Victorian London: Mapping the Emergence of the Modern Art Gallery: Pamela M. Fletcher

Van Brakel Gallery

A listing in The Year’s Art 1909 for the Van Brakel Gallery gives a short history of the business: “Van Brakel Gallery, 36, Albemarle Street, W. (The Little Galley van Brakel, headquarters of the Society of “Art, Life and Literature,” A.L.L.) – Two general exhibitions yearly of Cabinet Pictures and Unframed Sketches, and monthly lectures and discussions on Art Matters. Several “One Man Shows” have been held since December 1907, including those of Mrs. Sandford and Miss Helen Bulkeley, Mr. Byron Cooper, Mrs. Engelback and Miss Lack, and two by Miss Mary L. Breakell.” (145) The list of unfamiliar names suggests the gallery may have been available for rental, a possibility supported by an advertisement for an exhibition of the A.L.L. that appeared in the Connoisseur in October 1908 and that notes the gallery is “Available for private shows.”  (xxxix)

Address: 36 Albemarle St

Start Date: December 1907

End Date: at least 1910

Unless otherwise noted, the documentation of a gallery’s start and end dates at a location is drawn from listings in The Year’s Art.