Stephen White Gallery of Photography records, 1966-2004, undated (bulk 1975-1991)

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Creators:
White, Stephen, 1938- and Stephen White Gallery of Photography
Abstract:
The Stephen White Gallery of Photography records document the gallery's business in Los Angeles, California, from 1975 to 1991. The collection consists of files, correspondence, financial records, contracts, notes, promotional material, publicity materials, and ephemera related to the exhibitions and sales of fine art photography.
Extent:
83.48 Linear Feet (182 boxes, 1 flat file folder)
Language:
English .

Background

Scope and content:

The Stephen White Gallery of Photography records contains biographies, curricula vitae, correspondence, photographs, financial statements, invoices, inventories, price lists, contracts, notes, White's essays, promotional material, publicity materials, clippings, and ephemera related to the exhibition and sales of fine art photography.

Series I contains photographer files which includes biographies, curricula vitae, clippings and reviews, and occasional correspondence. Artists suchas Bruce Barnbaum, Ruth Bernhard, Hans Hammarskiöld, Jacobi Lotte, Michael Kenna, Irving Penn, W. Eugene Smith,Harry Smith, and Karl Struss have substantial representation in this series with multiple file folders containing inventories,consignments, sales, catalog entries, and manuscripts.

Series II. contains correspondence, price lists, photographs, invitations, announcements, ephemera, clippings, reviews, magazines, catalogs, and receipts relating to exhibitions in the gallery from 1975 to 1981. Later years are found at the end of the series, comprising mostly ephemera, check lists, and loan agreements.

Series III. contains exhibition ephemera and clippings. Most clippings pertain to White Gallery events and collection announcements. This series also features several of White's essays such as "The Far East" (1991) and "Photographie à Paris" (1998). Writings by other authors, for White's own research purposes, are also found in this series and included a survey of the Museum of New Mexico Photo Archive.

Series IV. is mostly comprised of notes, calendars, trip arrangements, conference papers, subscriptions, organization memberships, gallery lease agreements, office equipment manuals, directories, and mailing receipts, and occasionally receipts and invoices, demonstrating the daily activities of managing a gallery. Several bound appointment books, 1977 to 1990, record White's appointments as well as handwritten notes. Emphasized in this series are several boxes related to the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD), which include board minutes and meeting schedules, and provide evidences of White's active participation in the organization.

Series V. consists of records of expenses, receipts, invoices, tax documents, and bills relating to the gallery's maintenance and financial activities including dues paid to insurance companies and building repairs.

Series VI. includes invoices, receipts, some correspondence, and lists of inventory with prices. Purchases, filed under institutions' names, include correspondence inquiring about or confirming purchases. Consignments and sales are recorded in the gallery invoices.

Series VII. contains correspondence with clients, other galleries, and museums.

Biographical / historical:

Stephen White initially opened his gallery across from the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles on October 16, 1975. Known initially as Photo Album Gallery, the gallery was one of the few photography galleries in the country. G. Raw Hawkins Gallery was the only other photography gallery in Los Angeles.

White, an avid researcher and collector, relied on his own enthusiasm to build the gallery's business. Beginning with a small inventory and little knowledge of the gallery business, White built relationships with other galleries, museums, collectors and the public, and in the process, helped to cultivate the fine art photography market.

The gallery represented 20th century and contemporary photographers such as Ruth Bernhard, Michael Kenna, and Photo-Secession photographer Karl Struss from 1976 until his death in 1981. In 1986, White acquired the Lotte Jacobi archive, which contained more than 2,000 prints.

The gallery, besides the selling and buying photographs, also did its own exhibitions and published accompanying catalogs, which featured artists represented by the gallery. Jacobi's photographs were featured in exhibitions and publications, Lotte Jacobi: A Selection of Vintage and Modern Photographs in which White wrote the introduction. Other notable exhibitions included The Fashionable World (1979), which included works by Edward Steichen and Charles Sheeler and the collection of Dr. Agha, art director of Vanity Fair (1929-1943); The West Before Weston (1980); Northern Lights (1981). White also exhibited 19th-century photographers such as Giacomo Caneva, Charles Lenormand, and Auguste Salzman, from daguerreotypes to salt prints. This comprehensive view about photography particularly reflected White's own eclectic philosophy, oftentimes embracing images by anonymous makers and documentary photographs.

White further promoted the fine art photography market beyond gallery walls. He authored several photography books including Magic Moments (co-authored by Harry Smith, 1981), John Thomson: Life and Times (1985) (printed as softcover, A Window to the Orient), and Parallels and Contrast (1989). White was also a frequent speaker at the Association of Independent Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD), an organization for which he was a founding president. In 1990, White sold his private and gallery collection to the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum in Japan. The gallery closed its doors in 1991.

Post-gallery life, White continues to devote his time to research and writing, which often lead to important exhibitions. In 2001, he curated The Photograph and the American Dream, 1840-1940, which opened at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and traveled to Skirball Cultural Center in 2003. In 2011, Skydreamers: A Saga of Air and Space at the Autry National Center in 2011. A year later, White traveled to Beijing to curate History of Photography for Dali Photography Festival, an exhibition that on White fascination lifelong fascination with China.

Sources consulted:

Suzanne Muchnic, "A Quest for Flight on Show at Autry's 'Skydreamers'," Los Angeles Times, April 24, 2011.

Suzanne Muchnic, "Photography Dealer Goes Out on a High Note: Art: After Selling His Personal Collection to a Tokyo Museum Last Year for a Hefty Sum, Stephen White Will Close His Gallery to Concentrate on Writing, Collecting and Curating," Los Angeles Times, January 30, 1991.

Suzanne Muchnic and Barbara Isenberg, "Stellar L.A. Photo Collection Heads for Japan: Photography: In a Landmark Deal, Stephen White Sells 15,000 Photographs and Related Items to Tokyo Fuji Museum," Los Angeles Times, February 8, 1990.

Kelly Nipper, "Stephen White Gallery Records, 1943-2004, Accn. no. 2002.M.43 inventory," December 15, 2004.

Frances Terpak, Acquisition Approval Form for "Stephen White Gallery of Photography Archive, 1975-91, accession no. 2002.M.43," September 4, 2002.

Processing information:

A partial inventory was created in 2004 by Kelly Nipper. Emmabeth Nanol, under the supervision of Kit Messick, fully processed and re-organized the records and created the finding aid in 2017.

Arrangement:

Arranged in seven series: Series I. Photographer files, 1970-1991, undated; Series II. Exhibition files, 1975-1990, undated; Series III. Ephemera, clippings, and writings, 1966-2004, undated; Series IV. Administrative files, 1975-1991, undated; Series V. Financial files, 1973-1998, undated; Series VI. Stocks and inventories, 1976-1991, undated; Series VII. Correspondence, 1974-2001, undated.

Physical location:
Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy. Box 183 has been sealed until 2079 for privacy reasons.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
Website