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Catalog Data

Creator:
Benton, William, 1900-1973  Search this
Subject:
Marsh, Reginald  Search this
Wood, Grant  Search this
Bohrod, Aaron  Search this
Dalí, Salvador  Search this
Dean, Abner  Search this
Der Harootian, Koren  Search this
Ernst, Jimmy  Search this
Hebald, Milton  Search this
Hirsch, Joseph  Search this
Johnson, Ben  Search this
Kent, Rockwell  Search this
Kleinholz, Frank  Search this
Levine, Jack  Search this
Poor, Henry Varnum  Search this
Rosenberg, James N. (James Naumburg)  Search this
Sachs, Hella Moravic  Search this
Vereisky, Orest G.  Search this
Albright, Ivan  Search this
Benton, Thomas Hart  Search this
Biddle, George  Search this
Bishop, Isabel  Search this
Place of publication, production, or execution:
Other
Physical Description:
1 Linear foot, (on 3 microfilm reels)
Access Note / Rights:
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.
Summary:
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.
Citation:
William Benton papers, 1940-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
35mm microfilm reels 925, 3134, and 4073 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Most letters are photocopies.
Location of Originals:
Albright and Marsh sketchbooks; and Marsh letter (reel 4073, fr.1158-1266: Originals returned to the lenders, Charles and Marjorie Benton, after microfilming.
Biography Note:
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.
Language Note:
Reel 4073:1-1134, Rockwell Kent exhibition catalog is in Russian.
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.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- United States  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Theme:
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Patronage  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8883
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211068
AAA_collcode_bentwill
Theme:
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource
Patronage
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211068