The West Lake Gallery

1/30/2024

The West Lake Gallery opened in 1965 as the first women-founded art gallery in the Twin Cities. Over twenty years, West Lake Gallery hosted hundreds of artists’ works. The gallery had over fifty members in its cooperative and maintained a good reputation until its closure in 1984. Many local artists in Hennepin History Museum’s collection were featured in the West Lake Gallery over the years. The painting seen here was created by one of its founding members, the late Bettye Olson.

The other original members of the cooperative were Josephine Lutz Rollins, Janice Lorning, Mary Killeen, Renee Nadeau, and Lorraine Cote. They and their successors pitched in for expenses, donated their time, and voted on exhibit proposals. On average, the gallery hosted ten shows a year, with four dedicated to members and six open to other local artists. While the gallery was founded by women, and its members throughout the years were women, anyone could be exhibited in the gallery. 

From the very beginning, West Lake members were concerned about their image. They leaned away from the “all-women” title, worried about being written off as women selling crafts or knick-knacks. Originally, the gallery was going to be called Les Femmes, but it changed to West Lake Gallery to avoid confusion over whether exhibitions were exclusive to women. Rollins said, “We weren’t thinking of the feminist attitude then very much, you know.” 

According to Rollins, the main reason members were women came down to availability. The gallery ran during the day and required members to work shifts during the week. Each time, it just so happened that the artists interested in membership were women. During exhibit openings, the members and their daughters hosted, and quickly earned a good reputation for their art shows. This reputation kept up until the gallery closed in 1984. 

The West Lake Gallery’s closure wasn’t due to a decrease in exhibitions or sales. Business for the gallery had been steady for well over a decade. Unfortunately, steady sales weren’t enough to keep up with a hike in rent expenses. Additionally, the members had less time to run the gallery, and it wasn’t a viable option to find another space. So, the gallery held its final exhibit in July, highlighting the works of the original six members for one last time. 

Author Bio: Written by Summer Erickson, former Visitor Services Manager and Collections Assistant at Hennepin History Museum. Erickson graduated with a B.A. in Art History and Museum Studies from the University of St. Thomas in 2020. They cataloged HHM’s art collection in 2021. Erickson is currently working as a receptionist for MSS. 

Bibliography 

Close, Roy M. “Artists Are Co-operators: ‘Modest’ art gallery marks 10th year.” The Minneapolis Star. June 15, 1974. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87370007/  

Minnesota Artists Oral History Project: Interview with Jo Lutz Rollins, with Interviewer O’Sullivan, Thomas, and Interviewee Rollins, Josephine. Feb. 24, 1987. http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display?irn=10393576 

“Nine to One.” Star Tribune. Jan. 18, 1967. https://startribune.newspapers.com/clip/87209258/star-tribune/ 

Sullivan, Dan. “Five Women Artists in City to Open Gallery on Lake St.” Star Tribune. June 07, 1964.  https://startribune.newspapers.com/clip/88277334/ 

“Street Scenes and Horses.” Star Tribune. June 14, 1964. https://startribune.newspapers.com/clip/87208820/  

“Visual Arts.” Star Tribune. July 15, 1984. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67493938/purple-rain-movie-premiere/ 

“West Lake Gallery.” Star Tribune. June 14, 1964. https://startribune.newspapers.com/clip/87208755/ 

 

This blog was made possible in part by the people of Minnesota through a grant funded by an appropriation to the Minnesota Historical Society from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Any views, findings, opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the State of Minnesota, the Minnesota Historical Society, or the Minnesota Historic Resources Advisory Committee.