Forum Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Forum Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Fishko, Bella
label: Names
content: Fishko, Robert
label: Names
content: Gross, Chaim, 1904-1991
label: Names
content: Levine, David, 1926-2009
label: Names
content: Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987
topic: label: Topic
content: Figurative art
label: Topic
content: Women art dealers
label: Topic
content: Social realism
label: Topic
content: Magic realism (Art)
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated by Robert Fishko in 1996.
creator: label: Creator
content: Forum Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Forum Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Forum Gallery records measure 9 linear feet and date from 1946 to 1992, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1992. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through administrative records and artist files.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Forum Gallery (est. 1961) was an art gallery founded in New York City by Bella Fishko. The gallery is known for exhibiting figuritive art by prominent American artists. Raphael Soyer, Gregory Gillespie, David Levine, and Chaim Gross were among the first artists represented by the gallery. The gallery expanded to include international artists in the 1980s, growing to represent more than 30 artists from the United States and Europe. 

Bella Fishko (1913-1995) was born in Odesa and moved to the United States with her family in 1923. After graduating from Hunter College, she began working at the ACA (American Contemporary Art) Galleries. Fishko left ACA Galleries in the late 1950s to start her own gallery that specialized in figurative art. She retired in 1988 and her son, Robert Fishko, took over the gallery's operations.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 9 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1946-1992
label: Date
content: bulk 1960-1992
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.forugall
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as two series.

Series 1: Administrative Records, 1960s-1992 (Box 1; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 2: Artist Files, 1946-1990, bulk 1960-1990 (Box 1-9; 8.2 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2021.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Forum Gallery records measure 9 linear feet and date from 1946 to 1992, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1992. The collection sheds light on the gallery's operations through administrative files and artist files. Administrative files include scant appraisal records, exhibition files, financial records, photographs, and printed material. Artists' files contain correspondence, photographs, contracts and agreements, loan records, price lists, mailing lists, writings, and more. Chaim Gross, Max Weber, Laura Ziegler, Raphael Sawyer, David Levine, Bruno Lucchesi, and Laura Shechter are among the many artists found in the collection.