Little Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Little Gallery (Birmingham, Mich.)
label: Names
content: De Erdely, Francis, 1904-1959
label: Names
content: DeSalle, Albert
label: Names
content: DeSalle, Peggy, 1903-1985
label: Names
content: Lamouroux, Jean
label: Names
content: Sepeshy, Zoltan, 1898-1974
topic: label: Topic
content: Women art dealers
label: Topic
content: Figurative art
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were donated in 1985 by William E. Woolfenden as personal representative of the estate of Marguerite L. deSalle.
creator: label: Creator
content: Little Gallery (Birmingham, Mich.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Little Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Little Gallery records measure 11.5 linear feet and date from 1918 to 1985. The collection documents Little Gallery's operations through artist, exhibition, and subject files, printed material, photographs, and one sound recording. The collection also includes personal and professional papers, photographs, and some printed material related to Marguerite (Peggy) and Albert deSalle.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Little Gallery was founded in 1950 by Peggy deSalle in Birmingham, Michigan. It was the first gallery in the region to deal in and exhibit contemporary art. The gallery initially handled work by local artists just starting out in their careers, as well as work by Cranbrook Academy of Art faculty members. DeSalle's ex-husband and close friend, artist Zoltan Sepeshy, assisted her in seeking out local artists to show at the gallery. Over time, the Little Gallery exhibited work by artists from Europe, Africa, and other parts of the United States. DeSalle also established a framing gallery in the basement of the gallery, and showed jewelry and pottery in addition to paintings and sculptures.

Marguerite (Peggy) Fox (1903-1985) was born in Snok, Hungary. Her family emigrated to New York when she was six years old. In the 1920s she worked as a photographer for William Suhr, a paintings restorer at the Detroit Institute of Arts. While working there, she was offered the opportunity to learn photography at various museums across Europe, particularly in Germany. In Detroit, Peggy frequented the studio of painter Paul Honore. There, she met Sepeshy, who she briefly married in 1929, and Albert deSalle, who she married in 1933.  

In the early 1940s, deSalle worked out of her Detroit home selling art, antiques, silver, paintings, and other heirlooms brought to the United States by German political refugees. In 1942, Peggy and Albert deSalle moved to Birmingham.  Albert deSalle joined the staff of the Little Gallery shortly after it opened, where he remained involved until his death in 1964. 

In 1983, Peggy deSalle donated funds for the founding of the Peggy and Albert deSalle Gallery of Photography at the Detroit Institute of Art.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- Michigan
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 11.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1918-1985
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.littgall
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as six series.

Series 1: Artist Files, 1950-1982 (Box 1-4; 4 linear feet)

Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1956-1975 (Box 5; .4 linear feet)

Series 3: Subject Files,1950-1988 (Box 5-9; 4 linear feet)

Series 4: Peggy and Albert deSalle Personal and Professional Papers, 1918-1985 (Box 9-11; 2.3 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1922-1984 (Box 11, 13; .5 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, 1920s-1980s (Box 11-13, .4 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Christopher DeMairo in 2021.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Little Gallery records measure 11.5 linear feet and date from 1918 to 1985. The collection documents Little Gallery's operations through artist, exhibition, and subject files, printed material, photographs, and one sound recording. The collection also includes personal and professional papers, photographs, and some printed material related to Marguerite (Peggy) and Albert deSalle.

 
Artist files consist of photographs of artwork, correspondence, price lists, shipping information, biographical summaries, and some printed material pertaining to various artists represented at the Little Gallery. Two artists particularly documented in these records are Francis De Erdely and Jean Lamouroux, who were both friends of Peggy deSalle and her husband Albert. 


Exhibition files contain correspondence, shipping information, price lists, inventories, publicity material, and several pieces of posterboard signage. Little Gallery's subject files consist of correspondence, photographs, financial information, printed material, and other items that relate to advertising, other galleries and museums, contributions of artwork, collectors, and more. 

Peggy and Albert deSalle's personal and professional papers include papers related to Peggy's career as an artwork photographer, writings, correspondence with artists, price lists, inventories, artist biographies, and photographs that document Peggy deSalle's transition into selling the art of European craftsmen. 

Printed material documents Little Gallery exhibitions and events, as well as activities of Peggy and Albert deSalle outside the gallery, artists, and events at other galleries and organizations. Also found is a deSalle family scrapbook. 

Photographs are primarily of Peggy and Albert deSalle, gatherings with friends, and professional events, including interior and exterior photos of the Little Gallery.