Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)

In 1988, Ruth Bloom established her eponymous gallery with the goal of shedding light on under-exhibited artists whom she found remarkable. Among these were Gregory Crewdson, to whom Ruth offered his first post-graduate solo exhibition in 1991. Crewdson is today recognized as an innovative, genre-bending artist of the photographic medium whose America-centric images are neither documentary nor pure fabrication. Ruth was early to recognize Crewdson as exceptional: “Gregory comes across as more normal than most,” she told the New York Times in 2000, “But even in normalcy there's always that undercurrent, that little bit of darkness. His work allows him to explore what we're normally uncomfortable with.” Ruth and Jake Bloom would continue to collect and champion Crewdson’s work throughout his career, playing an integral role in his evolution as a foremost American photographer.