During its tenure in Minneapolis, Dayton’s Gallery 12 was a powerhouse in the American contemporary art scene. While it was originally greeted with disdain by the art world at its founding in 1964 because it was a department store gallery, it soon gained a reputation as a serious player in the art scene, showing works by the biggest names in the contemporary art world, such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Jasper Johns. Dayton’s Gallery 12 played a unique role in shaping the Midwest art scene, and the American art scene more broadly.

It kickstarted the contemporary art market in the Midwest, a market that many critics had doubted existed. Dayton’s Gallery 12 was strengthened by the unique opportunities it provided. Dayton’s Gallery 12 was able to exhibit large collections with huge ranges of works in ways that would not be available elsewhere due to space and other concerns, allowing artists–and even gallery owners such as Leo Castelli–to display large volumes and varieties of works, creating a unique experience which benefited both artists and local viewers.

A list of exhibitions at Dayton’s Gallery 12 follows:

Pavlos Paper Constructions

Morris Louis

Ellsworth Kelly

Castelli at Dayton’s

Stella, Noland, and Caro

Sugarman: Sculpture and Lithographs

Calder

David Hockney: Drawings

Rauschenberg: Currents

Charles Ross: Prisms

OR: an Introduction (Jud Fine)

Charles Biederman

Tom Wesselmann

Jasper Johns

Robert Indiana

Lia Acconi

Josef Albers

Horst Antes

Shusaku Arakawa

Enrico Baj

Revere Auctions is dedicated to finding and preserving these important works from Dayton’s Gallery 12.