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Dwan Gallery Publications and Ephemera, 1960-1971
2012.M.37
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Title: Dwan Gallery publications and ephemera
Date (inclusive): 1960-1971
Number: 2012.M.37
Creator/Collector:
Dwan Gallery (Los
Angeles, Calif.)
Physical Description:
12 Linear Feet
(2 boxes, 3 flatfile folders, 1 roll)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The Dwan Gallery records document the
two galleries that Virgina Dwan ran in Los Angeles and in New York, and which promoted
artists associated with earthworks, nouveau réalisme, minimalism, and conceptual art. In the
early sixties, Dwan introduced Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, and Yves Klein to Los
Angeles. Upon her move to New York in 1965, Dwan also exhibited Robert Smithson and Michael
Heizer. The records consist of publications and ephemera, such as announcements, posters,
and catalogs for the exhibitions held at the galleries.
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Language: Collection material is in
English.
Biographical / Historical Note
Virginia Dwan conducted and operated galleries in Los Angeles (1959-1967) and in New York
(1965-1971). Born in 1931 and heir to the Minnesota, Mining and Manufacturing fortune (now
3M), Dwan first worked for the art dealer and gallerist Frank Perls in Beverly Hills. In
1959 she opened a gallery at 1091 Broxton Avenue in Westwood Village in Los Angeles. At
first, she exhibited the work of abstract expressionists from New York. After traveling to
France and discovering the art of the nouveaux réalistes, she also promoted their work in
solo and group shows. She introduced Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, and Yves Klein to
Los Angeles.
In June 1962, Dwan opened a new and expanded space at 10846 Lindbrook Drive, also in
Westwood Village, which was designed by Morris Verger, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. It
was inaugurated with an exhibition on the French assemblage artist Arman, one of the
founders of nouveau réalisme. Two months later, the show,
My Country 'Tis of
Thee
featured works by Andy Warhol, Marisol, and Claes Oldenburg. During this
period, Dwan also promoted the artists Edward Kienholz, Niki de Saint Phalle, Mark di
Suvero, and James Rosenquist.
Dwan, who was independently wealthy, was known for her generosity. She maintained close
relationships with many of the artists she exhibited, often granting them large stipends or
inviting them to her home in Malibu. She was not interested in achieving financial success
as an art dealer or gallerist and could take risks in the artists she chose to work
with.
In 1965, Dwan moved to New York and founded the east coast branch of her gallery at 29 West
57th Street. When she closed her Los Angeles space, its director, John Weber, joined her in
New York where the gallery commissioned and exhibited post-minimalist, earthwork and
conceptual artists such as Robert Smithson, Michael Heizer, and Dennis Oppenheim. Virginia
Dwan's New York gallery is often credited as the first to exhibit an earthworks show in
1968, as well as underwriting projects and serving as the movement's headquarters. Robert
Smithson's
Spiral Jetty was partially financed by the gallery in 1970. After
closing the gallery in 1971, Dwan produced films with and about artists, and later donated
her art collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Contact
Library Reproductions
and Permissions
.
Dwan Gallery publications and ephemera, 1960-1971, The Getty Research Institute, Los
Angeles, Accession no. 2012.M.37
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2012m37
Gift of Virginia Dwan. Acquired in 2012 and 2013.
The archive was rehoused by Vladimira Stefura upon receipt in 2011. It was arranged and
described by Maggie Hughes in 2012 under the supervision of Andra Darlington. Two additional
posters were donated in 2013 and integrated into the collection in 2018. Notes in the
finding aid were updated in 2022.
- Dwan Gallery Archives, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington
D.C.
- Dwan Gallery Archives, Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College,
Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
- Oral history interview with Virginia Dwan, 1984 March 21-June 7, Archives of American
Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
Scope and Content of Collection
The archive is comprised of 57 items that document exhibitions held at the Dwan galleries
from 1960 to 1971 in Los Angeles and in New York. They consist of ephemera and publications,
such as exhibition catalogs, fliers, pamphlets, and posters.
Items are arranged chronologically by exhibition date. Files are labeled with the artist's
name, the title of the exhibition, and the exhibition date. If the title of the exhibition
was the artist's name, it has been omitted.
Snelson, Kenneth, 1927-2016
Andre, Carl, 1935-
Arakawa, Shūsaku,
1936-2010
Flavin, Dan, 1933-1996
Kienholz, Edward,
1927-1994
LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967
Smithson, Robert
Conceptual Art
Earthworks (Art)
Minimal art
Art, Modern -- 20th century
Ephemera
Fliers (printed matter)
Exhibition catalogs
Posters
Pamphlets
Dwan,
Virginia
Dwan Gallery (Los
Angeles, Calif.)
Dwan Gallery (New
York, N.Y.)