Gimpel Fils was founded by Charles and Peter Gimpel in London on the 26th November 1946. Nephews of Lord Duveen they added Fils to the family name in homage to their father René, the great dealer and collector whose journal ‘Diary of an Art Dealer’ was first published in 1966. The first exhibition, ‘Five Centuries of French painting’ formed a small part of René Gimpel’s collection that he sent to England before the war, the bulk being lost in Paris, which included work by Degas, Monet and Pissarro.

This first exhibition enabled the gallery to finance and support contemporary British, European and American art; a tradition the gallery continues today under the direction of fourth generation dealer René at 30 Davies St., where the gallery moved in 1972. Peter and Charles Gimpel showed an early commitment to British art exhibiting artists such as Sir Anthony Caro, Roger Hilton and Ivon Hitchens and forming a ‘stable’ that included Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Louis Le Brocquy, Robert Adams, Alan Davie and Peter Lanyon from the beginning of their careers.

The exhibition program included Sam Francis 1957, the first London exhibition of Larry Rivers in 1962, Marcel Duchamp 1965, Alexander Calder 1969 and Willem de Kooning 1976. Other artists included Pierre Soulages, Marie Laurencin, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Nicolas de Stael and Yves Klein.

The gallery still maintains stock of these artists and has a continuing commitment to contemporary art. Represented artists include Gillian Ayres, Pamela Golden, Albert Irvin, and Antoni Malinowski.

text: Gimpel Fils