Marilyn Pearl Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Marilyn Pearl Gallery
label: Names
content: Allain, René Pierre, 1951-
label: Names
content: Chaet, Bernard
label: Names
content: Freeman, Joseph
label: Names
content: Greene, Stephen, 1918-1999
label: Names
content: Hill, Clinton, 1922-2003
label: Names
content: Lasch, Pat
label: Names
content: Loew, Michael, 1907-1985
label: Names
content: Lutz, Winifred
label: Names
content: McShea, Jim
label: Names
content: Miles, Jeanne Patterson, 1908-1999
label: Names
content: Pearl, Marilyn, 1939-
label: Names
content: Pearson, Henry, 1914-2006
label: Names
content: Perez, Pedro
label: Names
content: Robin, Stephen, 1944-
label: Names
content: Von Wiegand, Charmion
label: Names
content: Weiner, Ellen
topic: label: Topic
content: Women art dealers
label: Topic
content: Installations (Art)
label: Topic
content: Figurative art
label: Topic
content: Modernism (Art)
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Marilyn Pearl donated the records of her gallery to the Archives of American Art in 2002.
creator: label: Creator
content: Marilyn Pearl Gallery
setName: label: See more items in
content: Marilyn Pearl Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records of the Marilyn Pearl Gallery are dated 1925-2000, with the bulk of the ematerial from the period 1976-1993. The collection measures 7.4 linear feet and consists of artists' files, exhibition files, and business records documenting affiliated artists and gallery activities.
bioghist: label: Historical Note
content: The Marilyn Pearl Gallery (est. 1976, closed ca. 1993) was an art gallery in New York, N.Y. specializing American art from the 1920s-1950s. 

Marilyn Pearl (Mrs. Alan Loesberg) was the daughter and granddaughter of art collectors from Akron and Cleveland, Ohio. She developed an appreciation for art at a young age. After a stint as a history teacher, Pearl was determined to establish her own gallery. With help from her family, she founded the Marilyn Pearl Gallery at 29 West 57th Street, New York, in 1976. In 1982, the gallery relocated to 38 East 57th Street, and in 1987 it moved to 420 West Broadway in SoHo. 

Pearl's first sales were works by sculptor Winifred Lutz, who was known for site-specific installations. Ms. Lutz remained part of Marilyn Pearl Gallery's stable throughout its history. In addition to emerging artists, Marilyn Pearl was interested in traditional art forms, and eventually specialized in exhibiting American art from the 1920s-1950s, with particular emphasis on geometric abstraction. In addition, Marilyn Pearl Gallery presented a number of exhibitions exploring WPA era murals, American Abstract Artists, and post-war figurative work. By the 1980s, the gallery's annual schedule usually featured summer shows of new talent; several artists first introduced in this manner developed long-term relationships with Marilyn Pearl Gallery. Among the artists represented by the gallery were Bernard Chaet, Stephen Greene, Clinton Hill, Pat Lasch, Michael Loew, Winifred Lutz, Jim McShea, Jeanne Miles, Henry Pearson, Pedro Perez, Stephen Robin, Charmion von Wiegand, and Ellen Weiner.

Marilyn Pearl Gallery closed in the early 1990s. Pearl continued to work as a private art dealer and expanded her activities to international art fairs, including the Basel Art Fair.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 7.4 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1925-2000
label: Date
content: bulk 1976-1993
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.maripeag
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Visitors' books
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 3 series:

Series 1: Artists' Files, 1925-2000 (Boxes 1-4; 3.6 linear ft.)

Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1973-1992 (Boxes 4-5; 1.15 linear ft.)

Series 3: Business Records, 1976-2000 (Boxes 5-8; 2.65 linear ft.)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed by Catherine S. Gaines in 2009.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Visitors' books
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The records of the Marilyn Pearl Gallery are dated 1925-2000, with the bulk of the ematerial from the period 1976-1993. The collection measures 7.4 linear feet and consists of artists' files, exhibition files, and business records documenting affiliated artists and gallery activities.

Artist files are found for: René Pierre Allain, Bernard Chaet, Stephen Greene, Clinton Hill, Pat Lasch, Michael Loew, Winifred Lutz, Jim McShea, Jeanne Miles, Henry Pearson, Pedro Perez, Stephen Robin, Charmion von Wiegand, and Ellen Weiner. They contain the following types of records in varying combinations: correspondence with the artist, collectors, galleries and museums; printed material including publicity, exhibition catalogs and announcements of Marilyn Pearl Gallery and other venues; photographs; financial records concerning sales and exhibition expenses. In general, items dated prior the gallery's existence and after its closing are printed material relating to the artist. A notable exception is the small number of the personal papers of Charmion von Wiegand that include letters from her husband, writer and editor Joseph Freeman.

Exhibition files are arranged chronologically by exhibition date, 1977, 1980-1992 and consist of correspondence, invoices, printed material, publicity, and photographs.

Business records document the routine affairs of the gallery. Included are client correspondence, inventory cards (work in stock, pieces returned to artists, and works sold), a nearly complete set of invoices for gallery sales for the period 1976-1986, consignment records, appraisals, mailing lists, guest books, and records regarding Basel Art Fairs of 1989-1993.