Fendrick Gallery

Art gallery; Washington, D.C.

Owned by Barbara Fendrick. Specialized in contemporary art, especially clay, furniture, metal, and book art. Est. 1960 in Barbara Fendrick's Washington, D.C. area home. In May, 1970, moved to Georgetown, and in 1987 and 1988 expanded and opened the Barbara Fendrick Gallery in the Soho section of New York City. Both the Fendrick Gallery and the Barbara Fendrick Gallery closed in the summer of 1991.

From the description of Fendrick Gallery records, 1952-2001. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 80156652

The Fendrick Gallery was established in 1960 as a "by appointment only" gallery out of Barbara Fendrick's Washington, D.C. area home. Initially the gallery promoted contemporary American and European prints by emerging artists and also commissioned print editions by nationally known artists. During the mid 1960s, the Fendrick Gallery also coordinated and produced art exhibitions on a contract basis for the United States Information Agency. The gallery was responsible for organizing the first large American art exhibition at the Department of State and the Federal Reserve.

In May, 1970 the Fendrick Gallery moved into a three-story townhouse in Georgetown and began presenting regular exhibitions open to the public. The gallery offered many prominent American artists, such as Robert Arneson, Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, and Robert Rauschenberg their first solo shows in the nation's capital. The Fendrick Gallery also represented many nationally known sculptors, such as John Dreyfuss, Walter Dusenbery, Raymond Kaskey, and Albert Paley.

Over the years, Fendrick Gallery promoted many emerging artists who were breaking down the barriers between art and craft in the areas of clay, furniture, metal, and book arts. The gallery held the first major show of contemporary ceramics on the East Coast, with the 1976 exhibition, Clay USA. The gallery also received critical acclaim for its exhibitions in the area of "book arts" and held four shows featuring the works of prominent American and international book artists.

In 1987 and 1988, the gallery expanded and opened the Barbara Fendrick Gallery in the Soho section of New York City. The New York location operated as both a gallery space and storage area and was often referred to as "The Warehouse." Both the Fendrick Gallery and the Barbara Fendrick Gallery closed in the summer of 1991, but Barbara Fendrick continues to work as an art consultant, appraiser, exhibition juror, lecturer, and guest curator.

From the guide to the Fendrick Gallery records, 1952-2001, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)