Ronald Feldman
- December 20, 2022
- 84 years
About Ronald Feldman
Ronald Feldman, 84, American art dealer.
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Full Biography
|Ronald Feldman (1938 – December 22, 2022) was an American art dealer and advocate for the arts, especially contemporary performance and conceptual art.
Biography
Ira Ronald Feldman was born in the Bronx to Irving and Judith (Solon) Feldman on April 25, 1938. His father Irving was the President of Zelart Drug Company and served as President of Toiletry Merchandisers of America. Ronald grew up on Long Island in Long Beach. He graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. degree and later from New York University Law School with a law degree.
In 1963 he married Frayda Futterman. Futterman grew up in Larchmont, New York and worked at the McCall corporation.
After law school Feldman worked for the corporate-law firm of Hefland, Lesser & Moriber and made partner there. Feldman did not enjoy being a corporate lawyer and with his wife's help opened Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in November 1971.
After running the Gallery for most of his life, he retired in 2019. He died on December 20, 2022 in Chappaqua, N.Y. at the age of 84 after struggling with Alzheimer’s disease.
Ronald Feldman Gallery
Ronald Feldman Fine Arts was founded in 1971 with the intention of being private dealers rather than a public gallery and was located in an Upper East Side townhouse on East 74th Street near the Whitney Museum.
Feldman Fine Arts became a haven for performance and conceptual art that other dealers and galleries would not represent or show. In 1972, the gallery held Hannah Wilke’s debut solo exhibition "in which the artist displayed a suite of her anatomically-allusive wall-mounted sculptures." The gallery was an early proponent of art that featured themes of women's rights, politics, the environment, and war.
In 1974, Feldman worked with Joseph Beuys, offering him gallery space, but instead creating a ten-day lecture tour titled "Energy Plan for the Western Man". The tour started with a public lecture held at The New School. This was the first time Beuys expounded on his ideas of social sculpture in America. At the time he was refusing to travel to the U.S. in protest of the Vietnam war.
In 1975, Chris Burden performed White Light/White Heat at the Feldman Gallery. In this performance Burden spent twenty-two days in the gallery without eating or speaking. The Feldman Gallery was also the first to exhibit works by the Russian-born duo Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid which it did by smuggling work out of the Soviet Union and displaying it in 1976. Though the art was exhibited, the artists were stopped by Soviet authorities from attending the exhibition.
During the 1980s, Feldman collaborated closely with Pop artist Andy Warhol, a frequent visitor to the gallery. Together, they conceptualized and published several of Warhol's most notable late-career print portfolios, including Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century (1980), Myths (1981), Endangered Species (1983), Ads (1985), and Moonwalk (1987).
The Gallery moved locations to Mercer Street in SoHo in 1982. After a year at both locations, they consolidated to just the Mercer Street location. In the 1980s the Gallery also held exhibitions by Ida Applebroog, Ilya Kabakov, Todd Siler, Nancy Chunn, Joseph Beuys, and Eleanor Antin among others.
The gallery has continued to mount exhibitions by artists such as Roxy Paine, Pepón Osorio, and Cassils. In 2017, Cassils "staged an exhibition in which they collected 200 gallons of urine, in a commentary on how the Trump administration had stripped transgender students of their legal right to use bathrooms that best fit their chosen gender identities."
In 2017, the name officially changed to Ronald Feldman Gallery. The gallery is now run by Feldman's son, Mark Feldman.
Political involvement
Ronald Feldman advocated for art and artists in many ways. One was to be active in the political sphere. In the 1990s he was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on the National Council on the Arts which he did for five years. Feldman served on many boards as well including the boards of The New School’s Vera List Center (VLC) for Art and Politics, Creative Capital, People for the American Way, and the Art Dealers Association of America.
Feldman joined the VLC Advisory Committee in 1992 and was an inaugural member. He was affiliated with the Committee for 30 years. He supported many of the VLC programming including Sustaining Democracy, debates on the National Endowment of the Arts and the "decency clause", and forums on the American electoral system.
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Feldman
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
Trivia & Knowledge· 16 questions
Questions drawn from Ronald Feldman's archived record and the sources above.
1.In what city was Ronald Feldman born?
- A.The Bronxcorrect
- B.Chappaqua
- C.New York City
- D.Larchmont
Ronald Feldman was born in the Bronx to Irving and Judith (Solon) Feldman on April 25, 1938.
Source: Biography section
2.What university did Ronald Feldman attend for his undergraduate degree?
- A.Columbia University
- B.New York University
- C.Syracuse Universitycorrect
- D.The New School
Ronald Feldman graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. degree.
Source: Biography section
3.What was the name of the law firm where Ronald Feldman worked after law school?
- A.Hefland, Lesser & Moribercorrect
- B.Feldman & Futterman
- C.Vera List & Associates
- D.Zelart Drug Law Group
After law school, Ronald Feldman worked for the corporate-law firm of Hefland, Lesser & Moriber and became a partner.
Source: Biography section
4.In what year did Ronald Feldman and his wife open Ronald Feldman Fine Arts?
- A.1974
- B.1971correct
- C.1982
- D.1963
Ronald Feldman opened Ronald Feldman Fine Arts in November 1971.
Source: Biography section
5.Who did Ronald Feldman marry in 1963?
- A.Hannah Wilke
- B.Judith Solon
- C.Frayda Futtermancorrect
- D.Vera List
In 1963, Ronald Feldman married Frayda Futterman.
Source: Biography section
6.Where was the original Ronald Feldman Fine Arts gallery located?
- A.Mercer Street in SoHo
- B.An Upper East Side townhousecorrect
- C.A storefront in Long Beach
- D.Larchmont Village
The gallery was located in an Upper East Side townhouse on East 74th Street near the Whitney Museum.
Source: Ronald Feldman Gallery section
7.Which artist performed 'White Light/White Heat' at the Feldman Gallery in 1975?
- A.Chris Burdencorrect
- B.Todd Siler
- C.Joseph Beuys
- D.Roxy Paine
In 1975, Chris Burden performed White Light/White Heat at the Feldman Gallery.
Source: Ronald Feldman Gallery section
8.Which political figure appointed Ronald Feldman to the National Council on the Arts in the 1990s?
- A.President George H.W. Bush
- B.President Bill Clintoncorrect
- C.President Ronald Reagan
- D.President Barack Obama
In the 1990s, Ronald Feldman was appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on the National Council on the Arts.
Source: Political involvement section
9.What is the name of the individual who now runs the Ronald Feldman Gallery?
- A.Irving Feldman
- B.Mark Feldmancorrect
- C.Joseph Beuys
- D.Todd Siler
The gallery is now run by Ronald Feldman's son, Mark Feldman.
Source: Ronald Feldman Gallery section
10.In what year did the Ronald Feldman Gallery move to Mercer Street in SoHo?
- A.1990
- B.1980
- C.1976
- D.1982correct
The gallery moved locations to Mercer Street in SoHo in 1982.
Source: Ronald Feldman Gallery section
11.Which Russian-born art duo's works were first exhibited by the Feldman Gallery after being smuggled out of the Soviet Union?
- A.Nancy Chunn and Eleanor Antin
- B.Roxy Paine and Pepón Osorio
- C.Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamidcorrect
- D.Ilya Kabakov and Todd Siler
The Feldman Gallery was the first to exhibit works by the Russian-born duo Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid in 1976.
Source: Ronald Feldman Gallery section
12.What was the title of the ten-day lecture tour Ronald Feldman created with Joseph Beuys in 1974?
- A.Vietnam War Protest
- B.The New School Lecture
- C.Energy Plan for the Western Mancorrect
- D.Social Sculpture in America
In 1974, Ronald Feldman created a ten-day lecture tour with Joseph Beuys titled Energy Plan for the Western Man.
Source: Ronald Feldman Gallery section
13.Ronald Feldman died on December 20, 2022, in which city?
- A.Syracuse, New York
- B.Chappaqua, New Yorkcorrect
- C.Long Beach, New York
- D.Bronx, New York
Ronald Feldman died on December 20, 2022, in Chappaqua, N.Y.
Source: Biography section
14.Which late-career print portfolio by Andy Warhol was published in 1987 in collaboration with Ronald Feldman?
- A.Endangered Species
- B.Myths
- C.Ads
- D.Moonwalkcorrect
In 1987, Feldman and Warhol published the print portfolio titled Moonwalk.
Source: Ronald Feldman Gallery section
15.For how many years was Ronald Feldman affiliated with The New School's VLC Advisory Committee?
- A.5 years
- B.10 years
- C.20 years
- D.30 yearscorrect
Ronald Feldman joined the VLC Advisory Committee in 1992 and was affiliated with the Committee for 30 years.
Source: Political involvement section
16.What ailment did Ronald Feldman struggle with before his death?
- A.Alzheimer’s diseasecorrect
- B.Heart disease
- C.Cancer
- D.Parkinson’s disease
Ronald Feldman died on December 20, 2022, after struggling with Alzheimer’s disease.
Source: Biography section
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