Object Details
Summary
The records of Galerie Darthea Speyer measure 17.2 linear feet and 1.58 GB and date from 1953 to 2010. The majority of the collection consists of artists' files containing a wide variety of materials documenting the Paris gallery's relationship with American and European artists, as well as gallery exhibitions. Also found are scattered financial records, guestbooks, documentation on the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome art collection, exhibition announcements, posters, and additional photographs.
Scope and Content Note
The records of Galerie Darthea Speyer measure 17.2 linear feet and 1.58 GB and date from 1953 to 2010. The majority of the collection consists of artists' files containing a wide variety of materials documenting the Paris gallery's relationship with American and European artists, as well as gallery exhibitions. Also found are scattered financial records, guestbooks, documentation on the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome art collection, exhibition announcements, posters, and additional photographs.
Artists' files are varied but may contain biographical materials, correspondence and business records, printed materials, photographs, digital photographs, and slides. Correspondence is with artists and others primarily concerning the exhibition or sale of the artists' work. Also filed with the correspondence are other scattered business records regarding the artists' dealing with the gallery including exhibition documents and sales records. Photographs depict artists, artwork, exhibition installations and exhibition openings at Galerie Darthea Speyer. Printed material includes exhibition announcements, catalogs, and extensive press clippings. Files for prominent American artists such as Roy De Forest, Beauford Delaney, Llyn Foulkes, Leon Golub, Sam Gilliam, Richard Luboski, Ed Paschke, Peter Saul, Deborah Remington, and others, document a long relationship between the artist and the gallery.
This collection also includes scattered financial records from 2000 to 2002. Eight gallery guestbooks, and documentation on the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome art collection, which was organized by Darthea Speyer.
Printed material consists of posters and Galerie Darthea Speyer exhibition announcements. Included with the exhibition announcements are lists of exhibitions by year. Many of the posters advertise exhibitions organized by Darthea Speyer at the Musee National D'Art Moderne and Centre Culturel Americain, including 12 Modern American Painters and Sculptors (1953). Additional posters advertize exhibitions at Galerie Darthea Speyer and elsewhere for artists such as Leon Golub, Beauford Delaney, Ed Paschke, Peter Saul, Hugh Weiss, and several others.
Photographs include an unidentified exhibition opening, exhibition installations at Galerie Darthea Speyer, and artwork.
sova.aaa.galedars
Creator
Galerie Darthea Speyer (Paris, France)
Names
Musée national d'art moderne (France)
De Forest, Roy, 1930-2007
Delany, Beauford, 1901-
Foulkes, Llyn, 1934-
Gilliam, Sam, Jr. (1933-2022)
Golub, Leon, 1922-2004
Luboski, Richard, 1934-
Paschke, Ed
Remington, Deborah
Saul, Peter, 1934-
Speyer, Darthea, 1919-2014
Weiss, Hugh, 1925-
Occupation
Art dealers -- France -- Paris
Topic
Women art dealers
Hard-edge
Pop art
Surrealism
Funk
Provenance
Records were donated in 2010 by Emmanuelle Gelzer, owner of Galerie Darthea Speyer.
Creator
Galerie Darthea Speyer (Paris, France)
See more items in
Galerie Darthea Speyer records
Sponsor
Support provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Historical Note
Galerie Darthea Speyer was founded in 1968 by Darthea Speyer at 6, rue Jacques Callot, Paris, France. The gallery was notable for promoting American painting and sculpture in France until it closed in 2009.
Darthea Speyer (1919-2014) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and began collecting art at age fifteen. She studied art history at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, and in 1950 went to Paris as a cultural attaché for the United States Information Services (USIS). In 1953 she helped organize the exhibition 12 Modern American Painters and Sculptors at the Musee National D'Art Moderne, a show that initiated a change in the way Europeans viewed American Art. While working for the USIS, Speyer founded the Centre Culturel Americain where she gave many American artists their first European exhibition. She continued to work for the USIS until 1965.
Speyer opened Galerie Darthea Speyer during the May 1968 riots in Paris with an inaugural show of works by Deborah Remington. The gallery was designed by her brother, A. James Speyer, and primarily exhibited sculpture and paintings by Americans, as well as works by some European artists. Over the next 40 years Darthea Speyer remained a powerful advocate for American artists in the European market.
Function
Art galleries, Commercial -- France
Extent
17.2 Linear Feet
1.58 Gigabytes
Date
1953-2010
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.galedars
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Visitors' books
Photographs
Citation
Galerie Darthea Speyer records, 1953-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 6 series:
Series 1: Artists' Files, 1955-2010 (Boxes 1-15; 14.8 linear feet, ER01-ER07; 1.58 GB)
Series 2: Financial Records, 2000-2002 (Box 15; 6 folders)
Series 3: Guestbooks, 1997-2009 (Box 16; 8 folders)
Series 4: Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome Art Collection, circa 1980s-2009 (Box 16; 4 folders)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1953-2008 (Boxes 16, 17, OV 19-22; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1960s-1970s (Boxes 17-18; 0.7 linear feet)
Processing Information
The collection was processed to an intermediate level and a finding aid prepared by Erin Kinhart in 2011. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
Rights
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.
Genre/Form
Visitors' books
Photographs
Restrictions
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
AAA.galedars
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9491302cc-5e3d-4fe8-88e8-772c4b029f43
AAA.galedars
AAA
Record ID
ebl-1503512811075-1503512811086-0