John Driscoll, a Scholar of American Art Who Led New York’s Eminent Driscoll Babcock Gallery, Has Died at 70 From Coronavirus

Longtime gallery owner John Driscoll, a scholar, collector, and
revered art dealer, died at age 70 on Friday, April 10, from
complications related to COVID-19. The gallery he led, Driscoll
Babcock, confirmed the news in a statement on its website.

“The family and staff of Driscoll Babcock Galleries mourn the
loss of an inimitable scholar, gracious mentor, generous patron,
and most importantly a great friend,” the gallery wrote. “His
integrity, intelligence, kindness, humor, and dedication to art
inspired all who knew him.”

Driscoll Babcock Galleries is one of America’s oldest; it was
founded by John Snedecor in 1852, 18 years before the the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. The business—known for showcasing
titans of American art including Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt,
and Childe Hassam—got a new name when Driscoll took over as owner
in 1987. Under his leadership, the gallery steadily reinvented
itself, moving to Chelsea and adding more living artists and some
international names into its program.

Still, the outfit kept its old-school vibe, always looking at
contemporary art through the lens of history and maintaining a
strong presence of classic American figures. “Someone once said
going into Babcock was like going into a white-shoe law firm,”
Driscoll told the Wall Street
Journal in 2012. The gallery famously kept the same
phone number it has had since 1956.

Before turning to the commercial world, Driscoll held
appointments at the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State University,
the William H. Lane Foundation in Binghamton, the Worcester Art
Museum, Yale University, and New York University. A keen collector
himself, he acquired an eclectic selection of English,
Japanese, and Danish art, as well as 20th-century ceramics.

“A giant has passed from the art world—a world
that he loved so well, with an intensity and integrity rare to
find,” said artist Marylyn Dintenfass in a statement shared with
Artnet News.

Dintenfass noted that only a year ago, on
accepting the inaugural service award from the Palmer Art Museum at
Penn State, Driscoll had said: “I’m planning on being here a good
while longer.” The artist said: “He had so
much left to do, to discover, and to teach.”

He wrote extensively about American art and organized a number
of shows at museums including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art, in
Washington, DC. Over the course of his career, Driscoll championed
the work of artists including Marsden Hartley, Charles
Sheeler, Edwin Dickinson, Don Nice, and Alan Gussow. He also helped
facilitate acquisitions by such institutions as the Brooklyn
Museum and the National Gallery.

In 2012, Driscoll moved his gallery to Chelsea from Midtown,
inaugurating the 25th Street space with a well-received show, “This
is How We Do It,” featuring works from 1763 to 2012. It included
examples by 25 artists ranging from American art stalwarts John
Singleton Copley, Thomas Eakins, and Stuart Davis, to Modern greats
Franz Kline and Andy Warhol, to contemporary artists Marylyn
Dintenfass and Jenny Morgan.

At the time, Driscoll said: “Classic historical art always has
currency in contemporary cultures and great contemporary art
informs not only our own moment, but our perspective on classic
art. When speaking of great works of art, classic equals
contemporary, and contemporary equals classic.”

The post John Driscoll, a Scholar of American Art Who Led
New York’s Eminent Driscoll Babcock Gallery, Has Died at 70 From
Coronavirus appeared first on artnet News.