In 1866 Charles E. Hendrickson, E. Adam Doll, and Joseph Dudley Richards opened what was to become known as The Doll & Richards gallery of Boston. The gallery and framing shop was a well-known Boston establishment for well over 100 years. Doll & Richards were held in high regard as demonstrated by the distinguished list of artists such as, William Stanley Haseltine, Winslow Homer, William Morris Hunt, and Andrew Wyeth, and many other notable American painters, sculptors, and print makers.
In 1870 Hendrickson retired and the gallery became The Doll & Richards Gallery. After the untimely death of E. Adam Doll in 1880, Richards purchased Doll’s remaining interest in the firm thus preserving the gallery’s well-known name. Under Richards’ direction, the gallery flourished. Richards promoted the works of painter Winslow Homer, developing a market for his watercolors that proved to be popular and enduring as seen in his work The Green Hill. He incorporated the gallery in 1902 and served as the treasurer and financier until his death in 1922 at 80 years of age. Arthur McKean, who joined the gallery in 1911 and became its manager, along with J.L. (Joe) Richards who became the treasurer. Gallery salesman Fergus Turner who joined the firm in 1885 went on the become the president of the gallery in 1902 ensconced as such until 1938.
During Doll & Richard’s long history th gallery showcased contemporary American artists, including William Morris Hunt, Dodge McKnight, William Stanley Haseltine, Laura Coombs Hills, Eliot O’Hara, Joseph Lindon Smith, Stanley Woodward, and Andrew Wyeth. The gallery also consigned paintings, prints, and objects from other major art galleries and dealers. The gallery’s clientele came thru the Social Register. During the summer months when wealthy Bostonians vacationed outside of the city, Doll & Richards remained open for tourists, many of whom became regular seasonal customers of the gallery.
As with any businesses relocations are apart of the history however, the gallery always remained within the vicinity of Boston. In 1871 the gallery moved from 28 Summer Street to 145 Tremont Street. In 1878, the gallery remodeled and occupied the entire two-story building at 2 Park Street, renting out the second floor, known as the Hawthorne Room for lectures held there. After thirty years on Park Street, Doll & Richards relocated to Newbury Street in 1908, beginning a succession of moves down to Newbury Street then finally to 172 Newbury Street in 1962.