Halpert, Edith Gregor

Halpert, Edith Gregor (b. Fivoosiovitch)

(1900–70) art dealer, collector; born in Odessa, Russia. She and her mother emigrated to New York City (1906), and she attended the National Academy of Design (1914–15). She worked in banking, and as a reorganizer of department stores before opening the Downtown Gallery of Contemporary Art with her husband, Samuel Halpert (1926); the gallery became one of the earliest supporters of modern American artists. She later expanded her space to include the American Folk Art Gallery (1929). She is known for assembling collections at the Williamsburg (Va.) and Shelburne (Vt.) museums, and for sponsoring exhibitions of unknown as well as well-known artists.