Asher, Betty

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Art collector, art dealer; d. May 11, 1994, Beverly Hills, Calif.

From the description of Betty M. Asher interviews, 1980 June 30 and July 7 [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 80858921

Betty Asher, trained as a nurse, became an important Los Angeles art collector and dealer, known for her contemporary art and cup collections.

From the description of Betty Asher papers, 1860-1999. (Getty Research Institute). WorldCat record id: 664387030

Betty M. Asher (1914-1994) was an art collector and art dealer of Beverly Hills, Calif.

From the description of Oral history interview with Betty M. Asher, 1980 June 30 and 1980 July 7. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 646395730

Biographical/Historical Note

Betty Asher (née Michael) was born in Chicago on May 4, 1914, to James and Rayna Michael, proprietors of a pharmacy. While training as a nurse, she met Leonard Asher, who was then a medical intern. The two married in 1939, and after two years in Boston, where Leonard had a residency, the couple moved permanently to Los Angeles. Daughter Rayna (1942-1990) was followed by son Michael (1943-). Though marriage put an end to Asher's nursing career, it also stimulated her interest in art and art collecting. With her husband she began acquiring lithographs from Associated American Artists in New York. As she gained more experience and knowledge, she progressed from lithographs to original pieces by American, Mexican, and Haitian artists. By the late fifties, her growing familiarity with artists and galleries in Los Angeles spurred her move into contemporary art. Due to her early interest, she managed to acquire major pieces from Rauschenberg, Ruscha, Warhol, Lichtenstein, and many other artists. In 1966, shortly after Maurice Tuchman became curator of modern art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Asher was hired to assist him in the curatorial department, having already served on the museum's Contemporary Art Council. As prices for contemporary art rose, and especially after Asher's divorce in the mid 1970s, she began to concentrate on art pottery in her acquisitions, amassing an impressive collection of contemporary and traditional art cups and saucers. She resigned from the museum in August 1978 in order to work full time as a dealer, teaming up with Patricia Faure to open the Asher/Faure Gallery the following year. The gallery mixed exhibitions of younger local artists (such as Gwynn Murrill and Michael McMillen) with better-known names represented by established galleries in New York (such as Morris Louis, Joel Shapiro, Kenneth Noland, and Sam Francis). Asher retired from the gallery in 1990. She died at her home in Beverly Hills in 1994.

From the guide to the Betty Asher papers, 1860-1999, (The Getty Research Institute)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Betty Asher papers, 1860-1999 Getty Research Institute
referencedIn Patricia Faure Gallery records, 1952-2006 (bulk 1970-2006) Getty Research Institute
creatorOf Patricia Faure Gallery. Patricia Faure Gallery records, 1952-2006, bulk 1970-2006. Getty Research Institute
creatorOf Betty Asher papers, 1860-1999 Getty Research Institute
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Oral history interview with Betty M. Asher Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with George Herms Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with Joni Gordon Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with George Herms Archives of American Art
Relation Name
associatedWith Archives of American Art. corporateBody
associatedWith Asher & Faure. corporateBody
associatedWith Asher, Michael person
associatedWith Asher, Michael. person
associatedWith Bengston, Billy Al. person
associatedWith Blum, Irving, 1930- person
associatedWith Conner, Bruce person
associatedWith Conner, Bruce. person
associatedWith Copley, William Nelson, 1919-1996. person
associatedWith Ferus Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Flavin, Dan, 1933-1996. person
associatedWith Garver, Thomas H. person
associatedWith Goode, Joe. person
associatedWith Gordon, Joni, 1936- person
associatedWith Herms, George, 1935- person
associatedWith Irving Blum Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.) corporateBody
associatedWith Kienholz, Edward, 1927-1994. person
associatedWith Landau, Felix, 1924-2003. person
associatedWith Los Angeles County Museum of Art. corporateBody
associatedWith Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Modern and Contemporary Art Council. corporateBody
associatedWith Patricia Faure Gallery. corporateBody
associatedWith Robles, Esther. person
associatedWith Ruscha, Edward. person
associatedWith Shulman, Julius person
associatedWith Shulman, Julius. person
associatedWith Tuchman, Maurice. person
associatedWith Warhol, Andy, 1928-1987. person
associatedWith Watts, Robert. person
associatedWith Watts, Robert, 1923-1988 person
associatedWith Woelffer, Emerson, 1914-2003. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
United States
California
California--Los Angeles
California--Los Angeles
California
United States
California
Subject
Art, Modern
Art, American
Art
Art
Art
Art dealers
Art dealers
Art dealers
Art galleries, Commercial
Art museums
Art museums
Conceptual art
Pop art
Women art dealers
Occupation
Activity

Person

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