Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries Records, 1858-1969(bulk 1919-1968), in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.franrehg
Creators:
Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries
Dates:
1858-1969
bulk 1919-1968
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
21.8 Linear feet
Repository:
The Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries records measure 21.8 linear feet and are dated 1858-1969 (bulk 1919-1968). The records consist mainly of business correspondence with collectors, artists, museums and arts organizations, colleagues, and others. A small amount of Frank K. M. Rehns personal correspondence and a few stray personal papers of individual artists are interfiled. Also included are financial records, scrapbooks, printed matter, miscellaneous records, and photographs documenting most of the history of a highly regarded New York City art gallery devoted to American painting.

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note
The Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries records measure 21.8 linear feet and are dated 1858-1969 (bulk 1919-1968). The records consist mainly of business correspondence with collectors, artists, museums and arts organizations, colleagues, and others. A small amount of Frank K. M. Rehn's personal correspondence and a few stray personal papers of individual artists are interfiled. Also included are financial records, scrapbooks, printed matter, miscellaneous records, and photographs documenting most of the history of a highly regarded New York art gallery devoted to American painting.
Series 1: Correspondence contains correspondence with artists, museums and arts organizations, collectors, colleagues, and others documents the workings of Rehn Galleries from its earliest days through 1968. A small amount of Frank K. M. Rehn's personal correspondence and a few scattered personal papers of individual artists are interfiled with the business correspondence.
Series 2: Financial Records includes banking, insurance, and investment records, tax returns and related documentation, miscellaneous financial records and paid bills. Among the insurance records are detailed monthly schedules listing paintings with titles, artists, and insurance values. Miscellaneous financial records include inventories of gallery stock, notes regarding business expenses and income, and receipt books recording incoming paintings. Also included are a small number of items concerning the personal business of Frank Rehn and John Clancy.
Five volumes of Scrapbooks (Series 3) contain clippings and a small number of exhibition catalogs documenting the activities of Rehn Galleries and many of its associated artists. Additional Printed Matter in Series 4 includes material relating to Rehn Galleries and its artists, as well as publications produced by Rehn Galleries. General, art-related printed matter consists of articles, auction catalogs, advertisements, and publications of various museums, arts organizations, and schools. There is also material about artists not affiliated with Rehn Galleries. Additional printed items concern miscellaneous subjects that are not art-related.
Series 5: Miscellaneous Records, includes artwork, lists and notes, and writings. Photographs in Series 6 are of people including artists represented by Rehn as well as several not affiliated with the gallery. Noticeably absent are likenesses of Frank Rehn and John Clancy. Photographs of works of art are by Rehn Galleries' artists and others. Reginald Marsh's photographs consist of family and personal photographs that were either given to Rehn Galleries or perhaps loaned for research use, and include views of Marsh from early childhood through later life, photographs of family and friends, and a small family album. Also included are photographs are of Marsh's childhood drawings.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Series 1: Correspondence is arranged alphabetically and Series 3: Scrapbooks is in rough chronological order. Series 2, and 4-6 are arranged in categories, as indicated in the Series Descriptions/Container Listing. Unless otherwise noted, items within each folder are arranged chronologically.
The collection is arranged into 6 series:
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Correspondence, 1858-1969, undated (Boxes 1-15; 14.4 linear ft.; Reels 5849-5869)
  • Series 2: Financial Records, 1919-1968, undated (Boxes 15-17; 2.6 linear ft; Reel 5869)
  • Series 3: Scrapbooks, 1919-1940 (Boxes 23-24; 0.6 linear ft.; Reels 5869-5870)
  • Series 4: Printed Matter, 1882-1969, undated (Boxes 18-20; 2.4 linear ft.; Reels 5870-5872)
  • Series 5: Miscellaneous Records, circa 1920-1968 (Boxes 20-21; 0.7 linear ft; Reel 5872)
  • Series 6: Photographs, 1871-1966, undated (Boxes 22, 24, OV 25; 1.0 linear ft.; Reel 5872)

Historical Note

Historical Note
Frank K. M. Rehn (1886-1956), son of the marine painter Frank Knox Morton Rehn, after several years' experience as an employee of the Milch Galleries and as exhibition manager for the Salmagundi Club, opened his own art gallery in 1918. In its earliest years, the gallery operated as the Galleries of Frank K. M. Rehn. From the mid 1920s through the mid 1940s, the name used was Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries. As early as 1946, the gallery was referred to simply as Rehn Galleries. The gallery closed in 1981.
Throughout its existence, Rehn Galleries specialized in representing American painters. During the first five years Rehn's operation was a private gallery at 6 West 50th Street, New York City. Among the artists he first represented were older, established men such as J. Alden Weir, George Inness, Alexander Wyant, Theodore Robinson, Thomas Dewing, and John H. Twachtman. Occasionally, Rehn handled works by such luminaries of the period as Robert Henri, George Luks, and John Singer Sargent. Among the living artists affiliated with the gallery in its first years were Daniel Garber, Walter Griffin, Dodge MacKnight, and Robert Spencer. Rehn's most popular artist during this time was Childe Hassam, who sued for recovery of a painting that, although acquired by Rehn through a reputable dealer, had been stolen from Hassam's studio many years earlier.
Despite the newspaper publicity surrounding Hassam's lawsuit, the business was a successful venture almost immediately. Very early, a number of important collectors including Duncan Phillips, John Gellatly, John T. Spaulding, Albert McVitty, E. W. Root, and C. Vanderbilt Barton displayed confidence in Rehn's judgment and integrity, which enhanced his gallery's reputation and stature among both collectors and artists. In 1923, the gallery moved to 693 Fifth Avenue and began operating as Rehn Galleries, a commercial gallery in the same building that housed in a building that housed Kennedy and Company and the Bourgeois Galleries. At this time, Rehn hired an assistant, John C. Clancy (1897-1981), who had formerly been with Henry Reinhardt and Son and M. Knoedler.
The Rehn Galleries soon enjoyed a regular following among museum curators and collectors visiting from out of town. The gallery's roster of artists grew along with its reputation. Rehn focused almost exclusively on American painters, occasionally showing drawings and prints by artists who were primarily painters; notable exceptions were sculptor Mahonri Young and Henry Varnum Poor who, in addition to being a painter, was known for his work in ceramics. Among the painters eventually represented were: Peggy Bacon, George Bellows, Alexander Brook, Charles Burchfield, John F. Carlson, John Carroll, Howard Cook, Jon Corbino, Virginia Cuthbert, Andrew Dasberg, Sidney Gross, Edward Hopper, Alexander James, Irving Kaufmann, Yeffe Kimball, Leon Kroll, Peppino Mangravite, Reginald and Felicia Meyer Marsh, Henry Mattson, Henry Lee McFee, Kenneth Hayes Miller, Charles Rosen, Robert Riggs, Alexander Russo, Elizabeth Sparhawk-Jones, Eugene Speicher, Henry Strater, Richard Derby Tucker, Franklin C. Watkins, and Denny Winters.
In 1930, Rehn Galleries moved one block south to the Air France Building at 683 Fifth Avenue, and remained there for thirty years. John C. Clancy, Rehn's long-time assistant, became Gallery Director in 1953 after a stroke prevented Rehn from continuing to run his business in an active capacity. Eventually, Rehn's widow sold Clancy the gallery, which he continued to operate under varying names, including Rehn Gallery, Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries, Frank Rehn Gallery, and Rehn Galleries. From 1960 until 1966, The Rehn Galleries were at 36 East 61st Street from 1960 until 1966, when the gallery moved to a space formerly occupied by Kootz Gallery at 855 Madison Avenue, where it remained in business for another fifteen years.

Administration

Author
Catherine S. Gaines
Sponsor
Funding for the digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Provenance
The Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries records were loaned by John Clancy for microfilming in 1959; in 1966, this same material was donated to the Archives. Mr. Clancy made subsequent gifts of additional gallery records in 1978 and 1981. In 1985, the Whitney Museum of American Art donated to the Archives correspondence with Edward Hopper that John Clancy had loaned the museum many years earlier. A death mask of George Luks received with the collection is on extended loan to the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.
Alternative Forms Available
The records of Frank K.M. Rehn Galleries in the Archives of American Art were digitized from 24 reels of microfilm. The records have been scanned in their entirety, and total
35398
images.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Catherine S. Gaines in 2003. Previously microfilmed documents, now more logically ordered into archival series, are arranged and described according to prevailing archival standards to facilitate access. This material has been integrated with the gallery records received between 1978 and 1985.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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.
Preferred Citation
Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries records, 1858-1969 (bulk 1919-1968). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Material
John Clancy interview by Paul Cummings, July 10, 1970. Oral History Program, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Samuel Adler Papers, 1902-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Contains a recording (1 cassette; untranscribed) of Beverly Chesler interviewing John Clancy about the history of Rehn Galleries, 1973; Samuel Adler is present and participates briefly in the interview.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sketchbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Works of art Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Burchfield, Charles Ephraim, 1893-1967 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dasburg, Andrew, 1887-1979 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Speicher, Eugene Edward, 1883-1962 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bartlett, Frederic Clay, 1873-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bellows, George, 1882-1925 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Coleman, Glenn O., 1887-1932 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cook, Howard Norton, 1901-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cuthbert, Virginia, 1908-2001 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brook, Alexander, 1898-1980 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Chappell, Warren, 1904- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clancy, John C., 1897-1981 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marsh, Felicia Meyer, 1912-1978 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mangravite, Peppino, 1896- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Orton, J. Robert Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pepper, Charles Hovey, 1864-1950 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McFee, Henry Lee, 1886-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Melchers, Gari, 1860-1932 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hawthorne, Charles Webster, 1872-1930 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Henri, Robert, 1865-1929 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gellatly, John, 1853-1931 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
James, Alexander, 1890-1946 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Luks, George Benjamin, 1867-1933 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hopper, Jo N. (Josephine Nivison), 1883-1968 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Young, Mahonri Mackintosh, 1877-1957 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Winters, Denny Sonke, 1907-1985 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tucker, Richard Derby, 1903- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tucker, Allen, 1866-1939 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Spalding, John T. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Russo, Alexander Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Poor, Henry Varnum, 1887-1970 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Strater, Henry, 1896- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Spruance, Benton, 1904-1967 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sparhawk-Jones, Elizabeth, 1885-1968 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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