Blum Helman and Joseph Helman Gallery Records
name: label: Creator
content: Helman, Joseph A. (1937)
label: Names
content: Blum Helman Gallery
label: Names
content: Joseph Helman Gallery
label: Names
content: Blum, Irving, 1930-
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated in 2023 by Joseph and Ursula Helman.
creator: label: Creator
content: Helman, Joseph A. (1937)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Blum Helman and Joseph Helman Gallery Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Blum Helman and Joseph Helman Gallery records measure 110.2 linear feet and date from circa 1930s to 2012, with the bulk of the material dating from 1980 to 2001. The collection includes records from Joseph Helman Gallery in St. Louis; Blum Helman Gallery locations in New York and Los Angeles; and the Joseph Helman Gallery in New York. Materials document daily gallery operations and movement of works of art, such as sales, consignments, shipping, and inventory records, and include administrative files, registrar files, extensive artist files, exhibition files, financial records, printed material, photographic material and photographs of artwork and installations, inventory cards, extensive client files, and ledgers and bank statements.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Blum Helman Gallery and Joseph Helman Gallery were art galleries in New York City, Los Angeles, and St. Louis, Missouri. Joseph Helman owned and operated the Joseph Helman Gallery in St. Louis from 1968 to 1972, when it was sold to Ron Greenberg. In 1973, Joseph Helman and Irving Blum formed Blum Helman, with galleries operating in New York and Los Angeles. When Irving Blum retired in 1995, the gallery became Joseph Helman until it closed in 2003.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
label: Function
content: Art galleries -- California
label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- Missouri -- Saint Louis
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 110.2 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1930s-2012
label: Date
content: bulk 1980-2001
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.helmblum
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as ten series.

Series 1: Administrative Files, circa 1960s-2012 (8.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-8, 90-92, 101)

Series 2: Registrar Files, circa 1970-2005 (15.1 linear feet; Boxes 8-23)

Series 3: Artist Files, 1957-2005 (18.0 linear feet; Boxes 23-40, 93-96, 99-101)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1975-2003 (4.3 linear feet; Boxes 40-45)

Series 5: Financial Records, 1972-2005 (4.5 linear feet; Boxes 45-49)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1971-2003 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 49-51, 97, 100-101)

Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1930s-1991 (26.3 linear feet; Boxes 51-78, 98)

Series 8: Inventory Cards, circa 1980s-circa 2001 (5.5 linear feet; Boxes 79-89)

Series 9: Client Files, circa 1969-2003 (25.0 linear feet; Boxes 102-126)

Series 10: Ledgers and Bank Statements, 1991-1995 (1.0 linear feet; Box 127)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2025.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Blum Helman and Joseph Helman Gallery records measure 110.2 linear feet and date from circa 1930s to 2012, with the bulk of the material dating from 1980 to 2001. The collection includes records from Joseph Helman Gallery in St. Louis; Blum Helman Gallery locations in New York and Los Angeles; and the Joseph Helman Gallery in New York. Materials document daily gallery operations and movement of works of art, such as sales, consignments, shipping, and inventory records, and include administrative files, registrar files, extensive artist files, exhibition files, financial records, printed material, photographic material and photographs of artwork and installations, inventory cards, extensive client files, and ledgers and bank statements. 


The galleries represented many artists including Joe Andoe, William Baziotes, Joseph Cornell, John Duff, Bryan Hunt, Donald Judd, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Wes Mills, Robert Moskowitz, Bruce Nauman, Dennis Oppenheim, Edda Renouf, Richard Serra, Jose Maria Sicilia, Donald Sultan, Richard Tuttle, and Andy Warhol, among many others.