Series consists primarily of Nevelson's professional correspondence, as well as some personal and family correspondence. Files are typically made up of letters, invitations, greeting cards, and telegrams received by Nevelson, copies of letters sent on her behalf (by lawyers and assistants) or shared with her by others, and photographs, press releases, clippings, and other printed material enclosed with correspondence. Correspondents include artists, dealers, museums, universities, art critics, collectors, arts-related and social organizations, admirers, along with some friends, colleagues, and family members in addition to her son. (See appendix for a select list of notable correspondents.)
General correspondence details the exhibition of Nevelson's work in various group and one-man shows; the consignment, sale, and disposition of her work, especially her dealings with the Martha Jackson Gallery and Daniel Cordier (in Europe); her donations of art work to museums and universities, and for auction by charitable organizations; and the various honors and awards received by her later in her career (including the Creative Arts Medal in Sculpture from Brandeis University and honorary degrees from the Philadelphia College of Art and Bowdoin College, among others). General correspondence also concerns Nevelson's various art-related activities, including her participation on various panels, and in workshops, conferences, and lecture series on art; her involvement in professional organizations, such as the Sculptor's Guild; and her service on various award juries and arts committees (such as the Arts and Entertainment Committee for the Rockefeller Team).
Correspondence is arranged chronologically. Correspondence in this series from the 1966-1979 acquisition has been scanned in its entirety, except for Louise Nevelson's correspondence with her son, Mike. The bulk of correspondence donated by the Farnsworth Art Museum includes an item-level inventory, and is mostly separated by personal and business subject matter.
See Appendix for a list of selected correspondents from Series 2.
Appendix: Selected Correspondents from Series 2:
List represents only a selection of correspondents and does not include names of family.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Visual Studies: 1971
Miller, Kenneth Hayes: 1931, 1933
Milone, Joe: 1941
Minneapolios College of Art and Design: 1971
Mount Holyoke College: 1962, 1964
Museum of Art, Carnegie Institution: 1967, 1971, 1974
Museum of Fine Arts of Houston: 1954
Museum of Modern Art: 1943, 1953, 1955, 1964, 1967, 1968
National Association of Women Artists: 1953, 1954
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities: 1966
Neumann, Hans: 1962
Neumann, J. B.: 1954
New School for Social Research: 1961
The New York Times -- : 1968
New York State Council on the Arts: 1968
The New Yorker -- : 1967
Newsweek -- : 1967
Nierenforf, Karl: 1941, 1943, 1946
Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum: 1973
Ono, Yoko: 1971
Pace Gallery: 1976
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts: 1952, 1970
Philadelphia College of Art: 1961, 1968
Philadelphia Museum of Art: 1965
Princeton University: 1962
Queens College: 1958
Rhode Island School of Design: 1971
Riverside Museum: 1964
Rockefeller, Nelson: 1960, 1962, 1966, 1968
Roberts, Collette: 1952, 1953
Robus, Hugo: 1958
Rosenblum, Robert: 1958
Sewall, Mrs. Sumner: 1943
Silvermine Guild of Artists: 1953, 1954, 1955
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture: 1970, 1971
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: 1964, 1966
Tamarind Lithography Work Shop: 1971
Tate Gallery: 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968
Teachers College, Columbia University: 1964
Trenton State College: 1961
Tyler, Parker: 1958
United States Committee of the International Association of Art: 1971
University of Alabama, Department of Art: 1964
University of Bridgeport: 1971
University of Nebraska Art Galleries: 1951
Vogue -- : 1964
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art: 1962
Walker Art Center: 1971, 1973
Weber, Max: 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951
Western College for Women: 1964
The White House: 1974
Whitney Museum of American Art: 1950, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967
Wichita State University: 1974
The Woman's College of The University of North Carolina: 1951
Women's Interart Center: 1973
Yale University, Department of Art: 1961
Collection Restrictions:
The bulk of this collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website, with the exception of the 2017 addition. Use of material not digitized requires an appointment.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Louise Nevelson papers, circa 1903-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for a portion of the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Additional processing received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The interviews and papers of art critic, art historian, and educator Irving Sandler measure 2.8 linear feet and 1.63 GB and date from 1944-2017. Included are interviews and recorded lectures, some in digital format; photographs of artwork and artists; membership files, meeting minutes, and ephemera from the Club organization; printed material from individual artist and group exhibits; and teaching files.
Scope and Contents:
The interviews and papers of Irving Sandler measure 2.8 linear feet and 1.63 GB and date from 1944-2017. Included are interviews and recorded lectures, some in digital format; photographs of artwork and artists; membership files, meeting minutes, and ephemera from the Club organization; printed material from individual artist and group exhibits; and teaching files.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 4 series.
Series 1: Interviews, 1962-2017 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 1.63 GB; ER01-ER03)
Series 2: Photographs, 1955-1965 (2 folders; Box 4)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1944-1978 (7 folders; Box 4)
Series 4: Professional Activities, 1951-1969 (4 folders; Box 4)
Biographical / Historical:
Irving Sandler (1925-2018) was an art critic, art historian, and educator in New York, NY. Sandler was the art critic for Art News, 1956-1962; for the New York Post, 1960-1965; and an instructor of art history at New York University, 1960-1971. During his career, he was director of the Tanager Gallery and the Club organization.
Provenance:
The bulk of the collection was donated in 1981-1982 by Irving Sandler. Sandler donated an additional interview with Mira Lehr in 2008. Sandler's widow, Lucy Freeman Sandler, donated the 2017 interview of Charles Simonds in 2019.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Archival audiovisual recordings must be digitized for research access. Researchers may access digitized audiovisual materials in the Archives' Washington, D.C. or New York, N.Y. Research Centers by appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Irving Sandler interviews and papers, 1944-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The papers of art historican August Jaccaci measure 7.2 linear feet and date from 1889 to 1935, with the bulk of the material dating from 1904 to 1914. The collection documents Jaccaci's work as an art historian, writer, and editor, primarily during the period he researched, compiled, and published his book Noteworthy Paintings in Private American Collections. More than one-half of the collection consists of extensive correspondence to and from many notable artists, collectors, and art historians, including John La Farge, Kenyon Cox, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and Bernard Sickert concerning the research and publication of the book. The papers also house legal files, writings and notes, art collection research files, and photographs of artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art historican August Jaccaci measure 7.2 linear feet and date from 1889 to 1935, with the bulk of the material dating from 1904 to 1914. The collection documents Jaccaci's work as an art historian, writer, and editor, primarily during the period he researched, compiled, and published his book Noteworthy Paintings in Private American Collections. More than one-half of the collection consists of extensive correspondence to and from many notable artists, collectors, and art historians, including John La Farge, Kenyon Cox, Isabella Stewart Gardner, and Bernard Sickert concerning the research and publication of the book. The papers also house legal files, writings and notes, art collection research files, and photographs of artwork.
Correspondents include art historians, critic, artists, and art collectors, as well as publishers, photographers, printers, and agents. These letters discuss the research of famous American art collections, writing of essays for the book, and the book production and publication. There is extensive correspondence with his co-editor John La Farge, and with his employee Carl Snyder who was working in Europe. Other correspondence is with magazines, art associations, academic institutions, and French service organizations. Also included is a small amount of personal correspondence with friends and colleagues.
Legal files include contracts and legal agreements for the August F. Jaccaci Company, as well as legal agreements with John La Farge concerning the research and publication of their joint book. Writings and notes include Jaccaci's lists and notes pertaining to the Noteworthy Paintings project, as well as other miscellaneous notes. Also found are writings by John La Farge that include drafts of a book, lectures, and notes about his artwork. Writings by others in this series also include draft essays by many art historians for Jaccaci's book. For the Noteworthy Paintings project, Jaccaci created numerous research files for American art collections and collectors that would be included. These research files include lists of works of art, essays and other notes about the collection written by prominent art historians. Photographs are of works of art supporting the research files. Also found in this collection are photographs of and notes about New England stencil designs. It is unclear what the connection is between Jaccaci and the stencil designs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 5 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1895-1929, undated (Box 1-5; 4.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Legal Files, 1895-1911, undated (Box 5; 4 folders)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1903-1914, undated (Box 5; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 4: Art Collection Research Files, 1889, 1892, 1903-1914, undated (Box 5-7; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographs, 1904-1912, 1928-1935, undated (Box 7-8; 0.4 linear feet)
Due to re-processing, the order of the collection varies slightly from the order of the collection on microfilm. References to the microfilm reel numbers have been added for researcher access.
Biographical Note:
August Florian Jaccaci was born in Fontainebleau, France in 1856. After traveling extensively in various countries including Mexico and Cuba, he settled in the United States in the early 1880s. He worked briefly as an artist in the Midwest, creating murals on commission, including a mural in the Capitol building in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jaccaci then moved to New York City and worked as art editor for Century magazine. Besides serving as art editor, he also wrote several articles and executed illustrations for the magazine. On the recommendation of artist Will H. Low he became art editor of McClure's magazine at its founding in 1896. A year later he wrote the book on his travels entitled, On the trail of Don Quixote: being a record of rambles in the ancient province of La Mancha [sic]. He left McClure's in 1902 and in 1903 began working on a major multi-volume book entitled Noteworthy Paintings in Private American Collections. Jaccaci envisioned a 15 volume set with essays about American art collections written by distinguished art historians. Though Jaccaci knew many writers, art critics, and artists through his magazine work, he was not a well-known art historian and asked artist John La Farge to be the co-editor of the book. La Farge's reputation provided access to major American collections of artwork. The publishing company Merrill and Baker was to publish the work, but it went bankrupt in 1904. Jaccaci then bought their property for his project and called it the August F. Jaccaci Co. The first volume was published in 1909, and John La Farge died in 1910. Though Jaccaci continued working on the next volume, the project failed in 1912. Besides working on this project, Jaccaci also served as editor of the "Art in America" section of Burlington Magazine from 1907 to 1910.
In 1914 August Jaccaci went to Europe on art related business. With the start of World War I, he decided to stay in France and pursue philanthropic work. He founded the Society for Protection of Children of the Frontier, and established a children's hospital, receiving many honors for his service. He died in Neuf-De-Grasse, France in 1930.
Provenance:
The August Jaccaci papers were purchased by the Archives of American Art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1957 and microfilmed shortly after receipt.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy. Use of materials not available on microfilm requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of Dore Ashton measure 35.6 linear feet and date from circa 1928-2014, with one letter in the Joseph Cornell subject file dating from 1849. The records document Dore Ashton's career as an art critic, historian and educator, with particular depth for the period of 1952 through 1990. The collection contains a small amount of biographical material, as well as correspondence, writings, subject files, printed materials, artwork, and reference photographs of artworks. An addition to the Dore Ashton papers includes biographical material, correspondence, writings, writing project and subject files, teaching files, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographic material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Dore Ashton measure 35.6 linear feet and date from circa 1928-2014, with one letter in the Joseph Cornell subject file dating from 1849. The records document Dore Ashton's career as an art critic, historian and educator, with particular depth for the period of 1952 through 1990. The collection contains a small amount of biographical material, as well as correspondence, writings, subject files, printed materials, artwork, and reference photographs of artworks. An addition to the Dore Ashton papers includes biographical material, correspondence, writings, writing project and subject files, teaching files, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographic material.
The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with many artists, writers and others, including Pat Adams, James Adley, Rudolf Arnheim, Jake Berthot, Dennis Congdon, George Herbert, Remo Guidieri, Barbara Howes, Fred Licht, Joan Punyet Miro, Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, and Hedda Sterne, among others. Smaller amounts of letters are from Joseph Albers, Edward Albee, Richard Avedon, Richard Diebenkorn, David Driskell, Alberto Giacometti, Philip Guston, Lillian Hellman, Alger Hiss, Bernard Malamud, Joan Miro, Robert Motherwell, Lewis Mumford, Claes Oldenburg, and Vassilis Vassilikos.
Writings consist of transcripts of miscellaneous articles or those written for various publications. Research files include reference or research materials for books, exhibitions, individuals and various topics. Individuals and topics include Jacopo Luis Borges, Allan Kaprow, Richard Lindner, Seong Moy, Jean Tinguely, Mark Tobey, Jack Tworkov, Adja Yunkers; and Dadaism, poetry and symbolism.
The addition to the Dore Ashton papers (Series 8) includes biographical material, correspondence, writings, writing project and subject files, teaching files, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographic material. Writings make up a significant part of the addition and contain hundreds of manuscripts, as well as lectures, notes, sixty notebooks, ten diaries, and writings by others. Writing project and subject files comprise over half of the addition and encompass a large collection of alphabetical files pertaining to artists, actors, writers, thinkers, and collaborators; work projects including writings, exhibitions, panels, symposia, and lecture series; as well as various other subjects and topics. The addition also contains teaching files related to Ashton's positions at the Cooper Union, the New School for Social Research, and Yale University. The photographic material in this series is also abundant and contains hundreds of original photographs of Ashton throughout all stages of her life, many with friends and family.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1962-1978
Series 2: Correspondence, 1945-2010, undated
Series 3: Writings, 1952-1976, undated
Series 4: Research files, 1849, 1950-1984, 2009, undated
Series 5: Printed Materials, 1931-1981, undated
Series 6: Artwork, 1949, 1952, 1983, undated
Series 7: Photographs of Artwork, circa 1950-2010
Series 8: Addition to the Dore Ashton Papers, circa 1928-2013
Biographical / Historical:
Dore Ashton (1928-) is an art critic, author, and educator living in New York City. She wrote, contributed , and edited more than 30 books. Ashton was born in Newark New Jersey in 1928 and received an MA from Harvard University in 1950. Her many books and articles focus on late 19th and 20th century art and artists. Ashton was associate editor at Art Digest from 1952-1954, and critic for Arts and Architecture at the New York Times, 1955-1960. Starting in 1962 she held several lecturing posts at various institutions including the School of Visual Arts, Cooper Union, and the New School for Social Research. She was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 1964 and a National Endowment for the Humanities grant in 1980. Among Ashton's books are Abstract Art Before Columbus, 1956; Poets and the Past, 1959; A Joseph Cornell Album, 1974; Yes, But…A Critical Study of Philip Guston, 1976, About Rothko, 1983; The New York School: a Cultural Reckoning, 1973; Noguchi East and West, 1992; and David Rankin: The New York Years, 2013. Dore Ashton was the first critic to develop a comprehensive and eye-witness account of the history of the Abstract Expressions.
Ashton married artist Adja Yunkers (1900-1983) in 1953, and they had two daughters Alexandra (known as Sasha) and Marina. In 1985 she married writer Matti Megged (1923-2003).
Related Materials:
Among the holdings of the Archives is an oral history interview with Dore Ashton conducted November 21, 2010 by George W. Sampson, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project.
Dore Ashton papers are also located at Emory University Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.
Provenance:
The Dore Ashton papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Dore Ashton May 27, 1982, May 8, 1997, June 2, 2011, and March, 25, 2016.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers measure 61.1 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1991, with the bulk of the material dating from 1946-1983. Records provide extensive documentation of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1946 to its closing in 1983 and of the activities of Betty Parsons as one the leading art dealers of contemporary American Art in the latter half of the twentieth century, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists. Over one third of the of the collection is comprised of artists files containing correspondence, price lists, and printed materials. Additional correspondence is with galleries, dealers, art institutions, private collectors, and the media. Also found are exhibition files, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales records, stock inventories, personal financial records, and photographs. Betty Parsons's personal papers consist of early curatorial files, pocket diaries, personal correspondence, and evidence of her own artwork, including sketchbooks, and files documenting her personal art collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers measure 61.1 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1991, with the bulk of the material dating from 1946-1983. Records provide extensive documentation of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1946 to its closing in 1983 and of the activities of Betty Parsons as one the leading art dealers of contemporary American Art in the latter half of the twentieth century, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists. Over one third of the of the collection is comprised of artists files containing correspondence, price lists, and printed materials. Additional correspondence is with galleries, dealers, art institutions, private collectors, and the media. Also found are exhibition files, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales records, stock inventories, personal financial records, and photographs. Betty Parsons's personal papers consist of early curatorial files, pocket diaries, personal correspondence, and evidence of her own artwork, including sketchbooks, and files documenting her personal art collection. Personal papers also include personal photographs.
Artists files, the largest and most extensive series, consist of a wide variety of documents, including biographical materials, correspondence with or related to the artist, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales and expense invoices, clippings, price lists, and photographs of the artist, exhibitions, and artwork. The files reflect Parsons's close personal relationships with certain artists, particularly Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, and Barnett Newman. Extensive documentation is also found for Forrest Bess, William Congdon, Paul Feeley, Thomas George, Alexander Liberman, Seymour Lipton, Richard Pousette-Dart, Jesse Reichek, and Jack Youngerman. Historians and researchers will find these files to be an invaluable resource both in tracing Betty Parsons's role in promoting Abstract Expressionism and researching individual artists.
Exhibition files primarily document the gallery's infrequent group or themed exhibitions. Of particular note are the files on The Ideographic Picture, which was organized by Barnett Newman and included his work, as well as that of Pietro Lazzari, Boris Margo, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, and Clyfford Still. Price lists, artist biographies and exhibition schedules are housed in the general exhibition files. Loan exhibition files provide documentation of artwork borrowed by other galleries or institutions for exhibitions, as well as shows outside of the gallery that were organized by Betty Parsons. Also found are gallery exhibition guest books, and announcements and catalogs.
Gallery correspondence is primarily with galleries and dealers, museums, arts organizations, and collectors. Scattered letters from artists are also found, although the bulk of the artists' correspondence is filed in the Artists Files. Also found here are memoranda and letters between Betty Parsons and her staff that contain detailed information concerning Parsons's schedule and gallery activities. Similar correspondence is found amongst the correspondence files within the series Betty Parsons papers.
Appraisal and conservation files include correspondence, appraisal invoices, forms, and appraisal requests and other information from the Art Dealers Association of America, and conservation invoices and reports. The majority of the appraisal records contain information about the specific works of art, including artist, title, date, current owner and the estimated value at the time of the request. Conservation records document conservation treatments undertaken by outside conservators to gallery stock.
Sales, purchases, stock and inventory are well documented in the sales and inventory records. The records provide detailed information about individual sales, prices of individual pieces of artwork, consignments, and loans. Most sales records also include detailed information about the buyer and are a valuable resource for provenance research. Files documenting the general administration, routine business operations, and financial transactions (not individual sales) of the gallery are housed in the general business and financial records. These records include ledgers, receipts, tax records, and banking records. There is some limited information about works of art scattered amongst the receipts and in the "in/out slips" files. Legal records house general legal documents and those concerning specific lawsuits. Of particular note is the file detailing the lawsuit between Betty Parsons and Sidney Janis over the fifth floor of 24 West 57th Street.
The remainder of the collection consists of Betty Parsons's personal papers which document her career prior to opening her own gallery, her work as an artist, and her personal art collection.
Some information about Parsons's work prior to opening her own gallery is found in the early curatorial files she retained from her curatorial and administrative work at the Wakefield Gallery and the Mortimer Brandt Gallery. Clippings, correspondence, announcements, exhibition lists and exhibition files are found. For both positions, she kept only the exhibition files for a small group of exhibitions organized around a specific theme, the most notable being the exhibition of Pre-Columbian Sculpture at the Wakefield Gallery.
Biographical materials include copies of her biography, family genealogies, photographs of Parsons, interviews with Colette Roberts and WYNC radio, memberships, photographs, and ephemera, including a collection of programs and invitations from events that she attended. Throughout her life Parsons gave generously of her time to various cultural and charitable institutions and was awarded for her contributions. There are also a number of files that document her speaking engagements, her participation as a juror in numerous juried exhibitions, charitable work, and awards that she received.
Parsons's personal correspondence files reflect how deeply Parsons's life was intertwined with the gallery. There are letters from museum directors, dealers, artists seeking representation, and personal letters from artists with whom she had close personal relationships, most notably Larry Bigelow, Alexander Calder, William Condon, and Ad Reinhardt. There are also letters from the English artist Adge Baker, with whom Parsons was romantically involved. Correspondence also includes several files of postcards and Christmas cards.
Pocket diaries and engagement calendars, spanning from 1933-1981, record social engagements, meetings, vacations, and telephone numbers. Also found are circa two linear feet of notebooks and sketchbooks, many of which are annotated with addresses, poetry, journal entries, and other observations of people, places, and travels. Writings by others include writings about Betty Parsons or the Betty Parsons Gallery, such as Lawrence Alloway's unpublished typescript titled "An American Gallery" and other topics.
Printed material consists of exhibition announcements and catalogs, art magazines, and newspaper and magazine clippings about Betty Parsons, her family and acquaintances, artists, and other art related topics, coupled with a miscellaneous selection of clippings, and a video recording, on topics that presumably captured Parsons's attention.
Personal art work records document Betty Parsons's career as an artist through inventories, group and solo exhibitions files, price lists, appraisals, sales and consignment invoices. Photographs are primarily reproductions of her works of art, although there are scattered photographs of exhibition installations.
Betty Parsons's private art collection files document her extensive personal collection of art that included works by Jackson Pollock, Agnes Martin, Romare Bearden, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko, in addition to Amlash sculpture from ancient Persia and primitive sculpture from New Hebrides. These files include inventories, lists, exhibition records, sales and purchase invoices, and photographs. There are also files for donations and loans from Parsons's personal collection to museums and fund raising auctions for several non-profit institutions.
Finally, the personal financial records provide information about the Parsons's family finances and her personal financial success as an art dealer. In addition to her own investments, Parsons inherited shares in family investments through the estates of her parents, J. Fred Pierson, Jr. and Suzanne Miles Pierson, and younger sister, Emily Rayner. Real estate files include correspondence, utility bills, receipts, area maps, and land plots for houses in Sheepscot, Maine and St. Maartens, Netherlands Antilles. Tax returns, ledger worksheets, receipts, banking statements, deposit slips, and cancelled checks are among the other financial records.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series. Many of the series are further divided into subseries.
Missing Title
Series 1: Artists Files, 1935-1983 (19.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-18, 51, 55-56, OVs 53, 65)
Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1941-1983 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 18-21, 51, 55, OVs 54, 66)
Series 3: Correspondence Files, 1941-1983 (3.9 linear feet; Boxes 21-24, 52, 56)
Series 4: Appraisal Files, 1954-1983 (0.7 linear feet; Box 24)
Series 5: Sales and Inventory Records, 1946-1983 (3.9 linear feet; Boxes 25-28, 51)
Series 6: General Business and Financial Records, 1946-1983 (9.3 linear feet; Boxes 28-38, 51, 56)
Series 7: Betty Parsons Personal Papers, 1916-1991 (21 linear feet; Boxes 38-51, 55-64, OVs 65-67)
Historical Note:
Betty Parsons (1900-1982) was one of the leading art dealers in New York City specializing in modern art, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists, and an abstract painter and sculptor in her own right. She opened Betty Parsons Gallery in 1946 at 15 E. 57th St., later moving to 24 W. 57th St.
The history of the Betty Parsons Gallery is inextricably bound to the life and experiences of its founder. Betty Parsons was born Betty Bierne Pierson on January 31, 1900 in New York City. She enjoyed a privileged childhood, which included vacation homes in Newport and Palm Beach. Her only formal education was a five-year stint at the prestigious Chapin School from 1910-1915, where she met many of the women who would become life-long friends and supporters. In the spring of 1920, she married Schuyler Livingston Parsons from one of New York's oldest families. The marriage ended after only three years and the couple traveled to Paris where they could obtain a divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. She retained her married surname and purchased a house on the rue Boulard in Paris, where she remained for ten years, pursuing studies in painting and sculpture.
Financial constraints forced Parsons to return to the United States in 1933. She first traveled west to California, but it was her return to New York in 1935 that marked the start of her career as an art dealer. Her first opportunity to connect with the New York art world came after a successful exhibition of her watercolors at the Midtown Galleries where the owner, Alan Gruskin, noted Parson's faithful and wealthy group of supporters and offered her work installing exhibitions and selling paintings on commission. Her work for the Midtown Galleries led to a second position in the Park Avenue gallery of Mary Sullivan, one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art. Here, Parsons learned the business of running a gallery. By 1940 Parsons was ready to take on more independent responsibility and agreed to manage a gallery within the Wakefield Bookshop. In this job, she exercised full curatorial control by selecting artists and organizing exhibitions. She championed then unknown contemporary American artists and the gallery's roster soon included Saul Steinberg, Hedda Sterne, Alfonso Ossorio, Joseph Cornell, Walter Murch, and Theodore Stamos. Although the majority of the exhibitions were solo shows, there were a few group shows and themed exhibitions, such as Love in Art (1941) and Ballet in Art (1942). Under Parson's direction, the gallery hosted an important exhibition of Pre-Columbian sculpture, curated by Barnett Newman.
When the owners of the Wakefield Bookshop decided to close the gallery late in 1944, Mortimer Brandt, a dealer who specialized in Old Master paintings and drawings, offered her a position as head of the newly created contemporary section of his gallery. Many of the artists who had shown with Parsons at the Wakefield Gallery followed her to her new gallery, where they were joined by Ad Reinhardt, Boris Mango, and Hans Hofmann. While the exhibitions garnered attention from the press and the interest of contemporary artists, the contemporary section was not a financial success and Brandt opted to close his gallery in 1946.
Using $1000 of her own money and an additional borrowed $4000, Parsons sublet the space that previously housed Mortimer Brandt's contemporary section, on the fifth floor of 15 East 57th Street, and opened the Betty Parsons Gallery.
In many respects the early years of the Betty Parsons Gallery were the most vital, as it was during the period of 1947-1951 that the gallery became linked with the Abstract Expressionists and the history of post-WWII American Art. In an unpublished history of the gallery, noted art critic Lawrence Alloway stated that the significance of the gallery's early exhibitions ranks with Durand-Ruel's Impressionists exhibitions or Kahnweiler's shows of the Cubists. Betty Parsons Gallery quickly became one of the most prestigious galleries in New York City associated with new American Art of all styles. Her close friend Barnett Newman organized the gallery's inaugural exhibition of Northwest Coast Indian Art and he soon began to exhibit his own work at the gallery. When Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery closed, Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, and Mark Rothko joined Parsons' growing stable of artists. Although Parsons continued to promote and exhibit many of the artists whom she had previously discovered, these four artists dominated this period. Newman, Pollock, Still, and Rothko worked closely together, holding themselves apart from the other artists somewhat. They were actively involved in the curatorial process and often hung their own shows. For these artists, the exhibition itself was an artistic act of creation.
Parsons provided a supportive environment and allowed her artists enormous freedom in planning and designing their exhibitions. She was not, however, an aggressive salesperson. During this early period the gallery ledgers document sales to an impressive array of museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as important collectors such as Edward Root and Duncan Phillips. Nevertheless, the art that the gallery promoted was not yet widely accepted. Sales were few, prices were low and the business would not turn a profit for several years. Meanwhile, there was mounting pressure from Pollock, Newman, Still, and Rothko to drop some of the other artists from Parsons' stable and focus all resources on them. They wanted to be promoted to a larger audience and have their work sold at higher prices, but Parsons enjoyed discovering new artists and did not want to be restricted in this endeavor. The year 1951 marks the last time that Pollock's drip paintings or the monumental works of Newman, Rothko or Still were shown at the Betty Parsons Gallery.
In the following years the Betty Parsons Gallery continued to attract a diverse group of talented artists. Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Tuttle, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jack Youngerman had their first New York exhibitions at the Betty Parsons Gallery. Parsons opened Section Eleven in 1958, a short-lived annex to the main gallery, so that she could promote younger, less well-known artists. It closed in 1960 due to the administrative difficulties in running two essentially separate galleries.
In 1962, Sidney Janis, another prominent art dealer, started proceedings to evict Parsons from the floor that they shared on 15 East 57th Street. The Betty Parsons Gallery moved to 24 West 57th Street in 1963, where it remained until it closed in 1983, following Parsons' death the preceding year. Throughout the gallery's history, Parsons continued to promote faithful artists such as Hedda Sterne and Saul Steinberg, who had been with her from the beginning and to seek out new talent, both for her main gallery and for other venues, such as the short-lived Parsons-Truman Gallery, which she opened in 1974 with former Parsons Gallery director Jock Truman to show works on paper by emerging artists.
In addition to being an art dealer, Betty Parsons was a respected artist and collector. With her connoisseur's eye and connections, Parsons amassed an impressive private collection of art. She bought her first piece while an art student in Paris in the 1920s, a small gouache by Zadkine, but did not begin acquiring works in earnest until she was established as an art dealer. Partial inventories of her personal collection show that the majority of her collection contained works by artists associated with the gallery. Mark Rothko, Hans Hofmann, Ad Reinhardt, Agnes Martin, and Kenzo Okada were among the artists represented. Many were gifts from the artists, such as an ink drawing by Jackson Pollock, inscribed "For Betty." Selections from her collection appeared in small museums across the United States, including a traveling exhibition organized by Fitch College, New York, in 1968. In her role as a promoter of contemporary American art, Parsons lent generously from her collection, particularly to the federal Art in the Embassies Program. Throughout her life she also donated works to a variety of museums, most notably, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.
Parsons frequently claimed that her desire to pursue a career as an artist stemmed from a visit to the Armory Show when she was thirteen. In her late teens, after pressuring her father for art lessons, she studied with the sculptor Gutzon Burglum of Mount Rushmore fame. In Paris, she continued her studies first with Antoine Bourdelle, whose sculptures she had admired at the Armory Show, and later with Ossip Zadkine. The first exhibition of her work, figurative watercolors and sculptures, took place in Paris in 1927. As she matured as an artist, her art became more abstract. Her late works were painted wood sculptures that she pieced together from wood that she found near her studio in Long Island. Parsons's work was exhibited in more than thirty solo exhibitions, including, Betty Parsons; Paintings, Gouaches and Sculpture, 1955-1968, at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. During her lifetime, she would not allow her works to be shown in her own gallery. Shortly after she died of a stroke in 1982, In Memoriam, Betty Parsons: Late Sculptures, opened at the Betty Parsons Gallery.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Betty Parsons, June 4-9, 1969, by Paul Cummings, and June 11, 1981 by Gerald Silk.
Separated Material:
Some of the material originally loaned for microfilming in 1968 and 1969 was not included in later donations and can be viewed on microfilm reels N68/62-N68/74 and N69/105-N69/106. Loaned materials are not described in the container listing in this finding aid.
Provenance:
The gallery donated some records in 1974, many of which had been loaned earlier for microfilming. The bulk of the collection was donated in 1984 and 1986 by William Rayner and Christopher Schwabacher, executors of the Estate of Betty Parsons. Additional material was donated by William Rayner in 1998 and Christopher Schwabacher in 2017. Additional material was donated in 2018 by the Lee Hall estate via Carolyn Crozier and Deborah Jacobson, co-executors. Hall was Parsons's biographer and had the material in her possession at the time of Parsons's death. An additional photograph of Parons and Marie Carr Taylor by Henri Cartier-Bresson was donated in 2021 by Mary Carpenter, who inherited the photograph from her mother, Nan Thorton Jones, who received it as a gift from Taylor.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
Occupation:
Gallery owners -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 70.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.
There is a 17.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015 and 2021 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley 50 notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence."Materials date from circa 1965-2010.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 70.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.
A small amount of biographical material comprises resumes and an address book.
Correspondence files document all aspects of Lippard's professional life including her relationships with artists such as Carl Andre, Judy Chicago, Hanne Darboven, Ray Johnson, Sol LeWitt, and Henry Pearson; feminist artists including Mary Beth Edelson, Harmony Hammond, Donna Henes, and May Stevens; political and art-related activist groups such as Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Art Workers Coalition, Political Art Documentation/Distribution, Printed Matter, and Women's Caucus for Art; galleries and museums including Addison Gallery of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, and publishers including Art International and Art Forum. The series also traces the development of Lippard's involvement in activist causes including censorship and the rights of artists, Central America and the impact of U.S. policy on the region, and equality and reproductive rights for women, as well as her interest in conceptual and minimalist art. The series includes scattered artwork and photographs of artists.
Writings are primarily by Lippard and include correspondence, manuscript drafts, extensive notes, and publication records for some of her best-known books such as The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood (1966), Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973), Eva Hesse (1976), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990), as well as essays for publications such as Art Forum and Studio International and contributions to exhibition catalogs. Also found are edited transcripts from conferences, symposia and interviews conducted by and of Lippard, some audio recordings of interviews and symposia, including an interview with Donald Judd, and notes and typescripts for lectures and speeches.
A small number of files document Lippard's teaching work during the 1970s and 1980s, primarily at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she taught several courses and seminars.
Exhibition files document Lippard's involvement with exhibitions she helped to organize or curate such as A Different War: Vietnam in Art (1989-1991) 557,087 and 955,000 (1969, 1970), 2,972, 453 (1971) c.7,500 (1973-1974) and those for which she wrote catalog contributions.
Printed material includes a collection of articles written by Lippard and a small amount of material concerning events, such as speaking engagements, in which Lippard was involved. Other printed material reflects Lippard's wide range of artistic, political and activist interests and documents exhibitions and performances and the activities of art-related and political groups. Material includes many exhibition catalogs, announcements, invitations, printed posters, news clippings, journal articles, brochures, pamphlets and other publications.
Artwork includes sixteen items by unidentified artists, including two by children. Photographs consist primarily of photographs of works of art in addition to a small number of photos of exhibition installations.
There is a 17.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015 and 2021 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley 50 notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence."Materials date from circa 1965-2010.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1960s-circa 1980s (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1950s-2006 (Boxes 1-28, 51, OVs 54-63; 28.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1930s-1990s (Boxes 28-41, 51-52, OVs 64-66; 13.24 linear feet, ER01; 0.454 GB)
Series 4: Teaching Files, 1966-1993 (Boxes 41, 52; 0.76 linear feet)
Series 5: Exhibitions, 1960s-1990s (Boxes 42-45, 52, OVs 67-68; 4.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1940s-2007 (Boxes 45-49, 52, OVs 69-77; 5.3 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork and Ephemera, circa 1960s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53; 4 folders)
Series 8: Photographs, 1950s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53, OV 71; 1.0 linear foot)
Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1965-2010, (Boxes 78-94; 17.0 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
New York and New Mexico writer and art critic, Lucy R. Lippard, is the curator of numerous exhibitions and the author of over twenty-four books and other writings that trace the emergence of minimalist and conceptual art and document Lippard's commitment to feminism and political activism.
Born in New York City in 1937, Lippard earned a B.A. from Smith College in 1958 and an M.A. in 1962 from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. In the 1960s she began writing art criticism for the journals Art International and Artforum. In 1966 she curated the landmark exhibition Eccentric Abstraction at the Fischbach Gallery in New York City. Lippard then curated the first of four defining conceptual art exhibitions that became known as her "numbers" shows, each titled after the populations of the cities in which they took place, with catalogs in the form of a set of 10 x 15 cm index cards. Opening at the Seattle Art Museum in 1969, 557,087 was followed by 955,000 in Vancouver, Canada, a few months later. 2,972,453 was held at the Centro de Arte y Comunicacíon in Buenos Aires in 1971 and c.7500 opened in Valencia, California, in 1973-1974 before traveling to several other venues in the United States and Europe.
Lippard's first book, The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood was published in 1966, followed by Pop Art the same year, and a collection of her early essays, Changing, in 1971. Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973) and From the Center: Feminist Essays on Women's Art (1976) documented the emergence of conceptual art and the early years of feminist art respectively. In 1976 Lippard published her seminal book on the life and work of Eva Hesse.
Between 1977 and 1978 Lippard lived on a farm in Devon, England, and worked on a novel, The First Stone, about the role of politics in the lives of three generations of women. During her walks across the English countryside she became interested in landscape art and conceived of her book Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory which was subsequently published in 1983. Other books include Get the Message?: A Decade Of Art For Social Change (1984), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990). Lippard has also written regular columns on art and politics for the Village Voice, In These Times and Z Magazine, and has been a contributing editor of Art in America.
Lippard was radicalized during a trip to Argentina in 1968 when she was invited to be a juror at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. On her return to the United States she became heavily involved in anti-war activities and the Art Workers Coalition. She is a co-founder of several feminist and artist organizations including the feminist collective Heresies, which produced Heresies: A Feminist Journal on Art and Politics from 1977-1992, Ad Hoc Women Artists, Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Artists Call Against U.S. Intervention in Central America, Women's Action Coalition, and Women's Art Registry. In 1976 she was a founder of Printed Matter, a New York nonprofit dedicated to producing artists' publications. She also worked closely with Franklin Furnace, an artist-run space devoted to the promotion of artists' books, installation art, and video and performance art, and served on the organization's International Committee.
Lippard has been a visiting professor at the School of Visual Arts, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of Queensland, Australia, and was Eminent Artist in Residence at the University of Wyoming Department of Art in 2015. She has received honorary doctorates in fine arts from Maine College of Art, the Massachusetts College of Art, Moore College of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, and others, and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts grants in criticism, the Smith College Medal, the ArtTable Award for Distinguished Service to the Visual Arts, and the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies Award for Excellence.
Lippard has lived in New Mexico since 1992 and works as a freelance writer and speaker.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Lucy Lippard conducted in 2011 March 15, by Sue Heinemann, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, funded by a grant from the A G Foundation.
Provenance:
Lucy R. Lippard donated her papers in several increments between 1972-1995, 2006, 2015 and 2021.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings 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.
Occupation:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
The papers of art historian and educator E.C. (Eugene) Goossen measure 10.8 linear feet and date from circa 1935 to 2004. The collection documents Goossen's career through biographical material, correspondence, artist files, writing project files and notes, exhibition files, other professional files and subject files, teaching files, and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents Goossen's career through biographical material, correspondence, artist files, writing project files and notes, exhibition files, other professional files and subject files, teaching files, and printed material.
Biographical materials include an address book, three appointment books, records regarding Goossen's retirement and death, artwork donations records, files for Goossen's wife Patricia Johanson, and other personal records. Correspondence is with Irene Alexander, the Guggenheim Foundation, Linda Nochlin, Ad Reinhardt, students, and other colleagues and friends. Artist files for Joseph Cornell, Stuart Davis, Alexander Dorner, Paul Feeley, Herbert Ferber, Helen Frankenthaler, Tony Smith, and others include drafts, notes, research material, and five sound recordings of interviews with Robert Morris and Ellsworth Kelly. Writing projects files and notes are for book contributions, essays, lectures, and reviews. Exhibition files for 8 Young Artists (1964), 8 Young Artists Then and Now (1991), Art of the Real (1968), and a few other exhibitions are also included. Professional files document Goossen's activities outside of teaching and a small set of subject files include the topics of landscape sculpture, Mayan and Coptic art, and other art related subjects. Teaching files document Goossen's tenures at Bennington College, Hunter College, and the City University of New York's Graduate Center. Printed materials include clippings featuring Goossen's writings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, and other published material.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1945-2004 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1, OV 15)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1930s-1990s (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Artist Files, circa 1947-1997 (4.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-6, 12-14)
Series 4: Writing Projects and Notes, circa 1940-circa 1994 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 6-8)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1958-1991 (1.0 linear feet; Box 8, OV 15)
Series 6: Professional Files, 1948-circa 1997 (0.5 linear feet; Box9, OV 15)
Series 7: Subject Files, 1956-1991 (0.2 linear feet; Box 9, OV 15)
Series 8: Teaching Files, circa 1950-1997 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 9-10)
Series 9: Printed Materials, 1964-1997 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 10-11, OV 15)
Biographical / Historical:
E.C. (Eugene) Goossen (1920-1997) was an art historian, critic, and educator in New York, N.Y.
Goossen attended Hamilton College, the Corcoran School of Fine Arts, and The New School in New York City where he received his bachelor of arts degree in 1950. He also received a certificate from the Sorbonne in Paris in 1948. He was Director of Exhibitions at Bennington College from 1958 to 1961, a professor at Hunter College from 1961 to 1991, and a student advisor at the City University of New York Graduate Center. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship Award in 1971 and a Critics' Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1975.
Goossen curated several major exhibitions including The Art of the Real (1968) at the Museum of Modern Art, Art in Space (1972) in Detroit, Helen Frankenthaler (1969) at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Ellsworth Kelly (1972) at the Museum of Modern Art, as well as Paul Feeley (1970), 8 Young Artists (1964), and Doug Ohlson exhibitions (1962-1982) at Bennington College. He produced numerous articles, essays, and books on Georgia O'Keeffe, Ellsworth Kelly, Herbert Ferber, Tony Smith, and other prominent artists.
Goossen was married to artist Patricia Johanson. He died in 1997 in Bennington, Vermont.
Provenance:
The E.C. (Eugene) Goossen papers were donated by Goossen's widow, Patricia Johanson, in 1997, 1998, and 2006.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Citation:
E.C. (Eugene) Goossen papers, circa 1935-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The records of the National Arts Club measure 32.1 linear feet and date from 1898 to 1960. The collection documents the founding of the club, and it's governance, administration, exhibitions, and social activities
Scope and Content Note:
Records of the National Arts Club, spanning the period 1898 to 1960, document the founding of the organization, and its governance, administration, finances, exhibitions, and social activities. There are large gaps in the records and many of those surviving are incomplete, which can be explained by a 1932 resolution of the Board of Governors that "old files and letters and bills in the storeroom prior to 1922 may be destroyed at the discretion of the Secretary and Treasurer."
Minutes and reports of the Board of Governors and Executive Committee are fairly complete through 1949, but sparse thereafter. Records do not exist for all standing and special committees, and those remaining tend to be concentrated in the early twentieth century.
Correspondence of the officers, for the most part, is routine and relates to administrative matters. Financial records cover the period 1917 to 1950, with a large number of gaps.
A small number of records of the Arts Realty Co. (later known as 15 Gramercy Park, Inc.) are extant. These include lists of stockholders, correspondence concerning mortgage bonds, and minutes.
Membership records, arranged alphabetically, are available for the years 1931 to 1959, and there are rosters arranged by membership category, 1940-1952; in addition, printed membership lists were issued circa 1900-1951.
More than four hundred exhibitions are known to have been held in the galleries of the National Arts Club between 1899 and 1960. Catalogs for 124 National Arts Club exhibitions are available at the Archives of American Art; 69 titles are to be found among the Club's records and an additional 55 were microfilmed previously as parts of other collections. Other exhibition documentation includes printed matter such as invitations, entry blanks, publicity, and photographs (see Appendix A). For some exhibitions, supporting documentation such as correspondence with exhibitors and collectors, sales and consignment records, and shipping receipts have survived. These files are mainly confined to Books of the Year exhibitions, Arts and Crafts/Decorative Arts exhibitions, and a smaller number of exhibitions of Living American Etchers, 1928-1957.
General social events, activities sponsored by Arts Club committees, and special commemorative occasions are documented by invitations, programs, publicity, calendars of events, and photographs. The majority of this material is contained in seventeen scrapbooks, 1898-1940. Programs of the Men's Open Table, 1915-1950, are particularly well documented by the Chairman's correspondence and three volumes containing meeting notices with signatures of members in attendance.
In addition to printed matter relating to exhibitions and events, scrapbooks, 1898-1940, contain general publicity, clippings concerning members, and samples of National Arts Club printed matter such as form letters to the general membership, brochures, ballots, house rules, published membership lists, year books, and the like. Loose printed matter augments that preserved in the scrapbooks. These sources combined provide a fairly complete set of the Bulletin, but the number of year books is small, and there are catalogs of only slightly more than a third of the exhibitions identified.
Photographs, in addition to those recording exhibitions and events, include portraits of governors, officers, distinguished visitors, speakers, and performers; views of Gramercy Park and the interior and exterior of the clubhouse; and works of art in the permanent collection.
Miscellaneous material includes information on the National Arts Club's first home on West 34th Street, and the Tilden Mansion, its current clubhouse on Gramercy Park; histories of the organization; unpublished speeches presented at Club occasions; and copies of legal documents, including the Club's charter and act of incorporation.
See Appendix A for an annotated list of National Arts Club exhibitions, 1899-1960
Arrangement:
The records are arranged into the following series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Board of Governors, 1898-1960, undated
Series 2: Administration, 1898-1960, undated
Series 3: Financial Records, 1917-1952
Series 4: Membership, circa 1900-1962
Series 5: Arts Realty Co., 1909-1913, 1945-1956, undated
Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1890-1961, undated
Series 7: Photographs, 1899-1957, undated
Series 8: Printed Matter, 1893-1960, undated
Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1898-1940
Historical Note:
The National Arts Club was founded by Charles de Kay, literary and art critic for the New York Times who believed there was a need for a club uniting all of the arts. In March of 1898, de Kay called together a number of civic leaders and men prominent in the art world who supported the idea, elected the first officers and incorporated the Club in 1899.
As stated in a circular issued by the Club, its specified purposes were: to promote the mutual acquaintance of art lovers and art workers in the United States; to stimulate and guide toward practical and artistic expression the artistic sense of the American people; to maintain in the City of New York a Club House...for social purposes in connection with the arts; to provide proper exhibition facilities for such lines of art, especially applied and industrial art, as shall not be otherwise adequately provided for in the same City; and to encourage the publication and circulation of news, suggestions and discussions relating to the fine arts.
During its initial months, the National Arts Club operated from a temporary office at 156 Fifth Avenue. In the search for a permanent site, considerable care was taken to select an auspicious location and accommodations, and in 1899 the first clubhouse was opened at 37 West 34th Street in leased quarters renovated expressly for the Club. Within a year, the gallery and restaurant required additional space, and there was a desire to provide overnight quarters for members visiting from out of town. In 1901 the Club created a corporation, Arts Realty Co., which issued shares to members and other investors for the purpose of raising funds to purchase the adjacent property (39 West 34th Street). This end was accomplished, and when it was decided to move the Club to another location, proceeds from the sale of the lease on 37 West 34th Street and the lot next door, augmented by additional funds subscribed by members, enabled Arts Realty Co. to acquire the Tilden Mansion at 15 Gramercy Park in 1905. Construction was begun immediately on a connecting studio tower to the rear (119-121 East 19th Street), designed by architect and Club President George B. Post. Upon completion, the Club bought the property from Arts Realty Co., issuing both First and Second Mortgage Bonds to individual subscribers. The Gramercy Park property has been occupied by the Club since 1906.
A show of American gold and silver work in October 1899 was the first exhibition held at the National Arts Club. Decorative arts, crafts, and industrial arts figured prominently in early exhibitions, as did designs for civic improvements. The monthly exhibition schedule emphasized contemporary American art, but also included some historical shows. Members of the public were admitted without charge to the galleries, where they could view such innovative and important exhibitions as Pictorial Photographs presented by the Photo-Secession (1902) and a group exhibition featuring the works of Robert Henri, William Glackens, George Luks, Arthur B. Davies, and Maurice Prendergast (1904). After about 1907, exhibitions grew more conservative, probably reflecting the personal tastes of Art Committee members rather than a formal opposition of the Club to nonrepresentational art. Increasingly, the exhibition schedule was filled by shows of members' work, the Club's permanent collection (mainly works by artist members, usually given in payment for life membership), the Annual Arts and Crafts exhibitions, Books of the Year exhibitions, and shows organized by various art societies.
In addition to exhibitions, the National Arts Club regularly featured a variety of cultural programs such as concerts, lectures, and dramatic presentations for members and guests. Parties, dinner, dances, and other social activities drew members to the Club, too. During its first years, some artist members expressed dissatisfaction with the high priority given social functions; by 1905, J. Carroll Beckwith, Walter Shirlaw, and Stanford White were among those who had resigned for this reason.
Within the National Arts Club there have been some smaller societies. The earliest of these were The Discus, a short lived dining and debating club, and The Vagabonds, a lunch group of writers, editors, printers and illustrators. The Men's Open Table, founded in 1910, met weekly for more than forty years for dinner followed by a talk, given by a fellow member or an outside, often professional, lecturer. A wide range of topics, not necessarily on the arts, were presented and discussed at the Men's Open Table. The American Institute of Graphic Arts is one of the organizations said to have developed from associations formed and discussions held at the Men's Open Table. A Women's Open Table, patterned after the men's, was established later.
The National Arts Club, unlike many other private clubs founded during the same era, admitted women members from its inception. Throughout its history, the Club's membership has been comprised of artists, musicians, writers, and performers, as well as collectors and supporters of the arts drawn from all parts of the country. Membership peaked at around 1,800 in 1920, declining throughout the Depression and again in the mid-1950s, and remaining at about 600 for the next two decades.
Missing Title
1898 -- Founding; occupied temporary office at 156 Fifth Ave.
1899 -- Incorporation; leased clubhouse at 37 West 34th St.; opened first exhibition, American Gold and Silver Work
1900 -- Constitution adopted
1901 -- First donations to permanent collection; Arts Realty Co. formed for the purpose of acquiring and financing the adjacent property (39 West 34th St.)
1905 -- Arts Realty Co. purchased Gramercy Park property (Tilden Mansion) on behalf of NAC; remodeling of clubhouse and construction of studio tower begun
1906 -- Plan for financing new clubhouse approved; second Mortgage Bonds issued; clubhouse and studio tower occupied; First Annual Books of the Year Exhibition
1907 -- Annual Members' Exhibition initiated; Bulletin began publication
1910 -- First meeting of Men's Open Table (established 1909)
1914 -- Essay contest, "A Critical Estimate of the Altman Collection"
1917 -- American Artists War Emergency Fund Committee issues art stamp
1923 -- Junior Artist membership category created
1930-1931 -- Essay contest, "Soul of America"
1940 -- Works by deceased artist life members deaccessioned from permanent collection; fund for refugee artists established
1962 -- Clubhouse designated New York City Landmark
1976 -- Clubhouse designated National Historic Landmark
1987 -- NAC records donated to Archives of American Art
Appendix A: Annotated List of National Arts Club Exhibitions, 1899-1960:
* = photographs included with records of NAC (See pp. 22-23 for reel and frame numbers)
+ = photograph in NAC album (See pp. 24 for reel and frame numbers)
x = catalog, checklist, or printed announcement included with NAC printed matter
s = copy of catalog in NAC scrapbook (volume number noted, see pp. 27-32 for reel and frame numbers of each volume)
Microfilm reel and frame numbers (e.g.: N134:416-419) are cited below for NAC catalogs appearing in other collections within the Archives of American Art.
DateExhibitionOct. 30 *, 1899 -- House Warming, Exhibition of American Gold and Silver Work
Nov. 13-18, 1899 -- Tenth Exhibition of the Woman's Art Club; Reception to Miss Cecilia Beaux (N134:416-419)
Nov. 27-Dec. 10, 1899 -- Art Pottery, American, Oriental, and European (N134:407-415)
Dec. 23-Jan. 8, 1899 -- Exhibition of Small Bronzes (N134:437-443)
Jan. 13, 1900 -- Exhibition of Photographs, works by members of the Society of Mural Painters
Jan. 29, 1900 -- Design for Street Refuge, shown by New York Municipal Art Society
Feb. 5-22, 1900 -- Exhibition of Embroideries and Native Rugs (N134:420-425)
Feb. 24-Mar. 10, 1900 -- John Leslie Breck Memorial Exhibition (N443:703-708; N551:719-724)
Mar. 24-Apr. 14, 1900 -- Pastel Exhibition, American Work
Apr., 1900 -- Old and Modern Japanese Prints
Apr. 14-21, 1900 -- Ernest Tarleton Memorial Exhibition
Apr. 21-May 3, 1900 -- Exhibition of Color Reproductions, American and European
May 10-21, 1900 -- American Art Leatherwork (N134:432-426)
May 24-30, 1900 -- Small Exhibition of Japanese Water Colors
May 31-June 14, 1900 -- William Hamilton Gibson Memorial Exhibition
June, 1900 -- New York Municipal Art Society Competition
Nov. 28-Dec. 19 x, 1900 -- Arts and Crafts (N134:421-431)
Jan., 1901 -- Birds and Beasts in Art
Feb., 1901 -- Art Leatherwork and Objects Relating to the Hearth
Mar., 1901 -- Works by the Society of Mural Painters
Apr., 1901 -- Books and Bookmaking
Apr., 1901 -- Howard Walter, Water Colors Taken in Europe
May, 1901 -- Glass in the Arts
May, 1901 -- Memorial to John A. Fraser, His Paintings
May-Nov., 1901 -- Arts and Crafts in the Liberal Arts Building, Pan-American Pacific Exhibition, Buffalo, N.Y.
June-Sept., 1901 -- Sculpture, Oil Paintings, Pastels, Water Colors, and Objects of Industrial Art by Members of the Club
Oct., 1901 -- Memorial Window for the Ames Family by John La Farge
Nov., 1901 -- Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by the Woman's Art Club
Dec., 1901 -- Objects Shown at the Pan-American Pacific Exposition
Jan., 1902 -- Ecclesiastical Art
Feb., 1902 -- Art Objects Relating to Civic Art, under the auspices of the Municipal Art Society
Mar., 1902 -- American Pictorial Photographs, shown by the Photo-Secession
Mar. 26-Apr. 21, 1902 -- Fourth Annual Exhibition of the National Sculpture Society (N551:725-729; N134:446-451)
May, 1902 -- Pictures of "Womanhood"
May, 1902 -- Memorial Window for Baltimore by D. Maitland Armstrong; Memorial Window for Wells College by Mrs. Ella Condie Lamb June Window in Stained Glass, Memorial to Julia Doane, Chicago, by John La Farge
Oct., 1902 -- Collection of Objects in Metal; Artistic Bird Cages lent by A. W. Drake, Esq.
Nov., 1902 -- Annual Exhibition by the Woman's Art Club
Nov., 1902 -- Paintings by Four Western Artists, Messrs. Duveneck, Steele, Meakin and Sharp, through the courtesy of the Cincinnati Museum Association
Dec., 1902 -- Designs Submitted for Competition for the Emblem of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Jan. s, 1903 -- Portraits of Napoleon, lent by John Leonard Dudley, Jr., Esq. (volume 4)
Jan., 1903 -- "Autumn," Stained Glass Window for the country residence of William C. Whitney, by John La Farge
Feb., 1903 -- Eskimo and Arctic Objects, with Paintings from the Arctic and Antarctic Circles by Frank Wilbert Stokes
Mar., 1903 -- Objects of Municipal Art
Apr., 1903 -- Examples of Ideal Art by American Artists
May, 1903 -- Sculptures by Rodin, Roche, and Rivere, belonging to Miss Lois Fuller
May, 1903 -- Portraits and other Paintings by American Artists of the Colonial and Early Periods
June-Oct., 1903 -- Summer Exhibition of Paintings, Water Colors, and Sculpture by Members of the Club
Nov., 1903 -- Jewelry and Precious Stones, Modern, Old and Oriental
Dec. 1-14, 1903 -- Thirteenth Annual Exhibition of the Woman's Art Club (N134:452-456)
Dec., 1903 -- Stained Glass Window, designed by Miss Mary E. Tillinghast
Dec., 1903 -- Sketches for the Sculpture at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, shown by the National Sculpture Society
Jan. 5-16 s, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by Eminent American Painters (N134:426-464, and volume 4)
Jan. 5-16 s, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by Robert Henri, William Glackens, George Luks, Arthur B. Davies, and Maurice Prendergast (volume 4)
Feb., 1904 -- Pictures by Contemporary American Artists
Mar. 2-15, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by American Figure Painters (N50:471-472; N134:460-461)
Mar., 1904 -- Annual Exhibition of Objects of Municipal Art
Apr. 5-15 s, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by Some Boston Artists (N443:713-715, and volume 4)
Apr. 19-30 s, 1904 -- Loan Exhibition of Pictures by Old Masters, lent by the Messrs. Durand-Ruel (N443:711-712; N134:462-464, and volume 4)
May 3-14 s, 1904 -- Oil Paintings, Water Colors, and Drawings by John La Farge, N.A. (volume 4)
May, 1904 -- Photographs of Paintings by Old Italian Masters, under the auspices of the Library Committee
Oct., 1904 -- Work of Holders of the Lazarus and Reinhart Scholarships executed while at the American Academy in Rome
Nov., 1904 -- "The Moral and Divine Law," painting by John La Farge
Nov., 1904 -- Exhibition by Members of the Nippon-Bijitsuin (Japanese Art Academy)
Jan., 1905 -- Exhibition by the Lyme Group of Painters
Feb., 1905 -- "Old Masters" and Aphrodite
Feb., 1905 -- Pictures by Some Boston Artists
Mar., 1905 -- Annual Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society of New York
Apr., 1905 -- Artistic and Commercial Posters, under the Auspices of the Municipal Art Society
Apr., 1905 -- Textiles and Ceramics
Oct., 1905 -- "Out of Doors" as Seen by Various Artists
Nov., 1905 -- Color Prints by S. Arlent-Edwards
Dec., 1905 -- American Indians as Seen by the Artist and the Artist Photographer
Jan., 1906 -- Birds and Beasts in Art
Feb., 1906 -- Miniatures
Mar., 1906 -- Fifth Annual Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society
Mar., 1906 -- Exhibition by the Alumni of Cooper Institute
Apr. 2-14 s, 1906 -- Municipal Art Society Exhibit of Poster Designs (volume 4)
Apr.-May, 1906 -- Exhibition by the Women's Art Club of New York
Nov. 8-18 s, 1906 -- Opening Exhibition [first exhibition in new quarters]: American Paintings from the Collection of Mr. William T. Evans (D45:29-34, and volume 4)
Dec., 1906 -- Books of the Year
Dec. 8-Jan. 1 s, 1906 -- Pictures by Some American Painters (volume 4)
Jan. 12-Feb. 1 s, 1907 -- Modern German Paintings from the Collection of Mr. Hugo Reisinger (N443:716-717, and volume 4)
Feb. s, 1907 -- Exhibition of Wood Engravings by Timothy Cole made for Century Magazine
Feb., 1907 -- Longfellow Memorial
Mar. 13-31, 1907 -- Sixth Annual Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society of New York
Apr., 1907 -- New York Society of Ceramic Artists
Apr., 1907 -- Paintings and Sculpture by Members
May s, 1907 -- Exhibition of Artists' Preliminary Sketches
May-Nov., 1907 -- Sketches by Members
Oct. 16-Nov. 16 s, 1907 -- Fall Exhibition of Sketches by Members (volume 4)
Nov. 20-Dec. 11, 1907 -- Arts and Crafts Exhibition (N29:1001-1026)
Dec., 1907 -- Second Annual Exhibition of the New Books of the Year
Jan. 4-25 s, 1908 -- Contemporary Art (N443:744-746, and volume 5)
Feb., 1908 -- First Annual Exhibition of Advertising Art
Nov. *, 1908 -- Third Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec., 1908 -- Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Jan., 1909 -- Second Annual Exhibition of Advertising Art
Jan., 1909 -- Small Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings by Contemporary Artists
Feb. 2-20 s, 1909 -- International Exhibition of Pictorial Photography (volume 1)
Feb. 23-Mar. 17 s, 1909 -- John W. Alexander Retrospective Exhibition (volume 5)
Apr., 1909 -- Exhibition of the New York Society of Keramic Arts
May, 1909 -- Spring Exhibition of Members' Work
July, 1909 -- Paintings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. William T. Evans
Sept.-Oct., 1909 -- Three Centuries of New York, under the auspices of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration
Nov. 3-26 s, 1909 -- Fourth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year (volume 5)
Dec., 1909 -- Third Annual Exhibition of Arts and Crafts
Jan., 1910 -- William M. Chase Retrospective Exhibition
Feb., 1910 -- Exhibition of American Landscape Painting
Mar. 2-28 s, 1910 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Louis Mark, of Budapest (volume 5)
Apr. 6-30 s, 1910 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Alfred East, of London (N134:465-469, and volume 5)
May, 1910 -- Exhibition of Household Art, under the auspices of the Domestic Training Department of the Public Schools
May 4-Oct. s, 1910 -- Third Annual Exhibition of the Former Students of the Art Students League (volume 5)
Oct. 20-Nov. 1 s +, 1910 -- Third Annual Exhibition of Advertising Art (volume 5)
Nov.-Dec., 1910 -- Fifth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. * +, 1910 -- Fourth Annual Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Jan. 5-Feb. 3 s +, 1911 -- First Annual Artist Life Members' Exhibition (volume 5)
Feb. +, 1911 -- Exhibition of the New York Society of Keramic Arts
Feb. 11-Mar. 10, 1911 -- Circuit Exhibition of Contemporary Art (D12:437-439; N52:105-107)
Mar. 8-Apr. 5 * s +, 1911 -- Paintings and Drawings by Walter Shirlaw, N.A. (N52:967-973, and volume 5)
Apr., 1911 -- Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society of New York
Apr. 26-May * s +, 1911 -- Group Exhibition of Paintings: William R. Derrick, Reynolds Beal, Frederick J. Waugh (volume 5)
Oct. 25-Nov. 4 * +, 1911 -- Exhibition of Color Schemes and Model Rooms in Miniature
Nov. 8-30 * +, 1911 -- Sixth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 7-28 * +, 1911 -- Fifth Annual Arts and Crafts Exhibition
Jan. 3-28 s +, 1912 -- First Prize Exhibition of Artist Life Members (N443:754-756, and volume 6)
Jan. 31-Feb. 18 * s +, 1912 -- Otto Walter Beck Exhibition (volume 6)
Feb. 21-Mar. 10 s +, 1912 -- Etchings of E. T. Hurley (volume 6)
Mar. 13-20 s +, 1912 -- National Park Pictures Collected and Exhibited by the Department of the Interior (volume 3)
Apr. 4-21 s +, 1912 -- Paintings, Embroideries, and Tapestries from the Collection of Mr. Emerson McMillan (D45:462-468; N443:757-762, and volume 6)
Apr. 4-Mar. 12 s, 1912 -- Exhibition of Original Dickens and Thackeray Drawings by Harry Furniss (volume 3)
May 8-June 1 * s +, 1912 -- Sculpture Exhibition (volume 6)
June 4-8 +, 1912 -- Exhibition of Industrial Art, under the auspices of The School Art League and the Art Departments of the City High Schools
June-Oct., 1912 -- Summer Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Oct. 16-Nov. 12 +, 1912 -- Third Special Exhibition of the Society of Illustrators
Nov. 13-29, 1912 -- Seventh Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 4-28 +, 1912 -- Sixth Annual Exhibition of the National Society of Craftsmen
Jan. 8-Feb. 9 +, 1913 -- Work of the Painter, Sculptor, and Architect Members (N443:763-767; N50:126-130)
Feb. 12-Mar. 9 * +, 1913 -- Exhibition of Works by the Late Frederick Warren Freer
Mar. 12-31 +, 1913 -- The Applied Arts of Germany
Apr. 2-27 +, 1913 -- Small Works by Six Painters: Richard E. Miller, Frederick Carl Frieseke, Charles W. Hawthorne, William Wendt, William Ritschel, and Elise Dodge Pattee
Apr. 30-June 1 +, 1913 -- Small Marbles and Bronzes (N551:732-737)
May-June, 1913 -- Summer Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture
Oct. 15-Nov. 9, 1913 -- Society of Illustrators
Nov. 12-28, 1913 -- Eighth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 3-28 * +, 1913 -- Seventh Annual Exhibition of the National Society of Craftsmen
Jan. 8-Feb. 1 +, 1914 -- Work of Painter, Sculptor, and Architect Members
Feb. 4-21, 1914 -- The Pastellists
Feb. 5-Mar. 21 x +, 1914 -- Contemporary Art
Mar. 11-29 * +, 1914 -- Hungarian Peasant Art (N134:470-479)
Apr. 1-May 2 +, 1914 -- Paintings by Eleven Western Artists
May 6-31 * +, 1914 -- Exhibition of Small Sculpture (N551:738-743)
June-Sept., 1914 -- Paintings
Nov. 4-27, 1914 -- Ninth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 3-28 +, 1914 -- Eighth Annual Exhibition of National Society of Craftsmen
Jan. 7-31 +, 1915 -- Work of Painter Members (N551:744-746)
Feb. 4-25 +, 1915 -- Forty-eighth Annual Exhibition of American Water Color Society
Mar. 3-24 +, 1915 -- Portraits (N551:747-748)
Apr. 7-13 +, 1915 -- Sculpture
May 5-21, 1915 -- Exhibition of Municipal Art Society
June-Oct. *, 1915 -- Work of Painter Members
Oct. 13-30 +, 1915 -- Fifth Special Exhibition of the Society of Illustrators
Nov. 5-13 +, 1915 -- American Wood Engraving, under the auspices of the American Institute of Graphic Arts
Nov. 17-Dec. 3, 1915 -- Tenth Anniversary Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 8-30 +, 1915 -- Ninth Annual Exhibition of the National Society of Craftsmen
Jan. 6-28 +, 1916 -- Work of Painter Members
Feb. 3-27 +, 1916 -- Forty-ninth Annual Exhibition of American Water Color Society
Mar. 2-25 * +, 1916 -- Loan Exhibition of Portraits of Academicians and Associates Selected from the Permanent Collection of the National Academy of Design (N551:749-752; N134:480-483)
Mar. 28-Apr. 14 +, 1916 -- One Hundred American Paintings by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (N443:768-770)
Mar. 28-Apr. 14 +, 1916 -- Exhibition of American Printing
Apr. 19-May 6, 1916 -- Exhibition of the Municipal Art Society
Nov., 1927 -- Twenty-second Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 7-24 +, 1927 -- Fifth Annual Exhibition of Works of Living American Etchers (N552:13-18)
Jan., 1928 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Feb. 8-29 +, 1928 -- Small Paintings
Mar. 8-31 x, 1928 -- Exhibition of Decorative Arts
Apr. 4-20 +, 1928 -- Exhibition by Junior Artist Members of the Club
Nov., 1928 -- Twenty-third Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec., 1928 -- Small Paintings
Jan. 8-Feb. 8 + -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Feb. 13-Mar. 8 -- Sixth Annual Exhibition by Living American Etchers
Mar. + -- Richard M. Hurd Loan Exhibition of Italian Primitives
Apr. 3-26 + -- Exhibition by Junior Artist Members of the Club
May 1-Oct. 1 + -- Summer Exhibition by Painter Life Members
Nov. -- Twenty-fourth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 4-26 * + -- Exhibition of the Decorative Arts
Jan. 8-Feb. 1 +, 1930 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Feb. 5-28 x +, 1930 -- Seventh Annual Exhibition of Living American Etchers
Mar. 5-28 +, 1930 -- Junior Artist Members' Exhibition
Apr. 16-Sept. 30 +, 1930 -- Members' Exhibition of Small Paintings (N134:484-490)
Nov., 1930 -- Silver Anniversary Exhibition of Books of the Year
Dec. 3-26 * +, 1930 -- Eighth Annual Exhibition by Living American Etchers
Jan. 7-Feb. 6 +, 1931 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Mar. 4-27 +, 1931 -- Exhibition by the Junior Artist Members
Mar. 13-Apr. 15 x, 1931 -- Auction Exhibition and Sale by Artist Members
Apr. 1-25 +, 1931 -- Members' Work of the New York Water Color Club
May 2-24 +, 1931 -- The Story of Gramercy Park in Portraits and Historical Objects of the Period, in connection with Gramercy Park Centenary Celebration
June 3-Oct. 1 +, 1931 -- Members' Exhibition of Small Paintings
Oct. 21-Nov. 20, 1931 -- Twenty-sixth Annual Exhibition of Books of the Year
Nov. 26-Dec. 26, 1931 -- Sixteenth Annual Exhibition by the Society of American Etchers (formerly The Brooklyn Society of Etchers)
Jan. 6-13 +, 1932 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Feb. 3-27 +, 1932 -- Exhibition of Drawings by Artist Members
Mar. 2-26 +, 1932 -- Paintings by Junior Artist Members
Mar. 13-Apr. 15 +, 1932 -- Auction Exhibition and Sale by Artist Members
Apr. 20-30 +, 1932 -- Exhibition by a Group of New York Art Schools
May 4-Oct. 1 +, 1932 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Small Paintings
Jan. 4-27 +, 1933 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Mar. 1-31 +, 1933 -- Junior Artist Members
Apr. 5-22 +, 1933 -- Society of Illustrators
May 3-Oct. 1 +, 1933 -- Members' Exhibition of Small Paintings and Sculpture
Jan. 3-27 +, 1934 -- Members' Annual Exhibition
Jan. 31-Mar. 2 +, 1934 -- Memorial Exhibition of a Group of Former Painter and Sculptor Members: Max Bohm, Emil Carlsen, Charles Hawthorne, Robert Henri, Karl Bitter, Solon Borglum, Daniel Chester French, Edmund Quinn
Mar. 7-29 +, 1934 -- Junior Artist Members
Apr. 4-27 +, 1934 -- Society of Illustrators, Thirty-second Annual Exhibition
May 2-June 28 +, 1934 -- Members' Exhibition of Small Paintings and Sculpture (N552:69-71; N134:491-494)
Nov.-Dec., 1934 -- Seventeenth Annual Exhibition of the Society of American Etchers (formerly The Brooklyn Society of Etchers) (N552:49-65)
undated -- Twenty-ninth Annual Exhibition of Fifty Books of the Year
Apr. 24-May 3 +, 1940 -- Flower and Still Life Paintings
May 8-June 1, 1940 -- Special Exhibition of Water Colors, Architectural Renderings, Type Compositions, and Color Reproductions by Edwin Hooper Denby, A.I.A., S.A.D.G. (N443:779-780; N134:509-510)
Dec. +, 1940 -- Twenty-fifth Annual Exhibition of the Society of American Etchers
Feb. 4-Mar. 1, 1942 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Artists of the United Nations (N134:512-518)
June 12-Sept. 30, 1942 -- Members' Summer Exhibition (N134:519)
Dec. 16-Jan. 22, 1942 -- Exhibition of Chinese and Indian Art (N134:520)
Mar. 31-, 1943 -- Exhibition of Junior Members (N134:521)
July 1-Sept. 30, 1943 -- Summer Exhibition of Smaller Paintings by Members (N134:522)
Feb. 17-Mar. 15, 1944 -- Exhibition of Studies by American Masters (N134:523)
Oct. 5-27, 1944 -- Exhibition of Enlarged Photographs of American Patriots as Seen in Sculpture (N134:523)
Jan. 10-Feb. 9 x, 1945 -- Members' Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Dec. 22-Jan. 4, 1945 -- Seventh Annual Exhibition of the American Veterans Society of Artists, Inc. (N134:527-540)
May 21-30, 1946 -- The Traphagen School Exhibition of Costume Design, Illustrating the Development of American Fashion (N134:526)
Feb. 20-Mar. 7, 1947 -- Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Paintings (N134:541)
Apr. 20-May 2, 1947 -- Junior Members' Exhibition
Dec. 10-24, 1947 -- Ninth Annual Exhibition of American Veterans Society of Artists, Inc. (N121:721-733)
Feb. 23-Mar. 6, 1948 -- Forty-seventh Annual Exhibition of the New York Society of Ceramic Arts (N134:543)
Mar. 9-21, 1948 -- Annual Exhibition of Junior Members (N134:543)
Apr. 8-May 30, 1948 -- Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members, Past and Present (N134:543)
June 10-Sept., 1948 -- Members' Summer Exhibition (N134:544)
Jan. 19-Feb. 9, 1949 -- Fifty-first Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists (N134:544)
Mar. 14-31, 1949 -- Exhibition by Members of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors (N134:545)
May 5-Sept. 15, 1949 -- Members' Summer Exhibition (N134:546)
Oct. 15-Nov. 4, 1949 -- Fourth Annual Exhibition of the Photo-Engravers Society
Jan. 4-Feb. 1, 1950 -- Fifty-second Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists (N134:546-548 and 550)
Jan. 28-Feb. 19, 1950 -- Eighty-third Annual Exhibition of the American Water Color Society (N134:549)
Feb. 8-23, 1950 -- Exhibition of Creative Art Associates (N134:549)
Mar. 16-Apr. 2, 1950 -- Exhibition of Room Interiors Especially Designed by Members of the American Institute of Decorators, in collaboration with Members of the National Society of Mural Painters (N134:551)
May 7-28, 1950 -- Active Members' Exhibition (N134:551-554)
June 28-Sept. 15, 1950 -- Members' Summer Exhibition (N134:555)
Feb. 26-Mar. 17 x, 1951 -- Paul Mommen
Mar. 24-Apr. 19, 1951 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Non-Members (N134:558-559)
May 5-31, 1951 -- Spring Water Color Exhibition (N134:560)
June 6-, 1951 -- Group Exhibition by Distinguished Artist Members: Gifford Beal, Louis Betts, Charles Clapman, Walter Farndon, Albert Groll, Eugene Higgins, Leon Kroll, Van Dearing Perrine, Keith Shaw Williams
Jan. 6-30, 1952 -- Fifty-fourth Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists (D176:917-919; N134:561)
Feb. 9-28, 1952 -- Annual Water Color Exhibition (N134:562)
Mar. 9-27, 1952 -- Exhibition of Oil Paintings by Distinguished American Artists (N134:572)
Jan. 4-18, 1953 -- Fifty-fifth Annual Exhibition by Painter and Sculptor Members and Guest Artists (N134:563)
Jan. 25-Feb. 8, 1953 -- Annual Water Color Exhibition (N134:564)
Feb. 15-Mar. 1, 1953 -- Open Exhibition of Oil Paintings (N134:565-568)
Mar. *, 1953 -- Art of Indonesia
May 3-24, 1953 -- Members' Exhibition of Smaller Paintings in Oil (N134:569-571)
Nov. 1-14, 1954 -- The American Artists Professional League, American Art Week (N121:258-259)
Oct. 2-19, 1955 -- Open Water Color Exhibition
Jan. 8-22 x, 1956 -- Fifty-eighth Annual Exhibition by Painter and Sculptor Members and Guest Artists (N134:573-575)
June 17-Sept. 7 x, 1956 -- Members' Summer Exhibition
Sept. 24-Oct. 8 x, 1956 -- James H. Walsh
Oct. 28-Nov. 10 x, 1956 -- Small Picture Exhibition by Members and Guests
Nov. 16-30 x, 1956 -- August Benziger
Dec. 5-22 *, 1956 -- Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibition of Books of the Year
Jan. 6-27, 1957 -- Fifty-ninth Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists
Feb. 1-15, 1957 -- Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Sixtieth Annual Exhibition (N134:576-577)
Sept. * x, 1957 -- International Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture
Jan. 10-24 x, 1958 -- Sixtieth Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists
May 21-31 x, 1958 -- Water Color and Graphic Arts Exhibition by Members and Non-Members
Oct. 17-31 x, 1958 -- Twelfth Annual Exhibition of the Photo-Engravers Society
Nov. 22-Dec. 3 x, 1958 -- Metropolitan Young Artists Show
Jan. 11-26 x, 1959 -- Sixty-first Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists
Dec. 9-Jan. 7 x, 1959 -- Metropolitan Young Artists Show
Jan. 15-28 x, 1960 -- Sixty-second Annual Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members and Guest Artists
Apr. 18-May 1, 1960 -- Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club Flower Painting Exhibition and Sale (D176:1128-1129)
June 8-29 x, 1960 -- Summer Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Members
undated -- * Arts and Crafts Exhibitions
undated -- * x Annual Exhibitions of Books of the Year
undated -- * Ceramic Art Exhibition
undated -- x Water-Oils by Charles S. Chapman, N.A.
undated -- x Fine Art of the Caribbean
undated -- x Painters of the United States, 1720-1920, from the Permanent Collection of the Fine Arts Department, International Business Machines Corp.
undated -- * Pottery Exhibition
undated -- * Traveling Exhibition of Enlarged Photographs of Sculpture and Spring Exhibition of Small Sculpture by Members of the National Sculpture Society
undated -- * Exhibition of Small Sculpture
undated -- x Modern Tapestries from Vienna
undated -- x Annual Open Water Color Exhibition
undated -- x Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, Flower Paintings Exhibition and Sale
These citations were compiled from Art Index, 1929-1960; The New York Times Index, 1898-1960; Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, 1898-1906; Nineteenth Century Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, 1898-1899; and Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, 1900-1960, using the format employed in Art Index. Citations are presented in chronological order, as it is anticipated that most researchers consulting the National Arts Club Records will be interested in a specific event or era in the Club's history, or are apt to be researching artists whose National Arts Club affiliation or exhibition activities were confined to a particular period.
1898
National Art Club. -- Harpers Weekly -- 42:329, April 2.
1899
Club to advance art industries. -- Critic -- 34:349-51, April.
National Arts Club organized. -- New York Times -- (7-2), 29-288-2, April 26.
1909
Position as a factor in the encouragement of the fine arts. G. Teall. -- Craftsman -- 15:604-13, February.
Club officials rule a member may take a process server into club as a guest to serve papers on fellow member, case of R.S. Perrin vs. D. Whipple. -- New York Times -- 7:3, June 29.
1913
Lecture of Prof. Eucken on Art and Morality. -- New York Times -- 9:3, March 1.
Offers prize to member who writes best manuscript on "A Critical Estimate of the Altman Collection." -- New York Times -- 12:7, November 8.
Annual exhibition of Books of the Year; organization of American Institute of Graphic Arts planned. -- New -- York Times 9:3, November 13.
1914
Alexander de Yourevitch has visited Russian political exiles as agent from the Czar; arranges for Russian trade exhibit in New York; National Arts Club has agreed to cooperate. -- New York Times -- 20:2, March 27.
Dinner in honor of Shakespeare celebration, address by Henry Clews. -- New York Times -- 13:2, April 24.
Farewell dinner to Karl Vollmoeller and George Sylvester Viereck at National Arts Club by Alfred Rau. -- New York Times -- III, 7:3, May 7.
Exhibition of Books of the Year (editorial). -- New York Times -- VI, 514:2, November 22.
1915
Awards announced. -- New York Times -- 10:1, January 7.
Paintings exhibition. -- New York Times -- V, 11:13, January 10.
Poster exhibition. -- New York Times -- III, 2:5, March 28.
Thanksgiving dinner to east side waifs. -- New York Times -- 11:1, November 26.
1917
Annual exhibition; Gold Medal and $1000 prize awarded to Ben Foster. -- New York Times -- 10:6, January 4.
Memorial services for W.B. Howland. -- New York Times -- 7:3, March 3.
Offers prizes for best patriotic medal, poem, and song. -- New York Times -- 9:14, April 6.
Offers prizes to promote expression of American patriotism in art. -- New York Times -- IV, 13:2, April 15.
H.A.W. Wood speaks at distribution of prizes. -- New York Times -- 11:3, May 31.
"Road to France," $500 prize offered for appropriate music. -- New York Times -- 13:2, June 9.
American Artists' War Emergency Fund Committee announces that art stamp will be sold to aid artists reduced in circumstances through the war. -- New York Times -- 13:6, July 10.
Offers prize of $500 for best musical setting for D.M. Henderson's "The Road to France." -- New York Times -- VIII, 9:3, August 12.
Prize for music for war song by D.M. Henderson is awarded to Signe Lund. -- New York Times -- 13:3, November 1.
1919
Annual books exhibition. -- New York Times -- VIII, 686:1, November 23.
1921
Comment on suggestion by G. Bellows that proposed members should possess some work by living American artist. -- New York Times -- III, 20:3, February 6.
Elects governors. -- New York Times -- 9:2, April 13.
1922
Awards Agar prize to Christine Herter. -- New York Times -- 16:7, April 7.
Address by Ann Martin. -- New York Times -- 4:3, August 3.
1923
Annual exhibition of books; I. Zangwill speaks; protest by member. -- New York Times -- 6:1, November 8.
1924
Prize winners of annual exhibition. -- New York Times -- 4:15, January 10.
Honors J.G. Agar at dinner. -- New York Times -- 6:2, February 26.
1925
Mural panels of Old NY used for New Year's fete to be put on exhibition. -- New York Times -- 29:1, January 4.
Announces prize winners at Members' Annual Exhibition. -- New York Times -- VIII, 11:2, January 18.
Murals depicting history of NYC, painted for New Years' ball, to be given to Museum of the City of New York. -- New York Times -- 25:4, February 3.
Exhibition of lithographs, woodcuts, and linoleum prints. -- New York Times -- VIII, 11:13, April 12.
1926
Exhibition. -- New York Times -- 4:5, January 14.
Exhibition. -- New York Times -- 17:3, April 8.
Exhibition of photographs of recent buildings. -- New York Times -- VIII, 12:6, April 18.
15th century books brought from Germany by Dr. Otto H.F. Vollbehr on exhibition at the National Arts Club. -- New York Times -- 6:6, August 24.
15th century Book of Hours, worth $15,000, stolen from exhibition at National Arts Club. -- New York Times -- 1:2, August 26.
Feature article on exhibition. -- New York Times -- IV, 15:1, August 29.
Book of Hours mysteriously returned to Vollbehr by E.M. Garlock, attorney, acting for unnamed client who claims to have bought book from stranger. -- New York Times -- 19:1, September 12.
Editorial on return of book. -- New York Times -- 20:4, September 13.
21st annual book exhibit; addresses. -- New York Times -- 28:3, November 4.
History in connection with 20th anniversary celebration. -- New York Times -- VIII,18:6, November 7.
1927
New Year's Eve costume ball. -- New York Times -- 15:3, January 1.
Exhibition of American paintings. -- New York Times -- 25:5, March 3.
Exhibition of etchings. -- New York Times -- IX, 10:4, December 11.
1928
Exhibits. -- New York Times -- 30:2, January 12; -- New York Times -- IX, 13:2, January 29.
Awards in small painting exhibition. -- New York Times -- 27:2, February 10.
Exhibit. -- New York Times -- VIII, 15:3, February 12.
First exhibition of decorative arts. -- New York Times -- 28:4, March 15; -- New York Times -- IX, 15:4, March 18.
Exhibition. -- New York Times -- IX, 15:2, April 15.
1929
J. Lie, P. Manship, and C. Beach win prizes. -- New York Times -- 25:3, January 11.
Annual members' exhibition. -- New York Times -- X, 18:4, January 27.
Exhibition of crafts. -- New York Times -- X, 15:6, December 8.
Prize awarded to D.C. Nisbet. -- New York Times -- 23:5, December 29.
1930
Arts Club prizes announced. -- Art News -- 28:21, January 4.
Annual exhibition of painting and sculpture. -- New York Times -- VIII, 13:3, January 19.
Seventh annual exhibition. -- New York Times -- VIII, 13:1, February 16.
Annual junior art show. -- New York Times -- 3:5, March 15; -- New York Times -- X, 19:3, March 16.
Exhibition of prints by living American etchers. -- New York Times -- X, 18:1, December 14.
1931
New York season; Living American Etchers. -- Art Digest -- 5:14, January 1.
M. Gregg Memorial Prize awarded to I.G. Olinsky; medal to H.W. Watrous. -- New York Times -- 34:6, January 10.
Exhibitions. -- New York Times -- VIII, 12:7, February 22.
Exhibition of Junior Artist Members. -- New York Times -- IX, 13:4, March 15.
Hold exhibition of portraits and other objects relating to history of Gramercy Park. -- New York Times -- II, 1:7 and 18:4, May 3.
Annual exhibition of paintings by members. -- New York Times -- 30:6, June 4.
Awards to R.D. Bowden $3000 prize, offered by J.G. Agar for best book on "The Soul of America." -- New York Times -- 20:6, June 8.
1932
Annual exhibition of work by painter and sculptor members; prizes announced. -- New York Times -- 27:7, January 7.
Art Club prizes. -- Art Digest -- 6:10, January 15.
Forum on development of art talent in young artists. -- New York Times -- 13:8, January 18.
Arts Club prizes. -- Art News -- 30:20, January 23.
Opening. -- New York Times -- 16:7, February 4.
Prizes awarded to junior artists. -- New York Times -- 19:2, March 8.
Art auction totals $600. -- New York Times -- 19:5, April 14.
Members' exhibition of small paintings. -- New York Times -- 16:6, May 5.
National Arts Club book exhibition. E. Yost. -- Publishers Weekly -- 122:2382-3, December 31.
1933
R. Nickerson, new member, wins medal at annual painting and sculpture show; other awards. -- New York Times -- 18:2, January 5.
Annual members' exhibition. -- New York Times -- 13:2, January 13; -- New York Times -- IX, 12:6, January 15.
National Arts club prizes. -- Art Digest -- 7:15, January 15; -- Art News -- 31:7, January 28 Celebrates 119th birthday of S.J. Tilden. -- New York Times -- 17:6, February 8.
Exhibition by junior artist members. -- New York Times -- 15:2, March 2.
1934
Prizes for annual members' show announced. -- New York Times -- IX, 12:3, January 14.
Annual dinner. -- New York Times -- 17:4, January 18.
Prizes. -- Art Digest -- February 1, 8:19; -- Art Digest -- 8:13, May 15.
Memorial exhibition of eight of its deceased painter and sculptor members. -- New York Times -- IX, 12:6, February 4.
Junior members exhibit. -- New York Times -- 17:1, March 8; -- New York Times -- IX, 9:7, March 18; Prizes awarded. -- New York Times -- 22:8, March 22.
Annual members' show. -- New York Times -- 17:2, May 3; Awards, -- New York Times -- 21:1, May 8; -- New York Times -- IX, 7:7, May 13.
Awards given by Arts Club. -- Art News -- 32:4, June 2.
Rare book exhibition planned. -- New York Times -- 19:4, September 18; Exhibition. -- New York Times -- 17:1, September 19.
1935
Annual exhibition of members' work opened. -- New York Times -- 17:5, January 10; -- New York Times -- 9:3, January 14.
Annual dinner; awards. -- New York Times -- 20:7, January 17.
Stag dinner; portrait of Victoria replaces painting of nude. -- New York Times -- 23:4, February 1.
Prizes, annual exhibition of painting and sculpture. -- Art Digest -- 9:21, February 1.
Members' annual exhibition. -- New York Times -- 18:2, February 8; -- New York Times -- VIII, 9:6, February 17.
Annual exhibition by junior artists. -- New York Times -- 18:5, March 9.
Arts Club plans a large bazaar. -- Art News -- 33:10, August 17.
Series of articles on traditions of club being written. -- New York Times -- II, 7:1, October 6.
Plans for annual book week. -- New York Times -- II and III, 8:5, October 13; exhibitors to be entertained by J.R. Gregg, president. -- New York Times -- 19:2, October 30.
To award two trips to Europe for mural decoration. New -- York Times -- 26:7, November 1; -- New York Times -- 19:5, November 14.
To hold "At Home" tea. -- New York Times -- II, 8:2, December 8.
Dinner. -- New York Times -- 14:8, December 11.
1936
Annual members' exhibition. -- New York Times -- 19:6, January 9; -- New York Times -- 13:8, January 11; -- New York Times -- IX, 10:1, January 19.
Exhibition of modern textbooks. -- New York Times -- 17:7, February 6.
Announces winners of trips to Europe. -- New York Times -- 21:2, February 11.
Exhibition by neighboring organizations. -- New York Times -- IX, 8:1, April 12.
Summer exhibit from permanent collection. -- New York Times -- IX, 7:4, June 21.
Exhibition of contemporary books; authors' night. -- New York Times -- VI, 9:2, November 8.
Plans for children's matinee at annual book exhibition. -- New York Times -- VI, 7:2, November 8.
Women's open table plans dinner. -- New York Times -- 16:4, November 23.
Exhibition of Society of American Etchers. -- New York Times -- XII, 9:2, November 29.
1937
Awards at members' exhibit. -- New York Times -- 24:3, January 27.
Exhibitions sponsored by Society of American Etchers. -- New York Times -- 21:3, February 3; -- New York Times -- X, 9:7, February 7.
Women's committee holds drama dinner. -- New York Times -- 13:1, February 15.
R.D. Kohn speaks, -- New York Times -- 25:7, March 11.
Jr. artists group exhibit. -- New York Times -- IX, 10:1, March 14; Awards. -- New York Times -- 23:6, March 25.
Photographic exhibition. -- New York Times -- X, 10:2, May 16.
Officers elected. -- New York Times -- 19:1, May 20.
H. Hamilton exhibit. -- New York Times -- IX, 6:7, September 26.
Book of the year exhibit. -- New York Times -- 23:6, November 4; -- New York Times -- VI, 4:3, November 28.
Mr. H.P. Crine elected life member. -- New York Times -- 9:1, November 28.
Members' exhibit. -- New York Times -- 28:3, December 9.
1938
Women's Open Table plans. -- New York Times -- 11:2, January 17.
Members' annual exhibit. -- New York Times -- , January 18 26:2; -- New York Times -- IX,9:3, January 23; Awards. -- New York Times -- 22:2, January 27.
Members studio receptions planned. -- New York Times -- VI, 2:7, January 30.
Dinner honoring Dr. W. Damrosch. -- New York Times -- 12:5, March 7.
Exhibit by art groups near NYC. -- New York Times -- 20:8, March 28.
Group show. -- New York Times -- X, 8:2, April 17.
Viennese ball. -- New York Times -- 22:6, April 21.
J.F. Talcott elected president; D.E. Waid executive committee chairman. -- New York Times -- 21:6, November 19.
Victorian ball. -- New York Times -- 18:1, December 17.
1939
Members' memorial exhibit. -- New York Times -- 15:1, January 13; -- New York Times -- IX, 9:2, January 22.
Members' painting and sculpture exhibit. -- New York Times -- IX, 9:2, February 5.
Jr. Members' lecture. -- New York Times -- 10:2, February 6.
Painting exhibit. -- New York Times -- 18:1, March 1; -- New York Times -- X, 10:2, March 5.
Jr. Members party planned. -- New York Times -- 50:3, March 5.
Exhibit of neighboring art organizations. -- New York Times -- 13:2, April 17.
Wild West party planned to benefit Jr. Members Scholarship Fund; to close 40th anniversary celebration. -- New York Times -- II, 2:8, April 23; -- New York Times -- II, 3:1, April 30.
Jr. Members plan New Year's Eve Olympian Ball. -- New York Times -- 30:2, December 19; -- New York Times -- II, 1:2, December 31.
1940
Art by deceased life members to be sold. -- New York Times -- 17:2, January 5.
Group show; awards. -- New York Times -- 21:2, January 11.
Group show. -- New York Times -- 24:2, January 24; -- New York Times -- IX, 9:2, January 28.
Non-members exhibition. -- Art News -- 38:15, February 3.
Exhibits: ceramics. -- New York Times -- 17:4, February 16; Ceramics and flowers. -- New York Times -- 15:5, February 19; Ceramics. -- New York Times -- II, 5:2, February 25; Exhibits: Jr. members. -- New York Times -- IX, 10:2, April 14; Group show awards. -- New York Times -- 21: 5, April 25.
Pan-American Ball held. -- New York Times -- 21:5, April 20.
Fund campaign for refugee artists started. -- New York Times -- 8:2, July 31.
Establishes artist refugee fund. -- New York Times -- 19:1, August 1.
Benefit exhibit plans. -- New York Times -- 20:8, October 2; Exhibit. -- New York Times -- IX, 5:4, October 6.
County fair planned. -- New York Times -- II, 3:3, October 6.
Refugee artists show their work. -- Art News -- 39:10, October 12.
Annual book exhibit opens. -- New York Times -- 3:5, November 3.
Testimonial luncheon for foreign authors in U.S. -- New York Times -- 45:2, November 10.
National Arts Club dramatizes books at the 35th annual new books of the year exhibition. -- Publishers Weekly -- 138:2046, November 30.
1941
Annual members' exhibit. -- New York Times -- 24:8, January 10; Comment. -- New York Times -- IX, 9:2, January 12; Awards. -- New York Times -- 24:6, January 23.
Annual prizes. -- Art Digest -- 15:13, February 1.
Benefits concerts planned. -- New York Times -- 39:1, February 23; -- New York Times -- 20:7, March 28.
Annual exhibit awards. -- New York Times -- 28:3, March 11; Comment. -- New York Times -- I, 10:3, March 16.
Group shows. -- New York Times -- IX, 10:1, March 30; -- New York Times -- IX, 8:2, May 25; -- New York Times -- X, 13:5, May 25; -- New York Times -- IX, 7:5, June 15.
Book exhibit. -- New York Times -- 1:6,November 9.
1942
Group show. -- New York Times -- X, 10:1, January 18.
Group show. -- New York Times -- 14:4, February 4; Private preview. -- New York Times -- 15:4, February 5; Comment. -- New York Times -- IX, 9:6, February 8.
Jr. members to honor servicemen at Hallowe'en party. -- New York Times -- 16:3, October 30.
37th annual show of new books. -- Publishers Weekly -- 142:2044, November 14.
To sponsor Chinese and Indian art exhibit in NYC. -- New York Times -- VIII, 9:1, December 13; Exhibit. -- New York Times -- 42:5, December 17.
1945
Holds Xmas fair. -- New York Times -- 13:3, November 16.
1946
Contemporary American painting exhibit planned. -- New York Times -- 23:6, February 20.
Jr. members and young non-members exhibition. -- Art News -- 45:67, May.
Annual book show plans. -- New York Times -- 21:2, November 1; Show, W.L. Laurence speaks. -- New York Times -- 13:1, November 12.
Annual book show. -- Publishers Weekly -- 150:2731, 2718, November 9.
Packaging the book. P. Boswell. -- Art Digest -- 21:3, November 15.
Choosing best book jackets, 41st annual book show. -- Art News -- 45:8, December.
1947
Preview exhibit. -- New York Times -- 21:5, January 9.
Forming symphony orchestra. -- New York Times -- 27:1, September 19.
1948
Ninth annual exhibition of American Veterans Society of Artists. -- Art Digest -- 22:19, January 1.
Conservatives score at the 50th annual exhibition of painting and sculpture. -- Art Digest -- 22:17, February 1.
Fiftieth annual exhibition. -- Art News -- 47:49, March.
Book fair opens in NYC. -- New York Times -- 30:7, December 9.
1949
Summer annual. -- Art Digest -- 23:14, August.
Dinner honors Mrs. F.D. Roosevelt. -- New York Times -- 39:5, October 11.
1950
Fifty-second annual exhibition of oils and sculptures. -- Art Digest -- 24:12, January 15.
Members' summer exhibition. -- Art Digest -- 24:18, August.
Fair plans. -- New York Times -- 44:8, November 1.
1951
Members-guests annual. -- New York Times -- II, 19:1, January 14.
53rd Annual Exhibition. -- Art Digest -- 25:18, January 15; -- Art News -- 49:47, February.
Non-members annual. -- New York Times -- 21:5, March 30.
Open competition for non-members. -- Art Digest -- 25:18, April 15.
Summer painting exhibition series opens. -- New York Times -- 42:8, June 7.
Members work. -- New York Times -- II, 6:4, June 17.
Summer exhibition. -- Art Digest -- 25:19, July.
1952
Fifty-fourth annual exhibition. -- Art Digest -- 26:19, January 15; -- Art News -- 49:47, February.
Members and guests annual. -- New York Times -- 59:2, January 6; Awards. -- New York Times -- 16:2, January 17.
Watercolor annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 14:4, February 8; -- Art News -- 51:56, March.
Non-members painting annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 16:5, March 10; -- New York Times -- 27:3, March 13.
Small pictures by members; awards. -- New York Times -- 25:5, April 9.
Exhibition of small oils. -- Art Digest -- 26:18-19, April 15; -- Art News -- 49:47, February.
1953
Theatre in an art gallery. A. Scheff. -- Theatre Arts -- 37:92, January.
Members-guests annual; awards. -- New York Times -- II, 11:2, January 11.
Non-members painting annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 21:5., February 19.
Members work; awards. -- New York Times -- II, 13:2, May 10; -- New York Times -- II, 8:5, June 21.
1954
Painting and sculpture annual by members and guests. -- New York Times -- 25:5, January 26.
Fifty-sixth annual exhibition. -- Arts Digest -- 28:17, February 1.
Members and non-members annual; contemporary watercolors; awards. -- New York Times -- 27:5, February 11; Review. -- New York Times -- II, 14:2, February 14.
Grand national annual members' competition. -- Art News -- 53:63, May.
1955
Painting and sculpture annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 23:1, January 12.
Fifty-sixth annual exhibition. -- Arts Digest -- 28:17, February 1.
Paintings annual; awards. -- New York Times -- 18:4, March 1.
Annual exhibition of American oil paintings. -- Art Digest -- 29:26, March 15.
Poet P. MacKaye honored on 80th birthday. -- New York Times -- 28:2, March 16.
1957
Arts Club honors Neuman; WNYC. C. Durgin. -- Musical America -- 77:12, April.
Art Clubs of America. -- Artist -- 53:67, June.
1958
At founding [sixtieth anniversary]. -- New York Times -- 49:2, November 27.
First annual metropolitan young artists show; awards. -- New York Times -- 49:2, November 27
1959
Stadium Concerts founder Mrs. C.S. Guggenheimer gets scroll from Mayor Wagner and National Arts Club medal. -- New York Times -- 9:2, March 12.
1960
Tenor competition awards. -- New York Times -- 47:8, November 15.
Provenance:
The National Arts Club donated its records to the Archives of American Art in 1987. Although a limited amount of printed matter was available at various libraries and on microfilm through the Archives of American Art, scholars have not had access to unpublished records of the Club until this time.
In November 2017 an addition to the Officers' Correspondence was donated by Elizabeth G. Knudsen, granddaughter of Edmund Greacen, former Arts Committee Chair.
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.
The papers of art critic, writer, and historian Elizabeth McCausland measure 45 linear feet and date from 1838 to 1995, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1960. The collection provides a vast accumulation of research data on various artists and aspects of American art, especially the early American modernists and the Federal Arts Projects. Papers include McCausland's extensive research and writing files, particularly on Marsden Hartley, E. L. Henry, Lewis Hine, George Inness, and Alfred H. Maurer. McCausland's correspondence with artists includes a substantial amount with Arthur Dove and Alfred Stieglitz. Her collaborative work with Berenice Abbott on the Changing New York book and series of photographs is well-documented within the collection. Also found are general writings, subject files, files relating to exhibitions, teaching, and committees, photographs, art work, personal papers, and printed material. Additional McCausland material donated later from the estate of Berenice Abbott include biographical materials, project files, writings, and printed materials.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art critic, writer, and historian Elizabeth McCausland measure approximately 45 linear feet and date from 1838 to 1995, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1995. The collection provides a vast accumulation of data on various artists and aspects of American art, especially the early American modernists and the Federal Arts Projects. Papers include McCausland's extensive research and writing files, particularly on Marsden Hartley, E. L. Henry, Lewis Hine, George Inness, and Alfred H. Maurer. McCausland's correspondence with artists includes a substantial amount with Arthur Dove and Alfred Stieglitz. Her collaborative work with Berenice Abbott on the Changing New York book and series of photographs is well-documented within the collection. Also found are general writings, subject files, files relating to exhibitions, teaching, and committees, photographs, art work, personal papers, and printed material. Additional McCausland material from the estate of Berenice Abbott include biographical materials, project files, writings, and printed materials.
McCausland's personal papers consist of appointment books and engagement calendars, scrapbooks, student papers, works printed on her private press, financial records, biographical material, and scattered memorabilia, which together document other aspects of her life apart from her work. Correspondence includes incoming and outgoing letters along with enclosures, dating from McCausland's time as a journalist for The Springfield Republican in the 1920s and 1930s to her time as a freelance writer, art critic, and historian (1940s-1960s) and mostly concerning professional matters. Also included is a substantial amount of correspondence with artists, particularly Arthur Dove and Alfred Stieglitz, and some personal correspondence with her mother. General writings consists primarily of copies of McCausland's speeches and lectures on various art topics in addition to her early poems (dating from the 1930s) and scattered essays and articles.
The most extensive part of the collection is comprised of McCausland's research and writing files pertaining to large research and curatorial projects, such as ones on the artists Alfred H. Maurer and Marsden Hartley (which was begun by the American Art Research Council and subsequently taken over by McCausland), and one for the American Processional exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery in 1950. A wide variety of smaller projects are also well-documented in the series Other Research and Writing Files, including ones on E. L. Henry, Lewis Hine, George Inness, her collaborative work with Berenice Abbott on the Changing New York book and series of photographs. Numerous other artists and art topics are covered as well, such as Arthur Dove, Robert Henri, Jacob Lawrence, Charles Hawthorne, film, and photography. Files for her book Careers in Art (1950), her many speaking and lecture engagements, and editing work are also found in this series. Files consist primarily of correspondence, notes, research material, manuscripts, bibliographies, photographs of works of art, completed research forms for works of art, card index files, and printed material.
Also found are subject files containing printed material, scattered notes and correspondence, and photographs, which may have been used for reference and/or collected in the course of McCausland's research activities; files relating to various exhibitions organized by McCausland from 1939 to 1944, including ones of silk screen prints and modern photography; files relating to courses on art history taught by McCausland, especially the one she taught at Barnard College in 1956; and files stemming from her participation in various art organizations and committees, especially during the time period just before and during the Second World War.
Printed material consists primarily of clippings and tear sheets of McCausland's newspaper articles and columns, which document her contributions to The Springfield Republican from 1923 to 1946, in addition to scattered exhibition catalogs, announcements, books, and miscellaneous publications. Photographs include ones of various artists and works of art, ones from the Farm Security Administration, and ones by photographers, such as Berenice Abbott (including ones from the Federal Art Project book, Changing New York), Barbara Morgan, Weegee, and Edward Weston, among others. Photographs, sometimes annotated or including notes, are scattered throughout her research files. Also included are photographs of McCausland, dating from her childhood. Art work found in the collection includes drawings, prints, and watercolors that were either given to McCausland by the artist or collected by her in the course of her work as an art critic and historian.
Additional material belonging to Elizabeth McCausland and donated by the estate of Berenice Abbott includes biographical material; business and personal correspondence; professional project files and writings, including drafts and research materials related to the book projects Art in America, Conversations with March, and Frank Kleinholz; and printed materials, including reprints of critical essays and articles by McCausland.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 15 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Personal Papers, 1838, 1920-1951 (Boxes 1-2, 34; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1923-1960 (Boxes 2-5; 2.9 linear feet)
Series 3: General Writings, circa 1930-1954 (Boxes 5-6; 0.9 linear feet)
Series 4: Alfred H. Maurer, 1851-1951, bulk 1948-1950 (Boxes 6-9; 3.7 linear feet)
Series 5: American Processional, 1949-1951 (Boxes 10-11; 1.8 linear feet)
Series 6: Marsden Hartley, 1900-1964, bulk 1944-1964 (Boxes 11-21, OV 37; 10 linear feet)
Series 7: Other Research and Writing Files, 1896, 1926-1958 (Boxes 21-25, 31; 4.6 linear feet)
Series 8: Subject Files, 1927-1954 (Boxes 25-26; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 9: Other Exhibition Files, 1939-1941, 1944 (Box 26; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 10: Teaching Files, 1939-1965 (Box 27; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 11: Committee Files, 1936-1960 (Box 27; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 12: Printed Material, 1923-1953 (Boxes 28-32, 34, OV 38, BV 44-47; 4.6 linear feet)
Series 13: Photographs, circa 1905-1950 (Boxes 32-36, OV 37; 1.4 linear feet)
Series 14: Art Work, 1887-1942 (Boxes 33-34, OV 39-43; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 15: Elizabeth McCausland Material from the Estate of Berenice Abbott, 1920-1995 (Boxes 48-53; 5.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Elizabeth McCausland, the art critic and writer, was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1899. She attended Smith College, receiving her Bachelor's degree in 1920 and her Master's in 1922. Beginning in 1923, she worked as a general reporter for The Springfield Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts). After several years, she began to review art exhibitions and soon became an established art critic. In the course of her work, she began to develop friendships with artists, such as Alfred Stieglitz and Arthur Dove. During these early years, she also wrote poetry and designed and printed limited edition publications on her private press.
McCausland moved to New York in 1935, but continued to contribute a weekly art column to The Springfield Republican until it suspended publication in 1946. From the mid-1930s on, she worked primarily as a freelance writer and art critic, contributing articles to publications such as Parnassas, The New Republic, and Magazine of Art. In the latter part of her career, her writings focused more on art history and special studies on artists.
In the late-1930s, McCausland collaborated with the photographer Berenice Abbott on the Federal Art Project book, Changing New York, for which she provided the text to Abbott's now-famous photographs of New York City neighborhoods, architecture, and street scenes. She studied and wrote about photography, including numerous articles on the photographer Lewis Hine (of whose work she organized a retrospective exhibition at the Riverside Museum in 1939), and was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Photography in 1944.
McCausland went on to organize other exhibitions, including a show of contemporary work, "The World of Today" (Berkshire Museum, 1939), shows of silk screen prints (Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, March 1940 and New York State Museum, Summer 1940), and a photography show, "Photography Today" (A.C.A. Gallery, 1944). In the late 1930s, she embarked upon a study of "the status of the artist in America from colonial times to the present, with especial attention to the relation between art and patronage," which continued over twenty years (and was never completed) and for which she received a Guggenheim fellowship in 1943.
In addition to her other writing, during the 1940s, McCausland carried out studies on the artists, E. L. Henry and George Inness, which resulted in exhibitions at the New York State Museum in 1942 and the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum in 1946, respectively and publications (a report on Henry and a book on Inness). From 1948 to 1949, she carried out an extensive study of the painter, Alfred H. Maurer, organizing an exhibition, "A. H. Maurer: 1868-1932," which showed at the Walker Art Center and the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1949, and publishing the biography, A. H. Maurer, in 1951. In 1950, she worked as a special consultant on the American Processional exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery and as editor of the accompanying book. Shortly thereafter, she began a study of Marsden Hartley for a monograph, which was published in 1952, and she helped organize the Hartley exhibition at the University of Minnesota that same year. She continued the Hartley study on larger scale for a planned biography and catalogue raisonne; although she continued to work on it off and on for the next decade, the project was never completed.
McCausland published other books, including Careers in the Arts (1951), and undertook other research and consulting projects, such as photo-editing Carl Sandburg's Poems of the Midwest (1946), conducting surveys of art and advertising for an article in Magazine of Art and of art education for Cooper Union Art School, and contributing yearly articles on art to various encyclopedias. At different times throughout her career, she supplemented her income by taking teaching positions. She taught courses on art history at Sarah Lawrence College from 1942 to 1944 and at Barnard College in 1956, as well as courses at the Design Laboratory (1939) and the New School for Social Research (1946). She also gave numerous lectures and speeches on various art topics, and regularly participated in conferences and symposiums. Towards the end of her career, she was publishing less, but was still involved in many projects, most notably the Hartley study.
McCausland was a tireless promoter of the arts, and often an advocate for artists. Even though her work was well-known among certain art circles, she never received the recognition as a writer that she deserved. Nor was she ever able to free herself from the pressure of writing for a living. Continually suffering from poor health, she died on May 14, 1965.
Related Material:
Related material found in the Archives includes a sound recording from a symposium on Marsden Hartley, of which McCausland was a participant, held at the Portland Museum of Art in 1961. The Frank Kleinholz papers contain a recorded interview of McCausland done in 1944-1945 for radio station WNYC. Some of McCausland's correspondence is found in the G. Alan Chidsey papers; Chidsey served as a trustee of the Marsden Hartley estate.
Separated Material:
Material separated from the collection includes some issues of Camera Work (Vol. 30, 47, 49/50), which were combined with other issues in an artificial collection created by the Archives at some earlier point.
Provenance:
Elizabeth McCausland donated the bulk of her papers in several installments from 1956 to 1961. An unknown donor, perhaps her literary executor, donated additional papers sometime after her death in 1965. It appears that McCausland originally donated her research files on Marsden Hartley, measuring 10 linear feet, to the Whitney Museum, who then lent them to the Archives for microfilming in 1966, and donated them sometime thereafter. McCausland originally donated files of newspaper clippings and offprints of her articles to the The New York Public Library, who gave them to the Archives in 1968. Additional McCausland material from the estate of Berenice Abbott was donated to the Archives in 2009.
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 Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Series consists primarily of McCausland's professional and, to a lesser extent, personal correspondence, which includes general, artist, and some family correspondence. Correspondence typically consists of letters to and copies of letters from McCausland, along with enclosures (such as clippings and other printed material; contracts, agreements, and other business and financial papers; and proposals and manuscripts) and related material (such as notes, illustrations, and writings). Correspondents include artists, art organizations, museums, curators, editors, publishers, scholars, research institutions, her agent (Mary Squire Abbot), friends, and her mother, Belle Noble McCausland. Correspondence largely documents McCausland's various professional activities as an art critic, art historian, and freelance writer, and her relationships with various figures of the art and publishing worlds before, during, and immediately after the Second World War.
General correspondence relates to articles and reviews that McCausland wrote for the Springfield Republican; to freelance articles she wrote over the years for various publications, including ones for Parnassus, The New Republic, and Magazine of Art, as well as yearly articles for various encyclopedias (such as Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Americana, and Collier Encyclopedia); and to various book projects, including Changing New York (1939), Careers in the Arts (1950), and ones on the artists E. L. Henry, George Inness, and Alfred H. Maurer. General correspondence also relates to her teaching job at Sarah Lawrence College and other courses taught; to various editing projects, including photo-editing Carl Sandburg's Poems of the Midwest and the planned book Art and Advertising; her work as a research consultant on the American Processional exhibition and book, and on other exhibitions; and her involvement in various art and social organization, as well as her participation in various conferences. General correspondence largely documents McCausland's tireless efforts to drum up work, and to fund (through various grants and fellowships) and carry out her many research and writing projects.
Correspondence from particular artists, including Arthur Dove, Louis Eilshemius, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Alfred Stieglitz, was maintained by McCausland in files separate from general correspondence. Artist correspondence documents her relationships with these artists - particularly well-documented are her relationships with Dove and Stieglitz - and the artists' reactions to her reviews of their shows. Files of artist correspondence also include some of McCausland's own notes on her feelings about or relationship with particular artists.
Family correspondence consists almost entirely of letters and copies of letters from McCausland to her mother, Belle Noble McCausland. These seem to have originated from the scrapbook kept by McCausland's mother which can be found amongst personal papers.
See Appendix for a list of notable correspondents from Series 2
Arrangement note:
General correspondence is arranged in rough chronological order. Within individual yearly files, McCausland often grouped together letters to and from a particular correspondent; this existing organization has for the most part been maintained. Selected artist correspondence and family correspondence are arranged in files at the end of the series. Correspondence can also be found amongst research and writing files.
Appendix: Notable Correspondents from Series 2:
List represents only a selection of correspondents from general correspondence.
A. A. Wynn Inc.: 1951
ACA Gallery: 1941, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947
Abbot, Mary Squire (McIntosh and Otis Company): 1941, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1952, 1953
Jones, Howard Mumford (Harvard University): 1947
Kauffer, E. McKnight: 1946
Kent, Rockwell: 1945, 1946
Kirstein, Lincoln: 1941, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947
Kish, Maurice: 1945
Kistler, Aline: 1941
Knight Publishers Inc.: 1938
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo: 1945
Landon, Edward: 1939
Lange, Dorothea: 1945
Larkin, Oliver: 1943, 1944, 1949
Leeper, John and Blanche (see also Corcoran Gallery of Art): 1950, 1951, 1954
Leighton, George: 1945
Lerner, Abe (see also World Publishing Company): 1950, 1951
Lipman, Jean: 1945, 1946, 1947, 1952
Lipton, Norman C. ( -- Good Photography -- ): 1941, 1942, 1943
Longman, Lester: 1940
MacMahon, Audrey (see also -- Parnassus -- ): 1936, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942
The MacMillan Company: 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950
Magazine of Art -- : 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947
Magriel, Paul: 1954
Maurer, Alfred L.: 1951
Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1943, 1947, 1955
Miller, Dorothy: 1950, 1951
Milwaukee Art Institute: 1948
Minicam Photography -- : 1941, 1943, 1944
Modernage Furniture Corp.: 1945
More, Herman (Whitney Museum of American Art): 1954
Morton, Phillip: 1951, 1952
Mount Holyoke College: 1943
Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute: 1956
Museum of Modern Art: 1934, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945
Museum of the City of New York: 1958
N.W. Ayer and Son: 1945, 1946, 1950
The Nation -- : 1940, 1955
National Gallery of Art: 1944, 1945
National Maritime Union: 1945
Navas, Elizabeth: 1952, 1953, 1954
Neuberger, Roy: 1952
The New American Library -- : 1955, 1956
The New Republic -- : 1944, 1947
The New School for Social Research: 1945
The New York Herald Tribune -- : 1945, 1947
New York Historical Society: 1943
New York Public Library: 1943, 1955, 1956
New York State Museum: 1949
The New York Times -- : 1940
Newark Museum: 1944
Newhall, Beaumont: 1944
Newhall, Nancy: 1945
Norman, Dorothy: 1934, 1937, 1938, 1940
Old Print Shop: 1945
Olmsted, Anna Wetherill (Syracuse Museum of Art): 1950
Opportunity -- : 1943, 1944, 1945
Ossorio, Alfonso: 1953
P. F. Collier and Son Corp.: 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958
Pach, Walter: 1955
Parnassus -- : 1939
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art: 1951
Pepsi-Cola Company: 1944, 1945
Philadelphia Art Alliance: 1946
Pierre Matisse Gallery: 1938, 1939
Popular Photography -- : 1943
Portland Art Museum: 1940
Porter, Eliot: 1954
Printer's Ink (Carl Weiss): 1951
Railway Express Agency: 1949
Rivera, Diego: 1949
Rogers, John C.: 1941
Roosevelt, Eleanor: 1944
Rosenblum, Walter: 1944
Rothschild, Lincoln: 1937, 1942, 1945, 1946, 1949
Royce, William: 1933, 1934, 1935, 1942, 1958
Rukeyser, Muriel: 1941, 1950
San Francisco Chronicle -- : 1951, 1953
Sarah Lawrence College: 1942, 1943, 1944
Saturday Evening Post -- : 1946
Schlesinger, Arthur: 1943
School Art League of New York City: 1953, 1954
Schwimmer, Rosika: 1933, 1935, 1943
Sculpture's Guild: 1938, 1940, 1941
Segy, Ladislaw: 1943
Shelter -- : 1939
Sloan, John: 1951
Smith College Museum of Art: 1939, 1954
Soby, James Thrall: 1935, 1946, 1951
Social Science Research Council: 1948
Springfield Museum of Fine Art: 1938, 1940, 1941
Standard Oil: 1946
Stein, Gertrude: 1934
Sterling, Charles (Department of Painting, The Louvre): 1951
Strand, Paul: 1942
Survey Associates -- : 1938, 1939
Sweeney, James John: 1954, 1955, 1956
Thornton, Russell (see also Corcoran Gallery of Art): 1951, 1952, 1953
Time Magazine -- : 1945
Toklas, Alice B.: 1949
Traphagen School of Fashion: 1957
U.S. Camera -- : 1940
University of Chicago Library: 1951
University of Minnesota: 1951
University of Nebraska: 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957
Vanderbilt, Paul (Library of Congress): 1950
Vogue Magazine -- : 1953
Vose, Robert C.: 1945
Wade, Henry: 1954
Walker Art Center: 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951
Walker, Hudson: 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952
Ward, Lynd: 1942, 1945, 1947
Western Photography -- : 1946
Weston, Edward: 1943
Weyhe Gallery: 1940, 1951
Wheaton College: 1955
Wheeler, Monroe: 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945
Whitney Museum of American Art: 1946, 1947, 1951
Wichita Art Association: 1947
Williams, Hermann Warner (see also Corcoran Gallery of Art): 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954
Wilson, Sol: 1945
Worcester Art Museum: 1943, 1945
World Publishing Company: 1946, 1949, 1950, 1955
Yale University Art Gallery: 1949
Yale University Library: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954
Young, Art: 1941
Young Artists Guild: 1948
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Elizabeth McCausland papers, 1838-1995, bulk 1920-1960. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
The Howard W. and Jean Lipman papers measure 46.6 linear feet and span the years 1916 to 2000, with one brochure maintained in a research file dating to 1848. The bulk dates for the collection are 1932 to 1992. The papers primarily concern the art collecting activities and interests of the Lipmans which included modern American sculpture, American folk art, and other contemporary American paintings. Found within the papers are correspondence files, notes and printed material that served as research and reference material, along with financial material. The collection also contains writings, notes, and editorial material used by Jean Lipman in her dual roles as an editor for Art in America magazine and as a respected art critic and author.
Scope and Content Note:
The Howard W. and Jean Lipman papers measure 46.6 linear feet and span the years 1916 to 2000. A copy of an 1848 brochure, retained by Jean Lipman in her research and writings files accounts for the early span date listed in the title of the collection. The bulk dates for the collection are 1932 to 1992. The records include correspondence, notes and printed material that served as research and reference material, along with some financial material that documents the art collecting activities and interests of the Lipmans. The collection also contains writing and editorial material used by Jean Lipman in her dual roles as an editor for Art in America magazine and as a respected author.
The Personal Files describe the social activities and associations of the Lipmans and include biographical information, personal and family correspondence, gift giving activities, the art career of Jean Lipman, and relationships maintained by the Lipmans with various art organizations.
The Howard and Jean Lipman Art Collection Files describe the art collecting activities and interests of the Lipmans throughout their lifetime. The General Files section consists of reference files on art organizations and galleries with whom the Lipmans maintained relationships. Also included are particular topics or exhibitions of interest to the Lipmans. The Sculptors and Painters of Interest section served as reference files about the activities of artists in whom the Lipmans were interested and whose works they owned, or considered owning. The Folk Art Collection section documents the collecting and purchasing activities of the Lipmans as they amassed and then subsequently sold their two significant folk art collections.
The Artists Files document the friendship and projects that developed between the Lipmans and three major American artists: Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith. Of special interest to researchers will be some original Calder artwork mixed into the correspondence between the Lipmans and Calder, as well as drawings, sketches, prints, and posters found in the associated oversize folder. Also found in the Calder subseries are some proofs from Calder's Circus, edited by Jean Lipman.
The Research and Writing Files is divided into five sections dealing with research and writing projects undertaken by Jean Lipman. The first three sections deal with biographical projects that resulted in books or articles about three significant American primitive artists: Jurgan Frederick Huge, Rufus Porter, and Samuel Wood Gaylor. The fourth section deals with writing projects that resulted in the publication of several generalized books on the topic of American folk art. The final section consists of materials associated with the published articles and other authored works of Jean Lipman on a variety of American art topics.
The Art in America Editorial Files consists of editorial material maintained by Jean Lipman during her tenure (1941-1971) as editor of Art in America. The Financial Files reflect the early financial activities of the magazine during the brief period when the Lipmans owned it.
During the period that Jean Lipman served as editor, a variety of distinguished art historians, artists, architects, novelists, and poets contributed articles, columns, or artwork to the magazine. A sampling of correspondents that can be found in the general correspondence of this series include: Joseph Albers, Marcel DuChamp, John Dos Passos, Nelson Rockefeller, Charles Sheeler, and Andrew Wyeth. The General Correspondence Files also document the two subsequent changes of ownership and the growth of subscribers that occurred during the period of Lipman's editorship.
Editorial material related to individual magazine issues is found within this series, as well as information pertaining to the innovative advertising and special projects undertaken by the magazine as it sought to expand its readership and prestige. The Art in America series also chronicles the changes at the magazine that led to Lipman's resignation as editor in 1971.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series. Arrangement is generally alphabetical by subject heading or type of material. Items within folders are arranged chronologically by year.
Missing Title
Series 1: Personal Files (Boxes 1-3; 3 linear ft.)
Series 2: Howard and Jean Lipman Art Collection (Boxes 3-15; 12 linear ft.)
Series 3: Artists Files (Boxes 15-18, 46-47, OV 50-52; 3.6 linear ft.)
Series 4: Research and Writings Files (Boxes 18-28, 48; OV 50, 53; 10.3 linear ft.)
Series 5: -- Art in America -- Editorial Files (Boxes 28-45; 49, OV 50; 17.3 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Howard W. and Jean Lipman shared a lifetime sponsorship of art. The Lipmans' personal art collection, acquired throughout their marriage, was eventually divided into three separate parts: The Howard W. Lipman Foundation collection that was donated and merged into the modern sculpture holdings of the Whitney Museum of American Art; an American folk art collection that was later sold through two separate auctions in 1950 and 1981 and is now part of the holdings of the New York Historical Association and the Museum of American Folk Art; and a personal collection that was retained and displayed in the Lipmans' various residences in Connecticut, New York, and Arizona.
Married in 1933, the Lipmans began jointly collecting American folk art at a time when few art museums or institutions recognized the historical and artistic value of early primitive, self-taught artists. By the late 1940s, the Lipmans had amassed a large, significant collection that was highly regarded for its quality and scope.
During the early 1950s, the Lipmans also began actively collecting sculpture, focusing upon American contemporary sculptors. In the late 1950s they created the Howard W. Lipman Foundation, with an initial inventory of forty sculptures and three paintings by contemporary American artists. The purpose of the foundation was to acquire significant works by emerging American sculptors and to make them available through loans or donations to various art institutions.
In 1965 the Howard W. Lipman Foundation approached the Whitney Museum of American Art with a proposal to coordinate the foundation's efforts and goals with the museum's contemporary sculpture program. The foundation offered a majority of its growing collection of sculpture and acquisition funds towards the development of the evolving permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Thereafter, the Howard W. Lipman Foundation served in an advisory role to the museum's acquisitions, and the foundation supplied the necessary funds to acquire works of sculpture desired by the Whitney for its permanent collection.
In addition to their folk art and foundation collections, the Lipmans also acquired important works by Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith, through their lifelong association and friendship with these artists. Many of these pieces were retained in the Lipmans' personal collection throughout their lives.
Individually the Lipmans also expressed their interest in art through various means. Jean Lipman served as editor of Art in America magazine from 1940 to 1970, which provided her with continuous exposure to emerging artists and trends in American art. Jean Lipman's abiding interest in folk and contemporary art was also expressed through her voluminous writings. Throughout her life she wrote and edited highly acclaimed books and articles about major themes and artists in American art, and she was a recognized folk art authority and connoisseur. Some of her best known works include: The Flowering of American Folk Art; Rufus Porter, Yankee Wall Painter; and Calder's Universe.
Jean Lipman, born in 1909, was also an amateur artist in her later years, creating paintings and assemblages that often dealt with the theme of "art about art." She was represented by a gallery in New York City, as well as one in Arizona, and she had several solo exhibitions.
Howard W. Lipman, born in 1905, showed an early interest in art. By the mid 1920s he had gone to Paris to study painting, but Lipman found himself more attracted to sculpture and he began studying with a German wood carver. In the late 1930s, after returning to the New York City area, Lipman began stone carving with the Clay Club on Eighth Street, adjacent to the Whitney Museum of American Art. He was represented by a New York City gallery and participated in local exhibitions.
Deciding that his sculptural talent was not sufficient for professional pursuit, Lipman began his business career as a stockbroker in Neuberger and Berman, a prominent New York investment management firm that he helped to establish in 1939. Lipman subsequently channeled his artistic endeavors toward collecting and supporting the work of established and emerging American sculptors. He also served on the boards of both the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Archives of American Art.
Howard and Jean Lipman maintained long and close relationships with three prominent American artists: Alexander Calder, Louise Nevelson, and David Smith. Jean Lipman, in particular, was involved in promoting and documenting Calder and his works through numerous articles, books, and exhibitions that she helped produce as editor of the magazine Art in America and publications director for the Whitney Museum of American Art. Calder's Universe, which she edited to accompany a major Whitney Museum of American Art retrospective exhibition of his works in 1976, was considered by Calder to be his "official" biography. The book went to fourteen printings, one of the largest ever, in the history of art books.
The Lipmans were also great admirers of Louise Nevelson and her work. They purchased her artwork for their own collection, as well as donating pieces to various art museums and institutions. Jean Lipman wrote articles about Nevelson and edited the book, Nevelson's World.
David Smith and the Lipmans established a friendship in the late 1950s that lasted until Smith's untimely death in May 1965. The Lipmans purchased several Smith sculptures, which they placed on the grounds of their Wilton, Connecticut, home. They also purchased Smith works for donation to public institutions, such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
The Lipmans retired to Carefree, Arizona, a private residential community renowned for its sensitivity to ecologically-based, architectural design. Howard Lipman died in 1992. Jean Lipman remained active in art and community affairs until her death in 1998.
Provenance:
The papers of Howard and Jean Lipman were initially donated to the Archives of American Art by Howard and Jean Lipman from 1965-1989. Subsequent additions to the original gift were made by Jean Lipman in 1998 and by Peter and Beverly Lipman in 2001. Several small portions of these early accessions were microfilmed.
An associated gift that was originally accessioned as the Art in America Magazine Records was made by Howard and Jean Lipman from 1970-1973. This group, which largely consisted of Jean Lipman's editorial files from her years as editor of the magazine, was subsequently merged with the Howard W. and Jean Lipman records in 2004.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview with Lucy Lippard conducted 2011 Mar. 15, by Sue Heinemann, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, at Lippard's home, in Galisteo, N.M.
Lippard discusses her childhood summers in Maine; growing up in New Orleans, La., and Charlottesville, Va.; attending the Abbot Academy and Smith College; her junior year in Paris; working in the Museum of Modern Art Library; living on Avenue D; meeting Bob Ryman and Sol Lewitt; birth of her son Ethan; Dore Ashton as a role model; involvement with various groups and political causes including the Angry Arts movement, the Art Workers' Coalition, Women Artists' Committee, Guerilla Art Action Group, Womanhouse, Political Art Documentation and Distribution (PAD/D), the Ad Hoc Women Artists Committee, and others; the development of Heresies Collective; her publications including, "From the Center: Feminist Essays on Women's Art," (1976), "On the Beaten Track: Tourism, Art and Place," (1999), "Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America," (1990, 2000), "The Lure of the Local: Sense of Place in a Multicentered Society," (1997), and "Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory," (1983) ; curating exhibitions; travels to Argentina and Mexico; moving to Galisteo, N.M.; interest in the Galisteo Basin; teaching; and other topics. She recalls Ad Reinhardt, Donald Judd, Harmony Hammond, Judy Chicago, Gregory Sholette, Carolee Schneemann, Max Koszloff, Joyce Koszloff, May Stevens, Betsy Hess, Mary Miss, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Lucy R. Lippard (1937- ) is a writer and art critic in New York, N.Y. and Galisteo, N.M.
General:
Originally recorded on Edirol R-09HR on 4 secure digital memory cards. Duration is 4 hr., 29 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
This transcript is open for research. Access to the entire recording is restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of New York editor and art critic Thomas Hess measure 10.01 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1978. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, extensive writings and notes, artists and subject files that also include recorded conversations with artists and others, printed materials, photographic materials, and artwork.
There is a .01 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes a six page typed manuscript, "Think, American Painting," undated, by Thomas Hess and the book American Realists and Magic Realists, The Museum of Modern Art, 1943, signed by Hess.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York editor and art critic Thomas Hess measure 10.01 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1978. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, extensive writings and notes, artists and subject files that also include recorded conversations with artists and others, printed materials, photographic materials, and artwork.
Biographical material includes a certificate, architectural plans, investment information, invoices, publisher and loan agreements, will for Paul Stamm, and resumes. Correspondence is with members of Hess' family including his wife and children, Philip Guston, Meyer Schapiro, David Smith, James Schuyler, Forrest Bess, Elaine de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Larry Rivers, Clyfford Still, Ad Reinhardt, and others.
Writings and notes consist of manuscripts and drafts by Hess for Art News, Le Monde, Vogue, New York magazine, and other publications; Hess' senior essay and class notes; notes on Ingres, Italian artists, and travels abroad; notebooks on art and literature; and scattered writings by others.
Artists and subject files contain primarily photographs of artwork, artists, and colleaguesare mostly photographs of artwork, artists, and colleagues. Some of the files also contain printed materials, writings, notes, and other documentation. The file on Willem de Kooning includes a sound recording of a conversation between Hess, de Kooning, and Harold Rosenberg. There are also significant files on Elaine de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, Carl Milles, Barnett Newman, Isamu Noguchi, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko and the Mark Rothko Foundation Inc.
Printed materials include brochures and flyers, clippings, magazines and newspapers, press releases, travel memorabilia, and a printed scarf. Photographs are of of Hess, his wife Audrey, other family members, works of art, travel, Larry Rivers and Ad Reinhardt, and other artists and colleagues. Artwork includes drawings, paintings, collages, cartoons, and holiday cards made by Hess and his children, along with artwork by others including Audrey and Lawrence Campbell, Ad Reinhardt, and unidentified artists.
There is a .01 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes a six page typed manuscript, "Think, American Painting," undated, by Thomas Hess and the book American Realists and Magic Realists, The Museum of Modern Art, 1943, signed by Hess.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1945-1977 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, OV 15)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1945-1978 (1.0 linear feet; Box 1-2, OV 11)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1940-1978 (2.5 linear feet; Box 2-5, OV 12)
Series 4: Artists and Subject Files, circa 1946-1978 (4.5 linear feet; Box 5-9, OVs 13, 15-16)
Series 5: Printed Materials, 1943-1978 (0.5 linear feet; Box 9, OV 11)
Series 6: Photographic Materials, 1949-circa 1960s (0.8 linear feet; Box 9-10, OV14)
Series 7: Artwork, 1939-1978 (0.4 linear feet; Box 10, OV 11)
Series 8: Unprocessed Addition, 1943 and undated (0.01 linear feet; Folder 17)
Biographical / Historical:
Thomas B. Hess (1920-1978) was an editor, art critic, and curator who worked in New York City. He was on the staff at Art News for 26 years (1946-72). Starting as an editorial associate, he was named managing editor in 1948, then executive editor in 1954; he assumed the top editorial post in 1965 upon the death of long-time editor Alfred Frankfurter. In his critical writing from the late 1940s on, he was an influential supporter of the Abstract Expressionists. He wrote widely on other topics as well. In 1972 he left Art News after an ownership change. He then became the art critic for New York magazine (1972-78), a large-circulation weekly reaching a much larger public. (He was also, in the late '60s, a correspondent for the French daily newspaper Le Monde.)
Over the years he undertook several major curatorial projects including traveling retrospectives for Willem de Kooning (1968-69) and Barnett Newman (1971), which he organized for the Museum of Modern Art. His "New York School Painting and Sculpture" appeared at the New York State Museum in Albany in 1977. Both MoMA exhibitions were accompanied by comprehensive monograph/catalogues: Willem de Kooning (1968) and Barnett Newman (1971). Hess's other books include Abstract Painting: Background and American Phase (1951, Viking); Willem de Kooning (1959, Braziller); De Kooning, Recent Paintings (1967, Walker & Co.); Barnett Newman (1969, Walker & Co.); De Kooning: Drawings (1972, New York Graphic); and The Art Comics and Satires of Ad Reinhardt (1975, De Luca Editore, Rome).
Hess became consultative chairman of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of 20th-Century Art a few months before his death from a heart attack in July 1978, age 57. Already under way were a Clyfford Still retrospective and a smaller show of recent paintings and sculptures by Ellsworth Kelly. Both exhibitions, completed by Philippe de Montebello (the Met's then new director) and Lowery S. Sims (the Met's then acting 20th-century curator) respectively, took place the year after Hess's death.
Thomas Hess was born in Rye, New York, to Gabriel Lorie Hess, a lawyer, and Helen Baer. He attended school in the United States and Switzerland. He continued his education at Yale University majoring in French 17th-century art history and literature. After graduating in 1942, Hess worked for a short period at the Museum of Modern Art under Alfred H. Barr and Dorothy Miller, before entering World War II as a pilot. In 1944 he married Audrey Stern with whom he had three children, William, Philip, and Anne Helen.
Separated Materials:
Materials on legacy microfilm reel 5028 related to Barnett Newman are photocopies. The originals are located at the Barnett New Foundation in New York City.
Provenance:
The Thomas Hess papers were donated in multiple increments from 1985 to 1987 by Hess' children, Anne Helen, William, and Philip Hess, except for a file on Barnett Newman donated by Newman's widow, who presumably had borrowed it from Hess. In 2014, additional correspondence, writings, photographs, printed material, and cartoons, including some by Ad Reinhardt, were donated by Elizabeth Wolff, Hess' sister. A small addition was donated in 2022 by Anne Hess, Thomas Hess' daughter.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of sculptor, painter, and author Robert Smithson and sculptor, filmmaker, and earthworks artist Nancy Holt measure 18.9 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1987, with the bulk of the material dating from 1952 to 1987. Also included is Smithson's personal library of books, vinyl records, and magazine, measuring 48.4 linear feet. The papers consist of Smithson's biographical material; business and personal correspondence, much of it with artists; interview transcripts; extensive writings and project files; financial records; printed material; a scrapbook of clippings; holiday cards with original prints and sketches; photographic material; and artifacts. Also found are project files related to Nancy Holt's motion picture film Pine Barrens and her seminal environmental work of art Sun Tunnels, including a video documentary about Sun Tunnels.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of sculptor, painter, and author Robert Smithson and sculptor, filmmaker, and earthworks artist Nancy Holt measure 18.9 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1987, with the bulk of the material dating from 1952 to 1987. Also included is Smithson's personal library of books, vinyl records, and magazine, measuring 48.4 linear feet. The papers consist of Smithson's biographical material; business and personal correspondence, much of it with artists; interview transcripts; extensive writings and project files; financial records; printed material; a scrapbook of clippings; holiday cards with original prints and sketches; photographic material; and artifacts. Also found are project files related to Nancy Holt's film Pine Barrens and her seminal environmental work of art Sun Tunnels, including a video documentary about Sun Tunnels.
Biographical material includes Robert Smithson's curriculum vitae, personal identification and medical documents, eight engagement/day planners Smithson and Holt maintained from 1966 to 1973, and Smithson's funeral register.
Correspondence is primarily with Smithson's family, friends, fellow artists, and business associates discussing personal relationships, proposed art projects, and exhibitions. Correspondents of note include Carl Andre, the Dwan Gallery (Virginia Dwan), Dan Graham, Will Insley, Ray Johnson, Gyorgy Kepes, Sol Lewitt, Lucy Lippard, and Dennis Wheeler. There is also substantial correspondence received by Holt upon Smithson's death in 1973, and between Holt and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art regarding Smithson's retrospective exhibition in 1982.
There are nine interview transcripts with Smithson discussing his works and his general philosophy on art, and one transcript of the Andrew Dickson White Museum's Earth Art Symposium (1969) featuring the following artists: Mike Hiezer, Dennis Oppenheim, Robert Smithson, Neil Jenney, Gunther Uecker, Jan Dibbets, Richard Long, and Hans Haacke.
Writings are substantial and include 73 drafts of published and unpublished essays by Smithson on art, artists, and works in progress. The series also includes poems by Smithson, six notebooks containing notes and sketches by Smithson, and drafts of writings sent to Smithson and Holt by friends and colleagues, including Carl Andre, Terry Atkinson, Dan Flavin, Dan Graham, and Jack Thibeau.
Project files contain correspondence, project instructions, diagrams and sketches, research materials, photographic material, and maps related to over 50 of Smithson's artworks. These include concepts, proposed projects, sculptures, non-sites, and earthwork projects, including Spiral Jetty, Broken Circle, and Spiral Hill.
Personal business records include gallery related loan arrangements and receipts for miscellaneous art supplies. Financial records include tax forms and preparation documents, including cancelled checks, receipts, statements, and related correspondence.
Printed materials include books, clippings, and periodicals related to Smithson, either containing writings or sketches by him, or containing articles reviewing his work. There are also exhibition announcements and catalogs of Smithson's group and solo shows from 1959 to 1985.
The scrapbook contains clippings of Smithson's published articles from 1966 to 1973 with annotated shorthand notes.
Artwork consists of Christmas cards collaged by Smithson, and sketches by Smithson and Leo Valledor.
Photographic materials include prints and negatives of Smithson with friends, promotional Hollywood movie stills, and original prints and copyprints of other artists' artwork.
Artifacts consist of a paper bag silkscreened with a Campbell's soup can (Warhol), promotional buttons (N.E. Thing Co.), various organic materials, and two art kits.
Nancy Holt's papers consist of correspondence, a grant application, printed materials, and project files and audio visual material related to her motion picture film Pine Barrens (1975) and her seminal environmental work of art Sun Tunnels (1975).
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 14 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1905-1974 (Box 1; 14 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1959-1987 (Boxes 1-2, OV 21; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 3: Interview Transcripts, 1966-1973 (Box 2; 11 folders)
Series 4: Writings, 1959-1975 (Boxes 2-3; 1.1 linear feet)
Series 5: Project Files, circa 1950s-1982 (Boxes 4-5, Boxes 17-18, OV 20, OV 22-26, OV 36, RD 28-30, RD 32-35; 6.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Personal Business Records, circa 1967-1970s (Box 5; 4 folders)
Series 7: Financial Records, 1962-1972 (Box 6-7; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1955-1985 (Boxes 7-11, Box 18, RD 31; 5.6 linear feet)
Series 9: Scrapbook, 1966-1973 (Box 11, Box 16; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 10: Artwork, circa 1950s-1970s (Box 11; 4 folders)
Series 11: Photographs, circa 1950s-1970s (Box 11, Box 18; 5 folders)
Series 12: Artifacts, circa 1950s-1970s (Box 11, Box 14, OV 19; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 13: Nancy Holt Papers, circa 1960s-1980s (Box 12-13, 15, OV 27, FC 37-38; 1.9 linear feet)
Series 14: Robert Smithson Personal Library (Boxes 39-87; 48.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Robert Smithson (1938-1973) was a sculptor, painter, author, and lecturer who was known as a pioneer of land and earthworks art, based primarily in New York City. Nancy Holt (1938-2014) was a land artist, conceptual artist, and filmmaker. Smithson and Holt were married from 1963 until Smithson's death in 1973.
Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Smithson expressed an early interest in art, enrolling in classes at the Brooklyn Museum School and the Art Student's League in New York while still attending high school. Smithson's early works were primarily paintings, drawings, and collages. In 1959, he exhibited his first solo show of paintings at the Artists' Gallery in New York and had his first solo international show in Rome with the Galleria George Lester in 1961.
During the early to mid-1960s, Smithson was perhaps better known as a writer and art critic, writing numerous essays and reviews for Arts Magazine and Artforum. He became affiliated with artists who were identified with the minimalist movement, such as Carl Andre, Donald Judd, Nancy Holt, Sol LeWitt, Robert Morris and others. In 1963, Smithson married sculptor and filmmaker Nancy Holt and a year later started to create his first sculptural works. In 1966, Smithson joined the Dwan Gallery, whose owner Virginia Dwan was an enthusiastic supporter of his work.
Smithson's interest in land art began in the late 1960s while exploring industrial and quarry sites and observing the movement of earth and rocks. This resulted in a series of sculptures called "non-sites" consisting of earth and rocks collected from a specific site and installed in gallery space, often combined with photographs, maps, mirrors, or found materials. In September 1968, Smithson published the essay "A Sedimentation of the Mind: Earth Projects" in Artforum that promoted the work of the first wave of land art artists. Soon thereafter, he began creating his own large scale land art and earthworks.
From 1967 to 1973, Smithson's productivity was constant as he wrote, lectured, and participated in several solo and group shows a year, both at home and abroad. He explored narrative art as essay in "The Monuments of Passaic" and fully committed to his idea of visiting sites and using them as the basis for creating non-sites, Non-Site, Pine Barrens, (1968); incorporated and documented the use of mirrors at sites in Mirror Displacement, Cayuga Salt Mine Project (1968-1969); and created his first site-specific works through liquid pours of mud, asphalt, and concrete, including Asphalt Rundown (1969). In 1969, he also completed his first earth pour at Kent State University with his project Partially Buried Woodshed. Later that year, he created the sculptural artwork for which he is best known, Spiral Jetty (1969) on the Great Salt Lake in Utah. This was the first of his pieces to require the acquisition of land rights and earthmoving equipment, and would be followed two years later by Broken Circle and Spiral Hill in 1971.
On July 20, 1973, while surveying sites in Texas for the proposed Amarillo Ramp, Smithson died in a plane crash at the age of 35. Despite his early death, Smithson's writings and artwork had a major impact on many contemporary artists.
Nancy Holt began her career as a photographer and video artist. Today, Holt is most widely known for her large-scale environmental works, Sun Tunnels and Dark Star Park. Holt has also made a number of films and videos since the late 1960s, including Mono Lake (1968), East Coast, West Coast (1969), and Swamp (1971) in collaboration with her late husband Robert Smithson. Points of View: Clocktower (1974) features conversations between Lucy Lippard and Richard Serra, Liza Bear and Klaus Kertess, Carl Andre and Ruth Kligman and Bruce Brice and Tina Girouard. In 1978, she produced a film about her seminal work Sun Tunnels.
Related Material:
The Archives also holds several collections related to Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt, including an oral history interview with Robert Smithson conducted by Paul Cummings in 1972; an interview with Robert Smithson conducted by Tony Robbin in 1968; Robert Smithson letters to George B. Lester, 1960-1963; an oral history interviews with Nancy Holt conducted by Scott Gutterman in 1992 and Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz in 1993; and the Nancy Holt Estate records, circa 1960-2001.
Provenance:
The papers of Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt were donated by Nancy Holt in several accretions between 1986 and 2011.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, holds the intellectual property rights, including copyright, to all materials created by Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt with the exception of the following items: two holiday cards found in box 11, folders 22-23. For these two items, copyright held by Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Requests for permission to reproduce should be submitted to ARS.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, 1905-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
The papers of art critic, curator, and educator April Kingsley and painter, sculptor, writer, and educator Budd Hopkins measure 11 feet and 0.209 Gigabytes, and date from circa 1945-2017. Kingsley's papers are comprised primarily of artist files for figures that April had a significant engagement with, project files, interviews with artists, subject file index cards, biographical materials, and miscellaneous correspondence. Hopkins' papers are comprised of biographical material, as well as correspondence with various prominent art world figures including Richard Diebenkorn, Robert Motherwell, Carl Andre, Howardena Pindell, and Robert Rosenblum. Hopkins' personal business records include correspondence and sale and consignment information. Also found are writings, printed material, including exhibition invitations and catalogs and press clippings, and photographic material depicting Hopkins and his artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art critic, curator, and educator April Kingsley and painter, sculptor, writer, and educator Budd Hopkins measure 11 feet and 0.209 Gigabytes, and date from circa 1945-2017. Kingsley's papers are comprised primarily of artist files for figures that April had a significant engagement with, with contents ranging from correspondence to printed material, including invitations and catalogs and press clippings, as well as notes and manuscript material including reviews. Project files include various topics of interest and research for tentative and actualized exhibitions, as well as writing projects and committee work related to Kingsley's tenure at the American Craft Museum and the Kresge Museum at Michigan State University. Also found are recorded interviews with artists and other figures conducted by April Kingsley between the years of 1988 and 1990, most of which are affiliated with the Abstract Expressionist movement. The subject file index cards are comprised of various sets of notes and citations regarding themes, movements, and artists central to Kingsley's ongoing research throughout her career. Also included are various biographical materials and miscellaneous correspondence that comprise the personal papers subseries.
Hopkins' papers are comprised of biographical material including biographies and a chronology, correspondence with various prominent art world figures including Richard Diebenkorn, Robert Motherwell, Carl Andre, Howardena Pindell, and Robert Rosenblum. Personal business records include correspondence and sale and consignment information related to particular galleries, as well as records regarding the Long Point Gallery co-founded by Hopkins and twelve other artists on Cape Cod in 1977. His writings include manuscript material regarding one of Hopkins' titles on UFO abductions, as well as various typescripts for reviews and essays written by Hopkins, as well as one audio recording for a lecture regarding his essay "Modernism and the Collage Aesthetic." Printed material including exhibition invitations and catalogs and press clippings are also found. Photographic materials include images of Hopkins, exhibition installations, and artwork in various formats, such as photographic prints, negatives, slides, and transparencies.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in two series:
Series 1: April Kingsley papers, circa 1960s-2017 (7.7 Linear Feet; Boxes 1-8, 0.209 Gigabytes; ER01)
Series 2: Budd Hopkins papers, circa 1945-2010 (3.3 Linear Feet; Boxes 7, 9-11)
Biographical / Historical:
April Kingsley (1941- ) is an art historian, critic, and curator living in Harwich, Massachusetts. Budd Hopkins (1931-2011) was an Abstract Expressionist artist and writer of both art criticism and UFO and abduction phenomena accounts, who lived primarily in New York City and Cape Cod.
Following a short-lived career as a nurse while married to her first husband, Kingsley completed a Masters of Fine Arts from New York University, and later a PhD in Art History from the City University Graduate Center. Kingsley studied in depth the Abstract Expressionist art movement, and also focused heavily on women artists and contemporary craft art. Kingsley held curatorial positions at a range of institutions including at The Museum of Modern Art, The American Craft Museum, and at the Pasadena Art Museum. She has written major monographs on numerous artists including Jean Miotte and Alice Dalton Bown, and contributed to the catalogs of more than 75 artists. Among her most notable publications are The Turning Point: The Abstract Expressionists and the Transformation of American Art (1992) and Emotional Impact: American Figurative Expressionism (2013). Kingsley and Hopkins were married from 1973-1991, and had one daughter, Grace Hopkins-Lisle. Kingsley currently resides in Harwich, Massachusetts with her husband Donald Spyke, who she married in 2005.
Born Elliott Budd Hopkins in 1931 in Wheeling West Virginia, Hopkins survived an early battle with polio as a toddler, following which a period of convalescence made an early engagement with drawing possible. He graduated from Oberlin College with an art history degree where he heard a lecture from a future mentor Robert Motherwell. After college Hopkins moved to New York City and became a fixture of the Abstract Expressionist circle, and by 1956 had his first solo show of paintings. In 1976 he earned a Guggenheim Fellowship as well as a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1979. His paintings, which range from gestural Abstract Expressionism to color plane geometric compositions are held in major museum collections ranging from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the British Museum. In the 1980s Hopkins turned to making large scale sculptures evocative of ancient ritualist architecture, an addition to his well-known painting practice. Hopkins also published a number of reviews of the work of other artists which were very well received at the time. As much as his art career perhaps, Budd Hopkins is known for spreading the word about alien abduction in his popular books on the subject, following a UFO sighting he recounts in Cape Cod in 1964. While Hopkins does not claim to have been abducted he regularly held support groups for others to share their stories. He passed in 2011 in his home in New York City.
Provenance:
The bulk of April Kingsley and Budd Hopkins papers was donated in 2018 by Grace Hopkins, their daughter. Portions of the Budd Hopkins papers were donated by Budd Hopkins between 1980 and 1983.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this
collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Ted Gilien conducted 1965 Mar. 3, by Betty Hoag, for the Archives of American Art. Gilien speaks of his background and education; getting on the WPA Federal Art Project; starting out as an assistant mural painter on Ellis Island; his military service in World War II as a combat artist; working in New York City and then in California after World War II; experimenting in screenwriting and novel writing; recurring themes in his paintings; his feelings about the FAP; art criticism; the politics of government support for the arts; camaraderie among artists during the WPA years. He recalls Leonard Bocour, James Dean, and Jack Levine.
Biographical / Historical:
Ted Gilien (1914-1967) was a painter and muralist in New York, N.Y. and Los Angeles, Calif.
General:
An unrelated interview of Charles White (3/9/65) conducted by B. Hoag is also on one tape.
An interview of F. J. Schwankovsky (3/1/65) conducted by B. Hoag is also on one tape.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
