Overview
Collection Information
Size: 55 Items, Reel LA 9; 0.4 Linear feet, Unmicrofilmed; 55 Items, Reel LA 9; 0.4 Linear feet, Unmicrofilmed
Summary: Reel LA 9: Photographs of Kaplan and his work, mostly undated and unidentified, plus a few clippings, biographical data, gallery catalogs and articles about him.
UNMICROFILMED: Two scrapbooks with photographs of Kaplan's works, biographical material, letters from patrons, newspaper, and magazine articles, exhibition catalogs and announcements, and slides of works. The majority of the photographs are undated and unidentified.
Biographical/Historical Note
Art dealer and painter; California. Leonard Kaplan was born in 1922 New York City and studied on scholarship at the Art Students League with Reginald Marsh and William Palmer. He painted murals for the WPA, working with Dean Fausett, and for commercial buildings in Milwaukee, WI, St. Louis MO, and Los Angeles, CA. Moving to Laguna Beach, CA, in 1945, he continued to paint, but then ventured into whalebone sculptures and opened the Ancient Arts Gallery that specialized in everything from pre-Columbian art to art nouveau. He closed the gallery in 1979, due to a chronic back ailment that resulted from injuries sustained while whaling. Since closing the gallery, Kaplan has continued to create and exhibit his paintings, drawings, prints, and collages.
Provenance
Donated 1999 by Leonard Kaplan. Included in the donation are 55 items previously lent for microfilming in 1965 (reel LA 9). Additional papers (a scrapbook) is expected.
Language Note
English .
