Himovitz Gallery records, 1982-2007

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Creators:
Himovitz, Michael Hersch, 1948-1994 and Miller, Charles Joseph, 1952-2009
Abstract:
The Himovitz Gallery records document the operation of a contemporary art gallery in Sacramento, run by Michael Himovitz and Charles “Chuck” Miller. Beginning in 1982, the gallery hosted art exhibitions, sold artwork, and oversaw private art installations. Himovitz and Miller established Sacramento’s Second Saturday Art Walk, supported the Uptown Art District along North Sacramento’s Del Paso Boulevard, were engaged in art exhibition planning, and hosted numerous community fundraisers. The records reflect the efforts of the gallery until its closure in 2001, and Miller’s exhibition services through 2007.
Extent:
29.34 linear feet (29 boxes)
Language:
Languages represented in the collection: English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Himovitz Gallery records, MS0077, Center for Sacramento History.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection documents the activities of the Michael Himovitz Gallery from 1982 to 2007, with some material also related to the personal lives of Michael Himovitz and Charles Miller.

The main focus of the material is on the artists with whom Himovitz and Miller contracted with at the gallery. This material is in the form of artist portfolios that contain information pertaining to the artworks and careers of each artist. Other records provide information on the shows the Gallery hosted at the 10th Street loft and eventually at the Del Paso location; shows held outside of the gallery including international shows; correspondence; financial information, including the sales of the artwork; art appraisals and art transactions by independent dealers; and media coverage regarding the gallery and its events.

Material includes announcements, correspondence, newspaper clippings, magazine articles, press releases, ephemera, papers, publications, reports, photographs, and transparencies. The original order and folder titles of the collection has been maintained. Newsprint and brittle paper have been photocopied onto archival paper for preservation purposes.

Biographical / historical:

Michael Hersch Himovitz was the founder of the Michael Himovitz Gallery, a business that helped develop and support the Sacramento art community for nearly 20 years. Born December 24, 1948, in Los Angeles, Himovitz grew up in Hanford, California, on a cattle ranch. He attended college at the University of Arizona where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After college, Himovitz moved back to California and started working in residential real estate. In 1977, he moved his family to Sacramento to open a new branch of his company Himovitz Enterprise. During the housing market downturn in the early 1980s, Himovitz closed the Sacramento branch and started an art gallery, the Michael Himovitz Gallery.

Charles Joseph Miller was born on July 14, 1952, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He was the youngest of three children. Chuck, as he was known, attended college at the University of Wisconsin and Minneapolis College of Art and Design. After college, he moved to San Francisco to work as a visual presentation designer for department stores and eventually for Weinstock’s in Sacramento. After quitting Weinstock’s, Miller went to work at the Michael Himovitz Gallery as the art director. He was an avid supporter of the arts and organizations supporting HIV/AIDs.

The Michael Himovitz Gallery, located at 1020 10th Street in downtown Sacramento, showcased young artists and was one of Sacramento’s largest galleries in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993, Himovitz made Miller a partner in his business, and together they created an event called “Second Saturday.” Each second Saturday of the month, restaurants, galleries, and stores in downtown Sacramento, and later along Del Paso Boulevard in North Sacramento, promoted local art. Business was booming with the Second Saturday art walks becoming a local Sacramento tradition, yet the partners made plans to move the gallery into the Uptown Arts District on Del Paso Boulevard.

Himovitz passed away from HIV/AIDs on September 27, 1994, in Sacramento at age 46. In 1995, Miller finally completed Himovitz’s dream to move the gallery into the Uptown Arts District, opening up “Building on the Boulevard” or BOB at 1616 Del Paso Boulevard. Along with the gallery, BOB housed a jewelry shop, restaurant, and a theater, which Miller rented out. However, without foot traffic and income to sustain the gallery, the business struggled and closed its doors in 2001. The last show before closing was a tribute to Michael, with Miller creating an exhibit titled, “The World From a Gay Perspective.”

After the gallery’s closure, Miller continued to be active in the Sacramento arts community as a fashion show director, designer, art activist, and fundraiser for art and HIV/AIDs organizations. He passed away from complications of diabetes on March 6, 2006, in Sacramento at age 56.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Charles Miller 2006 (accession number 2006/036).
Processing information:

Processing and finding aid by Jason Partida, Nathan Roberts, Caroline Whyler, Nancy Wylie, Charles Robie, Becca Riggs, Kaitlyn Scott, and Meg Weese, 2016. Finding aid edited by Kim Hayden, 2020.

Arrangement:
  • Series 1. Inactive artists, ca. 1980-2001
  • Series 2. Rolodex cards, ca. 1980-2001
  • Series 3. Gallery shows1983-2001
  • Series 4. Show announcements, 1990-1995
  • Series 5. Events, 1982-2006
  • Series 6. Active artists, ca. 1980-2001
  • Series 7. Building and finance records, ca. 1980-2001
  • Series 8. Business and artwork sales records, ca. 1980-2001
  • Series 9. Community groups, ca. 1980-2007
  • Series 10. Recorded media, ca. 1980-2001
  • Series 11. Personal documents, ca. 1980-2007
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use. Some information has been redacted for security reasons.

Terms of access:

All requests to publish or quote from private manuscripts held by the Center for Sacramento History (CSH) must be submitted in writing to the archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of CSH as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item and/or item number], [box and folder number], Himovitz Gallery records, MS0077, Center for Sacramento History.

Location of this collection:
551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95811, US
Contact:
(916) 808-7072
csh@cityofsacramento.org
Website