This collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing and digitization. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the
The Stendahl Art Galleries records were donated by Alfred Stendahl in 1976. An album of clippings was donated by Stendahl in 1995 via Nancy Moure.
Stendahl Art Galleries Records, 1907-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2016 with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care Pool Fund, using accelerated processing strategies implemented by the Archives to increase information about and access to more of our collections. For this collection, accelerated processing included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels, adhering to the creator's original arrangement as much as possible. Generally, folder contents were simply verified with the original folder titles, but items within folders were not arranged further. All materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
The collection is arranged as 4 series.
The records of the Los Angeles Stendahl Art Galleries measure 7.5 linear feet and date from 1907 to 1971. The collection is comprised of administrative and financial files, correspondence, exhibition files, and subject files on numerous artists, organizations, and other art-related topics. There is one scrapbook of clippings on the artist Edgar Payne.
Administrative and financial files concern advertising, publicity, consignments, inventory, purchases, sales, leases, and biographical information on Earl Stendahl.
The bulk of the correspondence is pre-World War II and is fairly extensive. It is with artists, organizations, collectors, art historians,and galleries. Signicant correspondents include Alexander Archipenko, Federico Beltran-Masses, Alexander Calder, Federico Cantú, Jean Charlot, Couvoisier Galleries, José de Creeft, Demotte Inc., Jerome Eddy, Lillian Genthe, Arthur Hill Gilbert, George B. Guthrie, Rockwell Kent, Louis Kronberg, Gisella Loeffler, Carlos Mérida, Isamu Noguchi, Walter Pach, Diego Rivera, Waler Elmer Schofield, David Alfaro Siquieros, Ladislas Szecsi, Wildenstein & Company, and many others.
Files are found for about ten exhibitions, including
Subject files are found for numerous artists, art topics, galleries, and foundations. Most of the files consist of printed materials, but there is correspondence and additional primary source material found in files for Nicolai Ivanovich Feshin, the Thomas Gilcrease Foundation, Armin Hansen, Joseph Kleitsch, Aston Knight, José Clemente Orozco, Edgar Payne, Ralph M. Pearson, Pablo Picasso, William Ritschel, Diego Rivera, Ethel B. Rose, Guy Rose, Walter Elmer Schofield, David Alfaro Siquieros, Ladislas Szecsi, William Wendt, and Ignacio Zuloaga.
Earl Stendahl established Stendahl Art Galleries in 1911 in Los Angeles, California.
Earl Stendahl (1887-1966) came to Southern California from a small town in Wisconsin. He began showing young Los Angeles artists at his downtown restaurant, The Black Cat Café. He opened his gallery in The Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard and organized shows focusing primarily on California Impressionists of the early twentieth century, including Edgar Payne, Guy Rose, William Wendt, Nicolai Fechin, and Joseph Kleitsch.
Stendahl Art Galleries also began to sell European and Latin American modern art. In 1939, Stendahl hosted one of only two non-museum exhibitions of Pablo Picasso's masterwork,
As early as 1935 Stendahl began promoting ancient artifacts from Mexico and Central America. Stendahl's first client for pre-Columbian art and artifacts was noted collector Walter Arensberg. Stendahl and the Arensburgs became friends and Stendahl helped the Arensburgs build one of the most significant collections in the U.S.
The galleries are currently owned by Ronald W. Dammann, Stendahl's grandson.
Portions of the collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels 2716-2725 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Files document advertising and publicity, consignments, inventory, purchases, sales, prices, lease agreements, and biographical information on Earl Stendahl.
Inventory, Joseph Kleitsch
Sales
Sales, Nicolai Fechin
The majority of correspondence is between Earl Stendahl and various artists and organizations regarding loans of artwork, sales and purchases, and artists' accounts. Correspondents include Alexander Archipenko, Federico Beltran-Masses, Federico Cantú, Jean Charlot, Couvoisier Galleries, Demotte Inc., Jerome Eddy, Lillian Genthe, Arthur Hill Gilbert, George B. Guthrie, Rockwell Kent, Carlos Mérida, Isamu Noguchi, and Ladislas Szecsi. Also, an illustrated letter from Gisella Loeffler to Stendahl can be found. Some files may include financial and printed material.
Beltran-Masses, Federico
Buchholz Gallery
Courvoisier Galleries
Gaspard, Leon
Kaufmann, Arthur
Loeffler, Gisella
Nierendorf Gallery
Paalen, Alice Rahon
Poland, Reginald
Files for exhibitions consist of correspondence, exhibition announcements and catalogs, price lists, artist statements, and exhibition schedules. Exhibitions include
Schedules
Group Exhibitions
Files on artists, topics, and organizations of interest to Stendahl are largely made up of printed materials, but some notes, writings, financial material, and additional correspondence can be found in this series. Included are files for James Bordrero, Nicolai Ivanovich Feshin, Thomas Gilcrease Foundation, Armin Hansen, Joseph Kleitsch, Aston Knight, José Clemente Orozco, Ralph M. Pearson, Pablo Picasso, José Martinez Pinazo, William Ritschel, Diego Rivera, Ethel B. Rose, Guy Rose, Walter Elmer Schofield, David Alfaro Siquieros, Ladislas Szecsi, William Wendt, and Ignacio Zuloaga, and others. A scrapbook of clippings is included in files for Edgar Payne and painted designs are in files for Ralph M. Pearson.
Cugat, Francesc
Edstrom, David
Fechin, Nicolai - Correspondence
Fechin, Nicolai - Correspondence
Fechin, Nicolai - Printed Material
Fechin, Nicolai - Photographs and Receipts
Los Angeles Museum
Pearson, Ralph M., Printed Material and Photographs
Pearson, Ralph M., Artwork
Picasso, Pablo
Rivera, Diego
Rose, Ethel
Rose, Guy
Stojana, Gjura
Zuloaga, Ignacio