The Hudson Valley art and activist communities were plunged into mourning last month when news of the death of legendary gallerist, Marcuse Pfeifer, was revealed.

What You Need To Know

  • Marcuse Pfeifer was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, on November 4, 1936

  • She was one of the first gallery dealers in New York City to exclusively show photographs in the 1970s, launching the careers of many of today's most successful photographers

  • According to the Dorsky Museum, she gifted more than 90 works to their collection, including a single gift of 67 photographs by 19th and 20th century masters in 2018

Pfeifer was a key figure in the Hudson Valley, weaving photography together with the activism she loved so much. That activism work influenced the beginning of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston.

"One of the great things about Cusie was she wasn’t someone who just said what was wrong, but did something to try and make it right. People felt that we needed a center in the Hudson Valley, and Cusie stepped right up," said Jeff Rindler, executive director of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center.

A gallerist in New York City in the late 1970s, Pfeifer was famous for owning one of the first galleries there to exclusively show photos, an anomaly in that time.  

"She sort of, persuaded the art world to accept it as a fine art form. She would want people to appreciate photography because she loved photography so much," said Sara Pasti, director of external relations and advancement at the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art.

Pasti knew her very well. She said Pfeifer’s work towards the advancement of women and the LGBTQ community was very evident in the art she appreciated.

"The photographs and the photographers she collected, represent that kind of activism and bringing to awareness, what’s going on in the world," she said.

In a 2018 interview with the Museum, Pfeifer spoke about the beginnings of her collection.

"As a gallery, I wanted to show young unknowns, which is not the money end of the deal at all, but I arranged to see two photographers work every day, which no one else was doing," Pfeifer said.

And those pictures became part of her massive donation to the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz in 2018. Besides knowing her photos would be safe, Pasti said she had another reason for the donation.

"She also wanted students to be able to study them. Photography majors, our history majors, art majors are always coming in with faculty members to look at the collection," Patsi said.

The exhibit at SUNY New Paltz and her work at the LGBTQ Center will ensure her name lives on in perpetuity. Pfeifer died in her hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, after a brief non-COVID related illness.