The collection is arranged into six series: Series 1: Correspondence, 1883-1962, (Boxes 1-153, OV 267; 152.5 linear feet) Series 2: Department of Fine Arts, 1896-1940, (Boxes 153-184, OV 268; 31.6 linear feet) Series 3: Exhibitions, 1901-1940, (Boxes 184-204; 20 linear feet) Series 4: International, 1895-1940, (Boxes 204-234, 265-266; 30.2 linear feet) Series 5: Letterpress Books, 1900-1917, (Boxes 235-251; 17 linear feet) Series 6: Card Catalogs, 1895-1940, (Box 252-264; 11 linear feet)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Summary:
The records of the Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art measure 265.8 linear feet and date from 1883-1962, with the bulk of the material dating from 1885-1940. The collection includes extensive correspondence between the museum's founding director, John Beatty, and his successor, Homer Saint-Gaudens, with artists, dealers, galleries, collectors, museum directors, representatives abroad, shipping and insurance agents, and museum trustees. The collection also includes Department of Fine Arts interoffice memoranda and reports; loan exhibition files; Carnegie International planning, jury, shipping, and sale records; Department of Fine Arts letterpress copy books, and a copy of the original card catalog index to these records.
Citation:
Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art records, 1883-1962, bulk 1885-1962. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
This site provides access to the records of the Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2011. The Exhibitions and International Series (Series 3 and 4) and the correspondence of directors John W. Beatty (Boxes 15-18) and Homer Saint-Gaudens (Boxes 121-127) have been scanned in their entirety and total 148606 images.
Blank pages, blank versos of photographs, photographs of artwork, and duplicates have not been scanned. In most cases, only the cover, title page, and individual relevant pages have been scanned from published materials.
Funding:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Brown Foundation. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Use Note:
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.
Biography Note:
The Carnegie Institute Museum of Art was established in 1895 by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. One of the first modern contemporary art museums in the United States, its flagship exhibition, the Carnegie International, is recognized as the longest running contemporary exhibition of international art in North America and is the second oldest in the world.
Language Note:
Materials in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
Provenance:
The Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art records were loaned for microfilming in 1966 and later donated to the Archives of American Art in 1972. A small addition of corrrespondence was donated in 2017 by Elizabeth Tufts Brown.
Digitization Note:
This site provides access to the records of the Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2011. The Exhibitions and International Series (Series 3 and 4) and the correspondence of directors John W. Beatty (Boxes 15-18) and Homer Saint-Gaudens (Boxes 121-127) have been scanned in their entirety and total 152,833 images.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
