MERTON D. SIMPSON!

THE MAN, THE ARTIST, THE GALLERIST!AND THE PHILANTHROPIST!

MERTON D. SIMPSON!THE MAN!!With a world-renowned eye and more than fifty years in business, Merton D. Simpson is one of the most respected African and tribal art dealers in the world. He has been instrumental in helping individuals and institutions build comprehensive, culturally significant collections.!While Simpson, 83, is probably best known as an African art expert and gallerist, he is also an accomplished artist. He was one of few African-American painters to receive recognition in the 1950s; his works were included in shows at the Guggenheim and The Metropolitan Museum of Art among many other prominent institutions around the world. Merton Simpson lives in New York City.!

“Merton Simpson, the man himself is legend.” - Lisa Zeitz, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Germany, July 3 2012

“As an art dealer Simpson is known for connoisseurship based on his refined taste and good eye.” - Thomas M. Shaw !

Merton D. Simpsonʼs first introduction to tribal art came by way of his New York University professor, Hale Woodruff, but it was Simpsonʼs global travel and interest in the communities he encountered that solidified his decision to collect and exhibit tribal art. !!As a painter, Simpson was inspired by African art, similarly to artists such as Pablo Picasso and Willem de Kooning, and as a collector, he worked closely with Allan Stone, and other brilliant dealers — explorers of tribal art's influence on modern and contemporary art — to build a museum-quality collection, now housed at the Merton D. Simpson Gallery in New York City. The Merton D. Simpson galleries in Paris and New York were integral in establishing the significance of tribal art, and his reputation remains until this day !

Romare Bearden, Merton Simpson and Hale Woodruff at MDS Gallery in New York City circa 1980!

MERTON D. SIMPSON GALLERY!BRIEF SYNOPSIS!

THE ARTIST!The early years: 1928 - 1954!

•  Born September 20th, 1928 in Charleston, SC.!

•  As a child, Merton Simpson was frequently in the hospital with diphtheria. While in the hospital, he took to doodling and sketching cartoon characters from the Sunday comics.!

•  At the age of 13, Simpson met local artist and art teacher, William Halsey who took him under his wing. Halsey taught art at Gibbes Gallery, in the segregated south, Simpson was not allowed to enroll in classes. !

•  Simpson was the first African American to receive a prestigious five-year fellowship from the Charleston Scientific and Cultural Education fund.!

•  From 1949 – 1951, Simpson attended New York University and Cooper Union. He took classes at NYU during the day and Cooper Union at night. He studied under Robert Gwathmey (Cooper Union) and Hale Woodruff (NYU) and met Robert Motherwell and William Baziotes.!

•  Simpson worked at a frame shop to support himself during college, where he came in contact with Franz Kline, Max Weber and Willem de Kooning. The artists who frequented the frame shop often critiqued young Simpsonʼs work. !

!•  Simpson was enlisted in the Air Force in 1951 as an official Air Force Artist until 1954. This

lead to his portrait of President Dwight Eisenhower, who was a General at the time. !

1951!•  Work appears in an exhibition at

Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.!

1952!•  Watercolor Exhibition, Metropolitan

Museum of Art, New York, NY.!1954!•  Younger American Painters,

Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY.!

1955!•  Bertha Schaefer Gallery, New York,

NY.!1956!•  Eight New York Painters, Museum

of Art, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.!

1959!•  Travels to Europe for the first time.!!!

PAINTING HISTORY!1950ʼs!

Red Poem, 1956 Oil on Canvas!25” x 35.25”!

Comment:!Landscape painting inspired by Simpsonʼs love of the setting sun.!

Night Light, 1953"Oil on Canvas!36” x 40!

Green Sun, 1953"Oil on Canvas!39.5” x 35.5”!

IMPORTANT PAINTINGS!LANDSCAPE!1950ʼs!

1960!•  Krasner Gallery, New York, NY.!1963!•  Travels to Europe for the second time.!•  Romare Bearden invited a group of African-

American artist to discuss how they can contribute to the civil rights movement, and the Spiral Group was formed.!

•  Acquisitions, Paintings, Drawings, Prints, and Sculptures, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA.!

1965!•  Travels to Europe for the third time and

establishes residency in Paris.!•  The Spiral Black and White Exhibit, Spiral

Group, New York, 1965.!!

Sky Story II, 1963!Oil on Canvas!53” x 59”!

PAINTING HISTORY!1960ʼs!

IMPORTANT PAINTINGS!Spiral Group: Confrontation Series!1963-69!

Confrontation Series, 28A, 1966!Oil on Canvas!40” x 60”!

Confrontation Series, 28AA, 1966!Oil on Canvas!40” x 60”!

Spiral Group Members:! Charles Alston, Emma Amos, Romare Bearden, Calvin Douglass, Perry Ferguson, Reginald Gammon, Alvin Hollingsworth, Felrath Hines, Norman Lewis, William Majors, Richard Mayhew, Earl Miller, Merton D. Simpson, Hale Woodruff, and James Yeargans.!

THE GALLERIST:MERTON D. SIMPSON GALLERY!CIRCA 1970ʼS!

Madison Ave Location, New York City!

Today, the Merton D. Simpson Gallery collection is comprised of outstanding museum quality tribal art pieces.!! The collection also includes important works of contemporary art, by artists including Norman Lewis, Arman, Beauford Delaney, Romare Bearden and Merton D. Simpson. !

TRIBAL AND CONTEMPORARY ART COLLECTION!!

Charles Alston (1907-1997) !The Head, 1960"Pen on paper!16 ½ x 14 ½ inches!

POWER SYMBOLS!

Nafana Dance MaskGhana/Ivory Coast!1st quarter of 20th Century!Wood with raffia and pigment61 ¾” h Inv# 6750! !

Ethiopian Cross Ethiopia"Wood!14.5” x 5.5”!Inv# 8412!!!

Baule Gold Leaf Chair!Ivory coast!Wood Overlaid by Gold Leaf17 ¾”!!

Ashanti Royal Sandals!GhanaWood overlaid with gold leaf !and leather!11” x 5”!!

ROYAL GOLD!

Ejagham (Ekoi) Mask!Nigeria/Cameroon (Cross River Region)!Skin, Wood and Rattan!22” x 22”!!

FEMALE POWER MASKS!

Songye Mask Zaire!wood Inv# 6414!Provenance: Marc Riviere, 1992!

THE PHILANTHROPIST!Jennie Simpson African Art Collection!Educational Initiative!

In 1970, Merton Simpson donated over fifty works of traditional African Art towards an educational initiative for Black Studies Workshops that were made available at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.!!Simpson believed that bringing the objects closer to the students with slide presentations and by allowing them to touch the pieces would demystify the associations placed on African Art. He also hoped to attract more black and brown students who were interested to learn more about traditional African art and culture through this initiative.!!Over fifty objects of traditional African Art remain in the Jennie Simpson Collection at the Brooklyn Museum of Art until this day. !!Simpson donated major works to many museums throughout his career to include the Studio Museum of Harlem (New York), The Metropolitan Museum (New York), The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art(Washington D.C) among many other prominent museums and collections around the world.!!

Yoruba Ibeji!Nigeria"Wood!10”!

With a legacy that spans well over sixty years, Merton D. Simpson Gallery is considered the premier gallery of traditional African and African-American Art in the United States. Merton D. Simpson Gallery aims to partner with private collections and institutions to build comprehensive, culturally significant collections of Traditional African Art.!!Past clients include The Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY), Brooklyn Museum of Art (NY), The Guggenheim Museum (NY), Studio Museum of Harlem (NY) The British Museum (London) and The Louvre (Paris) to name a few. The Merton D. Simpson Gallery is located in New York City.!

OUR MISSION!