Annina Nosei Gallery Archive
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Date
Creator
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Abstract
The Annina Nosei Gallery was a New York City art gallery that was active from 1981 to 2005. The Annina Nosei Gallery Archive (dated 1963-2009) contains the records produced and used by the gallery. The collection also includes records of Annina Nosei's private acquisitions and sales; and her work as a curator/dealer before and after the Annina Nosei Gallery.
Historical Note
Based in SoHo for fifteen years, the Annina Nosei Gallery moved to Chelsea in 1995 and closed in 2005. The gallery was instrumental in introducing the work of Neo-Expressionist Italian and German figurative painters, as well as young American painters to a market largely dominated by minimalism and conceptual art. From its inception until its closing in 2005, the Annina Nosei Gallery continued to promote young emerging artists.
Biographical Note
Annina Nosei was born in Rome, Italy. She received doctorates in literature and philosophy from the University of Rome, where she studied under the art historian Giulian Carlo Argan. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on Marcel Duchamp. Nosei received a Fulbright Scholarship in 1964 to study in the United States, where she taught at the University of Michigan, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), St. John's University in Manhattan, and Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn.
While teaching at UCLA in 1965, Nosei met art dealer John Weber. They were married from 1966 to 1973. Her first gallery experience was helping to organize and install exhibitions at Weber's gallery in Los Angeles. In 1979, Nosei began to show and deal art in a loft owned by Larry Gagosian at 421 West Broadway in New York City, across the street from the Leo Castelli Gallery. In 1980, Nosei opened her own gallery in SoHo at 100 Prince Street. In 1995, the gallery moved to 530 West 22nd Street in Chelsea and closed in 2005.
Nosei is known for being the first dealer to represent Jean-Michel Basquiat from 1981 to about 1983. She provided him with materials and a space to work in the basement of the gallery. Though known primarily for representing German and American Neo-Expressionists, as well as Italian New Image painters, the Annina Nosei Gallery represented and exhibited a diverse range of artists, such as Ghada Amer, Julio Galan, Tsibi Geva, Graciela Hasper, Barbara Kruger, Robert Longo, Alan McCollum, Shirin Neshat, and Jenny Watson.
Sources:
Chernow, Burt. (2000). Christo and Jeanne-Claude: a biography. New York: St. Martin's Press.
(2002). The New York Times Guide to the Arts of the 20th Century, Vol. IV, 1980-1989. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers.
Krantz, Les. (1985). American art galleries: the illustrated guide to thir art and artists. New York: Facts on File Publications.
Private communication with Annina Nosei, March 16, 2011.
Smith, Roberta. (June 1, 2008). "John Weber, 75, Contemporary-Art Dealer, Is Dead." The New York Times. From http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/01/arts/design/01weber.html
Thompson, Donald N. (2008). The $12 million stuffed shark: the curious economics of contemporary art. London: Aurum Press.
de Coppet, L. & Jones, A. (1984). The Art Dealers. New York: Cooper Square Press.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into nine series and 43 subseries:
Series I: Transaction Records
Subseries A: Consignment Files
Subseries B: Inventory Cards: Works Sold
Subseries C: Inventory Cards: Returned to Artist
Subseries D: Inventory Books
Subseries E: Collector's Books
Subseries F: Artist Books
Subseries G: Acquisitions Receipts
Subseries H: Invoices
Subseries I: Shipment Records
Subseries J: Accounting
Series II: Correspondence
Subseries A: Collectors
Subseries B: Dealers
Subseries C: Museum and Universities
Subseries D: Art Fairs/Auction Houses
Subseries E: Magazines, Critics, and Curators
Series III: Artist Files
Subseries A: General Artist Files
Subseries B: Master Slides Binders
Subseries C: Visuals Binders
Subseries D: Material Separated from Master Slides Binders
Subseries E: Material Separated from Visuals Binders
Subseries F: Polaroids
Series IV: Jean-Michel Basquiat Artist File
Subseries A: Artist Files
Subseries B: Correspondence
Subseries C: Accounting
Subseries D: Invoices
Subseries E: Slides Binder
Subseries F: Visuals Binders
Subseries G: Material Separated from Visuals Binders
Subseries H: Polaroids
Subseries I: Catalogs
Subseries J: Periodicals, Clippings
Series V: Exhibition Records
Subseries A: Annina Nosei Gallery Shows; 1982-1983, 1983-1984
Subseries B: Annina Nosei Gallery Shows; September 1984 - August 1986
Subseries C: Annina Nosei Gallery Shows; October 1986 to December 1989 (included [sic]
Subseries D: Annina Nosei Gallery Shows; January 1990 - July 1992
Subseries E: Exhibitions; October 1992 - Jan 1993 - 94 - 96
Subseries F: Exhibitions Record; Jan 1997 - Dec 1999
Subseries G: Exhibition Records Jan. 2000 -
Subseries H: Catalogs
Subseries I: Guest Books
Series VI: Other Administrative Files
Subseries A: Planners
Subseries B: Memos
Subseries C: Gallery Space
Series VII: Pre-gallery Curating
Series VIII: Misc. Periodicals and Clippings
There are additional series containing oversized material and accretions, but these are arranged based upon the original nine series.
Series were created by the archivist based on discussions with Annina Nosei and careful appraisal of the material. Every effort was made to retain the original order of the files. Almost all subseries titles were originated by the gallery; these titles were derived from the printed labels on hanging files in labeled file cabinet drawers or on labeled boxes. The following four subseries were created and named by the archivist in an effort to simplify access, protect materials, and organize miscellany:
Series III, Subseries D: Materials Separated from Master Slide Binders
Series III, Subseries E: Materials Separated from Visual Binders
Series IV, Subseries G: Materials Separated from Visual Binders
Series VI, Subseries C: Gallery Space
Scope and Contents
The Annina Nosei Gallery Archive (dated 1963-2009) contains the records produced by the Annina Nosei Gallery in the day-to-day course of its business functions. The collection also includes records of Annina Nosei's private acquisitions and sales; and her work as a curator/dealer before and after the Annina Nosei Gallery. Materials include invoices and receipts for works bought and sold by the gallery or by Annina Nosei personally; administrative records for the Annina Nosei Gallery; photographic prints, transparancies, slides, and negatives; correspondence with artists, dealers, collectors, critics, curators, and other art institutions; promotional and exhibition materials including artist bios, magazine advertisements, exhibition announcements; and periodicals and clippings that feature artists represented by the gallery.
Each series reflects an explicit function of the Annina Nosei Gallery in its daily activities of taking artworks on consignment; of buying, selling, and shipping artworks; of planning and executing exhibitions in its gallery space as well as at museums, art fairs, and other galleries; and of managing, promoting, and paying represented artists.
Series I: Transaction Records comprises files created in the gallery's process of buying artworks, taking artworks on consignment, and selling artworks. The series is divided into ten subseries.
Series II: Correspondence comprises correspondence sent and received by the Annina Nosei Gallery. The series is divided into five subseries.
Series III: Artist Files comprises paper documents including artists' bios, price lists, clippings, correspondence, exhibition announcements, and photographic materials relating to artists represented by the gallery and shows held at the gallery. The series is divided into six subseries.
Series IV: Jean-Michel Basquiat Artist File comprises artist biographies and other promotional material; price lists and invoices; correspondence; phone bills and bank account records; photographic material; and periodicals and clipping relating to Jean-Michel Basquiat, his work, and his relationship with the Annina Nosei Gallery. The series is divided into ten subseries.
Series V: Exhibition Records comprises materials related to each show held at the Annina Nosei Gallery. Materials include installation photographs, price lists, artist bios, exhibition cards, press clippings. The series is divided into nine subseries.
Series VI: Other Administrative Files comprises material related to the general day-to-day administration of the gallery itself and the gallery space. The series is divided into three subseries.
Series VII: Pre-gallery Curating comprises material drawn from exhibitions curated by Nosei prior to opening her gallery.
Series VIII: Misc. Artist Publications, Periodicals, Clippings contains some monographs of artists represented by the gallery, some periodicals that include artists represented by the gallery, and various clippings -- all accumulated and stored by the gallery.
Subjects
Genres
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Topics
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open to researchers. Please contact Fales Library and Special Collections, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection, including for research purposes, must be secured from Annina Nosei or her legal designee. Please contact Fales Library and Special Collections, special.collections@nyu.edu, 212-998-2596.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date (if known); Annina Nosei Gallery Archive; MSS 298; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries
About this Guide
Processing Information
When the collection was processed in 2011, the following decisions were made by the processing archivist:
Original folders were replaced with acid-free folders. Unless in brackets, all folder titles were taken from the original folder. A folder label in brackets indicated the label was supplied by the archivist, either because the material was not foldered or because the original folder was unlabeled. The archivist strove to replicate the gallery's naming conventions where they could be discerned. Each folder in the archive holds the entire contents of an original folder. If there was more material in an original folder than would fit in a new folder, the material was divided between two or more folders and each folder bore the original folder's name followed by the convention "[1/4]," "[2/4]," etc. If two different folders shared the same name, each was followed by a number in brackets denoting its position in a series and/or subseries (e.g., "[1]," "[2]," etc.).
Unless in brackets, all binder labels were taken from the original binders. All materials separated from binders were foldered according to their original grouping in a single binder sleeve -- most of which contained several items.
All thermal paper was replaced with a photocopied surrogate. Original folders with writing were photocopied and the photocopy was placed at the end of the new folder. Items with sticky notes were photocopied, the sticky notes were removed, and the photocopies refiled with the originals, usually attached to it with a plastic clip.
All dates are approximate and were provided by the archivist based on a cursory glance at the contents of each folder.
In May 2025, materials in Box 59 were treated and stabilized by New York University's Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department. These materials were then rehoused into a new manuscript box by a processing archivist. Titles and dates were added to folders. Oversized materials housed in Box 59 were removed and placed into a shared oversized flat box, Shared Fales Box 110; and a flat-file-folder.
