Richard York Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Richard York Gallery
label: Names
content: Art Dealers Association of America
label: Names
content: De Forest, Lockwood, 1850-1932
label: Names
content: Goldyne, Joseph R.
label: Names
content: Hale, Ellen Day, 1855-1940
label: Names
content: Hill, J. W. (John William), 1812-1879
label: Names
content: Hill, John Henry, 1839-1922
label: Names
content: Hornby, Lester George, 1882-1956
label: Names
content: Lozowick, Louis, 1892-1973
label: Names
content: Lucioni, Luigi, 1900-1988
label: Names
content: MacRae, Emma Fordyce, 1887-1974
label: Names
content: Mapplethorpe, Robert (Robert Michael)
label: Names
content: Marin, John, 1870-1953
label: Names
content: Marin, John, Jr., 1915?-1988
label: Names
content: Smith, Houghton Cranford, 1887-1983
label: Names
content: Stella, Joseph, 1877-1946
label: Names
content: Stevens, Will Henry, 1881-1949
label: Names
content: Wheeler, Steve, 1912-1992
label: Names
content: York, Richard
topic: label: Topic
content: Art, American
label: Topic
content: Art -- Economic aspects
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Richard York Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2006 by Kevin Scott, the executor of Richard York's estate; and in 2015 by Lisa Bush Hankin, former gallery director.
creator: label: Creator
content: Richard York Gallery
setName: label: See more items in
content: Richard York Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The records of the Richard York Gallery, a New York gallery specializing in American art from early 1800s to 1950, measure 88.5 linear feet and date from circa 1865-2005, with the bulk of the material dating from 1981 to 2004. The collection contains artists' artwork files, documenting the sale and consignment of nearly 6,500 works of art. The gallery's activities are also recorded through correspondence, artists' files, client files, gallery invoices, inventories, business and financial records, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographic materials of artwork, and estate records for the John Marin estate and Sergio Stella estate (Joseph Stella).
bioghist: label: Historical Note
content: Richard T. York (circa 1950-2003) opened his eponymous gallery in the spring of 1981 on East 65th Street in New York City. Specializing in American painting and sculpture from early 1800s to 1950, the Richard York Gallery dealt in the artwork of hundreds of artists including Albert Bierstadt, Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Lockwood de Forest, John Graham, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Singer Sargent, Charles Sheeler, and Steve Wheeler. It also represented the estates of artists John Marin and Joseph Stella.

Richard York passed away in April 2003, and the gallery closed in May 2004.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 87.5 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1865-2008
label: Date
content: bulk 1981-2004
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.richyorg
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
label: Type
content: Photographs
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 10 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1975-2005 (Boxes 1-7, 81; 6.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Artists' Artwork Files, circa 1865-2004 (Boxes 7-64; 56.85 linear feet)

Series 3: Client Files, 1965, circa 1981-circa 2004 (Box 64; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Estate Records, 1983-circa 2004 (Boxes 64-65; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 5: Sales and Inventory Records, 1977-2004 (Boxes 65-70; 5.0 linear feet)

Series 6: Business and Financial Records, 1974-2005 (Boxes 70-77, 81; 6.25 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Materials, 1980-2004 (Boxes 77-78; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1981-2002 (Boxes 78, 80; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 9: Photographic Materials, 1977-2004 (Boxes 78-79; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 10: Artists' Files, 1922-2008 (Boxes 81-89; 8 linear feet)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Haug in 2010-2011. An addition to the records was processed and added to the finding aid by Christopher DeMairo in 2022.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The records of the Richard York Gallery, a New York gallery specializing in American art from early 1800s to 1950, measure 88.5 linear feet and date from circa 1865-2005, with the bulk of the material dating from 1981 to 2004. The bulk of the records are artists' artwork files, documenting the sale and consignment of nearly 6,500 works of art. The gallery's activities are also recorded through correspondence, artists' files, client files, gallery invoices, inventories, business and financial records, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographic materials of artwork, and estate records for the John Marin estate and Sergio Stella estate (Joseph Stella).  

Correspondence includes both incoming and outgoing correspondence with collectors, clients, galleries and museums, primarily regarding appraisals, consignments, exhibitions, general inquiries, loans, and sales. Also found are scattered transactional records, information sheets for artwork, and photographic materials. Correspondence from the mid-late 1980s is poorly represented.

The sale and consignment of nearly 6,500 pieces of artwork at the Richard York Gallery are documented through transactional records, photographic materials, correspondence, and scattered printed materials found in the Artists' Artwork Files. Artists for which there are significant quantities of materials (over 50 folders) include Joseph Goldyne, Ellen Day Hale, John Henry Hill, John William Hill, Lester George Hornby, Louis Lozowick, Luigi Lucioni, Emma Fordyce MacRae, John Marin, Joseph Stella, William Henry Stevens, and Steve Wheeler. Also included are the files of the Richard York photography collection, which contained works by Robert Mapplethorpe.

Similar to the Artists' Artwork Files, Client Files document the sale and consignment of artwork, but are arranged by artist's and client's name. Materials found are primarily from the early 1990s and include correspondence, notes, photographic materials, photocopied client information cards, and printed materials.

The Richard York Gallery represented the John Marin estate and the Sergio Stella estate (Joseph Stella). The records of the John Marin estate are primarily artwork in-take sheets from 1998 and inventory lists from 2001. The Sergio Stella Estate records include correspondence, inventories of artwork by Joseph Stella, and some photographic materials.

Sales and inventory records contain a nearly complete set of gallery invoices from 1995-2000, and 2004. Inventories includes gallery inventory lists, and inventory cards of sold artwork from 1981-1997 (bulk 1981-1991).

The business and financial records include accounting records, bank deposit records, corporate records, index cards for contacts, invoices for gallery expenses, materials related to Richard York's involvement in the ADAA, mailing lists, records of payments to consignors, receipts, shipping records, and tax records. The gallery migrated from paper records to Artbase, an artwork management system, around 2000-2002. Included are two CDs of database data and digital images from Artbase, as well as inventories of the digital file names.

Printed materials contain advertising tear sheets from 1998-2002, exhibition catalogs, magazine and newspaper clippings of reviews and announcements, and other miscellaneous printed materials. Printed materials are also found in eight scrapbooks which document the activities of the Richard York Gallery, Richard York, and the gallery's exhibitions from 1981-2002. Materials in the scrapbooks include clippings, correspondence, photographs, exhibition catalogs, announcements, and invitations.

Photographic materials includes color photographs, transparencies, digital prints, and scattered printed materials, as well as over 600 slides of artwork, primarily works of art which were sold or consigned by the gallery. Artists for which there is significant volume of transparencies include Houghton Cranford Smith and Lockwood de Forest, Sr.

Artists' files consist mostly of photocopied newspaper and magazine clippings, writings about the artist, and exhibition catalogs. Some original copies of printed material,  correspondence with collectors, curators, and gallerists, photographic materials, artwork records, and some exhibition records are also present.