In 1976, the Felluss Gallery under the direction of Elias Felluss, in Washington DC organized the first American dealer art fair. "The Washington International Art Fair" or "Wash Art" for brevity. This American fair met with fierce opposition by those galleries interested in maintaining distribution channels for European artwork already in place. The Washington fair introduced the European idea of dealer fairs to art dealers throughout the United States. Following the advent of Wash Art, many fairs developed throughout the United States.