Molly Barnes – A Life in Art

ALOV Art presents an intimate conversation with legendary Los Angeles art dealer, curator, collector and author Molly Barnes, a remarkable witness to and participant in more than six decades of American art history.

Born in London and raised in Los Angeles, Molly Barnes came from a family deeply connected to California’s cultural, industrial and political history. Her father, John Edmonds Mock, was a story editor at Paramount Pictures. Her mother, Jane Moore Mock, was the daughter of prominent San Francisco shipbuilder Joseph A. Moore and the niece of James “Sunny Jim” Rolph Jr., the longtime Mayor of San Francisco who later became Governor of California. The family’s history intersects with some of the great infrastructure projects of the Bay Area: Moore Dry Dock Company, established by the Moore family, was a major Bay Area shipbuilding and engineering company that supplied caissons for the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, while Governor Rolph participated in the celebrated 1933 groundbreaking of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Barnes studied acting and art at the University of California, Berkeley, before finding her way into the gallery world. Her early career took her through some of the galleries that helped define the emerging Los Angeles art scene, including Ryder Gallery, Frank Perls Gallery, Ace Gallery and Henri Matisse Family in Beverly Hills.

Her life changed dramatically on a flight to New York, where she met Howard G. Barnes, whom she would later marry. Howard G. Barnes was a major figure in American broadcasting, serving as vice president in charge of programming for CBS Radio during the golden age of radio. Through him she met Joan Mitchell, who became one of her closest friends and opened the door to the extraordinary artistic community of New York and the Hamptons.

Barnes found herself surrounded not simply by famous names, but by artists as friends, colleagues and personalities: Joan Mitchell, Lee Krasner, Willem de Kooning, Michael Goldberg, Alfred Leslie, Knox Martin, Sam Francis, Ray Parker and many others from the generation of Abstract Expressionism and the New York School. Her life and career also crossed paths with figures including Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Andy Warhol.

Molly and Howard Barnes eventually went their separate ways. Later, she became romantically involved with Willem de Kooning, adding a personal chapter that connected her even more closely with one of the defining artists of the twentieth century.

Eventually returning to Los Angeles, Barnes opened the Molly Barnes Gallery on La Cienega Boulevard in 1967, beginning a seventeen-year run as one of the distinctive independent voices in the Los Angeles art world. She became known for discovering artists, taking chances on unfamiliar work and connecting emerging talent with collectors. Her gallery presented artists including John Baldessari and helped build a clientele that included major figures from the entertainment industry and Los Angeles cultural life.

Her influence continued far beyond the gallery. Barnes became an educator, lecturer and outspoken advocate for artists, eventually writing How to Get Hung: A Practical Guide for Emerging Artists, sharing the lessons of a lifetime spent navigating galleries, collectors and the realities of the art business.

In this conversation, Molly Barnes looks back on an extraordinary life through art: from old Los Angeles and La Cienega’s historic gallery scene to New York and the Hamptons; from friendships with the giants of Abstract Expressionism to the artists she championed herself.

More than an interview, this is a rare conversation with someone who didn’t just witness art history, but helped shape it.

Interviewed by Emm Suleymanov, founder of ALOV Art.

ALOV Art is a Los Angeles based art platform focused on artist representation, exhibitions, curatorial projects, private sales and creative collaborations. Working across galleries, art fairs and independent projects, ALOV Art connects artists with collectors and audiences while developing new ways to present and contextualize contemporary art.