LILLY FENICHEL ESTATE - UPDATE
FEBRUARY 2024
In this our first newsletter of 2024 there are several important developments in the year ahead to report.
“Action Gesture Paint” finished at the Kunsthalle Bielefeld in Germany recently. The exhibition started at the Whitechapel Gallery in London and travelled to Arles in France. One of the two Fenichel works in the exhibition appeared on the cover of the French language catalogue. Almost 25,000 people saw the exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery and the press response was very encouraging. A leading UK newspaper, The Independent, called the exhibition “a life enhancing experience” and “a glorious celebration of the unsung contribution of women artists”.
As far as exhibitions this year are concerned we are in the process of consigning work to an important exhibition to be entitled “Montage” opening in May at the Gazelli Gallery in London where Lilly's work will feature alongside work by Perle Fine, Grace Hartigan, Lee Krasner and Helen Frankenthaler amongst others.
We also anticipate the exciting opening of a museum dedicated women's art in Mougins France (a 10 minute drive from Cannes) which will house an important collection of women's art assembled by the leading international collector Christian Levett. The collection includes an important early work by Lilly Fenichel as well as work by a number of other leading female abstract expressionist artists. It will be the first and only museum dedicated exclusively to women artists in Europe.
As previously mentioned, we are delighted to have received work from the estate of Hanna Fenichel Pitkin. The work includes two pieces from the 1950s (one of which is shown above) and one from the early 1980s. If you would be interested in receiving more images, please let us know.
The estate has recently donated two later works, Mixtus (2000) and Scrim I (2012),to the Albuquerque Museum whose important collection includes work by other leading artists of the period from the area including Georgia O'Keeffe and Elaine de Kooning. This reflects increasing interest in Lilly’s later work.
Whilst most of Lilly’s work is in storage in Albuquerque, we do have one early work on consignment with the Berry Campbell Gallery in New York and, if you would be interested in seeing it, please either contact Christine Berry at the gallery directly or be in touch with us and we can arrange that. In Europe we have works available for viewing in London and in Sussex in the UK as well as the work in Mougins. We are also very keen to track down other pieces in private collections so if you know of any such pieces, please do let us know. We would also be grateful if you would put the word out amongst your networks.
A rare opportunity to buy a piece of Lilly’s work “Homage to Pei” will arise at the Albuquerque Museum shortly as the estate has donated a work for sale to benefit the museum in its Arts Thrive Collectors Premiere on 14th March. If you would be interested in hearing more about that, do please let us know and we can put you in direct touch with the museum.
The Lilly Fenichel Foundation a UK charity has been formed and we anticipate the transfer of the work from the estate into the foundation (along with the limited cash resources which support our work) in the coming weeks. That will put the foundation in a strong position to carry on its work of promoting the extraordinary oevre of the late Lilly Fenichel.
Thank you for your continuing interest and support.
LILLY FENICHEL ESTATE - UPDATE
OCTOBER 2023
The “West Coast Women of Abstract Expressionism” exhibition at Berry Campbell was a success and “Collage (IV)” from 1961 was sold to a private collector, helping to build our relationship with this respected New York gallery.
More recently the return of some early work to the Lilly Fenichel Estate from the estate of a deceased relative was agreed. We are hugely grateful as we have so little work from the late 1950s and 1960s.
“Action, Gesture, Paint” which started at the Whitechapel Gallery in London is travelling shortly from Arles, France to Bielefeld, Germany with two important and prominent Fenichel works. The catalogue for the French exhibition which was translated from the Whitechapel catalogue has one of those works on the cover.
We are in the early stages of discussing participating in an exciting exhibition in London in Autumn 2024 in conjunction with a well-known gallery.
Finally, we are pleased to announce that the estate is in the process of transferring Lilly’s work and a small endowment into a newly formed UK charity for the benefit of artists (with a focus of the Albuquerque area) called the Lilly Fenichel Foundation.
This will help to give a sound platform for the long-term work of securing Lilly’s rightful legacy, profile and reputation as well as benefitting a cause close to her heart.
The foundation, once fully established, expects to appoint a part time administrator/curator.