Frank Perls papers and Frank Perls Gallery records, circa 1920-1983, bulk 1949-1975

Frank Perls personal papers include scattered correspondence, photographs, writings, and legal and official records, including his military service records. Of particular interest are the records documenting Perls' application for exemption from the curfew restrictions that applied to enemy aliens during World War II. Also found here are extensive files documenting the settlement of his estate and liquidation of the gallery's inventory. Perls was a prolific writer and his short stories about his interactions with Pablo Picasso and his work to uncover fraud, fakes, and corruption in the art world are particularly interesting. His essay, "The Last Time I Saw Pablo", and others were published in art journals. Perls papers include many photographs of Picasso, as well as two original photographs of Perls by Man Ray taken in 1941 on the occasion of Man Ray's exhibition at the Frank Perls Gallery.

The files are arranged alphabetically by subject.

The financial and business records of Frank Perls Gallery document sales, consignments, purchases, expenses, insurance, donations, shipping, loans, and other transactions with artists, clients, and other galleries. Records consist of invoices, income and expense ledgers, insurance documents, sales and donation logs, and financial statements. The bulk of the series consists of invoices to clients who purchased artwork from the gallery, arranged chronologically and cross-referenced alphabetically. Artists represented by the gallery extensively documented in this series include William Brice, James Strombotne, and Howard Warsaw.

The series is organized by type of material, and file contents are arranged chronologically.

Exhibition files document Frank Perls Gallery exhibitions with catalogs, announcements, newspaper clippings, photographs, press releases, price lists, and correspondence. The files also document exhibitions that Frank Perls curated at other locations. Files for the Matisse retrospective in 1966 include meeting minutes, expense sheets, loan inventories, photographs, articles, and catalog drafts. Photographs in this series are mostly photographs of exhibition openings and installation views. Exhibitions at all three Frank Perls Gallery locations are depicted.

Exhibition catalogs and announcements are arranged chronologically. Individual exhibition files are organized by name and file contents are arranged chronologically.

This series is the most extensive in the collection and reflects the order of the files maintained during the operation of the gallery. Subjects refer to named correspondents, family members, organizations, galleries, museums, publications, non-Frank Perls Gallery exhibitions, and art topics of interest. Although some of the files represent collected reference materials, the majority consist primarily of correspondence. Perls made very few distinctions between his work and personal life; his closest friends were artists he represented, clients whose collections he helped build, art critics he befriended, and fellow gallery owners he admired. This series provides rich documentation on these personal, family, and professional relationships.

Of particular note are files documenting Perls involvement with the Art Dealers Association of America, an organization dedicated to the high standards of ethical practice in the profession. Many files in this series document Perls professional efforts to uncover corruption and fraud within the art world, especially in Los Angeles.

While this series also contains scattered invoices, most financial records are found in the general financial and business records series. Photographs are also scattered within. The majority of the exhibition files filed here do not represent Frank Perls Gallery exhibitions. The few exhibition files found here are related to other business, such as requests for authentication of artwork and records documenting stolen and fake art investigations.

This series is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Two scrapbooks document the activities of the Perls Gallery in New York from 1937-1939 and the Frank Perls Gallery in Los Angeles from 1951-1957. The scrapbooks contain carefully dated newspaper and magazine clippings and exhibition announcements.