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Catalog Data

Creator:
Benton, William, 1900-1973  Search this
Names:
Albright, Ivan, 1897-1983  Search this
Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975  Search this
Biddle, George, 1885-1973  Search this
Bishop, Isabel, 1902-1988  Search this
Bohrod, Aaron  Search this
Dalí, Salvador, 1904-1989  Search this
Dean, Abner, 1910-  Search this
Der Harootian, Koren, 1909-  Search this
Ernst, Jimmy, 1920-1984  Search this
Hebald, Milton  Search this
Hirsch, Joseph, 1910-1981  Search this
Johnson, Ben  Search this
Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this
Kleinholz, Frank, 1901-  Search this
Levine, Jack, 1915-2010  Search this
Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954  Search this
Poor, Henry Varnum, 1887-1970  Search this
Rosenberg, James N. (James Naumburg), b. 1874  Search this
Sachs, Hella Moravic  Search this
Vereisky, Orest G.  Search this
Wood, Grant, 1891-1942  Search this
Extent:
1 Linear foot ((on 3 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1940-1983
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; writings; notes; estate lists; contracts; photographs of works of art; exhibition catalogs; clippings; miscellaneous printed material.
REEL 925: Correspondence with artists, 1954-1968, concerning Benton's purchase and background of their works; and writings by Benton on Soviet art.
REEL 3134: A 13-page, incomplete, typescript, 1955, "Reginald Marsh as I Remember Him," by Benton. He writes of working with Marsh on the YALE RECORD and collecting Marsh's paintings.
REEL 4073: Correspondence, 1940-1983, with artists; typescripts on Marsh; writing by Jack Levine "How the Witches' Sabbath was Painted";
photographs and lists of works of art; a notebook "Works of Art on Loan to the William Benton Museum, University of Connecticut" from Benton's estate; a notebook "Painting Contracts" between artists, galleries, and Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.; notebook "Sold," containing data on the sale of Reginald Marsh's work;
printed material on Rockwell Kent, Thomas Hart Benton, Benton's collection, and others; photocopies of 2 portions of Ivan Albright's sketchbooks; a notebook "Britannica Painting Exhibitions Manual of Procedure"; a 2 p. typescript "The Story of My Portrait" by Grant Wood's sister Nan Wood Graham; 3 illustrated notebooks by Ivan Albright; and a sketchbook by Reginald Marsh containing 33 figure sketches.
Correspondents include Ivan Albright, Thomas Hart Benton, George Biddle, Isabel Bishop, Aaron Bohrod, Salvador Dali, Abner Dean, Koren Der Harootian, Jimmy Ernst, Milton Hebald, Joseph Hirsch, Ben Johnson, Rockwell Kent, Frank Kleinholz, Jack Levine, Reginald Marsh, Henry Varnum Poor, James N. Rosenberg, Hella Moravic Sachs, and Orest G. Vereisky.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector, politician; Chicago, Ill. Publisher of ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, Vice-President of the University of Chicago, Congressman from Connecticut, and an avid collector of American art. Benton and Reginald Marsh were classmates and collaborated respectively as editor and illustrator for the Yale newspaper. During the Depression, Benton provided Marsh with a monthly stipend for which he received a monthly painting. When he became chairman of the board of ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA, Benton collected contemporary American painting to Americanize BRITANNICA's British image.
Provenance:
Material on reel 925 and 3134 donated by Benton 1968. His family donated and lent additional material 1985-1986, including originals of some letters which were originally donated as photocopies.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- United States  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.bentwill
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93ed929af-0999-433d-95d6-a0e3b3a5f002
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bentwill