LA’s Oldest Gallery to Close, Donate Archive to Huntington Library
157Sept. 18, 2025
LA Louver, the gallery founded by Peter and Elizabeth Goulds in Los Angeles’s Venice neighborhood in 1975 and the longest-running operation of its kind in the city, will close its space this fall. The gallery will no longer offer public programming but instead will pivot to private art dealing, consultation, and projects, additionally providing artist support. LA Louver will donate its archive and library, which document more than fifty years of contemporary art in Southern California, tothe Huntingtonin San Marino, just northeast of LA.
The gallery’s mission, Peter Goulds said in a statement, had been “to show Southern California artists in an international context, and to introduce international artists to this region.” LA Louver mounted more than 660 exhibitions and helped organize 125 museum shows.
Among the trove the Huntington is to receive is correspondence, exhibition records, photographs, publications, and ephemera related to artists including David Hockney, Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Alison Saar, Gajin Fujita, Leon Kossoff, and R.B. Kitaj.
“This extraordinary gift aligns seamlessly with The Huntington’s mission to preserve collections of lasting cultural significance, provide access to them, and help generate new knowledge,” said Karen R. Lawrence, president of the Huntington. “The LA Louver Archive & Library expands our ability to tell the story of Los Angeles as a global center of creativity, advancing our commitment to scholarship and public engagement across disciplines.”
LA Louver staff are collaborating with Huntington archivists and librarians to process and prepare the gallery’s collection before transferring it to the Huntington. All materials are slated to be handed over by 2029.
“Our collaboration with The Huntington allows us to give thanks to the City of Los Angeles, which some of the world’s preeminent artists, scholars, and curators have called home,” said Peter Goulds in a statement. “We strongly feel the institution’s stewardship of the LA Louver Archive & Library will aid in telling our story and Los Angeles’ story for generations to come.”