Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Laurel Gallery Records, 1944-1951, in the Archives of American Art

Summary
Collection ID:
AAA.laurgall
Creators:
Laurel Gallery
Dates:
1944-1951
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.6 Linear feet
Repository:
The Laurel Gallery records measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1944 to 1951. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through scant correspondence, photographs, printed material, an exhibition inventory, and financial records.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The Laurel Gallery records measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1944 to 1951. This small collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through scant correspondence, photographs, printed material, an exhibition inventory, and financial records.
The collection includes letters from artists and museums to gallery director Chris Ritter, and some to the gallery's co-director, Grace Borgenicht; writings on artists Milton Avery, Gabor Peterdi, and Leonard Pytlak. Financial records consist of tax records, notes, bills, price lists, artist agreements, an account book, and a sales book. Also present is an inventory from the exhibition, The New York Society of Women Artists (1947); a scrapbook and loose newspaper clippings; photographs of artists and works of art; a plan for the gallery's marketing, pricing, and financials by Chris Ritter; and photographs, notes, and drafts related to the gallery's quarterly, Laurels.
Arrangement
Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
The Laurel Gallery was founded in New York City in 1946 by painter, printmaker, and educator, Chris Ritter. The gallery, located at 108 East 57th Street, was an active supporter of contemporary American art. Ritter occasionally exhibited his own work in the Laurel Gallery, but mostly exhibited the work of other avant-garde artists, including Jimmy Ernst, Grace Borgenicht (Laurel Gallery's co-director), Claude Bentley, George Constant, Ibram Lassaw, and others. In addition to exhbitions, the gallery published four portfolios of artists' prints and a quarterly magazine. Ritter closed the gallery in 1952, around the same time Borgenicht opened the Grace Borgenicht Gallery.
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.
Existence and Location of Copies
Portions of the collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 2423 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated by gallery founder Chris Ritter in 1974.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2021.
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
Preferred Citation
Laurel Gallery records, 1944-1951. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- History Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Avery, Milton, 1885-1965 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Bentley, Claude Ronald, 1915-1990 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Constant, George Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lassaw, Ibram, 1913-2003 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lenson, Michael, 1903-1971 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pach, Walter, 1883-1958 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tourtelot, Madeline Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Peterdi, Gabor Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pytlak, L. (Leonard), 1910-1998 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ernst, Jimmy, 1920-1984 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brandt, Grace Borgenicht, 1915-2001 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ritter, Chris Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Repository Contact
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions