Allan Barry Stone

Allan Barry Stone (1932–2006) was an American art dealer, collector, and leading authority on Abstract Expressionism. In 1960, he founded the Allan Stone Gallery where he became renowned for his early advocacy of preeminent 20th-century artists. He championed artists such asJohn Chamberlain, Joseph Cornell, Willem de Kooning, Richard Estes, Arshile Gorky, John Graham, Eva Hesse, Franz Kline, Yasuhide Kobashi, Wayne Thiebaud, and Jack Whitten. He was also known for his zealous and eclectic approach to art collecting, amassing a collection that spanned painting, sculpture, assemblage, collage, folk art, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, furniture, mechanical parts, signs, and bugatti cars. At the time of his death, he had the largest collection of African and Oceanic art in private hands.

Early life and education Allan Stone was born in Manhattan in 1932. His father was a lawyer and his mother was the daughter of Sam Klein, the founder of New York City-based discount dress store chain S. Klein on the Square.

Following his graduation from Boston University, Stone practiced law at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington D.C. and then on Wall Street in New York City. However, he was unable to shake his passion for art. He spent much of his working day giving legal advice to artists for free or in exchange for their work. His clientele included Robert Mallary, John Chamberlain, and Elaine de Kooning, the latter of whom was instrumental in convincing Stone to quit law and start his gallery. He had also begun collecting art in earnest. While studying at Boston University, Stone had met artist Robert S. Neuman and infatuated with Neuman's Barcelona paintings. During this time, he joined the Anonymous Art Reclamation Society which was founded by art dealer Ivan Karp.

His growing relationships with artists eventually drove him to quit law for good and open the Allan Stone Gallery. Stone's inaugural exhibition debuted César's first show in the United States. The gallery later relocated to 86th and Madison in 1962. Despite initial hardships, the gallery quickly became famous for showcasing artists that other galleries turned away, including Wayne Thiebaud and Richard Estes. Stone met the latter at a party that Estes was bartending, going out of his way to introduce himself to the young artist when he was told Estes was too nervous to approach him. Eva Hesse, Robert Ryman, Wayne Thiebaud, and Jack Whitten.

In 1961, the gallery hosted a solo show for British artist Harold Cohen, whose innovative work in the 1970s would pioneer the field of computer-generated drawing and painting, marking a significant evolution in his artistic trajectory.

His unflagging enthusiasm for new, unknown artists would define his career. When discussing his philosophy as a dealer, he remarked: "I'm not interested in brokering paintings. That's like being in the stock business. The exciting part of this business is finding people and watching them develop." The Allan Stone Gallery was one of the few that would see artists and their work without an appointment—a vital lifeline for the inexperienced and unconnected. It was also unconventional in its frequent showings of unknown woman artists and artists of color, such as Eva Hesse, Gerald Jackson, Jack Whitten, Elizabeth King, Sue Miller, Sylvia Lark, Kazuko Inoue, Diana Moore, Oliver Lee Jackson, Mary Lovelace O'Neal and Lorraine Shemesh. Other young artists that Stone championed include Mundy Hepburn, Richard Hickham, James Havard, David Beck, James Grashow, Dennis Clive, and Robert Baribeau.

This eclectic mix of talent is exemplified by the roster of contemporary American artists the gallery exhibited in the 1962 Contemporary American Art show at the New York Coliseum. Works by the foremost figures in American art, including Willem de Kooning, Arshile Gorky, Robert Mallary, and Andy Warhol, hung alongside works by artists that were relatively unknown at the time such as George Deem, Thomas Downing, Stephen Durkee, Charles Ginnever, Hans Haake, John Kacere, Bernard Langlais, Robert S. Neuman, and Wayne Thiebaud.

Stone's strategy of featuring lesser-known artists alongside more established ones helped launch the careers of several artists. His exhibition of a then-relatively unknown Joseph Cornell alongside de Kooning resulted in a surge of interest for Cornell. He was also known for juxtaposing Western artists with the African tribal art he passionately collected. He exhibited Arshile Gorky and John D. Graham alongside power figures from the Congolese Songye and nail fetishes. Aside from rare instances such as these, his vast African and Oceanic art collection existed largely for his personal enjoyment and resided in his home. In reflection of this shared enthusiasm, both father and daughter have showcased Mary Lovelace O'Neal. Stone was introduced to Lovelace O’Neal's work at his daughter's San Francisco Gallery in June 1984, later showing her at his gallery in New York. Records from the Allan Stone Gallery reside in the Archives of American Art.

Legacy and impact Stone influenced 20th-century art through his work with young artists. He worked with artists and shared information with them. His work with unconventional talent resulted in a following of collectors, and he curated private art collections.

The art dealer Allan Stone purchased De Kooning's Two Women in May 1983 for a record-breaking $1.2 million at Christie's auction house, significantly exceeding its auction house estimate. The sale made headlines as the highest price ever paid for a work by a living artist. Stone later resold the painting at auction for an impressive $1.98 million the following year.

Despite living in New York City, he was an enthusiastic proponent of California's Bay Area art scene. He admired the "spirit of independence" exhibited by California artists like Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Arneson.

Stone was also a leading authority on Abstract Expressionism, particularly de Kooning, Kline, Barnett Newman, Jackson Pollock, and Arshile Gorky.

Relationship with Wayne Thiebaud Stone's most significant partnership with an artist was with Wayne Thiebaud, who he represented for over four decades. Their relationship is renowned as "one of the most influential partnerships in American postwar art, and [has] left a legacy that many of today's artists and dealers struggle to emulate." The artist had spent a disheartening day showing his artworks to uninterested galleries on Madison Avenue. The Allan Stone Gallery, at the northernmost end of the street was his last stop. He was instantly captivated by the artist's lush modern still-lives of pies and gumballs machines and became Thiebaud's most enthusiastic advocate. He even ignored Barnett Newman's advice "to get rid of the pie guy—Thiebaud."

After Stone died in 2006, Thiebaud would remark, "He was the only dealer I ever had over a 45-year period. We were more than friends. We were practically family."

Personal life Allan Stone was married twice, first to Marguerite Cullman with whom he had four daughters and later to Clare Chester with whom he had two more daughters. He died in his sleep from heart failure at his home in Westchester County, New York in 2006. In 2007, Stone's daughter, Olympia Stone made a film about her father entitled The Collector: Allan Stone's Life in Art.