The Ferus Gallery was a modern art gallery in Los Angeles from 1957 to 1966. At the time, Los Angeles had little in the way of modern art gallery space, and the Ferus was one of the first serious attempts to bring New York and West Coast modern art to the general public. This was the subject of the 2008 documentary The Cool School.
The Ferus Gallery was the first West Coast gallery to show a solo work for Andy Warhol. Five of his Soup Can paintings were sold for $100 a piece. The curator, Irving Blum, thought they should remain a set and purchased them for $1000. One of the prospective buyers that was extremely upset was Dennis Hopper. Today, the Soup Can paintings are worth millions and hang in the MOMA.
Although The Ferus Gallery initially opened across the street (at 736-A North La Cienega Boulevard) in 1957, it remained at this address for the duration of 1958-1966.
