Eleanor Ward

Eleanor Ward (1911-1984) was founder of Stable Gallery and an art dealer.

Eleanor Ward began her career working as an aid for Christian Dior in Paris. After moving to New York, Ward leased space in a building in 1952 to sell mannequins and provide space for fashion photography. Utilizing the same space, Ward founded and opened the Stable Gallery in 1953. Ward was known for showing the work of controversial and emerging artists. At the Stable Gallery, Ward curated the first solo shows of Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, and Robert Indiana. Ward also showed the work of Robert Rauschenberg who was working as a janitor at the Gallery at the time of exhibition in 1953. Rauschenberg went on to become a well-known artist. Between 1953 and 1957, Ward organized the influential Stable Annual. The Annual exhibitions were curated by artists and included participation from artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, and Robert Motherwell.

Ward closed the Stable Gallery in 1970. On January 8, 1984, Ward died at the Hotel Volley where she had lived. She was 72 years old.

The Stable Gallery archives and some personal papers from Ward are available at the Archives of American Art in Washington, D.C.