Thomas Beckman, Seymour Boardman, Ernest Briggs, Perez Celis, Herman Cherry, Nassos Daphnis, Amaranth Ehrenhalt, Mark Gibian, Stanley Hayter, John Hultberg, Michiko Itatani, Buffie Johnson, Ibram Lassaw, Michael Loew, William Manning, Irving Petlin, Jeanne Reynal, Jon Schueler, Thomas Sills, Nancy Steinson, and Wilfrid Zogbaum.

Anita Shapolsky Gallery was established in SoHo as the Arbitrage Art Gallery, later renamed the Anita Shapolsky Art Gallery. It began as a new gallery determined to discover and support strong artists. From its inception, Anita Shapolsky focused on abstract art at a time when Minimalism and Pop Art dominated the art world. Many of the artists the gallery began exhibiting had, over the years, shown at the Martha Jackson Gallery, Betty Parsons Gallery, and many important American and international institutions.

From the beginning, the gallery championed women Abstract Expressionists, as well as Latin American and Black artists whose contributions had often been overlooked. Deeply committed to those she represented, Anita Shapolsky fostered strong personal and professional relationships with the diverse and distinguished group. Among them were Buffie Johnson, a member of the Hamptons Bohemia; Seymour Boardman, who exhibited at the Martha Jackson Gallery and the Sachs Gallery in the 1950s and 1960s; Ernest Briggs, who relocated to New York from California, where he studied under Clyfford Still; Pérez Celis, one of Argentina’s most celebrated painters; and the Russian- American painter Ilya Bolotowsky, a passionate advocate for abstract expressionism.

Many of these artists played an active role in the development of abstraction in New York in the 1950s, leaving a lasting influence on future generations. Today, their work is included in major public and private collections, nationally and internationally.

Whether presenting large-scale paintings, sculpture, or mosaics by artists such as Jeanne Reynal, the Anita Shapolsky Gallery has consistently aimed to provide context and depth. It remains dedicated to a broad and serious representation of abstraction, even at times when other institutions gave it little attention. For more than four decades, each carefully curated exhibition has explored the evolving role of Abstract Expressionism, offering viewers both historical perspective and a renewed appreciation of its enduring vitality.

An important sister institution, the Anita Shapolsky Art Foundation, originally founded as the Josiah White Foundation, has housed one of Pennsylvania’s most historically significant collections of Abstract Expressionism since 1985. Located within the First Presbyterian Church of Mauch Chunk in the town now known as Jim Thorpe, the foundation is open annually from Memorial Day through Labor Day and regularly hosts exhibitions and cultural events. Together, the gallery and the foundation serve as enduring advocates for abstract art, bringing a diverse range of important artists to the public.

Over the years, the gallery has received critical recognition from publications such as Art in America, Art News, The New York Times, and others. In an era marked by the rise of large corporate galleries and a highly speculative, multi-million-dollar art market, Anita Shapolsky Gallery and the Anita Shapolsky Art Foundation remain rare and vital presences—offering a glimpse into a time when the art world was more accessible to collectors, teachers, professionals, and true art connoisseurs.