Arthur Tooth & Sons

Tooth established the gallery for his son, Arthur Tooth (1828–1900).^[1] The gallery remained in the Tooth family until its closure in the 1970s after the death of Dudley Tooth (Charles' great-grandson). Arthur Tooth & Sons, while a relatively small business, established a major presence in the commercial art market from the 1870s onwards.^[2][3] The Tooth gallery supplied industrial magnate Henry Clay Frick with works by Lawrence Alma-Tadema,^[4] Jean-François Raffaëlli,^[5] J. M. W. Turner,^[6] Frits Thaulow,^[7] Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret,^[8] and Rembrandt.^[3][9]

Initially, the gallery focused on paintings by 18th and 19th century British artists, but expanded in the 1880s to include contemporary paintings and the occasional works by Old Masters.^[10] Rather than selling well-known artworks, Arthur Tooth & Sons concentrated on a steady stream of popular contemporary artists and commodity-like artworks.^[11] Operating as a kind of patron or agent for these artists, Tooth commissioning works, which were also reproduced in photogravures.^[12] The gallery's stock was selected on the notion that the "aura" of more established art would rub off on and validate newer products.^[13] Arthur Tooth & Sons operated within a network of approximately thirty art dealers in the London area who were responsible for the establishment of a number of Victorian painters within the commercial art market.^[14]

Arthur Tooth was particularly successful in the sale of photogravures of Pre-Raphaelite and other works and dominated the market in this field.^[15][16] Reproductive prints have been called the "cash cow" of the Victorian Art Market, and proved lucrative to Arthur Tooth.^[1]

The 19th century saw an increased number of middlemen operating between artists and consumers in the art market.^[17] Arthur Tooth & Sons' business model can be seen as typical of these new firms. In the early 20th century, Arthur Tooth & Sons held branches in London, New York and Paris.^[1] The firm followed emerging strategies to ensure reputability, such as establishing international branches and naming galleries after individual dealers.^[18] The New York subsidiary branch closed in 1924.^[19]

In the mid 1920s, Dudley Tooth (1896–1972) took up leadership of Arthur Tooth & Sons and rebranded the gallery, expanding within the pool of contemporary artists and further promoting artists by regularly hosting a solo show of each artist's work every two and a half years.^[20]

The gallery closed in the mid 1970s.^{[citation needed]}