The Downtown Gallery was the first commercial

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

established in 1926 by

Edith Halpert Edith Halpert or Edith Gregor Halpert (née Edith Gregoryevna Fivoosiovitch; 1900–1970) was a pioneering New York City Art dealer, dealer of American modernism, American modern art and American Folk Art, American folk art. She brought recognitio ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, United States. At the time it was founded, it was the only New York gallery dedicated exclusively to contemporary American art by living artists.

History

In the fall of 1926,

, inspired by the art scene she encountered during her stay in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, decided to establish a platform in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where American artists could have similar opportunities. In 1926, with funds from a successful business career as an executive at the S. W. Straus & Company investment bank, Halpert, alongside her friend Berthe Kroll Goldsmith, inaugurated Our Gallery in Manhattan at 113 West 13th Street. The first notable occupant of 113 West 13th Street was

Henry Jarvis Raymond Henry Jarvis Raymond (January 24, 1820 – June 18, 1869) was an American journalist, newspaper publisher, and politician who co-founded both the Republican Party and ''The New York Times''. He was a member of the New York State Assembly, the ...

, a young Whig journalist who, along with his wife, began raising their first son in the building within a year of its construction. Our Gallery served as a dedicated space for showcasing contemporary American art, often featuring works by artists within Halpert's social circle, including her husband,

Samuel Halpert Samuel Halpert (1884 in Białystok, Russia – 1930 in Detroit, Michigan) was an American painter. Early days Halpert's family migrated to New York City in 1890. His father's preoccupation with religious devotion necessitated that Halpert s ...

. In the subsequent year of 1927, prompted by the artistic community, particularly artist

William Zorach William Zorach (February 28, 1889 – November 15, 1966) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the Arts in 1927. He was at the forefront of American artists embracing cubism. He is the husband of ...

, the gallery underwent a name change to the Downtown Gallery. Early promotional materials for the Downtown Gallery emphasized Halpert and Goldsmith's commitment to artistic quality and enduring value over transient trends, stating: "The Downtown Gallery has no prejudice for any one school. Its selection is driven by quality — by what is enduring — not by what is in vogue." In 1929,

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Abigail Greene Aldrich Rockefeller (October 26, 1874 – April 5, 1948) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was a prominent member of the Rockefeller family through her marriage to financier and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller ...

became an early customer of the Gallery, during which time Halpert was selling 19th-century pictures and weathervanes that she had gathered from New England. The Downtown Gallery records consist largely of correspondence with collectors, including Edgar and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Preston Harrison, Mr. and Mrs. Maxim Karolik, William H. Lane, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Beram K. Saklatwalla, Robert Tannahill, and Electra Havemeyer Webb, as well as with dealers such as Robert Carlen, Landau Gallery, Leicester Galleries, Mirski Gallery, and Isabel Carleton Wilde. In addition to showcasing artworks by women, immigrants, and Jewish artists, the Downtown Gallery notably distinguished itself as one of the first art spaces in New York City to feature the works of African American artists like

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Armstead Lawrence (September 7, 1917 – June 9, 2000) was an American painter known for his portrayal of African-American historical subjects and contemporary life. Lawrence referred to his style as "dynamic cubism", an art form populariz ...

and

Horace Pippin Horace Pippin (February 22, 1888 – July 6, 1946) was an American painter who painted a range of themes, including scenes inspired by his service in World War I, landscapes, portraits, and biblical subjects. Some of his best-known works address ...

. Notably, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when the Japanese American painter

Yasuo Kuniyoshi was a Japanese-American painter, photographer and printmaker. Early life Kuniyoshi was born on September 1, 1889, in Okayama, Japan. He immigrated to the United States in 1906 at 17, choosing not to attend military school in Japan. Kuniyoshi ...

faced classification as an enemy alien, the gallery organized an exhibition of his paintings in 1942. By 1931, the gallery had surpassed $100,000 in revenue. However, the subsequent year witnessed a significant downturn, with revenue plummeting by 50 per cent. In 1935,

became the sole proprietor of the business, overseeing its operations until her passing in 1970. Following her demise, her niece, Nathaly Baum, assumed control of the gallery until its closure in 1973. In 1934, Halpert organized the "Mile of Art" exhibition at

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

with the support of Mayor

Fiorello LaGuardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Y ...

and

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

to assist artists struggling during the Great Depression. She relocated the Downtown Gallery uptown to 51st Street in 1940 and to 57th Street in 1965. Several works now in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art traveled through the Downtown Gallery, including paintings by Stuart Davis (Men and Machine; 1934), Charles Demuth (Red Poppies; 1929), Charles Sheeler (Americana; 1931), and a 1918 collage by Max Weber, The Apollo in Matisse’s Studio.

References

{{coord missing, New York City 1926 establishments in New York City Art museums and galleries established in 1926 Defunct art museums and galleries in Manhattan Greenwich Village