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Walter Horn papers, 1908-1992, bulk 1943-1950

Creator:
Horn, Walter William, 1908-1995  Search this
Subject:
Smith, John T.  Search this
Sennhauser, Hans Rudolf  Search this
Harbison, Peter  Search this
Dupree, A. Hunter  Search this
Kunzelman, Charles J.  Search this
von Hummel, Helmuth  Search this
von Hummel, Edeltraut  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Koehler, Wilhelm Reinhold Walter  Search this
Charles, Fred  Search this
Eggenbacher, Christopher  Search this
Duft, Johannes  Search this
Panofsky, Erwin  Search this
University of California, Berkeley  Search this
Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Citation:
Walter Horn papers, 1908-1992, bulk 1943-1950. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Art thefts -- Germany -- History -- 20th century  Search this
Crown jewels -- Holy Roman Empire  Search this
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9658
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211866
AAA_collcode_hornwalt
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211866
Online Media:

Walter Horn papers

Creator:
Horn, Walter William, 1908-1995  Search this
Names:
Allied Forces. Supreme Headquarters. Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section  Search this
University of California, Berkeley -- Faculty  Search this
Charles, Fred  Search this
Duft, Johannes, 1915-  Search this
Dupree, A. Hunter  Search this
Eggenbacher, Christopher  Search this
Harbison, Peter  Search this
Koehler, Wilhelm Reinhold Walter, 1884-1959  Search this
Kunzelman, Charles J.  Search this
Panofsky, Erwin, 1892-1968  Search this
Sennhauser, Hans Rudolf  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Smith, John T.  Search this
von Hummel, Edeltraut  Search this
von Hummel, Helmuth  Search this
Extent:
2.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1908-1992
bulk 1943-1950
Summary:
The papers of art historian and World War II Monuments Man Walter W. Horn measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1908 to 1992, with the bulk of material dating from 1943 to 1950. Walter Horn taught art history at the University of California, Berkeley from 1938 to his retirement in 1974. During World War II, Horn served as Head of the U. S. Army Intelligence Unit of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section (MFAA.) The papers contain biographical materials; professional correspondence; records documenting his service in the MFAA; administrative files relating to his work at the University of California, Berkeley; and scattered photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian and World War II Monuments Man Walter W. Horn measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1908 to 1992, with the bulk of material dating from 1943 to 1950. Walter Horn taught art history at the University of California, Berkeley from 1938 to his retirement in 1974. During World War II, Horn served as Head of the U. S. Army Intelligence Unit of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Section (MFAA.) The papers contain biographical materials; professional correspondence; records documenting his service in the MFAA; administrative files relating to his work at the University of California, Berkeley; and scattered photographs.

Biographical materials include certificates, transcripts, registration books, and diplomas, immigration papers and supporting documentation, birth certificate, passports, and Horn's application for U.S. citizenship. Also found here are papers relating to Horn's academic work, such as bibliographies, curriculum vitae and a few other miscellaneous materials.

The bulk of the papers consist of professional correspondence between Horn and his colleagues. Many of the letters relate to Horn's scholarly publications and projects, especially his seminal work The Plan of St. Gall: A Plan of the Architecture and Economy of, and Life in a Paradigmatic Carolingian Monastery (1979). Prominent correspondents include Meyer Schapiro, Wilhelm Koehler, Fred Charles, Christopher Eggenbacher, Johannes Duft, Hunter Dupree, Peter Harbison, H.R. Sennhauser, and John T. Smith.

Papers and records documenting Horn's World War II service in the the U. S. Army Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section have been arranged in one series. There are scattered letters, including ones from Erwin Panofsky, Charles J. Kunzelman, and Helmuth and Edeltraut von Hummel. There are also letters of inquiry about the recovery of the crown jewels of The Holy Roman Empire. Also found in this series are official Army documents, including a directory and inventory of recovered gold coins; receipts for transporting recovered artwork; art looting investigation, interrogation, and arrest reports; and reports on Horn's investigation and recovery of the crown jewels and the gold coin investigation. There is scattered printed material and photographs of the recovered gold coins and of Helmuth and Edeltraut von Hummel.

Horn's papers also contain a few administrative files from his tenure at the University of California, Berkeley, and one folder of color photographs of Horn's papers being prepared for shipment to the Archives of American Art.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 5 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1908-1989 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, 4)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1937, 1949-1992 (1.2 linear feet; Box 1-2, 4, OV 5)

Series 3: U.S. Army Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section Files, circa 1938-1989 (0.6 linear feet; Box 2-4, OV 5-6)

Series 4: University of California, Berkeley Administrative Files, 1938-1976 (0.1 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 5: Photographs, 1989 (1 folder; Box 3)
Biographical / Historical:
Walter William Horn (1908-1995) was a professor of art history at the University of California, Berkeley. During World War II, he served in the Army Intelligence Unit of the Monument, Fine Arts and Archives Section (MFAA.)

Walter Horn was born in Waldangelloch, Germany and graduated from the Gymnasium in Heidelberg in 1926. He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg, Berlin and Hamburg. In 1934 he received his Ph.D. in art history from the University of Hamburg, studying under Erwin Panofsky. His dissertation on the facade of the Church of St. Gilles was published in 1937. Horn fled Nazism in Germany and immigrated to the United States.

In 1938 Horn accepted a position at the University of California at Berkeley as a lecturer in art history, becoming the first state sponsored teacher of art history within California. He quickly became a professor and co-founded the university's Department of Art History.

Horn married twice. His first wife was Ann Binkley Rand. His second marriage was to Alberta West Parker, a physician. They had three children, Michael Peters, Peter Matthew, and Rebecca Ann.

In 1943, Horn became a naturalized American citizen and was soon inducted into the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the Detailed Interrogation Center, and by 1945 was serving as a lieutenant in the Third Army Intelligence Center. His German language skills were put to use interrogating prisoners of war and personnel of the Gestapo and S.S. Horn later continued his interrogation work in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). After the war, Horn was assigned to the Army Intelligence Unit of the Monuments, Fine Arts & Archives Section (MFAA) and became one of the Monuments Men responsible for tracking and recovering art works and other cultural heritage objects that had been systematically looted and hidden by the Nazis.

Horn led the team of Monuments Men who recovered the stolen Crown Jewels or Imperial Regalia of the Holy Roman Empire. The Crown Jewels, including a crown and sceptre, were discovered walled up in a passage in Nuremburg. Horn also recovered a collection of gold coins valued at $2,000,000 in 1946. He tracked the coins primarily through interrogations of Edeltraut von Hummel. Edeltraut's husband Helmuth von Hummel served as the chief secretary to Martin Bormann, leader of the Nazi Party Chancellery.

After the war, Horn resumed teaching at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as Chairman of the Department of Art History until his retirement in 1974. He also helped establish the University Art Museum. In 1949, the school implemented a requirement that all employees must sign a loyalty oath to affirm their allegiance to the state constitution and disavow any intent to overthrow the government. There was substantial outcry among the university faculty and several professors who refused to sign were fired. Horn signed the loyalty oath under protest in 1950. He wrote a letter to the press explaining his decision and expressing his concerns.

In 1979, a decades long collaboration with distinguished architect Ernest Born resulted in The Plan of St. Gall, a three volume work on medieval architecture. The book was praised as a monumental undertaking by the scholarly community upon its publication.

Walter Horn died of pneumonia in 1995.
Related Materials:
Walter Horn papers, 1917-1989, are located at The Getty Research Institution Special Collections.
Provenance:
Walter Horn donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1989. Additional papers were donated by his wife Dr. Alberta Parker Horn in 1998 and 2002.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
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.
Occupation:
Art historians -- California -- Berkeley  Search this
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Art thefts -- Germany -- History -- 20th century  Search this
Crown jewels -- Holy Roman Empire  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Walter Horn papers, 1908-1993, bulk 1943-1950. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.hornwalt
See more items in:
Walter Horn papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94f78cd8e-2b64-4ea9-af93-f998c908bca4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-hornwalt
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Herbert Palmer

Interviewee:
Palmer, Herbert Bearl, 1915-2006  Search this
Interviewer:
Ehrlich, Susan, 1942-  Search this
Names:
Ankrum Gallery  Search this
David Stuart Galleries  Search this
Feigen Palmer Gallery  Search this
Felix Landau Gallery  Search this
Irving Blum Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
New York University -- Students  Search this
Ankrum, Joan  Search this
Bloch, Lucienne, 1909-1999  Search this
Bluhm, Norman, 1921-1999  Search this
Callahan, Harry M.  Search this
Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906  Search this
Feigen, Richard L., 1930-  Search this
Garabedian, Charles  Search this
Grooms, Red  Search this
Maillol, Aristide, 1861-1944  Search this
Mullican, Lee, 1919-1998  Search this
Offner, Richard, 1889-1965  Search this
Onslow-Ford, Gordon  Search this
Paalen, Wolfgang, 1907-  Search this
Reiss, Henrietta  Search this
Reiss, Winold, 1886-1953  Search this
Riley, Bridget, 1931-  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Stevenson, Harold, 1929-2018  Search this
Tudor, David, 1926-1996  Search this
Vasa  Search this
Wölfflin, Heinrich, 1864-1945  Search this
Extent:
56 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2004 Dec. 6-22
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Herbert Palmer conducted 2004 Dec. 6 and 22, by Susan Ehrlich, for the Archives of American Art, in West Hollywood, Calif.
Palmer discusses his family background and childhood in New York City; early exposure to art exhibitions; music appreciation; attending New York University; taking classes with Winhold Reiss, Meyer Shapiro, Richard Offner, and Heinrich Wolfflin; his master's thesis on Paul Cezanne's paintings of Mount Saint Victoire; moving to California; learning to fly; meeting Lillian, his wife; founding Feigen-Palmer Gallery with Richard Feigen; other galleries in the area, including Irving Blum, David Stuart, Felix Landau, Charles Garabedian, and Joan Ankrum; Monday Night Art Walks; John Cage and David Tudor performance pieces; the many artists he's exhibited; Andy Warhol's "The Kiss"; 1968 split with Richard Feigen to become the Herbert Palmer Gallery; the theft of a Picasso sculpture in Dec. 1981 and the ensuing legal case, which involved numerous galleries and collectors; his longstanding friendships with Gordon Onslow Ford, Lee Mullican, and Wolfgang Paalen; membership to the Art Dealers Association of California; and his enjoyment of discovering art, old and new. Palmer also recalls Henriette Riess, Harold Stevenson, Lucienne Bloch, Bridget Riley, Vasa Mihich, Maillol, Red Grooms, Norman Bluhm, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Herbert Palmer (1915-2006) owned the Herbert Palmer Gallery of West Hollywood, Calif. Interviewer Susan Ehrlich is an art historian from Beverly Hills, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 mini discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 15 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 35 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
Occupation:
Gallery owners -- California  Search this
Topic:
Art thefts  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.palmer04
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9865dac29-395b-4aba-932d-dc84613acfdc
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-palmer04
Online Media:

Catherine Viviano Gallery records, 1930-1990, bulk 1949-1978

Creator:
Catherine Viviano Gallery  Search this
Subject:
Wakabayashi, Kazuo  Search this
Viviano, Catherine  Search this
Van Veen, Stuyvesant  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Seeger, Stanley J.  Search this
Sage, Kay  Search this
Valentin, Curt  Search this
Tanning, Dorothea  Search this
Stout, George L. (George Leslie)  Search this
Price, Vincent  Search this
Pulitzer, Joseph  Search this
Perlin, Bernard  Search this
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich)  Search this
Rosenthal, Bernard M.  Search this
Rathbone, Perry Townsend  Search this
Ribicoff, Belle Krasne  Search this
Morlotti, Ennio  Search this
Moyens, H. Marc  Search this
Ossorio, Alfonso  Search this
Myers, John Bernard  Search this
McCray, Porter A.  Search this
Menil, Dominique de  Search this
Meltzer, Doris  Search this
Miller, Stephen Robeson  Search this
Miró, Joan  Search this
Minguzzi, Luciano  Search this
Hirschhorn, Joseph  Search this
Lerner, Abe  Search this
Mabe, Manabu  Search this
Ludgin, Earle  Search this
Manrique, César  Search this
Giacometti, Alberto  Search this
Glasco, Joseph  Search this
Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor  Search this
Graves, Morris  Search this
Guerrero, José  Search this
Göpel, Barbara  Search this
Göpel, Erhard  Search this
Eisendrath, William N.  Search this
Ernst, Dallas  Search this
Faison, S. Lane (Samson Lane)  Search this
Fleischman, Barbara  Search this
Fleischman, Lawrence A. (Lawrence Arthur)  Search this
Genauer, Emily  Search this
Chaet, Bernard  Search this
Callery, Mary  Search this
Bishop, Elizabeth  Search this
Broderson, Robert M  Search this
Dorazio, Virginia Dortch  Search this
Dubuffet, Jean  Search this
Dorazio, Piero  Search this
Cox, Jan  Search this
Afro  Search this
Birolli, Renato  Search this
Barker, Walter  Search this
Bareiss, Walter  Search this
Baker, Richard Brown  Search this
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Dudensing, F. Valentine  Search this
Yunkers, Adja  Search this
Wadsworth Atheneum  Search this
Yale University. Art & Architecture Library  Search this
World House Galleries  Search this
Harvard University  Search this
William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts  Search this
University of Virginia  Search this
Santa Barbara Museum of Art  Search this
Philadelphia Art Alliance  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston  Search this
Walker Art Center  Search this
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Los Angeles County Museum  Search this
Mary Washington College  Search this
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this
Fogg Art Museum  Search this
City Art Museum of St. Louis  Search this
Detroit Institute of Arts  Search this
Massachusetts Institute of Technology  Search this
Brooklyn Museum  Search this
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts  Search this
Des Moines Art Center  Search this
American Federation of Arts  Search this
American Academy of Arts and Letters  Search this
Barnes Foundation  Search this
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center  Search this
Art Club of Chicago  Search this
Carnegie Institute  Search this
Art Institute of Chicago  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Notes
Citation:
Catherine Viviano Gallery records, 1930-1990, bulk 1949-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women art dealers  Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this
Sculpture  Search this
Painting  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Art Gallery Records  Search this
Art Market  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11096
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)243136
AAA_collcode_cathvivi
Theme:
Women
Art Gallery Records
Art Market
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_243136
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Herbert Palmer, 2004 Dec. 6-22

Interviewee:
Palmer, Herbert Bearl, 1915-2006  Search this
Interviewer:
Ehrlich, Susan, 1942-  Search this
Subject:
Offner, Richard  Search this
Reiss, Winold  Search this
Feigen, Richard L.  Search this
Cézanne, Paul  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Garabedian, Charles  Search this
Ankrum, Joan  Search this
Tudor, David  Search this
Stevenson, Harold  Search this
Onslow-Ford, Gordon  Search this
Paalen, Wolfgang  Search this
Mullican, Lee  Search this
Callahan, Harry M.  Search this
Bluhm, Norman  Search this
Grooms, Red  Search this
Maillol, Aristide  Search this
Vasa  Search this
Bloch, Lucienne  Search this
Wölfflin, Heinrich  Search this
Reiss, Henrietta  Search this
Riley, Bridget  Search this
New York University  Search this
David Stuart Galleries  Search this
Ankrum Gallery  Search this
Felix Landau Gallery  Search this
Feigen Palmer Gallery  Search this
Irving Blum Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Herbert Palmer, 2004 Dec. 6-22. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art thefts  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11749
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)250508
AAA_collcode_palmer04
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_250508
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Eugene V. Thaw, 2007 October 1-2

Interviewee:
Thaw, Eugene Victor, 1927-  Search this
Interviewer:
McElhinney, James, 1952-  Search this
Subject:
Rivera, Diego  Search this
Meiss, Millard  Search this
Marca-Relli, Conrad  Search this
Franka, Gunther  Search this
Ketterer, Norbert  Search this
Landau, Jack  Search this
Mitchell, Joan  Search this
Offner, Richard  Search this
Vavala, Evelyn Sandberg  Search this
Matisse, Pierre  Search this
Castelli, Leo  Search this
Rousseau, Theodore  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Simon, Norton  Search this
Held, Julius Samuel  Search this
Krasner, Lee  Search this
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Columbia University  Search this
St. John's College (Annapolis, Md.)  Search this
Cleveland Museum of Art  Search this
E.V. Thaw & Co.  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Pollock-Krasner Foundation  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Eugene V. Thaw, 2007 October 1-2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13687
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)274662
AAA_collcode_thaw07
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_274662
Online Media:

Catherine Viviano Gallery records

Creator:
Catherine Viviano Gallery  Search this
Names:
American Academy of Arts and Letters  Search this
American Federation of Arts  Search this
Art Club of Chicago  Search this
Art Institute of Chicago  Search this
Barnes Foundation  Search this
Brooklyn Museum  Search this
Carnegie Institute  Search this
City Art Museum of St. Louis  Search this
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center  Search this
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts  Search this
Des Moines Art Center  Search this
Detroit Institute of Arts  Search this
Fogg Art Museum  Search this
Harvard University  Search this
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this
Los Angeles County Museum  Search this
Mary Washington College  Search this
Massachusetts Institute of Technology  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this
Philadelphia Art Alliance  Search this
Santa Barbara Museum of Art  Search this
University of Virginia  Search this
Wadsworth Atheneum  Search this
Walker Art Center  Search this
William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts  Search this
World House Galleries  Search this
Yale University. Art & Architecture Library  Search this
Afro, 1912-1976  Search this
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Baker, Richard Brown  Search this
Bareiss, Walter  Search this
Barker, Walter  Search this
Birolli, Renato, 1905?-1959  Search this
Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911-1979  Search this
Broderson, Robert M, 1920-  Search this
Callery, Mary, 1903-1977  Search this
Chaet, Bernard  Search this
Cox, Jan, 1919-1980  Search this
Dorazio, Piero, 1927-  Search this
Dorazio, Virginia Dortch  Search this
Dubuffet, Jean, 1901-  Search this
Dudensing, F. Valentine, 1892-1967  Search this
Eisendrath, William N., 1903-  Search this
Ernst, Dallas  Search this
Faison, S. Lane (Samson Lane), 1907-2006  Search this
Fleischman, Barbara  Search this
Fleischman, Lawrence A. (Lawrence Arthur), 1925-1997  Search this
Genauer, Emily, 1910-2002  Search this
Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966  Search this
Glasco, Joseph, 1925-1996  Search this
Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor, 1869-1924  Search this
Graves, Morris, 1910-2001  Search this
Guerrero, José, 1914-  Search this
Göpel, Barbara  Search this
Göpel, Erhard  Search this
Hirschhorn, Joseph  Search this
Lerner, Abe, 1908-  Search this
Ludgin, Earle, 1898-1981  Search this
Mabe, Manabu  Search this
Manrique, César, 1920-  Search this
McCray, Porter A., 1908-2000  Search this
Meltzer, Doris, 1908-1977  Search this
Menil, Dominique de  Search this
Miller, Stephen Robeson  Search this
Minguzzi, Luciano, 1911-  Search this
Miró, Joan, 1893-  Search this
Morlotti, Ennio, 1910-1992  Search this
Moyens, H. Marc  Search this
Myers, John Bernard  Search this
Ossorio, Alfonso, 1916-1990  Search this
Perlin, Bernard, 1918-  Search this
Price, Vincent, 1911-1993  Search this
Pulitzer, Joseph, 1913-1993  Search this
Rathbone, Perry Townsend, 1911-2000  Search this
Ribicoff, Belle Krasne, 1924-  Search this
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979  Search this
Rosenthal, Bernard M.  Search this
Sage, Kay  Search this
Seeger, Stanley J.  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Stout, George L. (George Leslie)  Search this
Tanning, Dorothea, 1910-2012  Search this
Valentin, Curt, 1902-1954  Search this
Van Veen, Stuyvesant  Search this
Viviano, Catherine, 1899-1992  Search this
Wakabayashi, Kazuo  Search this
Yunkers, Adja, 1900-1983  Search this
Extent:
11.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Notes
Date:
1930-1990
bulk 1949-1978
Summary:
The records of the Catherine Viviano Gallery measure 11.6 linear feet and date from 1930-1990, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1949-1978. Established in New York City in 1949, the gallery specialized in contemporary painting and sculpture primarily by American and European artists. The collection consists of artists' files; correspondence with artists, collectors, dealers, museum directors, curators, and publishers; business records; printed material; and photographs of artwork and artists. Also included are records relating to Catherine Viviano's activities as a private dealer and consultant after she closed the gallery in 1970.
Scope and Contents note:
The records of the Catherine Viviano Gallery measure 11.6 linear feet and date from 1930-1990, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1949-1978. Established in New York City in 1949, the gallery specialized in contemporary painting and sculpture primarily by American and European artists. The collection consists of artists' files; correspondence with artists, collectors, dealers, museum directors, curators, and publishers; business records; printed material; and photographs of artwork and artists. Also included are records relating to Catherine Viviano's activities as a private dealer and consultant after she closed the gallery in 1970.

Artists' files include biographical material; artists' statements; correspondence; sales and expense reports; lists and notes; guest lists; writings by others; receipts, invoices, and statements; printed material, including press releases, exhibition announcements, brochures, catalogues, clippings; and photographs of artwork and artists. Included are extensive files on Afro Basaldella, Renato Birolli, Robert Broderson, Anselmo Franesconi, Joseph Glasco, Manabu Mabe, César Manrique, Luciano Minguzzi, Ennio Morlotti, Bernard Perlin, Daniel Rice, and Bernard Rosenthal. There are also files on Jan Cox, Kay Sage, and Kazuo Wakabayashi.

Correspondence comprises the largest series in the collection and consists of general correspondence; correspondence with museums, galleries, and art-related institutions in the United States; and correspondence with museums, galleries, and art-related institutions abroad. Letters focus on routine business matters, e.g., appraisals and sales, acquisitions, and organizing exhibitions at the Catherine Viviano Gallery and other venues.

General correspondence includes letters between Catherine Viviano and artists and their family members. Among the correspondents are: Mary Callery, Bernard Chaet, Piero and Virginia Dorazio, Jean Dubuffet, Dallas Ernst, Karl Fortress, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Sage Goodwin, Morris Graves, José Guerrero, Earle Ludgin, Joan Miro, Alfonso Ossorio, Dorothea Tanning, Stuyvesant Van Veen, Adja Yunkers and his wife, Dore Ashton, among others. Also found is Viviano's correspondence with clients, many of whom were prominent collectors, e.g., Richard Brown Baker, Carl and Joan Fisher, Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman, Joseph Hirschhorn, Marc Moyens, Vincent Price, Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., Nelson Rockefeller, Stanley Seeger, and Frederick and Dorothy Zimmerman. Of interest, are letters from Elizabeth Bishop inquiring about the purchase of a work of art from the gallery. Included are letters from art historians, museum directors, curators, representatives at other art-related institutions, and publishers including Walter Bareiss, Walter Barker, Dominque De Menil, Valentine Dudensing, William Eisendrath, S. Lane Faison, Emily Genauer, Bertram Goodhue, Erhard and Barbara Göpel, James Laughlin, Porter McCray, Abram Lerner, Doris Meltzer, Stephen Robson Miller, John Bernard Myers, Perry Rathbone, Belle Krasne Ribicoff, Meyer Shapiro, George Stout, and Curt Valentin.

Correspondence with museums, galleries, and art-related institutions in the United States contains letters between Viviano and museum directors, curators, dealers, artists, and collectors pertaining to loans, shipping and delivery of artwork, appraisals and sales, and acquisitions. Files include substantive correspondence with the American Academy of Arts and Letters, American Federation of the Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, Arts Club of Chicago, the Barnes Foundation, Bristol Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Bundy Art Gallery, Carnegie Institute, City Art Museum of St. Louis, Cleveland Museum of Art, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Denver Art Museum, Des Moines Art Center, Detroit Institute of Arts, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Art Museum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, Museum of Modern Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, University of Nebraska Art Galleries, University of Virginia, Mary Washington College, Wadsworth Atheneum, Walker Art Center, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, Atkins Museum of the Fine Arts, World House Gallery, and Yale University Art Library.

Correspondence with museums, galleries, and art-related institutions abroad primarily concerns the lending of artwork for exhibitions, acquisition and sales; also included are letters requesting biographical information on artists. Letters between Catherine Viviano and representatives of Max Beckmann Gesellschaft Archiv and Galerie Gunther Franke contain provenance-related information on Beckmann's work.

Business records document the routine business operations of the gallery. Printed material includes an incomplete run of Catherine Viviano Gallery exhibition catalogues; invitations and announcements from other galleries and institutions; and miscellaneous printed material.

Photographs include three images of miscellaneous artwork used for art reference.
Arrangement note:
Records are generally arranged by material type and in chronological order thereafter. Artists' files and correspondence files are arranged in alphabetical order and materials within the folders are arranged chronologically

The collection is arranged as 5 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Artists' Files, 1945-1986 (Boxes 1-3; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1939-1985 (Boxes 3-6; 5.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Business Records, 1949-1972 (Boxes 10-11; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1930-1990 (Boxes 11-13; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographs (1948-1954), undated (Box 14; 1 folder)
Biographical/Historical note:
Catherine Viviano (1889-1992) opened her gallery in 1949 on 42 East 57th Street in New York City. Specializing in contemporary American paintings and sculpture, the gallery featured younger American and European artists, e.g., Robert Broderson, Carlyle Brown, Jan Cox, Joseph Glasco, Peter Lanyon, Manabu Mabe, César Manrique, Bernard Perlin, Joseph Rollo, Bernard Rosenthal, and Kay Sage, among others. The gallery was also notable for introducing the work of Italian artists, who had been cut off from the American art scene during World War II, including Afro Basaldella and his brother Mirko Basaldella, Renato Birolli, Leonardo Cremonini, and Luciano Minguzzi.

Born in Italy in 1899 and raised in Chicago, Catherine Viviano came to New York in the early 1930's to work at the Pierre Matisse Gallery, where she remained for sixteen years before founding the Catherine Viviano Gallery.

In 1970, Catherine Viviano closed the gallery, though she continued to work from her home as an art dealer and consultant. She died of a stroke at the age of ninety-two in 1992.
Related Archival Materials note:
Among the other resources relating to Catherine Viviano Gallery in the Archives of American Art are the Kay Sage papers, 1925-circa 1985, bulk 1950-1965.
Provenance:
The Catherine Viviano Gallery records were donated in 2003 on behalf of Margaret Viviano, Catherine Viviano's sister, by her grandnephew, Peter C. Salerno, who had Power of Attorney for Margaret Viviano.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
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.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State)  Search this
Topic:
Women art dealers  Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this
Sculpture  Search this
Painting  Search this
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Notes
Citation:
Catherine Viviano Gallery records, 1930-1990, bulk 1949-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.cathvivi
See more items in:
Catherine Viviano Gallery records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c8eeb213-b1d5-43e4-8478-bc79ba634773
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-cathvivi
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Eugene V. Thaw

Interviewee:
Thaw, Eugene Victor  Search this
Interviewer:
McElhinney, James Lancel, 1952-  Search this
Names:
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) -- Students  Search this
Cleveland Museum of Art  Search this
Columbia University -- Students  Search this
E.V. Thaw & Co.  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Pollock-Krasner Foundation  Search this
St. John's College (Annapolis, Md.) -- Students  Search this
Castelli, Leo  Search this
Franka, Gunther  Search this
Held, Julius Samuel, 1905-  Search this
Ketterer, Norbert  Search this
Krasner, Lee, 1908-1984  Search this
Landau, Jack, 1925-1967  Search this
Marca-Relli, Conrad, 1913-2000  Search this
Matisse, Pierre, 1900-1989  Search this
Meiss, Millard  Search this
Mitchell, Joan, 1926-1992  Search this
Offner, Richard, 1889-1965  Search this
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957  Search this
Rousseau, Theodore, 1912-  Search this
Shapiro, Meyer  Search this
Simon, Norton, 1907-1993  Search this
Vavala, Evelyn Sandberg  Search this
Extent:
33 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2007 October 1-2
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Eugene V. Thaw conducted 2007 October 1-2, by James McElhinney, for the Archives of American Art's Art Dealers Association of America Project, at Thaw's residence, in New York, N.Y.
Thaw speaks of his childhood in New York City; Mexican art in his home including watercolors by Diego Rivera; beginning classes at the Art Student's League of New York at age 14; attending St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland; attending Columbia University for graduate courses in art history and studying with Meyer Shapiro and Millard Meiss; an early interest in Old Master, Renaissance, and German Expressionist art; studying in Florence, Italy for four months after World War II; opening The New Bookstore and Gallery with friend Jack Landau above the Algonquin Hotel upon his return to New York City; giving Joan Mitchell and Conrad Marca-Relli their first shows; ending his partnership with Landau, closing the bookstore, and moving the gallery to Madison Avenue; becoming involved in the international art market; the practice of buying and selling works of art in shares with other dealers; showing American and European artists; renaming the gallery E.V. Thaw & Company; operating essentially as a one-man gallery with very limited staff; his relationship with museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Art; his personal collections, including extensive ancient Eurasian artifacts and American Indian art; establishing the Pollock-Krasner Foundation; the philanthropic vision of his own foundation, the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust; his retirement from dealing; the "hand of the artist" in historical context and its lack of significance in contemporary art; and advice for young and emerging art dealers. Thaw also recalls Richard Offner, Evelyn Sandberg-Vavala, Norbert Ketterer, Günther Franka, Pierre Matisse, Leo Castelli, Julius Held, Theodore Rousseau, Lee Krasner, Norton Simon, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Eugene Thaw (1927- ) is an art dealer from New York, N.Y. James McElhinney (1952- ) is a painter and educator from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 26 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.thaw07
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93bde4440-dc2a-4206-a8bb-d0f0ebda50d4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-thaw07
Online Media:

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