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Stendahl’s World: Marketing Ancient Mexico and Modern Art in Los Angeles

Earl Stendahl with Maya Figurines, ca. 1960s (detail), Florence Homolka. Photo © Florence Homolka. Getty Research Institute, 2017.M.38
Around 1940, after decades of selling landscapes and Modern paintings, Earl Stendahl turned to Mexican antiquities, transforming the market for pre-Hispanic art in Los Angeles and beyond. Stendahl Art Galleries promoted the ancient artifacts of Mexico as commodities for both museum and private collections, launching exhibitions across the United States and Europe and building on Hollywood connections for product placement in advertising campaigns. Meanwhile, archaeological sites in Mexico suffered irreparable depredations.
This exhibition is presented in English and Spanish.
Esta exhibición se presenta en inglés y en español.
Partners and Sponsors
Selected Works
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Publications

Artifacts to Art
Exhibition Resources
Stendahl’s World Gallery Wall Text (English)
PDF
Stendahl’s World Gallery Wall Text (Español)
PDF
Stendahl Art Galleries Archival Transcription Project
Digitized Collection
(opens in new tab)Database of tagged transcriptions of Stendahl Inventory Books and Family Correspondence, a unique resource for pre-Hispanic art provenance
Stendahl Art Galleries Records
Finding aid

A breakdown of the archival collection with links to digitized items and accompanying resources
Pre-Hispanic Art Provenance Initiative
Project information
Stendahl Art Galleries Records: Guillermo Echániz Correspondence
Research guide

Annotated letters between Earl Stendahl and Guillermo Echániz, regarding the clandestine extraction of murals from Teotihuacan
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Collecting Mesoamerican Art, 1940–1968
Event recording
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Collecting Mesoamerican Art in the Twentieth Century
Event recording




