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0 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 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.
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 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.”
