Stanley and Elyse Grinstein papers
name: label: Creator
content: Grinstein, Stanley, 1927-2014
label: Creator
content: Grinstein, Elyse, 1929-2016
label: Names
content: Gemini G.E.L. (Firm)
label: Names
content: Gehry, Frank O., 1929-
label: Names
content: Hockney, David
label: Names
content: Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008
label: Names
content: Serra, Richard, 1938-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Architects -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Occupation
content: Philanthropists -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Occupation
content: Collectors -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Occupation
content: Printers -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Topic
content: Art -- Collectors and collecting -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Topic
content: Women architects
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 2017, 2022 and 2023 by the Grinstein family, via Ayn Grinstein, Ellen Grinstein Perliter, and Nancy Grinstein, executors.
creator: label: Creator
content: Grinstein, Stanley, 1927-2014
label: Creator
content: Grinstein, Elyse, 1929-2016
setName: label: See more items in
content: Stanley and Elyse Grinstein papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Stanley and Elyse Grinstein date from circa 1937-2022 and measure 15.5 linear feet. The collection documents the role the Grinsteins played in nurturing and promoting the Los Angeles art scene from circa 1960-2014 through personal friendships with area artists, the co-founding of the artist editions publishing business Gemini G.E.L., and through their art collecting activities. Records include biographical material such as records documenting the history of the Grinstein's home at 441 North Rockingham Avenue; artist files including substantive letters and postcards from notable artists, musicians, writers and architects; professional files and other documentation relating to Gemini G.E.L. and the artists who worked with the business; records documenting Elyse Grinstein's architectural career; and personal business files documenting the purchase, loan, and donation of works of art. Also found is extensive photographic material documenting parties and other events held by the Grinsteins, and documenting activities of many of the artists they knew; calendars created by Gemini G.E.L. artists and employees for Stanley Grinstein; and digital and video recordings by or about multiple artists.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Los  Angeles art collectors and philanthropists Stanley and Elyse Grinstein were known for their patronage of West Coast artists for over forty years and were important catalysts of the nascent Los Angeles art scene.

Following their marriage in 1952, the Grinsteins began collecting art as a way to pursue a shared hobby. Stanley Grinstein (1927-2014) was the proprietor of a forklift business and Elyse Grinstein (1929-2016) had been an elementary school teacher. The couple co-founded Gemini G.E.L., which published artist editions, with Rosamund and Sidney B. Felsen in 1966. Through celebrated collaborations with Josef Albers, David Hockney, Ellsworth Kelly, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, and many others, the studio quickly became the West Coast destination for innovative printmaking.

In addition to having a passion for art, Elyse Grinstein was also an architect who earned her master's degree in architecture from the University of California Los Angeles in the 1970s, graduating at the age of 50. She interned with close friend Frank O. Gehry before forming her own company, Grinstein/Daniels, Inc., with Jeffrey Daniels. Her subsequent work included remodeling David Hockney's Hollywood Hills home, remodeling areas of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) campus after the 1994 earthquake, and designing the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant with partner Jeff Daniels in L.A.'s Koreatown. Elyse Grinstein was also a philanthropist who raised money relentlessly for art and medical institutions, and devoted time to political campaigns and other causes.  

In 1965 the Grinsteins bought a house in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles and moved with their three daughters to the Rockingham Avenue home. In the ensuing years they hosted legendary parties and receptions for their friends in the art world, providing an environment that fostered the relationships and emerging ideas of the burgeoning West coast art scene and helped introduce Los Angeles artists to a wide network of East Coast and international artists. The couple also offered invaluable practical support, that often enabled artists to keep working, buying work they loved for their home, providing other occasional financial assistance, and offering free accommodation and a place to work for their out-of-town artist, writer, and musician friends. 

In 1982 the Grinsteins traveled to China with Robert Rauschenberg. They visited Anhui Province where Rauschenberg created a unique collage representing Chinese characters in collaboration with the papermakers at the thousand year old Xuan Paper Mill in Jingxian.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 15.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1937-2022
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.grinstan
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material and Letters, 1937-2022 (Boxes 1, 5-7, 20-21, OV 23; 1.9 Linear feet)

Series 2: Artist Files, circa 1961-2022 (Boxes 1, 5-7, 21, OVs 3, 23-25; 1.7 Linear feet)

Series 3: Professional Activities, circa 1967-2012 (Boxes 1, 7, OVs 23, 26-27; 0.7 Linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1960s-2016 (Boxes 1-2, 7, 22, OV 3; 1 Linear foot)

Series 5: Photographic Material, circa 1960s-2012 (Boxes 2, 7-11, 22, OV 23; 3.9 Linear feet)

Series 6: Diaries and Day Planners, 1979-2010 (Box 11; 0.6 Linear feet)

Series 7: Personal Business and Donation Records , 1960-2022 (Box 11; 0.6 Linear feet )

Series 8: Gemini G.E.L. Calendars, 1999-2016 (Boxes 12-16; 2.5 Linear feet)

Series 9: Video Recordings, circa 1960s-2001 (Boxes 17-20; 2.6 Linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: A portion of the collection, representing the first donation, was processed and a finding aid prepared by Stephanie Ashley in 2022 and was digitized in 2022 with funding provided by The Walton Family Foundation. Additions to the collection were processed by Stephanie Ashley in 2023 and digitized in 2025 with funding provided by the Gerald Buck Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The bulk of the first donation, digitized in 2022, and the bulk of the later additions, digitized in 2025, are available on the Archives of American Art website. Records not digitized include items that could not be digitized due to format; Elyse Grinstein's diaries and day planners; all but one (as a representative sample) of the calendars; blank versos of photographs; duplicates; the full text of some publications for which only covers and/or relevant pages have been digitized; and video recordings. Series 1: Biographical Material and Letters, Series 4: Printed Material, and Series 5: Photographic Material have been selectively digitized.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Stanley and Elyse Grinstein date from circa 1937-2022 and measure 15.5 linear feet. The collection documents the role the Grinsteins played in nurturing and promoting the Los Angeles art scene from circa 1960-2014 through personal friendships with area artists, the co-founding of the artist editions publishing business Gemini G.E.L., and through their art collecting activities. Records include biographical material such as records documenting the history of the Grinstein's home at 441 North Rockingham Avenue; artist files including substantive letters and postcards from notable artists, musicians, writers and architects; professional files and other documentation relating to Gemini G.E.L. and the artists who worked with the business; records documenting Elyse Grinstein's architectural career; and personal business files documenting the purchase, loan, and donation of works of art. Also found is extensive photographic material documenting parties and other events held by the Grinsteins, and documenting activities of many of the artists they knew; calendars created by Gemini G.E.L. artists and employees for Stanley Grinstein; and digital and video recordings by or about multiple artists.

Biographical material and letters include records of Elyse Grinstein's education in architecture, records of the history of the Grinstein's home on Rockingham Avenue and of some parties and events held there, and letters demonstrating the family's involvement in philanthropic and political causes. 

Artist files include at least one or two items, and often more, from artists, writers, composers, and performers such as letters, illustrated letters and cards, printed material, and photos indicative of the extent to which the Grinsteins were active in the West Coast art scene from the 1960s on, and the importance of the friendships the Grinsteins enjoyed with many of the artists represented in the files.

Records related to professional activities highlight some of Elyse Grinstein's architectural work including with firms she co-founded and operated, Grinstein-Daniels and Narduli-Grinstein. Also found are records documenting the couple's involvement with art advisory boards and councils and their participation in fundraising activities, and a small amount of material, including event invitations, related to Gemini G.E.L. 

Printed material includes catalogs and announcements for exhibitions and includes some for Gemini G.E.L from the late 1960s to the 1990s. Clippings of note include those that document the Grinstein's participation in the art scenes of Los Angeles and beyond, and their collecting activities. Also documented are their connections to art and performance groups such as improvisational dance group Grand Union, and the Los Angeles Fine Arts Squad. 

Extensive photographic material, primarily photographs, slides, and negatives, document the parties, events, trips, friendships, and professional activities of the Grinsteins from the 1960s to 2012. These include photos of artists such as Carl Andre, Daniel Buren, and Richard Serra installing their artwork at the Grinstein's home and elsewhere; photos of numerous artists and their families attending parties and other events; photos of the Grinstein's collection; and photographs of trips the Grinsteins took with artists including Judy Chicago, Lloyd Hamrol,  Isamu Noguchi, Robert Rauschenberg and others. Of particular note is photographic material documenting a 1982 trip to China with Rauschenberg which documents the artist's work at the Zuan Paper Mill in Jingxia, China.

Elyse Grinstein's diaries and day planners provide brief annotations of daily plans and appointments, social engagements including parties, and other activities from the late 1970s to 2010.

Personal business and donation records provide documentation of artwork purchased, loaned, and donated by the Grinsteins from the early days of their collecting activities through the 2000s.

Seventeen hand-made calendars created by Gemini G.E.L. artists and employees from 1999-2016 were given to Stanly Grinstein as annual gifts and include original artwork for each month of the year by multiple artists. 

Video recordings include films produced by multiple artists, or documenting them at work, including Larry Bell, Lynda Benglis, Joan Jonas, Richard Serra, Keith Sonnier, and William Wegman.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is the William Burroughs and Brion Gysin writings collection donated in 2017 by the Grinstein family, via Ayn Grinstein, Ellen Grinstein Perliter, and Nancy Grinstein, executors.