Shirley Neilsen Blum, also known as Shirley Hopps (born 14 October 1932) is an American art historian, author, gallerist, and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

at the

State University of New York, Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

(1970–1989). She specializes in Northern Renaissance art, early Netherlandish art, and modern art. In the 1950s through the 1960s, she was active in the Los Angeles gallery scene, and she co-founded and co-ran

Ferus Gallery The Ferus Gallery was a contemporary art gallery which operated from 1957 to 1966. In 1957, the gallery was located at 736-A North La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles in the U.S. state of California. In 1958, it was relocated across the street to ...

Biography

Shirley Marie Neilsen was born in 1932 in

Petaluma Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village named ''Péta ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to parents Dana (née Keyes) and Melvin Louis Neilsen. She received a M.A. degree in 1955 from

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and a Ph.D. in 1964 from

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA). Her thesis advisor was Karl M. Birkmeyer. She was married in 1955 to

Walter Hopps Walter "Chico" Hopps (May 3, 1932 – March 20, 2005) was an American museum director, gallerist, and curator of contemporary art. Hopps helped bring Los Angeles post-war artists to prominence during the 1960s, and later went on to redefine pract ...

of the Ferus Gallery and future curator at

Pasadena Art Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Simon collections ...

, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1966. In 1967, she married a co-worker at the Ferus Gallery and art dealer, Irving Blum, which ended in 1976. Shirley and Irving Blum had a son born in 1969, film producer

Jason Blum Jason Ferus Blum (; born February 20, 1969) is an American producer. He is the founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions, best known for horror franchises such as ''Paranormal Activity (film series), Paranormal Activity'' (2007–2021), ''Insidi ...

. Shirley and Walter ran Ferus gallery together for many years. Walter Hopps and Shirley bought out Andy Warhol's first exhibition at Ferus Gallery in 1962, a collection which ended up being worth $15 million dollars by 1996. She taught art history at her alma mater University of Chicago, from 1961 until 1962. Between 1962 and 1973, Blum was an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...

. From 1970 until 1989, Blum served as a professor at

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

(SUNY Purchase). At SUNY Purchase, she founded the Art History Department. Neilsen was the Charles A. Dana Department Chair at

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

, from 1973 until 1974.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blum, Shirley Neilsen 1932 births Living people American women art historians People from Petaluma, California State University of New York at Purchase faculty University of Chicago alumni University of California, Los Angeles alumni American art curators American art historians American art dealers American women art dealers University of California, Riverside faculty Historians from California 20th-century American historians 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American women writers

Biography

See also

Publications

References