Gres Gallery, Part 3

[Below is an appendix to “Gres Gallery” listing the names I mentioned in Parts 1 and 2 of the main article (July 7 and 10, respectively).  I’ve separated them into two lists, one for the artists named in the article (including artists whose names appear only in the list of exhibits below) and one for all the other people I named.  Where available, I’ve included the person’s life dates and, where applicable (and accessible), I noted the person’s profession or field of endeavor.  (For the artists, that would be painter,  sculptor, printmaker, and so on, but I haven’t gone into any detail.  I rely on curious readers to look the people up on their own for more information.)  The names are alphabetized by family name, even though I haven’t listed them with the family name first.  (Be careful of Spanish names that include the mother’s last name, such as Luis Martínez Pedro, who is listed under “Martinez Pedro” rather than “Pedro.”) 

[The listed exhibits include as much information as I can find.  Not all will be complete, unfortunately, and I can’t be certain that I’ve identified all of Gres’s shows (in fact, I’m certain I haven’t).  Note that some of the exhibit titles varied and I don’t have access to catalogues or flyers from the gallery for a definitive title; the same is true of the names of the artists who participated in group shows: not all will be listed.  I’ve only included the Gres Gallery shows, not any of the other display events mentioned in the article.  Since some exhibit dates overlapped, I’ve listed the shows according to their opening date.]

LISTS

NAMES

ARTISTS

Karel Appel (1921-2006), Dutch painter

Hans Arp (aka: Jean Arp; 1886-1966), German-French Dada sculptor, painter, poet, and abstract artist in untraditional media

Lila (Oliver) Asher (b. 1921), American printmaker; lives and works in Washington, D.C.

Franco Assetto (aka: Assetto; 1911-91), Italian painter and sculptor

Willi Baumeister (1889-1955), German Modernist painter, scenic designer, art professor, and typographer

Jean René Bazaine (1904-2001), French painter and designer of stained-glass windows

Max Beckmann (1884-1950), German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer associated with the New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit)

José Bermudez (1922-98), Cuban-born painter and sculptor; worked in Washington, D.C.

Sandra Blow (1925-2006), British painter

Marian Bogusz (1920-80), Polish painter

Fernando Botero (1932-2023), Colombian painter and sculptor

Victor Brauner (1903-66), French-Romanian Surrealist painter and sculptor

Alberto Burri (1915-95), Italian painter of post-World War II modernism

William Calfee (1937-82), American sculptor, first chairman of art department at American University

Norman Carton (1908-80), American painter

James Caudle (1920-2010), American sculptor, taught at American University

Rolf Cavael (1891-1979), German non-representational painter, draftsman, and graphic artist

Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Russian-French Modernist artist of Belarusian Jewish origin

Tal Coat (aka: Pierre Jacob; 1905–1985), French painter and printmaker

José Luis Cuevas (1934-2017), Mexican painter and printmaker

Nicolas de Staël (1914-55), French painter

Dorothy Dehner (1901-94), American Abstract Expressionist painter and sculptor

Robyn Denny (1930-2014), British painter

Otto Dix (1891-1969), German painter and printmaker

Jean Dubuffet (1901-85), French painter and sculptor

Bernard Dufour (1922-2016), French painter

John E[dwin] Dundin (1913-91), American Abstract Expressionist painter and art instructor who lived and worked in the Washington, D.C., area

Max Ernst (1891-1976), German Dada and Surrealist painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet

Wojciech Fangor (1922-2015), Polish painter, graphic artist, and sculptor

Lyonel Feininger (1971-1956), German-American Expressionist painter

Donald Hamilton Fraser (1929-2009), British painter

Robert [Franklin] Gates (1906-82), American muralist, painter, and art professor who lived and worked in the Washington, D.C., area

Sam Gilliam (b. 1933), American painter of Washington Color School

Julio Girona (1914-2002), Cuban sculptor, painter, cartoonist, and writer

Georg (George) Grosz (1893-1959), German-born American painter and caricaturist

Grace Hartigan (1922-2008), American Abstract Expressionist painter

Hans Hartung (1904-89), German-French painter

Rudolf Hoflehner (1916-95), Austrian sculptor

Sheila Isham (b. 1927), American Impressionist painter and book artist

Alexej von Jawlensky (1864-1941), Russian Expressionist painter active in Germany

Paul Kallos (1928-2001), French-Hungarian abstract painter

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Russian-born German and French painter

Yukiko Katsura (1913-91), Japanese contemporary-style painter

Minoru Kawabata (1911-2001), Japanese contemporary-style painter

Marie Tuiccillo Kelly (1916-2000), American artist and tapestry-maker

Robert Keyser, (1924-91), American collagist and painter

Paul Klee (1879-1940), Swiss German painter and printmaker

Aleksander Kobzdej (1920–1972), Polish painter

Robert E. Kuhn (1917-2000), American painter and sculptor who lived and worked in the Washington, D.C., area

Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929), Japanese painter, sculptor, and installation-maker

Wilfredo Lam (1902-82), Cuban painter

André Lanskoy (1902-76), Russian-born French painter and printmaker

Peter Lanyon (1918-64), British landscape painter

Charles Lapicque (1898-1988), French painter whose works were influential in the development of Post-Modern art

Louis Le Brocquy (1916-2012), Irish painter 

Morris Louis (1912-62), American painter of the Washington Color School

René Magritte (1898-1967), Belgian Surrealist painter

Luis Martínez Pedro (1910-90), Cuban painter

Roberto Matta (aka: Matta; 1911-2002), Chilean painter

Leonard Maurer (1912-76), American Abstract landscape painter who worked in the Washington, D.C., area

Howard Mehring (1931–1978), American painter of the Washington Color School

Mary Meyer (Mrs. Cord Meyer, Jr.; 1920-64), American painter of the Washington Color School; shareholder with her husband in Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Henri Michaux (1899-1984), Belgian-born French painter

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Dutch painter

Édgar Negret (1920-2012), Colombian abstract sculptor

Louise Nevelson (1899-1988), Russian-born American sculptor

Robert Neuman (1926-2015), American Abstract painter

Kenneth Noland (1924-2010), American painter of the Washington Color School

Kenzo Okada (1902-82), Japanese-born American contemporary-style painter

Toshinobu Onosato (1912-86), Japanese contemporary-style painter

Rafael Alvarez Ortega (1927-2011), Spanish artist known for drawings

Jorge Oteiza (1908-2003), Basque Spanish sculptor, painter, and designer

Franz Plunder (1914-86?), Austrian-born American sculptor, teacher, and boat-builder

Serge Poliakoff (1906-69), Russian-born French painter

Manuel Rendón (1894-1982), Ecuadoran painter

Larry Rivers (1923-2002), American painter

Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), German collagist and sculptor

William Scott (1913-89), British painter

Gustave Singier (1909-84), Belgian non-figurative painter active in France

Pierre Soulages (b. 1919), French painter, engraver, and sculptor

Lou Stovall (b. 1937), American printmaker and drawer of Washington Color School

Ben L. Summerford (aka: Joe Summerford; 1924-2015), American painter, co-founder of Jefferson Place Gallery, chairman of Department of Art at American University; wrote letter to Washington Post  concerning Gres Gallery and Post art reviewer Leslie Judd Portner

Alina Szapocznikow (1926-73), Polish sculptor

Antoni Tàpies (1923-2012), Spanish painter

Raoul Ubac (1910-85), French painter, sculptor, photographer, and engraver

Reva Urban (aka: Reva; 1925-87),  American painter and graphic artist

Victor Vasarely (1906-97), Hungarian-born French painter and sculptor

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908-92), Portuguese painter

Manuel Viola (aka: José Viola; 1916-87), Spanish painter

Anna Walinska (1906-97), American painter

William Walton (1909/1910-94), American Abstract Expressionist painter

Wols (aka: Wolfgang Schulze, 1913-51), German painter and photographer

Bryan Wynter (1915-75), British painter

Takeo Yamaguchi (1902-83), Japanese contemporary-style painter 

Jack Youngerman (b. 1926), American painter, printmaker, and construction-maker

Rajmund Ziemski (1930-85), Polish painter

OTHER PEOPLE

Björn Ahlander (1920-82), Swedish cultural attaché; second husband of Washington Post  art critic Leslie Judd Portner (Ahlander), married in 1959

John Anderson (b. c. 1980), Washington City Paper art critic

Mrs. Robert Anderson, shareholder with her husband in Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Nicolás Arroyo y Márquez (1917-2008), last ambassador from Cuba from the government of Fulgencio Batista

Franz Bader (1903-94), American gallery owner, Washington, D.C.

Manuel Baker, director of I.F.A. Galleries in Washington, D.C.; wrote letter to Washington Post  concerning Gres Gallery and Post art reviewer Leslie Judd Portner

Frank Barger (1904-67), principal of the Middle School at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., 1944-67

Fulgencio Batista (1901-73), president and dictator of Cuba, 1940-44 and 1952-59; overthrown by Fidel Castro

Jean Bradford (Mrs. Saxton Bradford, 1920-2017), shareholder with her husband in Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Mrs. Robert Cabot, shareholder with her husband in Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Fidel Castro (1926-2016), Cuban communist revolutionary leader, then leader of Cuba, 1959-2008

Jean Lawlor Cohen (b. c. 1925), American writer, editor, and curator; co-author of Washington Art Matters: Art Life in the Capital 1940-1990

[Hereward] Lester Cooke (1916–1973), American painter, National Gallery of Art staff

Stuart Davidson (1922–2001), American businessman, shareholder in Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Alice Denney (b. 1922), director of the Jefferson Place Gallery (later other galleries and organizations)

Hope Efron (Mrs. Samuel Efron, 1918-2013), shareholder with her husband in Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), President of the United States, 1953-61

Mamie Eisenhower (1896-1979), First Lady of the United States, 1953-61

Benjamin Forgey (b. 1938), independent American critic; co-author of Washington Art Matters: Art Life in the Capital 1940-1990

Francisco Franco (1892-1975), Spanish general who ruled Spain as dictator, 1939-75

Władysław Gomułka (1905-82), Poland’s communist leader, 1943-48 and 1956-70

John Gres (1928-2018), a Cuban-born radio announcer and narrator; co-founder with his wife of Gres Gallery, 1957-58

Tana de Gámez Gres (b. 1920), Spanish-born actress, radio announcer, novelist, and artists’ agent, raised in Havana; co-founder and manager of Gres Gallery, 1957-58

José Gutiérrez Gómez (1910-2006), Ambassador of Colombia, 1957

Martha Jackson (1907-69), American art gallery owner, New York City

John F. Kennedy (1917-63), President of the United States, 1961-63; assassinated on 22 November 1963

Nikita Khrushchev (1894-1971), leader of the Soviet Union, 1953-64

Sidney Lawrence (b. 1948), American artist, writer, and critic; co-author of Washington Art Matters: Art Life in the Capital 1940-1990

Mrs. Lucille McGinnis, shareholder with her husband in Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Mrs. Richard McKinley, shareholder with her husband in Gres Gallery, 1958-62

William McPherson (1933-2017, Washington Post  reporter and art critic

Richard Nixon (1913-94), Vice President of the United States, 1953-61; President, 1969-74; forced to resign, 9 August 1974

Betty Parsons (1900-82), American artist, gallery-owner, and collector, New York City

Beatrice Perry (1921-2011), American artist and gallery-manager, executive director of Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Hart Perry (1918-91), American business executive and government official; husband of Gres Gallery executive director Beatrice Perry

Leslie Judd Portner (later Ahlander), art critic for the Washington Post and Times Herald ; married Björn Ahlander in 1959

Emilio Prando, Cuban Chargé d’Affairs in Washington

J. Ross Prevost (c. 1900-1994), U.S. Customs appraiser for the port of Baltimore

Mrs. Sidney Rolfe (possibly Maria Rolfe, c. 1913-83, wife of economist Dr. Sidney E. Rolfe), shareholder with her husband in Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Stephen S. Rosenfeld (1932-2010), Washington Post reporter

Frances Rowan, Washington Post reporter

Kenneth B. Sawyer, Baltimore Sun art reviewer

Kenneth M. Scollon, art teacher at Eastern Junior High School

Peter Selz (b. 1919), art historian, curator of department of painting and sculpture exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York

Harold Spivacke (1904-77), director of the Music Division of the Library of Congress

Elizabeth Tebow, American art historian; co-author of Washington Art Matters: Art Life in the Capital 1940-1990

Francis Threadgill (1907-74?), Washington, D.C., surgeon; co-owner with his wife, Olga Briceño Threadgil, of Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Olga Briceño Threadgill (1925-77?),  Venezuelan-born novelist and newspaperwoman; co-owner with her husband, Dr. Francis Threadgill, of Gres Gallery, 1958-62

Richard E. Trees, wrote letter to Washington Post  concerning Gres Gallery and Post art reviewer Leslie Judd Portner

Penelope J. Wright, wrote letter to Washington Post  concerning Gres Gallery and Post art reviewer Leslie Judd Portner

CHRONOLOGY OF EXHIBITS

1957 [@ 1744 Columbia Road, N.W.]

19 Sept-19 Oct..: Édgar Negret and Jack Youngerman [inaugural exhibit]

24 Oct.-16 Nov.: [José Luis] Cuevas of Mexico

dates unknown: Contemporary Japanese Prints

1958

7-27 Jan. Anna Walinska

? -15 Feb.: Primitive Sculptures of Brazil and Jaime Sanchez of Venezuela [clay figurines of the Karaja Indians of Brazil’s Matto Grosso]; Beata Welsing

? -20 Mar.: Maria Tuiccillo Kelly

12 Mar.-2 Apr.: German Contemporary Art [German artists of the first half of the 20th century such as Willi Baumeister, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Rolf Cavael, Max Ernst, Lyonel Feininger, Georg Grosz, Hans Hartung, Alexej von Jawlensky, and Wassily Kandinsky]

? -30 Apr.: Manuel Rendon

? -30 May: Senen Ubina of Spain

4 June-31 July: Group Show: Past and Future [presenting again some of the most successful artists from the past season and introducing some painters who will be shown in the following fall]

[gallery closed except by appointment for summer months]

30 Sept.-28 Oct.: Norman Carton and Jorge Oteiza [@ 1729 20th Street, N.W.]

29 Oct.-25 Nov.: Fernando Botero

1 Dec.- ?: Collages of Robert Keyser

ca. 21 Dec.: Christmas Collection [specially priced drawings, watercolors, collages, and oils by Cuevas, Walinksa, Julio Girona, Carton, Kelly, and Botero, among others]

1959

22 Jan.-18 Feb.: [Roberto] Matta

19 Feb.-11 Mar.: Luis Mártinez Pedro

12-24 Mar.: African Sculpture; Israeli Drawings

25 Mar.-28 Apr.: Antoni Tàpies

29 Apr.-26 May: Drawings by [Rafael Alvarez] Ortega and Sculpture by Dorothy Dehner

[27 May ?]-13 June: International Group Show [Cuevas, Carton, Manuel Viola, and José Bermudez]

[gallery closed except by appointment for summer months]

30 Sept.-31 Oct.: Robert Neuman 

c. 4 Oct.?-27 Oct.: Surrealism: Image to Reality [Alberto Burri, Tàpies, Louise Nevelson, Bermudez, René Magritte, Victor Brauner, and others]

c. 12 Oct.- ?: exhibit of French paintings, etchings, lithographs, and drawings by some of the same artists showing at the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s Fifteen Painters from Paris [artists at the Corcoran: Jean René Bazaine, Jean Dubuffet, Bernard Dufour, Hans Hartung, Paul Kallos, Andre Lanskoy, Charles Lapicque, Serge Poliakoff, Pierre Soulages, Nicolas de Staël, Tal Coa, Raoul Ubac, Victor Vasarely, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, Wols]; inaugurated Gres second-floor gallery

28 Oct.-17 Nov.: Franco Assetto

3 Nov.- ?: Henri Michaux

18 Nov.-16 Jan 1960.: Robert Neuman

November: Christmas Exhibition  

1960

5-19 Jan.: Maria Kelly

19-31 Jan.: Grace Hartigan

13-12 Mar.: José Bermudez

15 Mar.-16 Apr.: Larry Rivers

19 Apr.-14 May: Yayoi Kusama

23 May-11 June: Young British Painters [William Scott, Sandra Blow, Louis Le Brocquy, Bryan Wynter, Donald Hamilton Fraser, Robyn Denny, and Peter Lanyon; lent by Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service]

[gallery closed except by appointment for summer months]

26 Sept.-5 Oct.: Aleksander Kobzdej of Poland

18 Oct.-12 Nov.: Fernando Botero: One-Man Show

16 Nov.-23 Dec.: Six Painters of Japan [Yayoi Kusama, Minoru Kawabata, Kenzo Okada, Toshinobu Onosato, Takeo Yamaguchi, and Yukiko Katsura; artists working in contemporary Western styles]

1961

16 Jan.-11 Feb.: Karel Appel of Holland

14 Feb.-7 May: Toshinobu Onosato

16 Mar.-8 Apr.: Antoni Tàpies

11 Apr.-13 May: Contemporary Polish Paintings [Kobzdej, Wojciech Fangor, Marian Bogusz, Rajmund Ziemski, Alina Szapocznikow, and others]

16 May-10 June: Architects’ Choice [paintings and sculptures selected by eight District architects; artists: William Walton, John E. Dundin, Robert Gates, Sheila Isham, Robert E. Kuhn, Leonard Maurer, Tàpies, Ziemski, and Botero]

[gallery closed except by appointment for summer months]

[13 June.?]-25 Sept.: Group Show: Selections for Young Collectors [Hans Arp, Victor Vasarely, Gustave Singier, Hartung, Serge Poliakoff, Botero, Dehner, Bermudez, Ernst, Hartigan, Rivers, Matta, Tàpies, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Kobzdej, Cuevas, Kusama, Katsura, Onosato, Oteiza, Szapocznikow]

26 Sept.-6 Nov.: Gres Artists and the Carnegie International Exhibition [Bermudez, Assetto, Hartigan, Appel, Matta, Ziemski, Kobzdej, Kusama, Katsura, Mártinez Pedro]

24 Oct.-18 Nov.: Reva Urban

21 Nov.-23 Dec.: Franco Assetto and Yayoi Kusama

                                                                                                                        

1962

16 Jan.-10 Feb.: Midwinter Gallery Exhibition [participating artists unknown; possibly extended to 17 Mar., the closing date for the gallery]

[Since ROT doesn’t publish footnotes, I have always promised to provide the sources for my material to any reader who requests them.  I haven’t reiterated this promise in a while, so I think “Gres Gallery” is a good post on which to restate it.  Leave a Comment expressing your interest and an e-mail address to which I can send the bibliography and I’ll send the list.  (I’ll delete the Comment at your request if you don’t want your e-mail to remain on line permanently.  Also, note that the list of sources for “Gres Gallery” is pretty long, so a request for the specific citation in which you’re interested would be appreciated.)]