Biography
Grosvenor Gallery was first established by the American sociologist and writer Eric Estorick (1913-1993) who began to collect works of art when he came to live in England after the Second World War.
Estorick moved to England in 1947 after his marriage to Salome Dessau. In the initial years, the couple developed a major collection of Italian art, which at one time was considered the most important collection of Italian art outside Italy. It was exhibited in major exhibitions including one at the Tate Gallery in 1956. It was then that Estorick became a full time art dealer and went on to establish the Grosvenor Gallery in 1960, with its first premises on Davies Street. It was the largest and best equipped gallery in England at the time. The old Grosvenor Gallery that specialized in the Pre-Raphaelites had closed in 1906.
Around this time, several of the older galleries of London closed down. A number of young British artists associated with these galleries joined Estorick in his new venture. This move along with Estorick’s own remarkable collection of 20thcentury art led Grosvenor Gallery to prominence.
Grosvenor Gallery went on to exhibit some of the major European artists of the time – some for the first time in London such as Magritte, Picasso, Sironi, Chagall, Lissitzky and Archipenko. Grosvenor Gallery also represented an impressive group of young artists such as Michael Ayrton, Jack Smith, Prunella Clough, John Hoskin and Karl Weschke. Estorick also added the already well known artists F.N. Souza and Paul Feiler. It held important exhibitions of Italian art such as First Image in 1963 including the works by the painter Enrico Baj and sculptors Cascella and Silvestri, a major retrospective exhibition of paintings by Sironi.
Apart from Western European art, the Gallery was the principal outlet in the West for modern art from Eastern Europe. It also sold works by living Soviet artists, which was a major accomplishment for a Western gallery. Furthermore Estorick championed several South African artists notably Stern, Dumile and Kumalo.
The Gallery was located on Albermale street in the 1990s and then in 2000 it moved to Ryder Street. It was still dealing in Modern British and International Art while exhibiting primarily Modern and Contemporary Indian art.
