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Halper Collection

Halper

Overview

Nathan and Marjorie Windhurst Halper were steadfast fixtures of the Provincetown art community for most of their lives. Marjorie came in 1926 to study with Charles W. Hawthorne, and both Marjorie and Nathan returned together at the end of World War II, after "Nat" was discharged from the service, to settle in for the summer months on an annual basis. Each of them contributed to the protean mix that developed with increasing momentum during the 1950's and 1960's as the gallery scene fairly exploded in Provincetown. "Nat" Halper, as he was known locally, was well positioned in the midst of this activity in 1952, for he became director of the Samuel Kootz Gallery which he and Marjorie had arranged to build on their waterfront property, as a real estate exchange, with Kootz. Samuel Kootz brought to Provincetown some members of his New York stable: Motherwell, Hofmann, Baziotes, Bultman and Gottlieb, among others, and Halper continued to represent these artists after Kootz returned to New York and left the gallery to Halper who changed the name to the HCE. Membership in the gallery was augmented by artists from Gallery 256 and from the Sun Gallery, which closed permanently in 1961 and its' famed "happenings" no longer lighted up the horizon. The HCE continued successfully throughout the 1960's and was considered to represent the cutting edge for abstract art in Provincetown. [More...]

Showing all archives in the Halper collection
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  • Fisherman's Dories Provincetown Postcard
    Fisherman's Dories Provincetown Photo Postcard Published by Town Crier Shop, Provincetown, Mass....
    Collection: Halper
    Format: Photo
    Subjects: Docks, Dories (boats), and Waterfronts
  • Provincetown Quarterly - Summer 1958
    Selected pages from the Provincetown Quarterly - Summer 1958. Art and literature magazine.
    Collection: Halper
    Format: Text
    Subjects: Art, Literature, and Provincetown Quarterly
  • The Cracker Barrel - March 1937
    The Cracker Barrel, a literature magazine. Vol. 1, No. 2, March 1937. Editorial Board: Francis...
    Collection: Halper
    Format: Text
    Subjects: Advertising, Art, Cracker Barrel, The, and Literature
  • The Provincetown Log - July 1938
    The Provincetown Log by Evelyn Lawson Wells dated July 27, 1938 featuring gossip and local news....
    Collection: Halper
    Format: Newsprint
    Subjects: Advertising, Gossip, Provincetown (Mass.)--History--20th century, and Provincetown Log
  • Provincetown Magazine
    "Provincetown" a Magazine - Art & Literature Review June 1934 Vol. I. No. 3 Cover...
    Collection: Halper
    Format: Text
    Subjects: Art, Literature, and Provincetown Magazine
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