Swetzoff Gallery Records
name: label: Creator
content: Swetzoff Gallery
label: Names
content: Boghosian, Varujan
label: Names
content: Boyce, Richard, 1920-
label: Names
content: Conner, Bruce, 1933-2008
label: Names
content: Eshoo, Robert
label: Names
content: Hillsmith, Fannie, 1911-2007
label: Names
content: Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906-2001
label: Names
content: Ohashi, Yutaka, 1923-1989
label: Names
content: Pineda, Marianna, 1925-1996
label: Names
content: Redon, Odilon, 1840-1916
label: Names
content: Stewart, Reba, 1930-1971
label: Names
content: Swetzoff, Hyman Wulf, 1920-1968
label: Names
content: Tovish, Harold, 1921-2008
label: Names
content: Zóbel, Fernando
topic: label: Topic
content: Art, American -- Massachusetts -- Boston
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The records of the Swetzoff Gallery were donated by Sidney Swetzoff in 1968.
creator: label: Creator
content: Swetzoff Gallery
setName: label: See more items in
content: Swetzoff Gallery Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records of the Boston, Massachusetts Swetzoff Gallery measure 18.6 linear feet and date from 1941 to 1968.  Materials include administrative files, scattered general correspondence, named files, exhibition files, financial records, printed material, a scrapbook of printed material, photographs, and the personal papers of Hyman Swetzoff.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Swetzoff Gallery operated in Boston, Massachusetts from the late-1940s to 1968. 

Brothers Hyman and Seymour Swetzoff opened the Frameshop Gallery in Boston around 1948. Later, they expanded the business to include the sale of art and renamed the business Swetzoff Gallery. Hyman took sole-ownership of the gallery, which he ran until he was murdered by an unknown assailant in 1968.

The Swetzoff Gallery worked with many artists, dealers, galleries, and collectors including Albert Alcalay, Hyman Bloom, Varujan Boghosian, Richard Boyce, James Ensor, Robert Eshoo, Fannie Hillsmith, Gyorgy Kepes, Elie Nadelman, Yutaka Ohashi, Bradley Phillips, Marianna Pineda, Reba Stewart, Jean Tock, and Hugh Townley among many others.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- Massachusetts
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 18.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1941-1968
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.swetgall
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Gallery records
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Series 1: Administrative Files, 1949-1968 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1951-1965 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)

Series 3: Named Files, 1949-1968 (8.4 linear feet; Boxes 3-12, OV 20-21)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1946-1966 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 12-13)

Series 5: Financial Records, 1941-1968 (3.4 linear feet; Boxes 12-16)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1949-1968 (0.3 linear feet; Box 16)

Series 7: Scrapbook, 1948-1950 (0.3 linear feet; Box 16)

Series 8: Photographs, 1950s-1960s (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 16-17)

Series 9: Hyman Swetzoff Papers, 1950-1968 (2.0 linear feet; Boxes 17-19)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was minimally processed by Jayna Josefson in 2015 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund. The Archives of American Art has implemented minimal processing tactics when possible in order to increase information about and access to more of our collections.

Minimal processing included arrangement to the series and folder levels. Generally, items within folders were simply verified with folder titles, but not arranged further. The collection was rehoused in archival containers and folders.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Gallery records
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The records of the Boston, Massachusetts Swetzoff Gallery measure 18.6 linear feet and date from 1941 to 1968.  Materials include administrative files, scattered general correspondence, named files, exhibition files, financial records, printed material, a scrapbook of printed material, photographs, and the personal papers of Hyman Swetzoff.

Administrative records include twenty day books, mailing lists, leases, and shipping records.   Correspondence is scattered but includes holiday cards and general correspondence between other institutions, galleries, and clients.  
Named files are a mix of artist, subject, and client files and relate to Gallery's relationships with artists, buyers and clients, and institutions and galleries.  Files may include correspondence from or about the named individual.  Substantial materials are found for Varujan Boghosian, Richard Boyce, Bruce Connor, Robert Eshoo, Fannie Hillsmith, Gyorgy Kepes, Yutaka Ohashi, Marianna Pineda, Odilon Redon, Reba Stewart, Harold Tovish, and Fernando Zóbel.

Exhibition files document exhibitions at the Swetzoff Gallery, events at other galleries for which Swetzoff loaned works, and for larger art fairs and exhibitions in which the gallery participated.  Financial records include artist account ledgers, appraisals, consignments, accounts receivable and payable, price lists, receipts, records of purchases, sales statements, and other general financial records.  Ledgers may include artist name, title of work of art, buyer, and price. 

Printed material is scattered and includes some exhibition material and clippings.  There is one scrapbook of printed materials.  Photographs are of artists, gallery employees, installations, and of works of art.  

The Hyman Swetzoff papers include biographical material of Swetzoff and his family, correspondence, business records, writings, photographs, and artwork.