City Gallery (Manhattan) facts for kids
City Gallery was a special art gallery in New York City. It showed art by new and exciting artists. The gallery was in a loft, which is like a big open apartment. A group of young, modern artists ran it together. They wanted to show art that was different and new.
A Look Back: City Gallery's Story
In November 1958, two artists named Red Grooms and Jay Milder started City Gallery. It was in Grooms' art studio. This studio was on the third floor of a building. It was located at 735 Sixth Avenue in the Flatiron area. The space was about 20 feet by 40 feet.
Before this, Grooms and Milder were part of another gallery called Phoenix Gallery. This was during a time when many new art galleries were opening on 10th Street. But Phoenix Gallery did not want to show art by Claes Oldenburg. So, Grooms and Milder left Phoenix Gallery. They then opened City Gallery. Here, they gave Oldenburg his very first art show in New York City.
City Gallery closed its doors in May 1959. This happened when Red Grooms left New York for the summer. When he came back, he moved to a different part of the city. He then started a new place called the Delancey Street Museum. Many of the same artists who showed at City Gallery also showed their work there. This new museum also hosted some of the first Happenings. Happenings were like live art performances. The building where City Gallery used to be was torn down soon after Grooms moved out.
Amazing Art Shows
City Gallery showed many important art pieces. Besides Claes Oldenburg's first New York show, it also featured Jim Dine's first exhibition in the city. Many other artists showed their work there too. These included Mica Nava, Chris Lane, Gandy Brodie, Sari Dienes, Jackie Ferrara, Stephen Durkee, Mimi Gross, Bob Thompson, Lester Johnson, Robert Beauchamp, George Nelson Preston, Joan Herbst, Peter Passuntino, Budd Hopkins, Emily Mason, Wolf Kahn, and Alex Katz.
Milder and Grooms also showed their own art in group exhibitions with their friends. Red Grooms once said that they were reacting to the art scene on Tenth Street. He explained that Tenth Street was very popular back then. He said, "We were just kids in our twenties... and had a flair for attracting people to our openings." They wanted to create their own exciting art space.
