Object Details
- Creator
- Perls Galleries
- Subject
- Austin, Darrel
- MiroĢ, Joan
- Luce, Henry, III
- Luce, Claire
- Picasso, Pablo
- Streisand, Barbra
- Priebe, Karl J.
- De Menil, Adelaide
- Cafritz, Gwendolyn
- Canaday, John
- Perls, Klaus
- Hitchcock, Alfred
- Garbo, Greta
- Ford, Henry
- Dudensing, F. Valentine
- Cafritz, Morris
- Calder, Alexander
- James Corcoran Gallery
- Galerie Maeght
- National Gallery of Art (U.S.)
- Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)
- Fujikawa Gallery
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Pierre Matisse Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
- Place of publication, production, or execution
- United States
- Physical Description
- 79.6 Linear feet
- Arrangement
- The collection is arranged as 7 series: Series 1: Correspondence, 1937-1995 (Boxes 1-44, OV 81-83; 43.6 linear feet) Series 2: Negatives, circa 1937-1995 (Boxes 44-59; 15.7 linear feet) Series 3: Photographs, circa 1937-1995 (Boxes 60-75, OV 84; 16.1 linear feet) Series 4: Exhibition, Loan, and Sales Records, 1937-1995 (Boxes 76-78; 2.1 linear feet) Series 5: Clippings Files, 1943-1989 (Box 78; 0.5 linear feet) Series 6: Exhibition Catalogs, 1939-1980 (Boxes 78-79; 1.4 linear feet) Series 7: Drawings by John Canaday, circa 1967-1972 (Box 80; 0.3 linear feet)
- Access Note / Rights
- Use of original papers requires an appointment.
- Summary
- The records of the Perls Galleries measure 79.6 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1997. Founded by Klaus Perls in 1937 and operating until 1997, the gallery dealt primarily in modern French art and the artwork of Alexander Calder. Found within the records are extensive correspondence (circa 44 linear feet) with artists, dealers, galleries, museums, and collectors; photographs and negatives of inventory and other artwork; exhibition files, scattered financial records; and exhibition catalogs and clippings.
- Citation
- Perls Galleries records, 1937-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
- Use Note
- 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
- Among the resources relating to the Perls Galleries in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Klaus Perls done by Mona Hadler on January 19, 1993.
- Biography Note
- Klaus Perls (b. 1912, d. 2008) formally opened Perls Galleries in New York in 1937, and ran it with his wife Amelia until its closing in 1997. The gallery dealt in contemporary French artists of the School of Paris, such as Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, but also acted as the primary representative of Alexander Calder beginning in 1954. In the 1970s Mr. Perls developed an interest in art from Benin and built an important collection of African sculpture, some of which was later donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Amelia Perls died in 2002, and Klaus Perls died in 2008.
- Language Note
- Some records are in German, French, Spanish, and Italian.
- Provenance
- The records were donated in 1997 by Douglas Mayhew, associate and legal representive of Klaus G. and Amelia B. Perls.
- Location Note
- Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
- Record number
- (DSI-AAA_CollID)6120
- (DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216333
- AAA_collcode_perlgall
- Type
- Illustrated letters
- Drawings
- Photographs
- Archives of American Art
- Topic
- Art, Modern
- Record ID
- AAADCD_coll_216333
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