Joan Wheeler Ankrum (January , Palo Alto, California â€" December ,
Los Angeles, California) was an American film actress and founder of
the Ankrum Gallery on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles.Ankrum was
born Joan Natalia Wheeler on January , in Palo Alto, California.
Ankrum was one of four siblings. She had one older sister and two
younger brothers.She got her start in acting with Pasadena Playhouse,
where she met her husband, character actor Morris Ankrum. They were
married on August , in Benbow, California, and had sons, David and
Cary. Morris Ankrum died in .In , Ankrum founded Ankrum Gallery, which
was located on La Cienega Boulevard next to a number of other
galleries. Joseph Hirshhorn contributed some of the initial funding
for the gallery, and would go on to be a loyal patron, along with his
wife Olga Hirshhorn. Ankrum initially founded the gallery in order to
show her nephew Morris Broderson's work, but the gallery would go on
to handle the artwork of other California artists such as Helen
Lundeberg, Richard Bauer, Hans Burkhard, Suzanne Jackson, Samella
Lewis, and Lorser Feitelson. The Smithsonian Archives of American Art,
which holds the gallery's archives, notes that Ankrum Gallery "was
among the earliest to exhibit the work of black artists." A New York
Times article about women gallery owners in Los Angeles noted that
Ankrum Gallery was "the largest in sales and size in La Cienega
Boulevard" at the time.
Los Angeles, California) was an American film actress and founder of
the Ankrum Gallery on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles.Ankrum was
born Joan Natalia Wheeler on January , in Palo Alto, California.
Ankrum was one of four siblings. She had one older sister and two
younger brothers.She got her start in acting with Pasadena Playhouse,
where she met her husband, character actor Morris Ankrum. They were
married on August , in Benbow, California, and had sons, David and
Cary. Morris Ankrum died in .In , Ankrum founded Ankrum Gallery, which
was located on La Cienega Boulevard next to a number of other
galleries. Joseph Hirshhorn contributed some of the initial funding
for the gallery, and would go on to be a loyal patron, along with his
wife Olga Hirshhorn. Ankrum initially founded the gallery in order to
show her nephew Morris Broderson's work, but the gallery would go on
to handle the artwork of other California artists such as Helen
Lundeberg, Richard Bauer, Hans Burkhard, Suzanne Jackson, Samella
Lewis, and Lorser Feitelson. The Smithsonian Archives of American Art,
which holds the gallery's archives, notes that Ankrum Gallery "was
among the earliest to exhibit the work of black artists." A New York
Times article about women gallery owners in Los Angeles noted that
Ankrum Gallery was "the largest in sales and size in La Cienega
Boulevard" at the time.
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