Gymnasium Chases

Christie’s is thrilled to offer property of The Estate of Constance Lewallen. A renowned curator, critic, and art historian, Lewallen (1939-2022) dedicated her career to championing artists, specifically those from the San Francisco Bay Area such as Jay DeFeo and Teresa Hak Kyung Cha. She is most closely associated with the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), where she originated important exhibitions of the work of Bruce Nauman, Joe Brainard, and Ant Farm, as well as groundbreaking presentations of California Conceptual Art, which became her specialty.

Lewallen’s early commitment to avant-garde artists in the 1960s and 1970s established her as an expert on the art of this experimental period when it was in its adolescent years, allowing her to gain the trust and respect of artists. A native New Yorker, her first job was working with Klaus Kertess at the legendary Bykert Gallery. In the 70s, she was director of Larry Gagosian’s Broxton Gallery in Los Angeles, where she was an influential force. After moving to the Bay Area in 1980, she shined a spotlight on local artists and introduced the work of cutting-edge national and international artists to West Coast audiences through exhibitions at BAMPFA and other venues and during a stint as associate director of Crown Point Press. Lewallen’s contributions to the field of Conceptual Art, and the overarching field of art history remain critically important.