Collection Guide
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Artist and gallery ephemera
LIB.001.002
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Title: Artist and gallery ephemera
Identifier/Call Number: LIB.001.002
Contributing Institution:
Los Angeles County Museum of Art Balch Art Research Library
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
390.0 Linear feet
Date: 1950s-ongoing
Creator:
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch Art Research Library.
The Artist and gallery files were and are compiled and maintained by the staff of the Balch Art Research Library and have
been since the opening of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Wilshire Boulevard in 1965. Some materials date to the 1950s
and were probably acquired by the library while it was serving the Los Angeles Museum of Science History and Art (now the
Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History) at Exposition Park before the Art Museum became an independant entity. Most
of the ephemera was mailed directly to the museum either to the Research Library or to curators who passed the materials along
for inclusion in the files.
Artist and gallery files consist of a total of 390 linear feet of materials made up of post cards, announcements, pamphlets,
invitations, and other ephemera promoting the work of artists or exhibitions of artworks organized by galleries dating from
the late 1950s to the present. The collection is especially strong in ephemera related to contemporary art and artists both
in the United States and internationally. 156 file drawers or 338 linear feet are made up of One Artist files, consisting
of ephemeral items relating to individual artists and/or their one man shows. 15 file drawers or 32.5 linear feet consist
of ephemeral items for group shows, grouped by gallery. 9 file drawers or 19.5 linear feet consist of ephemeral items for
group shows organized by insitutions such as universities or colleges or galleries affiliated with these institutions. These
materials are grouped by institution. The collection is particularly strong in ephemera from galleries and institutions in
the Los Angeles area.
All materials pertaining to single artists was retained for the One Artist files regardless of the nationality, period, or
school of the artist or venue represented until 2011 after which only items related to artists based in or associated with
California are retained to be added to the files.
The series representing galleries and institutions have always consisted exclusively of files related to venues in California.
[Description of item], [Name of seires], Artist and gallery ephemera, Los Angeles County Museum of Art Balch Art Research
Library, LIB.001.002.
Contact the Balch Research Library at 323-856-6118 or library@lacma.org for information on publishing or reproducing materials
included in these records. Permission will be granted by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as the owner of the physical
materials, and does not imply permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all
necessary permissions from the copyright holder.
This collection is open for use by appointment only at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Balch Art Research Library. Please
contact the library ahead of time to inquire if materials exist in the Artist and gallery ephemera collection pertaining to
your research interests by telephone at 323-857-6118 or email at library@lacma.org.
As of 2012 items larger than eight pages are no longer added to the artist file and are instead cataloged individually. Pamphlets
or booklets over eight pages long added to the files before 2012 are gradually being removed for cataloging.
Ephemera in unique or unusual formats have also been removed from the general files and cataloged seperately. These items
include invitations and announcements that do not take on a traditional pamphlet or postcard form but instead may communicate
information in the form of an artist's book, on an everyday object like a kitchen sponge, or an object that wittily transmits
a theme in the artists artwork like a silk stocking screen printed with an exhibition announcement. These are also available
to researchers as a part of the Artist and gallery special formats ephemera collection, collection number LIB.001.001.
The files are arranged into three series.
One Artist Files:
The largest series is the One Artist files made up of items pertaining to single artists or exhibitions of their work. These
are arranged alphabetically by artist last name.
Gallery files:
The Gallery files series is arranged alphabetically by location (city) and then alphabetically by gallery name.
Institution files:
The Institution files series is arranged alphabetically by location (city) and then alphabetically by institution name. Galleries
which are part of a larger institution (for example college and university galleries) are filed under the institution name.
The files of the following prominent California-based artsists were seperated from the bulk of the One Artist files and cataloged
seperately due to their anticipated high use based on the scope fo the Research Library and LACMA's collections. They are
also open for research by contacting the Balch Art Research Library.
- Altoon, John
- Baldessari, John
- Bell, Larry
- Bengston, Billy Al
- Berman, Wallace
- Blair, Streeter
- Burden, Chris
- Conner, Bruce
- DeFeo, Jay
- Diebenkorn, Richard
- Foulkles, Llyn
- Gechtoff, Sonia
- Hammons, David
- Hockney, David
- Irwin, Robert
- Johns, Jasper
- Kauffman, Craig
- Kelley, Mike
- Kelly, James
- Kienholz, Edward
- Lobdell, Frank
- Lujan, Gilbert
- McCarthy, Paul
- Moses, Ed
- Nauman, Bruce
- Nordmann, Maria
- Pettibone, Richard
- Price, Kenneth
- Romero, Frank
- Ruben, Richards
- Ruscha, Ed
- Sarkisian, Paul
- Smith, Hassel
- Still, Clyfford
- Turrell, James
- Valadez, John
- Wagner, Gordon
- Wayne, June
- Wheeler, Doug
- White, Charles
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Art galleries, Commercial--California
Art museums--California
Artist files