Joan Wheeler

Joan Wheeler Ankrum (January 8, 1913 Palo Alto, California – December 20, 2001 Los Angeles, California) was an American film actress and founder of the Ankrum Gallery on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles.

Joan Wheeler Ankrum
Born
Joan Natalia Wheeler

(1913-01-08)January 8, 1913
Palo Alto, California, U.S.
DiedDecember 20, 2001(2001-12-20) (aged 88)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress, art gallery owner
Years active1933–1937
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 1935; died 1964)

​
(
m. 1984; died 1989)

Life and career

Ankrum was born Joan Natalia Wheeler on January 8, 1913 in Palo Alto, California.[1] Ankrum was one of four siblings. She had one older sister and two younger brothers.

She got her start in acting with Pasadena Playhouse, where she met her husband, character actor Morris Ankrum. They were married on August 16, 1935 in Benbow, California, and had 2 sons, David and Cary. Morris Ankrum died in 1964.[2]

In 1960, Ankrum founded Ankrum Gallery, which was located on La Cienega Boulevard next to a number of other galleries.[1][3][4] Joseph Hirshhorn contributed some of the initial funding for the gallery, and would go on to be a loyal patron, along with his wife Olga Hirshhorn.[5] Ankrum initially founded the gallery in order to show her nephew Morris Broderson's work, but the gallery would go on to handle the artwork of other California artists such as Helen Lundeberg, Richard Bauer, Hans Burkhard, Suzanne Jackson, Samella Lewis, and Lorser Feitelson.[6][7][8] The Smithsonian Archives of American Art, which holds the gallery's archives, notes that Ankrum Gallery "was among the earliest to exhibit the work of black artists."[1] A 1971 New York Times article about women gallery owners in Los Angeles noted that Ankrum Gallery was "the largest in sales and size in La Cienega Boulevard" at the time.[4]

In 1984, Ankrum married co-owner and partner in Ankrum Gallery, actor William Challee.[1]

Ankrum was a co-founder of Art Dealers Association of America, and an active member of the Black Arts Council.[1] She also helped organize the Monday Night Art Walk program on La Cienega Boulevard.[1][6]

Broadway roles
  • Growing Pains (1933) as Prudence
  • Strangers at Home (1934) as Jean Crosby
  • Western Waters (1937) as Penelope

Selected filmography
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References
  1. "A Finding Aid to the Ankrum Gallery records, circa 1900-circa 1990s, bulk 1960-1990". www.aaa.si.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  2. "Archives Directory for the History of Collecting". research.frick.org. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  3. "Oral history interview with Rosamund Felsen, 2004 Oct. 10-11". www.aaa.si.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  4. "In Los Angeles, a Woman's Place May Be in the art Gallery". The New York Times. 1971-06-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  5. LePere, Gene Hirshhorn (2009). Little Man in a Big Hurry: The Life of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, Uranium King and Art Collector. Vantage Press, Inc. ISBN 9780533160792.
  6. "Joan Ankrum, 88; Actress, Influential Art Gallery Owner". Los Angeles Times. 2001-12-23. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  7. "Series 5 | A Finding Aid to the Ankrum Gallery records, circa 1900-circa 1990s, bulk 1960-1990". www.aaa.si.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  8. "Ankrum Gallery records · SOVA". sova.si.edu. Retrieved 2019-04-01.
  9. Liebman, Roy (2015-05-20). Vitaphone Films: A Catalogue of the Features and Shorts. McFarland. ISBN 9781476609362.
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