James N. Goodman

James Neil Goodman (1929-2019) opened his first public art gallery in Buffalo, NY in 1958, where he showed works by both Contemporary American artists and established Modern masters. He sold both paintings and drawings by Charles Burchfield. He subsequently moved his gallery to 41 East 57th Street in New York in 1967, where it thrived until his passing in 2019. His library, built over decades, was gifted in his memory to both the Burchfield Penney Art Center and SUNY’s University at Buffalo, New York.

James Goodman Gallery exhibited paintings, sculpture, and works on paper by established Modern and Contemporary artists, with a particular emphasis on the American Pop movement. Exhibitions artists included Arp, Basquiat, Botero, Calder, Cornell, de Kooning, Dine, Francis, Giacometti, Gorky, Hockney, Lichtenstein, Miró, Moore, Oldenburg, Picasso, Rauschenberg, Riopelle, Rosenquist, Thiebaud, Warhol, Wesselmann, as well as many others.

The gallery was Jim’s life’s work. He built private collections and placed works in The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Currier Museum and others. Alongside a passion for art, relationships with colleagues formed the heart of the gallery. His circle included notable art dealers Richard Gray, Allan Stone, Donald Morris, Rachel Adler, Arnie Glimcher, Bill Acquavella, Eleanore and Daniel Saidenberg, Klaus and Dolly Perls, Leo Castelli, Leslie Waddington, Ernst Beyeler, Daniel Malingue, Dieter Brusberg, Rudolf Zwirner, and Chieko Hasegawa. He was also close with artists such as Chuck Close, Robert Indiana, Fernando Botero, and Roy and Dorothy Lichtenstein.

A founding member of the Art Dealers Association of American since its inception in 1962, James Goodman served as President of the Association from 1994-1997 and continued to serve on the Board of Directors for many years. Throughout his career, Jim generously mentored many young dealers and instilled in them the collegiality that marked his business style.

The Archives of American Art has graciously accepted the donation of the James Goodman Gallery papers. All inquiries regarding research or access to gallery publications should be directed to their attention: https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/james-goodman-gallery-records-22275

A clip from Jim’s oral history interview can be found on the Archives of American Art website: https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-james-goodman-15714

A publication compiled in honor of the gallery’s 60th anniversary can be viewed online: https://issuu.com/jamesgoodmangallery/docs/60years

Sources include: https://www.jamesgoodmangallery.com/