G a l l e r y   H i s t o r y

Richard Gray first opened the Chicago gallery in the fall of 1963, on Ontario Street. There were few galleries in Chicago in the 1960’s, but he was determined to turn his passion for collecting into a career working with the things that gave him so much personal pleasure. Richard Gray Gallery joined in establishing a trend that would eventually result in an active and diverse gallery scene in Chicago. In the earlier years the gallery included print and antiquities departments along with a focus on younger artists, but ultimately the gallery has become best known for its concentration and excellence in the area of Modern and Contemporary Masters. Richard Gray has developed a reputation as a well-respected authority, known internationally for his knowledge, expertise and integrity.

Richard Gray Gallery 620 N. Michigan Ave.

In 1966, the gallery moved into a larger space at 620 North Michigan Avenue, eventually attracting other galleries to the building, and becoming a destination for interested visitors to Chicago for over thirty years. In 1975, the gallery made headlines around the world when it sold a major painting by Willem de Kooning to the Australian National Gallery. The sale broke the previous record for highest price paid for a work by a living artist. The outstanding painting was part of a gallery exhibition of important works by the artist, entitled: "Willem de Kooning: 1941 — 1959." In 1983, the gallery celebrated its twentieth anniversary, mounting an extensive exhibition of works by Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, Jean Dubuffet, David Hockney and Louise Nevelson. Another important exhibition was "Picasso’s Picassos," held in 1985, organized in cooperation with the artist’s daughter, Paloma Picasso. In 1980, Paul Gray joined the business, bringing new energy and new ideas, eventually becoming a director and partner.

Richard Gray Gallery - Chicago

The gallery moved to its present space on the twenty-fifth floor of the John Hancock Center in Chicago, in 1995. Richard Gray Gallery celebrated its relocation with an inaugural show entitled "Picasso, Masterworks: 1903 — 1969". In the foreword to the catalogue for the exhibition, Richard Gray stated, "In considering an appropriate exhibition to inaugurate our new premises, I could think of no other artist whose breadth of expressions and level of accomplishment so commands my continued attention. I am pleased to present this exhibition, which includes so many singular examples of major phases of Picasso’s production." Other noteworthy exhibitions in the current location have included works of important Contemporary Artists such as: Jennifer Bartlett, Suzanne Caporael, Chuck Close, Jim Dine, Barry Flanagan, Sam Francis and Tatsuo Miyajima, along with such Modern Masters as Edgar Degas, Max Ernst, Franz Kline, Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró and Mark Rothko.

Richard Gray Gallery  - New York

Richard Gray Gallery has long maintained an active presence in New York, with a private viewing space there for many years. With the welcome addition of Andrew Fabricant as director, Richard Gray finally opened a public gallery in New York, in the fall of 1997. Located at 1018 Madison Avenue, between 78^th and 79^th streets, the new gallery has hosted significant exhibitions by artists including Sam Francis, David Klamen, David Hockney, Ed Ruscha and Andy Warhol. Major works by Jean Dubuffet, Alberto Giacometti, Henri Matisse Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock among others are regularly on view.

The Gallery’s worldwide activities have included participation in international art fairs in Paris, Basel, and Tokyo, as well as in New York and Chicago. The gallery’s clientele include world-renowned museums like the The Whitney Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Museum of Contemporary Art and The Art Institute of Chicago, The National Gallery, and The Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. The gallery also continues to count among its clients, major private collectors from all over the globe.

Richard Gray Gallery has been a member of the Art Dealers Association of America, an organization comprised of America’s most prestigious galleries, since the early 1960’s, and Richard Gray served as its President from 1997 - 2003. The gallery also maintains membership in the Chicago Art Dealer’s Association.