Franz Bader Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Franz Bader Gallery
label: Names
content: Bader, Franz, 1903-1994
label: Names
content: Calfee, William H. (William Howard), 1909-1995
label: Names
content: Marx, Robert
label: Names
content: Ojeda, Naúl, 1939-2002
label: Names
content: Thomas, Alma (1891-1978)
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The scrapbooks, guestbooks, a small amount of printed material and correspondence, photographs of the Franz Bader Gallery, and honors for Bader were donated to the Archives of American Art by Virginia F. Bader, Franz Bader's wife, in 1995. The other material was donated by John Benjamin Dunn, lawyer for the gallery, in 2002.
creator: label: Creator
content: Franz Bader Gallery
setName: label: See more items in
content: Franz Bader Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records of the Washington, D.C. located Franz Bader Gallery measure 13.0 linear feet and date from 1925 to 1995. The materials document the gallery's history and administrative activities, the artists represented by the gallery, the exhibitions held at the space, and the life of Franz Bader. The collection comprises the personal papers of Franz Bader including files regarding his photography career; artist's files for Paul Arlt, David Becker, William Calfee, Un'ichi Hiratsuka, Robert Marx, Wang Ming, Naúl Ojeda, Prentiss Taylor, Alma Thomas, Lee Weiss, and others; and gallery files containing correspondence, exhibition records, client invoices and other administrative records, files on Inuit art and bark paintings, and a file for Whyte Bookshop and Gallery. Also found are inventory and sales records consisting of two card files, ledgers, stock and inventory lists, and a sales binder;  printed and broadcast materials relating to exhibitions, Bader and his photography, events, and includes a video recording featuring the gallery on the show Around Town; guestbooks which hold signatures and notes from gallery patrons; scrapbooks that include printed material related to the gallery's exhibitions, D.C.-based artists the gallery represented, and other gallery events; and photographs of Bader and others, the gallery space, works of art, and candid photographs from exhibition openings.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Franz Bader Gallery was an art gallery and bookshop in Washington D.C. operated by Franz Bader (1903-1994) under various names including Franz Bader Gallery, Franz Bader Inc., and Franz Bader Gallery and Bookshop. In 1953, Bader established the gallery at 1705 G Street Northwest, where he showed local and/or upcoming artists, as well as contemporary prints. The gallery moved in September 1964 to 2124 Pennsylvania Avenue and in October 1979 to 2001 I Street, where Bader remained until his retirement in 1985. The gallery continued on after his retirement, and moved location to 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue in 1987, and to 1500 K Street in 1990. The final show held by the gallery was in 1995. Among the artists represented by the gallery and included in this collection are Alice Acheson, Anita Bucherer, Frank Bunts, Bernice Cross, Harry Irving Gates, Peter Milton, Michael Platt, Alma Thomas, Leonard Maurer, and others.

Franz Bader was born in Vienna, Austria in 1903. By 1937, Vienna had succumbed to Nazi occupation, and in 1939 Bader and his wife Virginia fled, moving to America where he found employment at the Whyte Bookshop and Gallery in Washington D.C. He was inspired to create a gallery different than those typically found in the conservative atmosphere of Washington D.C., and he made it his mission to represent contemporary artists living and working in the city. His work with modern art set him apart, eventually earning him the moniker of "Dean of the Washington Gallery Dealers". He passed away in 1994.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- Washington (D.C.)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 13 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1925-1995
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.franbade
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Video recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as eight series.

Series 1: Franz Bader Papers, 1928-1993, (Boxes 1, 5, OV 17; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Artist's Files, 1938-1995, (Boxes 5-12, OV 17; 7.0 linear feet)

Series 3: Gallery Files, 1953-1993, (Boxes 1, 12-13; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 4: Inventory and Sales Records, 1960-1989, (Boxes 13-14, 16; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed and Broadcast Materials, 1952-1994, (Boxes 1-2, 14-15; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Guestbooks, 1975-1980, (Boxes 1-3; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1950s-1980s, (Boxes 1-2, 4, 15, BV 18; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, 1925-circa 1990, (Boxes 2, 15, OV 17; 0.5 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection received a preliminary level of processing in 1996. The a portion of the collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by intern Ashley Boykins, supervised by Rayna Andrews in 2018, with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation. An additional accession was merged and processed into the collection by Sarah Mundy in 2021 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The records of the Washington, D.C. located Franz Bader Gallery measure 13.0 linear feet and date from 1925 to 1995. The materials document the gallery's history and administrative activities, the artists represented by the gallery, the exhibitions held at the space, and the life of Franz Bader. The collection comprises the personal papers of Franz Bader including files regarding his photography career; artist's files for Paul Arlt, David Becker, William Calfee, Un'ichi Hiratsuka, Robert Marx, Wang Ming, Naúl Ojeda, Prentiss Taylor, Alma Thomas, Lee Weiss, and others; and gallery files containing correspondence, exhibition records, client invoices and other administrative records, files on Inuit art and bark paintings, and a file for Whyte Bookshop and Gallery. Also found are inventory and sales records consisting of two card files, ledgers, stock and inventory lists, and a sales binder;  printed and broadcast materials relating to exhibitions, Bader and his photography, events, and includes a video recording featuring the gallery on the show Around Town; guestbooks which hold signatures and notes from gallery patrons; scrapbooks that include printed material related to the gallery's exhibitions, D.C.-based artists the gallery represented, and other gallery events; and photographs of Bader and others, the gallery space, works of art, and candid photographs from exhibition openings.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Franz Bader conducted by Julie Link Haifley in 1978.