NEW CANAAN, CONN. — David Beals Findlay Jr, founder of his eponymous gallery in New York City specializing in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century American art, died of a stroke on September 15.
His family has owned art galleries for over 140 years in Kansas City, Mo., where William Wadsworth Findlay opened a gallery in 1870, as well as in New York City, Chicago, Palm Beach, Paris, and Beverly Hills.
David was born in Kansas City in 1933. His father moved his family in 1936 to New York City, re-establishing the gallery on 57th Street.
After graduating from Cornell University in 1956, David worked in finance until 1976, when he joined his brother Peter and sister Lindsay as a partner in his father’s gallery, now called David Findlay Galleries on Madison.
In 1982, David opened Findlay Jr in the Fuller Building with a focus on late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century art. Today, the gallery is on Fifth Avenue. He was the fourth generation of art dealers in his family. His daughter and colleague for 30 years, Lee Findlay, will take over gallery ownership and continue her father’s legacy in exhibiting both historic and contemporary art.
David had a love for art and people, which garnered him success in the business and respect among his peers. His keen interest in reviving the careers of unjustly “neglected” mid-Twentieth Century American artists was a key contribution to the art world.
David also enjoyed skiing, the outdoors, golfing, traveling and shared a passion for architecture, antiques and the arts with his wife, Mimi, a historic preservationist, according to an obituary article on www.newcanaanite.com.
