The records of the Marilyn Pearl Gallery are dated 1925-2000, with the bulk of the ematerial from the period 1976-1993. The collection measures 7.4 linear feet and consists of artists' files, exhibition files, and business records documenting affiliated artists and gallery activities.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the Marilyn Pearl Gallery are dated 1925-2000, with the bulk of the ematerial from the period 1976-1993. The collection measures 7.4 linear feet and consists of artists' files, exhibition files, and business records documenting affiliated artists and gallery activities.
Artist files are found for: René Pierre Allain, Bernard Chaet, Stephen Greene, Clinton Hill, Pat Lasch, Michael Loew, Winifred Lutz, Jim McShea, Jeanne Miles, Henry Pearson, Pedro Perez, Stephen Robin, Charmion von Wiegand, and Ellen Weiner. They contain the following types of records in varying combinations: correspondence with the artist, collectors, galleries and museums; printed material including publicity, exhibition catalogs and announcements of Marilyn Pearl Gallery and other venues; photographs; financial records concerning sales and exhibition expenses. In general, items dated prior the gallery's existence and after its closing are printed material relating to the artist. A notable exception is the small number of the personal papers of Charmion von Wiegand that include letters from her husband, writer and editor Joseph Freeman.
Exhibition files are arranged chronologically by exhibition date, 1977, 1980-1992 and consist of correspondence, invoices, printed material, publicity, and photographs.
Business records document the routine affairs of the gallery. Included are client correspondence, inventory cards (work in stock, pieces returned to artists, and works sold), a nearly complete set of invoices for gallery sales for the period 1976-1986, consignment records, appraisals, mailing lists, guest books, and records regarding Basel Art Fairs of 1989-1993.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 3 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Artists' Files, 1925-2000 (Boxes 1-4; 3.6 linear ft.)
Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1973-1992 (Boxes 4-5; 1.15 linear ft.)
Series 3: Business Records, 1976-2000 (Boxes 5-8; 2.65 linear ft.)
Historical Note:
The Marilyn Pearl Gallery (est. 1976-circa 1993) was an art gallery in New York, N.Y. specializing American art from the 1920s-1950s.
Marilyn Pearl (Mrs. Alan Loesberg), the daughter and granddaughter of art collectors from Akron and Cleveland, Ohio, as a young child began developing an appreciation for and true love of art. After a stint as a history teacher, Ms. Pearl was determined to establish her own gallery. With help from family, her dream became a reality when the Marilyn Pearl Gallery opened at 29 West 57th Street, New York, in 1976. In 1982, the gallery relocated to 38 East 57th Street, and in 1987 moved to 420 West Broadway in SoHo. Although the gallery closed in the early 1990s, Ms. Pearl continued to operate as a private dealer and expanded her activities to international art fairs, among them the Basel Art Fair.
Among the artists represented by the gallery were: Bernard Chaet, Stephen Greene, Clinton Hill, Pat Lasch, Michael Loew, Winifred Lutz, Jim McShea, Jeanne Miles, Henry Pearson, Pedro Perez, Stephen Robin, Charmion von Wiegand, and Ellen Weiner.
Pearl's first sales were works by sculptor Winifred Lutz, known for site-specific installations. Ms. Lutz remained part of Marilyn Pearl Gallery's stable throughout its history. In addition to emerging artists, Marilyn Pearl also was interested in traditional art forms, and eventually specialized in exhibiting American art from the 1920s-1950s, with particular emphasis on geometric abstraction. In addition, Marilyn Pearl Gallery presented a number of exhibitions exploring WPA era murals, American Abstract Artists, and post-war figurative work. By the 1980s, the gallery's annual schedule usually featured summer shows of new talent; several artists first introduced in this manner developed long-term relationships with Marilyn Pearl Gallery.
Provenance:
Marilyn Pearl donated the records of her gallery to the Archives of American Art in 2002.
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.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Visitors' books
Photographs
Citation:
Marilyn Pearl Gallery records, 1925-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, compiled by Judith Zilczer, measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1992-1998. Papers kept by Zilczer in her capacity as a member of an advisory committee to the General Services Administrations (GSA) Art-in-Architecture Program, charged with recommending works of art to decorate the federal Ronald Reagan Building and International Center. The collection documents the process that resulted in the selection of three works of art: Martin Puryear's Bearing Witness, Stephen Robin's Federal Triangle Flowers, and Keith Sonnier's Route Zenith. The records also document the role of the committee as advocates for the artists when Stop Work Orders for Puryear and Sonnier were issued due to massive construction overruns.
Scope and Contents:
The papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, compiled by Judith Zilczer, measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1992-1998. Papers kept by Zilczer in her capacity as a member of an advisory committee to the General Services Administrations (GSA) Art-in-Architecture Program, charged with recommending works of art to decorate the federal Ronald Reagan Building and International Center. The collection documents the process that resulted in the selection of three works of art: Martin Puryear's Bearing Witness, Stephen Robin's Federal Triangle Flowers, and Keith Sonnier's Route Zenith. The records also document the role of the committee as advocates for the artists when Stop Work Orders for Puryear and Sonnier were issued due to massive construction overruns.
Records include correspondence and printed material about the building opening preparations and dedication ceremony; correspondence and notes about the Stop Work Order in 1995; correspondence and site proposal from Keith Sonnier; correspondence, meeting minutes and notes, projects, installations, and artists regarding the Art-in-Architecture Program; and correspondence, proposals, and architectural drawings regarding the GSA.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 1 series.
Biographical / Historical:
The U.S. General Services Administration allocates up to ½ of one percent of the estimated construction costs of a Federal building for commissioning works of art. The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, at Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Streets, had an estimated construction cost of $350 million, but became the most expensive federal building ever constructed at a price tag of more than $818 million. Judith Zilczer served on the panel to make recommendations concerning the type and location of works of art for GSA's consideration. Other panelists were Charles Atherton, Charles Blitzer, M. J. Brodie, Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Jack Cowart, James Ingo Freed, Tom Green, George Gurney, Lester Hunkele, and Alec Simpson. Because of their deliberations, Puryear, Robin, and Sonnier were awarded commissions. While these papers document Zilczer's interactions with committee members and others, they concern only her participation. The story behind the Reagan Building GSA commission forms a significant chapter in the history of late twentieth-century public patronage.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are personal papers of historian, writer and curator Judith Zilczer, which measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1973-1995, and an oral history interview with Paul Allen Reed conducted by Judith Zilczer, April 29, 1994.
Additionally, The Smithsonian Institution Archives in Washington, D.C. holds a large collection of Judith K. Zilczer Papers, 1975-2003.
Provenance:
The papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center were transferred from the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on July 9, 1998, where Zilczer worked as curator.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Topic:
Federal aid to the arts -- United States Search this
Art -- Commissioning -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Papers relating to art commissioned for the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1992-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Administered by United States General Services Administration Art-in-Architecture Program Jacob Javets Federal Building, Room 1609 New York New York 10278
Located Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building & U. S. Court Walnut Street Newark New Jersey
