Elizabeth Peyton
Untitled
Oil on Found Window
1987
Shown in first solo exhibition at Althea Viafora Gallery
Elizabeth Peyton
Portrait of Althea Viafora-Kress
Oil on linen, 38 x 26 inches (96.5 x 66 cm)
Elizabeth Peyton’s first solo exhibition was held at Althea Viafora Gallery.
Peyton was introduced by Michael Rockefeller a young collector who soon after gave her distressed glass windows to paint portraits on. The exhibition was on the ground floor at 568 Broadway, November 10th – December 3rd 1987.
The cultural context of Viafora Gallery was: The show prior to Peyton’s was "Mary" which included the first showing of Andreas Serrano's Piss Christ. The following month was "Immaculate Beginnings" which included Dan Graham, Michael Heizer, Sherrie Levine, John McCracken, Robert Smithson, and Frank Stella.
Althea Viafora Gallery was funded by Ahmed Ertegun founder of Atlantic Records, Jean Pigozzi, Dan Lufkin of Donaldson Lufkin and Jenrette, Peter Jay Sharp of the Carlyle and art philanthropist, Jack Nash of Odyssey Partners and Althea Viafora. This enabled artists such as Christian Marclay, Vic Muniz, Marilyn Minter, Verne Dawson, Matthew Barney, Nayland Blake and others to show with a young galleriest who were working with new ideas.
We are honored to have had the pleasure and distinction to have first shown Peyton and are grateful to our backers for their generosity and belief in Althea and Elizabeth when they were starting out.