Janis, Sidney (1896-1989)

US art dealer and author. From 1939 and devoted himself to collecting contemporary and primitive art. Later he specialized in the work of abstract expressionists and established the Sidney Janis Gallery 1948-67. His collection was donated to the Museum of Modern Art in 1967. He wrote several books on modern art.

Born in Buffalo, New York, he attended school locally, was a vaudeville dancer, worked in his brother's store, and became a shirt manufacturer in New York City in 1925.