ART
COLLECTION
As an art dealer Simpson is known for connoisseurship based on his refined taste and good eye. - Thomas M. Shaw
TRIBAL ART
Merton D. Simpson’s first introduction to tribal art came by way of his New York University professor, Hale Woodruff, but it was Simpson’s 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.
Contemporary Art
Forward by Allan Stone
Solo Exhibition
Galerie Noir D’Ivoire, Paris
March 27 – April 1992
Merton D. Simpson
Ancestral Improvisation
Merton Simpson is a class act. He puts most purported renaissance men to shame in terms of the variety of his interests and the extent of his accomplishments. He is a master musician, a connoisseur, a philanthropist, a dealer without peer and a serious painter whose restless drive to excellence allows him little time to sleep.
William H. Johnson
Willem de Kooning
Wifredo Lam
Wayne Thiebaud
Skunder Boghossian
Romare Bearden
Robert Scott Duncanson
Paul Klee
Pablo Picasso
Norman Lewis
Nancy Elizabeth Prophet
Leandro Velasco
John Biggers
Jean-Michel Basquiat
James Van Der Zee
Jacques Lipchitz
Jacob Lawrence
Horace Pippin
Herbert Gentry
Henry Ossawa Tanner
Hale Woodruff
Emma Amos
Edward Fitzgerald
Charles White
Charles Alston
Bob Thompson
Beauford Delaney
Arman
Sam J. Ntiro
Amedeo Modigliani
Please contact the gallery to purchase literature
Introduction
Dr. Karl-Ferdinand Schädler is well known for his substantial contributions to the field of African art. His many books on the subject serve as valuable resources for both scholars and collectors, and the sale of his collection in New York at Sotheby’s in 1999 brought many fascinating objects to light, including a notable Luba figurative axe, which deserves a seat in the pantheon of masterpieces of world art. It was only by chance that Schädler ran into African art when his first mission as an economic adviser took him to Côte d’Ivoire in 1964, along with two engineers from Paris, to examine the preparatory transportation plan for that country. At that time, the national capital, Abidjan, was also the linchpin for African art from Liberia to Cameroon. He stayed there at the Hôtel du Parc, located on the “Plateau,” just across from the main market for African art. Of course, this market was jammed with fake and reproduction masks and sculptures, but genuine items could still be found here and there, particularly objects of daily use, such as bronze bracelets and necklaces, gold weights, and stools and chairs. At the end of his stay, he also met one of the most active individuals in the field, Samir Borro, who had a small gallery in Abidjan at that time.
CONTACT
Merton Simpson Gallery
38 W. 28th Street, Floor 5
New York, NY 10001
212.686.6735
Director
Alaina Simone
asimone@mertonsimpsongallery.com
Inquiries:
Please email all questions to info@mertonsimpsongallery.com
PLEASE NOTE: Gallery hours are by appointment only
