Collection Information
Size: 5.8 Linear feet; 10.1 Gigabytes
Summary: The records of the Susanne Hilberry Gallery measure 5.8 linear feet and 10.1 gigabytes, and date from 1964-2017, with the bulk of the material dating from 1976-2016. Gallery artists include Richard Artschwager, Lynda Benglis, Jun Kaneko, Ellen Phelan, Italo Scanga, Joel Shapiro, Alex Katz, Judy Pfaff, Warren MacKenzie, and Nancy Mitchnick, among many others. The collection consists largely of files grouped by artist containing correspondence, sales records, and exhibition records documenting the activities of the gallery including outside or traveling exhibitions and other initiatives. Also included are significant amounts of visual materials (photographs, slides, transparencies, and digital images) documenting gallery exhibitions and the oeuvres of the gallery artists, as well as digital video recordings in the form of video works, recordings of artist talks, and artwork documentation.
Biographical/Historical Note
Susanne Hilberry Gallery was a contemporary art gallery opened by Susanne Hilberry in 1976 in the Detroit suburb of Birmingham. The gallery moved to Ferndale, Michigan in 2002, and closed in early 2017 following Hilberry's death in 2015. Susanne Hilberry was a pioneering presence in the Detroit art scene. Before opening her gallery she earned a degree in art history from Wayne State University and a master's degree from Yale in architectural history, and later served as an assistant to the curator of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Sam Wagstaff. Wagstaff encouraged Susanne to open her gallery, which focused on bringing emerging art trends and established artists not being shown otherwise in the area, as well as championing the careers of local artists. Hilberry's dedication to developing the local art scene played out in her encouragement and support of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit, where she served as a steering committee member after its opening in 2006.
Related Materials
Related materials include Wayne State University's Cass Corridor Artists Oral History Project, Oral History with Susanne Feld Hilberry, April 1, 2010.