Following a five-year stint on Madison Avenue, in Louis K. Meisel Gallery relocated to Prince Street in 1973 and quickly made a name for itself as a bastion and champion of Photorealism. Working with pioneers of the genre, from Audrey Flack and Chuck Close to Richard Estes and Charles Bell, Meisel himself became the preeminent authority on photorealist painting, authoring numerous defining publications on the subject.
Now, more than five decades later, Louis K. Meisel Gallery continues to champion 20th century art, most recently with the current dual artist show “Stamos / Ramos,” featuring the work of Abstract Expressionist painter Theodoros Stamos and Pop artist Mel Ramos. A collector as well as dealer, the majority of the works in the show are drawn from Meisel and his wife Susan’s personal collection.
To mark the occasion, we reached out to Meisel to learn more about his personal connection to the two artists, as well as what his ethos is when it comes to collecting.
Black-and-white photograph of two men posing together and smiling. The man on the left has gray hair, a thick mustache, and is wearing a dark pinstripe suit with a tie. The man on the right has medium-length wavy hair, is wearing a light-colored blazer over a checkered shirt, and has his arm around the other man’s shoulder. They appear to be attending a social event or gathering indoors, with plants and part of a wall visible in the background.
Left: Theodoros Stamos. Right: Louis K. Meisel. (ca. 1976). Courtesy of Louis K. Meisel Gallery.
With “Stamos/Ramos” currently on view, can you tell us how you first encountered these artists? What initially drew you to their work?
In 1959/1960, I met Theodoros Stamos at the Cedar Tavern in the Village. He was the youngest of the Abstract Expressionist artists. Through him, I then met and was a “groupie” of Rothko, Kline, and many others. I ended up working for Stamos and a bit for Rothko in the early ’60s. While I knew most of the Abstract Expressionist artists back then, I arrived a bit late to Pop, because there was little overlap between these two groups of artists. I was introduced to Mel Ramos by Ivan Karp at Leo Castelli Gallery in 1962. Eventually I met Roy Lichtenstein, Warhol, for whom I later printed, and Wesselmann, who became a good friend.
Interior view of an art gallery exhibition with polished dark wooden floors and white walls. Paintings are displayed along the walls, including a large central abstract painting featuring bold red and black brushstrokes, flanked by other colorful abstract works. On the left, a painting of a nude figure on a yellow background is visible under the exhibition title “Stamos Ramos.” Track lighting illuminates the artworks, and a reception desk is seen to the right.
Installation view of “Stamos / Ramos” (2025). Courtesy of Louis K. Meisel Gallery.
Can you walk us through the selection of works included in the show, do these reflect a certain period or creative moment from their careers? What guided your curatorial decisions?
The show opens with the very first piece I ever bought: a painting by Stamos that I bought for $600, a sum that the artist dismissed as a commission after I sold my first painting for him. The other paintings in the show are from the early ’60s and represent a prime example of each artist’s work from that period.
Mel Ramos produced 18 “Superheroines” in 1962. I am showing five of them, plus one painting from his commercial image series and one from his “Salute to Old Masters” series from the 1970s.
Interior view of a contemporary art gallery exhibition with four colorful Pop Art paintings displayed on a white wall. Each painting features a stylized, pin-up–inspired female figure set against bold graphic backgrounds, including circular motifs and large text. The gallery has polished wooden floors, bright overhead track lighting, and a minimalist design that emphasizes the vibrant artworks.
Installation view of “Stamos / Ramos” (2025). Courtesy of Louis K. Meisel Gallery.
What types of dialogues do you think are brought to the fore by juxtaposing the work of the two artists together?
Abstract Expressionist painters fully eliminated a long tradition of documenting faces, places, and things through the portrait, landscape, and still life genres that bound artists throughout history. The Pop art movement that emerged immediately afterward was a reaction to Abstract Expressionism and played an important role in bringing imagery and realism back to fine and contemporary art. The two schools of thought, and their personalities, could not have been more different, so for me, it is interesting to see them side by side.
Louis K. Meisel and Susan pose in front of a glass storefront sign reading "Louis K. Meisel Gallery." The man, wearing a light blue polo shirt, stands on the right with his arm around the woman, who has long dark hair and wears a white top. They stand close together, looking at the camera, with the gallery’s name prominently displayed behind them.
Susan and Louis K. Meisel at 141 Prince Street (ca. 1975). Courtesy of Louis K. Meisel Gallery.
Drawn largely from your and Susan’s collection, can you give us some insight into your personal collecting ethos?
We have over 50 collections of all sorts of things comprising more than 1,000 pieces. While others may have one, two, or ten of certain things, we created complete, historical collections, which hopefully the world will benefit from. We have the best collection of English Art Deco pottery by Clarice Cliff, pond boat models, Art Deco bronze sculptures, and every historical Miss America Pageant photograph from 1923 to the early ’70s, to name a few. Not to mention, we have the largest and finest collection of Photorealist works on paper.
Once we decide to start collecting something, we try to assemble the most significant and complete group that we can. It’s a life-long pursuit. The Miss America photographs took us approximately 30 years to acquire each year. Susan and I collect for educational and historical purposes, as well as for fun, but not for investment or prestige.
Installation view of an art gallery exhibition showing three large abstract paintings on white walls. The works, dominated by bold splashes of red, black, blue, green, and orange on neutral backgrounds, are spaced along the walls of a polished wooden-floored gallery. Overhead track lighting illuminates the artworks in a minimalist, contemporary space.
Installation view of “Stamos / Ramos” (2025). Courtesy of Louis K. Meisel Gallery.
Are there any forthcoming/upcoming shows or projects that you are working on now that you can share with us?
The Nassau County Museum of Art is opening “The Real, Surreal and Photoreal” show in November that will include works by over a dozen Photorealists from our collection. Additionally, we are loaning works to the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, that will host a large exhibition of Photorealist works in January of next year. We are looking forward to both shows.
“Stamos / Ramos” is on view at Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, through November 8, 2025.