Anderson Galleries began as an auctioner of books, and prints in New York City and comprised the Anderson Auction Company and Metropolitan Art Association. It was founded by John Anderson Jr. in 1900 and later renamed Anderson Galleries. In 1917, the gallery began selling antiques and art at their new location on Park Avenue and 59th Street, after previously being located at Madison Avenue and 40th Street. In the 1920s, Mitchell Kennerley, who ran the business, sold the works of Marsden Hartley, photographs of Alfred Stieglitz, and the works of Georgia O'Keeffe, John Marin, and Charles Demuth.