Ankrum Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Ankrum Gallery
label: Names
content: Art Dealers Association of America
label: Names
content: Black Arts Council  (Washington, D.C.)
label: Names
content: California Arts Council
label: Names
content: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
label: Names
content: Krannert Art Museum
label: Names
content: Laguna Art Museum (Laguna Beach, Calif.)
label: Names
content: Paramount Pictures
label: Names
content: San Diego Museum of Art
label: Names
content: Staempfli Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Storm King Art Center
label: Names
content: Almaraz, Carlos
label: Names
content: Andrews, Benny, 1930-2006
label: Names
content: Ankrum, Joan
label: Names
content: Bauer, Richard, 1944-
label: Names
content: Block, Irving
label: Names
content: Broderson, Morris, 1928-2011
label: Names
content: Caryl, Naomi
label: Names
content: Casey, Bernie
label: Names
content: Duveneck, Frank, 1848-1919
label: Names
content: Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978
label: Names
content: Groth, Bruno
label: Names
content: Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970
label: Names
content: Herschler, David
label: Names
content: Hirsch, Joseph, 1910-1981
label: Names
content: Hirshhorn, Olga
label: Names
content: Homer, Jessie
label: Names
content: Jackson, Suzanne, 1944-
label: Names
content: Johnson, Buffie
label: Names
content: Lundeberg, Helen, 1908-1999
label: Names
content: Mesches, Arnold, 1923-
label: Names
content: Miller, Henry, 1891-
label: Names
content: Palm Springs Desert Museum
label: Names
content: Schuler, Melvin
label: Names
content: Secunda, Arthur
label: Names
content: Shores, Kenneth, 1928-
label: Names
content: Varda, Jean
label: Names
content: Zev
topic: label: Topic
content: Artists -- California -- Los Angeles
label: Topic
content: Women art dealers
label: Topic
content: Hard-edge
label: Topic
content: Primitivism in art
label: Topic
content: Folk art
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Ankrum Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art by Joan Ankrum in 1995.
creator: label: Creator
content: Ankrum Gallery
setName: label: See more items in
content: Ankrum Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Ankrum Gallery records measure 41.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 1990s, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1990.  The papers include over 395 artists files, general gallery correspondence, project files, administrative records, exhibition files, collector and client files, financial material, printed material, 1 unbound scrapbook, and photographs. Also included are personal papers of gallery founder Joan Ankrum and her nephew, artist Morris Broderson.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Ankrum Gallery was established 1960 in Los Angeles by Joan Wheeler Ankrum and William Chalee.  The gallery closed in 1989.   

Joan Wheeler Ankrum and William Challee opened Ankrum Gallery on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1960 with a one-man show of Ankrum's nephew Morris Broderson.   With a focus on contemporary California artists, Ankrum Gallery represented over 395 artists during its 30 years in operation, including Benny Andrews, Carlos Almaraz, Richard Bauer, Irving Block, Naomi Caryl, Bernie Casey, Frank Duveneck, Lorser Feitelson, Bruno Groth, David Herschler, Jessie Homer, Suzanne Jackson, Buffie Johnson, Samella Lewis, Helen Lundeberg, Arnold Mesches, Henry Miller, Melvin Schuler, Arthur Secunda, Ken Shores, Jean Varda, and Zev.  In addition, the gallery was among the earliest to exhibit the work of black artists. The gallery also held exhibitions of world artists, which included "Art of African Peoples" (1973), "Yarn Paintings of the Huichol Indians" (1973), "Five Contemporary Mexican Painters" (1977), and "Ethiopian Folk Painting" (1978). Ankrum Gallery closed in 1989.

Joan Wheeler Ankrum (1913-2001) was a stage and film actress before establishing the Ankrum Gallery primarily to showcase the work of her deaf nephew, Morris Broderson. Born in Palo Alto, California, she began acting at the Pasadena Playhouse where she met her first husband Morris Ankrum with whom she had two sons, David and Cary Ankrum. She married gallery co-owner and partner William Challee in 1984. She helped organize the Los Angeles Art Dealers Association and the Monday Night Art Walks on La Cienega Boulevard.  She was a member of the relatively short-lived Black Arts Council. Joan Wheeler Ankrum died in 2001 at the age of 88.  

Morris Broderson (1928-2011) was a deaf painter. His first one-man show was at the Stanford Museum in 1957, followed by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. By 1959 he'd won two awards from the Los Angeles County Museum, and appeared in the Whitney Museum's "Young America" show in 1960. His travels influenced his work, including the hand gestures of Kabuki art in Japan. His work is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, among others.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- California
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 41.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1900-circa 1990s
label: Date
content: bulk 1960-1990
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.ankrgall
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is arranged as 12 series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1961-1994 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Project Files, 1965-1987 (0.25 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Administrative Records, 1961- circa 1990s (1 linear foot; Boxes 1-2)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1961-1991 (1 linear foot; Boxes 2-3)

Series 5: Artists' Files, 1957-1994 (22.5 linear feet; Boxes 3-25, 41-42, FC 43-45)

Series 6: Collector and Client Files, 1960-1994 (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 25-28)

Series 7: Financial Material, 1962-1990 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 28-30)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1957-1994 (2 linear feet; Boxes 30-32, 41)

Series 9: Scrapbook, 1960-1988 (3 folders; Box 32)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1960s-circa 1990s (0.35 linear feet; Boxes 32, 42)

Series 11: Joan Ankrum Personal Papers, circa 1900-1993 (2 linear feet; Boxes 32-34, 41)

Series 12: Morris Broderson Papers, 1941-1989 (7.2 linear feet; Boxes 34-42)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Multiple accessions were merged and archivally processed and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2015 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund. The Archives of American Art has implemented accelerated processing strategies when possible to increase information about and provide access to more of our collections. For this collection, accelerated processing tactics included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels, adhering to the creator's original arrangement as much as possible. Generally, folder contents were simply verified with the original folder titles, but items within folders were not arranged further. All materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed. Motion picture film reels were inspected and re-housed in 2016-2017 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Ankrum Gallery records measure 41.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 1990s, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1990.  The papers include over 395 artists files, general gallery correspondence, project files, administrative records, exhibition files, collector and client files, financial material, printed material, 1 unbound scrapbook, and photographs. Also included are personal papers of gallery founder Joan Ankrum and her nephew, artist Morris Broderson. 

General correspondence is with artists, museums, collectors, and clients, and generally concerns sales, exhibitions, and consignments. Correspondents include Irving Block, Morris Broderson, Naomi Caryl, Suzanne Jackson, Joseph and Olga Hirshhorn, among many others.  Correspondence is also found in the artists files and the collector/client files. 

Project files document various events, benefits, and projects undertaken by the gallery, including a UNICEF benefit, "Up Against Hunger," the Exceptional Children's foundation, and the Young Art Patrons.  

Administrative files document many activities of the gallery, such as the gallery's and Joan Ankrum's membership in the Black Arts Council, the California Arts Council, and the Art Dealers Association of California of which Joan Ankrum was a primary organizer.  Also found are publicity files, a file on the history of the gallery, leases, floor plans, insurance documents, lists of graphics for sale, and other miscellany.  

Exhbition files appear to be incomplete, but do include files for Huichol Indian's art, "The Art of African Peoples" (1973), "Five Contemporary Mexican Painters" (1977), Ethiopian Folk Painting (1978), San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild All Media Exhibition (1982), "25th Anniversary Exhibition" (1985), among several others. 

Extensive artists' files include correspondence, price lists, photographs and slides,resumes and biographical material, and sales invoices.  Files are found for Benny Andrews, Carlos Almaraz, Richard Bauer, Irving Block, Naomi Caryl, Bernie Casey, Frank Duveneck, Lorser Feitelson, Bruno Groth, David Herschler, Jessie Homer, Suzanne Jackson, Buffie Johnson, Samella Lewis, Helen Lundeberg, Arnold Mesches, Henry Miller, Melvin Schuler, Arthur Secunda, Ken Shores, Jean Varda, and Zev, among many others. The Pat Alexander and Andy Nelson files also contain motion picture film.

Collector and client files document the gallery's relationship with over 115 collectors, museums, and art centers. Files may include correspondence and sales records and are found for Edith Halpert, Olga and Joseph Hirshhorn and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Krannert Art Museum, Laguna Art Museum, Palm Spring Desert Museum, Paramount Pictures, San Diego Museum of Art, Staempfli Gallery, and Storm King Art Center, among many others.

Financial material documents sales through numbered invoices, consignments, loans, and insurance valuations.  Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements, bulletins, periodicals, and newspaper clippings.  One unbound scrapbook contains clippings and exhibition materials. 

Photographs are of artwork, artists, and gallery openings.  Additional photographs are found in the artists' files. 

Joan Wheeler Ankrum personal papers document her personal and professional relationship with family, artists, and collectors.  They include correspondence, personal writings, personal financial materials, printed material and loose scrapbook materials, family photographs and photographs of her as an actress, and artwork from various artists.

The papers of artist Morris Broderson, nephew of Joan Ankrum, document his professional relationship with the gallery as his primary dealer.  Included are biographical materials, correspondence, publicity files, travel files, projects, exhibitions, collector/client files, financial material, printed material, photographs, and artwork.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Joan Ankrum, one conducted by Betty Hoag, April 28, 1964, and a second by Paul Karlstrom, November 5, 1997-February 4, 1998. Additionally, there is an oral history interview with Morris Broderson conducted by Paul Karlstrom, March 11-13, 1998.