Daniel Lelong, the French gallerist who developed deep relationships with a number of the most necessary and influential fashionable artists of the twentieth century, died this morning on the age of 92.
“He lived a protracted, good life.” Mary Sabbatino, vice-president and associate at Galerie Lelong & Co., informed ARTnews. She began working with Lelong in 1990. “It’s at all times unhappy, you already know, nevertheless it’s not a tragedy. It actually was a giant life. He loved his life. You possibly can really feel that on a regular basis. He at all times had a smile. He was actually joyful being an artwork vendor.”
Jean Fremon, the gallery’s CEO and remaining unique associate, informed ARTnews in an electronic mail, “What can I say? Daniel and I’ve been enterprise companions for the final 50 years. Anybody who knew Daniel would keep in mind him as a heat and optimistic individual.”
Fremon famous that Lelong had stepped again from every day work at his namesake gallery within the final 15 years however the two males saved an in depth relationship “till these final days”.
Born in 1933 in Nancy, France, Lelong studied regulation and labored as a civil servant on the Conseil d’État. Then-influential French artwork vendor, collector and writer Aimé Maeght invited Lelong to draft the statutes of what would grow to be the primary modern artwork basis and museum: the Marguerite and Aimé Maeght Basis.
Lelong referred to as the expertise “an exhilarating journey”. “There was no mannequin for such standing: no modern artwork or fashionable artwork basis existed in France, again then,” he informed Flash Artwork in 2014.
The muse opened in 1964, and Lelong requested to be positioned on depart from his job, throughout which he began working full-time on the Galerie Maeght.
On the gallery, Lelong was assigned administration duties like transportation, insurance coverage, and monetary issues. He additionally labored on exhibitions for a lot of artists who would grow to be modernist icons: Joan Miró, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Alberto Giacometti, Antoni Tàpies, Francis Bacon and Eduardo Chillida.
In 1981, Maeght died, and Lelong grow to be the director of Galerie Maeght-Lelong alongside Jean Frémon and Jacques Dupin. It turned Galerie Lelong & Co. in 1987. They opened a location in New York in 1985. There was additionally a location in Zurich.
“He was an artwork vendor from a special time, proper?,” Sabbatino stated. “He confirmed on the first Artwork Basel in [1970]. A lot of the historical past of the, I might say, the mid twentieth century from the 60s onward, which is misplaced to lots of people, proper? As a result of the individuals who lived via that, who’re alive, are only a few.”
“He actually liked life. He was very optimistic individual. He at all times regarded on the brilliant aspect. He he actually preferred artists. He preferred folks. This looks like a minor attribute, however truly it infiltrated, each means he ran the gallery. He was actually keen on folks, and he loved them, and he loved promoting. He had this little ebook the place he saved all his gross sales going again to the ’60s.
All through his profession, Lelong continued to develop deep relationships with artists resembling Jaume Plensa, Jannis Kounellis and Sean Scully. “Pierre Alechinsky, is like, the identical age as Daniel and his, his entire profession has been on the gallery,” Sabbatino stated.
Lelong additionally constructed bought many works to main collectors like Norman Braman, Joseph H. Hirshhorn and Jon Shirley. “The Braman’s home in Florida, all these Calders, all these Mirós, got here from his lengthy friendship with Daniel,” Sabbatino stated. “He at all times would say, ‘Joe Hirshhorn would come to the gallery and he’d purchase the entire present.’ Many works within the Hirshhorn [Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC] got here from Galerie Lelong, or plenty of them, of sure artists.”
“He was very instrumental in constructing many collections.”
Lelong additionally wrote and revealed books, together with one on Calder and several other volumes of Miró’s catalogue raisonné co-authored by his daughter Ariane Lelong-Mainaud.
Exterior of the gallery, Lelong’s different pursuits included a love for music, and singing. “He gave concert events,” Sabbatino stated with a giant snort. “I keep in mind my first Léo Ferré survey album got here from him as a present. [He] was a good friend of his.”
He additionally introduced artwork to one of many world’s most well-known tennis competitions. In 1980, Lelong and former French tennis participant Jean Lovera got here up with the concept of bringing artwork to the French Open via a partnership between Galerie Lelong & Co. with the French Tennis Federation and the Roland Garros Committee. Every year, a special modern artist is chosen to design the official poster for the event. Valerio Adami and Eduardo Arroyo have been the primary two artists chosen. Miró designed the poster in 1991 and Tàpies was chosen in 2000.
Notably, Sabbatino stated Lelong’s focus was solely on the first marketplace for his artists. “As soon as I stated to him, ‘you already know, Daniel, you already know, you’ve bought each nice Miró and Calder everywhere in the world. Why don’t we ever attempt to promote them once more?’”
He informed Sabbatino, “That’s one other profession, and that’s not mine.”
Lelong died in hospital after being sick the previous couple of days. Whereas the retired gallerist had been homebound for the final couple of years, Sabbatino stated he was nonetheless joyful. “I spoke to him on his birthday,” she stated. “They have been singing. He had champagne. He regarded on the brilliant aspect of every thing.”
