Castelli, B. Paintings

Leo Castelli, born Leo Krausz on September 4, 1908, in Trieste, Italy, was a prominent art dealer and gallery owner who played a significant role in shaping the postwar American art scene. His influence on the careers of many leading artists of the second half of the 20th century is hard to overestimate. He was not an artist himself but rather a visionary gallerist who helped launch and sustain the careers of numerous seminal artists.

Castelli moved to the United States in 1941, fleeing the turmoil in Europe, and became a U.S. citizen in 1944. He opened the Leo Castelli Gallery in 1957 in New York City at 4 East 77th Street, the epicenter of the art world at the time. The gallery soon became a hub for the avant-garde art movement, showcasing the work of many artists who would go on to become icons of contemporary art. His first wife, Ileana Sonnabend, also played an integral role in the gallery's success and in promoting artists, particularly in Europe.

Castelli is perhaps best known for his early and passionate support of the leading figures of American Pop Art, such as Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and James Rosenquist. He also represented the artists of the Abstract Expressionist movement, including Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock, and he was instrumental in the careers of Minimalist and Postminimalist artists like Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, and Richard Serra.

Beyond just selling art, Castelli was known for his innovative approach to the art business, introducing the practice of financially supporting artists through stipends and creating an environment that fostered long-term relationships between artists and collectors. His contributions to the art world continue to be recognized long after his death on August 21, 2007, in New York City. Leo Castelli's legacy lives on in the artists he supported, the collectors he advised, and the transformative impact he had on the modern art market.