Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Frank K.M. Rehn Galleries
| title | John Clancy interview, 1970 July 10. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Interview of John Clancy conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art. Clancy speaks of Frank K. M. Rehn and his background; the beginnings of the Rehn Gallery; his own background; joining the gallery and working for Frank Rehn; artists associated with the gallery; the effect of the Depression on the gallery; how artists and works of art were selected; reasons for the success of the Rehn Gallery; the gallery's future. He recalls Edward Hopper, Charles Burchfield and Franklin Watkins. |
| extent | Sound recordings: 1 sound tape reel ; 7 in. Transcript: 26 p. |
| formats | Interview Electronic Resource |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:44 |
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| title | George Luks' letter to John Clancy, 1930 August, 1. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | A letter concerning a painting Luks sent to Clancy and some watercolors he intended to work on.[The microfilm title is George Luks papers.] |
| extent | 1 item (on partial microfilm reel). reel N70-40 |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Donated 1970 by John Clancy. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:47 |
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| title | Frank K.M. Rehn Galleries records, 1858-1969, bulk 1919-1968 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | The Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries records measure 21.8 linear feet and are dated 1858-1969 (bulk 1919-1968). The records consist mainly of business correspondence with collectors, artists, museums and arts organizations, colleagues, and others. A small amount of Frank K. M. Rehn's personal correspondence and a few stray personal papers of individual artists are interfiled. Also included are financial records, scrapbooks, printed matter, miscellaneous records, and photographs documenting most of the history of a highly regarded New York art gallery devoted to American painting. Series 1: Correspondence contains correspondence with artists, museums and arts organizations, collectors, colleagues, and others documents the workings of Rehn Galleries from its earliest days through 1968. A small amount of Frank K. M. Rehn's personal correspondence and a few scattered personal papers of individual artists are interfiled with the business correspondence. Series 2: Financial Records includes banking, insurance, and investment records, tax returns and related documentation, miscellaneous financial records and paid bills. Among the insurance records are detailed monthly schedules listing paintings with titles, artists, and insurance values. Miscellaneous financial records include inventories of gallery stock, notes regarding business expenses and income, and receipt books recording incoming paintings. Also included are a small number of items concerning the personal business of Frank Rehn and John Clancy. Five volumes of Scrapbooks (Series 3) contain clippings and a small number of exhibition catalogs documenting the activities of Rehn Galleries and many of its associated artists. Additional Printed Matter in Series 4 includes material relating to Rehn Galleries and its artists, as well as publications produced by Rehn Galleries. General, art-related printed matter consists of articles, auction catalogs, advertisements, and publications of various museums, arts organizations, and schools. There is also material about artists not affiliated with Rehn Galleries. Additional printed items concern miscellaneous subjects that are not art-related. Series 5: Miscellaneous Records, includes artwork, lists and notes, and writings. Photographs in Series 6 are of people including artists represented by Rehn as well as several not affiliated with the gallery. Noticeably absent are likenesses of Frank Rehn and John Clancy. Photographs of works of art are by Rehn Galleries' artists and others. Reginald Marsh's photographs consist of family and personal photographs that were either given to Rehn Galleries or perhaps loaned for research use, and include views of Marsh from early childhood through later life, photographs of family and friends, and a small family album. Also included are photographs are of Marsh's childhood drawings. Bio / His Notes: Frank K. M. Rehn (1886-1956), son of the marine painter Frank Knox Morton Rehn, after several years' experience as an employee of the Milch Galleries and as exhibition manager for the Salmagundi Club, opened his own art gallery in 1918. In its earliest years, the gallery operated as the Galleries of Frank K. M. Rehn. From the mid 1920s through the mid 1940s, the name used was Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries. As early as 1946, the gallery was referred to simply as Rehn Galleries. The gallery closed in 1981. Throughout its existence, Rehn Galleries specialized in representing American painters. During the first five years Rehn's operation was a private gallery at 6 West 50th Street, New York City. Among the artists he first represented were older, established men such as J. Alden Weir, George Inness, Alexander Wyant, Theodore Robinson, Thomas Dewing, and John H. Twachtman. Occasionally, Rehn handled works by such luminaries of the period as Robert Henri, George Luks, and John Singer Sargent. Among the living artists affiliated with the gallery in its first years were Daniel Garber, Walter Griffin, Dodge MacKnight, and Robert Spencer. Rehn's most popular artist during this time was Childe Hassam, who sued for recovery of a painting that, although acquired by Rehn through a reputable dealer, had been stolen from Hassam's studio many years earlier. Despite the newspaper publicity surrounding Hassam's lawsuit, the business was a successful venture almost immediately. Very early, a number of important collectors including Duncan Phillips, John Gellatly, John T. Spaulding, Albert McVitty, E. W. Root, and C. Vanderbilt Barton displayed confidence in Rehn's judgment and integrity, which enhanced his gallery's reputation and stature among both collectors and artists. In 1923, the gallery moved to 693 Fifth Avenue and began operating as Rehn Galleries, a commercial gallery in the same building that housed in a building that housed Kennedy and Company and the Bourgeois Galleries. At this time, Rehn hired an assistant, John C. Clancy (1897-1981), who had formerly been with Henry Reinhardt and Son and M. Knoedler. The Rehn Galleries soon enjoyed a regular following among museum curators and collectors visiting from out of town. The gallery's roster of artists grew along with its reputation. Rehn focused almost exclusively on American painters, occasionally showing drawings and prints by artists who were primarily painters; notable exceptions were sculptor Mahonri Young and Henry Varnum Poor who, in addition to being a painter, was known for his work in ceramics. Among the painters eventually represented were: Peggy Bacon, George Bellows, Alexander Brook, Charles Burchfield, John F. Carlson, John Carroll, Howard Cook, Jon Corbino, Virginia Cuthbert, Andrew Dasberg, Sidney Gross, Edward Hopper, Alexander James, Irving Kaufmann, Yeffe Kimball, Leon Kroll, Peppino Mangravite, Reginald and Felicia Meyer Marsh, Henry Mattson, Henry Lee McFee, Kenneth Hayes Miller, Charles Rosen, Robert Riggs, Alexander Russo, Elizabeth Sparhawk-Jones, Eugene Speicher, Henry Strater, Richard Derby Tucker, Franklin C. Watkins, and Denny Winters. In 1930, Rehn Galleries moved one block south to the Air France Building at 683 Fifth Avenue, remaining there for thirty years. John C. Clancy, Rehn's long-time assistant, became Gallery Director in 1953 after a stroke prevented Rehn from continuing to run his business in an active capacity. Eventually, Rehn's widow sold Clancy the gallery, which he continued to operate under varying names, including Rehn Gallery, Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries, Frank Rehn Gallery, and Rehn Galleries. From 1960 until 1966, The Rehn Galleries were at 36 East 61st Street from 1960 until 1966, when the gallery moved to a space formerly occupied by Kootz Gallery at 855 Madison Avenue, where it remained in business for another fifteen years. Additional forms: 35mm microfilm reels 5849-5872 available for use at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Loc. of Assoc. Material: Additional Rehn Gallery records also located at: Burchfield-Penney Art Center, Buffalo, N.Y. Co-Creator: Bartlett, Frederic Clay, 1873-1953 Bellows, George, 1882-1925 Brook, Alexander, 1898-1980 Burchfield, Charles Ephraim, 1893-1967 Chappell, Warren, 1904- Clancy, John, d. 1981 Coleman, Glenn O., 1887-1932 Cook, Howard Norton, 1901-1980 Cuthbert, Virginia, 1908-2001 Dasburg, Andrew, 1887- Gellatly, John, 1853-1931 Hawthorne, Charles Webster, 1872-1930 Henri, Robert, 1865-1929 Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967 Hopper, Jo N. (Josephine Nivison), ca. 1883-1968 James, Alexander, 1890-1946 Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974 Luks, George Benjamin, 1867-1933 Mangravite, Peppino, 1896- Marsh, Felicia Meyer, 1912 or 3-1978 Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954 McFee, Henry Lee, 1886-1953 Melchers, Gari, 1860-1932 Orton, J. Robert Pepper, Charles Hovey, 1864-1950 Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966 Poor, Henry Varnum, 1887-1970 Russo, Alexander Spalding, John T. Sparhawk-Jones, Elizabeth, 1885-1968 Speicher, Eugene E. (Eugene Edward), 1883-1962 Spruance, Benton, 1904-1967 Strater, Henry, 1896- Tucker, Allen, 1866-1939 Tucker, Richard Derby, 1903- Winters, Denny, 1907-1985 Young, Mahonri Mackintosh, 1877-1957 |
| extent | 21.8 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Financial Records Photographs Scrapbooks Works of Art |
| access | The papers have been scanned in their entirety and are available online via AAA's website. Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. |
| record link | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/frank-km-rehn-galleries-records-9193/more |
| record source | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/frank-km-rehn-galleries-records-9193 |
| finding aid | Available on the repository's, Archives of American Art's, web site. |
| acquisition information | The Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries records were loaned by John Clancy for microfilming in 1959; in 1966, this same material was donated to the Archives. Mr. Clancy made subsequent gifts of additional gallery records in 1978 and 1981. In 1985, the Whitney Museum of American Art donated to the Archives correspondence with Edward Hopper that John Clancy had loaned the museum many years earlier. A death mask of George Luks received with the collection is on extended loan to the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Separated and Related Materials John Clancy interview by Paul Cummings, July 10, 1970. Oral History Program, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Samuel Adler Papers, 1902-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Contains a recording (1 cassette; untranscribed) of Beverly Chesler interviewing John Clancy about the history of Rehn Galleries, 1973; Samuel Adler is present and participates briefly in the interview. In addition, the Archives of American Art has among its collections personal papers and oral history interviews of artists and collectors associated with the Rehn Galleries. Researchers are advised to conduct a name search in the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS). |
| updated | 12/15/2014 12:07:08 |
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