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Daniel Varney Thompson papers, 1848-1979, bulk 1923-1979

Creator:
Thompson, Daniel V. (Daniel Varney), 1902-1980  Search this
Subject:
Berenson, Bernard  Search this
Greene, Belle da Costa  Search this
McKean, Mary Sargeant  Search this
Winslow, Henry  Search this
Thompson, Randall  Search this
Courtauld Institute of Art  Search this
Type:
Notebooks
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Watercolors
Photographs
Poetry
Musical scores
Prints
Oil paintings
Manuscripts
Citation:
Daniel Varney Thompson papers, 1848-1979, bulk 1923-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Food  Search this
Gardening  Search this
Engineers -- United States  Search this
Authors -- Massachusetts  Search this
Kermes (Insect)  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9246
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211441
AAA_collcode_thomdani
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211441
Online Media:

Daniel Varney Thompson papers

Creator:
Thompson, Daniel V. (Daniel Varney), 1902-1980  Search this
Names:
Courtauld Institute of Art -- Faculty  Search this
Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959  Search this
Greene, Belle da Costa, 1883-1950  Search this
McKean, Mary Sargeant  Search this
Thompson, Randall, 1899-1984  Search this
Winslow, Henry, b. 1874  Search this
Extent:
10.1 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Notebooks
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Watercolors
Photographs
Poetry
Musical scores
Prints
Oil paintings
Manuscripts
Date:
1848-1979
bulk 1923-1979
Summary:
The papers of art conservator and historian, engineer, and professor Daniel Varney Thompson (1902-1980) are dated 1848-1979, with the bulk of the material dated 1923-1979. The collection measures 10.1 linear feet and consists of biographical material, correspondence, subject files, writings, artwork, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art conservator and historian, professor, engineer, and writer Daniel Varney Thompson (1902-1980) are dated 1848-1979, with the bulk of the material dated 1923-1979. The collection measures 10.1 linear feet and consists of biographical material, correspondence, subject files, writings, artwork, printed material, and photographs.

Biographical information includes certificates and diplomas, passports, and wills. Correspondence documents Daniel Varney Thompson's personal and professional life. Personal correspondence centers heavily on family members including his brother, the composer Randall Thompson. Professional correspondence concerns Thompson's academic career, research, writing, and work as a technical consultant and engineer. Among the correspondents are colleagues from Harvard, Yale, the Courtauld Institute, publishers, and academic and technical journals, in addition to corporate clients.

Subject files are comprised of varying correspondence, printed matter, photographs, notes and writings relating to Thompson's areas of interest. Personal and professional subject files include many relating to his research interests and engineering consulting projects. Of particular interest are numerous letters from Bernard Berenson. There is also correspondence with Belle da Costa Greene, as well as files concerning the Kermes beetle (a source of crimson dyes in the middle ages). Food and gardening subject files reflect Thompson's career as a writer and columnist on these subjects.

Writings consist mainly of manuscripts, drafts, research and miscellaneous notes; also included are diaries, poems, miscellaneous items, and a music score. Daniel Varney Thompson's personal and professional writings include two diaries, poems, and student writings. Most of his extant writings are on art-related topics, science and technology. Among the notes is an index to medieval manuscripts on craftsmanship in major European libraries was compiled by Thompson in 1935. His work on the subject remains unpublished and his notes are extremely valuable since some of the materials noted were lost in World War II. Scientific and technical notebooks, along with various wirings and reports, document projects undertaken as a technical consultant and engineer. The food and gardening writings are extensive and consist of manuscripts and notes for articles and columns, and for a book-length compilation of these writings. Among the writings by other authors are diaries of his mother and wife, and a music score by his brother, Randall Thompson.

Artwork by Daniel Varney Thompson, Mary Sargent McKean, and Henry Winslow consists of drawings, prints, watercolors, a sketchbook, and an oil painting. Printed material includes articles and book reviews by Daniel Varney Thompson, and items about or mentioning him and his family. Also found are articles and books about art, history, medieval studies, science and technology, and food and gardening topics.

Photographs are of artwork, people, places and miscellaneous subjects. Images of people are mainly Thompson and family members.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Information, 1848-1970s (Box 1, OV 11-12; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1914-1979 (Boxes 1-3; 2.0 linear ft.)

Series 3: Subject Files, 1925-1979 (Boxes 3-6; 3.0 linear ft.)

Series 4: Writings, 1907-1970s (Boxes 6-9; 2.85 linear ft.)

Series 5: Artwork, 1923-1934 (Box 9, OV 13; 5 folders)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1917-1979 (Box 9; 0.75 linear ft.)

Series 7: Photographs, circa 1900-1972 (Box 10; 0.4 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Daniel Varney Thompson (1902-1980) was an art conservator and historian, professor, engineer, and writer. A noted authority on medieval painting, Varney lived and worked primarily in the Boston area and London.

Daniel Varney Thompson was born in New Jersey in 1902. He was the son of Grace Randall Thompson and Daniel Varney Thompson, Sr., a classics teacher at the Lawrenceville School and later headmaster of Boston Latin School. American composer Randall Thompson was his older brother. Following family tradition, Thompson attended Harvard, earning the A.B. in 1922 and A.M. in 1926, focusing his attention on fine arts, physical chemistry, and literature. Daniel V. Thompson stopped using the designation Jr. after his father's death in 1932.

Between 1922 and 1925 Thompson was employed in the Fogg Museum's laboratory devoted to analyzing art materials for the purposes of detecting forgeries, preserving works of art, and devising methods to aid working artists. During this period, Thompson went to Italy as a Sheldon Fellow in Fine Arts, to learn medieval fresco painting techniques from Edward W. Forbes, Director of the Fogg Museum. He also had an opportunity to study medieval and Renaissance painting techniques with Inicio Federico Joni, and while in Italy began life-long friendships with the Forbes family and Bernard Berenson. Thompson served as a technical advisor to the 1924-1925 Second Harvard China Expedition; he traveled to China by way of India, where he studied wall paintings in caves at Ajanta and Elura and researched newly discovered scrolls.

Daniel Varney Thompson was on the faculty of Yale from 1926-1933, where he taught art history, and tempera painting courses, and laid the foundation for the Department of Fine Arts when Yale became a university in 1932. During his time at Yale, Thompson married Cecile [Cecily] de Luze Simonds.

When The American Council of Learned Societies awarded Thompson a research fellowship for the academic year 1933/34, he returned to Europe and surveyed major libraries for materials concerning the history of technology of the arts. Thompson was then invited to be Professor of the History of Technology at the University of London. He was on the faculty from 1934-1946, and also served as research and technical advisor, developing a laboratory at the Courtauld Institute for analysis of art materials.

During World War II, the Courtauld's laboratory - which had facilities for emission, absorption, and x-ray spectrography - was offered to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. To avoid compromising the University's tax-free status, Thompson formed and served as managing director of Daniel Varney Limited, a private company which leased the premises and equipment. From 1940 to 1945, the company was operated in the name of the Courtauld Institute, employing 200 people in tool making, gauge making, fine mechanisms, and development and production of optics instruments. After the war, Daniel Varney Limited shifted its interests to high vacuum diffusion pumps, gas manipulation, and glassblowing.

Upon returning to the United States in 1947, Thompson settled in the Boston area, becoming a technical consultant. He worked on projects for E-Z Mills, Inc., Sylvania Eloctronics, Comstock & Wescott, Inc., and other corporations. He was chief engineer of Jarrell-Ash Co., 1953-1955, redesigning optical instruments, spectrography, and schlieren systems. Between 1955 and 1957, Thompson served as Vice President of Swett & Sibley, involved with the design and development of optical instruments, scanning spectrometers, and densistometers. He then moved to Avco Corporation, where for the next decade he was a Senior Staff Consultant working on optical design in rocket instrumentation. Thompson retired from his engineering career in 1967.

Daniel V. Thompson wrote and published extensively. Art-related writings include translations and a monograph published by Yale University Press, and numerous articles and reviews. Translations are: Cennino Cennini's Il Libro dell'Arte (3 volumes: Text of Il Libro dell'Arte, 1932; The Craftsman's Handbook, 1933; and The Practice of Tempera Painting, 1936), and An Anonymous Fourteenth Century Treatise ( De arte illuminadi) (with his student George Heard Hamilton), 1936. A monograph, The Materials and Techniques of Medieval Painting (foreword by Bernard Berenson) appeared in 1936.

Most of Thompson's scientific and technical writings are unpublished and relate to projects for which he served as a consulting engineer.

Soon after retiring, Thompson began a new career that he continued for the remainder of his life. A serious cook and long-time gardener, he began writing about these topics, producing weekly columns that were published by newspapers from Maine to Chicago and contributing articles to Gourmet, Horticulture, and similar periodicals. Thompson also lectured to garden clubs and judged garden and flower competitions.

Daniel Varney Thompson died on January 4, 1980, following an automobile accident in Malaga, Spain.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews conducted with Daniel V. Thompson by Robert Brown, September 25, 1974-November 2, 1976. There are also three letters from Thompson to his sister-in-law Edith Simonds Moore.
Provenance:
The Daniel Varney Thompson papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in increments between 1974-1981 by Mr. Thompson and his estate.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Conservators  Search this
Art historians  Search this
Topic:
Food  Search this
Gardening  Search this
Engineers -- United States  Search this
Authors -- Massachusetts  Search this
Kermes (Insect)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Notebooks
Diaries
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Watercolors
Photographs
Poetry
Musical scores
Prints
Oil paintings
Manuscripts
Citation:
Daniel Varney Thompson papers, 1848-1979, bulk 1923-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.thomdani
See more items in:
Daniel Varney Thompson papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9528dc18c-6119-4c37-946d-004d2c9fea4c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-thomdani
Online Media:

Honoring Esin Atıl

Creator:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2021-03-25T12:34:43.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
Topic:
Art, Asian  Search this
See more by:
FreerSackler
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
YouTube Channel:
FreerSackler
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_9cx965RdxW0

Richard McLanathan papers

Creator:
McLanathan, Richard B. K.  Search this
Names:
American Association of Museums  Search this
Harvard University  Search this
Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this
Bulfinch, Charles, 1763-1844  Search this
Extent:
29.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Moving images
Date:
1901-1995
bulk 1940s-1990s
Summary:
The papers of art historian, arts administrator, consultant, and author Richard McLanathan, measure 29.8 linear feet and date from 1901 to 1995, with the bulk of the records dating from the 1940s to 1990s. The collection documents McLanathan's career through correspondence, education records, writings, and lecture files; papers related to his career at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and his directorship at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute; and project files from his consulting work in arts, education, historic preservation, administrative reorganization, funding, and publicity. The collection is primarily composed of correspondence, writings, reports, printed matter, as well as some photographs and audiovisual material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian, arts administrator, consultant, and author Richard McLanathan, measure 29.8 linear feet and date from 1901 to 1995, with the bulk of the records dating from the 1940s to 1990s. The collection documents McLanathan's career through correspondence with artists, museum professionals, and collectors; records from his education at Harvard, including papers related to the American architect Charles Bulfinch; papers pertaining to various lectures, essay, and book projects; material documenting his career at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and his directorship at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute; and project files from his consulting work in arts, education, historic preservation, and administrative reorganization, funding, and publicity. Also included is a significant amount of material related to McLanathan's post as art curator at the American National Exhibition, Moscow, USSR, in 1959; and his work as writer, researcher, and editor at the National Gallery of art form the late-1960s to late-1970s.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 9 series

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1942-1994 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 1, 30-31, FC 32)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1901-1995, bulk 1940s-1990s (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, 1934-1995 (9.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-10, 31)

Series 4: Association and Membership Records, 1950-1987 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 11-14, FC 33)

Series 5: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, circa 1946-1976 (2.0 linear feet; Box 14-16)

Series 6: Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, 1958-1963 (1.0 linear feet; Box 16-17)

Series 7: Consulting Projects, 1950s-1991 (10.8 linear feet; Box 17-28, 31)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1930s-1990s (1.0 linear feet; Box 28-29)

Series 9: Photographs, circa 1940s-1990s (0.5 linear feet; Box 29)
Biographical / Historical:
Richard McLanathan (1916-1998) was an art historian, curator, museum administrator, consultant, and author in New York and Boston. McLanathan began his career at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, followed by the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, New York before moving on to consulting work for the remainder of his career. He published numerous books and articles, was a key member of several professional and cultural organizations, and consulted on multiple projects for corporations, municipalities, museums, and educational institutions.

McLanathan graduated from high school from The Choate School in 1934, followed by his bachelor's degree and doctorate from Harvard University. While writing his dissertation on the early-American architect Charles Bulfinch, McLanathan was hired as assistant curator of paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). Other titles he held there include Secretary of the Museum (1949-1956), Editor of Museum Publications (1952-1957), and Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts (1954-1957). Additionally, McLanathan was a member of the art and executive committees for the Boys' Club of Boston (circa 1950-1956).

McLanathan moved to Utica, New York, in 1957, for the position of director at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Museum of Art (MWP) where he organized exhibitions, was responsible for the institute's community arts program, oversaw the planning and completion of a new museum building designed by Philip Johnson, and worked on the restoration of Fountain Elms, a nearby 1850s Tuscan villa. McLanathan was then assigned as curator of the art exhibition at the American National Exhibition, Moscow, USSR, in 1959. This led to additional roles as an American specialist for the State Department in West Germany (1959), Poland (1959), Denmark (1959), and Yugoslavia (1961). Around this time, McLanathan also served on the Commissioner's Committee for the Arts and Museum Resources under the New York State Council of the Arts (1960-1964).

After resigning from MWP in 1961, McLanathan worked primarily as a freelance writer, lecturer, and consultant. His consulting projects included program planning, future development, curriculum development, administrative reorganization, exhibitions, historic preservation, budgeting and funding, and policy development. His clients included the Atlanta Art Association, IBM, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Time-Life, State University of New Mexico, and U. S. Plywood. In the late 1960s, McLanathan began working as a project consultant for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. While there, his projects included Art & Man (1969-1973), A Guide to Civilisation: The Kenneth Clark Films on the Cultural Life of Western Man (1970), East Building, National Gallery: A Profile (1978), and various other writings and films .

As a writer, McLanathan contributed to the Encyclopedia of World Art and Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, and published articles on artists, architecture, art history in general, and museums in the Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, Art News, and Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. The books he wrote include Images of the Universe: Leonardo da Vinci, The Artist as Scientist (1966), The Pageant of Medieval Art and Life (1966), The American Tradition in the Arts (1968), Art in America, A Brief History (1973), The Art of Marguerite Stix (1977), and World Art in American Museums, A Personal Guide (1983).
Provenance:
This collection was donated in two installments by Richard McLanathan, 1994-1995, and by Jane McLanathan, 2005-2007, via her estate's executor.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment, and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art consultants -- New York (State)  Search this
Art historians -- New York (State)  Search this
Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- Utica  Search this
Authors -- New York (State)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Moving images
Citation:
Richard McLanathan papers, 1901-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.mclarich
See more items in:
Richard McLanathan papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94cfbdcde-8849-4607-902b-41ada5b9da17
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-mclarich

Disk (bi) with raised uniform curls arranged in a grid

Medium:
Jade (nephrite)
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 16.3 x 16.3 x 0.4 cm (6 7/16 x 6 7/16 x 3/16 in)
Type:
Ceremonial Object
Origin:
China
Date:
475-221 BCE
Period:
Eastern Zhou dynasty, Warring States period
Topic:
jade  Search this
nephrite  Search this
Eastern Zhou dynasty (770 - 221 BCE)  Search this
Warring States period (475 - 221 BCE)  Search this
China  Search this
Chinese Art  Search this
Credit Line:
Gift of Arthur M. Sackler
Accession Number:
S1987.920
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Related Online Resources:
Google Cultural Institute
See more items in:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Data Source:
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye33f13e1f2-310c-432f-b917-f8d6c67318e9
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:fsg_S1987.920
Online Media:

Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998

Creator:
Arnheim, Rudolf, 1904-2007  Search this
Subject:
Albers, Josef  Search this
Kepes, Gyorgy  Search this
Sheldon, Alice Bradley  Search this
Harvard University  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Sarah Lawrence College  Search this
University of Michigan  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Diaries
Citation:
Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- United States  Search this
Art--Study and teaching--Germany  Search this
Authors -- Massachusetts  Search this
Educators -- Massachusetts  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8318
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210490
AAA_collcode_arnhrudo
Theme:
Diaries
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210490
Online Media:

Lauris Mason research material on George Bellows, 1976-2012

Creator:
Mason, Lauris  Search this
Subject:
Bellows, George  Search this
Albright, Ivan  Search this
Morgan, Charles H. (Charles Hill)  Search this
Ludman, Joan  Search this
Citation:
Lauris Mason research material on George Bellows, 1976-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women art historians  Search this
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)10957
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214739
AAA_collcode_masolaur
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_214739

Rudolf Arnheim papers

Creator:
Arnheim, Rudolf  Search this
Names:
Harvard University  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Sarah Lawrence College  Search this
University of Michigan  Search this
Albers, Josef  Search this
Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906-2001  Search this
Sheldon, Alice Bradley, 1915-1987  Search this
Extent:
9.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Interviews
Diaries
Date:
1919-1998
Summary:
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.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Massachusetts  Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- United States  Search this
Art--Study and teaching--Germany  Search this
Authors -- Massachusetts  Search this
Educators -- Massachusetts  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Diaries
Citation:
Rudolf Arnheim papers, 1919-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.arnhrudo
See more items in:
Rudolf Arnheim papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw956011d71-95ed-495e-9e42-c9ae139b89ac
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-arnhrudo

Lester Burbank Bridaham papers, 1912-1986

Creator:
Bridaham, Lester Burbank, 1899-1992  Search this
Subject:
Albright, Ivan  Search this
Barton, Macena  Search this
Biesel, Charles  Search this
De Diego, Julio  Search this
Eboli, Jules  Search this
Florsheim, Richard A.  Search this
Krans, Olof  Search this
Lee, Gypsy Rose  Search this
Nicolaïdes, Kimon  Search this
Bishop, Isabel  Search this
Rickey, George  Search this
Schnakenberg, H. E. (Henry Ernest)  Search this
Spears, Ethel  Search this
Art Institute of Chicago  Search this
Colonial Craft Survey for Massachusetts  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Society for Contemporary American Art  Search this
Type:
Drawings
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Citation:
Lester Burbank Bridaham papers, 1912-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Mural painting and decoration  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6825
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208952
AAA_collcode_bridlest
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208952

Giulio V. Blanc papers

Creator:
Blanc, Giulio V.  Search this
Names:
Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami, Fla.)  Search this
Brito, María (1947-)  Search this
Cano, Margarita, 1932-  Search this
Cano, Pablo  Search this
Carreño, Mario  Search this
Carulla, Ramón, 1938-  Search this
Demi, 1955-  Search this
Garcia, Hernan, 1935-  Search this
Gattorno, Antonio  Search this
Gaztelu, A. (Angel)  Search this
Goldman, Shifra M., 1926-2011  Search this
Gómez-Peña, Guillermo  Search this
Lam, Wifredo  Search this
Larraz, Julio  Search this
Libin, Victoria  Search this
Macia, Carlos A., 1951-1994  Search this
Martínez-Cañas, María  Search this
Riverón, Enrique  Search this
Rodríguez, Arturo, 1956-  Search this
Sánchez, Juan, 1954-  Search this
Sí, Juan  Search this
Trasobares, César  Search this
Vater, Regina  Search this
Vázquez Lucio, Oscar E. (Oscar Edgardo), 1932-  Search this
Interviewee:
Cabrera, Lydia  Search this
Gómez Sicre, José  Search this
Extent:
11 Linear feet
0.001 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Sound recordings
Date:
1920-1995
Summary:
The dates for the Giulio V. Blanc papers range from 1920-1995. Measuring a total of eleven linear feet and 0.001 GB, the collection provides documentation of the art exhibitions Blanc curated during his career, including original writings and exhibition catalogs. The extensive artists files in the collection provide information on numerous Latin American and Caribbean artists. The collection also provides historical information on the life and culture of Cuba.
Scope and Content Note:
The Giulio V. Blanc papers measure approximately 11 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1920 to 1995. Compiled by Blanc since the beginning of his curatorial, writing, and research career in the 1980s, the papers consist primarily of artist files on Cuban, Cuban-American, and Latin American artists (1920-1995 and undated). Also found is biographical information (1994-1995), interviews by Blanc (1984-1987, 1994) and miscellaneous letters from artists and friends (1983-1995 and undated).

The first series, Biographical Files, 1994-1995 includes information about Blanc's career. Series 2: Miscellaneous Letters, 1983-1995, undated, consists of letters from artists and friends on various topics. Series 3: Artist Files, 1920-1995, undated, represents the bulk of the collection (approximately 300 artists in all, 6 linear feet), and contain materials either collected by Blanc or received by Blanc from the artists themselves. These consist of biographical material about the artist, usually two or three paragraphs written by Blanc, scattered resumes and copies of fellowship applications. Also found are newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and letters or correspondence between Blanc and the artists. Of special interest in this series are numerous taped interviews with celebrated Cuban artists and art historians such as José Gómez Sícre, founder and first director of the Art Museum of the Americas, Organization of American States. Gómez-Sícre describes his early career and involvement with acquisitions for the museum's permanent collection as well as his working relationship with Alfred H. Barr, first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Gómez-Sícre's notable book, Pintura Cubana de Hoy, published in Havana in 1944 is included in the files.

Elena Peláez de Medero, another interviewee, discusses her sister, Cuban painter Amelia Peláez (1896-1968). Blanc interviewed Elena Peláez in Miami for his 1988 exhibition Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective. The Peláez file includes Blanc's correspondence with her as well as copies of rare 1930s and 1940s exhibition catalogs from Amelia Peláez's early career. Among the catalogs is a copy of Modern Cuban Painters from the 1944 exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Also found are rare French, German and Spanish newspaper clippings on Peláez dating back to the 1920s. Of interest is a copy of Amado Blanco's 1937 poetry book, Poema desesperado. Published in Havana, the book is dedicated to the memory of Federico García Lorca and includes illustrations by Peláez.

Another prominent artist whom Blanc interviewed was Enrique Riverón (b. 1901) leader of the Cuban vanguardia. He was a member of El Grupo de Montparnasse, a talented group of painters and writers living in the southern district of Paris in the late 1920s, an area noted for its boisterous after-hour activities. The interview was published in the Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts in 1997. Also found in the papers are illustrated letters and greeting cards addressed to Blanc and his parents, Baron Lodovico Blanc and María V. Blanc.

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1977-1995, undated, consists primarily of material Blanc compiled for exhibitions he curated. Found here are letters from museum directors, artists and colleagues, drafts and finished essays for exhibition catalogs, and printed material such as newspaper clippings of art reviews. This series also includes files on exhibitions Blanc did not curate.

Series 5: Subject Files, 1933-1995, undated, are files relating to Cuban art, culture, and society, the Cuban revolution, book projects, Biennials in Havana and São Paulo, the 1988 controversy surrounding the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami, FL) and other topics. Found are letters, drafts of writings, notes, printed material such as newspaper clippings and magazine articles, press releases, and exhibition announcements.

Particularly extensive is the documentation about the 1980s conflict at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture. In April 1988, a fund-raising auction at the 24-year-old 'little Havana' institution resulted in heated disputes that escalated to violence. The works auctioned were by Cuban artists still living on the island. Many in Miami's Cuban community considered these artists to be supporters of the Communist regime and were outraged. One of the disputed works purchased the night of the auction, a drawing by Manuel Mendive, was taken across the street by its successful bidder and burned. In addition, the museum building was damaged by a pipe bomb shortly after the sale. In the National Public Radio news story (available in Blanc's papers on audio cassette) Helen Kohen, critic for the Miami Herald commented, "We're not talking about paintings. We're talking about `my brother's in jail'. That's what we're talking about." The situation intensified quickly; transcending local politics and involving the Treasury and Justice Departments, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses. Ramón Cernuda, the museum vice-president who organized the auction also had his personal collection of Cuban art impounded by the FBI. A second bombing took place in 1989 to protest an exhibition of Cuban artists who came to the U. S. during the early 1980s Mariel boatlift.

The seriousness of the conflicts in the Miami museum prompted the Museum of Modern Art in New York to withdraw an offer to lend three paintings to the Cuban museum for the 1988 exhibition Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective scheduled to open later that year. Curated by Giulio Blanc, it was the first U.S. retrospective of this important Cuban artist and the exhibition helped situate her work. The Cuban Museum of Art in Daytona Beach, an institution that helped start the Miami museum, also withdrew an offer to lend "Amelias". The result was an exhibition devoid of works owned by the Museum of Modern Art, important paintings created after 1963, the year President Kennedy imposed economic sanctions on Cuba.

To publicize the Peláez exhibition and boost attendance, the museum placed a public invitation in the Spanish section of the Miami Herald. The half page ad, also found in the Blanc papers, lists more than 100 intellectuals and professionals who supported the exhibition. Blanc stated in a letter to the Miami Herald, "It is horrifying to think there are those in Miami who would burn a painting for the sake of politics. This was the same reasoning utilized by Joseph Goebbels when he made bonfires of books and paintings by anti-Nazi and `degenerate' artists and writers in 1930s Germany... One can only pity the ignorance of those who play into the hands of the Castro regime by resorting to uncivilized tactics that can only hurt the image of the Cuban-exile community and of Miami in general."

The files concerning the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture contain exhibition announcements, copies of court orders, press releases and correspondence between Blanc and the Museum of Modern Art in New York regarding the museum and the Peláez exhibition. Also included are a great number of newspaper articles printed in two of Miami's major newspapers, the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald which covered the story until it was resolved in the early 1990s. Offering additional information on the controversy are a number of letters addressed to either Blanc or his parents from artists and friends expressing either discontent with the museum's state of affairs or gratitude for the Blanc's financial support during the museum's reconstruction. These provide remarkable insight into a relatively heterogeneous Cuban community.

Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1992, 1994 consists of two untranscribed audio cassette tapes. One is of the 1992 College Art Association's session: Artistic Voices of Latin America: The Aesthetics of Anti-Colonialism held in Chicago, Illinois in which Giulio V. Blanc was a panelist. The other is a rare 1994 interview conducted by Blanc with poet-priest Monseñor Angel Gaztelu, a friend of many Cuban writers and artists, and who presided over Peláez's funeral service in 1968.

The last series, Series 7: Photographs, 1981-1993, undated, includes black and whiteportraits of artists, group shots of Blanc with "Miami Generation" artists María Brito, Pablo Cano, María Martínez-Cañas, Carlos Macía, Arturo Rodríguez, and César Trasobares, and photos of other artists.
Arrangement:
The Giulio V. Blanc papers are arranged into seven series primarily according to type of material. Within each series, materials are arranged chronologically, except for Artist Files and Subject Files which are arranged alphabetically by either name or subject.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Files, 1994-1995, undated (box 1; 3 folders)

Series 2: Miscellaneous Letters, 1983-1995, undated (box 1; 3 folders)

Series 3: Artist Files, 1920-1995, undated (boxes 1-8, ER01; 6 linear ft., 0.001 GB)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1977-1995, undated (box 8; 1 linear foot)

Series 5: Subject Files, 1933-1995, undated (boxes 8-12; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Untranscribed Sound Recordings, 1992-1994 (box 12; 2 folders)

Series 7: Photographs, 1981, 1993, undated (box 12; 2 folders)
Biographical Note:
Cuban born independent curator, critic, art historian and consultant Giulio V. Blanc (1955-1995) specialized in Cuban and Latin American art history and in his lifetime collected a wealth of material on the subject. Through his numerous exhibitions and keen articles appearing in national and international art journals, Blanc became a leading authority on Latin American art and successfully established himself as a link between Cuban and Cuban-American artists and US galleries and museums. The Miami Generation (1983) and Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective (1988) are two significant exhibitions Blanc curated for Miami's Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in addition to the celebrated Wifredo Lam and His Contemporaries, 1938-1952 (1992) for New York's Studio Museum in Harlem. Giulio V. Blanc was among the key figures that catapulted Latin American art onto the mainstream in the early 1980s.

Giulio V. Blanc was born in Havana in 1955 to Baron Lodovico Blanc and María V. Blanc. The Blanc name hails from Italy and the title of Baron was awarded to Alberto Blanc, Lodovico Blanc's grandfather, while he was Secretary of State in 1873 under Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. As young advocates of Cuban culture, the Blanc's collected a number of paintings by Cuban artists but were forced to leave behind the works of Cuban masters such as Carlos Enríquez, Victor Manuel, René Portocarrero, Fidelio Ponce and others to facilitate an uncomplicated exodus from the country during the revolution. Lodovico and María were in their thirties and Giulio was five years old when the family settled in Miami.

Giulio Blanc completed his undergraduate education at Harvard and proceeded to Brown University and the Institute of Fine Arts in New York for graduate work (1979-1980). During his career, he served as an independent curator and consultant to The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami), The Metropolitan Museum (Miami), and The Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (New York) among others. He also lectured on Latin American art history at the Art Museum of the Americas, OAS (Organization of American States), Washington, DC, The University of Miami, and El Museo Nacional de Arte in La Paz, Bolivia. In addition, he worked as a consultant in the Latin American Paintings Department at Sotheby's auction house in New York and served on the editorial board of the magazine Art Nexus. Blanc was pursuing a doctoral degree in art history at the City University of New York before his premature death in 1995 at the age of thirty-nine.

Missing Title

1955 -- Born November 1 in Havana, Cuba to Baron Lodovico and Baroness María V. Blanc, young collectors of Cuban art. The title of Baron was awarded to Alberto Blanc, Lodovico Blanc's grandfather, in 1873 while Alberto was Secretary of State under Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.

1960 -- The Blanc family migrates to the United States because of the escalating revolution. Lodovico and Maria V. Blanc are in their thirties when they flee the island. The works of Cuban painters such as Carlos Enríquez, Victor Manuel, René Portocarrero, Fidelio Ponce and others were left behind to facilitate an uncomplicated exodus.

1976 -- Giulio V. Blanc serves as research assistant for one year at the Tozzer Library, Peabody Museum, Harvard University.

1977 -- Graduates cum laude from Harvard College with a B.A. in Archeology.

1979 -- Graduates from Brown University with a M.A. in Archeology. Was a research assistant until 1980 at the Gallery of the Center for Inter-American Relations, New York city.

1980 -- Receives a certificate in Museum Studies from the Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York University. Curates Emilio Sánchez: Lithographs which opens at the Pagoda, Ransom-Everglades School, Coconut Grove, Florida. Co-curates Cuba in the Nineteenth Century for Miami's Miami-Dade Public Library.

1981 -- Joins the Latin American Paintings Department, Sotheby's Auction House, New York and serves for two years.

1982 -- Co-curates Young Hispanics, USA which opens at the Lehigh University Museum, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and curates Ten Out of Cuba for INTAR Latin American Gallery in New York.

1983 -- Curates Cuban Fantasies at the Kouros Gallery in New York and Pablo Cano en Paris for the 4 Place de Saussaies in Paris, France. Also curates The Miami Generation: Nine Cuban-American Artists for the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in Miami and the Meridian House in Washington, DC.

1984 -- Serves as independent curator and consultant to Miami's Metropolitan Museum and Art Center and The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture; The Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art in New York and other institutions. Lectures at the Art Museum of the Americas (Organization of American States) in Washington, DC; The University of Miami; The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami); The Center for the Fine Arts (Miami); Rockland Center for the Arts (West Nyack, NY); and the National Museum of Art, La Paz, Bolivia. Curates Young Collector's of Latin American Art which opened at Miami's Metropolitan Museum and Art Center.

1985 -- Curates Dancing Faces: An Exhibition of Mexican Masks for the Metropolitan Museum and Art Center in Miami and Nuevas Vistas: Latin American Paintings which opens at the Wistariahurst, Holyoke, Massachusetts. Curates Architecture in Cuban Painting, for the Miami Dade Public Library.

1986 -- Receives and M.A. in Art History at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. Curates Carlos Enríquez for the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, Miami, Florida and Into the Mainstream: Ten Latin American Artists Working in New York for the Jersey City Museum in Jersey City, New Jersey.

1987 -- The exhibition Aurelia Muñoz: Selections, curated by Blanc, opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Miami, Florida. Serves as juror for Expresiones Hispanas: Coors National Hispanic Art Exhibition, Denver, Colorado. Curates Visions of Self: The American Latin Artist for the Miami-Dade Community College gallery.

1988 -- Receives a grant from the NY State Council on the Arts for research on Cuban artist Wifredo Lam for the exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Enrolls in the art history Ph.D. program at the City University Graduate Center, New York city. First bombing of the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in Miami takes place. Blanc's Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective successfully opens at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture despite much controversy.

1989 -- Curates Urgent Dream: New Work by Mario Bencomo at the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MoCHA), New York. Second bombing of the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, Miami FL.

1990 -- New York correspondent for Arte en Colombia, Bogota. Serves as adjunct lecturer at Queens College (CUNY) for the Fall semester. Curates the exhibition, The Post-Miami Generation for the Inter-American Gallery in Miami, Florida. Co-curates Figurative Perspectives: Six Artists of Latin American Background for the Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY.

1991 -- Visiting scholar at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Writes a small play, Tía Carmela: A Cuban Tragicomedy, illustrated by Cuban artist and friend Pablo Cano.

1995 -- Dies at the age of forty of AIDS related complications.
Related Materials:
Papers of Giulio V. Blanc, 1930-1982, are also located at the University of Miami Archival Collections.
Provenance:
Margherite Blanc, sister of Giulio V. Blanc, donated her brother's papers in 1998 to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. This collection, along with numerous other Latino collections, was acquired through the 1996 Latino Art Documentation Project in South Florida. Initiated to chronicle the thriving art scene so apparent in the city's galleries, museums, and private collections, the project resulted in numerous acquisitions described in the revised edition of the Papers of Latino and Latin American Artists. Both the project and the publication were made possible, in part, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Latino Initiatives.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Florida -- Miami  Search this
Topic:
Cuban American art  Search this
Art, Latin American  Search this
Artists -- Cuba  Search this
Cuban American artists  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Citation:
Giulio V. Blanc papers, 1920-1995. Smithsonian Institution. Archives of American Art.
Identifier:
AAA.blangiul
See more items in:
Giulio V. Blanc papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d3c414b1-dc78-4f66-889d-963690fe0282
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-blangiul
Online Media:

Freedomways Vol. 13 No. 3

Published by:
Freedomways Associates, Inc., American, 1961 - 1985  Search this
Edited by:
John Henrik Clarke, American, 1915 - 1998  Search this
Ernest D. Kaiser, American, born 1916  Search this
Jack O'Dell, American, 1923 - 2019  Search this
Esther Cooper Jackson, American, born 1917  Search this
John Devine  Search this
Written by:
Ollie Harrington, American, 1912 - 1995  Search this
Mary Terrell  Search this
Charles W. Cheng, American, 1937 - 1979  Search this
Octave Lilly Jr., American, 1908 - 1975  Search this
Henri Percikow  Search this
Subject of:
Cesar E. Chavez, American, 1927 - 1993  Search this
John Brown, American, 1800 - 1859  Search this
Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Kenyan, born 1938  Search this
Indira Gandhi, Indian  Search this
Medium:
ink on paper with metal
Dimensions:
H x W x D: 9 × 6 × 5/16 in. (22.8 × 15.3 × 0.8 cm)
Type:
magazines (periodicals)
Place printed:
New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Place depicted:
India, Asia
South Africa, Africa
Date:
1973
Topic:
African American  Search this
Activism  Search this
Africa  Search this
Black Press  Search this
Civil Rights  Search this
Education  Search this
International affairs  Search this
Labor  Search this
Literature  Search this
Poetry  Search this
Politics  Search this
Race discrimination  Search this
U.S. History, 1961-1969  Search this
U.S. History, 1969-2001  Search this
Credit Line:
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dr. Maurice Jackson
Object number:
2021.20.15
Restrictions & Rights:
Unknown – Restrictions Possible
Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
See more items in:
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification:
Documents and Published Materials-Published Works
Movement:
American Indian Movements
Chicano Movement / El Movimiento
Data Source:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd564416cfb-d1a8-45ac-b4d5-a8be36216519
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmaahc_2021.20.15
1 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
  • View <I>Freedomways Vol. 13 No. 3</I> digital asset number 1

Oral history interview with Louisa Dresser, 1972 October 19

Interviewee:
Campbell, Louisa Dresser, 1907-1989  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Subject:
Worcester Art Museum  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Louisa Dresser, 1972 October 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Women arts administrators  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Portrait painting -- 17th century -- New England  Search this
Painting -- 17th century -- New England  Search this
Figurative painting, American  Search this
Colonial America  Search this
Decorative arts -- United States  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11845
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212647
AAA_collcode_dresse72
Theme:
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212647

Oral history interview with Louisa Dresser

Interviewee:
Campbell, Louisa Dresser, 1907-1989  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
Worcester Art Museum  Search this
Extent:
38 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1972 October 19
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Louisa Dresser conducted 1972 October 19, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Louisa Dresser (1907-1989) was an art administrator and art historian from Worcester, Massachusetts. She was Curator of the Worcester Art Museum and specialized in Early American Painting.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 49 min.
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:
Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Worcester  Search this
Art historians -- Massachusetts -- Worcester  Search this
Museum curators -- Massachusetts -- Worcester  Search this
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Women arts administrators  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Portrait painting -- 17th century -- New England  Search this
Painting -- 17th century -- New England  Search this
Figurative painting, American  Search this
Colonial America  Search this
Decorative arts -- United States  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.dresse72
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw945851cdc-1f54-49a5-b8ed-34feb82aee6e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-dresse72
Online Media:

Dimitri Hadzi papers

Creator:
Hadzi, Dimitri, 1921-2006  Search this
Names:
Harvard University -- Faculty  Search this
Foundry, Nicci  Search this
Extent:
37.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Interviews
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Diaries
Motion picture film
Date:
1910s-2007
Summary:
The papers of Greek American sculptor and educator Dimitri Hadzi measure 37.2 linear feet and date from 1910s-2007, with the bulk of records dating 1936-2007. The collection documents Hadzi's career through biographical material such as education records, World War II files, and some interviews; correspondence with family, artists, art historians, architects, and professional organizations; diaries, notebooks, and other writings; exhibition, gallery and museum, teaching, and project files; personal business records; clippings, exhibition ephemera, invitations, and other printed material; photographs of Hadzi, events and exhibitions, installations, foundries, and studios; some artwork; and audio recordings and motion picture films.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Greek American sculptor and educator Dimitri Hadzi measure 37.2 linear feet and date from 1910s-2007, with the bulk of records dating 1936-2007. The collection documents Hadzi's career through biographical material; correspondence; diaries, notebooks, and other writings; exhibition, gallery and museum, teaching, and project files; personal business records; printed material; photographs, some artwork, audio recordings, and motion picture films.

Biographical material includes files pertaining to Hadzi's education at Cooper Union (1946-1950) and Polytechnion in Athens, Greece (1950-1951) as well as his high school years at Brooklyn Technical High School (1936-1940); years enlisted in the Army Air Force (1942-1946); and his hobbies of music, mineral collecting, and geology. Also found are address books, honors and awards, interviews, and resumes. Hadzi's professional correspondents include artists, art historians, architects, and professional organizations. Also found is personal correspondence with family, friends, and acquaintances, most extensively during his years in the military.

Diaries and notebooks consist of memoranda books, travel logs, and annotated calendars. Writings include drafts, correspondence, and some printed material from Dimitri Hadzi (1996) by Peter Selz. Material gathered for his incomplete memoir, artist statements, and writings about Hadzi are also present.

Exhibition files shed light on various group and solo exhibitions of Hadzi's work. The files mostly consist of shipping records, correspondence, press releases and other printed matter, photographs, and loan documents. Gallery and museum files include loan and sale agreements, price lists, clippings, newsletters, shipping information, and some papers related to exhibitions.

Project files include sketches and blueprints, correspondence, legal documents, shipping information, and some audiovisual material regarding the installation of Hadzi's sculptures. The files also pertain to recasted sculptures, small-scale projects, and unexecuted commissions. Teaching Files include administrative correspondence, clippings, lecture and discussion notes, course descriptions, and correspondence from Hadzi's tenure as Visual and Environmental Studies professor at Harvard University. Papers related to instructor positions, employment opportunities, and lectures outside of Harvard are also present. Personal business records include sales, inventories, and other financial material; correspondence, shipping information, and price lists from foundries and material distributors; studio logs, correspondence, and notes.

Printed materials consist of exhibition invitations, announcements, post cards, and books; news clippings and articles; printed matter from special events, exhibitions of other artists, press releases, and newsletters. Photographs include portraits and snapshots of Hadzi, depicting him working in studios and foundries, at installation sites and events, and with his family. Also included are photographs of other artists, Hadzi's travel in Japan, and his artwork. Artwork found in this collection consists of six sketchbooks, several small drawings, and one woodblock.

Audiovisual material is extensive and includes documentation of the creation, installation, and exhibition of some of Hadzi's work. The majority of the footage centers on the creation and installation of the Thermopylae sculpture in front of the JFK Federal Building in Boston, Massachusetts in 1968.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 13 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1910s, bulk 1936-2004 (Box 1-3, 33; 2.7 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1943-2007 (Box 3-6; 3 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries and Notebooks, 1939-2006 (Box 6-9; 3 linear feet)

Series 4: Writing Files, 1945-2003 (Box 9; 10 folders)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1958-2002 (Box 9-10; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Project Files, 1957-2002 (Box 11-15, 33; 4.7 linear feet)

Series 7: Teaching Files, 1955-2000 (Box 15-16; 12 folders)

Series 8: Museum and Gallery Files, 1947-2008 (Box 16-17; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 9: Personal Business Records, 1949-2007 (Box 17-20; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Printed Material, 1949-2007 (Box 20-24, 33; 3.7 linear feet)

Series 11: Photographs, circa 1930s-2006 (Box 24-25, 33; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 12: Artwork, circa 1939-1998 (Box 25; 11 folders)

Series 13: Audiovisual Material (Box 26-40; 11.1 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Dimitri Hadzi (1921-2006) was an Greek American sculptor who lived and worked in Rome from the 1950s to 1975, and then in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 1975 to 2006. Born to Greek immigrants, Hadzi attended Brooklyn Technical High School before enlisting in the Army Air Force in 1942. After the World War II, Hadzi studied painting and sculpture at Cooper Union and graduated with honors in 1950. He was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to study at the Polytechnion, Athens, Greece, and subsequently moved to Rome where he remained until the mid-1970s. Hadzi worked mostly with stone and bronze, from which he created semi-abstract shapes and structures drawn from his Greek heritage. His work was selected for the Venice Biennale in 1956, and and his first solo-exhibition came two years later at the Galeria Schneider, Rome, Italy. Throughout his career, Hadzi held solo exhibitions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The Philips Collection, Athens Gallery in Greece, Rikugie Gallery in Japan, and many others. His group exhibitions include Recent Sculptor USA (1959), Museum of Modern Art, New York; Annual Exhibition, The Whitney Museum (1961); Seven Sculptors at Harvard, Harvard University (1983); and American Academy of Arts & Letters Centennial Portfolio, Pace Prints, New York (1998). Hadzi's public commissions include those at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1963), St. Paul's Church, Rome, Italy (1966-1976), Dallas Center, Texas (1980). His artwork is held in permanent collections of the Hirshhorn Museum and Scultpure Garden, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Hakone Museum of Sculpture in Japan, and the Montreal Museum of Art, among others. Hadzi was professor of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University from 1975-1989, and was named Professor Emeritus in 1989.
Provenance:
Donated 1989 and 1998 by Dimitri Hadzi and in 2008 and 2011 by Cynthia Hadzi, Dimitri Hadzi's widow.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Archival audiovisual recordings must be digitized for research access. Researchers may access digitized audiovisual materials in the Archives' Washington, D.C. or New York, N.Y. Research Centers by appointment. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Educators -- Massachusetts -- Cambridge  Search this
Sculptors -- Italy -- Rome  Search this
Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Cambridge  Search this
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Interviews
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Diaries
Motion picture film
Citation:
Dimitri Hadzi papers, 1910s-2003. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.hadzdimi
See more items in:
Dimitri Hadzi papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cee20746-bba7-4f55-9b4d-68aa26f19cc0
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-hadzdimi
Online Media:

Jean Borgatti Collection

Photographer:
Borgatti, Jean  Search this
Artist:
Ajanaku, Lawrence  Search this
Obamina, Achetu, b. 1897 -  Search this
Omogbai, Pius Isah  Search this
Onobrakpeya, Bruce, 1932-  Search this
Names:
Erediauwa, King of Benin, 1923-2016  Search this
Extent:
3617 Slides (photographs) (color, 35 mm)
166 Contact sheets ((2 binders))
3555 Negatives (photographic) (black and white, 35 mm)
4 Notebooks ((1 box))
1 Cassette tape ((2 boxes))
25 Film reels (Super 8)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Slides (photographs)
Contact sheets
Negatives (photographic)
Notebooks
Cassette tapes
Film reels
Place:
Nigeria
Nigeria -- Osun State -- Ilesha
Nigeria -- Kaduna -- Zaria
Lagos (Nigeria)
Benin (Nigeria)
Nigeria -- Federal Capital Territory -- Abuja
Nigeria -- Plateau -- Jos Plateau (Bauchi Plateau)
Oshogbo (Nigeria)
Kumasi (Ghana)
Cape Coast (Ghana)
Niamey (Niger)
Abomey (Benin)
Benin -- Atlantique -- Ouidah
Nigeria -- Benue State
Bida (Nigeria)
Kano (Nigeria)
Date:
1971-2003
Summary:
Jean Borgatti's collection dates from 1971 to 2003 and was created primarily in Nigeria but with some images from Ghana (Kumase, Cape Coast), Niger (Niamey), and the Benin Republic (Road to Abomey, near Ouidah). Much of the collection documents masquerades, shrines, festivals, market scenes, and ceremonies in the then Bendel State (now Edo and Delta States), and includes images from Etsako (specifically, Auchi, Avianwu, Ekperi, North Ibie/Ivie, South Ibie/Ivie) Okpella, Okhu, and Weppa-Wano peoples), Akoko Edo (Urhurhun Uneme, Igarra), and Owan (Otuo and Ikao peoples), as well as some images from Ishan (Ekpoma-Illeh, Ubiaja, Ugboha), Urhobo (Ughelli, Ohoro, Okpedomu, Emadaja) and Benin City as well as other parts of Nigeria including the then Western State (Oshogbo, Ibadan, Oyo, Ilesha), Benue Plateau State (Oturkpo-Makurdi Road, Tiv country, Jos), Northeastern State (Yankari Game Preserve, Gombe, Tula, Yola), Northwest Stateb (Bida), East Central State (Owerri), and Kano.
Scope and Contents:
Jean Borgatti's collection dates from 1971 to 2003-4 and is comprised of 3,617 slides, 3,625 negatives, 4 negative books, contact prints, an audio cassette, 25 Super 8 film reels, and 23,425 digital images. The 1971-2004 collection includes photographs made between 1971-1974, 1979, and (mostly born digital) 2002-2004.

The materials from 1971-1974 include research-oriented images taken at the National Museum, Onikan, Lagos, as well as field photographs in Edo North. Initially a survey of material culture was carried out in Etsako Local Government Area of the then Bendel, now Edo, State. This included visiting some 43 villages across 9 ethnic groups (Auchi, Avianwu, Ekperi, North Ibie/Ivie, South Ibie/Ivie, Okpella/Ukpila, Okhu, Uzairue, Weppa-Wano [Uwepa-Uwao], and Uneme/Ineme in Akoko-Edo LGA) as well as Otuo and Ikao in Owan LGA. The Etsako communities included Auchi, Avianwu's Afashio, Fugar, and Iraokhor; Ekperi's Azukhala, Okpenada, Osomegbe, Ugbekpe, Udaba Weppa-Wano's Agenebode, Aigyere, Amugbe, and Edegbe; North Ibie included Itsukwi and Okpekpe; South Ibie; Eastern Okpella made up of Afokpella including numerous quarters (Iyeluwa, Imiomoka, Imiamune, Kalaba, Imigbai, Imioko), Ogiriga, and Iddo I (old Iddo) and Iddo II (new Iddo); and western Okpella made up of Awuyemi, Imiegiele, Ogute, Imiaguese, Imiekuri, Ilewi, Ithurogbe, Ogute, and the affiliated Okhu I and Okhu II; Weppa Wano's Agenebode, Aigyere, Amugbe, Edegbe, Iviabua, Iviukhua, Emokhueme, and Iviukhwe; and Uzairue's Ogbido, Iluoke, Afowa, Ayogiri, Apana, Ikabigbo, Iyora, and Jattu.

ShapeMuch of the collection depicts festivals, masquerades, and ceremonies, including Okpella's Olimi Festival, Ekperi's Otsa Festival, Weppa Wano's Ake festival, the Aimhi or Okakagbe masquerade, Otuo and Ikao's Igugu or Eliminia Festival, a Gelede masquerade performance, Okpella's Aminague masquerade, and many individually named masquerades in Edo North. There are also images of title-taking ceremonies, paraphernalia, and shrines, including the Okpella men's Atsogwa title ceremony Oghalo and a comparable one for an Ogbidegua, a titled woman; Avianwu's Aziza, Ekperi's Okailopokai shrine, the Yoruba Oshun shrine at Oshogbo, and Okpella's Okula, a forest shrine associated with Olimi Festival. The most intensive photography is associated with Okpella, Ekperi, Weppa-Wano, Otuo and Ikao masquerades.

The 1979 photographs comprise portraits of individuals responding to a survey on Aesthetic Preference carried out in the Eastern Okpella communities of Ogiriga, Afokpella (Iyeluwa, Kalaba, Imioko, Imiomoka, Imiamune, Imigbai). Iddo I and II, and in Western Okpella the communities of Imiakiu, Imiokewa, Imiedemi, Imiomoh, Udiegwa, Okhu Afokha, Okhu Owu, Imienegwe, and Imiekuri. Olimi Festival research was conducted in Afokpella, Ogiriga, Iddo II, and Ogute.

The 2002-2004 digital images were taken during a panel study based on 1979 Survey on Aesthetic Preference. Portraits of respondents from the communities of Ogiriga, Afokpella, Iyeluwa, Imigbai, Imiamune, Kalaba, Ogute Oke, Imiakiu, Imikhese, Imionoh, Imiokewa, Udiegwa, Imiediemi, Imiagbese, Imiekuri, Awuyemi, Imiegiele, Iddo I, and Iddo II.
Arrangement:
Arranged into 4 series by format. Series 1, 2 and 4 are arranged chronologically and Series 3 is arranged alphabetically.

Series 1: Field Slides, 1971-2003

Series 2: Negatives, 1971-circa 1979

Series 3: Audio and Film Reels, circa 1970s-1982

Series 4: Digital Files, circa 1971-2015
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian and photographer Jean Borgatti's research focuses on cross cultural concepts of art and aesthetics, masquerades and festivals, portraiture, the Black Atlantic, and the continuities and discontinuities in African, African Diaspora, Oceanic and Native American art. An active photographer since at least 1971, she has worked primarily in Benin City, Nigeria and areas in northern Edo State, photographing the Okpella people and other Edo North groups.

Borgatti received her B.A. in Art History from Wellesley College (1966) and both her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Art History from UCLA. Since then, she has received fellowships, grants, and awards for research including a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities (1979-1980), a Sainsbury Institute Fellowship at the University of East Anglia (2005), and two Fulbright fellowships (2002-2004, 2014-2016) for lecturing and conducting research in Nigeria. She was also presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arts Council of the African Studies Association (2014) for her contributions to the field. She taught African and Native American Art History at Clark University for twenty years and has continued her affiliation with Clark as a visiting scholar and research fellow. Additionally, Borgatti has been a visiting scholar of art history and African studies at Boston University (2010-2016).

Borgatti has curated a number of exhibitions, including From the Hands of Lawrence Ajanaku (Museum of Cultural History Gallery UCLA and the African American Institute New York, 1979); Likeness and Beyond: Portraits in Africa and the World (with Richard Brilliant and Alan Wardwell), Center for African Art, New York, and the Kimbell Museum, Fort Worth, 1990); Global Africa: Creativity, Continuity and Change in African Art, 2014-2017, and several museum shows in which African works were placed "in conversation" or "face to face" with works from Asia, Europe, and America throughout the Fitchburg Art Museum (2011-2012). Borgatti has published more than twenty articles on African art with such varied topics as masquerades in Edo North (Nigeria), portraiture in world art, the art market, and individual African artists.

Dr. Borgatti is a consulting curator on African and Oceanic Art at the Fitchburg Art Museum (Massachusetts, 2010-present) and a Professor of Art History, Department of Fine and Applied Arts, University of Benin (Nigeria, 2013-2017).
Provenance:
Donated by Jean Borgatti in 2016.
Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection contains images of art and museum objects and exhibitions with copyright restrictions.
Topic:
Ekperi (African people)  Search this
Urhobo (African people)  Search this
Ghana  Search this
Masquerades  Search this
Festivals  Search this
Coronations  Search this
Workshops  Search this
Portraits  Search this
Okpe (Urhobo people)  Search this
Shrines  Search this
Gelede -- Photographs  Search this
Marketplaces  Search this
Citation:
Jean Borgatti Collection, EEPA 2016-007, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
EEPA.2016-007
See more items in:
Jean Borgatti Collection
Archival Repository:
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo7cd1b395d-e452-4ecd-b5e2-b5c021e807c4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-eepa-2016-007
Online Media:

Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996

Creator:
Miller, Dorothy Canning, 1904-2003  Search this
Subject:
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich)  Search this
Cahill, Holger  Search this
Rothko, Mark  Search this
Coggeshall, Calvert  Search this
Hicks, Edward  Search this
Still, Clyfford  Search this
Calder, Alexander  Search this
Gorky, Arshile  Search this
Charlton, Maryette  Search this
Feininger, Lyonel  Search this
Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice)  Search this
Johns, Jasper  Search this
Horwitt, Will  Search this
DeFeo, Jay  Search this
Christo  Search this
Nevelson, Louise  Search this
Sheeler, Charles  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert  Search this
Karpel, Bernard  Search this
Copley, Alfred L.  Search this
Davis, Stuart  Search this
Newman, Barnett  Search this
Sage, Kay  Search this
Byars, James Lee  Search this
Mather, Eleanore Price  Search this
Barr, Alfred H., Jr.  Search this
Feitelson, Lorser  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu  Search this
Chryssa  Search this
Levy, Julien  Search this
Asher, Elise  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad  Search this
Scharf, William  Search this
Matisse, Pierre  Search this
Bontecou, Lee  Search this
Canady, John  Search this
Picasso, Pablo  Search this
Guggenheim, Peggy  Search this
Sterne, Hedda  Search this
World Trade Center (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this
Rockefeller University  Search this
Smith College. Museum of Art  Search this
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey  Search this
Chase Manhattan Bank  Search this
Municipal Art Exhibition (1st : 1934 : New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Mark Rothko Foundation  Search this
Smith College  Search this
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this
PepsiCo, Inc.  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Sketches
Christmas cards
Drawings
Citation:
Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Corporations -- Private collections  Search this
Art -- Private collections  Search this
Folk art  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6469
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215653
AAA_collcode_milldoro
Theme:
Women
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_215653
Online Media:

Dorothy C. Miller papers

Creator:
Miller, Dorothy Canning, 1904-2003  Search this
Names:
Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this
Chase Manhattan Bank -- Art collections  Search this
Federal Art Project  Search this
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this
Mark Rothko Foundation  Search this
Municipal Art Exhibition (1st : 1934 : New York, N.Y.)  Search this
PepsiCo, Inc.  Search this
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- Art collections  Search this
Rockefeller University  Search this
Smith College -- Students  Search this
Smith College. Museum of Art  Search this
World Trade Center (New York, N.Y.) -- Art collections  Search this
Asher, Elise, 1914-  Search this
Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981  Search this
Bontecou, Lee, 1931-  Search this
Byars, James Lee  Search this
Cahill, Holger, 1887-1960  Search this
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this
Canady, John  Search this
Charlton, Maryette  Search this
Christo, 1935-  Search this
Chryssa, 1933-  Search this
Coggeshall, Calvert, 1907-1990  Search this
Copley, Alfred L.  Search this
Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964  Search this
DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989  Search this
Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956  Search this
Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978  Search this
Gorky, Arshile, 1904-1948  Search this
Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898-1979  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Hicks, Edward, 1780-1849  Search this
Horwitt, Will  Search this
Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this
Karpel, Bernard, 1911-1986  Search this
Levy, Julien  Search this
Mather, Eleanore Price, 1910-  Search this
Matisse, Pierre, 1900-1989  Search this
Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this
Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986  Search this
Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice), 1902-1971  Search this
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979 -- Art collections  Search this
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this
Sage, Kay  Search this
Scharf, William, 1927-  Search this
Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965  Search this
Sterne, Hedda, 1910-2011  Search this
Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980  Search this
Extent:
34.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Sketches
Christmas cards
Drawings
Date:
1853-2013
bulk 1920-1996
Summary:
The papers of contemporary and folk art curator, historian, and consultant Dorothy C. Miller measure 34.6 linear feet and date from 1853-2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1996. The papers primarily concern Miller's private art consulting work outside of her curatorial work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Found are scattered biographical materials, extensive correspondence and subject files, and project files for her art consulting work for the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the World Trade Center, and other miscellaneous corporate and private clients. Miller's work as a trustee and committee member of various public and private boards and commissions is also represented here. Additionally, the papers contain Miller's research files on Edward Hicks and folk art, and a small number of files of her husband Holger Cahill about his work as Director of the Federal Art Project. There is a scattered documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. Also found is Dorothy Miller's collection of artists' Christmas cards and photographs of Miller and others. An addition to the papers includes biographical material; family papers; correspondence; professional files; art collection and client files; printed material; and photographic material. While a small number professional files are included, the majority of the addition relates to her personal life, including correspondence with her husband Holger Cahill, and files pertaining to her personal art collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of contemporary and folk art curator, historian, and consultant Dorothy C. Miller measure 34.6 linear feet and date from 1853-2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1996. The papers primarily concern Miller's art consulting work outside of her curatorial work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York city. Found are scattered biographical materials, extensive correspondence and subject files, and project files for her art consulting work for the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and other miscellaneous corporate and private clients. Her work as a trustee and committee member of various public and private boards and commissions is also represented here. Additionally, the papers contain Miller's research files on Edward Hicks and folk art, and a small number of files related to Miller's husband Holger Cahill and his work as Director of the Federal Art Project. There is important documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center. Artwork includes scattered sketches and drawings enclosed with correspondence and original Christmas cards sent to Miller by various artists. Photographs of Miller date from 1926 - circa 1950.

Scattered biographical material mostly concerns Miller's education at Smith College and awards and honorary degrees that she received. Extensive correspondence and subject files document her professional and personal relationships with family, friends, colleagues, museums, art dealers and artists, as well as her research interests. Individual files may contain a mix of correspondence with, as well as about, the person or subject, compiled research documents, printed materials, and scattered photographs. Files are found for Lewin Alcopley, Alfred Barr, Betty Parsons Gallery, Cahill family members, Lee Bontecou, James Byars, Holger Cahill, Alexander Calder, Christo, Chryssa, Calvert Coggeshall, John Canaday, Maryette Charlton, Stuart Davis, Jay DeFeo, Lorser Feitelson, Arshile Gorky, Peggy Guggenheim, Grace Hartigan, Will Horwitt, Jasper Johns, Julien Levy, Pierre Matisse, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Isamu Nauchi, Georgia O'Keeffe, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Ad Reinhardt, Kay Sage, Charles Sheeler, Hedda Sterne, travel, Clyfford Still, William Scharf, among many others.

Detailed records of Miller's art consulting and advisory work for the Rockefeller family include correspondence with Nelson A. Rockefeller and David Rockefeller about building their personal collections of contemporary and folk art, meeting notes and minutes, research notes and writings, and printed materials. The largest group of records concerns the writing and publication of The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: Masterpieces of Modern Art. Miller's curatorial work for David Rockefeller and the Rockefeller University's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Hall art collection is documented in Series 4 through curatorial files, correspondence, printed materials, photographs and slides, artists files, and design records.

Series 5 contains files relating to Miller's work as the first art consutant to the Chase Manhattan Bank and the building of the corporation's extensive collection of contemporary art. There is a draft of Miller's text for the bank's published catalog, Art At Work: Chase Manhattan Bank Collection. A smaller set of records is found in Series 6 documenting Miller's work on the Art Committee of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including files about selecting artwork for the World Trade Center during the early 1970s. Files concerning Miller's advisory work with additional public and private clients, boards, and commissions are arranged in Series 7 and 8 and concern the Amstar Corporation, Fidelity International Bank, First National Bank of Tampa, First National City Bank, Inmont Corporation, Pepsico, United Mutual Savings Bank, the Empire State Plaza Art Commission, the Hancock Shaker Village, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Mark Rothko Foundation, the Museum of American Folk Art, and the Smith College Museum of Art.

Miller's papers include a small group of files relating to the WPA Federal Art Project (FAP)created by her husband Holger Cahill when he was director of the FAP, Holger Cahill. A small series is devoted to Miller's work with Eleanore Price Mather researching and writing Edward Hicks: His Peaceable Kingdom and Other Paintings. A series of general research files contain miscellaneous research notes and photographs related to Miller's interests in early American art and folk art. Series 12 contains important documentation of Miller's early curatorial work with Holger Cahill on the First Municipal Art Exhibition (1934) held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center.

Works of art are primarily in the form of Christmas cards sent to Miller by various artists including Elise Asher, Lyonel Feininger, Bernard Karpel, and Irene Rice Pereira. A small group of photographs includes photographs of Miller from 1926-circa 1950 and a few photographs of others.

The addition includes biographical material; family papers; correspondence; professional files; art collection and client files; printed material; and photographic material. While a small number of professional files are found here, the majority of material relates to Miller's personal life, including correspondence with her husband Holger Cahill, and files pertaining to her personal art collection. Scattered correspondence, inventories, research, and notes created by curator and donor of the papers, Wendy Jeffers, are found throughout the collection. These materials date from the 1980s-2000s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 15 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-1986 (Box 1; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence and Subject Files, circa 1912-1992 (Boxes 1-8, OV 27; 7.2 linear ft.)

Series 3: Rockefeller Family Art Collections, circa 1949-1985 (Boxes 8-12, 25; 3.9 linear ft.)

Series 4: Rockefeller University Collection, 1923-1984 (Boxes 12-13, OV 27; 1.0 linear ft.)

Series 5: Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, 1959-circa 1985 (Boxes 13-14, 26; 1.4 linear ft.)

Series 6: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Art Committee, circa 1965-1987 (Boxes 14-15, OV 27; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 7: Other Corporate and Private Clients, 1968-1984 (Boxes 15-16; 1.3 linear ft.)

Series 8: Other Boards, Committees and Commissions, 1925, 1949-1985 (Boxes 16-20; 3.6 linear ft.)

Series 9: Works Project Administration Federal Art Project Files, 1935-1979 (Box 20, OV 27; 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 10: Edward Hicks Catalog, 1934-1984 (Boxes 20-22; 1.5 linear ft.)

Series 11: Research Files, 1930s-1980 (Boxes 22-23; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 12: Exhibition Files, 1932-1986 (Box 23; 0.6 linear ft.)

Series 13: Works of Art, circa 1924-circa 1982 (Boxes 23-25; 1.5 linear ft.)

Series 14: Photographs, 1926-circa 1970s (Boxes 24-25; 0.3 linear ft.)

Series 15: Addition to the Dorothy C. Miller Papers, 1853-2003, bulk 1920-1996 (Boxes 28-38, OVs 39-41; 9.9 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Dorothy Canning Miller (1904-2003) worked in New York City as a highly influential curator of contemporary and folk art at the Museum of Modern Art and as the first curator of the museum. Later, she was the primary art consultant for Nelson A. Rockefeller, the Rockefeller family, Rockefeller University, Chase Manhattan Bank, and the Port Authority of and New Jersey. Dorothy Miller was also married to Holger Cahill, director of the WPA Federal Art Project.

Dorothy C. Miller was born in Hopedale, Massachusetts in 1904 and received her Bachelor of Arts from Smith College in 1925. She was first introduced to modern art through classes at the Newark Museum taught by John Cotton Dana and Holger Cahill. Miller joined the curatorial staff of the Newark Museum in 1926. The museum was one of the first to organize exhibitions of American folk art, American Primitives (1930-1931) and American Folk Sculpture (1931-1932). Miller worked with Cahill and others on the exhibition and developed a life-long interest in folk art.

After four years at the Newark Museum, Miller moved to New York city, hoping to get involved with the newly opened Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and, likely, to be with Holger Cahill, with whom she lived with on 8th Street prior to their marriage in 1938. Between 1930 and 1932 she took odd jobs and worked with Mrs. Henry Lang cataloging, researching and installing Lang's collection of Native American art Lang donated to the Montclair Art Museum. At the same time, Holger Cahill was serving as Acting Director of the Museum of Modern Art during an absence of Director Alfred H. Barr. In 1932, Cahill asked Miller to assist him with curating the American Painting and Sculpture, 1862-1932 exhibition at MoMA, and together they also curated the First Municipal Art Exhibition, 1934 at the Rockefeller Center.

In 1934, Barr hired Miller as his assistant and one year later appointed her as MoMA's first curator. Miller spent the next 35 years organizing many of this country's most important exhibitions of contemporary art and building personal relationships with new artists and photographers, as well as the collections of MoMA. Miller retired from MOMA in 1969 and focused more on her art consulting work begun in the late 1950s.

Dorothy Miller's most notable client was Nelson A. Rockefeller. She assisted and advised Rockefeller as he acquired a vast personal collection of modern art - some of which was later donated to MoMA. Just prior to her retirement, Miller organized a large exhibition of Rockefeller's collection. The exhibition catalog written by Miller was the basis for the book she worked on with Rockefeller up until and following his death in 1979, ultimately published as The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection: Masterpieces of Modern Art. In the preface, Rockefeller credited Miller with being one of the four people to whom he was indebted "for the understanding and endless joy I have found in the collecting of modern art in all forms."

Miller also served as the primary art consultant for projects to furnish federal spaces, including Henry Kissinger's State Department office suite, and the official Vice-Presidential residence at the Admiral's House in Washington D.C.

In 1959 Miller was invited to join the art collection committee of the Chase Manhattan Bank and served on the committee until the mid-1980s, contributing her expertise to the development of one of this country's oldest and largest corporate collections of modern and contemporary art.

Miller was also an advisor to other members of the Rockefeller family, including David Rockefeller, and assisted with developing the art collections of Rockefeller Institute/University. From 1960 through the late 1980s Miller was a member of the art committee for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANJY) and was responsible for selecting much of the artwork for the World Trade Center in the 1970s. She served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Hancock Shaker Village, the Smithsonian Institution's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Empire State Plaza in Albany, Smith College Museum of Art, and the Museum of American Folk Art. She also became a member of the Mark Rothko Foundation Board of Directors after the litigation following Rothko's death between Rothko's executors and his daughter.

In the mid-1970s Miller assisted the Whitney Museum of American with planning an exhibition and supporting catalog of the work of folk artist Edward Hicks. Although the exhibition and catalog were only partially realized in 1980, Miller and Eleanore Price Mather compiled and published a book on Hicks, Edward Hicks: His Peaceable Kingdoms and Other Paintings, published in 1983.

In 1982-1983 Miller received the Art Dealers Association Special Award, an honorary degree from Williams College, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture governor's award. In 1984 she was named honorary trustee of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1985 the Smith College Museum of Art honored her important contributions to museum connoisseurship with the exhibition Dorothy C. Miller: With An Eye to American Art.

Dorothy Miller died in 2003 at the age of 99 at her home in Greenwich, New York.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds two oral history interviews with Dorothy C. Miller. The first was conducted by Paul Cummings between May 26, 1970 and September 28, 1971, and details Miller's life from childhood up to, and including, her years at the Museum of Modern Art. The second was conducted by Avis Berman on May 14, 1981 and covers Miller's relationships with Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still. Also found among the holdings of the Archives are the papers of Holger Cahill, Dorothy Miller's husband and colleague.

The Museum of Modern Art Achives holds Dorothy Miller's papers related to her curatorial work at the museum.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Dorothy C. Miller via Wendy Jeffers between 1986 and 1997, and Reid White, Executor of Miller's estate, in 2004. Two subsequent additions were donated by Wendy Jeffers in 2014 and 2015.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Art museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Corporations -- Private collections  Search this
Art -- Private collections  Search this
Folk art  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sketches
Christmas cards
Drawings
Citation:
Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.milldoro
See more items in:
Dorothy C. Miller papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f1ed6cb6-f194-4b76-a8dd-fce3352c09b8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-milldoro
Online Media:

Hans Hofmann papers

Creator:
Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this
Names:
Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts  Search this
Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts (Provincetown, Mass.)  Search this
Amgott, Madeline  Search this
Dickey, Tina, 1954-  Search this
Hawthorne, Charles Webster, 1872-1930  Search this
Hofmann, Maria, 1885-1963  Search this
Hofmann, Renate Schmitz, 1930-1992  Search this
Mauer, Alfred  Search this
Extent:
29.92 Linear feet
5 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Transcripts
Interviews
Photographs
Date:
circa 1904-2011
Summary:
The papers of painter, teacher, and writer Hans Hofmann measure 29.92 linear feet and 5.00 GB and date from circa 1904 to 2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1945 to 2000. The majority of the papers were created after 1932 and document Hofmann's life and professional career after settling in the United States. Among his papers are personal and professional correspondence; records of his schools in Munich, New York City, and Provincetown, Mass.; writings and notes; financial records; photographs; printed matter; estate records; and a small number of personal papers of his second wife, Renate Schmitz Hofmann. Hofmann's personal papers are augmented by a large selection of printed matter, including exhibition catalogs, articles, news clippings, and monographs about Hofmann and modern art, as well as documentary projects including Tina Dickey's compilation of oral histories and records of Hofmann's students, and research materials, sound and video recordings, digital material, and motion picture film created and gathered by Madeline Amgott during the production of two video documentaries about Hans Hofmann released in 1999 and 2002. Hofmann's Library was acquired with his papers; inscribed/annotated volumes have been retained with the collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, teacher, and writer Hans Hofmann measure 29.92 linear feet and 5.00 GB and date from circa 1904 to 2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1945 to 2000. The majority of the papers were created after 1932 and document Hofmann's life and professional career after settling in the United States. Among his papers are personal and professional correspondence; records of his schools in Munich, New York City, and Provincetown, Mass.; writings and notes; photographs; address and appointment books; artifacts; artwork; biographical information; interview transcripts; sales and estate records; and a small number of personal papers of his second wife, Renate Schmitz Hofmann. Hofmann's personal papers are augmented by a large selection of printed matter, including exhibition catalogs, articles, news clippings, and monographs about Hofmann and modern art, as well as documentary projects including Tina Dickey's compilation of oral histories and records of Hofmann's students, and research materials, sound and video recordings, digital materials, and motion picture film created and gathered by Madeline Amgott during the production of two video documentaries about Hans Hofmann released in 1999 and 2002. Hofmann's Library was acquired with his papers; inscribed/annotated volumes have been retained with the collection.

Correspondence, 1914-1966 (Series 1), consists mainly of incoming letters about professional matters and personal business. A large portion of the letters are from museum directors and curators regarding the exhibition, loan, sale or donation of Hofmann's work; publishers, editors, and others preparing catalogs or biographical works; and galleries that showed Hofmann's paintings or represented him. Also among the correspondents are students and former students, art historians, art critics, fans, and friends. Family correspondents are a sister-in-law, nieces, and a nephew in Germany. Additional correspondence concerning administrative matters, and requests for catalogs, transcripts and recommendations are among the Records of the School of Fine Arts (Series 2). Financial Records (Series 4) contain a small amount of correspondence regarding banking, taxes, and Social Security. Estate Records (Series 9) include correspondence relating to taxes, the sale of Hofmann's Provincetown house, and various legal documents. Correspondence among the Papers of Renate Schmitz Hofmann (Series 10) include condolence letters, and a small number of personal letters and business correspondence regarding Hofmann's estate.

School of Fine Arts Records, 1915-1965 (Series 2), include a very small number of items relating to the Hans Hofmann Schule fur Bildende Kunst that operated in Munich from 1915 until 1933. These are printed prospectuses, a financial record, 1925; and "Italian Schools of Painting: The Renaissance in Italy," a printed chart, probably used as a teaching aid. Other items relating to the Munich school are photographs (Series 6) of Hans Hofmann with students in the 1920s, including some taken during the summer course in Capri, circa 1925. Travel photographs, 1920s, may have been taken while teaching summer courses in Europe, and an unidentified photograph, undated, of an exhibition installation in Germany may be school-related.

The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts was established in New York in 1933, and his summer school in Provincetown, Mass., opened in 1934; both operated continually until Hofmann closed them in 1958 in order to paint full-time. Records of these schools are more substantial, but still quite incomplete. They consist of administrative files containing accreditation records, correspondence, model bookings, inquiries from prospective students, and printed matter about the schools. Financial records are comprised of expense statements and an analysis of income from the 1956 summer session. Student records consist of student ledgers, registration and payment records, and requests for transcripts and recommendations. Miscellaneous items are student artwork and notes. Records postdating the schools' closing are inquiries from prospective students and requests from former students for transcripts or recommendations. Additional letters from former students about matters other than transcripts and recommendations are filed with Correspondence (Series 1).

Writings, circa 1904-1965 (Series 3), are published and unpublished manuscripts by Hans Hofmann and other authors. Hofmann wrote extensively about his philosophy of painting, about himself as a teacher and an artist, and about modern art. Included are manuscripts, drafts, and revisions of Hofmann's book, Das Malerbuch: Form und Farbe in Gestaltung, circa 1904-[1952?], Search for the Real in the Visual Arts and Other Essays, published in 1948, and The Painter and His Problems-A Manual Dedicated to Painting, 1963. Articles and Essays include the constituent essays of Search for the Real in the Visual Arts and Other Essays and others on theoretical aspects of painting, Alfred Maurer, and Charles W. Hawthorne. Talks and Lectures consist of notes, outlines, and some complete texts of Hofmann's speeches. Miscellaneous Writings are shorter, informative pieces, mostly unpublished. Representative titles include: "I Am Often Asked to Explain My Work," 1946, and "About the Relation of Students and Teachers," undated. Poems by Hofmann include some written to Miz Hofmann. Notes and Lists include notes on specific works of art and lists of paintings for exhibitions, framing, and shipping.

Financial Records, 1927-1966 (Series 4), consist mainly of banking records and tax returns with supporting documentation. There are also statements of assets and liabilities, and a few subject files concerning financial matters such as "House Expenses," "Social Security," and "University of California-Financial Standing With." Additional tax records are among the documents of the Estate of Hans Hofmann (Series 9), and expenses are recorded in his 1932 appointment book (Series 5).

Miscellaneous Records, 1906-1966 (Series 5) include Addresses and Appointment Books. Artifacts are a leather wallet and 6 photogravure blocks. Artwork consists of 4 sketches and block prints of 3 red shapes, one the numeral 5. Included with Biographical Information are birth and marriage certificates, immigration and naturalization papers, wills, Hofmann and Wolfegg family documents, biographical notes and chronologies, and a bibliography of writings on and by Hofmann. Interview Transcripts are of 3 interviews with Hofmann conducted for various purposes. Sales Records include lists of paintings sold through galleries and privately, and a list of prices computed by canvas size.

Photographs, circa 1925-1966 (Series 6) are of People, Events, Places, Works of Art, and Miscellaneous Subjects; also, Oversize Photographs. People include views of Hofmann alone and with Miz, students, and others; Miz Hofmann; Renate Schmitz Hofmann; and the Hofmann family. Also, there are pictures of identified and unidentified individuals and groups. Events recorded are "Forum 49" at Gallery 200, exhibition installations, openings, and ceremonies for honorary degrees awarded Hofmann. Photographs of places include Miz Hofmann's Munich apartment; interior and exterior views of Hofmann's Provincetown house; exterior views of the Provincetown school; Hofmann's New York studio; and unidentified houses and landscapes. Travel pictures are of Italy, Mexico, California [?], and unidentified locations. Photographs of works of art by Hofmann are mainly 35-mm color slides of works completed from 1935 to 1965. There are also photographs of works by other artists and Hofmann students. Teaching materials are photographs of Old Masters paintings, drawings, and Classical sculpture, some marked to indicate line, form, or proportion. Miscellaneous subjects are a dog, cat, and doll; also, a cover design for Search for the Real in the Visual Arts. The oversize photographs include portraits of Hans Hofmann and Miz, and works of art by Hofmann students.

Printed Matter, 1930-1978 (Series 7), contains articles, essays and a letter to the editor by Hans Hofmann; the remaining material by other authors is categorized by type. Exhibition Catalogs and Related Items (mainly announcements and invitations), 1931-1978, undated, are from group and solo shows that featured the work of Hans Hofmann; also, catalogs and announcements of other artists' exhibitions collected by Hofmann. Newspaper clippings and articles from periodicals include reviews, feature articles, articles with brief references to Hofmann or reproductions of his work, and obituaries. Others are on art-related topics and miscellaneous subjects. Miscellaneous printed matter includes a variety of items such as brochures about art courses (not the Hofmann school), reproductions of works by Hofmann and other artists, book prospectuses, and statements. Art Museum: A Center for Cultural Study, a prospectus showing models and drawings of the proposed University Art Museum, Berkeley, notes the location of its Maria and Hans Hofmann Wing. A Scrapbook, 1944-1962, contains clippings, exhibition reviews, and some catalogs, checklists, and invitations. Nineteen books that mention or are about Hofmann are a part of this series.

Hans Hofmann's Library (Series 8) of art books and general literature was acquired with his papers. Inscribed and annotated volumes have been retained. Books about or mentioning Hofmann are among Printed Matter (Series 7). All other books and periodicals (376 items) were transferred to the Library of the Smithsonian's American Art Museum.

Estate of Hans Hofmann, 1945-1974 (Series 9), consists of records of Hofmann's attorney and co-executor, Robert Warshaw, and includes correspondence and legal documents concerning taxes, the Provincetown house, and miscellaneous business matters.

Papers of Renate Schmitz Hofmann, 1962-1967 (Series 10), include notes, correspondence, condolence letters and records regarding Hans Hofmann's funeral, and information about the theft of Hofmann paintings from his Provincetown house in 1966.

Hans Hofmann Documentary Projects, 1944-2011 (Series 11) includes research materials compiled by Tina Dickey concerning Hofmann's students, correspondence as well as primary source and supplementary research materials produced and gathered by Madeline Amgott for two video documentaries on Hofmann released in 1999 and 2002. Original and edited audiovisual recordings are included in the series, as well as primary source material gathered from a variety of sources. Some material is in digital format.
Arrangement:
The Hans Hofmann papers are arranged into 11 series. Correspondence (Series 1), Financial Records (Series 4), and Papers of Renate Schmitz Hofmann (Series 10) are arranged alphabetically by folder title. Unless noted otherwise, material within each folder is arranged chronologically.

Missing Title

Series 1: Correspondence, 1914-1966 (3 linear feet; Box 1-3)

Series 2: School of Fine Arts records, 1915-1965 (2 linear feet; Box 4-5)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1904-1965 (2.5 linear feet; Box 6-8)

Series 4: Financial records, 1927-1966 (0.5 linear feet; Box 8)

Series 5: Miscellaneous records, 1906-1966 (0.8 linear feet; Box 9)

Series 6: Photographic materials, circa 1925-1965 (1.5 linear feet; Box 9-10, Box 19, MGP 1)

Series 7: Printed material, 1928-1978 (5.2 linear feet; Box 11-15, Box 20)

Series 8: Hans Hofmann Library (2.5 linear feet; Box 16-18, Box 20)

Series 9: Estate of Hans Hofmann, 1945-1974 (0.5 linear feet; Box 18)

Series 10: Papers of Renate Schmitz Hofmann, 1962-1967 (0.1 linear feet; Box 18)

Series 11: Hans Hofmann Documentary Projects, 1944-2011 (12.3 linear feet; Box 19, 21-31, FC 32-44, 5.00 GB; ER01-ER04)
Biographical Note:
German-born Hans Hofmann (1880-1966), a leading figure of the 20th century art world, was the first painter to be called an Abstract Expressionist. An esteemed and influential teacher, Hofmann operated his own school in Munich and later in New York City and Provincetown, Mass. He wrote extensively on theoretical aspects of modern art, and about himself as an artist and teacher, and was in demand as a speaker. Hofmann alternated among a variety of styles and techniques throughout his career. Many paintings combine Fauve-inspired color and Cubist structure; influenced by the Surrealist's automatism, much of Hofmann's abstract work often uses poured and spattered paint.

Johann (Hans) Georg Albert Hofmann showed musical and artistic talent as a boy and excelled in the study of science and mathematics. Technical knowledge acquired through working as assistant to the Director of Public Works of the State of Bavaria enabled him, while still a teenager, to invent several mechanical devices. Hofmann attended Moritz Heymann's Munich art school in 1898. Willi Schwarz, one of his teachers during this period, introduced him to Impressionism, and by visiting galleries Hofmann's awareness of contemporary art movements expanded. Schwarz also introduced him to art collector Phillip Freudenberg whose patronage made a move to Paris possible.

Hofmann arrived in Paris in 1904 and began attending evening sketch classes at the Académie Colarossi and the Académie de la Chaumière where Matisse was among his fellow students. During his 10 years in Paris, Hofmann established a close friendship with Robert Delaunay and met Braque, Arthur B. Carles, Léger, Picasso, and Leo Stein. He painted Cubist landscapes, still lifes, and figure studies, and participated in group shows with Neue Sezessions, Berlin, 1908 and 1909. In 1910, the Paul Cassierer Gallery, Berlin, presented Hofmann's first solo exhibition.

When World War I broke out, Hofmann was visiting Germany. War conditions prevented his return to Paris and terminated Freudenberg's financial assistance. Disqualified for military service due to a lung condition, Hofmann decided to earn his living by teaching. The Hans Hofmann Schule für Bildende Kunst in Munich opened in 1915 and was a success from its earliest days. Beginning in 1917, summer courses were offered in locations such as Italy, France, Bavaria, and Dalmatia. After the war, Hofmann's school began to attract American students including Carl Holty, Alfred Jensen, Louise Nevelson, Worth Ryder, Vaclav Vytlacil, and Glenn Wessels.

Hofmann first came to the United States in 1930, when former student Worth Ryder, art department chairman at the University of California, Berkeley, invited him to teach the summer session at Berkeley. He returned to California the following year, teaching a semester at the Chouinard School of Art, Los Angeles, followed by another summer session at Berkeley. Hofmann moved to New York in 1932 because of the political situation at home and at the urging of his wife, who was to remain in Germany until 1939.

While Hofmann served as guest instructor at the Thurn School of Art, Gloucester, Mass., during the summers of 1932 and 1933, his Munich school offered summer sessions taught by Edmund Daniel Kinzinger. Its 1933 prospectus noted, "Mr. Hofmann will probably conduct the summer school personally..." But he did not return, and the school closed in the fall of 1933.

Hofmann taught at Art Students League in the fall of 1932. The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts opened in New York City in the autumn of 1933, operating in several locations before moving to permanent quarters at 52 West 8th Street in 1938. He established the summer school at Provincetown, Mass. in 1934. Firsthand knowledge of Picasso, Matisse, and european modern art trends, along with his theories and the freedom he offered students, made Hofmann a widely admired, influential, and important teacher. Among his students were: Burgoyne Diller, Ray Eames, Helen Frankenthaler, Red Grooms, Harry Holtzman, Allen Kaprow, Lillian Kiesler, Lee Krasner, George McNeil, Irene Rice Pereira, and Richard Stankiewicz. In addition, art critic Clement Greenberg was significantly influenced by Hofmann's lectures on artistic theory. Both schools flourished until Hofmann decided to close them in 1958; after teaching for 43 consecutive years, he wanted to paint full-time.

In his writings, Hofmann expanded on theories regarding form, color, and space developed during his years in Paris. His most important text, Das Malerbuch: Form und Farbe in Gestaltung, based on notes begun in Paris circa 1904, was written during his second summer at Berkeley, 1931. That same year, Glenn Wessels translated it into English as Creation in Form and Color. Although Hofmann produced additional notes and revisions over the next two decades, the manuscript remains unpublished. Hofmann wrote essays and articles, many of which were published. A collection of Hofmann's writings, Search for the Real and Other Essays, was published in conjunction with his 1948 retrospective exhibition at the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Mass., the first solo show of an Abstract Expressionist to be organized by a museum. Other published and unpublished articles, essays, and shorter writings that elucidate his theoretical concerns include: "The Mystification of the Two- and Three-Dimensional in the Visual Arts," 1946; "Pictorial Function of Colours," 1950; "Space Pictorially Realized Through the Intrinsic Faculty of the Colours to Express Volume," 1951; "The Color Problem in Pure painting-Its Creative Origin," 1955; "The Creative Process-Its Physical and Metaphysical Performing," 1956; "Nature as Experience and Its Pictorial Realization," undated; and "Pure Colour Space," undated.

Hofmann's lectures to his own students, and talks presented to art groups and the general public addressed many of the same themes. He gave his first American lecture in 1930 at the University of Minnesota, and presented talks to a variety of groups while in California. Hofmann was a frequent speaker at the Provincetown Art Association, and participated in the "Forum 49" series he helped to organize at Gallery 200 in Provincetown, 1949.

In the last decade of his life, Hofmann produced a large number of paintings. He was represented in the XXX Venice Biennale, 1960, and major retrospective exhibitions were organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1957, and the Museum of Modern Art, 1963. In 1963, he made a gift of 45 paintings to the University of California, Berkeley, and funded construction of a wing to house them in the soon-to-be-built University Art Museum. Hans Hofmann died in New York City on Feb. 17, 1966.

Missing Title

1880 -- Hans Hofmann is born in Weissenburg, Bavaria, on 21 March, the son of Theodor and Franziska Hofmann.

1886 -- The family moves to Munich, where Theodor becomes a government official. Hans studies mathematics, science, and music at the gymnasium. He plays the violin, piano and organ and begins to draw.

1896 -- With his father's help, finds a position as assistant to the director of public works of the State of Bavaria. Develops his technical knowledge of mathematics, resulting in several scientific inventions, including an electromagnetic comptometer.

1898 -- Studies with Willi Schwarz at Moritz Heymann's art school in Munich, where he is introduced to Impressionism.

1900 -- Meets Maria (Miz) Wolfegg, his future wife.

1903 -- Through Willi Schwarz, he meets the nephew of a Berlin collector, Philipp Freudenberg, who becomes his patron from 1904-1914 and enables him to live in Paris.

1904 -- Frequents the Café du Dome, a haunt of artists and writers, with Jules Pascin, a friend from Moritz Heymann's school. Miz joins him in Paris. Attends evening sketch class at the Académie de la Grand Chaumière and the Académie Colarossi. Meets Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Henri Matisse.

1908 -- Exhibits with the Neue Sezession in Berlin and again in 1909. Miz designs scarves with Sonia Delaunay (then Sonia Uhde).

1910 -- First one-person exhibition held at Paul Cassirer Gallery, Berlin. Meets Robert Delaunay, with whom he designs patterns for Sonia Delaunay's Cubist fashions. During their close friendship, both men develop as colorists.

1914 -- Hans and Miz leave Paris for Corsica so that Hans can regain his health during a bout of what turned out to be tuberculosis. Called to Germany by the illness of his sister Rosa, they are caught on the Tegernsee by the outbreak of World War I.

1915 -- Disqualified for the army due to the after effects of his lung condition, and with the assistance of Freudenberg terminated by the war, Hofmann decides to earn a living teaching. In the spring, he opens the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts at 40 Georgenstrasse, Munich.

1918-29 -- After the war his school becomes known abroad and attracts foreign students such as Worth Ryder, Glenn Wessels, Louise Nevelson, Vaclav Vytlacil, Carl Holty, Alfred Jensen, and Ludwig Sander. Holds summer session at Tegernsee, Bavaria (1922), Ragusa (1924), Capri (1925-1927), St. Tropez (1928-1929). Makes frequent trips to Paris. Has little time to paint but draws continually.

1924 -- Marries Miz Wolfegg on 5 June.

1929 -- A series of his drawings is reproduced by a photographic process known as Lichtdrucke.

1930 -- At the invitation of Worth Ryder, teaches in a summer session at the University of California, Berkeley, where Ryder is chairman of the Department of Art. Returns to Munich for the winter.

1931 -- In the spring, teaches at the Chouinard School of Art, Los Angeles, and again at Berkeley in the summer. Wessels helps him with the first translation of his book Form und Farbe in der Gestaltung, begun in 1904. Exhibits a series of drawings at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, his first show in the United States.

1932 -- Returns to the Chouinard School of Art in the summer. Advised by Miz not to return to Munich because of a growing political hostility to intellectuals, settles in New York. Vaclav Vytlacil helps arrange a teaching position for him at the Art Students League.

1932-33 -- Summer sessions at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts continue in St. Tropez (1932) and Murnau (1933), taught by Edmund Daniel Kinzinger. The school closes in the fall of 1933, and Miz gives up the lease in 1936.

1933 -- Spends the summer as guest instructor at the Thurn School of Art in Gloucester, Mass. In the fall, opens the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts at 444 Madison Avenue in New York. After a prolonged period of drawing, begins to paint again.

1934 -- Upon the expiration of his visa, travels to Bermuda to return with a permanent visa. Opens a summer school in Provincetown, Mass. The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts opens at 137 East 57th Street in New York. In 1936, the Hofmann School moves to 52 West 9th Street.

1938 -- The Hofmann School moves to 52 West 8th Street. A planned European summer session (traveling to Paris, the Cote d'Azure, Italy, and Capri) is called off after Hitler moves into Austria in the Spring. Delivers a lecture series once a month at the school in the winter of 1938-39, which is attend by the vanguard of the New York art world, including Arshile Gorky and Clement Greenberg.

1939 -- Miz Hofmann arrives in America. After a stay in New Orleans, joins her husband in Provincetown. They spend five months each summer in Provincetown and the rest of the year in New York.

1941 -- Becomes an American citizen. Delivers an address at the annual meeting of the American Abstract Artists at the Riverside Museum. One-person exhibition at the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans.

1942 -- Hofmann's former student Lee Krasner introduces him to Jackson Pollock.

1944 -- First exhibition in New York at Art of This Century Gallery, arranged by Peggy Guggenheim. "Hans Hofmann, Paintings, 1941-1944" opens at the Arts Club in Chicago and travels on to the Milwaukee Art Institute in January 1945. Howard Putzel includes Hofmann in "Forty American Moderns" at 67 Gallery, New York. He is also included in "Abstract and Surrealist Art in America" at the Mortimer Brandt Gallery, New York (arranged by Sidney Janis in conjunction with publication of Janis's book of the same title).

1947 -- Exhibitions at Betty Parsons Gallery in New York, in Pittsburgh, and at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The Texas show travels to Denton, Tex.; Norman, Okla.; and Memphis, Tenn. Begins to exhibit with the Kootz Gallery in New York. Kootz holds a one-person show of Hofmann's work each year until his death (with the exception of 1948 and 1956).

1948 -- Retrospective exhibition a the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Mass., in conjunction with publication of his book, Search For the Real and Other Essays.

1949 -- Travels to Paris to attend the opening of his exhibition at the Galerie Maeght and visits the studios of Picassso, Braque, Constantin Brancusi, and Joan Miro. Helps Fritz Bultman and Weldon Kees organize Forum 49, a summer series of lectures, panels, and exhibitions at Gallery 200 in Provincetown.

1950 -- Participates in a three-day symposium at Studio 35 in New York with William Baziotes, James Brooks, Willem de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Theodoros Stamos, David Smith, and Bradley Walker Tomlin. Joins the "Irascibles"-a group of Abstract Expressionists-in an open letter protesting the exclusion of the avant-garde from an upcoming exhibition of American art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

1951 -- Juries the 60th Annual Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago with Aline Louchheim and Peter Blume.

1954 -- One-person exhibition held at the Baltimore Museum of Art.

1955 -- Designs mosaic murals for the lobby of the new William Kaufmann Building, architect William Lescaze, at 711 Third Avenue, New York. Retrospective held at the Art Alliance in Philadelphia.

1957 -- Retrospective exhibitions held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, which then travel to Des Moines, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Utica, and Baltimore.

1958 -- Hofmann ceases teaching to devote himself full time to painting. He moves his studio into the New York and Provincetown schools. Completes a mosaic mural for the exterior of the New York School of Printing (Kelley and Gruzen, architects) at 439 West 49th Street.

1960 -- Represents the United States with Philip Guston, Franz Kline, and Theodore Roszak at the XXX Venice Biennale.

1962 -- Retrospective exhibition opens in Germany at the Frankische Galerie am Marientor, Nuremberg, and travels to the Kolnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, and the Kongreilhalle, Berlin. In Munich, Neue Galerie im Kunstlerhaus presents "Oils on Paper, 1961-1962." Awarded an honorary membership in the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Nuremberg and an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree by Dartmouth College in Hanover, N. H.

1963 -- Miz Hofmann dies. Retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art organized by William Seitz travels throughout the United States and internationally to locations in South America and Europe, including Stuttgart, Hamburg, and Bielefeld. Signs a historic agreement to donate 45 paintings to the University of California at Berkeley and to fund the construction of a gallery in his honor at the new university museum, then in the planning stage. The exhibition "Hans Hofmann and His Students," organized by the Museum of Modern Art, circulates in the United States and Canada.

1964 -- Awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Serves on the jury for the 1964 Solomon Guggenheim International Award. Becomes a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, New York. Renate Schmitz inspires the Renate series.

1965 -- Awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree by Pratt Institute, New York. Marries Renate Schmitz on 14 October.

1966 -- Hans Hofmann dies on 17 February in New York.
Related Material:
The holdings of the Archives of American Art include papers and oral history interviews of many former students and friends of Hofmann; among these collections are correspondence, photographs, reminiscences, writings, and printed items relating to Hofmann and his school. The Lillian Kiesler Papers, 1920s-1990s include records of the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts.

Other Hans Hofmann Papers, 1929-1976 (1.65 linear ft.) are owned by The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley (Collection number: BANC MSS 80/27 c). An inventory is available on The Bancroft Library's website at http//www.lib.berkeley.edu/BANC/
Separated Materials:
Monographs and periodicals (376 items) from Hofmann's Library not directly related to the artist were transferred to the Library of the Smithsonian's American Art Museum in 2001. The Library retained relevant volumes, dispersed others to appropriate libraries within the Smithsonian Institution, and made final decisions regarding disposition of any remaining items.
Provenance:
Renate Schmitz Hofmann, widow of the artist, donated to the Archives of American Art 313 35-mm color slides of work by Hans Hofmann in 1974. The remainder of the collection was a gift of the Estate of Hans Hofmann in 1997. Tina Dickey donated her research material in 2000 and 2001 under the auspices of the Renate, Hans, and Maria Hofmann Trust. In 2006, additional manuscripts, notes, and illustrations for Hofmann's Das Malerbuch: Form und Farbe in der Gestaltung were received from the Trust. In 2015, the Trust donated additional correspondence, research and video production materials related to two documentaries on Hans Hofmann by Madeline Amgott. 13.0 linear ft. books, exhibition catalogs, and periodicals (376 items) from Hofmann's library, received with the collection, were transferred to the Smithsonian's American Art Museum-National Portrait Gallery Library.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Max Spoerri interview: Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from Max Spoerri. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters  Search this
Art teachers  Search this
Topic:
Motion pictures (visual works)  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
Authors -- Massachusetts  Search this
Abstract expressionism  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art students -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Function:
Art schools -- Massachusetts
Art Schools -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Transcripts
Interviews
Photographs
Citation:
Hans Hofmann papers, circa 1904-2011, bulk 1945-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.hofmhans
See more items in:
Hans Hofmann papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw95a404d2f-0dad-4193-9b6a-738b7eab2811
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-hofmhans
Online Media:

Forbes Watson papers

Topic:
Arts (Magazine)
Creator:
Watson, Forbes, 1880-1960  Search this
Names:
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Pepsi-Cola Company  Search this
Public Works of Art Project  Search this
Red Cross  Search this
United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts  Search this
United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Painting and Sculpture  Search this
United States. Public Buildings Administration. Section of Fine Arts  Search this
Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this
Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981  Search this
Beal, Gifford, 1879-1956 -- Photographs  Search this
Brancusi, Constantin, 1876-1957  Search this
Bruce, Edward, 1879-1943  Search this
Citron, Minna Wright, 1896-1991  Search this
Coleman, Glenn O., 1887-1932  Search this
Dows, Olin, 1904-1981  Search this
Genthe, Arnold, 1869-1942  Search this
Glackens, Ira, 1907-1990  Search this
Klonis, Stewart, 1901-1989  Search this
Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974 -- Photographs  Search this
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953  Search this
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953 -- Photographs  Search this
Mangravite, Peppino, 1896-  Search this
Manship, Paul, 1885-1966  Search this
Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954 -- Photographs  Search this
Matisse, Henri, 1869-1954  Search this
Morgenthau, Henry, 1891-1967  Search this
Pène Du Bois, Guy, 1884-1958  Search this
Ray, Man, 1890-1976  Search this
Rowan, Edward Beatty, 1898-1946  Search this
Saint-Gaudens, Homer, b. 1880 -- Photographs  Search this
Shimin, Symeon, 1902-  Search this
Sterne, Maurice, 1878-1957  Search this
Tucker, Allen, 1866-1939  Search this
Watson, Nan, 1876-1966  Search this
Weber, Max, 1881-1961  Search this
Zorach, William, 1887-1966  Search this
Photographer:
Gallatin, A. E. (Albert Eugene), 1881-1952  Search this
Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965  Search this
Extent:
13.92 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Notes
Photographs
Drafts (documents)
Scrapbooks
Place:
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945
New York N.Y. -- Buildings, structures, etc., Photographs
Date:
1840-1967
bulk 1900-1960
Summary:
The papers of New York City art critic, writer, and lecturer Forbes Watson date from 1840-1967 with the bulk of materials dating from 1900-1960 and measure 13.92 linear feet. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, business records relating to the Arts Publishing Corporation, records documenting Watson's work for the Public Works of Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture, reference files, an exhibition file from the Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition, writings and notes, ten scrapbooks and loose pages, printed materials, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of New York City art critic, writer, and lecturer Forbes Watson date from 1840-1967 with the bulk of materials dating from 1900-1960 and measure 13.92 linear feet. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, business records relating to the Arts Publishing Corporation, records documenting Watson's work for the Public Works of Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture, reference files, an exhibition file from the Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition, writings and notes, ten scrapbooks and loose pages, printed materials, and photographs.

Biographical material includes Watson's Harvard diploma, documents concerning his service with the Red Cross in World War II, biographical accounts, and obituaries.

Correspondence is primarily with colleagues and includes scattered letters from Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Ira Glackens, Allen Tucker, and Max Weber. Other letters are from artists, art historians, and museum curators. A notebook contains shorthand drafts of letters from Watson.

Business records include personal business records consisting of various tax and stock records. The Arts Publishing Corporation records concern Watson's tenure as editor of The Arts magazine and contains a contract, correspondence, financial records, stockholders reports, press releases, a scrapbook, and issues of The Arts. Also included are business records pertaining to the Art in Federal Buildings, Inc..

The U.S. Treasury Department file is the largest series and documents Watson's federal employment as technical director, chief advisor, and consultant for Treasury Department's public art programs - the Public Works of Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture. The files contain correspondence, financial reports, prospectuses, exhibition files, typescripts, clippings, exhibition catalogs, miscellaneous printed material, and photographs, and a scrapbook. The files contain a record of Watson's and other federal administrators' interactions with many artists during the Depression Era. Correspondence is primarily between Watson and Edward Bruce, Olin Dows, Henry and Elinor Morgenthau, and Edward B. Rowan. Found are scattered letters from artists including Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Paul Manship, and William Zorach, among many others. There are exhibition files for "Art for Bonds," "Army at War," and "War Against Japan." There are also photographs of U. S. Treasury Department events including a radio broadcast by John Dewey, Robert La Follette, Jr., and Sumner Welles.

Documents from the Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition at the National Academy of Design contains a prospectus, an exhibition catalog and artists' statements.

Artist/Patron files contain reference material concerning painters, sculptors, photographers, dancers, composers, authors, art collectors, art dealers, and museum administrators. Files may include writings, notes, artworks, exhibition catalogs and other printed materials. Of particular note are photographs, which include portrait photographs of artists and of artists in their studios. Notable photographers include Ansel Adams, Arnold Genthe, Man Ray, photographs of New York City by Charles Sheeler and a photo of Henri Matisse by A. E. Gallatin. Files for Nan Watson, Symeon Shimin, and Glenn O. Coleman contain artworks. A file for Constantin Brancusi contains legal documents concerning U. S. Customs vs. Brancusi.

Art and Architecture files consist of reference material including photographs and notes concerning miscellaneous unattributed art works, American architecture, and furnishings.

Notes and writings consist of miscellaneous notes and typescripts of lectures and published articles, and notebooks.

Nine scrapbooks and loose scrapbook pages contain clippings of articles written by Watson, lists, and exhibition announcements and catalogs. Additional printed material includes clippings, copies of the Hue and Cry newspaper, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, calendars of events, brochures for the Art Students League, book catalogs, published books, and miscellaneous printed material.

Photographs are of Forbes Watson; family members including his wife, painter Nan Watson; and members of the Art Students League including Peggy Bacon, Minna Citron, Stewart Klonis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Reginald Marsh. There are also photographs of juries for the Carnegie Institute International Exhibitions that include colleagues Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Gifford Beal, Guy Pene DuBois, Leon Kroll, Henri Matisse, Homer Saint-Gaudens, and Maurice Sterne.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1902-1960 (Box 1; 4 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1913-1960 (Box 1; 33 folders)

Series 3: Business Records, 1920-1944 (Box 1-3, 14, 22; 2.0 linear feet)

Series 4: U. S. Treasury Department File, 1926-1945 (Box 3-6, 14, 17, 22, OV 21; 3.4 linear feet)

Series 5: File for Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition "Paintings of the Year," 1946 (Box 6; 5 folders)

Series 6: Artist/Patron Files, 1840-1967 (Box 6-9, 15, OV 21; 2.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Art and Architecture File, 1929-1930 (Box 9; 35 folders)

Series 8: Notes and Writings, 1875-1950 (Box 9-10, 22; 1.3 linear feet)

Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1904-1951 (Box 9, 11, 14, BV 18, BV 19, BV 20; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 10: Printed Material, 1900-1961 (Box 10, 12-13, 16-17, 22; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Photographs, 1900-1950 (Box 13, 22; .4 linear feet)

All material is arranged chronologically, with the exception of the Artist/Patron Files which are arranged alphabetically.
Biographical Note:
Forbes Watson (1879-1960) worked primarily in New York City and Washington, D.C. as an art critic, writer, lecturer, and consultant to the U. S. Treasury Department's Public Works of Art Project and Section of Painting and Sculpture (Section of Fine Arts).

Forbes Watson was born on November 27, 1879 in Boston, the son of stockbroker John Watson and his wife Mary. Watson grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, attending the Phillips Academy in Andover, and graduating from Harvard University in 1902. After a brief period of freelance writing, he was hired by The New York Evening Post as an art critic in 1911 and worked there until 1917. In 1910, he married Agnes, professionally known as painter Nan Watson.

During World War I, Watson served with an American volunteer ambulance unit with the French army, later working with the American Red Cross in Paris. After the war, he moved back to New York City and worked as art critic for The World, from the early 1920s until 1931 and as editor of The Arts magazine from 1923-1933. Watson also lectured at the Art Students League, and at various universities and arts organizations.

In 1933, Watson moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as technical director of the U. S. Treasury Department's short-lived Public Works of Art Project. In October 1934, Watson was employed as Chief Adviser to the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (later renamed the Section of Fine Arts) and later as Consultant to the Secretary's Office of the Treasury. During World War II, he organized various traveling exhibitions including "Art for Bonds" that promoted the sale of war bonds. Watson retired in 1946 and lived in Gaylordsville, Connecticut.

Watson was the author of numerous essays and reviews, and several books including American Painting Today and Winslow Homer, a biography of the noted American artist. With Edward Bruce, he produced a pictorial volume Art in Federal Buildings, Vol. I: Mural Designs. At his death he was working on his autobiography.

Forbes Watson died on May 31, 1960 in New Milford, Connecticut.
Provenance:
The Forbes Watson papers were donated by Watson's widow, Nan Watson, in 1961. An additional folder of material was donated in 2018 by the Museum of Modern Art via Michelle Elligott, Chief of Archives, Library and Research.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Art and state  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Art publishing  Search this
Architecture, New York State, New York -- Photographs  Search this
Architecture -- New York, N.Y. -- Photographs  Search this
New Deal, 1933-1939  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Federal aid to the arts  Search this
Genre/Form:
Notes
Photographs
Drafts (documents)
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Forbes Watson papers, 1840-1967, bulk 1900-1960. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.watsforb
See more items in:
Forbes Watson papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b62b4c1c-aa40-4979-bbf3-d90fa4e127b6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-watsforb
Online Media:

Giulio V. Blanc papers, 1920-1995

Creator:
Blanc, Giulio V., 1955-1995  Search this
Subject:
Vázquez Lucio, Oscar E. (Oscar Edgardo)  Search this
Trasobares, César  Search this
Vater, Regina  Search this
Sánchez, Juan  Search this
Sí, Juan  Search this
Riverón, Enrique  Search this
Rodríguez, Arturo  Search this
Martínez-Cañas, María  Search this
Macia, Carlos A.  Search this
Libin, Victoria  Search this
Larraz, Julio  Search this
Lam, Wifredo  Search this
Gómez-Peña, Guillermo  Search this
Gaztelu, A. (Angel)  Search this
Gattorno, Antonio  Search this
Garcia, Hernan  Search this
Demi  Search this
Carulla, Ramón  Search this
Carreño, Mario  Search this
Brito, María (1947-)  Search this
Cabrera, Lydia  Search this
Cano, Margarita  Search this
Cano, Pablo  Search this
Goldman, Shifra M.  Search this
Gómez Sicre, José  Search this
Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami, Fla.)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Citation:
Giulio V. Blanc papers, 1920-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Cuban American art  Search this
Art, Latin American  Search this
Artists -- Cuba  Search this
Cuban American artists  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Theme:
Latino and Latin American  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)5414
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216346
AAA_collcode_blangiul
Theme:
Latino and Latin American
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216346
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