Collection Information
Size: 13.8 Linear feet
Summary: The records of Los Angeles Heritage Gallery measure 13.8 linear feet and date from 1944-2000 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1960-1998. The majority of the collection consists of artists' files containing a wide variety of materials documenting the gallery's representation of its contemporary artists and gallery exhibitions, including biographical information, correspondence, and printed materials. About half of the artists' files are related to artist Charles White. Gallery records also include business correspondence, business records and additional printed materials.
Biographical/Historical Note
Founder Benjamin Horowitz (1912-2004) was born in New York City and moved to Hollywood shortly before the outbreak of World War II. He began a career as a writer of detective fiction but was interrupted by the draft. Horowitz opened Heritage Gallery in the early 1960s on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. His early dedication to African-American artists, chief among them Charles White to whom he gave more than 51 one-person exhibitions, distinguished the gallery.
Provenance
The Heritage Gallery records were donated by Benjamin Horowitz, founder of the gallery, in two accessions in 1998 and 2000.
Related Materials
The Archives of American Art holds several collections related to Heritage Gallery and Benjamin Horowitz, including the William Gropper papers and the Charles Wilbert White papers. Also found in the Archives is an oral history interview with Benjamin Horowitz conducted by Molly Saltman as a part of "Art and Artists" interviews, 1965-1966.
Language Note
The collection is in English.
Funding Note
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collection Care Preservation Fund.