Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Susanne Hilberry Gallery records, 1964-2017, bulk 1976-2016, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.susahilb
Creators:
Susanne Hilberry Gallery
Hilberry, Susanne, 1943-2015
Dates:
1964-2016
bulk 1976-2016
Languages:
Collection is in English.
Physical Description:
5.8 Linear feet
10.1 Gigabytes
Repository:
The records of the Susanne Hilberry Gallery measure 5.8 linear feet and 10.1 gigabytes, and date from 1964-2017, with the bulk of the material dating from 1976-2016. Gallery artists include Richard Artschwager, Lynda Benglis, Jun Kaneko, Ellen Phelan, Italo Scanga, Joel Shapiro, Alex Katz, Judy Pfaff, Warren MacKenzie, and Nancy Mitchnick, among many others. The collection consists largely of files grouped by artist containing correspondence, sales records, and exhibition records documenting the activities of the gallery including outside or traveling exhibitions and other initiatives. Also included are significant amounts of visual materials (photographs, slides, transparencies, and digital images) documenting gallery exhibitions and the oeuvres of the gallery artists, as well as digital video recordings in the form of video works, recordings of artist talks, and artwork documentation.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The records of the Susanne Hilberry Gallery measure 5.8 linear feet and 10.1 gigabytes, and date from 1964-2017, with the bulk of the material dating from 1976-2016. Gallery artists include Richard Artschwager, Lynda Benglis, Jun Kaneko, Ellen Phelan, Italo Scanga, Joel Shapiro, Alex Katz, Judy Pfaff, Warren MacKenzie, and Nancy Mitchnick, among many others. The collection consists largely of files grouped by artist containing correspondence, sales records, and exhibition records documenting the activities of the gallery including outside or traveling exhibitions and other initiatives. Also included are significant amounts of visual materials (photographs, slides, transparencies, and digital images) documenting gallery exhibitions and the oeuvres of the gallery artists, as well as digital video recordings in the form of video works, recordings of artist talks, and artwork documentation.
The artist files document each gallery artist's exhibition history in the gallery and include correspondence with the artist or estate as well as files documenting significant outside exhibitions, projects and the placement of artworks. The group show files document the production of select group exhibitions organized throughout the span of the gallery's operation. Transparencies and slides document the respective artists' exhibitions at Susanne Hilberry Gallery, and also contain representations of individual works. The group show slides document select group exhibitions.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 4 series.
  • Series 1: Artist Files, circa 1964-2016 (4.5 Linear feet; Boxes 1-5, 10.1 Gigabytes; ER01-ER08)
  • Series 2: Group Show Files, 1976-2016 (0.3 Linear feet; Box 5)
  • Series 3: Tranparencies, circa 1980-1999 (0.2 Linear feet; Box 5)
  • Series 4: Slides, circa 1976-1999 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-7)

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Susanne Hilberry Gallery was a contemporary art gallery opened by Susanne Hilberry in 1976 in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham. The gallery moved to Ferndale, Michigan in 2002, and closed in early 2017 following Hilberry's death in 2015. Susanne Hilberry was a pioneering presence in the Detroit art scene. Before opening her gallery she earned a degree in art history from Wayne State University and a master's degree from Yale in architectural history, and later served as an assistant to the curator of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Sam Wagstaff. Wagstaff encouraged Susanne to open her gallery, which focused on bringing emerging art trends and established artists not being shown otherwise in the area, as well as championing the careers of local artists. Hilberry's dedication to developing the local art scene played out in her encouragement and support of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit, where she served as a steering committee member after its opening in 2006.

Administration

Author
Ryan Evans
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Ryan Evans in 2018.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated 2017 by the Susanne Hilberry Estate via Daniel Feld, Trustee.

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Susanne Hilberry Gallery records, 1964-2017, bulk 1976-2016. 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. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copy 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.

Related Materials
Related materials include Wayne State University's Cass Corridor Artists Oral History Project, Oral History with Susanne Feld Hilberry, April 1, 2010.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art galleries, Commercial -- Michigan Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Artschwager, Richard, 1923- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Benglis, Lynda, 1941- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kaneko, Jun, 1942- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Katz, Alex, 1927- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
MacKenzie, Warren, 1924-2018 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mitchnick, Nancy, 1947- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pfaff, Judy, 1946- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Phelan, Ellen, 1943- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scanga, Italo, 1932-2001 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shapiro, Joel Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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