Peter H. Davidson & Co., Inc. Records

The Peter H. Davidson & Co., Inc. Records provide a picture of an independent art dealer operating a gallery in New York during the 1970s and 1980s.

The Artist Files series forms the bulk of the collection. These files contain information about artwork handled by Peter Davidson's gallery. Each file usually includes a photograph, description, and provenance of the artwork, and in some cases research notes, correspondence or invoices. The stock books are closely related to this series, containing photographs, descriptions, and artwork provenance.

The Subject Files, predominantly composed of correspondence, document the business interests of the gallery. The files generally concern attempts to sell or acquire artwork and contain information about appraisals, consignments, sales, and loans. The Edward Sprague Jones Correspondence series contains mainly outgoing correspondence from Jones (1928-1996), Davidson's employee, concerning attempts to find prospective art pieces or purchasers.

The final series contains materials originating from M. Knoedler & Co., Inc. It is unclear whether the materials were used by Davidson during his tenure at the firm, or if they belonged to his father, William F. Davidson, or both. The materials include artist files, research files, two account ledgers, and two files regarding personal art collections.