Argus Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Argus Gallery (Madison, N.J.)
label: Names
content: Goodwin, E. Austin
label: Names
content: Johnson, Edward F.
label: Names
content: Johnson, Verdenal Hoag, 1924-
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 1993 by Edward and Verdenal Johnson and in 2002 by Verdenal Johnson.
creator: label: Creator
content: Argus Gallery (Madison, N.J.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Argus Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Argus Gallery records measure 8.6 linear feet and date from 1927 to 1990, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1974. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through administrative files, artist files, exhibition files, printed material, and photographs.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Argus Gallery was founded in Madison, New Jersey, in 1961 by Verdenal and Edward Johnson and E. Austin Goodwin. The gallery exhibited primarily contemporary artists, with several shows featuring nineteenth century artists, most notably from Maine and New Jersey. 

Goodwin, who was a member of the art faculty at Newark State College, had left the gallery by 1964, and Edward Johnson, a high school counselor, and Verdenal Johnson, a high school teacher, took over operations.

During its years in business, Argus Gallery held solo shows for artists B. J. O. Nordfeldt, Henry Gullick, Seymour Lipton, German artist Adolf Konrad, and others. Group shows at the gallery included an annual college and university faculty show put together from sources across the country, and a British printmakers show. In addition to exhibitions, Argus Gallery organized artist demonstrations, offered youth and adult art classes, and held a lecture series hosted by art critic Clement Greenberg.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- New Jersey -- Madison
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 8.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1927-1990
label: Date
content: bulk 1960-1974
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.argugall
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as five series.

Series 1: Administrative Files, 1958-1986 (Box 1; .8 linear feet)

Series 2: Artist Files, 1927-1990 (Box 1-5, 9; 4 linear feet)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1961-1970 (Box 5-6; 1 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1957-1975 (Box 6-10; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographs, 1960-1971 (Box 8; .4 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2021.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Argus Gallery records measure 8.6 linear feet and date from 1927 to 1990, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1974. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through administrative files, artist files, exhibition files, printed material, and photographs.

Administrative files include papers related to gallery finances, other art organizations and institutions, the gallery's board of directors, several print workshops, and an artists program at Farleigh Dickinson University. 

Artist files include biographical summaries, correspondence, exhibition ephemera, newspaper clippings, photographs, price lists, and inventories. Papers concerning exhibitions at the gallery consist of correspondence with donors, artists, and other institutions, mailing lists, publicity material, price lists, and photographic material. 

Printed material consists of exhibition announcements and catalogs, newsletters and mailings published by the Argus Gallery and others, newspaper clippings and articles on the Argus gallery, its exhibitions, and other art-related topics, and three Argus Gallery scrapbooks of photographs, exhibition ephemera, and clippings. 

Photographs includes snapshots and transparencies of the interior of the gallery, classes offered at the gallery, and mixed images of artists, artwork, and gallery shows.