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Catalog Data

Creator:
Rathbone, Perry Townsend, 1911-2000  Search this
Subject:
Wittmann, Otto  Search this
Ritchie, Andrew Carnduff  Search this
Stout, George L. (George Leslie)  Search this
Faison, S. Lane (Samson Lane)  Search this
Howe, Thomas Carr  Search this
Valentiner, Wilhelm Reinhold  Search this
Gonzalez, Xavier  Search this
Willard, Marian  Search this
Swarzenski, Hanns  Search this
Valentin, Curt  Search this
Sabersky, Jane  Search this
Beckmann, Max  Search this
Moore, Lamont  Search this
Parkhurst, Charles  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this
Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section  Search this
Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc.  Search this
City Art Museum of St. Louis  Search this
Type:
Transcripts
Photographs
Interviews
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
6.1 Linear feet
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series. Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1930-1982 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1) Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1985 (1.1 linear feet; Box 1-2) Series 3: Writings, 1929-1967 (0.8 linear feet; Box 2) Series 4: Professional Files, 1938-1984 (2 linear feet; Box 2-4, OV 6) Series 5: Printed Materials, 1954-1975 (0.2 linear feet; Box 4-5, OV 6) Series 6: Photographs, 1936-1972 (0.1 linear feet; Box 5) Series 7: Unprocessed Addition, (1.8 linear feet; Box 7-9)
Access Note / Rights:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Summary:
The papers of museum director Perry Townsend Rathbone measure 6.1 linear feet and date from 1929 to 2022. The papers document Rathbone's career as museum director of the City Art Museum of St. Louis and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and his later work with Christie's New York office. Found within the papers are biographical materials, correspondence with friends and colleagues, writings, professional and project files, printed materials, and photographs, mostly of exhibitions. There is a 1.8 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2023 that includesfiles on exhibitions, speeches, lectures; files on artists; slides and photographs of works of art; correspondence; writings by Belinda Rathbone and others. Materials date from circa 1940-2022.
Citation:
Perry Townsend Rathbone papers, 1929-2022. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Funding:
Processing of this collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
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.
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own in the following material: Art is for Everyone: The Life and Times of Perry T. Rathbone by Belinda Rathbone, 2022.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of Perry Townsend Rathbone conducted in 1975-1976 by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art's oral history program.
Biography Note:
Perry Townsend Rathbone (1911-2000) was a prominent museum director who worked primarily in Boston and New York City. He was an early supporter of German Expressionism in America.
Language Note:
The bulk of the collection is in English. Other languages include Arabic, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, most of which are in the travel records.
Provenance:
Perry Townsend Rathbone donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1977 and 1988. Additional material donated by the heirs to Parry T. Rathbone represented by his daughter, Belinda Rathbone, in 2023.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Museum directors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8353
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210525
AAA_collcode_rathperr
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210525