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Summary:
Biographical material; personal letters and notecards; business correspondence and printed material related to Byrnes' work as director of the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art (now the New Orleans Museum of Art) and the North Carolina Museum of Art; personal and professional photographs; printed material, photographs, and writings by Byrnes concerning Man Ray; and documentation of three art appraisals conducted by Byrnes. There is additional material (1.0 linear ft.) on Byrnes' friend and mentor Wilhelm R. Valentiner, including correspondence, financial records, Valentiner estate papers, and writings by Byrnes including a draft of the manuscript, "Memoir of Valentiner."
Citation:
James Byrnes papers, [ca.1940 -2000], bulk 1960-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Biography Note:
Museum director, fine arts appraiser, Los Angeles, Calif., Raleigh, N.C., and New Orleans, La.; b. 1917. Byrnes was also executor of the Valentiner estate.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
Donated 2003 and 2005 by James and Barbara Byrnes.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001