Susan Conway Gallery records
name: label: Creator
content: Susan Conway Gallery (Washington, D.C.)
label: Names
content: Susan Conway Conservation Studio
label: Names
content: Aho, Eric, 1966-
label: Names
content: Barnet, Will, 1911-2012
label: Names
content: Baskin, Leonard, 1922-2000
label: Names
content: Conway, Susan, 1933-
label: Names
content: Dehner, Dorothy, 1901-1994
label: Names
content: Doyle, Mary Ellen, 1938-
label: Names
content: Honeycutt, Brece
label: Names
content: Merrill, Ross M.
label: Names
content: Natzler, Gertrud
label: Names
content: Natzler, Otto
label: Names
content: Oliphant, Pat, 1935-
label: Names
content: Scott, Sam
label: Names
content: Sorel, Edward, 1929-
topic: label: Topic
content: Women art dealers
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Susan Conway Gallery records were donated by Susan Conway in 2004 and 2007.
creator: label: Creator
content: Susan Conway Gallery (Washington, D.C.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Susan Conway Gallery records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The modern and contemporary art gallery records of the Susan Conway Gallery in Washington, D.C. measure 23.9 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from circa 1928, circa 1940s-2003, with the bulk of the material dating from 1987-2003. Nearly half of the collection documents the gallery's work as the sole representative of artist and political cartoonist Pat Oliphant through administrative records, exhibition files, press clippings, and a handful of photographs. Also found in the collection are artists' files of other artists represented by the gallery, client files, administrative records, printed and digital materials, and the records of the Susan Conway Conservation Studio.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Susan Conway Gallery was founded by Susan Conway in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., in 1987. In 1991, the gallery relocated from 1058 Thomas Jefferson Street N.W. to the Glackens House, former home of painter William Glackens, at 1214 30th Street N.W. In 1998, Conway opened a second gallery location in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

The gallery represented modern and contemporary artists including Eric Aho, Will Barnet, Leonard Baskin, Dorothy Dehner, Mary Ellen Doyle, Brece Honeycutt, Ross M. Merrill, Otto and Gertrud Natzler, Sam Scott and Edward Sorel. The gallery was also the sole fine arts representative of sculpture, painting, and drawings by Patrick Oliphant, a Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist.

Susan Corn Conway (1933-) was born in Macon, Georgia. She studied studio art in New York City and Paris, and completed an apprenticeship in painting restoration and conservation at the Louvre. In 1971, Conway moved to Washington, D.C. and began working in the conservation department at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In 1973, she founded her own private art conservation practice. As a conservator, Conway worked with the Smithsonian Institution, the Phillips Collection, the Pentagon, and many other organizations. Conway married Pat Oliphant in 1996.
function: label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- Washington (D.C.)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 23.9 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 0.001 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1928, 1940s-2003
label: Date
content: bulk 1987-2003
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.susacong
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Visitors' books
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Series 1: Artists' Files, circa 1928, circa 1940s-2003 (7.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-8, 26, OV 27, ER01; 0.001 GB)

Series 2: Client Files, 1987-2003 (1.85 linear feet; Boxes 8-10, 26)

Series 3: Exhibition and Loan Files, 1987-2003 (0.85 linear feet; Boxes 10-11)

Series 4: Records Regarding Patrick Oliphant, 1976-2003 (11.5 linear feet; Boxes 11-22, 26, OV 27, ER02; 0.001 GB)

Series 5: Administrative and Miscellaneous Records, 1978-2003 (0.5 linear feet; Box 22)

Series 6: Printed Materials, 1987-2002 (0.4 linear feet; Box 23, OV 27)

Series 7: Susan Conway Conservation Studio Records, before 1970s-1993 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 23-26)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed to a minimal level and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Haug in 2013, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care Preservation Fund. Born-digital materials were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provide by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.

The Archives of American Art has implemented minimal processing tactics when possible in order to increase access to more of our collections. Minimal processing included arrangement to the series and folder levels. Generally, items within folders were simply verified with folder titles and dates, but not arranged further. Folder titles were transcribed from original folder headings. The collection was rehoused in archival containers and folders. Staples and other fasteners were not removed, but correspondence was removed from envelopes and filed behind the envelope. Materials were removed from binders or damaged binding when necessary.

Materials with Social Security numbers and personal financial information were redacted with copies left in the collection. The original documents are maintained separately.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Visitors' books
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The modern and contemporary art gallery records of the Susan Conway Gallery in Washington, D.C. measure 23.9 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from circa 1928, circa 1940s-2003, with the bulk of the material dating from 1987-2003. Nearly half of the collection documents the gallery's work as the sole representative of artist and political cartoonist Pat Oliphant through administrative records, exhibition files, press clippings, and a handful of photographs. Also found in the collection are artists' files of other artists represented by the gallery, client files, administrative records, printed and digital materials, and the records of the Susan Conway Conservation Studio.

The exhibitions and sales of artwork by artists represented by the gallery are documented through biographies, correspondence, exhibition printed materials, newspaper clippings, notes, price lists, photographs and slides, sales invoices, and shipping records. Artists of interest include Eric Aho, Will Barnet, Leonard Baskin, Dorothy Dehner, Mary Ellen Doyle, Brece Honeycutt, Ross M. Merrill, Otto and Gertrud Natzler, Sam Scott and Edward Sorel. Sales records can also be found in Client Files, along with correspondence with individual clients and galleries, notes, and shipping records.

Nearly half of the collection documents the exhibitions, loans, promotion and sales of Patrick Oliphant's artwork. Materials found include contracts, correspondence with galleries, museums, and clients, exhibition printed materials, notes, scattered photographs, price lists, proposals, sales invoices, and shipping records. Much of the material relates to Oliphant's numerous traveling exhibitions, including "Oliphant: The New World Order in Drawing and Sculpture," "Oliphant's Presidents: 25 Years of Caricatures," and "Seven Presidents."

Administrative and Miscellaneous Records includes records related to the daily operation of the gallery space and promotion of the gallery, such as contracts, a guest book, documents created for Conway's public talks, scattered documentation regarding gifts of artwork, and other miscellaneous records.

The bulk of the printed materials are Susan Conway Gallery exhibition announcements. Also found are some catalogs, clippings and a brochure. The records of the Susan Conway Conservation Studio include condition reports, correspondence with clients, notes, and photographs and slides of artwork.

None of the gallery records of the Santa Fe location are included in this collection. The outlying dates of this collection include older photographs and a negative found in the Artists' Files.