Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Dwan Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
| title | Dwan Gallery records, 1959-circa 1982, bulk 1959-1971 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Records document exhibitions held at the Dwan gallery in Los Angeles (1959-1967) and New York (1965-1971). Included are photographs, slides, and color transparencies of installations; clippings; announcements; and lists of works in each exhibition. Among the artists represented in the Los Angeles gallery are Arman, Robert Goodnough, Edward Keinholz, Yves Klein, Raymond Parker, and Ad Reinhardt; in New York, Dan Flavin, Sol LeWitt, Robert Smithson, and Kenneth Snelson. Biographical/Historical Note In 1959, Virginia Dwan opened her first gallery in the Westwood Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1965, Virginia Dwan moved to New York City and founded an east coast branch of the Dwan Gallery. Exhibitions at the Dwan Gallery showed Abstract Expressionist artists, Nouveaux Realistes artists, Land, and Minimilist artists. Dwan recognized that many of her shows were not considered salable but continued to show the avant-garde. The Dwan Gallery Los Angeles closed in mid-1967 but the New York branch remained open until 1971. |
| extent | 2.2 linear ft. |
| formats | Photographs Clippings Slides |
| access | Use requires an appointment at our Washington, D.C. office. |
| record link | https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.dwangall.pdf |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/dwan-gallery-records-6056 |
| finding aid | Finding Aid available in D.C. office. |
| acquisition information | Donated 1989 and 1996 by Virginia Dwan. |
| updated | 06/08/2023 16:42:13 |
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| title | Virginia Dwan Gallery Archive | repository | Center for Curatorial Studies |
| description | The Dwan Gallery Archives consist primarily of exhibition files for exhibitions curated by Virginia Dwan at the Dwan Gallery in Los Angeles (1959-1967) and the Dwan Gallery in New York (1965-1971). Exhibition documentation includes lists of exhibited works, installation views, invitations, press clippings, posters, and exhibition catalogs. Some of the artists that held exhibitions at the Dwan Gallery in New York and Los Angeles include: Robert Goodnough, Robert Richenburg, Larry Rivers, Philip Guston, Yves Klein, Salvadore Scarpitta, Arakawa, Martial Raysse, Ad Reinhardt, Arman, Franz Kline, Edward Keinholz, Claes Oldenburg, Niki de Sainte Phalle, Joan Mitchell, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, Raymond Parker, Kenneth Snelson, Carl Andre, Sol LeWitt, Robert Smithson, and Anastasi. Important exhibitions documented in the archives include: Language to be Looked at and/or Things to be Read (1967-1970), Boxes (1964) Earth Works (1968), My Country 'tis of Thee (1962) and 10 (1967 and 1968). A duplicate set of the gallery records were also donated to the Archives of American Art in 1996. The Dwan Gallery Archives are arranged chronologically by exhibition, in two series. Oversize exhibition files for each venue follow the main series as follows: Series I: Los Angeles Exhibition Files Series II: New York Exhibition Files Oversize Series I: Los Angeles Exhibition Files Oversize Series II: New York Exhibition Files Biographical/Historical Note Virginia Dwan, born 1931, opened her first gallery in Los Angeles, California in 1959. In 1965, Virginia Dwan moved to New York City and founded an east coast branch of the Dwan Gallery. Her Los Angeles gallery continued to operate under the direction of art dealer John Weber, until he joined Virginia Dawn in New York City upon the California gallery’s closing in 1967. Exhibitions at both branches of the Dwan Gallery showed notable Abstract Expressionist, Conceptualist, Nouveaux Realiste, Minimalist, and Land Art artists. Dwan provided early exposure for many of her artists, as well as significant financial support for avant-garde exhibitions and projects that were not commercially lucrative. The New York gallery remained in operation until 1971. |
| extent | 8 binders |
| formats | Photographs Clippings |
| access | The collection is open to researchers without restrictions. Appointments are necessary to consult manuscript and archival materials. Access copies for media materials may not be available yet. Please contact the CCS Archivist for further details. Use Restrictions: Collection use is subject to all copyright laws. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Director of the Library & Archives at the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College. Please contact ccslib@bard.edu for more information. |
| record link | http://www.bard.edu/ccs/findingaids/index.html/mss.002/dwan.html |
| record source | https://ccs.bard.edu/research-center/archives |
| updated | 05/08/2019 14:31:44 |
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| title | Oral history interview with Virginia Dwan, 1984 Mar. 21-June 7. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Virginia Dwan conducted 1984 Mar. 21-June 7, by Charles F. Stuckey, for the Archives of American Art. Dwan speaks of her background and education; her early interest in art; starting her gallery in 1959 in Los Angeles; the early days of her gallery; the development of her circle of artists; early shows; financing the gallery; "shopping" for art and artists; public and critical reaction to her gallery's shows; the decision to go to New York, and getting established there; making decisions about what to show; collectors; the closing of the Dwan Gallery; and her life since. She also relates anecdotes about the creation and execution of Robert Smithson's "Spiral Jetty" and reminisces about numerous artists with whom she was associated, incluing: Jean Tinguely, Robert Rauschenberg, Yves Klein, Ad Reinhardt, Ed Kienholz, Philip Guston, Arman, Robert Smithson, Franz Kline, Kenneth Snelson, Carl Andre, Sol Lewitt, Michael Heizer, Walter De Maria, and Robert Ryman. Bio / His Notes: Virginia Dwan is an art dealer from New York, N.Y. |
| extent | 10 sound cassettes Transcript: 360 p. |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript |
| access | Use requires an appointment. Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce must be obtained from: Virginia Dwan, c/o of Anne Kovach, Virginia Dwan Collection/Dwan Gallery Archives, 1 West 72nd St., #32 New York, N.Y. 10023. Phone: 212/724-1613; Fax: 212/496-6438; dwanart@aol.com. |
| record link | n/a |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-virginia-dwan-12911 |
| acquisition information | These interviews are 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 | 06/08/2023 16:42:20 |
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| title | The Reminiscences of Virginia Dwan, 2014 | repository | Robert Rauschenberg Foundation |
| description | The following oral history is the result of a recorded interview with Virginia Dwan conducted by Sara Sinclair on December 1, 2014. This interview is part of the Robert Rauschenberg Oral History Project. The reader is asked to bear in mind that s/he is reading a transcript of the spoken word, rather than written prose. Virginia Dwan A pioneering gallerist first in Los Angeles (1959–67) and then in New York (1965–71), Virginia Dwan was a pivotal figure in the development of postwar art in the United States. On the West Coast, her gallery was well known for its exhibitions of Abstract Expressionism, Nouveau Réalisme, and Pop art. Dwan presented Rauschenberg’s first solo exhibition in California in 1962 featuring the artist’s Combines (1954–64). She organized a second monographic display in 1965. In New York, Dwan’s gallery gained a reputation not only for groundbreaking exhibitions of Minimal, Conceptual, and Land art, but also for shaping their discourse. Celebrated as a visionary patron of the arts, she supported numerous projects including Robert Smithson’s iconic Spiral Jetty (1970). After closing her gallery in 1971, Dwan produced films with and about artists, working with Carl Andre, John Cage, Michael Heizer, Elaine Sturtevant, and Mark di Suvero. Dwan recently donated her remarkable personal collection to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., including two works from the 1960s by Rauschenberg. Highlights from her promised gift are included in the museum’s exhibition Los Angeles to New York: Dwan Gallery, 1959–1971 (September 30, 2016–January 29, 2017). |
| extent | Contact the Rauschenberg Foundation for further details. |
| access | Access to the oral history is through the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation's website. |
| record link | https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/artist/oral-history/virginia-dwan |
| record source | https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/artist/oral-history/virginia-dwan |
| updated | 01/29/2019 16:32:13 |
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