The Gustave Harrow legal records relating to the Estate of Mark Rothko measure 34.6 linear feet and date from 1957-1986. The records document the case brought by the New York State Attorney General's Office as cross-petitioner to the case brought by Rothko's daughter Kate, against the executors of Rothko's estate, Frank Lloyd and the Marlborough Gallery, for mismanagement and self-dealing. There are also records related to Harrow's writings about the case. Lastly, included in the collection are materials relating to art law issues in connection with the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Scope and Contents:
New York State Attorney General Gustave Harrow's records relating to the Estate of Mark Rothko consist of legal and other documentation of the state's case in connection with the Mark Rothko Estate and Foundation, from Surrogate Court through appeals, as well as from Harrow's writings about the case, both during and after the trial. Various trial documents include affidavits, briefs, EBTs (examination before trial) trial transcripts, motions, depositions, notes and clippings, and miscellaneous records related to the case and post-trial activities. Also found are reference materials, Harrow's writings in connection with the case.
Unrelated to the Rothko case are Harrow's research materials for possible legal actions by the state in connection with Walter Annenberg's proposed donation of a Communication Center to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and with other issues including donations, object authenticity and the Packard Collection.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 7 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: General Files, 1957-1981, undated
Series 2: Motions, 1971-1979, undated
Series 3: Decisions, 1970-1979, undated
Series 4: Appeals Documents, 1972-1979, undated
Series 5: Miscellaneous Case and Post-Trial files, 1972-1984, undated
Series 6: Reference Materials, Notes and Writings, 1970-1986
Series 7: Metropolitan Museum of Art / Walter Annenberg Etc., 1971-1981, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Gustave Harrow was a New York State Assistant Attorney General, and an adjunct professor in the Graduate Program in Arts Administration at NYU. Abstract Expressionist Artist Mark Rothko died on February 25, 1970 leaving the bulk of his estate, including 798 paintings (the greater part of his life's work) to the Mark Rothko Foundation which he had created shortly before his death. His daughter Kate [Rothko Prizel] brought suit against the estate executors and Marlborough Gallery for self-dealing, fraud, and conspiring with Marlborough owner, Frank Lloyd to waste the assets of the estate. The state of New York Attorney General's Office, represented by Harrow, joined the case as a cross-petitioner on behalf of the people of New York's interest as beneficiaries of the charitable Foundation. The case resulted in the return of most of the paintings, the removal of the executors (accountant Bernard Reis, artist Theodoros Stamos, and anthropology professor Morton Levine), and a $9.2 million judgment against them and Frank Lloyd. The case had a lasting effect on laws dealing with artists' estates, and Harrow was instrumental in framing a bill that aimed at reducing fraud in the fine arts market. Harrow wrote about the Rothko Estate case in several articles and in the 1979 book Art, the Artist, and the Consequences of Rothko: Lasting Legal Impressions from the Estate of Great Artist.
Related Materials:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are the Mark Rothko Foundation records, 1976-1987; Legal records relating to Richard Serra v. United States General Services Administration et al., 1985-1987.
The Archives of American Art interviewed multiple artists as part of the Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project. Many of the interviews reference Rothko and his work, and relationships with the artist.
The Legal records relating to Richard Serra v. United States General Services Administration et al., 1985-1987 contains documentation of another lawsuit handled by Gustave Harrow.
Separated Materials:
Another small collection (11 items) of Mark Rothko papers were loaned to the Archives for microfilming on reel 3135. The papers were in the possession of George Carson, husband of Rothko's ex-wife Edith Carson. Carson gave the papers to the Mark Rothko Foundation and gave the Archives of American Art permission to microfilm them. The microfilm is available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan but are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
Provenance:
The Gustave Harrow legal records relating to the Estate of Mark Rothko were donated to the Archives of American Art by Marilynn Karp March 23, 1996. Mr. Harrow had deposited the papers with Ms. Karp, a colleague of Harrow's at New York University where he was an adjunct professor.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recording with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference services for more information.
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.
Topic:
Artists -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- United States Search this
Biographical material, correspondence, legal and financial material, notes and writings, art work, scrapbooks, sketchbooks, printed material, subject files and photographs.
REEL 4154: Five scrapbooks containing clippings, exhibition brochures, photographs of Pittman and of his works (1934-1969); and two sketchbooks containing European views of landscape and architecture (1927-1956).
REELS 4468-4472: Biographical material; correspondence, 1920-1900, with family, colleagues, students, and patrons, including Ivan Albright, Walter H. Annenberg, John Canaday, Blanchard Gummo, Edward Hopper, Edward G. Robinson, Ann Southern, and others; Pittman's will and estate papers; receipts, 1921-1980; 2 address books; school notebooks; writings by and about Pittman, including his "Drift of Consciousness" manuscript; 4 scrapbooks of drawings, 70 unbound drawings, and 2 prints; a menu decorated with sketches of acrobats and annotated "to H. Pittman from R. Marsh" and "E. Hopper"; files containing letters, printed material, and photographs on topics including Clare Boothe Luce (1946-1972), Margaret Sanger (1947-1974), greeting cards designed by Pittman (1960-1965), Pittman residences (1945-1974), Woodstock artists (1972-1975) and Guggenheim fellowships (1938-1956-contains a travel journal about Italy); a scrapbook of clippings (1938-1971) and clippings (1931-1985); exhibition announcements and catalogs (1930-1989), and other printed material; and photographs of Pittman, his family, friends, art classes (1945-1971), and works of art.
ADDITION: Preliminary works of art by Pittman consisting of 1,538 sketches in watercolor, ink and graphite.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, art instructor; Philadelphia, Pa. Born in Epworth, North Carolina, Pittman moved permanently to Pennsylvania in 1918.
Related Materials:
Letters from Pittman to his cousin Lucy Cherry Crisp located in Collection no. 154, East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.
Provenance:
Material on reel 4154 lent for microfilming 1988 by Bryn Mawr College as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. Papers on reels 4468-4472 were lent by the Edgecombe County Cultural Arts Council, 1990, who received it from Pittman's niece, Alyce Weeks Gordon.The sketches were donated in 1997 from the North Carolina Museum of Art, which had received it from the Hobson Pittman estate.
Restrictions:
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.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Wyeth, N. C. (Newell Convers), 1882-1945 Search this
Extent:
5.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Drawings
Date:
1917-1993
Summary:
The papers of painters Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth Hurd measure 5.2 linear feet, date from 1917 to 1993, and present an overview of their careers and their lives together through correspondence, notes, writings, artwork, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painters Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth Hurd measure 5.2 linear feet, date from 1917 to 1993, and present an overview of their careers and their lives together through correspondence, notes, writings, artwork, printed material, and photographs.
Writer and longtime family friend Paul Horgan, author of Peter Hurd: A Portrait Sketch from Life (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1965), also figures prominently in the collection. Correspondence forms the bulk of the collection and includes letters to family members, letters to and from Paul Horgan, and Peter Hurd's business correspondence. The collection also includes biographical material such as sketches of family members and genealogy information; miscellaneous notes; scattered writings by Paul Horgan; three drawings by Peter Hurd and a drawing by Paul Horgan; printed material including exhibition catalogs, press releases, and brochures; and two photographs of Paul Horgan.
In 1999 the Archives of American Art received an addition to the Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth Hurd papers consisting of material concerning Henriette Wyeth Hurd, including an address book; letters regarding portrait commissions, exhibitions, the film The Wyeths: A Father and His Family (Smithsonian World, 1986), and honors and awards; correspondence with Portraits, Inc., 1946-1949, regarding sales and inquiries; letters from Paul Horgan (signed "Plito"); letters from Henriette's father, N.C. Wyeth, and sister, Carolyn Wyeth; more than thirty letters to Andrew Wyeth and his sister Betsy; and several letters from Andrew Wyeth.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series. Material in each series is arranged chronologically, unless otherwise noted.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1980-1984, undated (box 1, 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1917-1989 (boxes 1-4, 3.5 linear ft.)
Series 3: Notes, undated (box 4, 1 folder)
Series 4: Writings, 1980-1985 (box 4, 12 folders)
Series 5: Artwork, 1940, undated (box 4, 2 folders)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1928-1929 (box 4, 14 folders)
Series 7: Photographs, 1977, undated (box 4, 1 folder)
Series 8: Unprocessed Addition to the Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth Hurd Papers, 1939-1993 (boxes 5-6, 1.2 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Peter Hurd was born in 1904 in Roswell, New Mexico, after his parents' move there from the East Coast. He was appointed to the U. S. Military Academy at West Point in 1921, but left two years later to begin an artistic career. After attending Haverford College, he studied under N. C. Wyeth and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1924 to 1926. In 1929, he married Wyeth's eldest child, Henriette, who was also a painter.
Henriette Wyeth was born in 1907 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and studied at the Normal Art School in Boston in 1920, and later at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
During the mid-1930s they settled permanently in San Patricio, New Mexico. Hurd printed lithographs and painted portraits and landscapes in addition to federally-sponsored murals in post offices. Henriette was primarily known as a portrait painter.
Peter Hurd died in 1984.
Related Material:
Related material in the Archives of American Art includes Peter Hurd papers relating to the Section of Fine Arts, 1936-1951. These papers contain correspondence concerning Treasury Department art programs, including miscellaneous papers and printed material concerning Hurd's murals for the Section of Fine Arts in Texas and New Mexico.
Also found in the Archives of American Art is 1 sound tape reel of a transcribed interview with Peter Hurd conducted by Sylvia Loomis, March 28, 1964.
Provenance:
The Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth Hurd papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1991 and 1994 by Michael Hurd and Henriette Wyeth Hurd, the son and widow of Peter Hurd. In 1999, an addition of 1.2 linear feet was donated by the Henriette Wyeth Hurd estate.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
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.
Masterpieces of impressionism & post-impressionism : the Annenberg Collection / Colin B. Bailey & Joseph J. Rishel ; with Mark Rosenthal, assisted by Veerle Thielemans
The Annenberg Collection : masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-impressionism / edited by Susan Alyson Stein and Asher Ethan Miller ; texts by Colin B. Bailey ... [et al.]
Title:
Masterpieces of Impressionism and Post-impressionism
Author:
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) Search this
