Gimpel fils

Gimpel Fils is a commercial art gallery in London, founded in November 1946 by brothers Charles and Peter Gimpel. Located in the City of Westminster, it has been a significant force in British and international contemporary art for over seven decades. The gallery was established in memory of their father, René Gimpel, the celebrated Parisian art dealer and author of Diary of an Art Dealer, and has maintained a commitment to contemporary British and international art throughout its history. Through four generations of family involvement, it has balanced support for avant-garde and emerging artists with retrospectives and continued promotion of established modernists.

Gimpel Fils was founded in November 1946, though some records indicate a January 1946 inception. The brothers Charles and Peter Gimpel, who through their mother Florence were nephews of the prominent art dealer Joseph Duveen, established the gallery to continue their father's legacy. René Gimpel's own stock had largely been lost in Paris during the Second World War, though a small portion had been sent to London before the conflict. The inaugural exhibition, Five Centuries of French Painting, drew from this surviving collection and featured works by Degas, Monet, and Camille Pissarro. During the 1950s and 1960s, the gallery became highly influential in its association with the avant-garde, supporting modern British artists as well as rising American and French abstract painters. Despite competition from Marlborough Fine Art, the Redfern, Waddington, and Hanover galleries, an obituary of Peter Gimpel in The Independent noted that Gimpel Fils was for a time unrivaled in the range and quality of its artists. The gallery was refurbished co-director René Gimpel, son of Charles, represents the fourth generation of the family in the art trade, assisted by his son Lukas, the fifth generation. Since 2007, René Gimpel has been associated with Berthold Müller, with whom he founded Galerie Gimpel & Müller in Paris.

Gimpel Fils has maintained a dual focus throughout its history: promoting contemporary British and international art while also preserving and exhibiting modernist legacies. The gallery's programme has encompassed painting, sculpture, and installation, with particular strength in post-war abstraction and avant-garde movements. In its early decades, it represented major figures of the St Ives School and other modern British artists, while simultaneously introducing French abstract painters of the School of Paris and emerging American artists to London audiences. The contemporary programme has widened considerably, incorporating photography, conceptual art, and new media. The gallery has consistently supported both senior British painters and younger avant-garde artists, presenting retrospectives of twentieth-century modern art alongside exhibitions of new work.

The gallery's exhibitions and representations constitute its most significant holdings and associations. In its foundational period, it gave first exhibitions to Lynn Chadwick, Anthony Caro, Hubert Dalwood, Peter Lanyon, and Alan Davie. It represented Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, the latter having moved from the Lefevre Gallery to stay until the early 1960s. Other British artists associated with the gallery included Louis le Brocquy, Ivon Hitchens, Gillian Ayres, Bernard Meadows, Kenneth Armitage, and Robert Adams. From France, it represented Marie Laurencin, Pierre Soulages, Nicolas de Staël, Serge Poliakoff, Fahrelnissa Zeid, and Yves Klein. American artists included Marcel Duchamp, Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Sam Francis, and Larry Rivers, who had his first London exhibition there in 1962. Specific exhibition dates include Fahrelnissa Zeid in 1948 and 1949, Sam Francis in 1957, Larry Rivers in 1962, Marcel Duchamp in 1965, Alexander Calder in 1969, and Willem de Kooning in 1976. More recent programming has included Corinne Day, Andres Serrano, Callum Morton, Hannah Maybank, Pamela Golden, Antoni Malinowski, and Lucy Stein.

Gimpel Fils was initially based briefly at 86 Duke Street, London, before moving to 50 South Molton Street, where the artist Louis le Brocquy laid a mosaic in the entrance. In 1972, the gallery relocated to 30 Davies Street in Westminster, just off Grosvenor Square, where it remained for many years. The premises at 30 Davies Street underwent a major refurbishment in 2000, inaugurated with an installation by Richard Wilson. The sources indicate that the gallery has since moved from this address, though the precise current location is not specified.

Gimpel Fils is located in the City of Westminster, United Kingdom. The gallery was previously at 30 Davies Street, just off Grosvenor Square, but has since moved from that address. It remains under family ownership, with the fourth and fifth generations of the Gimpel family actively involved in its direction. The gallery continues to operate as a commercial art gallery, maintaining its commitment to contemporary British and international art through exhibitions and art fair participation. Its current co-director is René Gimpel, who has also expanded the family's operations to Paris through Galerie Gimpel & Müller.