Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Richard York Gallery Records, circa 1865-2008, bulk 1981-2004, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.richyorg
Creators:
Richard York Gallery
Dates:
circa 1865-2008
bulk 1981-2004
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
87.5 Linear feet
Repository:
The records of the Richard York Gallery, a New York gallery specializing in American art from early 1800s to 1950, measure 87.5 linear feet and date from circa 1865-2005, with the bulk of the material dating from 1981 to 2004. The collection contains artists' artwork files, documenting the sale and consignment of nearly 6,500 works of art. The gallery's activities are also recorded through correspondence, artists' files, client files, gallery invoices, inventories, business and financial records, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographic materials of artwork, and estate records for the John Marin estate and Sergio Stella estate (Joseph Stella).

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note
The records of the Richard York Gallery, a New York gallery specializing in American art from early 1800s to 1950, measure 87.5 linear feet and date from circa 1865-2005, with the bulk of the material dating from 1981 to 2004. The bulk of the records are artists' artwork files, documenting the sale and consignment of nearly 6,500 works of art. The gallery's activities are also recorded through correspondence, artists' files, client files, gallery invoices, inventories, business and financial records, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographic materials of artwork, and estate records for the John Marin estate and Sergio Stella estate (Joseph Stella).
Correspondence includes both incoming and outgoing correspondence with collectors, clients, galleries and museums, primarily regarding appraisals, consignments, exhibitions, general inquiries, loans, and sales. Also found are scattered transactional records, information sheets for artwork, and photographic materials. Correspondence from the mid-late 1980s is poorly represented.
The sale and consignment of nearly 6,500 pieces of artwork at the Richard York Gallery are documented through transactional records, photographic materials, correspondence, and scattered printed materials found in the Artists' Artwork Files. Artists for which there are significant quantities of materials (over 50 folders) include Joseph Goldyne, Ellen Day Hale, John Henry Hill, John William Hill, Lester George Hornby, Louis Lozowick, Luigi Lucioni, Emma Fordyce MacRae, John Marin, Joseph Stella, William Henry Stevens, and Steve Wheeler. Also included are the files of the Richard York photography collection, which contained works by Robert Mapplethorpe.
Similar to the Artists' Artwork Files, Client Files document the sale and consignment of artwork, but are arranged by artist's and client's name. Materials found are primarily from the early 1990s and include correspondence, notes, photographic materials, photocopied client information cards, and printed materials.
The Richard York Gallery represented the John Marin estate and the Sergio Stella estate (Joseph Stella). The records of the John Marin estate are primarily artwork in-take sheets from 1998 and inventory lists from 2001. The Sergio Stella Estate records include correspondence, inventories of artwork by Joseph Stella, and some photographic materials.
Sales and inventory records contain a nearly complete set of gallery invoices from 1995-2000, and 2004. Inventories includes gallery inventory lists, and inventory cards of sold artwork from 1981-1997 (bulk 1981-1991).
The business and financial records include accounting records, bank deposit records, corporate records, index cards for contacts, invoices for gallery expenses, materials related to Richard York's involvement in the ADAA, mailing lists, records of payments to consignors, receipts, shipping records, and tax records. The gallery migrated from paper records to Artbase, an artwork management system, around 2000-2002. Included are two CDs of database data and digital images from Artbase, as well as inventories of the digital file names.
Printed materials contain advertising tear sheets from 1998-2002, exhibition catalogs, magazine and newspaper clippings of reviews and announcements, and other miscellaneous printed materials. Printed materials are also found in eight scrapbooks which document the activities of the Richard York Gallery, Richard York, and the gallery's exhibitions from 1981-2002. Materials in the scrapbooks include clippings, correspondence, photographs, exhibition catalogs, announcements, and invitations.
Photographic materials includes color photographs, transparencies, digital prints, and scattered printed materials, as well as over 600 slides of artwork, primarily works of art which were sold or consigned by the gallery. Artists for which there is significant volume of transparencies include Houghton Cranford Smith and Lockwood de Forest, Sr.
Artists' files consist mostly of photocopied newspaper and magazine clippings, writings about the artist, and exhibition catalogs. Some original copies of printed material, correspondence with collectors, curators, and gallerists, photographic materials, artwork records, and some exhibition records are also present.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 10 series:
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: Correspondence, 1975-2005 (Boxes 1-7, 81; 6.4 linear feet)
  • Series 2: Artists' Artwork Files, circa 1865-2004 (Boxes 7-64; 56.85 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Client Files, 1965, circa 1981-circa 2004 (Box 64; 0.5 linear feet)
  • Series 4: Estate Records, 1983-circa 2004 (Boxes 64-65; 1.0 linear feet)
  • Series 5: Sales and Inventory Records, 1977-2004 (Boxes 65-70; 5.0 linear feet)
  • Series 6: Business and Financial Records, 1974-2005 (Boxes 70-77, 81; 6.25 linear feet)
  • Series 7: Printed Materials, 1980-2004 (Boxes 77-78; 1.1 linear feet)
  • Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1981-2002 (Boxes 78, 80; 1.0 linear feet)
  • Series 9: Photographic Materials, 1977-2004 (Boxes 78-79; 1.2 linear feet)
  • Series 10: Artists' Files, 1922-2008 (Boxes 81-89; 8 linear feet)

Historical Note

Historical Note
Richard T. York (circa 1950-2003) opened his eponymous gallery in the spring of 1981 on East 65th Street in New York City. Specializing in American painting and sculpture from early 1800s to 1950, the Richard York Gallery dealt in the artwork of hundreds of artists including Albert Bierstadt, Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Lockwood de Forest, John Graham, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Singer Sargent, Charles Sheeler, and Steve Wheeler. It also represented the estates of artists John Marin and Joseph Stella.
Richard York passed away in April 2003, and the gallery closed in May 2004.

Administration

Author
Sarah Haug and Christopher DeMairo
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care Fund
Provenance
The Richard York Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2006 by Kevin Scott, the executor of Richard York's estate; and in 2015 by Lisa Bush Hankin, former gallery director.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Haug in 2010-2011. An addition to the records was processed and added to the finding aid by Christopher DeMairo in 2022.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Richard York Gallery records, circa 1865-2005, bulk 1981-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions on 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.
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
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art, American Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Economic aspects Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hornby, Lester George, 1882-1956 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lozowick, Louis, 1892-1973 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hill, J. W. (John William), 1812-1879 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hill, John Henry, 1839-1922 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Goldyne, Joseph R. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hale, Ellen Day, 1855-1940 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art Dealers Association of America Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
De Forest, Lockwood, 1850-1932 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wheeler, Steve, 1912-1992 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stevens, Will Henry, 1881-1949 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
MacRae, Emma Fordyce, 1887-1974 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
York, Richard Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lucioni, Luigi, 1900-1988 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marin, John, 1870-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mapplethorpe, Robert (Robert Michael) Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Marin, John, Jr., 1915?-1988 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stella, Joseph, 1877-1946 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Smith, Houghton Cranford, 1887-1983 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