Kirby, Thomas E. (Thomas Ellis), 1846-1924

The American Art Association, a New York art gallery and auction house located at 6 East 23rd Street, was founded by James F. Sutton, R. Austin Robertson, and Thomas E. Kirby in 1883. R. Austin Robertson died in 1892. Kirby's son Gustavus joined the firm in 1912 and became half owner in 1915, upon the death of James Sutton. The galleries moved to 30 East 57th Street in 1922. In 1923, Kirby retired and sold the American Art Association to Cortlandt Field Bishop (1870-1935), who contracted Hiram Parke and Otto Bernet to run the auction house. In 1929 it merged with the Anderson Auction Company to form the American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Inc. In 1938, the firm was taken over by Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., which had been formed a year earlier.

From the description of American Art Association Records, 1877-1924. (Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection). WorldCat record id: 604956561