Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Parish Gallery records, 1940-2013, bulk 1991-2013, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.parigall
Creators:
Parish Gallery
Dates:
1940-2013
bulk 1991-2013
Languages:
The collection is in English.
Physical Description:
6.4 Linear feet
11.73 Gigabytes
Repository:
The records of Parish Gallery, located in Washington, D.C., measure 6.4 linear feet and 11.73 gigabytes and date from 1940 to 2013, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1991 to 2013. This collection consists primarily of exhibition files, but also includes administrative files, as well as some biographical material related to Norman Parish's career before opening the gallery.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The records of Parish Gallery, located in Washington, D.C., measure 6.4 linear feet and 11.73 gigabytes and date from 1940 to 2013, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1991 to 2013. This collection consists primarily of exhibition files, but also includes administrative files, as well as some biographical material related to Norman Parish's career before opening the gallery.
Exhibition files include printed materials, photographic material, correspondence, loan agreements, born digital material, and other materials related to exhibitions held at Parish Gallery. In some cases exhibition files serve as artist files as well, with additional materials related to artists' work. Notable artists included within these files are Wadsworth A. Jarrell, Oggi Ogburn, Evangeline J. (E. J.) Montgomery, Bruce McNeil, Sandi Ritchie Miller, Marilyn Horrom, Samella Lewis, Herbert Gentry, and Tayo Adenaike.
Administrative files include materials related to Galleries 1054, where Parish Gallery was located; as well as a proposal from Black Artists of DC; correspondence; and clippings.
Norman Parish biographical material includes documents related to Norman Parish's art career and honors and awards he received.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series.
  • Series 1: Exhibition Files, 1940-1944, 1971-2013, bulk 1991-2013 (Boxes 1-6, OV 8-9, ER01-ER20; 5.9 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Administrative Files, 1991-2013 (Box 6; 0.3 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Norman Parish Biographical Material, 1970-2013 (Box 7, ER21; 0.2 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Parish Gallery (established 1991-closed 2013) was a gallery in Washington, D.C. Founded by artist Norman Parish (1937-2013), the gallery was known for exhibiting artwork by African American and international artists. Parish's wife Gwen co-managed the gallery from the beginning until it closed its doors. Over the course of its 22 year history, Parish gallery exhibited the works of over 170 artists from Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, France, Spain, Greece, and many other countries. In articles and interviews, Parish underscored the gallery's dedication to showing the works of underrepresented artists of all backgrounds, though the primary focus was the members of the African diaspora, and help them promote their work.
Norman Parish was born in New Orleans in 1937 and grew up in Chicago. He graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1960 and contributed to the Wall of Respect in 1967. He was a painter and was in several exhibitions. In 1988 Parish moved to Washington, D.C., and he opened Parish Gallery in Georgetown in 1991, making it one of the few galleries owned by an African American at the time. The gallery quickly grew in prominence over the years highlighting the works of major artists such as Wadsworth Jarrell, Herbert Gentry, and E. J. Montgomery, as well as artists from the United States and abroad. The final exhibition at the gallery was entitled Norman Parish: The Artist in 2013. Parish passed away that same year.

Administration

Author
Rayna Andrews and Rihoko Ueno
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Parish Gallery records were donated in 2016 by Gwen Parish, Norman Parish's widow.
Processing Information
The collection was minimally processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation in 2018. The collection was fully processed, prepared for digitization, and described in a finding aid by Rihoko Ueno in 2019 with funding provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
Existence and Location of Copies
The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2017 and is available on the Archives of American Art website. Materials which have not been scanned include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates. In some cases, exhibition catalogs and other publications have had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages scanned. Access copies of born-digital records are not online and are available at the Archives of American Art offices.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Parish Gallery records, 1940-2013. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of electronic records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
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
African American artists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gallery owners -- Washington (D.C.) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Washington (D.C.) Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art galleries, Commercial -- Washington (D.C.) Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Adenaike, Tayo Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gentry, Herbert, 1919-2003 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Horrom, Marilyn Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jarrell, Wadsworth, 1929- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lewis, Samella S. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McNeil, Bruce Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Miller, Sandi Ritchie Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Montgomery, Evangeline J. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ogburn, David, 1942- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Parish, Norman, 1937-2013 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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