Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Grapestake Gallery records, 1970-1986, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.grapgall
Creators:
Grapestake Gallery
Dates:
1970-1986
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2.8 Linear feet
Repository:
The Grapestake Gallery records measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1970-1986. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operation through administrative records and artist files.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The Grapestake Gallery records measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1970-1986. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operation through administrative records and artist files.
Administrative records include correspondence with galleries, museums, collectors, dealers, and some artists, and exhibition records. Artist files include resumes, exhibition announcements and reviews, press releases, price lists, scattered photos of artwork, and scattered correspondence with artists. Artists represented include Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Philippe Halsman, Helen Levitt, Joel Meyerowitz, and others.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as two series.
  • Series 1: Administrative Records, 1974-1986 (Box 1; 1 linear foot)
  • Series 2: Artist Files, 1970-1985 (Box 2-4; 1.8 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Founded in San Francisco, California, by Ursula Gropper, Thomas V. Meyer and their father, Otto Meyer in 1974, the Grapestake Gallery was known for showing contemporary California painters, sculptors, and 20th-century American photographers. Gropper and Thomas Meyer, both artists, were proponents of photography as a fine art medium.
Artists featured in Grapestake exhibitions included Ansel Adams, whose retrospective was the gallery's inaugural exhibition, Imogen Cunningham, Greg Renfrow, Richard Misrach, Joel Meyerowitz, Leland Rice, and many others. The gallery was over 4,000 square feet, containing a primary exhibition space and three other rooms for exhibiting art, and was known for showing at least two exhibitions at a time.

Administration

Author
Christopher DeMairo
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by Thomas V. Meyer in 1987.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2021.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Preferred Citation
Grapestake Gallery records, 1970-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing 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
Art galleries, Commercial -- California -- San Francisco Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cunningham, Imogen, 1883-1976 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Meyerowitz, Joel, 1938- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Misrach, Richard, 1949- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Levitt, Helen Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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