The papers of art historian, educator, writer and psychologist Rudolf Arnheim measure 9.6 linear feet and date from 1919 to 1998. The papers document his career in New York, Michigan, and abroad through biographical material, correspondence, writings, lectures, diaries, printed material, and sound recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian, educator, writer and psychologist Rudolf Arnheim measure 9.6 linear feet and date from 1919 to 1998. The papers documents his career in New York, Michigan, and abroad through biographical material, correspondence, writings, lectures, diaries, printed material, and sound recordings.
Biographical material includes a bibliography, biographical sketches, contracts and agreements, sound cassettes of interviews, and other miscellaneous material.
Correspondence is with colleagues, editors, publishers, and universities on various subjects. The bulk of the correspondence is arranged by subject such as architects, art historians, dance, and film. There is correspondence with Harvard University, University of Michigan, Museum of Modern Art, and New School of Social Research, as well as various individuals such as Josef Albers, Gyorgy Kepes, and Alice Sheldon.
Writings and lectures include book reviews, articles, lecture drafts and notes, sound recordings of lectures, manuscripts, and copies of published articles.
Arnheim's diaries date from 1919 to 1987 and discuss his early life as a student in Germany and career as an educator and lecturer. Some diaries include draft writings.
Printed material includes lecture announcements, reviews, clippings, programs, brochures, assorted material from Sarah Lawrence College, and two instructional sound cassettes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 5 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-1991 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1998 (Boxes 1-5; 4.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Lectures, 1930-1989 (Boxes 5-8; 2.7 linear feet)
Series 4: Diaries, 1919-1987 (Boxes 8-9; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1928-circa 1990 (Boxes 9-11; 1.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Rudolf Arnheim (1904-2007) was a writer, educator, art historian and psychologist who was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States where he primarily worked in New York and Massachusetts.
Rudolf Arnheim was born in Berlin, Germany on July 15, 1904. He received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Berlin in 1928. Arnheim worked as a film critic and editor for several magazines and journals after graduation. During this time, he gathered information which would be compiled in his book Film as Art (1932). When the Nazis came into power in 1933, Arnheim moved to Rome where he worked at the Institute for the Educational Film for six years, then moved to London in 1939 and worked as a translator for the British Broadcasting Company.
Arnheim immigrated to the United States in 1940. In 1943, he became a psychology professor at Sarah Lawrence College where he continued to teach until 1968. He also taught at the New School for Social Research during this time. From 1959 to 1960, he was a Fulbright lecturer at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, Japan. After Sarah Lawrence College, Arnheim became a Professor of Psychology of Art at Harvard University, where he stayed until 1974 when he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife Mary. He was a visiting professor at the University of Michigan from 1974 to roughly 1984.
Among his many publications are Art and Visual Perception, Toward a Psychology of Art, Visual Thinking, Entropy and Art, Picasso's Guernica, and The Power of Center. Arnheim died in Ann Arbor in 2007.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Rudolf Arnheim conducted by Robert F. Brown, May 16, 1972. Additional papers on Rudolf Arnheim related to psychology are available at the Archives of the History of Psychology in Akron, Ohio.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel 3767) including correspondence with German publishers and editors, 1959-1982; Dumont Buchverlag, 1963-1980; Carl Hanser Varlag, 1974-1981; Helmut Diederich, 1974-1981; Franz Rudolf Knubel, 1971-1981; Werner Korbs, 1976-1982; Jurgen Weber, 1972-1981; and others. The originals were returned to Rudolf Arnheim after microfilming and subsequently donated to the Schiller-Nationalmuseum Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Germany. This material is not described in the collection container inventory or the finding aid.
Provenance:
The Rudolf Arnheim papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in several installments between 1974 to 1998 by Rudolf Arnheim. Arnheim also loaned material for microfilming in 1986.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
This series consists of professional correspondence with colleagues, students, editors, publishers, universities, and art institutions on the subjects reflecting Rudolf Arnheim's diverse personal interests. The bulk of the correspondence falls under general categories created by Rudolf Arnheim: Architects, Art Historians/Critics, Dance, Film, Psychiatrists, Television, etc. Notable correspondents include Josef Albers, Gordon Allport, Joseph Campbell, Gyorgy Kepes, Hans Richter, Alice Sheldon, and B.F. Skinner, as well as American Society for Aesthetics, Harvard University, University of Michigan, Museum of Modern Art, and the New School of Social Research.
Arrangement:
Correspondence is arranged in two different ways to reflect the original order. The chronological correspondence is at the beginning of the series. The second part of the correspondence is arranged in alphabetical order by subject or name, then chronological order thereafter. Individuals and institutions with especially voluminous correspondence often have their own folders. Otherwise individual names are integrated into the subject correspondence. Arnheim's subject headings and original order have been retained.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Collection Citation:
Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Collection Citation:
Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Collection Citation:
Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Collection Citation:
Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Collection Citation:
Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Collection Citation:
Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Collection Citation:
Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Folio from a copy of the De Materia Medica by Dioscorides (ca. 40-90 C.E.); recto: text and illustration: Autumn crocus; verso: text and illustration: Mushrooms
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Una E. Johnson, 1971 Jan. 5-July 29. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview with Adelyn Breeskin conducted 1979 June 20-August 14, by Julie Link Haifley, for the Archives of American Art.
Breeskin speaks of her childhood and growing up in Baltimore; attending Bryn Mawr College and Radcliffe; her art work; the influence of Katherine B. Child; the Stuart Club; travel abroad; the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Gallery; prints and printmaking; teaching; the Garrett Collection of prints; her experience at the 1960 Venice Biennale; the art collectors Etta and Claribel Cone; and published writings on Mary Cassatt.
Biographical / Historical:
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin (1896-1986) was museum director, art historian, and curator from Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 2 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Maryland -- Baltimore Search this
Art museum curators -- Maryland -- Baltimore Search this
Art museum directors -- Maryland -- Baltimore Search this
Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service. This interview received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool.
An interview of Una Johnson conducted 1971 Jan. 5-July 29, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Johnson discusses her tenure as Head Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Brooklyn Museum during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
Biographical / Historical:
Una E. Johnson (1905-1997) was a curator and art historian from Dayton, Iowa. She was Head Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Brooklyn Museum from 1942-1969.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Adelyn Breeskin conducted 1974 June 27, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art, at the artist's office in Washington, D.C., 1974 June 27.
Biographical / Historical:
Adelyn Dohme Breeskin (1896-1986) was a curator and art historian from Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 1 hr., 3 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Maryland -- Baltimore Search this
Art museum curators -- Maryland -- Baltimore Search this
Art museum directors -- Maryland -- Baltimore Search this
