Congratulations to Kenneth Newman, who had a birthday this month and today, after 63 years running The Old Print Shop on Lexington and 29th Street, has retired from the print business. I was one of the fortunate last customers to benefit from his expertise, take his advice, and come home with a wonderful new treasure for our collection.
Although we have his sons, Robert and Harry, to continue the family business, print curators across the country are going to miss having Mr. Newman welcomed us into his wonderfully crowded shop, with original tin ceilings and wood cases, to show us rare and remarkable treasures.
Their website offers a few facts. Kenneth’s father Harry Shaw Newman (1896-1966) purchased The Old Print Shop in 1928 and his son joined the business in 1949. Both in New York City and traveling across the country, they probably sold masterpieces to every museum in the United States and helped to build many of the leading collections of fine art prints.
And how many dealers can boast having Berenice Abbott as the shop photographer?
Although the shop is in good hands, with a new gallery coming in the fall, we will miss Kenneth Newman and wish him well in his new life.
