Poindexter Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Poindexter Gallery
label: Names
content: Corcoran Gallery of Art
label: Names
content: Denver Art Museum
label: Names
content: Fogg Art Museum
label: Names
content: Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Montana Historical Society
label: Names
content: Oberlin College
label: Names
content: Smithsonian Institution
label: Names
content: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
label: Names
content: University of Arizona
label: Names
content: Worcester Art Museum
label: Names
content: Yale University
label: Names
content: De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997
label: Names
content: De Niro, Robert, Sr., 1922-1993
label: Names
content: Dickinson, Eleanor, 1931-
label: Names
content: Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993
label: Names
content: Harris, Paul, 1925-
label: Names
content: Kerkam, Earl, 1891-1965
label: Names
content: Kline, Franz, 1910-1962
label: Names
content: Olitski, Jules, 1922-2007
label: Names
content: Poindexter, Elinor, 1905-1994
label: Names
content: Resnick, Milton, 1917-2004
label: Names
content: Spaventa, George, 1918-
topic: label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- 20th century
label: Topic
content: Women art dealers
label: Topic
content: Abstract expressionism
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Poindexter Gallery records were donated over a period from 1968-1978 by the Poindexter Gallery via owners Elinor Poindexter and art director Harold Fondren.  A 2006 accession was donated by Christie Poindexter Dennis, daughter of Elinor.
creator: label: Creator
content: Poindexter Gallery
setName: label: See more items in
content: Poindexter Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records of the Poindexter Gallery measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1931-1985 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1955-1978 when the gallery was active.  The majority of the collection consists of artists' files documenting the gallery's relationships with its artists, including exhibitions, and containing a wide variety of materials, including photographs.  Also found are the "desk files" kept by the gallery's founder, Elinor Poindexter; correspondence; and financial and legal records.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Poindexter Gallery was founded in 1955 in New York City by Elinor Poindexter.  The gallery specialized in sculpture, abstract, and figurative art and featured the works of such artists as Richard Diebenkorn, Jules Olitski, Nell Blaine, Willem de Kooning, Giorgio Spaventa, Franz Kline, Earl Kerkam, Milton Resnick and Robert De Niro, among others.  The Poindexter Gallery closed in 1978.

Elinor Poindexter (1905-1994) was born in Montreal and raised in Staten Island. She studied art at Finch College in Manhattan. Poindexter and her husband, George, were collectors of experimental art. Poindexter befriended art dealer Charles Egan, a supporter of early abstract expressionism. When Egan withdrew from the business, Elinor founded the Poindexter Gallery in his eponymous gallery's previous location at 41 East 57th Street. One year later, the Poindexter Gallery moved locations to 21 West 56th Street. Many of the artists who were previously represented by Egan became represented by the Poindexter Gallery.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7.1 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1931-1985
label: Date
content: bulk 1955-1978
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.poingall
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as 5 series.

Series 1: Elinor Poindexter Desk Files, 1947-1969 (Box 1, 8 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1955-1971 (Box 1-2, 1.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Artists' Files, 1931-1983, undated (Box 2-5, 2.4 linear feet)

Series 4: Financial and Legal Files, 1955-1985 (Box 5-6, 1.0 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographic Materials, 1933-1977 (Box 6-7, 1.4 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was minimally processed, arranged, and described by Alexandra Krensky in 2013 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

The goal for minimal-level processing at the Archives of American Art is to provide access to collections as quickly as possible while maintaining our high standards for arrangement, description and preservation. Generally, materials are minimally rearranged, existing folder titles are retained, and all materials are rehoused in acid-free folders and boxes. Staples and other fasteners are not removed, but materials are removed from binders or damaged binding when necessary.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The records of the Poindexter Gallery measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1931-1985 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1955-1978 when the gallery was active.  The majority of the collection consists of artists' files documenting the gallery's relationships with its artists, including exhibitions, and containing a wide variety of materials, including photographs.  Also found are the "desk files" kept by the gallery's founder, Elinor Poindexter; correspondence; and financial and legal records.

Elinor Poindexter's desk files consist of documents she kept as a reference for both her personal needs and gallery business.  Correspondence is with artists, museums, colleges and universities, and art institutes.  Notable correspondents include Worcester Art Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon Guggenheim Museum, Denver Art Museum, Yale University, Oberlin College, University of Arizona, the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, Smithsonian Institution, and the Montana Historical Association.  Additional correspondence is found throughout desk files and artists' files as well.  

Artists' files are found for artists represented by the gallery, or in whom the gallery took an interest.  Contents of the files vary, but may contain correspondence, photographs, sales records, exhibition files, and printed materials.  There is extensive material relating to artists Richard Diebenkorn, Willem de Kooning, Giorgio Spaventa, Robert De Niro, Earl Kerkam, Franz Kline, Milton Resnick, Eleanor Dickinson, Paul Harris, Jules Olitski, among others.  

The remainder of the collection consists of financial and legal files containing sales inventories and receipts, price lists, bills, loan agreements, and documents pertaining to the estate of Giorgio Spaventa, as well as photographic materials consisting of prints, negatives, slides and color transparencies of artwork.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Among other resources relating to the Poindexter Gallery records in the Archives of American Art is an oral history with gallery owner, Elinor Poindexter, conducted by Paul Cummings on September 9, 1970.