Since 2015 I have collected names of women dealers (mostly in America), with a focus on the 1900–1950 period. I would love to hear from you if you have information on the names listed in bold, and/or if you are undertaking your own research on this dealer and their gallery/ activities. From January 2022 I will begin to add women dealers from other countries.
Most of these dealers, but not all, operated galleries or initiatives under their own name (an example of an exception is Anna Walinska).
In this list, for brevity, I have omitted the gallery name. The word "dealer" is an umbrella term; early dealers were often called gallerists, managers, and later, curators.
For the purposes of this project, anybody who organized an exhibition—or ran an enterprise—where art was sold is considered a dealer (in the case of Mary Cassat, a proto-dealer). I have also included the names of women who founded Societies or Associations (Wheeler) or Expositions (Duane Gillespie), wherein art was sold, even if these societies look and operate differently to our present-day concept of a dealer-gallery system.
If you believe more names should be added to this list, please navigate to the contact page to get in touch.
N.B. Country designates where the dealer predominantly operated; not their nationality. (Many Europeans emigrated to the US between 1900 and 1950).
Black = American
Blue = French
Red = German
Annot [Jacobi]
Asher, Betty M.
Boone, Mary
Borgenicht, Grace
Bryant, Harriet C.
Cassat, Mary
Coleman Manshel, Anita
Cooper, Paula
Curtis-Gould, Leah
Davidge, Clara
Dintenfass, Terry
Dreier, Katherine S.
Dwan, Virginia
Kasle, Gertrude
Kornblee, Jill
Kraushaar, Antoinette
Kroll Smith, Berthe "Bea"
Kuh, Katharine
Le Franc, Margaret
Leavin, Margo
Lust, Elenore
Lazuk, Vera
Mansion, Gracie
Meyer, Agnes E.
Nicholson, Grace
Nosei, Annina
Faure, Patricia
Force, Juliana
Fischback, Marian (Cole)
Fried, Rose
Gechtoff, Ethel
Gibbons, Sallie (J.)
Gillespie, Elizabeth (Duane)
Gladstone, Barbara
Goodman, Marian
Grosman, Tatyana
Guggenheim, Peggy
Halpert, Edith (Gregor)
Hallowell, Sara(h) T(yson)
Harriman, Marie (Norton)
Harvey, Emily
Hearn, Pat
Jackson, Martha (Kellog)
Judd Ryan, Beatrice