The Sidney Janis Gallery exhibition catalogs measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1951 to 1998. Found here is a complete set of catalogs published by the New York gallery.
Scope and Contents:
The Sidney Janis Gallery exhibition catalogs measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1951 to 1998. Found here is a complete set of catalogs published by the New York gallery.
Researchers should note that this collection only includes published catalogs and not related exhibition documentation. The gallery did not publish a catalog for every exhibition, especially during the early years of the gallery's operation.
Arrangement:
This collection has been arranged into one series.
Series 1: Exhibition Catalogs, 1951-1998 (Boxes 1-7; 2.8 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Sidney Janis Gallery (est. 1948-1999) was an art gallery in New York, N.Y., specializing in contemporary avant-garde art. Sidney Janis opened the gallery with his wife Harriet at 15 E. 57th Street in Manhattan. The gallery became a leading exhibitor of Pop art after the groundbreaking exhibition New Realists in 1962. The gallery moved to 110 W. 57th Street in the 1980s, and after Janis's death in 1989 the gallery was directed by his son, Carroll Janis.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Sidney Janis. One interview conducted March 21-September 26, 1972, by Paul Cummings, and one interview conducted on October 15 and November 18, 1981, by Avis Berman.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 1999 by Carroll Janis, son of Sidney Janis.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Sidney Janis Gallery exhibition catalogs are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Exhibition catalogs
Citation:
Sidney Janis Gallery exhibition catalogs, 1951-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Primarily exhibition catalogs for modernist art exhibitions held in New York City during the first two decades of the twentieth century. Also included are catalogs for Boston exhibitions, mainly pre-1900, and a few other locales; exhibition announcements; gallery publications; and other printed material.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection comprises circa 770 items, dating from 1813-1953, the bulk of which are exhibition catalogs from New York City art galleries for the first two decades of the twentieth century, representing exhibitions of mainly modernist art. Catalogs for exhibitions held in Boston (mainly pre-1900) and a few other cities are also present. Included are several rare catalogs, notably one for the "Eight" held at Macbeth Gallery in 1908. Besides catalogs, the collection also contains exhibition announcements, gallery publications, and other printed material. The collection is especially relevant for the study of early American modernism, and is useful in understanding the role of art galleries, exhibitions, the art market, and the exhibition catalog itself, in American art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series representing alphabetical groups. Catalogs are arranged within these groups according to name of the sponsoring gallery, or if no gallery is listed, by the name of the club or organization. Catalogs are arranged chronologically thereafter, with undated material first. Many catalogs are undated, list only a year, or are annotated with a date. No attempt has been made to date or verify these at this time. Catalogs which are annotated with a date are filed chronologically, and are indicated with brackets around the date.
Series 1: Art Exhibition Catalogs, A-C
Series 2: Art Exhibition Catalogs, D-F
Series 3: Art Exhibition Catalogs, G-I
Series 4: Art Exhibition Catalogs, J-L
Series 5: Art Exhibition Catalogs, M-O
Series 6: Art Exhibition Catalogs, P-R
Series 7: Art Exhibition Catalogs, S-T
Series 8: Art Exhibition Catalogs, U-Z
Historical Note:
In 1979, the American Antiquarian Society donated several hundred exhibition catalogs and art-related printed material to the Archives of American Art (AAA). The Society had received most of them over a long period of time, many of them addressed to the director, Charles Brigham. For several years subsequent to the donation, AAA sporadically added exhibition catalogs to the collection from various sources. Some of these additions are annotated in the hand of Walt Kuhn and are presumed to have been part of his papers in the Archives.
Related Material:
Researchers may find duplicate or related items in galleries' records held at the Archives of American Art. Additional or duplicate catalogs may appear in AAA's Catalog of Exhibition Catalogs (1979).
Provenance:
The bulk of the collection was donated 1979 by the American Antiquarian Society, who presumably assembled them from various sources. Others were received individually, while many are annotated in the hand of Walt Kuhn and are presumed to have originally been part of his papers in the Archives. In 2005, additional catalogs were integrated, some of which are presumed to have been removed from various collections over the years.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Miscellaneous art exhibition catalog collection is owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Massachusetts -- Exhibitions Search this
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- New York (State) -- New York -- Exhibitions Search this
The collection measures 0.2 linear feet, dates from 1929 to 1955, and provides information about the career of modern realist painter A. S. Baylinson. Found are a biographical account, printed material, and photographs of Baylinson and of his works of art.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection measures 0.2 linear feet, dates from 1929 to 1955, and provides information about the career of modern realist painter A. S. Baylinson. Found are a biographical account, printed material, and photographs of Baylinson and of his works of art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Biographical Note:
Abraham Solomon Baylinson was born on January 6, 1882 in Moscow, Russia. His family immigrated to the United States in about 1900, and Baylinson eventually became interested in art and studied at the Art Students League, the National Academy of Design, and with Robert Henri and Homer Boss.
Baylinson was long affiliated with the Society of Independent Artists of which he was secretary from 1918-1934. He was also an instructor of painting and drawing at the Art Students League from 1931 to 1933.
Early in 1931, a fire destroyed almost 20 years of Baylinson's art work. When he resumed painting, his style had evolved into a more representational one.
Baylinson's work has been exhibited at the Detroit Institute of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and at the National Gallery of Canada.
A. S. Baylinson died in May 1950 in New York City.
Provenance:
The A. S. Baylinson papers were donated in 1974 by Ada Baylinson, the artist's widow.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The A. S. Baylinson papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Exhibition catalogs
Citation:
A. S. Baylinson papers, 1929-1955. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of Portland, Maine, dentist and painter Rupert Scott Lovejoy, measure 0.58 linear feet and date from 1904-1979. The collection includes biographical material, letters and sketches from painter Walter Griffin, research material on Griffin collected by Lovejoy, printed material including exhibition catalogs for Lovejoy's exhibitions, two portrait reliefs of Walter Griffin and Edward Souther Griffin, and photographs and nine glass plate negatives of Walter Griffin and his home in Stroudwater, Maine.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Portland, Maine, dentist and painter Rupert Scott Lovejoy, measure 0.58 linear feet and date from 1904-1979. The collection includes biographical material, letters and sketches from painter Walter Griffin, research material on Griffin collected by Lovejoy, printed material including exhibition catalogs for Lovejoy's exhibitions, two portrait reliefs of Walter Griffin and Edward Souther Griffin, and photographs and nine glass plate negatives of Walter Griffin and his home in Stroudwater, Maine.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Series 1: Rupert Scott Lovejoy Papers, 1904-1979 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1, MGP 1-2, 4)
Biographical / Historical:
Portland, Maine, dentist and painter Rupert Scott Lovejoy (1885-1975), learned from impressionist painter Walter Griffin and was known for his landscapes in oil and watercolor.
As a boy, Lovejoy's interest in art was encouraged by his mother, and he continued to pursue painting in evening classes at the Portland Art School after graduating from Tufts University Dental School in 1909, and setting up a dental practice in Portland.
While receiving dental treatment from Lovejoy in 1915, artist Walter Griffin noticed Lovejoy's artwork displayed on the walls of his office. Griffin took an interest in Lovejoy's evident talent and encouraged Lovejoy to accompany him on painting trips in Maine and to his home in Stroudwater. Lovejoy subsequently observed and learned from Griffin while simultaneously developing his own style. Eventually devoting himself to painting full time, Lovejoy had considerable success with his impressionistic watercolors and oils. His work was exhibited regularly in Maine, as well as at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Baltimore Museum of Art, Bowdoin College, and other museums, and can be found in the permanent collections of the Colby College Museum of Art, the Portland Museum of Art, and The Hunter Museum of Art.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 1405) including research notes and writings by Rupert Scott Lovejoy on Walter Griffin, clippings, and exhibition catalogs. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Myrtle E. Lovejoy, Rupert Scott Lovejoy's wife, lent the Archives of American Art material for microfilming and donated papers in September 1978 and in 1979.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Rights:
The Rupert Scott Lovejoy papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The papers of American New York School painter Ludwig Sander measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1975. Found are biographical materials primarily consisting of army records; correspondence with family and colleagues discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities; diaries; personal scattered business records; address books and art history typescripts; sketchbooks and illustrations for magazines; photographs of Sander, his colleagues, his travels, and exhibition openings; and miscellaneous printed material. The collection documents Sander's career and interactions with some of the most important modern artists of twentieth century.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of American New York School painter Ludwig Sander measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1975. Found within the collection are biographical materials primarily consisting of army records; correspondence with family and colleagues discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities; diaries containing brief annotations of daily activities; personal business records including studio leases, teaching contracts, and miscellaneous receipts; notes and writings including address books and art history typescripts; art work consisting primarily of sketchbooks and illustrations for magazines; photographs of Sander, his colleagues, his travels, and exhibition openings; and miscellaneous printed material. The collection Sander's career and interactions with some of the most important artists of 20th century modern art.
Chronological correspondence primarily consists of letters from Sanders to his mother during his army service, and letters from his colleagues discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities. Correspondents include Clement Greenberg, Philip Guston, Yvonne Hagen, Gottfried Honegger, Sam Kootz, and Vaclav Vytlacil. There are single letters from Georgi Daskaloff, Philip Johnson, Richard Neutra, George Plimpton, and Maximilian Schell, and an invitation to a croquet party from Willem and Elaine De Kooning, Sander, Nancy Ward, and Franz Kline.
Arrangement:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1927-1969 (Box 1, 4; 9 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1931-1975 (Box 1; 28 folders)
Series 3: Diaries, 1931-1973 (Box 1; 11 folders)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1953-1974, undated (Box 2; 4 folders)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1951-1960, undated (Box 2; 8 folders)
Series 6: Art Work, circa 1930s-1970s (Box 2, 4; 18 folders)
Series 7: Photographs, 1910-1973, undated (Box 2, 4; 34 folders)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1926-1975, undated (Box 2-5; 30 folders)
Biographical Note:
American painter Ludwig Sander was born on July 18, 1906 in Staten Island, New York. After independent studies with Boardman Robinson and Alexander Archipenko, he attended the Art Students' League from 1928 to 1930. From 1931 to 1932, Sander studied art in Paris and with Hans Hofmann in Munich. While in Europe, he befriended many other artists including Balcomb Greene, Reuben Nakian, and Vaclav Vytlacil.
After Army service from 1942 to 1945, Sander returned to school, earning a B.A. in Art History from New York University in 1952. He taught at various schools including the Art Students' League, the School of Visual Art, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was also a charter member of The Club, a postwar group of New York artists famous for its polemic discussions.
From 1959, Sander regularly exhibited his art work and had solo exhibitions at prominent galleries including the Leo Castelli Gallery, Kootz Gallery, and the Knoedler Gallery. His work is in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Ludwig Sander died July 3, 1975 in New York City.
Separated Materials:
Also available at the Archives of American Art are materials lent for microfilming (reel 32) consisting of printed material including catalogs and announcements, a biography, and reviews and articles by and about Sander, including excerpts from Sander's column in Saturday Review. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Ludwig Sander loaned printed material for microfilming in 1970. The Ludwig Sander papers were donated by the artist's widow, Kate Sander, in 1975.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Rights:
The Ludwig Sander papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sketches
Exhibition catalogs
Sketchbooks
Citation:
Ludwig Sander papers, 1910-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of Romare Bearden measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1982. The collection includes biographical information, correspondence, writings by and about Bearden, miscellaneous legal and financial material, photographs, drawings, and printed material. Found are numerous letters referring to African-American arts movements of the 1960s and 1970s, including exhibitions, publications, associations, and scattered letters of a more personal nature.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Romare Bearden measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1982. The collection includes biographical information, correspondence, writings by and about Bearden, miscellaneous legal and financial material, photographs, drawings, and printed material.
Correspondence is with family, friends, artists, galleries, museums, publishers, universities, arts associations, and colleagues, primarily concerning gallery space, exhibitions, sales of artwork, publishing, and arts events. Also found are numerous letters referring to African-American art movements of the 1960s and 1970s, including exhibitions, publications, associations, and scattered letters of a more personal nature. Many of the letters are illustrated with Bearden's doodlings and drawings. Although most of the letters are from galleries, museums, publishers, and arts associations, scattered letters from Charles Alston, Jacob Lawrence, Ad Reinhardt, Carl Holty, and Sam Middleton are found. In addition, there are letters from the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, and letters concerning its founding.
Writings by Bearden include lectures, speeches, talks, essays, and prose. Many are handwritten, annotated, and edited in Bearden's hand and several are illustrated with Bearden's doodlings and sketches. Included are a memorial delivered upon artist Carl Holty's death, a tribute to Zell Ingram, autobiographical essays, essays on art, and African-American art, artists, and cultural life. Also found are several handwritten examples of Bearden's prose and poetry. There are also writings by others and one folder of fragments and notes assumed to be by Bearden.
The collection houses two folders of photographs and snapshots of Bearden, family members, other unidentified artists or friends, classes and/or lectures, and works of art. Also found are several undated ink drawings, sketches in pencil and ink, and a hand-drawn and colored map with overlay of Paris. Printed material includes examples of Bearden's commissioned artwork for publications, press releases, exhibition catalogs and announcements, invitations, newspaper and magazine clippings, and miscellaneous printed materials. Although much of the printed material concerns Bearden's work, a fair portion concerns African-American art, artists, and cultural movements.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seven series based on type of materials. Documents within each of the seven series have been arranged in chronological order, except for the writings which have been further subdivided by creator and are undated. Printed materials have been arranged primarily according to form of material and are in rough chronological order.
Series 1: Biographical, 1977, undated (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1944-1981, undated (Box 1-2; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings By and About Bearden, circa 1950s-1980s (Box 3; 6 folders)
Series 4: Legal and Financial Material, 1970-1977 (Box 3; 3 folders)
Series 5: Photographs, undated (Box 3; 2 folders)
Series 6: Drawings, undated (Box 3, OV 6; 4 folders)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1937-1982 (Box 3-5; 1 linear foot)
Biographical / Historical:
Born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1914, Bearden's family relocated to New York City when Bearden was a toddler. Living in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, Bearden was exposed to such luminaries as writer Langston Hughes, painter Aaron Douglas, and musician Duke Ellington. While attending New York University, Bearden became interested in cartooning and became the art editor of the NYU Medley in his senior year. He received his B.S. in mathematics in 1935, initially planning to pursue medical school. Realizing that he had little interest in the other sciences however, Bearden began attending classes at the Art Students League in the evenings, studying under George Grosz.
In the mid-1930s Bearden published numerous political cartoons in journals and newspapers, including the Afro-American, but by the end of the decade, he shifted his emphasis to painting. Bearden's first paintings, on large sheets of brown paper, recalled his early memories of the South. After serving in the Army, Bearden began exhibiting more frequently, particularly in Washington, D.C. at the G Street Gallery and in New York with Samuel Kootz.
During a career lasting almost half a century, Bearden produced approximately two thousand works. Although best known for the collages of urban and southern scenes that he first experimented with in the mid-1960s, Bearden also completed paintings, drawings, monotypes, edition prints, public murals, record album jackets, magazine and book illustrations, and costume and set designs for theater and ballet. His work focused on religious subjects, African-American culture, jazz clubs and brothels, and history and literature. Not confining his abilities to the visual arts, Bearden also devoted attention to writing and song writing. Several of his collaborations were published as sheet music, among the most famous of which is "Seabreeze," recorded by Billy Eckstine. In addition, Bearden coauthored three full-length books: The Painter's Mind: A Study of the Relations of Structure and Space in Painting (1969) with painter Carl Holty; Six Black Masters of American Art (1972); and A History of African-American Artists: From 1792 to the Present (posthumously, 1993), the latter two with journalist Harry Henderson.
Bearden was also active in the African-American arts movement of the period, serving as art director of the Harlem Cultural Council, a founding member of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, and organizer of exhibitions, such as the Metropolitan Museum's "Harlem on My Mind" (1968). Romare Bearden died in 1988.
Related Materials:
Within the Archives holdings are two oral history interviews with Romare Bearden. One was conducted in 1968 by Henri Ghent and another in 1980 by Avis Berman.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel N68-87) including correspondence, a scrapbook, photographs, catalogs, clippings, and writings. Except for the correspondence, loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Romare Bearden lent material for microfilming to the Archives of American Art in 1968, donating the correspondence. Bearden also gave additional papers between 1977 and 1983.
Restrictions:
The bulk of the collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not digitized requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Romare Bearden papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The Roko Gallery records measure six linear feet and date from 1929-1982, with the bulk of the records dating from 1970-1978. Founded by Michael Leon Freilich in 1946, the records of this New York contemporary art gallery consist primarily of artists files. Also found are scattered correspondence, business and financial records, a subject file, exhibition files, seven scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs of Frielich, friends, and of artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
The Roko Gallery records measure six linear feet and date from 1929-1982, with the bulk of the records from 1970-1978. Founded by Michael Leon Freilich in 1946, the records of this New York gallery consist primarily of artists' files. Also found are scattered correspondence, business and financial records, a subject file, exhibition files, disassembled scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs.
The bulk of the correspondence is from the early to mid-1970s and concerns general gallery operations, sales of artwork, artists interested in exhibiting at the gallery, letters to Ann Freilich Schutz regarding Michael Freilich's death, and a handful of personal postcards from Freilich to his niece, 1952-1955. Scattered correspondence from artists Lambro Ahlas, Mike Cook, Hermann Dahl, Salvatore Del Deo, Raymond Dowden, Charles Kaiman, Peggy Muray (Mrs. Nicholas Muray), Raphael Soyer, George Sugarman, Anne Parker, Jan Wunderman, and Hank Virgona is also found. General business and financial records include calendars, address books, mailing lists, visitors' registers, receipt books, consignment agreements, invoices and receipts.
Measuring 3.5 linear feet, Artists Files comprise the bulk of the collection and contain correspondence, exhibition catalogs, clippings, original artwork, receipts, price lists, photographs, and slides of work. Among the nearly 200 artists are Murat Brierre, Faith Bromberg, Clare Burch, Lawrence Calcagno, Victor Candell, Arthur Cohen, Giuseppe Di Lieto, Edward Eichel, Ann Freilich, Dennis Fritz, Mary Heisig, Herbert Kallem, Doris Klein, Elizabeth Korn, Randall Morgan, Anne Parker, Dorothy Robbins, May Stevens, Hank Virgona, Walter Williams, and Jan Wunderman.
There is one subject file containing a proposal by the Rainbow Art Foundation. Exhibitions and Event files date from 1956-1978 and contain printed material, press releases, notes, correspondence, agreements, and a disassembled notebook containing prices and lists of works exhibited at the Roko Gallery from 1967-1978. Also found is typed and signed poetry by poet John Tagliabue. Disassembled scrapbooks contain additional printed materials regarding the gallery's solo and group exhibitions from 1947-1966. Among the many artists represented in the scrapbooks are Claude Clark, Beauford Delaney, Paul England, Peter Heinemann, Herbert Kallem, Herschel Levit, Si Lewen, Howard Mandel, Rose Piper, Sadie Rosenblum, Herbert Scheffel, Erika Weihs, Walter Williams, and Jan Wunderman.
Additional printed material includes mostly newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements, and catalogs. Material found in the collection that pre-dates the founding of the gallery consists primarily of printed material collected by Freilich.
Photographs, slides, and negatives date mostly from the 1970s and depict gallery directors Michael Leon Freilich, Cynthia Bernadini and Manu Sassoonian, and artwork.
Arrangement:
The Roko Gallery records are arranged into eight series:
Series 1: Correspondence, 1936, 1952-circa late 1970s (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Business and Financial Records, circa 1956-1980 (Box 1; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Artist Files, circa 1948-1979 (Box 2-5; 3.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Subject Files, undated (Box 5; 1 folder)
Series 5: Exhibition and Event Files, circa 1956-1978 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbook, circa 1947-1966 (Box 5-6; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1929-1982 (Box 6; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographic Material, 1946-circa 1970s (Box 6; 0.3 linear feet)
Historical Note:
Michael Leon Freilich (1912-1975) established the Roko Gallery in 1946 at 51 Greenwich Avenue where it remained until the mid-1950s. Over its 32 year history, the gallery featured the paintings and sculptures of young, new artists, most living in New York City, through solo exhibitions, group shows, and sales. The gallery then made a series of moves, first to 925 Madison Avenue, then to 867 Madison Avenue, and finally back to Greenwich Village at 90 East 10st Street in 1970. In 1974, Michael Freilich became ill and the daily gallery operations were taken over by artist Lloyd Lózes Goff. Freilich passed away in February 1975; Cynthia Bernardi and Manu Sassoonian bought the gallery and became co-directors in the spring of 1975. The gallery closed in 1978, leaving open an annex on 816 Broadway.
Provenance:
The Roko Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1975-1988 by Ann Freilich, sister of Michael Freilich, and Cynthia Bernardi, former director of the gallery.
Restrictions:
Use of originals requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Roko Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The papers of Reginald R. Isaacs measure 22.54 linear feet and date from 1842 to 1991, with the bulk of the material from 1928 to 1991. The collection includes Isaacs's personal and professional papers, as well as extensive research material he collected and created for his two-volume biography, Walter Gropius: The Man and His Work.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of of architect, instructor, writer, and city planner Reginald R. Isaacs (1911-1986) measure 22.54 linear feet and date from 1842 to 1991 with the bulk of the material dating from 1883 to 1985. The collection includes Isaacs's personal and professional papers, as well as extensive research material he collected and created for his two volume two-volume biography of Bauhaus architect, Walter Gropius: Walter Gropius: The Man and His Work. The bulk of Walter Gropius' papers are housed at the Busch Reisinger Museum at Harvard University, and the Bauhaus Archiv in Germany.
Series 1 to 12 contain contain biographical, legal, and financial material; personal and professional correspondence; project and subject files; writings and publications; teaching files; works of art; scrapbooks; printed material; and photographs relating to Isaacs' personal and professional career.
Series 13 forms the bulk of the collection and pertains specifically to the writing and publication of Isaacs' biography of Gropius. It contains research material, correspondence (much of it with Gropius), drafts of the manuscript, publication correspondence, photographs and illustrations, and printed material. Some of the research material, including some of the photographs and illustrations that were used in the biography, appear to have been original documents of Walter Gropius, while large portions of the material are photocopies of the originals, many of them in German.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into fourteen series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
Series 7: Writings, 1940-1986, undated (Boxes 3-4, 22; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 8: Teaching Files, 1954-1973 (Boxes 4-5; 1.0 linear foot)
Series 9: Works of Art, 1965-1967, undated (Box 5, OV 23; 3 folders)
Series 10: Scrapbooks, 1929-1969 (Box 5; 2 folders)
Series 11: Printed Material, 1842-1844, 1913-1986, undated (Box 5; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 12: Photographs, 1959-1981, undated (Boxes 5, 22; 7 folders)
Series 13: Walter Gropius Biography, circa 1880s-1991, undated (Boxes 6-22, OV 23, MGP 1, MGP 2, MGP 4; 16.0 linear feet)
Series 14: Unprocessed Addition, 1974-1985 (Box 24; 1.0 linear foot)
Biographical Note:
Born in Canada in 1911, Reginald R. Isaacs began working in architectural offices at age 14, later coming under the influence of "Beaux-Arts diplomes" at the University of Minnesota and Harvard and subsequently under that of Walter Gropius at Harvard University. He later studied sociology and planning at the University of Chicago under Louis Wirth and Rexford Guy Tugwell.
Isaacs served on the staffs of city planning commissions in Minneapolis, Syracuse, and Chicago, and in the federal government in the National Youth Agency, Public Housing Authority, and Housing and Home Finance Agency. His architectural practice in Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and other cities included the design of housing, colleges, and hospitals. He was director of planning and development for Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, 1945-1953, where Walter Gropius, planner Walter Blucher, and sociologist Louis Wirth collaborated with him as consultants. He was a United Nations expert on regional planning in South America, and a planning consultant for the Ford Foundation, the U.S. State Department, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Recommended by Walter Gropius, Isaacs served as the Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning at Harvard University from 1953-1978. He was also Chairman of the Graduate School of Design's Departments of City and Regional Planning as well as Landscape Architecture. Throughout his career he lectured at universities throughout the United States and in almost every country of Central and South America and in the Caribbean.
In 1962 Isaacs and Gropius began their collaboration on Walter Gropius: The Man and his Work, until the death of Gropius in 1969. The first volume of the biography was published in German in 1983, with the second volume following in 1984. Isaacs died of a massive heart attack in 1986, never realizing his goal to see an English-language edition which was published posthumously in 1991 by the Estate of Reginald Isaacs.
1911 -- Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
1935 -- Received Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota
1939 -- Received Masters of Architecture degree from Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
1947-1950 -- Studied sociology and planning with Louis Wirth and Rexford Guy Tugwell at the University of Chicago
1945-1953 -- Director of planning at Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, Illinois
1951-1953 -- Guest lecturer at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design with Walter Gropius and also served a two-year term as a member of the Board of Overseers Committee to Visit the Graduate School of Design
1953-1978 -- Named the Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Planning
1953-1964 -- Chairman of the Department of City and Regional Planning
1953-1958 -- Chairman of the Department of Landscape Architecture
1962 -- Began collaboration with Walter Gropius on the biography Walter Gropius - The Man and his Work
1969 -- Walter Gropius dies
1983 -- Walter Gropius, Der Mensch und Sein Werk, Volume 1 published by Gebr. Mann Nerlag, Berlin
1984 -- Walter Gropius, Der Mensch und Sein Werk, Volume 2, published by Gebr. Mann Nerlag, Berlin
1986 -- Isaacs dies
1991 -- Walter Gropius: An Illustrated Biography of the Creator of the Bauhaus, published by the Estate of Reginald Isaacs. The Papers of Reginald R. Isaacs donated to the Archives of American Art by his son, Henry Isaacs.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Henry Isaacs, son of Reginald Isaacs, in January 1991. An additional 1.0 linear foot was donated by Merry White, daughter of Reginald Isaacs, in 1997.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is restricted to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
The papers of Reginald R. Isaacs are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights, as possessed by the donor, have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Personal papers of Robert O. Muller, a Connecticut-based art dealer and collector who, over the course of seventy years, assembled one of the world's finest collections of Japanese prints from the late 1860s through the 1940s. The papers include Muller's correspondence relating to Japanese art, files relating to his and his wife's 1940 honeymoon in Japan during which he forged many contacts with Japanese artists and art dealers and purchased thousands of prints, subject files, catalogs, business transactions, magazine and newspaper clippings, photographs, and notes and drafts for a planned book.
Scope and Contents:
The Robert O. Muller Papers consist of Mr. Muller's correspondence; research and subject files; indexes to his art collection; printed matter; photographs; and a draft manuscript and notes for a planned book. The papers document his art collecting and dealing, his relationships with a wide variety of art shops and other art dealers, his 1940 honeymoon to Japan, and the dealings of his various businesses from the 1940s through to the 1990s.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into five series:
Series 1: Correspondence and subject files
Series 2: Catalogs and indexes to Robert-Lee Gallery and Robert O. Muller's Art Collection
Series 3: Draft Manuscript
Series 4: Printed Matter
Series 5: Photographs and slides
Biographical / Historical:
Born in 1911 in Pelham, New York, art collector, dealer, and connoisseur Robert O. Muller assembled a collection of nearly 4,500 late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Japanese prints throughout his life. As a history student at Harvard University, Mr. Muller's world renowned print collection began to take shape with the purchase of the print 'Kiyosu Bridge" by Kawase Hasui for $5.00 from the Shima Art Company in 1931.
Mr. Muller married Ingeborg Lee in 1940 and their honeymoon in Japan played a critical role in Mr. Muller's development as an art dealer and collector. They spent five months there and met with many important artists and dealers and purchased thousands of prints for both their personal art collection and for commerce.
Upon their return to the States, Mr. Muller purchased the Shima Art Company's assets and started the Robert Lee Gallery with his partner William Lee Comerford in 1940. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, Muller and Comerford closed the Robert Lee Gallery and later reopened it in a different Manhattan location. The Mullers moved to Newton, Connecticut, in 1946 and reestablished the Robert Lee Gallery there. In 1962, Muller purchased a frame shop, Merwin's Art Shop, in New Haven, Connecticut. Although primarily a framing shop, Muller not only befriended many scholars and academics from nearby Yale University but sold Japanese prints from the back room.
From that initial purchase of 'Kiyosu Bridge' in 1931 up until his death in 2003, Robert Muller amassed what many art historians, collectors, and curators regarded as the finest collection of its type in the world. Muller bequeathed his Japanese print collection, archival materials, and library to the Sackler Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Much of the biographical information comes from, Printed to Perfection: Twentieth-century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Muller Collection. (Washington, D.C. : Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in association with Hotei Publishing, c2004)
Further information and clarification from conversations with Dr. James T. Ulak, Deputy Director of the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery .
1911 October 5 -- Born in Pelham, New York. Great-grandson of Charles Erhart, cofounder of Charles Pfizer & Company, now Pfizer Inc.
1931 -- Purchased first modern Japanese print, "Kiyosu Bridge", from the Shima Art Company in New York City.
1934 -- Earned Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Harvard University.
1936 -- Traveled to Germany aboard the Hindenberg. During return to United States, visited with and bought many prints from Japanese print collector Thomas Bates Blow in London.
1940 February 3 -- Married Ingeborg Lee and honeymooned in Japan.
1940 September -- Purchased the assets of the Shima Art Co. for $7,000. Remained friends with the former owners, Kazue Sumii and Hango Sumii and their daughter Noriko.
1940 October 21 -- Opened the Robert-Lee Gallery on 69 East 57th Street in Manhattan.
1941 December -- After attack on Pearl Harbor, closed Robert-Lee Gallery. Later reopened at new location at 32 West 57th Street
1941 - 1952 -- Mrs. Muller gave birth to four daughters and one son.
1942-1945 -- Worked for Pfizer Inc.
1946 -- Moved to farmhouse in Newtown, Connecticut and re-established Robert Lee Gallery there one year later.
1962 -- Purchased and ran Merwin's Art Shop in New Haven, Connecticut
1985 -- Handed over management of Merwin's Art Shop to his son Robert L. Muller
2003 April 10 -- Died as a result of Parkinson's Disease.
2003 May -- Bequeathed his collection of Japanese prints, cataloging records, papers, and library to the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery of Art.
Related Materials:
The Sackler Gallery of Art owns the Robert O. Muller Collection of Japanese prints.
Provenance:
Robert O. Muller bequeathed his Japanese print collection as well as his archival records to the Sackler Gallery in 2003.
Restrictions:
The Archives is open by appointment only, Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Archives is closed on all federal holidays.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Robert O. Muller Papers, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Bequest of Robert O. Muller, 2003
