The Dealer’s Eye: How Jonathan Boos Shaped the 2026 Amory Show

Trusted by prominent collectors and artistic institutions, Boos’ immaculate taste has long been recognized and has led to several monumental acquisitions. Located steps away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Madison Avenue based art gallery specializes in 20th century American paintings, drawings, and sculptures, but is also known for sourcing and selling fine art from a variety of decades. From sought after Post War works to rare Impressionist landscapes, the works curated at this Upper East Side powerhouse transcend several artistic movements. Their ethos for range and evolution is seen on display at the show, which highlights a diverse collection of pieces.

Boos has dedicated his 2026 Winter presentation in memory of his close friends and colleagues Sheila and Jan van der Marck. Educated as an art historian in the Netherlands, the latter was known for championing experimental works from new post war artists and introducing them to hesitant museum institutions. His approach laid much of the groundwork for how the European and American art markets exhibit and showcase today. A pioneering museum curator and early advocate for contemporary art, van der Marck brought his distinct international viewpoint and appreciation for concept driven works to his tenure at several institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Miami Art Museum, and the Hood Museum.

He supported legendary artists such as Christo and Jeanne Claude early in their career. He assisted them with their well known large scale wrapping projects including wrapping the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago in 1969 and Biscayne Bay’s Surrounded Islands in Miami in 1983. Presenting the Sheila and Jan van der Marck collection, Jonathan Boos Gallery’s showcase delineates van der Marck’s relationship with the artistic couple by exhibiting Wrapped Toy Horse, a 1963 Christo and Jeanne Claude piece as part of their project for Neo Dada.

For paintings, the collection honors a variety of nationalities and styles. For those interested in expressive brushwork and works from the early 20th century, the colorful forms and detailed strokes of Morton L. Schamberg’s oil Nude (1910) and Stuart Davis’ oil Street in Gloucester (1919) will captivate the eye. Though he lived an unfortunately short life, Schamberg’s interest in the aesthetic of integrating Cubist style into the American painting canon made him an underappreciated visionary. Davis’ early career depiction of the seaside town of Gloucester is a major departure from the trademarks associated with his later style. Yet the painting slyly signals the distinct abstract voice that would eventually lead to his iconic bold and brash jazz infused pre pop works.

The two interplay nicely with later pieces including that of Iranian painter Manoucher Yekati’s Landscape at Bridgehampton (1969), whose thick strokes pushed the envelope of landscape suggestion through Abstract Expressionism. A member of the New York School of Artists, Yekati’s oeuvre confronts themes of representation in abstraction, straddling both American and Iranian influences. Social realist and activist Ben Shahn’s Atlantic City tempera on paper is pregnant with lyrical distorted gestures and nods to the artist’s working class immigrant background, embodying the contradictions of poverty during the Depression and the well known leisure resort town depicted in the work.

The tone of the contemporary abstract movement comes to life in Harlem Renaissance raised Norman Wilfred Lewis’ 1946 oil painting Untitled, another monumental display. The artist is known for his abstraction, layered in gesture and image. Associated with the New York abstraction movement, Lewis’ well known white counterparts included de Kooning, Lee Krasner, and Jackson Pollock. Beyond Lewis, several other African American works included here are highlights of this collection, pointing to the cultural specificity of their communities at different times. Known for his dyed fabric works and hard edged abstractions, Al Loving’s bright geometric yellow oil Untitled (1969) contrasts with Alton Pickens’ poignant ochre realism oil The Sendoff, which is filled with allegory and myth.

With an eye for mixed media, van der Marck’s affinity for Italian artist Enrico Baj is recurring throughout. Founder of the Nuclear Art Movement, his anti authoritarian work confronts post war Italy’s fascist fallout with chaos, irony, playfulness, and confusion that both enlivens and disturbs. Three paintings from his oeuvre are presented, the multimedia oil, shard, and glass Il Commendatore (1960), the furniture trompe l’oeil collage fabricated Mueble de Style (1961), and the ironically deranged gluttonous oil Niam Niam, No. 19. Dutch artist César Domela’s brass, duralumin, and plexiglass mounted board Relief No. 152 (1974) is another playful highlight in this category.

Always seeking to reinvent within the industry, Boos’ approach to advisory and curation continues to adapt with the ever evolving arts landscape. With a mission to connect collectors with prized work that truly speaks to them, he has expanded services to work with clients both at the gallery and remotely. Whether one’s interest is engaging with him at auction, from home, or at the gallery, he is pleased to offer his counsel. Boos understands that acquisition is a personal practice. He prioritizes the client by guiding them to form a life and legacy that represents them.

No matter which way collectors, both new and established, wish to acquire work, they receive Boos’ detailed market expertise and premier advice. Having practiced as an auctioneer, Boos is known for his intricate research into an artwork’s market history. His relationships with prime conservators, whose skill can verify the condition of a piece during acquisition, are another reason several seasoned collectors rely on his connoisseurship. Jonathan Boos’ gallery is also appreciated for its straightforwardness. Gallery fees are determined only by successful purchase or sale. Transparency, security, and comfort are major pillars of the gallery’s long standing reputation. Visiting the Armory’s Winter Show is a wonderful introduction to the gallery’s world. Jonathan Boos is open for appointments at info@jonathanboos.com