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George Leslie Stout papers, 1855, 1897-1978

Creator:
Stout, George L. (George Leslie)  Search this
Subject:
Sachs, Paul J. (Paul Joseph)  Search this
Gardner, G. Peabody (George Peabody)  Search this
Ivins, William Mills  Search this
Marceau, Henri  Search this
Hall, Ardelia Ripley  Search this
Howe, Thomas Carr  Search this
Sizer, Theodore  Search this
Buck, Richard D.  Search this
Warner, Langdon (1881-1955)  Search this
Constable, W. G. (William George)  Search this
Moore, Lamont  Search this
Worcester Art Museum  Search this
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum  Search this
Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section  Search this
Fogg Art Museum  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Citation:
George Leslie Stout papers, 1855, 1897-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Museum directors -- United States  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Art -- Conservation and restoration  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
Diaries  Search this
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13421
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211684
AAA_collcode_stougeor
Theme:
Diaries
Diaries
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211684
Online Media:

George Leslie Stout papers

Creator:
Stout, George L. (George Leslie)  Search this
Names:
Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section  Search this
Fogg Art Museum  Search this
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum  Search this
Worcester Art Museum  Search this
Correspondent:
Buck, Richard D.  Search this
Constable, W. G. (William George), 1887-1976  Search this
Gardner, G. Peabody (George Peabody)  Search this
Hall, Ardelia Ripley  Search this
Howe, Thomas Carr, 1904-1994  Search this
Ivins, William Mills, 1881-1961  Search this
Marceau, Henri, 1896-1969  Search this
Moore, Lamont  Search this
Sachs, Paul J. (Paul Joseph), 1878-1965  Search this
Sizer, Theodore, 1892-1967  Search this
Warner, Langdon (1881-1955)  Search this
Extent:
6.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Date:
1855
1897-1978
Summary:
The papers of conservator and museum director George Leslie Stout measure 6.4 linear feet and date from 1855, 1897-1978. Stout was head of the conservation department at Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum, director of the Worcester Art Museum and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Massachusetts, and a member of the Monuments, Fine Art and Archives (MFAA) Section of the U.S. Army during World War II. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with family, friends, colleagues and professional associations. There are letters from fellow Monuments Men who served in the MFAA section such as Thomas Carr Howe, Ardelia Hall, Lamont Moore, Theodore Sizer, Langdon Warner and several other prominent arts administrators. The papers also contain biographical materials, writings, sketches and one sketchbook, military records, printed materials, and photographs.

There is a 0.2 linear foot addition to this collection acquired in 2020 that includes four diaries, 1944-1946, kept by George Stout as a member of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section (MFAA) of the U.S. Army (known as the Monuments Men). The diaries describe Stout's experiences surveying war-caused damages in France, Germany, and Japan, and the recovery of Nazi impounded art works. Also included is a hand-made booklet that includes a "Glossary of Cha-no-yu Terms," which consists of quotes about Japanese art and tea drinking.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of conservator and museum director George Leslie Stout measure 6.4 linear feet and date from 1855, 1897-1978. Stout was head of the conservation department at Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum, director of the Worcester Art Museum and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Massachusetts, and a member of the Monuments, Fine Art and Archives (MFAA) Section of the U.S. Army during World War II. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with family, friends, colleagues and professional associations. There are letters from fellow Monuments Men who served in the MFAA section such as Thomas Carr Howe, Ardelia Hall, Lamont Moore, Theodore Sizer, Langdon Warner and several other prominent arts administrators. The papers also contain biographical materials, writings, sketches and one sketchbook, military records, printed materials, and photographs.

There is a 0.2 linear foot addition to this collection acquired in 2020 that includes four diaries, 1944-1946, kept by George Stout as a member of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section (MFAA) of the U.S. Army (known as the Monuments Men). The diaries describe Stout's experiences surveying war-caused damages in France, Germany, and Japan, and the recovery of Nazi impounded art works. Also included is a hand-made booklet that includes a "Glossary of Cha-no-yu Terms," which consists of quotes about Japanese art and tea drinking.

Biographical materials include college and graduate school transcripts, various certificates, four small appointment books and passports.

Correspondence is between George Leslie Stout and family, friends, colleagues, professional associations and fellow Monuments Men. Family correspondence is with Stout's immediate and extended family, the bulk of which is from Stout to his wife Margaret and his son Thomas. Correspondents in the Monuments Men correspondence include Thomas Carr Howe, Ardelia Hall, Lamont Moore, Theodore Sizer, Langdon Warner, and many others. There is also substantial correspondence with friends and professional colleagues in the museum and art world, such as Walter Beck, Richard D. Buck, William George Constable, Earl of Crawford, George Peabody Gardner, Jr., William Ivins, Jr., Henri Marceau, and Paul Sachs, among many others.

Writings by Stout consist of typescript drafts and published articles, speeches, and miscellaneous notes. Most of the writings concern art conservation and the speeches are memorials for two of Stout's colleagues. Notes consists of drafts for the texts of holiday cards Stout designed, biographical notes, and images and captions for The Care of Pictures. There are also three conference papers on art conservation written by other people.

Subject files document Stout's conservation projects as a consultant for museums, universities, galleries and other organizations. Also found in this series are documents relating to Stout's work after retiring from the Isabella Gardner Museum and his membership or participation in various arts programs and organizations.

A separate series contains files relating to Stout's World War II service in the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives (MFAA) Section. Found here are official military records, publications by Monuments Men, and a few scattered photographs. Military records include directives, reports, certificates and a bronze star medal. There are articles and books written by various Monuments Men such as Langdon Warner, Lincoln Kirstein and Theodore Sizer. There are also scattered photographs, only two of which depict tout (including one group photograph with Lamont Moore, Walker Hancock and other Monuments Men.) There are also 12 negatives with 4 prints depicting La Gleize Church and the town of Ambleve, Belgium in 1945. There are also four diaries documenting Stout's experiences in the MFAA Section in Europe and Japan from 1944-1946.

Personal business records include assorted legal and estate papers as well as financial papers such as receipts, travel expenses and donations.

Printed materials consists of news clippings, bulletins, brochures, press releases, conference papers, and magazine and journal articles, most of it related to art conservation.

Artwork includes pencil and ink drawings and sketches, mostly of travel scenes, people, and animals. There is one sketchbook of the human figure. Many sketches were loosely grouped together by Stout with titles such as "Pool Doodles" or "Park and Zoo." The is also one caricature of Eric Brown by Murray Pease.

The papers include photographs and negatives, mostly personal photographs of friends, family, relatives and colleagues. There are also photographs of art conservation conferences and travel photographs. Additional scattered photographs are located in the series containing the Monuments Men files.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 9 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1919-1977 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1978 (2.5 linear feet; Box 1-3, OV 8)

Series 3: Writings, 1927-1978 (0.5 linear feet; Box 3-4)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1918, 1943-1978 (1 linear feet; Box 4, OV 8-9)

Series 5: Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section Files, 1918, 1942-1955, 1972-1975 (0.5 linear feet; Box 5, 10)

Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1938-1978 (0.1 linear feet; Box 5)

Series 7: Printed Materials, 1926-1977 (0.8 linear feet; Box 5-6, OV 9)

Series 8: Sketchbooks, circa 1924-circa 1938, 1970-1977 (0.1 linear feet; Box 6)

Series 9: Photographic Materials, circa 1855, 1897-1978 (0.2 linear feet; Box 6-7)
Biographical / Historical:
George Leslie Stout (1897-1978) was a museum director and prominent art conservator in Massachusetts. Stout was head of the conservation department at Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum, and director of the Worcester Art Museum and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Massachusetts. During World War II, Stout served in the U.S. Army Monuments, Fine Art and Archives (MFAA) and played a leading role in the protection, location, and recovery of art work stolen by the Nazis.

Born in Winterset, Iowa in 1897, George Leslie Stout was the oldest of six children and attended Winterset High School and served in the U.S. army during World War I. Following the war, Stout studied at the State University of Iowa, received his B.A. in 1921, worked for a few years, and married Margaret Hayes in 1924 with whom he had two sons, Robert and Thomas. He attended Harvard graduate school in 1926 and graduated with a Master of Art in 1929. Stout began working as a lecturer and conservator at Harvard's Fogg Art Museum, later becoming the head of the conservation department in 1933, a position he held until 1947.

During World War II, Stout re-enlisted in the U.S. Navy, having served in the reserves since World War I. Stout was one of the first members of the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives (MFAA) Section of the U.S. army. He was appointed to the MFAA Section for the Twelfth Army Group in 1944 and was one of the first Monuments Men to arrive at Normandy, France. He was later appointed Lieutenant Commander of the MFAA Section. Many of the Monuments Men's stolen art recovery achievements were directed by George Leslie Stout. Stout supervised the inventory and removal of looted art hidden by the Nazis in the salt mines of Merkers and Ransbach in Thuringia, Germany. Stout oversaw the organization, packing, and shipping of several thousand objects including paintings by Rubens and Goya, along with precious antiquities. At the Altaussee salt mines in Austria, he was in charge of the unit that recovered a large cache of stolen artwork that included Michelangelo's Madonna and Child and the Ghent Altarpiece or The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Hubert and Jan van Eyck. There, he also worked very closely with fellow Monuments Men Thomas Carr Howe. Stout went on to locate and recover looted artwork in other repositories in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. He maintained a relationship with many of his fellow Monuments Men after the war.

Stout left Europe in the latter half of 1945, then went to Japan where he served as the Chief of the Arts and Monuments Division at Headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, Tokyo until the middle of 1946. After the war Stout received the Bronze Star and the Army Commendation Medal for his army service and work as a Monuments Man in Europe.

Stout resumed his position as the head of the conservation department at the Fogg Art Museum when he returned to America. In 1947 he became the director of the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts where he stayed until 1955, when he became the director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston where he worked until his retirement in 1970. Stout wrote numerous articles about art conservation and wrote two books: Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia (1942), co-authored with Harvard colleage R. J. Gettens, and Care of Pictures (1948). Stout died in Menlo Park, California in 1978 and was widely recognized as a distinguished art conservator.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with George Stout conducted by Paul Karlstrom in 1978.
Provenance:
George Leslie Stout donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1978. In that same year, Robert Stout, son of George Leslie Stout, loaned four diaries to the Archives of American Art for microfilming. The four diaries were acquired at auction by the Archives in 2020 with generous donations from Paul Neely, David Copperfield in memory of Kelly Asbury, Deborah Lehr and John Rogers, Ambassador Nicholas F. Taubman, The Whitney and Elizabeth MacMillan Foundation, Jeffrey P. Cunard and Mariko Ikehara; The Elbrun and Peter Kimmelman Family Foundation, Inc.; Peter and Paula Lunder; William and Christine Ragland in memory of William McKenzie Ragland Lt. JG, U.S. Navy, Pacific Theater, WWII; The Kurin Family in honor of WWII Veteran Saul Kurin, Paul and Corine Wegener, and Judy and Bob Huret.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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 -- California  Search this
Arts administrators  Search this
Topic:
Museum directors -- United States  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Art -- Conservation and restoration  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Citation:
George Leslie Stout papers, 1855, 1897-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.stougeor
See more items in:
George Leslie Stout papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ccad7a5c-748e-4881-8fc3-5bf2bf18a811
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-stougeor
Online Media:

Oral history interview with George Leslie Stout, 1978 March 10-21

Interviewee:
Stout, George L. (George Leslie)  Search this
Interviewer:
Karlstrom, Paul J  Search this
Subject:
Buck, Richard D.  Search this
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum  Search this
Worcester Art Museum  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with George Leslie Stout, 1978 March 10-21. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art -- Conservation and restoration  Search this
Museum directors -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13145
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212275
AAA_collcode_stout78
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212275

Oral history interview with George Leslie Stout

Interviewee:
Stout, George L. (George Leslie)  Search this
Interviewer:
Karlstrom, Paul J.  Search this
Names:
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum  Search this
Worcester Art Museum  Search this
Buck, Richard D.  Search this
Extent:
2 Sound tape reels (Sound recording, 5 in.)
59 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound tape reels
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1978 March 10-21
Scope and Contents:
An interview of George Leslie Stout conducted 1978 March 10-21, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art. Stout speaks of his education; conservation work at the Fogg Art Museum; his experience as Arts and Monument officer in Europe; conservation in America; and his directorship and Worcester Art Museum, 1947-1954, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1955-1970. He recalls Richard Buck.
Biographical / Historical:
George Leslie Stout (1897-1978) was an art consultant, conservator, and museum director from Menlo Park, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 45 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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.
Occupation:
Conservators -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Conservation and restoration  Search this
Museum directors -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Function:
Art museums
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.stout78
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e5bce627-952f-43c3-b1ad-9d03813a45b3
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-stout78
Online Media:

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University, Fogg Art Museum

Collection Creator:
Jacques Seligmann & Co  Search this
Container:
Box 108, Folder 1
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1948-1951
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records / Series 1: Correspondence / 1.4: Museum Correspondence
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a493efd1-653a-4207-95db-13158c8dba30
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-jacqself-ref11781
6 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
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The behavior of wood and the treatment of panel paintings : a collection of papers / written by Richard D. Buck ... ; compiled by James S. Horns

Author:
Buck, Richard D  Search this
Kolch, David Reconstruction treatments for panel supports at the Fogg Museum Laboratory  Search this
Horns, James S  Search this
International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works  Search this
Physical description:
68 p. : ill. ; 28 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1978
[1978?]
Topic:
Wood--Preservation  Search this
Panel painting--Conservation and restoration  Search this
Call number:
TA422 .B92
TA422.B92
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_117212

Report of the working group on the care of works of art in transit / co-ordinator, N. Stolow, with contributions from R.D. Buck [et al.]

Author:
Stolow, Nathan  Search this
Buck, Richard D  Search this
ICOM Committee for Conservation  Search this
Physical description:
30 leaves, [1] leaf of plates : ill. ; 28 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1969
Topic:
Art objects--Conservation and restoration  Search this
Transportation--Research  Search this
Art objects--Packing  Search this
Museum conservation methods  Search this
Call number:
N8560 .R42
N8560.R42
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_147857

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