The papers of art historian, dealer, critic, and curator Katharine Kuh measure 12 linear feet and date from 1875-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930-1994. The collection documents Kuh's career as a pioneer modernist art historian and as the first woman curator of European Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues; personal business records; artwork by various artists; a travel journal; writings by Kuh and others; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs of Kuh and others; and audio recordings of Kuh's lectures and of Daniel Catton Rich reading poetry.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art historian, dealer, critic, and curator Katharine Kuh measure 12 linear feet and date from 1875-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930-1994. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues; personal business records; artwork by various artists; a travel journal; writings by Kuh and others; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs of Kuh and others; and audio recordings of Kuh's lectures and of Daniel Catton Rich reading poetry.
Biographical material consists of copies of Kuh's birth certificate, resumés, passports, award certificates, honorary diplomas, and address books listing information about several prominent artists and colleagues.
Four linear feet of correspondence offers excellent documentation of Kuh's interest in art history, her travels, her career at the Art Institute of Chicago, her work as a corporate art advisor, and as an author. There are letters from her mother Olga Woolf, friends, and colleagues. There is extensive correspondence with various staff members of the Art Institute of Chicago, the First National Bank of Chicago, and The Saturday Review. Also of interest are letters from artists and collectors, several of whom became life-long friends including Walter and Louise Arensberg, Cosmo Campoli, Serge Chermayeff, Richard Cox, Worden Day, Claire Falkenstein, Fred Friendly, Leon Golub, Joseph Goto, David Hare, Denise Brown Hare, Jean Hélion, Ray Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Len Lye, Wallace Putnam, Kurt Seligmann, Shelby Shackelford, Hedda Sterne, and Clyfford Still. Many letters are illustrated with original artwork in various media.
There are also scattered letters from various artists and other prominent individuals including Josef Albers, George Biddle, Marcel Breuer, Joseph Cornell, Stuart Davis, Edwin Dickinson, Joseph Hirshhorn, Daniel Catton Rich, and Dorothea Tanning.
Personal business records include a list of artwork, Olga Woolf's will, inventories of Kuh's personal art collection, miscellaneous contracts and deeds of gift, receipts for the sale of artwork, files concerning business-related travel, and miscellaneous receipts.
Artwork in the collection represents a wide range of artist friends and media, such as drawings, watercolors, paintings, collages, and prints. Included are works by various artists including lithographs by David Hare and a watercolor set, Technics and Creativity, designed and autographed by Jasper Johns for the Museum of Modern Art, 1970.
Notes and writings include annotated engagement calendars, travel journals for Germany, a guest book for the Kuh Memorial gathering, and many writings and notes by Kuh for lectures and articles concerning art history topics. Of interest are minutes/notes from meetings for art festivals, conferences, and the "Conversations with Artists Program (1961). Also found are writings by others about Kuh and other art history topics.
Six scrapbooks contain clippings that document the height of Kuh's career as a gallery director and museum curator. Scrapbook 6 contains clippings about Fernand Léger, the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1953.
Additional printed material includes clippings about Kuh and her interests, a comprehensive collection of clippings of Kuh's articles for The Saturday Review, exhibition announcements and catalogs, calendars of events, programs, brochures, books including Poems by Kuh as a child, and reproductions of artwork. Of particular interest are the early and exhibition catalogs from the Katharine Kuh Gallery, and rare catalogs for artists including Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Stanley William Hayter, Hans Hofmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Franz Kline, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Pablo Picasso.
Photographs provide important documentation of the life and career of Katharine Kuh and are of Kuh, family members, friends, colleagues, events, residences, and artwork. Several of the photographs of Kuh were taken by Will Barnet and Marcel Breuer and there is a notable pair of photo booth portraits of Kuh and a young Ansel Adams. There are also group photographs showing Angelica Archipenko with Kuh; designer Klaus Grabe; painters José Chavez Morado and Pablo O'Higgins in San Miguel, Mexico; Kuh at the Venice Biennale with friends and colleagues including Peggy Guggenheim, Frances Perkins, Daniel Catton Rich, and Harry Winston; and "The Pre-Depressionists" including Lorser Feitelson, Robert Inverarity, Helen Lundeberg, Arthur Millier, Myron Chester Nutting, and Muriel Tyler Nutting.
Photographs of exhibition installations and openings include views of the Katharine Kuh Gallery; Fernand Léger, Man Ray, and László Moholy-Nagy at the Art Institute of Chicago; and Philip Guston, Jimmy Ernst, Seymour H. Knox, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. There are also photographs depicting three men posing as Léger's "Three Musicians" and the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the Art Institute of Chicago. There is a photograph by Peter Pollack of an elk skull used as a model by Georgia O'Keeffe.
Additional photographs of friends and colleagues include Ivan Albright, Alfred Barr, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Willem De Kooning, Edwin Dickinson, Marcel Duchamp, Claire Falkenstein, Alberto Giacometti, poet Robert Graves with Len Lye, Philip Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Carlos Mérida, José Orozco, Hasan Ozbekhan, Pablo Picasso, Carl Sandberg, Ben Shahn, Otto Spaeth, Hedda Sterne, Adlai Stevenson, Clyfford Still, Mark Tobey, and composer Victor Young.
Photographs of artwork include totem poles in Alaska; work by various artists including Claire Falkenstein, Paul Klee, and Hedda Sterne; and work donated to the Guggenheim Museum.
Four audio recordings on cassette are of Katharine Kuh's lectures, including one about assembling corporate collections, and of Daniel Catton Rich reading his own poetry. There is also a recording of the Second Annual Dialogue between Broadcasters and Museum Educators.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series. Undated correspondence, artwork, and photographs of individual artists are arranged alphabetically. Otherwise, each series is arranged chronologically.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1945-1992 (Box 1; 16 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1908-1994 (Boxes 1-5, 13-14, OV 15; 4.0 linear feet)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1941-1989 (Box 5; 19 folders)
Series 4: Artwork, 1931-1986 (Boxes 5, 13-14, OVs 15-23; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1914-1994 (Boxes 5-7; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1935-1953 (Box 7; 8 folders)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1916-1992 (Boxes 7-10, 13, OV 22; 3.0 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, 1875-1993 (Boxes 10-13; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 9: Audio Recordings, 1977 (Box 12; 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Katharine Kuh (1904-1994) worked primarily in the Chicago area as an modern art historian, dealer, critic, curator, writer, and consultant. She operated the Katharine Kuh Gallery from 1935-1943 and was the first woman curator of European and Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Katharine Kuh (née Woolf) was born on July 15, 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of the three daughters of Olga Weiner and Morris Woolf, a silk importer. In 1909, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. While traveling with her family in Europe in 1914, Katharine contracted polio, causing her to spend the next decade in a body brace. During this time of restricted movement, she developed an interest in art history through the collecting of old master prints.
After her recovery, Katharine Woolf attended Vassar College where one of her professors, Alfred Barr, encouraged her to study modern art. She graduated from Vassar in 1925 and received a master's degree in art history from the University of Chicago in 1929. Later that year, she moved to New York to pursue a Ph.D. in Renaissance and medieval art at New York University.
In 1930, Katharine Woolf returned to Chicago and married businessman George Kuh and began to teach art history courses in the suburbs of Chicago. After divorcing George Kuh in 1935, she opened the Katharine Kuh Gallery, the first gallery devoted to avant-garde art in Chicago. It was also the first gallery to exhibit photography and typographical design as art forms, and featured the work of Ansel Adams, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Wassily Kandinsky, Fernand Léger, and Man Ray, among others. From 1938 to1940, Kuh was the Visiting Professor of Art at the University School of Fine Arts, San Miguel, Mexico.
After the Katharine Kuh Gallery closed in 1943, Kuh was hired by museum director Daniel Catton Rich to fill a position in public relations at the Art Institute of Chicago. During the following years, Kuh edited the museum's Quarterly publication, took charge of the museum's Gallery of Interpretive Art, and began a long term relationship with Rich. In 1946, Kuh was sent on a special mission for the U. S. Office of Indian Affairs to make a detailed study of Native American totemic carvings in Alaska.
In 1949, Kuh persuaded Mr. and Mrs. Walter Arensberg of Los Angeles to exhibit their collection of modern art, creating the first post-war exhibition of modern art in Chicago. She published her first book Art Has Many Faces in 1951, and in the following year, she began writing art criticism for The Saturday Review. In 1954, Kuh was appointed the first woman curator of European Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute. She assembled the American contribution for the Venice Biennale in 1956 and during these years, Kuh helped acquire many of the works of modern art currently in the museum's collection.
A year following Daniel Catton Rich's 1958 resignation from the Art Institute of Chicago, Kuh also resigned and pursued a career in New York as an art collection advisor, most notably for the First National Bank of Chicago. In 1959, Kuh was made art critic for The Saturday Review, and she continued to publish books, including The Artist's Voice in 1962, Break-Up: The Core of Modern Art in 1965, and The Open Eye: In Pursuit of Art in 1971.
Katharine Kuh died on January 10, 1994 in New York City.
Provenance:
The Katharine Kuh papers were donated in several installments from 1971 to 1989 by Katharine Kuh and in 1994 by her estate. Artwork was donated in 1995 by Kuh's former employer, the Art Institute of Chicago.
Restrictions:
Authorization to quote, publish or reproduce requires written permission until 2019. Contact the Archives of American Art Reference Services department for additional information.
Rights:
The Katharine Kuh 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 painter, printmaker, and art teacher Josef Albers date from 1929 to 1970 and measure 1.5 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, writings, a recorded lecture, and photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of printed materials.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter, printmaker, and art teacher Josef Albers date from 1929 to 1970 and measure 1.5 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, writings, a recorded lecture, and photographs. The bulk of the collection consists of printed materials.
Biographical material consists of a curriculum vitae, bibliographic lists, a transcript of a "Yale Reports" radio interview in which Albers discusses art as a port of general education, and a photocopy of a letter from Eugene W. Leake of the Maryland Institute discussing a work by Albers in the Baltimore Museum.
Writings and Lectures are primarily photocopies of poems and typescripts by Albers concerning his theories on art, as well as an sound tape reel recording of Albers delivering a lecture at Yale University. There are also photocopied typescripts about Albers written by others including a typescript "Josef Albers" by Hans Jean Arp.
Printed material primarily consists of clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs, some of which are annotated by Albers. There are also two exhibition catalogs for Anni Albers, press releases, a copy of poetry publication Origin 8, 2 books by Albers, Embossed Linear Compositions and Josef Albers: Poems and Drawings, the book American Abstract Artists, 1936-1966, and miscellaneous brochures.
Photographs consist of two copies of the same image of Josef Albers pin registering one of his prints with Tamarind artisan Ken Tyler.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 4 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1957-1970 (3 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Writings and Lecture, 1936-1967 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1929-1969 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)
Series 4: Photographs, circa 1968 (1 folder; Box 2)
Biographical / Historical:
Josef Albers (1888-1976) of Dessau, Germany, Black Mountain, North Carolina, and New Haven, Connecticut, was a painter, printmaker, and art teacher advocating a disciplined approach to composition, form, and color.
Josef Albers was born on March 19, 1888 in Bottrop, Westphalia, Germany, the only child of Lorenz Albers, a housepainter, and Magdelena (Schumacher) Albers. He attended the Präparanden-Schule in Langenhorst from 1902 to 1905 and then the teachers college in Büren, graduating in 1908. He became an instructor in several Westphalian primary schools.
Albers studied at the Royal Art School in Berlin, the Arts and Crafts School (Folkwang School) in Essen, and at the Art Academy in Munich under Franz Stuck before enrolling at the Bauhaus in Weimar in 1920. In 1923, he became an instructor and in 1925, when the school was transplanted to Dessau, he became a Bauhausmeister, teaching his fundamental design course. He remained in that position in Dessau and Berlin until 1933, when under pressure from National Socialism, the school was shut down. In that year, Albers emigrated to the United States, becoming a professor of painting at Black Mountain College in North Carolina.
In 1949, Albers moved to Yale University where he taught in the Department of Design and served as Chairman of the Art Department. Following his retirement in 1960, Albers continued to live in New Haven with his wife, textile artist Anni Albers.
Albers served as a guest teacher in Ulm, Germany, and in many colleges and art schools in the United States, Mexico, and South America. He was also an author of poems and books concerning art theory.
Josef Albers died on March 25, 1976 in New Haven, Connecticut.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives is an oral history interview with Albers conducted by Sevim Fesci in 1968, and a collection of letters from Albers to J. B. Naumann that was loaned to the Archives by the Brooklyn Museum for microfilming and is available on microfilm reel 911.
Provenance:
The Josef Albers papers were donated by the artist in 1969 and 1970. A small collection of additional Albers papers and an audio recording of a lecture with an unknown provenance were integrated.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Josef Albers 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.
Sánchez Cantón, F. J. (Francisco Javier), 1891-1971 Search this
Extent:
5 Items (Original: 5 sound reels)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1956
Scope and Contents:
Selected interviews conducted by Arthur S. Alberts for his research project "French Civilization as Reflected in the Arts," and related lectures. Interviewees include Jean Arp (May 8, 1956); Ada Jean (1956); Andre Masson (Feb. 28, 1956); Xavier Sanchez-Canton (Mar. 15, 1956); and Gino Severini (Mar. 1956) and Man Ray (Feb. 22, 1956).
Biographical / Historical:
Writer; Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Provenance:
Donated 1996 by John B. Harker, a friend of Alberts' wife, Elizabeth. At Elizabeth's death in 1991 the new owners of the Alberts' housefound a box with the tapes in it and planned to dispose of them. Mr. Harkerfelt the tapes were significant and eventually contacted the Archives. Harker made the copy cassettes from the original reel-to-reel tapes.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce must be obtained from John B. Harker.
6.2 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 9 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1932-1971
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; photographs and photograph albums; diaries; writings; sketches and sketchbooks; biographical data; catalogs; material relating to the Artists Tenants Association; clippings; and miscellany.
REEL D388: Correspondence, 1945-1966; photographs; sketches; and clippings.
REELS N70-9-N70-10: 75 photographs by Weber and photographer Harry Callahan of Mies van der Rohe, taken from 1961-1964, with occasional photos of Weber, his studio, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and other friends, including one of Moholy-Nagy by Arthur Siegel, 1946. Also included are 30 letters from Clair Fox Gallery, Howard Wise Gallery, Harry Callahan, Jack Kerouac and other friends; and 2 sketchbooks, 1962.
REEL 671: 9 photograph albums and ca. 200 photographs of Weber, friends, family (including his artist wife, Anne Weber), studios, and his works of art. Among them are one of Weber by Barbara Crane, ca. 1960, a contact sheet of photographs of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and many photographs by Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind, Cora Ward, Robert D. Hall, Annet Held and Yves Hervochon, including photos of Charles Cajori and Jack Greenbaum by Cora Ward, and Ornette Coleman by Callahan.
REELS 841-845: Correspondence, 1932-1971; 3 diaries (written in German), 1941-1944, April 1942, and April to August 1964; poetry by Weber; writings on art, 1951-1968; writings on other artists; sketchbooks and drawings, 1945-1971; biographical material; material on the Artists Tenants Association; catalogs; clippings; and miscellany.
UNMICROFILMED: Three photos by Harry Callahan, including one each of Eleanor Callahan, Weber, and "Drawing in Space with a Flashlight"; and one of Jean (Hans) Arp by Dina Woelffer, 1957. One photo of Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe taken by Aaron Siskind, ca. 1950.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; New York, N.Y.; b. 1918 in Basel, Switzerland; d. August 15, 1971.
Provenance:
Material on reel D388 and N70-9 (portion) lent for microfilming 1969 by Hugo Weber; and material on reel N70-9 (portion)-N70-10, 671 & 841-845 donated 1971 by Anne Weber, ex-wife of Hugo Weber.
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. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
5 Reels (ca. 1200 items (on 5 partial microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1917-1945
Scope and Contents:
Papers relate mainly to the Blue Four and contain primarily correspondence; also business materials, photographs, essays, and printed materials.
REEL 1644: Correspondence with Lyonel Feininger and his wife Julia, mainly concerning personal matters, contemporary events in Europe and America, and Scheyer's efforts to establish the Blue Four's reputation on the west coast. Many letters are illustrated with Feininger block cuts.
REEL 1854: Letters from Feininger, Alexei Jawlensky, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee; typescripts of letters to members of the Blue Four; import declarations; a shipping invoice; a consular certificate for paintings; and price lists of works of art.
REEL 1905: Correpsondence documenting Scheyer's friendship with various artists associated with the Blue Four and her efforts to exhibit and sell their work. Important correpsondents include: Alexander Archipenko, Hans Arp, Giorgio de Chirico, Marcel Duchamp, Paul Klee, Le Corbusier, Fernand Leger, Carlos Merida, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Diego Rivera, Arthur Segal, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Arnold Schoenberg, Kurt Schwitters, Rufino Tamayo, Mies van der Rohe, Edgar Varese, Max Weber, and Edward Weston. Also included are miscellaneous photographs, essays, notes, and financial and printed materials.
REEL 2031-2032: Correspondence with Alexei Jawlensky and Wassily Kandinsky, including several illustrated letters; two photographs of interiors; a published article by Kandindsky, "Abstrakte Kunst," ca. 1925-1926; and price lists for works of art by Kandkinsky. Some letters are typescripts.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector, dealer; b. 1889; d. 1945; Los Angeles, Calif. Scheyer worked to introduce the art of the Blue Four (Blaue Vier), Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee, and Alexei Jawlensky, to American collectors.
Other Title:
Galka Scheyer Blue Four Archive.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming by Norton Simon Museum of Art, 1979-1980.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The papers of art collector Charles Rand Penney measure 23.1 linear feet and date from 1923 to 1994 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945 to 1994. The majority of the collection consists of Penney's art collection files, which include printed materials, correspondence, notes, and photographic materials. Also found within the papers are catalogs from exhibitions that featured artwork from Penney's collection.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art collector Charles Rand Penney measure 23.1 linear feet and date from 1923 to 1994 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945 to 1994. The collection consists primarily of Penney's art collection files which include printed materials, correspondence, notes, and photographic materials. Also found within the papers are catalogs from exhibitions that featured artwork from Penney's collection.
Artists of significance represented in Penney's art collection files include Jean Arp, John James Audubon, Milton Avery, Harry Beroia, Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, Philip Evergood, Emil Ganso, Robert Goodnough, Red Grooms, Edward Hopper, John Marin, Reginald Marsh, Joan Miro, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, Isamu Noguchi, Beverly Pepper, George Segal, John Sloan, Theodoros Stamos, Saul Steinberg, and Ulfert Wilke, among many others. Also included are files for artists that participated in theToronto 20 portfolio project in 1965. The files do not include Penney's files relating to Charles Burchfield, Wester New York state artists, or objects from the Arts and Craft movement.
A few notable exhibition catalogs found in the series of catalogs of the Charles Rand Penney art collection are Charles Burchfield: The Charles Rand Penney Collection, The Graphic Art of Emil Ganso, Drawings from the Collection of Charles Rand Penney, Quilts Coverlets Hooked Rugs from the Collection of Charles Rand Penney, The Charles Rand Penney Collection: Twentieth Century Art, and An American Visionary: Watercolors and Drawings of Charles E. Burchfield.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series.
Series 1: Art Collection Files, 1923-1994 (Box 1-23, OV 24; 22.7 linear feet)
Series 2: Catalogs of the Charles Rand Penney Art Collection, 1966-1991 (Box 23, 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Rand Penney (1923-2010) was an art collector from Buffalo, New York. He was well known for his collection of art by Western New York artists, but also collected art from Europe, Africa, Oceania, and other regions of the United States. His travels contributed to the eclectic mix of paintings, drawings, sculptures, hooked rugs, quilts, and tribal art found within his art collection.
Penney cited receiving the watercolor Warrior in 1933 from Western New York artist Bob Blair as the beginning of his life as an art collector. Years later, Penney served in World War II, attended law school, and began practicing law in the 1950s. His collections grew quickly during the late 1950s through 1970s. Penney collected over 100,000 works of art during his lifetime, much of it guided by dealers James and Merle Goodman.
In 1963, Penney began donating artwork to the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, New York. In total, approximately 400 works of art were donated to the gallery including Big Diamond by David Smith and Beverly Pepper's Vertical Ventaglio (1967-1968). Penney also donated over 1000 works of art to the Burchfield Art Center in Buffalo, New York.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Charles Rand Penney conducted by Robert F. Brown on August 14-16, 1981. Additional files relating to the Charles Rand Penney Foundation (1963-1976) are located at the Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y. Files relating to Western New York state artists, Charles Burchfield, and American Arts and Crafts are located at the Burchfield-Penney Center at Buffalo State College, Buffalo, New York.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 1993-1994 by Charles Rand Penney.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Charles Rand Penney 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.
0.6 Linear feet ((300 items on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1916-1967
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, articles, clippings, exhibition catalogs, photographs of works and one of Morris, and a scrapbook. Among the correspondents are Jean Arp, Frederick Dupee, Jean Helion, Geoffrey Hellman, Karl Knaths, Gaston Lachaise, Dwight Macdonald, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson. [Photos on fr. 893 and 1001 are also filmed on reel 440, fr. 388-391, Photographs of Artists Collection I].
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, sculptor, designer and educator; New York, N.Y. Died 1975. Born New York City. Studied at Yale University, Arts Students League, Academie Moderne, Paris, France. Member of the Advisory Committee, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
Provenance:
Donated 1968 by George L. K. Morris.
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. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
The papers of Belle Krasne Ribicoff measure 1.6 linear feet and date from 1942-circa 2010, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945-2004. Papers include biographical materials; correspondence with artists, art historians, writers, museum directors, and others; individual files relating to Belle and Irving Ribicoff's art collection and the Friends of Abe Ribicoff's campaign for the United States Senate; artwork; printed material, e.g., clippings, announcements, exhibition catalogues, brochures; and photographs. The collection documents Ribicoff's career as an arts editor, critic, and her involvement in civic and arts organizations for the State of Connecticut.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Belle Krasne Ribicoff measure 1.6 linear feet and date from 1942-circa 2010, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945-2004. Papers include biographical materials; correspondence with artists, art historians, writers, museum directors, and others; individual files relating to Belle and Irving Ribicoff's art collection and the Friends of Abe Ribicoff's campaign for the United States Senate; artwork; printed material, e.g., clippings, announcements, exhibition catalogues, brochures; and photographs. The collection documents Ribicoff's career as an arts editor, critic, and her involvement in civic and arts organizations for the State of Connecticut.
Biographical materials include documentation of the Buttenweiser Prize awarded to Belle Krasne by the Art History Departmental Honors at Vassar College in 1945 and curriculum vitae.
Correspondence, primarily incoming letters consists of letters, postcards, draft versions, and copies of e-mails. Belle Krasne Ribicoff was friends with many artists; their letters focus on daily activities, work, and the art world. Among the correspondents are Oscar and Eleanor Chelminsky, Joseph Cornell, Piero and Virginia Dorazio, John and Rae Ferren, Helen Frankenthaler, James Fitzsimmons, Adolph Gottlieb, John Graham, Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Modell, George L.K. Morris, Philip Pearlstein, Eero Saarinen, David Smith, and Adja Yunkers. There is substantial correspondence from Ben Benn, Sidney Geist, Leon Hartley, Ralph Rosenborg, and Theodore Roszak. Also found are love letters to Belle Krasne Ribicoff from Jean Bazaine. Many of the artists' letters are illustrated. Of note, are a letter from Carl Holty to J.B. Neumann and an artist's statement written by Adolph Gottlieb.
Ribicoff had a professional and personal relationship with a number of prominent writers, actors, and other individuals known for their work in the arts, such as Edward Albee, Claire Bloom, Peter DeVries, Horton Foote, Elia Kazan, Mark Lamos, Estelle Parsons, Karl Shapiro, Cornelia Otis Skinner, and P.L. Travers. There are letters from museum directors, art historians, and other well-known cultural figures, such as Dore Ashton, Clement Greenberg, Balcomb Greene, Rene d'Harnoncourt, Pierre Matisse, E. P. Richardson, Andrew C. Ritchie, Harry Salpeter, Curt Valentin, and Mark Van Doren. Also found are files of holiday cards, many original artwork; letters to Ribicoff upon her departure from Art Digest; letters from representatives at Storm King Art Center Museum and the Wadsworth Atheneum; and letters from unidentified correspondents.
The Ribicoff collection relates to the personal art collection of Belle and Irving Ribicoff; materials document the purchase and sale of artwork and the lending of artwork for exhibitions. There is a file of petition letters sponsored by the Friends of Abe Ribicoff campaign for the United States Senate.
Original artwork includes prints by Jean Arp and Adja Yunkers and pencil sketches of Sarai Ribicoff by William Bailey. Printed material consists of news clippings; a periodical; exhibition announcements; brochures; an offprint of an article by Cleve Gray; and miscellaneous printed material.
Photographs contain black and white photographs of Belle Krasne Ribicoff, Ben and Velida Benn, Richard Krautheimer, and of the jurors attending the Carnegie International exhibition (circa 1954), including Jean Bazaine, Rico Lebrun, Eric Newton, and James Thrall Soby.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 7 series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1945, circa 2010 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Belle Krasne Ribicoff Correspondence, 1942-2007 (Boxes 1, 3; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 3: The Ribicoff Collection, 1949-1988 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Friends of Abe Ribicoff Campaign, 1968 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 5: Artwork, circa 1950s-1978 (Box 1, OV 4; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1948-2000 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 7: Photographs, 1945-circa 2007 (Boxes 1-2; 0.1 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Belle Krasne Ribicoff (b. 1924) lives in Hartford, Connecticut and has served as an arts editor, critic, and university administrator.
Ribicoff was born and raised in New York City. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in art history from Vassar College in 1945. After a brief stint with an advertising agency in New York, Ribicoff became Assistant Editor at Magazine of Art (1946-1947), where she developed an interest in contemporary art. She served as editor for such publications as Art News (1948-1949), Art Digest (1949-1954), and Craft Horizons (1954-1955).
In 1955, she married Irving S. Ribicoff (1915-1994), an attorney and moved to Hartford, Connecticut. The Ribicoffs' had two daughters, Dara (b. 1956) and Sarai (1957-1980).
Ribicoff has held various positions at the University of Hartford: Development Director at the Hartford School of Art (1980-1981), Development Liaison to the Office of President (1982-1988), and Associate Vice President for Public Affairs (1980-1983). Belle Krasne Ribicoff has served as a professional volunteer for educational and cultural organizations in Connecticut; she has been involved in efforts to make the arts a part of the school curriculum. She was Vice-President of the Hartford Board of Education (1961-1967; 1965-1971) and was Chairman of the State of Connecticut's Commission on the Arts (1965-1971). Ribicoff is a Life Director at the Hartford Stage Company and a Life Regent at the University of Hartford. She is a Sterling Fellows at Yale University and sits on the President's Advisory Committee at Vassar College.
Belle Krasne Ribicoff has received recognition for her professional and public service contributions by a number of institutions. In 1954, she received the Frank Jewett Mather Award for critical writing from the College Art Association. Other honors have included: Charter Oak Leadership Medal for Distinguished Service (1968), the University of Hartford Medal for Distinguished Service (1995), and the Spirit of Vassar award for outstanding commitment and service to Vassar or another community (2005).
Related Material:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is Belle Krasne's letter to Philip Pavia, May 14, 1954 on microfilm reel 3470.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Belle Krasne Ribicoff to the Archives of American Art in 2008.
Restrictions:
Use of original material requires an appointment.
Letters from Jean Bazaine to Belle Krasne Ribicoff and sketches of Sarai Ribicoff by William Bailey are access restricted. Their use requires written permission.
Rights:
The Belle Krasne Ribicoff 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.
An interview of Richard Lippold conducted 1971 Dec. 1, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Lippold speaks of his family background and early life in Milwaukee; his early interests in art and music; early teachers; the impact of the Chicago World's Fair; studying industrial design at the Chicago Art Institute; designing machinery for an engineering firm; his travels in Mexico, Germany, and France; teaching at various institutions; his early sculptures; the development of his stylle; materials he uses; architectural commissions. He recalls Emiel Zettler, William R. Valentiner, John Cage, Jean Arp, Josef Albers, Ray Johnson, and Naum Gabo.
Biographical / Historical:
Richard Lippold (1915-2002) was a sculptor from Locust Valley, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hrs., 7 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' 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 others.
The records of the New York Galerie Chalette measure 24.15 linear feet and date from 1916-1999, with the bulk of the material dating from 1939-1994. The collection documents this contemporary art gallery's operations from its founding in 1954 through Madeleine Lejwa's later years as an independent dealer. Included are correspondence, artists' files, financial and legal records, printed materials, clippings, exhibition catalogs, audio and video recordings, and motion picture film; about half of the collection consists of photographs. Arthur Lejwa's profession as a biochemist prior to becoming a gallery owner is also documented in this collection. The collection also contains personal records of the Lejwas, including correspondence, legal papers, photographs, photo albums, and printed material.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the New York Galerie Chalette measure 24.15 linear feet and date from 1916-1999, with the bulk of the material dating from 1939-1994. The collection documents this contemporary art gallery's operations from its founding in 1954 through Madeleine Lejwa's later years as an independent dealer. Included are correspondence, artists' files, financial and legal records, printed materials, clippings, exhibition catalogs, audio and video recordings, and motion picture film; about half of the collection consists of photographs. Arthur Lejwa's profession as a biochemist prior to becoming a gallery owner is also documented in this collection. The collection also contains personal records of the Lejwas, including correspondence, legal papers, photographs, photo albums, and printed material.
Among the artists represented in the artists' files are Jean Arp, Max Bill, Burgoyne Diller, Wojciech Fangor, Sue Fuller, Julio Gonzalez, Roberta Gonzalez, Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, William Reimann, George Rickey, Leon Polk Smith, Victor Varsarely, Max Weber, and various Dada artists. Many artists are represented in the large collection of photographs as is the Lejwa's personal collection. Included in the business records are invoices, receipts for works sold, yearly sales and purchase ledgers, checks for artwork purchases, and index card files recording sales. Legal records include files related to litigation, primarily Lebenstein v. Lejwa. The collection includes film reels and audio recordings of lectures, broadcasts, and exhibits from the 1960s-1990s. It also includes two film reels from a French television program about Jean Arp.
Among the personal records are biographical information, correspondence, legal records mostly related to the settlement of Arthur Lejwa's estate, a significant quantity of snapshots, negatives and slides, and newspaper clippings chronicling Arthur Lejwa's work as a biochemist and the Robert Gould Research Foundation. Arthur Lejwa's scientific career is also represented in biographical information, publications, research notebooks, and photographs. Much of the personal correspondence is from 1939-1951 and is written in Polish, Yiddish and German. The Lejwa's philanthropic donations, especially in Israel, are documented in correspondence, papers, and photographs. Many of the photographs and photo albums record Madeleine Lejwa's travels in the 1970s-1990s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series. The series are generally arranged alphabetically by type of material or subject, and chronologically thereafter.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1920-1995 (Boxes 1-2; 1.4 linear foot)
Series 2: Artists' Files, 1916-1996 (Boxes 2-6, 25; 4.3 linear feet)
Series 3: General Business Files, 1950-1994 (Boxes 6-8; 2.3 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Materials, 1931-1996 (Boxes 9-10, 25; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographs, circa 1920s-1994 (Boxes 10-16, 24-25; 7 linear feet)
Series 6: Legal Records, 1938, 1959-1988 (Box 17; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 7: Personal Papers of Arthur and Madeleine Chalette Lejwa, 1925-1999 (Boxes 17-21, 25; 3.7 linear feet)
Series 8: Motion Picture Film, Audio, and Video Recordings, circa 1950s-1995 (Boxes 21-23, FC 29-42; 4.3 linear feet)
Historical Note:
Art dealers and collectors Madeleine Chalette (1915-1996) and Arthur Lejwa (1895-1972) opened the Galerie Chalette in New York on 45 West 57th Street in February, 1954. The gallery originally specialized in contemporary French graphics and later shifted its focus to contemporary twentieth century European and American art, particularly the work of Jean Arp. Over the years, Galerie Chalette relocated twice. In 1957, the gallery moved to 1100 Madison Avenue and then to 9 East 88th Street in 1964.
Madeleine Chalette was born in 1915 in Paris and grew up in Poland. In 1940, after Madeleine's efforts to secure the release of her father, Leon Chalette, from Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin were successful, father and daughter traveled by boat to Shanghai. They stayed in Shanghai throughout World War II, arriving in the United States in 1946. Arthur Lejwa, a Polish-born biochemist, immigrated to the United States in 1939 and taught at Long Island University. In 1947, Madeleine and Arthur Lejwa were married in Cincinnati, Ohio where Arthur was the Director of the Robert Gould Institute for Nutritional Research.
The gallery was very active in the 1950s and 1960s, as evidenced by the numerous exhibitions. Many of the exhibitions in the 1950s were thematic. Exhibitions in the 1960s were mostly organized around the work of a particular artist, such as Wojciech Fangor and Leon Polk Smith. In 1972, the Metropolitan Museum of Art showcased Jean Arp's work from the Lejwa's collection and a few works lent by Arp's widow, Marguerite Arp. The exhibition was expanded and traveled as "Arp 1877-1966," first exhibited at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and then shown in seven museums in the United States and six in Australia.
In the early 1970s, the Lejwas began supporting institutions in Jerusalem, including donating a 17th century Polish menorah to The Israel Museum and five sculptures to be displayed in public spaces: "The Threshold of Jerusalem" by Jean Arp, "The Loop" by Robert Engman, George Rickey's "Two Lines Oblique," "The Skedion Ekton" by Stephanie Scuris, and "Four Cubes Cut in Identical Halves" by Max Bill.
Following Arthur's death on October 27, 1972, Madeleine continued as an independent dealer and consultant and renamed the business Chalette International. In the 1980s, Madeleine Lejwa continued her philanthropic endeavors in Jerusalem, donating to a scholarship fund for Arab students. She was also a strong supporter of New York University's archeological site Aphrodisias, in southwestern Turkey. In the 1970s and 1980s, Lejwa traveled widely including Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Italy, Turkey, Japan, and China. Madeleine passed away at age 81 on June 9, 1996.
Related Material:
Addition papers related to Leon Chalette and Madeleine Chalette are located at Leo Baeck Institute, New York, N.Y.
Separated Material:
Papers related to Leon Chalette's imprisonment in Sachsenhausen concentration camp were transferred to the Leo Baeck Institute, New York, N.Y. in 2010.
Provenance:
The records were donated by Robert Warshaw, executor of the Madeleine Chalette Lejwa estate in two accessions in 1997 and 2005.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Galerie Chalette 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.
Topic:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) provide researchers with a complete set of documentation focusing on the founding and history of the organization from its inception through the 1960s. The collection measures 79.8 linear feet, and dates from 1895 through 1993, although the bulk of the material falls between 1909 and 1969. Valuable for its coverage of twentieth-century American art history, the collection also provides researchers with fairly comprehensive documentation of the many exhibitions and programs supported and implemented by the AFA to promote and study contemporary American art, both nationally and abroad.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) provide researchers with a complete set of documentation focusing on the founding and history of the organization from its inception through the 1960s. The collection measures 79.8 linear feet, and dates from 1895 through 1993, although the bulk of the material falls between 1909 and 1969. Valuable for its coverage of twentieth-century American art history, the collection also provides researchers with fairly comprehensive documentation of the many exhibitions and programs supported and implemented by the AFA to promote and study contemporary American art, both nationally and abroad.
The earliest documentation from 1895 to 1909 concerns the organization's history and founding and is located in Series 1: Board of Trustees. Also found in this series are meeting minutes, 1909-1963 and 1968. Interfiled with the board meeting minutes are minutes of the executive committee and other special and ad hoc committees, reports to the board, financial statements and reports, and lists of committee appointments and board membership. This series also contains the scattered correspondence and subject files of various officers. Although not a complete set of officers' files, Presidents' Frederick Allen. Whiting (1931-1936), Lawrence M.C. Smith (1948-1952), Thomas Brown Rudd (1952-1954), Daniel Longwell (1954-1956), James S. Schramm (1956-1958), and Roy R. Neuberger (1958-1961) are represented. Leila Mechlin served on AFA's board as secretary from its founding to 1929, and her files are a particularly rich resource for AFA's activities during its early years. Lawrence M.C. Smith's files documenting his years as board treasurer are also arranged in this series. Additional officers' correspondence is interspersed throughout the Alphabetical Files and other series.
General information about the scope of AFA's programs, affiliations, founding, functions, and proceedings are arranged in Series 2: Administrative Records. The first subseries, Alphabetical Files, houses a wide variety of subject files that contain memoranda, correspondence, printed materials, lists, reports, and other papers. These files document the AFA's general history and founding, organizational affiliations, buildings and moves, grants, federal and state government art programs, auctions and other fund-raising efforts, publicity and public relations, publications, and fiftieth anniversary celebration. The subject headings by which these files are arranged are, for the most part, the ones designated by the AFA. The second subseries, Staff Records, houses the scattered files of AFA's director, assistant director, registrar, and special state representative, Robert Luck.
During its most active period, the AFA sponsored or participated in several special programs and Series 3: Special Programs houses the files that document many of them. The first subseries consists of the files for the Artists in Residence program that was funded by the Ford Foundation. Awarded in 1963, the grant sponsored short-term teaching residencies for artists in museums throughout the United States. The host museums were encouraged to hold exhibitions of the artists' works. This subseries contains both the general files of the program, as well as individual files on the participating artists. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the AFA and the Ford Foundation also sponsored additional programs for artists, including Grants in Aid, Purchase Awards, and the Retrospective Exhibitions Program. The files documenting these three programs are also arranged in Series 3, under the subseries Ford Foundation Program for Visual Artists. In the late 1950s, the AFA implemented the Museum Donor Program with benefactors and philanthropists Audrey Bruce Currier and Stephen Richard Currier. Through the administration of the AFA, the Curriers donated funds to selected institutions specifically for the purchase of contemporary American art. The Curriers preferred to remain anonymous throughout the program. Files documenting this program include correspondence, applications from the accepted institutions, rejections, a summary report, and clippings about the untimely deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Currier in 1967.
Also found in Series 3 are the files documenting AFAs working relationship with the first state arts council, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). In 1961, AFA and NYSCA implemented a traveling exhibition program in New York State. Found here are files for possible itineraries, proposals, publicity, loans, budgets, and the actual exhibition files. Additional AFA special programs documented in Series 3 include the Picture of the Month program of the mid-1950s and the Jean Tennyson Foundation Color Slide Lecture Program.
AFA Annual Convention files constitute Series 4. Beginning with the Third Annual Convention in 1912 and continuing through the 1963 Annual Convention, the files contain official proceedings, speeches, programs, clippings, correspondence, and press releases. Files are missing for 1913, 1915, 1918, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1931, 1936-1949, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1960, and 1962. There are also audio recordings in the form of reel-to-reel tapes for the 1951 Annual Convention.
Series 5: Exhibition Files forms the bulk of the collection at circa 62 linear feet and is arranged into twenty subseries. The first subseries, Exhibitions, General, houses primarily the records of the Board of Trustees Exhibition Committee and documents the AFA's earliest involvement with traveling exhibitions. These files contain reports, budgets, correspondence, memoranda, scattered exhibition catalogs, and photographs. They are primarily the files of the chair of the Exhibition Committee and include the files of Juliana R. Force, Eloise Spaeth, and Mrs. John Pope. Also found in this series is a subseries of Mrs. John Pope's records documenting circulating exhibitions from 1934 to 1955, arranged by state.
The remaining nineteen subseries of the Exhibition Files reflect either specific exhibition programs, many of which have unique numbers assigned by AFA to individual exhibitions, or other exhibition-related files, such rejected, canceled, and suggested exhibitions and miscellaneous installation photographs. The Annual Exhibitions files constitute the largest of the subseries and are numbered according to the system assigned by AFA, following a typical chronological order. Although the documentation for each exhibition varies widely by both type and amount, most of the files contain contracts and legal agreements, correspondence, memoranda, itinerary information, condition reports, publicity materials, catalogs, announcements, price lists, and other such information arranged into one or more files. The files were labeled "documentation files," "dispersal files," "report form files," "loan agreement files," and "publicity files" according to the filing system devised by AFA. Many of the files also house a significant amount of correspondence with museum officials, lenders, and artists.
Additional subseries document AFA's exhibition venues and partnerships with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the New York State Council on the [UNK] Life magazine, and Addison Gallery. A complete list of all of the subseries, including specific exhibition programs, follows in the Series Outline.
The final three series of the collection are small: Printed Material, Miscellaneous Files, and Oversized Material. The printed material was donated much later to the Archives and dates from 1990 to 1993. Found here are scattered press releases, annual reports, and an exhibition program. Miscellaneous Files contain scattered records, 1926-1962, of the Architectural League of New York relating to national award programs. It is not clear why this small group of Architectural League records was found mixed with the AFA records but perhaps the collaboration between the two organizations on several special projects provides an explanation. Also found in Miscellaneous Files is a group of black and white lantern slides from a lecture series, "New Horizons in America." Oversized Material includes a portfolio, a work of art, and posters.
See Appendix for a list of artists exhibiting with the American Federation of Arts
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight primary series based primarily on administrative units or program areas. Several of the series are further subdivided into subseries. While processing, it became clear that the two filing systems were redundant and overlapped in both subject area and type of material. Most of these files were subsequently merged into the now broader Alphabetical Files or into separate series. Oversized material may be found at the end of the collection arranged in a separate series.
In most cases, files related to one another by subseries or subject areas (in the case of the Alphabetical Files) or by individual name (in the case of officers and staff files) are arranged in chronological order. The entire subseries of Alphabetical Files in Series 2 is arranged by subject heading, as assigned by the AFA, or individual name. The Alphabetical Files originally formed two broad filing systems as established by the AFA: one for general correspondence arranged by subject; and one for director's and other staff correspondence, also arranged by subject.
Series 1: Board of Trustees, circa 1895-1968 (Boxes 1-3)
Series 2: Administrative Records, 1910-1966 (Boxes 4-8)
Series 3: Special Programs, 1950-1967 (Boxes 9-13)
Series 4: Annual Conventions, 1912-1963 (Boxes 14-16)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1934-1969 (Boxes 17-78)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1990-1993 (Box 78)
Series 7: Miscellaneous Files, 1926-1962, undated (Box 79)
Series 8: Oversized Materials, 1890, undated (Boxes 80-85)
Historical Note:
Founded in 1909 by Elihu Root, the American Federation of Arts (AFA) exists today as a national nonprofit museum service organization striving to unite American art institutions, collectors, artists, and museums. Elihu Root, then secretary of state in the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, spoke of his idea at the first meeting of the AFA held in New York at the National Academy of Arts. He envisioned an organization that would promote American art most often seen only by the elite in the major cities of the East and upper Midwest by sending "exhibitions of original works of art on tour through the hinterlands across the United States."
The American Academy in Rome, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and Metropolitan Museum of Art were influential organizing member institutions. Individual members included such notables as William Merritt Chase, Charles L. Freer, Daniel C. French, Charles L. Hutchinson, Henry Cabot Lodge, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Walters. The founding of the AFA provided the American art world with a forum for communication and participation among artists, cultural institutions, patrons of the arts, and the public.
To accomplish its mission, the AFA established volunteer committees for membership, exhibitions, and publications. During its first year, the AFA began publishing Art and Progress (later changed to Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual (now the American Art Directory). In 1909, the AFA also organized its first traveling exhibition, Paintings by Prominent American Artists, which was shown at museums in Fort Worth, New Orleans, Minneapolis, and New Ulm, Minnesota.
By the end of the first year, the headquarters of the organization moved to Washington, D.C., to facilitate lobbying the federal government for favorable art legislation. In 1913, the AFA lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on foreign art entering the United States. In 1916, the Federation met with the Interstate Commerce Commission to protest prohibitively high interstate taxes on traveling art exhibitions.
Throughout the next fifteen years, the AFA continued to grow in membership and influence. By 1919, membership included 438 institutions and 2,900 individuals. The AFA's annual conventions were held in major national art centers and were attended by members, chapter delegates, and the public. At the conventions, scholars, patrons, and curators lectured on and discussed subjects of national interest, thereby fostering an exchange of ideas. The AFA also sponsored periodic regional conferences to promote institutional cooperation and to discuss mutual problems and needs. To facilitate exhibition venues west of the Mississippi River, in 1921 the AFA opened regional offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University. The AFA produced and circulated slide programs and lecture series to museums and educational institutions that fostered art education. By 1929, the Federation had developed forty-six slide-lecture programs that covered American mural painting, European and American contemporary art, and textiles.
During the 1930s, the Federation expanded its services by providing schools with teaching guides, student workbooks, slides, and films about art. In 1935, the AFA began publishing Who's Who in American Art, later publishing The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists and Films on Art reference guides. To reach an even larger audience, the AFA began collaborating with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to organize national circulating exhibitions to "bring the museum to the people."
One of AFA's priorities was to make American art more visible abroad. The Federation focused on encouraging the representation of American artists in foreign exhibitions, and in 1924 it lobbied successfully for additional American participation in the Venice Biennale. The AFA's focus on exhibiting American art abroad continued to expand, particularly following World War II. In 1950, recognizing that the AFA could assist in promoting American culture, the State Department awarded the AFA a grant for a German "re-orientation program" consisting of educational exhibitions shown in German museums. Additional government funding further enabled the AFA to organize American participation in exhibitions in India, Japan, Paris, Switzerland, and Rotterdam between 1950 and 1970. Later, the AFA collaborated with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program which permitted donations of American art to foreign institutions on a restriction-free, tax-deductible basis. During the 1950s, the AFA was a very active member of the Committee on Government and Art, a national committee with members from across the art and museum world concerned with government sponsorship of and legislation affecting art sales, commissions, and trade.
In 1952, the headquarters of the AFA returned to New York, sparking a period of innovation and expanded of programs. Throughout the 1950s, the AFA distributed films about art and co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York. The AFA also introduced its Picture of the Month Program in 1954, renting original works of art to small American art and educational institutions. In 1956, the AFA organized the Art Collectors Club of America to provide fellowship for art collectors through meetings and activities. The club disbanded in the 1970s.
The Federation's exhibition programs continued to flourish during the 1950s and 1960s. Private and public financial support allowed the AFA to achieve many of its goals. In 1958, the Ford Foundation awarded an important grant to organize a series of traveling one-person shows and a series of monographs devoted to contemporary American artists. Milton Avery, Andrew Dasburg, José DeCreeft, Lee Gatch, Walter Quirt, Abraham Rattner, and others were among the artists who participated. Private foundation support for the AFA's Museum Donor Program provided an annual allowance that was distributed to regional museums for the pourchase of contemporary American art. Cooperative programs and joint venues also became popular during this period. For example, public support from the New York State Council on the Arts allowed the AFA to circulate exhibitions to small New York State communities, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts provided the AFA with five exhibitions for national tours.
Throughout its history, the American Federation of Arts has concentrated on its founding principle of broadening the audience for contemporary American art. Through its numerous exhibition and film programs, the AFA has succeeded in "breaking down barriers of distance and language to broaden the knowledge and appreciation of art." Annual exhibitions such as New Talent in the USA and Art Schools USA, organized by the AFA, brought before the public the most contemporary American artists and craftspeople, genres, and artistic forms of experimentation, exposing viewers to new ways of thinking and expression. In 1965, AFA produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films created to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
A vital part of American art history, the AFA was one of the first organizations to develop successfully the concept of traveling art exhibitions on a national and international level. The AFA was instrumental in assisting museums with circulating important juried exhibitions of contemporary art, such as the Whitney Annual and Corcoran Biennial. The AFA also recognized the importance of the exchange of cultural ideas, and it brought exhibitions of the European masters to the American public as well as exhibitions focusing on foreign contempoorary art, photography, and architecture. Many organizations and museums have followed the AFA's precedent, and traveling national and international venues are now commonplace.
Since 1909, women have served as officers and members of the Board of Trustees. Leila Mechlin was a founding participant and served as secretary from 1909 to 1933. Juliana R. Force and Eloise Spaeth both chaired the Exhibition Committee in the late 1940s. Women and artists of diverse backgrounds and nationalities were widely represented in the AFA's exhibition programs, most notably during the 1960s. In 1960, the AFA organized, with financial support from the Ford Foundation, a major Jacob Lawrence retrospective. Additional culturally diverse exhibitions included Contemporary Jewish Ceremonial Art (1961), The Heart of India (1962), 1,000 Years of American Indian Art (1963), and Ten Negro Artists from the United States (1966).
The AFA also had an impact on patronage in the arts. AFA exhibitions of contemporary art provided collectors with knowledge of new artists and avant-garde art forms, creating a broader demand and market for this type of work. Museums and collectors began purchasing work by new or obscure American artists whom they learned about through AFA exhibitions and programs.
The historical records of the American Federation of Arts offer the researcher a unique opportunity to study the development of American art and artists in the twentieth century as well as providing insight into trends in American culture.
1909 -- Founded in New York City. Began publishing Art and Progress (later retitled Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual.
1910 -- Moved headquarters to Washington, D.C.
1913 -- Lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on art entering the United States.
1915-1916 -- Lobbied successfully against the Cummins Amendment and the Interstate Commerce Commission's prohibitively high interstate tax on traveling art.
1920 -- Organized a lobbying campaign for the development of a national gallery of art at its national convention.
1921 -- Opened two new offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University.
1924 -- Arranged American participation in the Venice Biennale exhibition.
1927 -- Closed office at Stanford University.
1929 -- Organized American participation in exhibitions in France and Germany.
1933 -- Closed office at the University of Nebraska.
1935 -- Began publishing Who's Who in American Art.
1948 -- Published The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists.
1949 -- Collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to circulate exhibitions from its collections.
1950 -- Participated in the U.S. government's German re-orientation program.
1951 -- Joined forces with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program. Published the reference guide Films on Art. Co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York, through 1957.
1952 -- Moved headquarters to New York City.
1953 -- Magazine of Art liquidated.
1954 -- Introduced the Picture of the Month Program.
1956 -- Founded the Art Collectors Club of America.
1958 -- Received a Ford Foundation grant to finance a series of one-person shows of contemporary American artists.
1960 -- Created the Museum Donor Program.
1961 -- Received a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts to circulate exhibitions to small New York state communities.
1963 -- Received a grant from the Ford Foundation for the Artists in Residence program.
1964 -- Introduced the List Art Poster Program.
1965 -- Produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films that attempted to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
Appendix: List of Artists Exhibiting with American Federation of Arts:
The following is an alphabetical list of artists who exhibited with the American Federation of Arts; many are obscure. The alpha-numeric codes and numbers appearing with the artist's name represent specific AFA exhibition programs and, most often, AFA's exhibition numbering system. In cases where the AFA did not assign an exhibition number, Archives' staff have done so.
The primary reference source for the names and name variants is the American Federation of Arts Records. The names are documented in handwritten notes and lists, typed lists, and exhibition catalogs and announcements. The Archives of American Art name authority file was also consulted in questionable cases. The majority of names, however, were not found in either the AAA name authority file or standard bibliographic resources, and only in the AFA records.
Examples:
55-1: AFA annual exhibitions program
AD-1: Addison Gallery exhibitions
L-1: Life Magazine Exhibitions
ME-1: Misceallaneous exhibitions (numbers assigned by AAA staff)
NMA-1: Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibitions
NE-96: Contemporary Color Lithography
NY-1: New York State Council on the Arts exhibitions
VA-1: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibitions
A. Quincy Jones, Frederick E. Emmons & Assoc: 62-34
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) were donated to the Archives of American Art (AAA) over a thirteen-year period, with the bulk of the material arriving between 1964 and 1966. In 1979, Preston Bolton donated his letters and those from John de Menil, Ann Drevet, Lee Malone, and others regarding planning for the 1957 AFA annual convention held in Houston, Texas; convention committee minutes from 1956; and AFA newsletters. This material, as well as a 1979 gift from Louise Ferrari of transcripts from a panel discussion from the 1957 AFA convention in Houston, was microfilmed on AAA Reel 1780. All material previously microfilmed on Reel 1780 has been fully integrated into the collection and arranged within proper series and subseries. The provenance of the 1990-1993 printed material is unknown.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The American Federation of Arts 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.
Researcher may use study prints on file in the Photograph Archives, Smithsonian American Art Museum. Advance appointments are required. Original negatives are stored off-site in cold storage and are not accessible to the public.
Collection Rights:
Copyright to photographs from the Walter Rosenblum Collection is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Requests for permission to reproduce photographs from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Photograph Archives. Certain works of art, as well as photographs of those works of art, may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy or publicity rights, or other interests not owned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It is the applicant's responsibility to ascertain whether any such rights exist, and to obtain any other permission necessary to reproduce and publish the image.
Collection Citation:
Walter Rosenblum Collection, Photograph Archives, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Sponsor:
Funding for the re-housing, preservation, and digitization of the collection was provided by Smithsonian Research Resource funds, the Smithsonian Womens' Committee and the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
