Parish Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Parish Gallery
label: Names
content: Adenaike, Tayo
label: Names
content: Gentry, Herbert, 1919-2003
label: Names
content: Horrom, Marilyn
label: Names
content: Jarrell, Wadsworth, 1929-
label: Names
content: Lewis, Samella S. (1923-2022)
label: Names
content: McNeil, Bruce
label: Names
content: Miller, Sandi Ritchie
label: Names
content: Montgomery, Evangeline J. (1933)
label: Names
content: Ogburn, David, 1942-
label: Names
content: Parish, Norman, 1937-2013
topic: label: Occupation
content: Gallery owners -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Occupation
content: Painters -- Washington (D.C.)
label: Topic
content: African American artists
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Parish Gallery records were donated in 2016 by Gwen Parish, Norman Parish's widow.
creator: label: Creator
content: Parish Gallery
setName: label: See more items in
content: Parish Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records of Parish Gallery, located in Washington, D.C., measure 6.4 linear feet and 11.73 gigabytes and date from 1940 to 2013, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1991 to 2013. This collection consists primarily of exhibition files, but also includes administrative files, as well as some biographical material related to Norman Parish's career before opening the gallery.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Parish Gallery (established 1991-closed 2013) was a gallery in Washington, D.C. Founded by artist Norman Parish (1937-2013), the gallery was known for exhibiting artwork by African American and international artists. Parish's wife Gwen co-managed the gallery from the beginning until it closed its doors. Over the course of its 22 year history, Parish gallery exhibited the works of over 170 artists from Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, France, Spain, Greece, and many other countries. In articles and interviews, Parish underscored the gallery's dedication to showing the works of underrepresented artists of all backgrounds, though the primary focus was the members of the African diaspora, and help them promote their work.

Norman Parish was born in New Orleans in 1937 and grew up in Chicago. He graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1960 and contributed to the Wall of Respect in 1967. He was a painter and was in several exhibitions. In 1988 Parish moved to Washington, D.C., and he opened Parish Gallery in Georgetown in 1991, making it one of the few galleries owned by an African American at the time. The gallery quickly grew in prominence over the years highlighting the works of major artists such as Wadsworth Jarrell, Herbert Gentry, and E. J. Montgomery, as well as artists from the United States and abroad. The final exhibition at the gallery was entitled Norman Parish: The Artist in 2013. Parish passed away that same year.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- Washington (D.C.)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 6.4 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 11.73 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1940-2013
label: Date
content: bulk 1991-2013
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.parigall
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged in three series.

Series 1: Exhibition Files, 1940-1944, 1971-2013, bulk 1991-2013 (Boxes 1-6, OV 8-9, ER01-ER20; 5.9 linear feet)

Series 2: Administrative Files, 1991-2013 (Box 6; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Norman Parish Biographical Material, 1970-2013 (Box 7, ER21; 0.2 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was minimally processed and a finding aid prepared by Rayna Andrews with funding from the Henry Luce Foundation in 2018. The collection was fully processed, prepared for digitization, and described in a finding aid by Rihoko Ueno in 2019 with funding provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2017 and is available on the Archives of American Art website. Materials which have not been scanned include blank pages, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates. In some cases, exhibition catalogs and other publications have had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages scanned. Access copies of born-digital records are not online and are available at the Archives of American Art offices.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The records of Parish Gallery, located in Washington, D.C., measure 6.4 linear feet and 11.73 gigabytes and date from 1940 to 2013, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1991 to 2013. This collection consists primarily of exhibition files, but also includes administrative files, as well as some biographical material related to Norman Parish's career before opening the gallery.

Exhibition files include printed materials, photographic material, correspondence, loan agreements, born digital material, and other materials related to exhibitions held at Parish Gallery. In some cases exhibition files serve as artist files as well, with additional materials related to artists' work. Notable artists included within these files are Wadsworth A. Jarrell, Oggi Ogburn, Evangeline J. (E. J.) Montgomery, Bruce McNeil, Sandi Ritchie Miller, Marilyn Horrom, Samella Lewis, Herbert Gentry, and Tayo Adenaike. 

Administrative files include materials related to Galleries 1054, where Parish Gallery was located; as well as a proposal from Black Artists of DC; correspondence; and clippings.

Norman Parish biographical material includes documents related to Norman Parish's art career and honors and awards he received.