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INVENTORY OF THE KNOEDLER KASMIN LIMITED RECORDS, 1959-2007, bulk 1970-1992
2010.M.71
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Title: Knoedler Kasmin Limited records
Date (inclusive): 1959-2007 (bulk 1970-1992)
Number: 2010.M.71
Creator/Collector:
Knoedler Kasmin Limited
Physical Description:
45.7 linear feet
(75 boxes, 2 flat file folders)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The Knoedler Kasmin Limited records document the business of the London gallery under the partnership of gallerist John Kasmin
with New York's Knoedler & Co. from 1977 to 1992. The gallery exhibited mostly abstract painting and sculpture and represented
well-known contemporary artists such as Stephen Buckley, Anthony Caro, David Hockney, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert
Motherwell and Frank Stella. The bulk of the collection consists of exhibition announcements, clippings and photographic documentation
of artists' work in the form of prints, transparencies, slides and negatives. Also included are business records such as inventory
lists, sales invoices and administrative and operational documents.
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Language: Collection material is in
English
Biographical / Historical Note
The Knoedler Kasmin Limited gallery operated in London from 1977 to 1992 as a partnership between gallerist John Kasmin and
New York's Knoedler & Co. The gallery exhibited mostly abstract painting and sculpture and represented well-known contemporary
artists such as Stephen Buckley, Anthony Caro, David Hockney, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Motherwell and Frank
Stella.
Prior to the opening of the gallery, John Kasmin (British, 1934- ), backed by the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, a young Guinness
heir, formed Kasmin Limited in 1961 and created his eponymous gallery on New Bond Street two years later. Kasmin represented
artists including Hockney, Caro, Howard Hodgkin and Gillian Ayres, as well as American artists Frankenthaler, Jules Olitski
and Morris Louis. Kasmin Limited became known for its associations with Hockney and the American color field painters championed
by Clement Greenberg. The gallery closed in 1972 due to a downturn in the economy and a shift in the Marquess's interests.
Kasmin continued to work with artists, selling work privately and organizing exhibitions in other galleries.
Five years later, Kasmin entered into equal partnership with Knoedler Inc. of New York to operate a joint gallery out of the
Knoedler premises on Bond Street opposite the Sotheby's headquarters. At the time, Knoedler Inc. was under the ownership of
business tycoon Armand Hammer and was directed by Kasmin's friends, John Richardson and Lawrence Rubin. Seeking to promote
the Knoedler name in London beyond the sale of old master paintings, Richardson and Rubin were able to attract Kasmin with
a large line of credit from a U.S. company and near-complete freedom in choosing what art to display.
Knoedler Kasmin Limited gallery launched at 143 New Bond Street and then moved to a larger space at 22 Cork Street, where
it remained until July 1992. Kasmin continued to work with artists he had represented at Kasmin Limited, along with new artists
including Motherwell, Francis, Joel Shapiro, Nancy Graves and Jennifer Bartlett, as well as younger artists Peter Kinley,
Tim Scott, and Bhupen Khakhar. The gallery also participated in art fairs at Basel, Paris, Madrid, Chicago and Bologna.
Kasmin ended the Knoedler Kasmin partnership in 1992, having decided to move away from representing living artists. He has
since dedicated himself to collecting ancient Eastern and Islamic sculpture, ceramics, textiles and calligraphy.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Contact
Library Reproductions and Permissions .
Knoedler Kasmin Limited records, 1959-2007 (bulk 1970-1992), The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2010.M.71.
Gift of John Kasmin in 2010.
Processed by Sheila Prospero under the supervision of Andra Darlington in 2012.
See also the
Kasmin Limited records (2001.M.1). The Getty Research Institute has also acquired the Knoedler & Co. records, but the collection is unavailable until processing
is complete.
78 monographs and 15 serials were transferred to the library. These publications may be found by searching the
Library Catalog for the Knoedler Kasmin Limited Collection.
Scope and Content of Collection
The Knoedler Kasmin Limited records document the business of the London gallery from 1977 to 1992 under the partnership of
gallerist John Kasmin with New York's Knoedler Inc. The archive highlights the gallery's emphasis on abstract painting and
sculpture and provides extensive information on notable contemporary artists such as David Hockney and Frank Stella.
Series I forms the bulk of the archive and consists of files on the artists whose work the gallery exhibited, including British
artists Hockney, Stephen Buckley, Anthony Caro, Howard Hodgkin and Gillian Ayres, as well as American artists Stella, Helen
Frankenthaler, Jules Olitski and Robert Motherwell. The series contains mostly exhibition announcements, clippings and photographic
images of artists' works in the form of prints, transparencies, slides and negatives. Some files also include correspondence,
business papers and exhibition catalogs. Filed at the end of the series (box 11) are unidentified color slides and transparencies.
Featured in Series II is a small section of papers and photographs related to group and special exhibitions at the gallery
as well as art fairs in which the gallery participated. Included in this series are exhibition lists, announcements and correspondence.
The photographic material consists of both black-and-white and color prints, transparencies and negatives documenting exhibition
installation shots and artists' works.
Series III contains administrative records and operational documents for the gallery, including documentation of the gallery's
incorporation in 1977 and closure in 1992. Records include lease documents, architectural plans, daybooks and clippings, as
well as insurance claims and correspondence following a flood at the gallery in February 1984.
Series IV consists of inventory lists and invoices for artwork sold at Knoedler Kasmin Limited gallery between 1977 and 1992.
The gallery's inventory is also documented in stock books and a small number of photographs of works sold before 1990. A large
number of invoices for art sold at the gallery forms the major portion of the series.
Arranged in four series:
Series I. Artist files, 1959-2007 (bulk 1970-1991);
Series II. Exhibition files, 1972-1992, 2004;
Series III. Gallery administration, 1963-2006;
Series IV. Gallery inventory, 1977-1992.
Ayres, Gillian, 1930-
Buckley, Stephen, 1944-
Caro, Anthony, 1924-
Francis, Sam, 1923-1994
Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-
Hockney, David
Hodgkin, Howard, 1932-
Kasmin, John
Motherwell, Robert
Olitski, Jules, 1922-2007
Stella, Frank
Knoedler Kasmin Limited
Art dealers--England--London
Art galleries, Commercial--England--London
Art, Modern--20th century
Art, Modern--Collectors and collecting
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
Color prints (photographs)
Photographs, Original
Printed ephemera
Slides (photographs)
Transparencies
Kasmin, John
M. Knoedler & Co.