Archives of American Art

William Nelson Copley papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.coplwill
Creators:
Copley, William Nelson, 1919-1996
Dates:
1948-1967
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.2 Linear feet
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Papers and gallery records including photographs, writings, announcements and catalogs.
Scope and Contents
REEL 2709: Announcements and catalogs for exhibitions at The Copley Galleries, Beverly Hills, California, 1948-1949; 97 photographs, mostly of installations of exhibitions at the gallery, and a few of paintings by Man Ray, 1948; and an undated essay by Copley, "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Art Dealer," 51 pages in which he describes the brief one year history of the gallery, which exhibited the work of the Surrealists, including Joseph Cornell, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Rene Magritte, Roberto Sebastian Antonio Matta Echuarren, Man Ray, and Yves Tanguy.
Scope and Contents
REEL 861: Scrapbook, 1953-1967, in 3 volumes. Includes Copley's newspaper column; magazine clippings relating to his work and exhibits; and exhibition catalogs.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Painter, New York, N.Y. and gallery owner, Calif. Died May 1996.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reels 861 and 2709 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Reel 861: Originals returned to William N. Copley after microfilming.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Material on reel 2709 donated 1976, by William Copley; material on reel 861 lent for microfilming 1975 by Copley.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
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.
Conditions Governing Use
"Portrait of an Artist as a Young Art Dealer": Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from Director, Centre Beauborg. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Terms of Use
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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Surrealism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gallery owners -- California Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cornell, Joseph Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ernst, Max, 1891-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Magritte, René, 1898-1967 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Matta, 1912-2002 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ray, Man, 1890-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tanguy, Yves, 1900-1955 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Copley Galleries (Beverly Hills, Calif.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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