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.
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Rachel Rosenthal, 1989 September 2-3. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Joan Ankrum, 1997 November 5-1998 February 4. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Names:
Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
120 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1989 September 2-3
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Rachel Rosenthal conducted 1989 September 2-3, by Moira Roth, for the Archives of American Art, Women in the Arts in Southern California Oral History Project, in Los Angeles, Calif. Rosenthal recounts growing up in Paris; her family; their flight from Paris in 1940; living in Brazil; moving to New York in 1941; her choice to go into theatre; involvement with Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, and Jasper Johns; dancing with Cunninham's Jr. Co.; early work in sculpture; moving to Los Angeles in 1955; working at the Pasadena Playhouse; the start of the Circle Workshop; King Moody and Instant Theatre; return to visual art in 1971; the 1972 Cal Arts conference on women artists; involvement with Womanspace and the feminist movement; interest in performance and its conceptual aspects; performance pieces; workshops; the founding of DBD; and her most recent performance and tours. She recalls Josine Ianco-Starrels, Barbara Smith, Betye Saar, June Wayne, Judy Chicago, and Mimi Jacobs. Also included is a 2 p. addendum prepared by Rosenthal, 1993, which briefly summarizes events in her life since the interview.
Biographical / Historical:
Rachel Rosenthal (1926- ) is a performance artist from California.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 26 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators. Funding for this interview was provided by the Margery and Harry Kahn Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Communal Fund of New York.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Joan Ankrum conducted 1997 November 5-1998 February 4, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, in Pasadena, California.
Ankrum discusses her status as a role model for women due to her independence in leaving a difficult marriage and establishing a new career; her theater and film career and association with the Pasadena Playhouse; her discovery of Morris Broderson, the hearing-impaired nephew of her husband Morris Ankrum; encouraging Broderson's artistic talent and efforts to help him learn to speak and interact socially; her career as director of the Ankrum Gallery in Los Angeles and the artists, collectors and dealers she became involved with, among them Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg, Joseph Hirshhorn, Martha Jackson and Jake Zeitlin.
Biographical / Historical:
Joan Ankrum (1913-2001) was a gallery owner from Los Angeles, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 6 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 24 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hrs., 50 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- California -- Los Angeles Search this
Found here are personal photographs of the artist, his friends and family, his Pasadena home and Palm Springs studio circa 1930, and his travels in Mexico and the American West. There is also a set of five cabinet cards of theatre portraits and the Treasure Island set that Clark designed for the Pasadena Playhouse. Photographs of artwork consist mostly of Clark's paintings but also include reproduced engravings of California circa 1850 (filed in Photographs of Artwork, The West) and Alfred Maurer's portraits.
Negatives from the artist's personal albums contain mostly travel images of Rochefort (circa 1907), Quebec/New York (circa 1908), and the American West (circa 1919), and are accompanied by indices. Glass plate negatives document the artist's family, artwork, and Southern California landscapes. These images can be seen in the contact sheets enclosed in this series. Oversized photographs include eight "California Club" portrait paintings, two images of a mural for Polytechnic Elementary School in Pasadena, and one photograph of a screen painted for Dalzell Wilson's home in Pasadena.
Collection 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.
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:
Alson Skinner Clark papers, 1870-1962, bulk 1890-1940. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
This collection consists of two black and white photographs of artist, Lenard Kester, actor and director Gilmor Brown (founder of the Pasadena Playhouse), and gallery owner, Joan Ankrum, taken during a party at the home of actor Paul Langton in the late 1950s. Also included is a 1958 catalog of Kester's show at the Pasadena Art Museum (now the Norton Simon Museum of Art in Pasadena).
Biographical / Historical:
Author and screenwriter, Catherine Turney (1906-1998), whose credits include co-authorship of the screenplay for James Cains's novel, Mildred Pierce and author of Byron's Daughter: A Biography of Elizabeth Medora Leigh, was for many years a companion of painter Lenard Kester. Turney was among the first women screenwriters to break into the Hollywood studio system. She was also associated with the California scene painters who had gravitated to the Chouinard Art Insititue in the late 1920s and 1930s. An active researcher, writer, and reader at the Huntington Library in San Marino, Calif. Turney died September 9, 1998 in Sierra Madre, Calif.
Provenance:
Donated 1996 by Catherine Turney.
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.
