Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Alfred Schmela Galerie
| title | Galerie Schmela records, 1923-2006 (bulk 1957-1992) | repository | The Getty Research Institute |
| description | The Galerie Schmela records reveal the work of a passionate art dealer focused on seeking out and promoting new and innovative artists emerging in the changing social, political, and cultural landscapes in postwar Europe and the United States. Documented is gallery's business under Alfred Schmela's direction from the first opening show in 1957 until his death in 1980, and its continuation by wife and daughter during the 1990s, with a few items dated to 2006. The two most substantive portions comprise correspondence with artists, collectors, art dealers, museum curators, and critics; and several hundred vintage photographs of openings, performances, artists working on installing their shows, visitors, installations in gallery space, individual artwork, and Alfred Schmela himself and his family. Among the photographs many are by well known photographers and artists, including Bernd Becher, Paul Brandenburg, Bernd Jansen, Ute Klophaus, Jon Naar, Reiner Ruthenbeck, Liselotte Strellow, Manfred Tischer, Walter Vogel, and Charles Wilp. A small series comprises documents concerning the gallery's first auction held in 1963, including the gallery's annotated copy of the auction catalog. Other files hold business records and ledgers. A sizable collection of ephemera documents exhibitions of a vast number of artists from Europe and North America. Several organized groups of press clippings collected from the mid 1950s until late 1990s from local daily newspapers, compile reviews of exhibitions held at Galerie Schmela, other shows in Germany and abroad, articles about current trends in contemporary art, art criticism, the politics of art, Alfred Schmela, individual artists, collectors, museum curators, art dealers, various art institutions, and the art fair Kölner Kunstmarkt. The Kölner Kunstmarkt file includes the first portfolio of limited edition graphics offered for sale each year to raise funds for the art fair. Among the artists most extensively documented by the gallery are Sh saku Arakawa, Joseph Beuys, Christo, Lucio Fontana, Michael Gitlin, Robert Indiana, Yves Klein, Christian Löwenstein, Georges Mathieu, Robert Morris, Walter Pichler, Otto Piene, Raphael Jesús Soto, Richard Tuttle, and the ZERO group, especially its founders Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, and Günther Uecker. The Yves Klein file includes the sound recording of a discussion which took place at Galerie Schmela's inaugural exhibition, Yves Propositions monochromes on 31 May 1957, reel-to-reel tape and audio cassette. The Beuys file is extensive, and includes the gallery's correspondence with clients and the artist's estate, ephemera and press clippings, and various documents concerning Beuys's political activism at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf. Language: German Notes: Summaries of selected correspondence are available online. Location: SPECIAL COLLECTIONS - CONTACT REFERENCE Call Number: 2007.M.17 Preferred Citation Galerie Schmela records, 1923-2006, bulk 1957-1992. The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2007.M.17 |
| extent | 102.63 linear feet (175 boxes, 26 flatfile folders) |
| formats | Business Papers Correspondence Photographs Ephemera Artist Files |
| access | Open for use by qualified researchers, except unreformatted audiovisual materials. Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy. |
| record link | http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2007m17 |
| record source | https://primo.getty.edu/permalink/f/19q6gmb/GETTY_ALMA21118881410001551 |
| finding aid | Online and in the repository |
| acquisition information | Acquired in 2007. |
| updated | 07/28/2023 16:33:45 |
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