Louis Stern (born January 7, 1945) is a Los Angeles

art dealer An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art. An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationshi ...

and President of Louis Stern Fine Arts in

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

, California. Stern deals in the secondary market for Impressionist and Modern works. His gallery’s program specializes primarily in west coast

hard-edge Hard-edge painting is painting in which abrupt transitions are found between color areas. Color areas are often of one unvarying color. The Hard-edge painting style is related to Geometric abstraction, Op Art, Post-painterly Abstraction, and C ...

geometric abstraction.

Early life and family

Louis Stern was born in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

in 1945, and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1955. He is the oldest son of Frederic Stern, an art dealer who specialized in 19th century French painting. Stern began working in the art business with his father at the age of 16, developing expertise in

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

, and

Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

art. Stern’s brother Jean Stern is Executive Director Emeritus of the Irvine Museum in Orange County.

Career and development

After being active in the art business in London and Paris, Stern founded his first gallery on Brighton Way in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

in 1982. In 1994, he relocated to his current location on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. After moving to the Melrose location he exhibited Modern and Impressionist work including solo shows for Matisse, Picasso, Leger, Villon and Kupka. He has acquired and placed works by artists of the late 19th and 20th centuries, including Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Cassatt, Morisot, Degas, Van Gogh, Braque, Chagall, Modigliani, Giacometti, de Kooning, Dubuffet, Francis and Warhol. While Stern continues to be active in the secondary market, his gallery is focused on leading West Coast

abstractionists of the twentieth century (representing the estates of

Karl Benjamin Karl S. Benjamin (December 29, 1925 – July 26, 2012) was an American painter of vibrant geometric abstractions, who rose to fame in 1959 as one of four Los Angeles-based Abstract Classicists and subsequently produced a critically acclaime ...

Lorser Feitelson Lorser Feitelson (1898–1978) was an artist known as one of the founding fathers of Southern California-based hard-edge painting. Born in Savannah, Georgia, Feitelson was raised in New York City, where his family relocated shortly after his bir ...

, and

Helen Lundeberg Helen Lundeberg (1908–1999) was a Southern Californian painter. Along with her husband Lorser Feitelson, she is credited with establishing the Post-Surrealist movement. Her artistic style changed over the course of her career, and has been des ...

). The gallery represents a stable of contemporary artists as well, many of whom create work which continues the legacy of hard-edge abstraction. Over time Stern expanded his specialties to include Latin American art, particularly that of Mexican painter and muralist

Alfredo Ramos Martínez Alfredo Ramos Martínez (November 12, 1871 – November 8, 1946) was a painter, muralist, and educator, who lived and worked in Mexico, Paris, and Los Angeles. Considered by many to be the 'Father of Mexican Modernism', Ramos Martínez is bes ...

, who is considered by many to be the "Father of Mexican Modernism". Stern founded the Alfredo Ramos Martínez Research Project to promote and protect the legacy of the artist. He serves as the Director of the Project, which is currently compiling the catalogue raisonné for Ramos Martínez. Stern’s advocacy reestablished the reputation of Ramos Martínez, resulting in a major retrospective at the Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) in Mexico City in 1992.

Involvement and awards

Stern has served on the board of directors of the Fine Art Dealers Association (FADA); was Vice President of the Art Dealers Association of California from 1990-1991; was a member of the International Foundation for Art Research, New York; was a member of the Archives of American Art (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.); and was a founding member of the Photographic Arts Council at LACMA. He is also on the advisory board of Gallery 825/Los Angeles Art Association, is on the Advisory Council for the Arts at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and is a member of the Getty Research Institute Council. He has advised numerous groups and assemblies regarding buying, selling and collecting important works of art, especially Impressionist and Modern. Stern is also a member of the Art Advisory Panel of the Commissioner of the

IRS The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

. Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur In 2001, Stern was made a Chevalier in the Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture. On December 16, 2007, he was presented with France's highest decoration, the Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur ("Knight of the Legion of Honor") by

Pierre Vimont Pierre Vimont (born 15 June 1949) is a French diplomat who served as the Executive Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) from 2010 until 2015. His current rank in the French civil service is "Ambassadeur de France", which ...

, French Ambassador to the United States, on behalf of the President of France. Created by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in 1802, it is awarded for gallantry in military action or civilian life for work that enhances the reputation of France through scholarship, arts, sciences and politics. The Government of France recognized Stern for his efforts to further the knowledge and appreciation of French culture and French artists with his gallery program and his numerous French/American civic affiliations. He is a life member of the American Society of the French Legion of Honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stern, Louis French art dealers American art dealers Knights of the Legion of Honour Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 1945 births Living people People from Casablanca Lists of Moroccan people