Erwin S. Barrie
| Erwin S. Barrie | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1886 Canton, Ohio |
| Died | 1983 Delray Beach, Florida |
| Occupation | artist, businessman |
Erwin S. Barrie was an American businessman in the arts. He was most closely associated with New York City's Grand Central Art Galleries, which he managed from its founding in 1922 until he retired in 1975.
Barrie, whose middle name was Seaver, was born in Canton, Ohio. He attended Cornell University and then studied landscape painting at the Art Institute of Chicago. After his studies he became manager of the art collection at Carson Pirie Scott; it was at this time that he befriended Hovsep Pushman and other artists.
In 1922 Barrie was hired by businessman and art patron Walter Leighton Clark to manage the Grand Central Art Galleries, which he was in the process of establishing. Clark had secured space in Grand Central Terminal, and his goal was to create "the largest sales gallery of art in the world." The galleries extended over most of the terminal's sixth floor, 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2), and offered eight main exhibition rooms, a foyer gallery, and a reception area. The architect was William Adams Delano, best known for designing Yale Divinity School's Sterling Quadrangle.
The Grand Central Art Galleries were managed by Barrie for more than 50 years; he guided them through the Depression and World War II as well as enabling many of their triumphs. In the 1940s Barrie helped establish the Galleries' "Grand Central Moderns" division, and managed it until Colette Roberts took over the reins in 1951. After the gallery "wandered about for several years" it settled at 130 East 56th Street in 1950. Artists represented by Grand Central Moderns included Byron Browne, Lamar Dodd, Jennett Lam, and Louise Nevelson.
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