The Hugo Gallery was a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

gallery, founded by

Robert Rothschild Baron Robert Rothschild (16 December 1911, in Brussels – 3 December 1998, in London) was a Belgian diplomat. He helped to draft the Treaty of Rome of 1957, the foundation of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1958. Biography His fat ...

, Elizabeth Arden and Maria dei Principi Ruspoli Hugo between 1945 and 1955 and operated by

Alexander Iolas Alexander Iolas (March 26, 1908 – June 8, 1987) was an Egyptian-born Greek-American art gallerist and an significant collector of modern art works, who advanced the careers of René Magritte and many other artists. He established the modern mode ...

. The Hugo gallery was initially on East 55th Street and Madison Avenue. When it first opened – on Thursday, November 15, 1945 – an extravagant party was held on the premises; an article by

Edward Alden Jewell Edward Alden Jewell (March 10, 1888 – October 11, 1947) was an American newspaper and magazine editor, art critic and novelist. He was the New York Times art editor from July 1936 until his death. Early life Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, E ...

in the next morning’s Times reported on everything from the “first-rate” paintings to the sumptuous decorations, the work, he surmised, of “most of the florists in town”. The entire dance world, or so it seemed, turned out for the reception, surely less for the chance to contemplate paintings by

Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

and de Chirico than for an up-close view of

Pavel Tchelitchew Pavel Fyodorovich Tchelitchew ( ; russian: Па́вел Фёдорович Чели́щев) ( – 31 July 1957) was a Russian-born surrealist painter, set designer and costume designer. Early life Tchelitchew was born to an aristocratic famil ...

and Tamara Toumanova.

Exhibitions

The gallery’s inaugural exhibition in November 1945, entitled “The Fantastic in Modern Art”, was organized by Charles Henri Ford and

Parker Tyler Harrison Parker Tyler (March 6, 1904 – June 1974), was an American author, poet, and film critic. Tyler had a relationship with underground filmmaker Charles Boultenhouse (1926–1994) from 1945 until his death. Their papers are held by the New ...

, the editors of Surrealist magazine View. The Christmas show of 1945 called “The Poetic Theatre” included among others

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

and Joseph Cornell. In December 1946, Joseph Cornell had a solo exhibitions at the Hugo Gallery named "Romantic Museum at the Hugo Gallery: Portraits of Women by Joseph Cornell". For this exhibition Cornell conceived one of his most ambitious works, the untitled piece known as "''Penny Arcade Portrait of Lauren Bacall''". In 1947 the gallery hosted "Bloodflames 1947", a show organized by

Nicolas Calas Nicolas Calas ( el, Νικόλαος Κάλας) (May 27, 1907 – December 31, 1988) was the pseudonym of Nikos Kalamaris (), a Greek-American poet and art critic. While living in Greece, he also used the pseudonyms Nikitas Randos () and M. ...

and designed by Frederick Kiesler which was the last collective manifestation of the surrealist exiles' group in New York. The exhibition included work by David Hare, Arshile Gorky, Roberto Matta and Isamu Noguchi. In April 1947, René Magritte had an exhibition at the Hugo Gallery in New York. Magritte achieves international recognition, in large part, to Hugo Gallery. In 1952,

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

had his first solo exhibition at the Hugo Gallery named "Fifteen Drawings Based on the Writings of Truman Capote" (June 16 – July 3, 1952).Andy Warhol Biography
Gagosian Gallery In 1953, Jan Yoors, the Belgian-born artist working in tapestry, painting, sculpture, and photography, had one of his first New York solo exhibitions at the gallery. The director of the gallery was

, assisted by David Mann. Alexander Iolas after working at the Hugo Gallery, founded the Jackson-Iolas Gallery in 1955 with former dancer, Brooks Jackson and later created a network of galleries under his own name. David Mann after working at the Hugo Gallery became the director of

Bodley Gallery The Bodley Gallery was an art gallery in New York City, from the late 1940s through the early 1980s. The Bodley specialized in contemporary and modern art. David Mann was director of the gallery during its heyday and Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Braun (a.k. ...

References

Sources

Andy Warhol and Hugo Gallery

René Magritte and Hugo Gallery

Smithsonian Archives of American Art - interview with Brooks Jackson, dealer
* Utopia Parkway: The Life And Work Of Joseph Cornell {{Authority control Contemporary art galleries in the United States American contemporary art Defunct art museums and galleries in Manhattan Art galleries established in 1945 Art galleries disestablished in 1955 1945 establishments in New York City 1955 disestablishments in New York (state)