Paula Kirkeby

Paula Zolloto Kirkeby (née Paula Ruth Zolloto; 1934–2016) was an American art collector, art donor, and the director and founder of a commercial art gallery. She was a co-founder of Smith Andersen Editions, 3EP Ltd. Press, and Smith Andersen Gallery. Many of the artists she worked with were part of the Bay Area Figurative Movement.

Early life Paula Ruth Zolloto was born on 3 April 1934 in Lynn, Massachusetts, and raised in Dorchester. She moved to Palo Alto, California in 1955, after marrying Stuart Kaplan. Her first marriage ended in divorce. She remarried Philip Norman Kirkeby in May 1962.

Career In October 1969, she opened Smith Andersen Gallery at 200 Homer Street in Palo Alto. 3EP Ltd. Press remained in operation until 1984.

In 1984, Kirkeby became the sole owner of the press and renamed it Smith Andersen Editions, a fine art printshop and press that focused on monotype and monoprint. From 1991 to 2016, served as the master printer of Smith Andersen Editions. Smith Andersen Editions artists included Miriam Schapiro, George Herms, Enrique Chagoya, and others.

She died on 2 April 2016 in Palo Alto, California in her home. The City of Palo Alto dedicated June 13, 2016 to Kirkeby, for her service to the arts in the city.