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Archives of American Art
A Finding Aid to the Mercury Galleries records, 1937-1943, in the Archives of American Art
Summary
- Collection ID:
- AAA.mercgall
- Creators:
-
Mercury Galleries (New York, N.Y.)
- Dates:
-
1937-1943
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
0.2 Linear feet
- Repository:
The records of Mercury Galleries measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1943. The collection sheds light on the gallery's brief existence through correspondence, printed material including exhibition catalogs, announcements, press releases, and newspaper clippings, photographs of artwork, one transcript from a radio discussion, and flyers from WPA art tours.
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
The records of Mercury Galleries measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1943. The collection sheds light on the gallery's brief existence through printed material including exhibition catalogs, announcements, press releases, and newspaper clippings, correspondence with artists, museums, and galleries, photographs of artwork, one transcript from a radio discussion, and flyers from WPA art tours.
Arrangement
Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
Mercury Galleries was established in 1938 in New York, New York, by Sidney Paul Schectman (also known as Paul Kollmer) and Bernard Braddon. The gallery exhibited contemporary drawings, paintings, and sculptures and was known for its abstract expressionist and surrealist art shows.
Cornell graduates Schectman and Braddon opened Artmart Galleries in late 1937 in the loft of a building owned by family. They priced contemporary art between $5 and $50 regardless of who created it and any artist could exhibit and sell their original work there for a fee. Artists who exhibited there included Cleo Hartwig, Stanley William Hayer, and many more. Schectman and Braddon repeated this business model at Mercury Galleries the following year, and later organized the Circuit Art Association using the same idea.
Located in close proximity to the Whitney Museum, Mercury held The Ten: Whitney Dissenters (1938), featuring artists Adolph Gottlieb, Ralph Rosenborg, Mark Rothkowitz (Rothko), Ben-Zion, Joe Solman, Nahum Tschacbasov, Lou Schanker, Louis Harris, Earl Kerkam (guest), and Ilya Bolotowsky. Schectman, Braddon, and Louis Harris (a member of The Ten) broadcast a radio discussion titled "What's Wrong with American Art," in support of the show. The exhibition catalog foreword was written jointly by Schectman, Braddon, and Rothko.
Another notable Mercury Galleries group show was Visions of Other Worlds (circa 1937-1940), with works by surrealist painters Joan Miro, Yves Tanguy, Max Ernst and others, African sculpture, and drawings by patients of psychiatric institutions in France. Schectman and Braddon were introduced to African art through visiting exhibitions and by the collector Ladislos Segy.
In addition to those mentioned above, other artists exhibited at Mercury during its short existence included Henri Matisse, Zoltan Hecht, Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali, poet Rachel Mack Wilson, Hananiah Harari, and John Rood.
The gallery closed in 1940.
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 3890 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 Bernard B. Braddon, co-owner of Mercury Galleries, in 1981.
Processing Information
This collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2022.
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
Mercury Galleries, 1937-1943. 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.
Related Materials
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Bernard Braddon and Sidney Paul Schectman conducted by Avis Berman, October 9, 1981.
Keywords
| Keyword Terms | Keyword Types | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) | Function | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Abstract expressionism | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Surrealism | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Interviews | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Anton, Harold | Personal Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970 | Personal Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Harris, Louis, 1902-1970 | Personal Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Kerkam, Earl, 1891-1965 | Personal Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Ben-Zion, 1897–1987 | Personal Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Archives of American Art
750 9th Street, NW
Victor Building, Suite 2200
Washington, D.C. 20001
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-7950
https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions
