949-2013, bulk 1978-2006 (19.7 linear feet; Box 22-25, OV 34)
Series 3: Exhibition and Event Files, 1979-2014 (3.7 linear feet; Box 22-25, OV 34-36)
Series 4: Financial Records, 1978-2014 (3.5 linear feet; Box 25-29)
Biographical / Historical:
The Rosamund Felsen Gallery was established in 1978 in Los Angeles, California by Rosamund Felsen. The gallery closed its physical location in 2016 after nearly four decades as a widely influential contemporary art gallery.
In 1960, Rosamund Felsen began her art career working as an assistant registrar for the Pasadena Art Museum, and eventually became curator of prints. Felsen also worked at Gemini GEL: Graphics Editions Limited alongside her second husband, Gemini co-founder Sidney Felsen. From these positions, Felsen became friendly with both established and younger artists, learned to mount exhibitions, and participated in art-related operations. In 1977, Timothea Stewart asked Felsen if she would like to work at her new gallery. After two exhibitions, Felsen took over the Timothea Stewart Gallery and started her own.
Rosamund Felsen gallery exhibited artists working in various mediums, including video and sound, and frequently showed live performance art. Early artists exhibited at the gallery included Richard Jackson, Keith Sonnier, Maria Nordman, Chris Burden, and William Wegman. Felsen gallery opened Robert Rauschenberg's In + Out City Limits: Los Angeles (1981) on New Year's Eve; and added artists Jeffrey Vallance, Mike Kelley, Lari Pittman, and Erika Rothenberg to its roster by the end of the 1980s. Felsen brought on a list of new artists in the 1990s, including Paul McCarthy, Renee Petropoulos, Tim Ebner, Meg Cranston, Steven Hull, and Nancy Jackson. The gallery continued to show solo and group exhibitions of its artists, and featured a run of smaller artist-curated exhibitions of local and international artists. The Project Wall exhibitions included artist/curators Andrea Bowers and Steven Hull and showed European artists Erwin Wurm and Nils Norman. By 2004, Felsen's artists were all living in Los Angeles except for two, video artists Judith Barry and Joan Jonas.
In 1990, the gallery moved from Los Angeles to West Hollywood on Santa Monica Boulevard. Four years later, Felsen Gallery moved to a location in the Bergamot Station Arts Center, where it remained until 2015. After Bergamot, the gallery moved to the Arts District in Los Angeles. Rosamund Felsen Gallery closed its physical location in 2016, but continued representing a number of artists online.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Rosamund Felsen conducted by Anne Ayres, October 11, 2004.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in several installments from 2014 to 2016 by the Rosamund Felsen Gallery via Rosamund Felsen, gallery founder and owner. Rosamund Felsen Letters and Postcards were donated in 2016 by Rosamund Felsen.
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. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
Rosamund Felsen Gallery records, 1949-2014. 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.
The David Stuart papers and gallery records measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1984. The collection sheds light on Stuart's personal and professional life through scattered correspondence, photographs, and appraisal records; and his galleries' operations through scant artist files, exhibition files, photographs, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The David Stuart papers and gallery records measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1984. The collection contains Stuart's personal and professional papers as well as gallery records. Personal and professional papers include correspondence concerning Stuart's career in New Orleans jazz music; appraisal records of pre-Columbian artifacts; papers related to the Louis Armstrong Statue Fund in New Orleans; scattered family papers and personal photographs; and more. Gallery records shed light on the operations of both galleries owned by Stuart through scant artist, exhibition, collector, and gallery files; printed material such as newspapers clippings and gallery posters; and photographs of the gallery, artwork, and artists.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as two series.
Series 1: David Stuart Personal and Professional Papers, 1910-1984 (Box 1; 11 folders)
Series 2: Gallery Records, 1960s-1983 (Box 1-2, OV 3; 1.1 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
David Stuart (1910-1984) was a gallery owner and owner of a jazz shop and record label in Los Angeles, California. Stuart opened Jazz Man Record Shop in Hollywood in 1939, and then in 1941 started a record label, Jazz Man Records. Stuart parted ways with both the label and the shop by 1946. In 1961, David Stuart along with his friend, Edward Primus, founded the Primus-Stuart Gallery in Los Angeles, California. In the same location two years later, Stuart founded David Stuart Galleries. The gallery specialized in showing emerging contemporary artists and pre-Columbian art and artifacts. Included in the list of artists shown at Stuart's galleries is John Altoon, Oliver Andrews, Sorel Etrog, Marvin Harden, and June Harwood.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Jacqueline Anhalt Stuart in 1985.
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.
Occupation:
Gallery directors -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Art dealers -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
David Stuart Papers and Gallery Records, 1910-1984. 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.
The Adele Bednarz papers consist of material related to the Adele Bednarz Galleries in Los Angeles, California measure 0.01 linear feet and date from 1962 to 1979. The papers include business correspondence with Stanton Macdonald-Wright and others; exhibition invitations, 1970-1976; a typescript, "Paper into Art;" information concerning the Adele Bednarz Galleries including a photograph of the Galleries' exterior and a partial inventory of graphic works; clippings and printed matter.
Scope and Contents:
The Adele Bednarz papers consist of material related to the Adele Bednarz Galleries in Los Angeles, California measure 0.01 linear feet and date from 1962 to 1979. The papers include business correspondence with Stanton Macdonald-Wright and others; exhibition invitations, 1970-1976; a typescript, "Paper into Art;" information concerning the Adele Bednarz Galleries including a photograph of the Galleries' exterior and a partial inventory of graphic works; clippings and printed matter.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection, the papers are arranged as one series.
Series 1: Adele Bednarz papers, 1962-1979 (Folder 1; 36 items)
Biographical / Historical:
Adele Bednarz was an art dealer and owner of the Adele Bednarz Galleries based in Los Angeles, California. The Adele Bednarz Galleries operated from roughly the early 1960s until the mid 1970s. The gallery was located at 902 N. La Cienga Boulevard in Los Angeles, California and represented artists such as John Leeper, Robert Frame, and Kenneth Glenn. Adele Bednarz Galleries mostly focused on figurative art created by West Coast artists and closed its doors in 1976.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1980 by Adele Bednarz.
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. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. 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 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 dealers -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
The records of Seattle's avant-garde Linda Farris Gallery measure 13.4 linear feet and date from 1969-1995. The bulk of the records consist of artists' and exhibition files. Also found are gallery business correspondence, administrative files, event files, reference files, records of sales, scattered legal files, the personal papers of gallery owner Linda Farris, and printed materials.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Seattle's avant-garde Linda Farris Gallery measure 13.4 linear feet and date from 1969-1995. The bulk of the records consist of artists' and exhibition files. Also found are gallery business correspondence, administrative files, event files, reference files, records of sales, scattered legal files, the personal papers of gallery owner Linda Farris, and printed materials.
Business correspondence is with galleries, dealers, publishers, museums, and other businesses. Administrative files are varied and include advertising and promotion materials, exhibition schedules, mailing lists, guest books, a scrapbook, and gallery history.
Artists' files are found for many contemporary American artists that interested Linda Farris or were represented by the gallery. The contents of each file vary but many include photographs and slides, writings, correspondence, and printed materials. Files for Lynda Barry, Grisha Brusking, Charles Clough, Ronnie Landfield, Charles Luce, Michael Lucerno, Sherry Markovitz, Louise Nevelson, Barbara Noah, and Beverly Pepper are particularly rich. Exhibition files are for Linda Farris Gallery exhibitions and include printed materials, correspondence, loan and consignment agreements, and photographs.
Event files cover anniversary celebrations, lectures, panel discussions, and receptions. There are 17 sound cassette recordings of "Art Now" lectures and "Focus" panel discussions. Scattered reference files contain collected materials on subjects of interest to the gallery. There are scattered financial, sales, and legal files. Sales records cover 1970-1979.
Linda Farris' personal papers contain printed materials about her and the gallery and other materials concerning her professional and curatorial work outside of the gallery. There is also a transcript of an oral history with Farris and a news interview.
Printed materials include published books and magazines, clippings and exhibition catalogs and announcements.
Photographs are scattered throughout adminstrative files, exhibition files, event files, and Linda Farris' personal papers.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1975-1991, undated (Box 1; .7 linear feet)
Series 2: Administrative files, 1970-1995, undated (Box 1-2, 14; 1 linear feet)
Series 3: Artists and Exhibition files, 1969-1995, undated (Box 2-9, 15; 6.6 linear feet)
Series 4: Events files, 1971-1990, undated (Box 9, 14; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 5: Reference files, 1969-1994, undated (Box 9-10; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 6: Financial, Sales and Legal files, 1970-1995 (Box 10; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 7: Linda Farris Papers, 1972-1995 (Box 10-11; .9 linear feet)
Series 8: Printed Materials, 1970-1995 (Box 11-14; 2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
The Linda Farris Gallery was Seattle's leading venue for contemporary art during its twenty-five years of operation.
Linda Farris opened Gallery East in Bellevue in 1970, and a year later moved to Pioneer Square in Seattle, changing the name to Linda Farris Gallery in 1973. The gallery continued to present contemporary art there until closing in December 1995. Art dealer Linda Farris began representing a group of promising artists, all graduates of the University of Washington. Greg Kucera of the Greg Kucera Gallery noted in an article for the Seattle Weekly, "Their work could be loosely seen as a movement, complete with aesthetic interrelationships, convenient marriages, an unintelligible manifesto in the form of Dennis Evans' quirky pronouncements…" From the same article he states, "Her avant-garde gallery changed forever the nature of being an art dealer in Seattle." It was among the three or four most influential galleries in the Pacific Northwest.
The gallery held exhibitions of many nationally known contemporary artists, including Sam Francis, Louise Nevelson, and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as Northwest artists Jeffrey Bishop, Dennis Evans, Sherry Markovitz, Nancy Mee, Norie Sato, and Patti Warashina. The latter group started with the gallery and remained loyal at the time of its closing in 1995.
Art dealer, collector and free-lance curator Linda B. Farris (1944-2005), a native of San Francisco and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley (1966), was an active participant in and style setter for the Seattle art world for the twenty-five years she was in business. As a member of the art community she actively supported the Henry Art Gallery at the University of Washington, Pilchuck Glass School, and Seattle Art Museum's Contemporary Art Council, and served on the boards of directors of Henry Art Gallery and Factory Visual Arts. Farris curated "Eight Seattle Artists" in 1981 for the Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art and "Self Portraits" in 1983 for the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery. She also led the movement to keep Henry Moore's "Vertebrae" from leaving Seattle, and instituted a series of talks, panel discussions, performances, and tours in her gallery, and in and around Seattle.
This note draws heavily on the Archives of American Art's West Coast Regional Collector Paul Karlstrom's collection description written upon acquisition of the papers.
Related Materials:
An oral history interview with Linda Farris conducted in 1975 by Sally Swenson, is located in the University of Washington University Libraries Digital Collections.
Provenance:
The Linda Farris Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art by owner Linda Farris in 1995 at the time she closed the gallery.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. 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.
Correspondence between painter Lillian Genth and dealer J.F. Kanst, of the Kanst Art Gallery, Los Angeles, Calif., 1927-1928, including 9 letters and 2 telegrams from Genth to Kanst concerning her paintings on consignment at the Kanst Art Gallery, 4 carbons of letters from Kanst to Genth, and sales and shipping records. Also included ia a letter from Genth to Miss Orwig, May 29, 1930, concerning the shipment of a painting and a portrait of Genthe by Wayman Adam.
Biographical / Historical:
Art gallery, Los Angeles, Calif., also used name Kanst Art Galleries. Genth was a painter, New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Transferred from the Library of the National Museum of Art, 1991.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The records of Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, based in Southern California, measure 18.9 linear feet and 2.52 GB and date from 1960 to circa 2014, with the bulk of the items dating from 1987 to 1996. The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, operated from 1986-1996 and featured the work of prominent contemporary artists, such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, John Altoon, Fletcher Benton, Howard Ben Tre, Ciel Bergman, Squeak Carnwatch, Dale Chihuly, Duck-Hyun Cho, Roy De Forest, Heidi Fasnacht, Robert Hudson, Terence La Noue, Donald Lipski, Nam June Paik, Ed Paschke, Alan Rath, Zizi Raymond, Pablo Reinoso, among many others. The collection includes correspondence, scattered administration records, exhibition files, extensive artists' files that also include many video recordings, financial and legal records, printed and digital materials, and photographic materials.
Scope and Contents:
The records of Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, based in Southern California, measure 18.9 linear feet and 2.52 GB and date from 1960 to circa 2014, with the bulk of the items dating from 1987 to 1996. The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery, operated from 1986-1996 and featured the work of prominent contemporary artists, such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, John Altoon, Fletcher Benton, Howard Ben Tre, Ciel Bergman, Squeak Carnwatch, Dale Chihuly, Duck-Hyun Cho, Roy De Forest, Heidi Fasnacht, Robert Hudson, Terence La Noue, Donald Lipski, Nam June Paik, Ed Paschke, Alan Rath, Zizi Raymond, Pablo Reinoso, among many others. The collection includes correspondence, scattered administration records, exhibition files, extensive artists' files that also include many video recordings, financial and legal records, printed and digital materials, and photographic materials.
Correspondence is with artists, museums, galleries, and collectors regarding exhibitions, sales, and acquisitions of artwork. Administration records include appraisals, mailing lists, materials related to gallery events, a rolodex, and a list of artist contracts. Exhibition files are found for only a few of the gallery's exhibitions, including American Artists in Jewelry (1987), Private Reserve (1988), Fresh Visions 1 (1989), Fresh Visions 2 (1989), and Multiple Parts (1994).
There are extensive artists' files containing correspondence, printed and digital material, resumes, slides, and photographs documenting the gallery's relationship with and exhibitions of many prominent artists. These files also contain numerous audio and video recordings of interviews with artists, exhibitions, documentaries, and video art.
Financial and legal records mostly consist of sales records of artwork by various artists, in addition to materials on a lawsuit, a sublease for exhibition space, and a few invoices.
Printed materials include Dorothy Goldeen Gallery press releases, exhibition announcements, press reviews, newsletters, clippings, and one videocassette of a broadcast news program.
Photographic materials mostly consist of slides and transparencies of artwork by artists represented by the gallery. There are a few images of the gallery building.
Dorothy Goldeen papers include travel notebooks, itineraries, receipts, and other ephemera from domestic and international trips taken by Goldeen; lecture notes; personal correspondence with artists, associates, and others; and files for several exhibitions from after the Goldeen Gallery closed. Also present are blog posts and a contact list from the art advisory business Goldeen started after closing her gallery.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 8 series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1979-2012 (1.3 linear feet; Box 1-2, 19)
Series 2: Administration Records, circa 1987-circa 2010 (1.2 linear feet; Box 2, 19)
Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1987-1995 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Series 4: Artists' Files, 1961-2007 (12.3 linear feet; Boxes 3-14, 19-20, OV 17-18, 2.52 GB; ER01-ER02)
Series 5: Financial and Legal Records, 1987-2005 (0.8 linear feet; Box 15)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1986-2014 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 15-16, 20, 22)
Series 7: Photographic Material, 1960-2005 (0.8 linear feet; Box 16, 20)
Series 8: Dorothy Goldeen Papers, 1976-2013 (1 linear feet; Box 20-21)
Biographical / Historical:
The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery (1987-1996) was an art gallery in Santa Monica, California, founded by Dorothy Goldeen.
Dorothy Goldeen graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied sculpture and textile design. In 1973, Goldeen began her career in the arts working in San Francisco, California at the Hansen Fuller Gallery which later became Fuller Goldeen Gallery.
In 1987, Goldeen moved to Los Angeles and founded the Dorothy Goldeen Gallery. Historically significant artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz and Nam June Paik were represented by her gallery as well as influential, emerging Los Angeles artists. Other notable artists include Robert Arneson, Paul Kos, Ed Paschke, and Alan Rath.
In 1996, Goldeen closed her gallery and launched the Dorothy Goldeen Art Advisory in Santa Monica. Goldeen often travels internationally as an art consultant for private and institutional clients, advising them on the acquisition and resale of art.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also has an oral history interview with Dorothy Goldeen conducted by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp in 2014.
Provenance:
The Dorothy Goldeen Gallery records were donated by Dorothy Goldeen to the Archives of American Art in 2003, 2014, and 2021.
Restrictions:
Boxes 19-22 are access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information. 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.
Rights:
All correspondence: Permission to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Dorothy Goldeen. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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 -- California
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Citation:
Dorothy Goldeen Gallery Records, 1960-circa 2014, bulk 1987-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
A portion of 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.
Artist's files, including business correspondence, price lists and invoices, newspaper and magazine clippings, press releases, photographs and slides, exhibition announcements, and catalogs and brochures from artists represented by the Esther Robles Gallery.
Arrangement:
Files are arranged alphabetically.
Biographical / Historical:
Art gallery; Los Angeles, Calif. Est. 1947. Closed 1979.
Provenance:
Donated 2005 and 2009 by Robert Robles, husband and business partner of Esther Robles who died in 2001.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
The Dwan Gallery records measure 2.3 linear feet and consist primarily of files of exhibitions curated by Virginia Dwan at Dwan Galleries in Los Angeles (1959-1967) and New York (1965-1971). Found within this nearly comprehensive set of exhibition files may be lists of exhibited works, price lists, photographs, slides or color transparencies of installations, invitations, full-size posters, magazine and newspaper clippings and exhibition catalogs.
Scope and Contents:
The Dwan Gallery records measure 2.3 linear feet and consist primarily of files of exhibitions curated by Virginia Dwan at Dwan Galleries in Los Angeles (1959-1967) and New York (1965-1971). Found within this nearly comprehensive set of exhibition files may be lists of exhibited works, price lists, photographs, slides or color transparencies of installations, invitations, full-size posters, magazine and newspaper clippings and exhibition catalogs.
Artists that held exhibitions at the Dwan Gallery in New York and Los Angeles include: Robert Goodnough, Robert Richenburg, Larry Rivers, Philip Guston, Yves Klein, Salvatore Scarpitta, Arakawa, Martial Raysse, Ad Reinhardt, Arman, Franz Kline, Edward Kienholz, Claes Oldenburg, Niki de Sainte Phalle, Joan Mitchell, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, Raymond Parker, Kenneth Snelson, Carl Andre, Sol LeWitt, Robert Smithson, and Anastasi. Also, the exhibition files are nearly comprehensive and include: Language to be Looked at and/or Things to be Read annual series (1967-1970), Boxes (1964), Earth Works (1968), My Country 'tis of Thee (1962) and 10 (1967 and 1968). Many of the multiple artist shows were created and organized by gallery director John Weber and/or Virginia Dwan. Many of these exhibition files include full-sized posters and panoramic photos showing installations.
Also found are records created by a consulting firm hired by the Dwan Gallery to inventory the exhibition files prior to donation to the Archives of American Art. These guides appear at the beginning of each series and outline a chronology of exhibitions held at each branch.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Los Angeles Exhibition Files, 1959-1967, after 1981 (Box 1-2, 5, OV6, OV8; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 2: New York Exhibition Files, 1965-1971, after 1982 (Box 2-4, OV7; 1.0 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
In 1959, Virginia Dwan opened her first gallery on 1091 Broxton Avenue in the Westwood Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Her independent wealth allowed her to open a gallery without worrying about business and sales. Three years after opening, the Dwan Gallery moved into a new Westwood Village space especially designed to express the gallery's contemporary aesthetic. In 1965, Virginia Dwan moved to New York City and founded an east coast branch of the Dwan Gallery at 29 West 57th Street.
Early exhibitions at the Dwan Gallery showed Abstract Expressionist artists and works of art from New York which Dwan consigned from other galleries. After traveling to New York and France, Virginia Dwan's interests and tastes manifested in exhibitions by 1961 with Yves Klein. Through Klein, Dwan made connections to other Nouveaux Réalistes artists that the gallery featured in solo and group shows. Later exhibitions featured Land and Minimilist artists. Dwan recognized that many of her shows were not considered salable but continued to show the avant-garde. She saw the gallery as an opportunity to expose the public to different styles of art.
Virginia Dwan maintained a close and personal relationship with many of her artists. She allowed large stipends to gallery artists and invited them to spend time at her home in Malibu, California. When working with artists concentrating on found objects, Dwan would accompany them on scavenger hunts and shopping trips. In the case of Robert Smithson and other Land Art artists, she traveled to offsite locations to visit works of art in progress. Dwan relied on her longtime gallery director, John Weber to interact with collectors as she preferred to maintain her connection with the artists.
The Dwan Gallery Los Angeles closed in mid-1967 but the New York branch remained open. By 1971, Virginia Dwan felt pressure to support her thirteen artists through a period of economic insecurity. She decided to close the gallery secretly and only informed her artists at the last minute. The final exhibition at Dwan Gallery New York closed in June of 1971.
Related Materials:
Also found within the Archives of American Art is an interview with Virginia Dwan conducted March 21 through June 1, 1984 by Charles Stuckey.
Separated Materials:
Dwan Gallery exhibition catalogs that were donated to the Archives in 1989 were transferred to the Smithsonian Institution American Art and National Portrait Gallery Library.
Bard College's Center for Curatorial Studies and Art in Contemporary Culture holds Dwan Gallery materials related to exhibitions in the Library and Archives.
Provenance:
The Dwan Gallery records were donated in 1996 by Virginia Dwan, the former owner of the gallery.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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 -- New York (State) -- New York -- Exhibitions Search this
Art -- California -- Los Angeles -- Exhibitions Search this
The Frank Perls papers and Frank Perls Gallery records measure 23.8 linear feet and date from 1920-1983, with the bulk dating from 1949-1975. Personal papers include writings, military records, appointment calendars, and photographs. Gallery records date from its opening in 1939 until its closure in 1981 and consist of financial, sales, and legal records; exhibition files; exhibition catalogs and announcements; subject files that contain a variety of correspondence with artists, dealers, galleries, museums, and friends and family, as well as reference materials and photographs; and scrapbooks.
Scope and Content Note:
The Frank Perls papers and Frank Perls Gallery records measure 23.8 linear feet and date from 1920-1983, with the bulk dating from 1949-1975. Personal papers include writings, military records, appointment calendars, and photographs. Gallery records date from its opening in 1939 until its closure in 1981 and consist of financial, sales, and legal records; exhibition files; exhibition catalogs and announcements; subject files that contain a variety of correspondence with artists, dealers, galleries, museums, and friends and family, as well as reference materials and photographs; and scrapbooks.
Personal papers contain biographical materials, including military records from Perls' service in the army during World War II, personal photographs, documentation on his estate settlement, and numerous short stories. Of particular interest are Perl's stories about his interactions with Pablo Picasso and his work to uncover fraud, fakes, and corruption in the art world. There are also many photographs of Picasso, photographs of family, the war, and Perls, including two original photographs of Perls by Man Ray.
Gallery sales, purchases, consignments, insurance appraisals, loans, provenance research, and general business expenses are well documented in the General Business and Financial Records. Perls jointly owned artwork with several galleries in New York, including the Curt Valentine Gallery and M. Knoedler Gallery, and these consignment and joint sales are documented in the invoices. A complete accounting of the Gallery's income and expense reports from 1950-1971 is also be found in this series. Artists extensively documented through financial transactions are William Brice, James Strombotne, and Howard Warsaw.
Extensive exhibition files document the gallery's exhibitions and Perl's curatorial work. Files contain varied documentation, such as photographs, catalogs, announcements, and publicity for Frank Perls Gallery shows from 1939 through 1971. Artists represented in this series include Sam Amato, Robert Chuey, Jaques Lipchitz, Pablo Picasso, James McGarrell, and James Strombotne. Files are also found for the two major retrospective exhibitions Perls organized and curated, Matisse Retrospective at University of California, Los Angeles and Sixty Years of Picasso Prints at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, both in 1966. Additional information about these exhibitions is also found in the Subject Files.
Subject Files are extensive and varied in name, content, and topic. They consist mostly of correspondence with friends, family, colleagues, artists, critics, galleries and dealers, clients, arts organizations and associations, publications, and others. There are also reference files and exhibition files for exhibitions held at other galleries and museums in which Perls was interested, guest curated, or loaned artwork. The contents of each file unit varies, but many include correspondence, photographs, appraisal records, sales records, invoices, reports, and membership records. The files highlight his close personal relationship with many artists, including William Brice, Rico Lebrun, James McGarrell, Channing Peake, Pablo Picasso, and James Strombotne. Subject Files also contain abundant correspondence with colleagues and family members, including his brother Klaus, who owned and operated the Perls Gallery in New York. Many of the files concern Perl's work with art documentation and authentication. Subject Files have been arranged according to Frank Perls original order.
Finally, scrapbooks contain newspaper articles, catalogs, and announcements about exhibitions at the Perls Gallery in New York during the late 1930s and the Frank Perls Gallery in Los Angeles during the 1950s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 5 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Frank Perls papers, circa 1920-1981 (Box 1-2, 28; 1.1 linear feet)
Series 2: General Financial and Business Records, 1949-1975 (Box 2-4, 23-27; 3.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1937-1975 (Box 5-6; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Subject Files, circa 1939-1983 (Box 6-22; 16.5 linear feet)
Series 5. Scrapbooks, 1937-1957 (Box 28; 0.3 linear feet)
Historical Note:
Frank Perls (1910-1975) was founder and sole owner of the Frank Perls Gallery in Beverly Hills, California.
Frank Perls was born in Germany on October 23, 1910. His parents, Hugo and Kaethe Perls, owned one of the leading art galleries in Berlin, and sold the work of many well-known artists. Artists works included in the gallery inventory were pieces by Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Cézanne, among others. His parents enjoyed a close friendship with Picasso, a relationship Perls maintained until Picasso's death in 1973. After his parents divorce in 1931, his mother left Germany and eventually opened the Galerie Kaethe in Paris.Frank Perls studied art history at the Universities of Munich, Berlin, and Frankfurt and joined his mother at the Galerie Kaethe in 1932.
Frank Perls immigrated to the United States in 1937 and partnered with his brother, Klaus Perls, to open the Perls Galleries in New York. Two years later he moved to California and opened the Frank Perls Gallery on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. During those first years, the Gallery hosted exhibitions by Man Ray, Eugene Berman, and John Decker.
Perls closed his gallery in 1942 when he enlisted in the United States Army. Because he was fluent in both French and German, Perls served as an interpreter at the Military Intelligence Service, European Theater of Operations. He landed in Normandy with the 30th Infantry Division and was awarded the Bronze Star in 1944. In 1945, Perls was assigned to the Arts and Monuments Section of Allied Military Government in Germany. He was honorably discharged in September, 1945.
After the war, Perls returned to Los Angeles and managed the recently opened Associated American Artists Gallery in Beverly Hills. The gallery was organized in 1934 and marketed art to the middle classes with the opportunity to purchase prints at affordable prices. Perls made significant contacts during his tenure at the gallery and eventually opened his own Beverly Hills gallery in 1950.
The Frank Perls Gallery on Camden Drive was closely associated with the Pierre Matisse Gallery and the Curt Valentin Gallery in New York, both major sources of exhibition materials for the early years. Perls introduced southern California to artists he believed represented the best modern art of America and Europe - Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Ben Shahn, Georgia O'Keeffe, Marc Chagall, Paul Klee, and Jean Dubuffet. Between 1950 to 1954, Frank Perls Gallery organized the first West coast exhibitions of Joan Miro, Marino Marini, and Alberto Giacometti. Perls also gave exhibitions to newly emerging artists of Southern California artists, including William Brice, Robert Chuey, Rico Lebrun, James McGarrell, Channing Peake, and Howard Warsaw.
Perls moved his gallery to Wilshire Boulevard in 1965 and stopped representing California artists at that time to focus primarily on major exhibitions of Henri Matisse and Picasso. In 1966, he helped organize an extensive traveling Henri Matisse exhibition at UCLA called Matisse Retrospective. Perls worked with Matisse's children, Pierre, Jean, and Marguerite Duthuit, to identify 345 prints and sculptures and attach family inventory numbers to them.
Frank Perls also organized several large Picasso exhibitions, including the Bonne Fete Monsieur Picasso exhibit at UCLA in 1961 and the 45 Selected Picasso Graphics exhibition at Frank Perls Gallery in 1971. For his work in preparing these major exhibitions in California of Matisse and Picasso, Perls was made a life fellow of the Los Angeles County Museum.
Perls was a member of the Art Dealers of America, serving for several years on the Board of Directors and as director. He was also dedicated to exposing art fakes and forgeries, earning a reputation for discovering, exposing, and pursuing disreputable art appraisers and dealers. Perls wrote extensively about modern art and artists, as well as his experiences in short stories that often appeared in print.
Frank Perls died on February 8, 1975 from complications following open-heart surgery. The Gallery remained open until 1981 while his executor and family distributed the gallery inventory.
Provenance:
The Frank Perls papers and Frank Perls Gallery records were donated by Joan Hazlitt, one of the executors of the Perls' estate, from 1976-1988.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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.
The Blum Helman and Joseph Helman Gallery records measure 125 linear feet and date from circa 1969-2003. The collection includes records from Joseph Helman Gallery in St. Louis, Blum Helman Gallery locations in New York and Los Angeles, and the Joseph Helman Gallery in New York. Material includes extensive artist files; client files; exhibition files; registrar records (including loan and shipping records); diaries and phone logs; correspondence; inventory cards; other business records; and photographs of artworks. Artists represented include Joe Andoe, John Duff, Bryan Hunt, Richard Serra, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Moskowitz, Donald Judd, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Richard Tuttle, William Baziotes, Donald Sultan, Dennis Oppenheim, Edda Renouf, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Blum Helman Gallery and Joseph Helman Gallery were art galleries in New York, New York, St. Louis, Missouri and Los Angeles, California. From 1968-1972, Joseph Helman owned and operated the Joseph Helman Gallery in St. Louis. Helman subsequently sold the Gallery to Ron Greenberg. In 1974 Helman opened the Blum Helman gallery in New York and Los Angeles with Peter Blum. In 1995, Blum retired, and the Gallery became Joseph Helman until it close in 2002.
Provenance:
Donated in 2023 by Joseph and Urusla Helman.
Restrictions:
Client files (boxes 1-25) and financial ledgers and bank statment (boxes 41-42) are access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings and born-digital records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
Art galleries -- California
Art galleries, Commercial -- Missouri -- Saint Louis
The Ankrum Gallery records measure 41.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 1990s, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1990. The papers include over 395 artists files, general gallery correspondence, project files, administrative records, exhibition files, collector and client files, financial material, printed material, 1 unbound scrapbook, and photographs. Also included are personal papers of gallery founder Joan Ankrum and her nephew, artist Morris Broderson.
Scope and Contents:
The Ankrum Gallery records measure 41.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 1990s, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1990. The papers include over 395 artists files, general gallery correspondence, project files, administrative records, exhibition files, collector and client files, financial material, printed material, 1 unbound scrapbook, and photographs. Also included are personal papers of gallery founder Joan Ankrum and her nephew, artist Morris Broderson.
General correspondence is with artists, museums, collectors, and clients, and generally concerns sales, exhibitions, and consignments. Correspondents include Irving Block, Morris Broderson, Naomi Caryl, Suzanne Jackson, Joseph and Olga Hirshhorn, among many others. Correspondence is also found in the artists files and the collector/client files.
Project files document various events, benefits, and projects undertaken by the gallery, including a UNICEF benefit, "Up Against Hunger," the Exceptional Children's foundation, and the Young Art Patrons.
Administrative files document many activities of the gallery, such as the gallery's and Joan Ankrum's membership in the Black Arts Council, the California Arts Council, and the Art Dealers Association of California of which Joan Ankrum was a primary organizer. Also found are publicity files, a file on the history of the gallery, leases, floor plans, insurance documents, lists of graphics for sale, and other miscellany.
Exhbition files appear to be incomplete, but do include files for Huichol Indian's art, "The Art of African Peoples" (1973), "Five Contemporary Mexican Painters" (1977), Ethiopian Folk Painting (1978), San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild All Media Exhibition (1982), "25th Anniversary Exhibition" (1985), among several others.
Extensive artists' files include correspondence, price lists, photographs and slides,resumes and biographical material, and sales invoices. Files are found for Benny Andrews, Carlos Almaraz, Richard Bauer, Irving Block, Naomi Caryl, Bernie Casey, Frank Duveneck, Lorser Feitelson, Bruno Groth, David Herschler, Jessie Homer, Suzanne Jackson, Buffie Johnson, Samella Lewis, Helen Lundeberg, Arnold Mesches, Henry Miller, Melvin Schuler, Arthur Secunda, Ken Shores, Jean Varda, and Zev, among many others. The Pat Alexander and Andy Nelson files also contain motion picture film.
Collector and client files document the gallery's relationship with over 115 collectors, museums, and art centers. Files may include correspondence and sales records and are found for Edith Halpert, Olga and Joseph Hirshhorn and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Krannert Art Museum, Laguna Art Museum, Palm Spring Desert Museum, Paramount Pictures, San Diego Museum of Art, Staempfli Gallery, and Storm King Art Center, among many others.
Financial material documents sales through numbered invoices, consignments, loans, and insurance valuations. Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements, bulletins, periodicals, and newspaper clippings. One unbound scrapbook contains clippings and exhibition materials.
Photographs are of artwork, artists, and gallery openings. Additional photographs are found in the artists' files.
Joan Wheeler Ankrum personal papers document her personal and professional relationship with family, artists, and collectors. They include correspondence, personal writings, personal financial materials, printed material and loose scrapbook materials, family photographs and photographs of her as an actress, and artwork from various artists.
The papers of artist Morris Broderson, nephew of Joan Ankrum, document his professional relationship with the gallery as his primary dealer. Included are biographical materials, correspondence, publicity files, travel files, projects, exhibitions, collector/client files, financial material, printed material, photographs, and artwork.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 12 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1961-1994 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Project Files, 1965-1987 (0.25 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Administrative Records, 1961- circa 1990s (1 linear foot; Boxes 1-2)
Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1961-1991 (1 linear foot; Boxes 2-3)
Series 5: Artists' Files, 1957-1994 (22.5 linear feet; Boxes 3-25, 41-42, FC 43-45)
Series 6: Collector and Client Files, 1960-1994 (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 25-28)
Series 7: Financial Material, 1962-1990 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 28-30)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1957-1994 (2 linear feet; Boxes 30-32, 41)
Series 9: Scrapbook, 1960-1988 (3 folders; Box 32)
Series 10: Photographs, circa 1960s-circa 1990s (0.35 linear feet; Boxes 32, 42)
Series 11: Joan Ankrum Personal Papers, circa 1900-1993 (2 linear feet; Boxes 32-34, 41)
Series 12: Morris Broderson Papers, 1941-1989 (7.2 linear feet; Boxes 34-42)
Biographical / Historical:
The Ankrum Gallery was established 1960 in Los Angeles by American film actress Joan Wheeler Ankrum and William Chalee. The gallery closed in 1989.
Joan Wheeler Ankrum and William Challee opened Ankrum Gallery on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1960 with a one-man show of Ankrum's nephew Morris Broderson. With a focus on contemporary California artists, Ankrum Gallery represented over 395 artists during its 30 years in operation, including Benny Andrews, Carlos Almaraz, Richard Bauer, Irving Block, Naomi Caryl, Bernie Casey, Frank Duveneck, Lorser Feitelson, Bruno Groth, David Herschler, Jessie Homer, Suzanne Jackson, Buffie Johnson, Samella Lewis, Helen Lundeberg, Arnold Mesches, Henry Miller, Melvin Schuler, Arthur Secunda, Ken Shores, Jean Varda, and Zev. In addition, the gallery was among the earliest to exhibit the work of black artists. The gallery also held exhibitions of world artists, which included "Art of African Peoples" (1973), "Yarn Paintings of the Huichol Indians" (1973), "Five Contemporary Mexican Painters" (1977), and "Ethiopian Folk Painting" (1978). Ankrum Gallery closed in 1989.
Art dealer and gallery owner, Joan Wheeler Ankrum was an actress before establishing the Ankrum Gallery primarily to showcase the work of her deaf nephew, Morris Broderson. Born in 1913 in Palo Alto, California, she began acting at the Pasadena Playhouse where she met her first husband Morris Ankrum with whom she had two sons, David and Cary Ankrum. She married gallery co-owner and partner William Challee in 1984. She helped organize the Los Angeles Art Dealers Association and the Monday Night Art Walks on La Cienega Boulevard. She was a member of the relatively short-lived Black Arts Council. Joan Wheeler Ankrum died in 2001 at the age of 88.
Morris Broderson (1928-2011) was a deaf painter. His first one-man show was at the Stanford Museum in 1957, followed by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. By 1959 he'd won two awards from the Los Angeles County Museum, and appeared in the Whitney Museum's "Young America" show in 1960. His travels influenced his work, including the hand gestures of Kabuki art in Japan. His work is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, among others. Following Joan Ankrum's death in 2001, Broderson was represented by her son David Ankrum.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Joan Ankrum, one conducted by Betty Hoag, April 28, 1964, and a second by Paul Karlstrom, November 5, 1997-February 4, 1998. Additionally, there is an oral history interview with Morris Broderson conducted by Paul Karlstrom, March 11-13, 1998.
Provenance:
The Ankrum Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art by Joan Ankrum in 1995.
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.
