The microfilmed George Grey Barnard selected papers include correspondence with dealers, museums, John D. Rockefeller, and others; a few exhibition files; letters from Theodore Roosevelt; files on Barnard's Lincoln sculpture and Rainbow Arch; and drawings and sketches.
Files selected for microfilming in the correspondence subseries A, correspondence with individuals, include Piccirilli Bros., John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Lorado Taft, and Abbott Handerson Thayer and family. The two remaining subseries, correspondence with dealers and with museums were microfilmed in their entirety; among the correspondents are American Art Galleries, Brummer Gallery, G.J. De Motte, Jacques Seligmann, Yamanaka & Co., Metropolitan Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Washington Cathedral, and many others.
Files on the Carnegie Institute Exhibition (1938), Grand Central Art Galleries Exhibition (1935), 1st Annual International Exhibition (1912-1913), and Theodore Roosevelt's letters to Barnard (1917 and 1937) were microfilmed. Files regarding Barnard's Lincoln statue and the Rainbow Arch were microfilmed in their entirety; only a few files, mainly sketches and drawings, were selected from subseries C regarding other sculpture projects.
Arrangement:
Material selected for microfilming from Series I-III: I. Correspondence (reels 3658-3661) II. Subjects (Exhibition files only, reels 3661-3662) III. Sculpture (Lincoln, Rainbow Arch, misc. sketches, reels 3662-3664)
Biographical / Historical:
George Grey Barnard (1863-1938) was an American sculptor, collector, and dealer, whose collection of medieval art formed the nucleus of the Cloisters, the branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art dedicated to the art of the middle ages. Barnard was born to a Presbyterian minister and his wife in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania in 1863. While he was still a young boy, the family left Pennsylvania for the Midwest, eventually settling in Muscatine, Iowa. He married Edna Monroe in 1895 and had three children: Monroe, Vivia, and Barbara.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the George Grey Barnard papers, circa 1860-1969, bulk 1880-1938; the George Grey Barnard letters to Mr. Van der Weyde, [ca. 1910-1921]; and the Photograph of Barnard's sculpture of Lincoln.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives holds the George Grey Barnard Papers. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cloisters Library holds the George Grey Barnard Collection (1889-1967).
Provenance:
Papers received at Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1945 along with the Barnard Abbaye of Medieval art, purchased from the Barnard estate. The collection consists of 18 linear feet of manuscript material, and 1 foot of special format materials, of which 4 feet were selected by the Archives of American Art for microfilming.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Archivist, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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