Los Angeles to New York: Dwan Gallery, 1959–1971

(Los Angeles—March 6, 2017) The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) presents Los Angeles to New York: Dwan Gallery, 1959–1971, an examination of the storied history of Dwan Gallery, one of the most important galleries of the postwar period in the United States. Virginia Dwan (b. 1931), gallery owner, art patron, and collector, was one of the greatest champions of avant-garde art and artists of the mid-20th century. During her more than 11 years as a gallerist, Dwan’s Los Angeles and New York galleries were among the first bicoastal spaces dedicated to showcasing contemporary art in America. As an arts patron, Dwan was a pivotal figure in the Los Angeles art scene, often providing artists with stipends, studio space, and housing, in addition to giving many artists their first solo shows. At the time, the exhibitions presented at Dwan Gallery were at the forefront of postwar avant-garde art. Dwan organized one of the first Pop art exhibitions in the United States, My Country ’Tis of Thee (1962), and she was one of the earliest and most ardent supporters of Minimal Art and Earthworks.

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