Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Copley Square Gallery
The Boston Sunday Globe, June 1, 1924
Founded in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1841, Vose Galleries began as an art supply store and steadily established its reputation as a respected dealer in fine paintings through the efforts of Seth Vose, the second generation to head the family firm. His success attracted clientele from Boston and drew him to open showrooms in the historic Studio Building on Tremont Street beginning in the 1880s.
By the late 1890s, Seth’s sons Robert and Nathaniel had joined the business, with Robert moving the gallery first to 320 Boylston Street in 1897 and later to 394-398 Boylston Street, facing Arlington Street Church, from 1910 until 1924. Their national reputation grew exponentially during this period, in large part due to Robert’s organization of travelling exhibitions; buoyed by this success, in June of 1924 he moved the gallery to 559 Boylston Street, a grand building comprising four floors of exhibition space, making it the largest gallery in the United States outside of New York City.
Watercolor by Charles Demetropoulos of the Robert C. Vose Galleries at 559 Boylston Street
65 Years as Head of the Firm Exhibition, honoring Robert C. Vose’s 65th year in the business, at 559 Boylston Street, March 1961
J. M. W. Turner’s Van Tromp’s Shallop at far left, and Rembrandt H. Van Rijn’s A Young Girl in center
Third floor gallery at 559 Boylston Street, 1947
Bostonians flooded to the Robert C. Vose Galleries during the first few months in the new location. The opening exhibition featured works by distinguished American artists, including George Inness, Ralph Blakelock, Julian Alden Weir, Hermann Dudley Murphy, and Winslow Homer, many of whom we have continued to represent.
Robert C. Vose Galleries occupied 559 Boylston Street for almost forty years, through the Great Depression and both world wars. The gallery overcame many difficulties and was able to remain among the country’s leading authorities in American art history, helping to build numerous private and public collections throughout the country.
After leasing 559 Boylston Street for 39 years, Robert Vose Jr. gambled on property ownership and purchased the brownstone at 238 Newbury Street. The decision turned out to be a shrewd one, and the Vose family, now in its sixth generation of ownership, is proud to continue to display four stories of American art today. We invite you to visit the gallery in Boston’s Back Bay.
Vose Galleries at 238 Newbury Street
