Correspondence; photographs; writings and lecture notes; and printed material; and a scrapbook.
Circa 300 personal letters, 1945-1970, to Pollack from painter Richard Florsheim.
Files of correspondence and clippings pertaining to Pollack's career as a curator and photography historian. Most of the files concern Pollack's book "The Picture History of Photography." Other files concern Pollack's work on publications for Harry N. Abrams, Inc., the Worcester Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. Also included are writings and lecture notes; a few letters and clippings from scrapbooks; and miscellany. Correspondents include: Ansel Adams, Gyuia Halasz Brassai, Sylvan Cole, Julio De Diego, Helmut Gernsheim, Philippe Halsman, Dimitrios Harissiadis, Yousuf Karsh, Grace M. Mayer, and Beaumont Newhall.
Personal correspondence, 1954-1976, with Richard Florsheim discussing various career choices and projects, exhibition openings, Florsheim's art dealers, and book projects Florsheim was involved in; project files, 1948-1962, regarding Pollack's position as the New York City-based Public Relations Consultant for the Archives of American Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Guggenheim, and other institutions. Included are letters, news releases, catalogs, announcements and some photographs and clippings of such projects as the International Biennial of Prints and the AAA European art tour trip.
Also included is a scrapbook, 1939-1943, concerning exhibitions and activities of the South Side Community Art Center, Chicago, sponsored by the Illinois Art Project of the WPA-FAP and supervised by Pollack, 1938-1942. The center's purpose was to advance African American art and artists. Included are by-laws; letters from Alain Locke, and Richmond Barthe; photographs of Pollack, Jules Carlen, Horace Pippin, Eldzier Cortor, Canada Lee, Julio de Diego, Jesus Torres, and Eleanor Roosevelt at the dedication of the center, 1941; a typescript of a lecture by Daniel Catton Rich "The Art Museum and the Community Art Center," delivered at the Museum Director's conference, Detroit Institute of Arts, May 1940, newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs and other printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Pollack (1909-1978) was a photographer, curator, historian, and writer in New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Material on reels 822 and 4886-4887 donated 1974-1977 by Pollack, except for the scrapbook which was donated by Jane de Hart, an art historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who received it from Pollack for her research on African American artists and WPA projects. Material on reels 2385-2390 was lent for microfilming in 1981 by Creilly Pollack, Pollack's widow.
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.
The papers of Cleveland museum director and art historian Sherman E. Lee measure 10.3 linear feet and date from 1947-1997. The records document Lee's extensive career as an art historian, curator and expert on Asian art, director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, writer, educator, and consultant. His papers include scattered biographical materials, correspondence, writings, travel files, committees and organizations files, consulting files, teaching files, personal business records, printed material, photographs, and one pencil drawing.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Cleveland museum director and art historian Sherman E. Lee measure 10.3 linear feet and date from 1947-1997. The records document Lee's extensive career as an art historian, curator and expert on Asian art, director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, writer, educator, and consultant. His papers include scattered biographical materials, correspondence, writings, travel files, committees and organizations files, consulting files, teaching files, personal business records, printed material, photographs, and one pencil drawing.
Correspondence is with friends, scholars, editors, collectors, dealers, art societies and organizations, and other
museums. Writings consist of articles, lectures, book reviews by Lee and scattered writings by others. Writing project files contain correspondence with publishers, contracts, and printed material relating to the publication of Lee's writings. Travel files document numerous trips to Asian and European countries and include travel diaries, photographs, and lists of works of art viewed. There are files concerning Lee's membership and involvement with various committees, museums, and arts organizations. Consulting files mostly focus on Lee's work advising John D. Rockefeller III on the purchase of art, and with the Permanent Public Areas Advisory Committee of Cleveland, Ohio. Teaching files document classes he taught at Case Western Reserve and Harvard. Personal business records mostly concern Lee's personal art collection. Also found among the papers are general clippings, photographs of Lee and of artwork, and one pencil drawing.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 12 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1947-circa 1983 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1, 11)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1953-1996 (1.5 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1962-1983 (1.7 linear feet; Box 2-4)
Series 4: Writing Project Files, 1958-1997 (1.0 linear feet; Box 4-5)
Series 5: Travel Files, 1959-1994 (1.8 linear feet; Box 5-7)
Series 6: Committees and Organization Files, 1971-1997 (1.8 linear feet; Box 7-8)
Series 7: Consulting Files, 1960-1993 (1.1 linear feet; Box 8-9)
Series 8: Teaching Files, 1963-1977 (0.1 linear feet; Box 9)
Series 9: Personal Business Records, 1958-1995 (0.3 linear feet; Box 9)
Series 10: Printed Material, 1962-1987 (0.9 linear feet; Box 10-11)
Series 11: Photographs, circa 1952-1993 (0.2 linear feet; Box 10-11)
Series 12: Artwork, circa 1960s (1 folder; Box 10)
Biographical / Historical:
Sherman Emery Lee (1918-2008) was an recognized expert on Asian art and director of the Cleveland Museum of Art from 1958-1983.
Born in Seattle, Washington in 1918, Sherman E. Lee grew up in New York and received degrees from American University and a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Lee began his art career as a curator at the Detroit Institute of Art and Seattle Art Museum. During World War II, he served with the U. S. Navy and was transferred to the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section in Japan. After the war he continued working as a civilian advisor on the preservation of Japanese artworks.
Sherman Lee accepted a position as curator of Oriental art at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 1952 and became director in 1958, where he remained until 1983. During his long tenure there, he built one of this country's most remarkable collections of Asian art, transforming the museum from a regional presence to one of national significance. In 1973 Lee was chosen as Chairman of the Art and Archeology Delegation to the People's Republic of China, jointly sponsored by the Committee on Scholarly Communication of the People's Republic of China and the Scientific and Technical Association of the People's Republic of China.
Lee wrote or co-wrote a number of books including A History of Far Eastern Art (1964) and numerous articles for journals, magazines, and newspapers. He was the recipient of many honorary degrees, awards, and honors including the Order of the Sacred Treasure from Japan and Chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur. He taught art history courses at the Case Western Reserve University and Harvard and was consultant to John D. Rockefeller III and the Cleveland Permanent Public Advisory Committee. He retired to North Carolina where he taught at the University of North Carolina and was advisor to the University's Ackland Art Museum.
Lee was married to his wife Ruth for sixty-nine years. The two met in college and had three daughters and one son. Lee died July 9, 2008 at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Provenance:
Sherman E. Lee donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1997.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Conract 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.
The papers of art historian and museum director Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner measure 6.9 linear feet and date from 1853 to 1977. Found within the collection are biographical materials, including information on the Lepsius and Valentiner families; correspondence with family, friends, art collectors, and art historians; seven diaries; additional writings and notes; printed materials; three clippings scrapbooks; artwork in the form of prints and woodcuts; and photographs of Valentiner and his family and friends, including two photograph albums.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian and museum director Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner measure 6.9 linear feet and date from 1853 to 1977. Found within the collection are biographical materials, including information on the Lepsius and Valentiner families; correspondence with family, friends, art collectors, and art historians; seven diaries; additional writings and notes; printed materials; three clippings scrapbooks; artwork in the form of prints and woodcuts; and photographs of Valentiner and his family and friends, including two photograph albums.
Biographical materials include certificates, membership cards, a curriculum vitae, and genealogical information on the Valentiner and Lepsius families.
Correspondence includes letters in German from Valentiner's parents, siblings, extended family members, and his wife and daughter. General correspondence includes letters and cards in German and English from art historian mentors and peers, including Wilhelm von Bode, Cornelius Hofstede de Groot, Carl Heise, and Herman Colenbrander, as well as art collectors and friends, including John McIlhenny, Andrew Mellon, Edsel Ford, Maria Sarre, and Helen Wills Moody Roark.
Seven diaries dated 1910-1939 were written in German, some of which also contain sketches, photographs, and other enclosures. Additional writings and notes consist of autobiographical writings, numerous essays, lectures, and monographs on Italian and Dutch art and artists, and reports and lectures on exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts. Lecture seminar notes appear to have been written while Valentiner was a student in Germany, and materials related to Arbeitsrat für Kunst date from the period after Valentiner's military service when he served as a chairman to the newly formed Working Council for the Arts, prior to his return to America in 1921.
Printed material includes bulletins, exhibition catalogs, clippings, and three clippings scrapbooks, which document Valentiner's professional career in New York and Detroit.
Photographic materials are of Wilhelm Valentiner, his immediate and extended family members, and his friends. Photos of Valentiner are from his youth, military service in Germany, and his personal and professional career in the U.S. Photographs of friends include art scholars, collectors, and family friends, including Maria Sarre, Helen Wills Moody Rorke, and Anne Morgan, the daughter of Pierpoint Morgan. There are also a handful of reproductions of artwork used as scholarly references in his writings. The two photo albums focus on Valentiner's family and friends from his youth in Germany, and Valentiner with family members later in his life.
Artwork in the collection consists of prints from a page in a German book, a bookplate, and two woodcuts by unidentified artists.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1853-1976 (8 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1860-1974 (3.4 linear feet; Box 1-4)
Series 3: Diaries, 1910-1939 (7 folders; Box 3)
Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1890-1970 (1.7 linear feet; Box 4-6, 9)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1915-1977 (0.2 linear feet; Box 6)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1908-1933 (0.4 linear feet; Box 6, 9)
Series 7: Photographic Materials, 1840-1970 (0.8 linear feet; Box 6-8)
Series 8: Artwork, 1890-1960 (3 folders; Box 8)
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian and museum director Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner (1880-1958) lived in New York City, N.Y., Detroit, Michigan, and Raleigh, North Carolina and was known for his leadership and collection development during his tenure at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Valentiner was born in Karlsruhe, Germany to Karl Wilhelm Valentiner, a professor of astronomy at Heidelberg University, and his wife, Anna Lepsius Valentiner. The youngest of four children, Valentiner attended the University of Leipzig and continued studies in art history at the University of Heidelberg, where he received his doctorate in 1905 under the mentorship of Henry Thode. His relationship with Thode and with fellow students Edwin Redslob and Hermann Voss would eventually lead to lifelong friendships with a network of European scholars and historians, including Wilhelm von Bode and Cornelius Hofstede de Groot.
Upon von Bode's recommendation to J.P. Morgan, then President of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Valentiner joined the staff of the Metropolitan in 1908 as the curator for Decorative Arts. In 1913, he founded the journal Art in America, where he would remain as editor until 1931. At the onset of World War I, Valentiner returned to Germany to enlist and served until the war's end, at which point he spent a brief period working at the Kaiser Friedrich Museum and participated in the Arbeitsrat für Kunst, a new group that questioned the traditional relationship between artists and established art institutions. Though shortlived, his participation as a chairmen for the Working Council for the Arts introduced him to leading German artists and architects, including Walter Gropius, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Käthe Kollwitz, and Lyonel Feininger. At this time, he also met his future wife, Cecelia Odefay, who he married in 1919.
In 1921, Valentiner returned to the U.S. and was asked to serve as a collecting advisor to the Detroit Institute of Arts. In 1924, he was appointed the Institute's director, a position he held until his retirement in 1944. During his tenure, he oversaw the opening of a new wing, the first acquisition of pre-Columbian and African art, the strengthening of Chinese and Islamic art collections, significant acquisitions of European Modernists, and the development of the museum's education and conservation divisions.
In 1937, Valentiner founded the Art Quarterly journal for the College Art Association, which he edited until 1949. After his retirement from the Institute, Valentiner was called from retirement to serve as director for the Los Angeles County Museum and the Getty Museum in California, and the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. Valentiner died from complications of pneumonia in 1958.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Mary E. Adams letters from Wilhelm Valentiner and an oral history interview with Mary and Clinton Adams conducted by Paul Karlstrom, April 24, 1998. The North Carolina Museum of Art also holds papers of Wilhelm Valentiner, most of which are also available at the Archives on microfilm reels D31 and 2140-2144.
Separated Materials:
In 1981 and earlier, the Archives microfilmed the William R. Valentiner papers that were on deposit from the North Carolina Museum of Art onto reels D31 and 2140-2144. The papers were returned to the North Carolina Museum of Art, but the microfilm is still available for use at the Archives research centers and for interlibrary loan.
Reel D31 includes diary entries, 1914-1957, describing Valentiner's service in the German army, 1914-1918, with the War Information Office in Berlin, the overthrow of the monarchy and German politics, relations between Germany and Russia and communist activity in Germany, the administration of Berlin museums and radical artists' activities, his work with the L.A. County Museum, Detroit Institute of Fine Arts, the North Carolina Museum of Art, and private collectors, impressions of friends, including Henry Ford, Carl Hamilton, the Hohenzollerns, Franz Marc, Rainer Maria Rilke, Walter Rathenau, Helen Wills, Benjamin Altman, J. Pierpont Morgan, and recollections of women art collectors, including Mrs. August Belmont, Rita Lydig, and Mrs. Leonard Thomas. A very small portion of the filmed materials may be found among the Valentiner papers at the Archives, but most of the materials were returned to the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Loaned materials on reels 2140-2144 consist of 26 diaries, 1904-1958; autobiographical writings; manuscripts and lectures by Valentiner; correspondence with family, friends, authors, museums, galleries, and dealers, including Harry Bertoia, Charles Culver, Lyonel and Julia Feininger, Walter Gropius, Paul and Mary Weschler, and Morris Graves; and a scrapbook containing clippings, drafts of speeches, and invitations.
Provenance:
From 1972 to 1977, Valentiner's papers were gathered from various sources by historian Margaret Sterne who was researching and writing a biography of Valentiner. Sterne died just prior to publication and the papers were sorted by Archives' staff and returned to the lender when known. After publication of the biography, the bulk of the papers were returned to their respective lenders (primarily the University of North Carolina) and the remaining papers were sorted and accessioned by the Archives. Donors are listed as unknown or anonymous.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archvies' 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
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Cinque Gallery records, 1959-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
The Marcia M. Mathews papers relating to Henry Ossawa Tanner consist of 54 items and date from 1937 to 1969, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1963 to 1969. The collection primarily consists of correspondence preceding Mathew's 1969 book Henry O. Tanner, American Artist and related printed material.
REEL 64: 26 letters, January 21, 1966 through March 5, 1968, to Mathews from Jesse O. Tanner, son of Henry Ossawa Tanner, conveying information about his father and particular art works; as well as a letter from Edith D. [Mrs. William] Glackens, August 7, 1937, to Charles C. Tough, Jesse O. Tanner's uncle, advising with regard to Tough's plans of selling Henry O. Tanner's paintings. Also included is a biographical questionnaire completed by Henry O. Tanner for the Art League Publishing Company.
REEL 3268: 23 letters to Mathews regarding her book and exhibitions of Tanner's work; and printed material, 1968-1969. Correspondents include Jesse O. Tanner, Erwin S. Barrie, Romare H. Bearden, George Biddle, Mrs. Samuel M. Bryant, Benjamin Mays, James A. Porter, and Warren Robbins.
Biographical / Historical:
Marcia M. Mathews is a writer and art historian in Durham, North Carolina.
Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937) was an African American painter born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who spent much of his life in Paris, France. His work often depicts biblical scenes. Tanner trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins. In 1891, Tanner traveled to Europe and settled in Paris, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Henry Ossawa Tanner papers, 1860s-1978; the Henry O. Tanner letters to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1885-1909; and the Alexander family papers relating to Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1912-1985. The Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library holds the Henry Ossawa Tanner collection, 1907-1937.
Provenance:
Donated 1969 and 1976 by Marcia Mathews.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Lynn and James Igoe papers measure 0.2 linear feet and date primarily from 1968 to 1996 with a single receipt dating from 1883. The papers include correspondence primarily related to the Igoes' book 250 Years of Afro-American Art: An Annotated Bibliography, but also related to the Federal Tax Reform Act of 1969 and its effect on artists, as well as correspondence from artists to Norman Pendergraft; artist files; and printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The Lynn and James Igoe papers measure 0.2 linear feet and date primarily from 1968 to 1996 with a single receipt dating from 1883. The papers include correspondence primarily related to the Igoes' book 250 Years of Afro-American Art: An Annotated Bibliography; correspondence with Artists Equity Association chairman Elias Newman and others related to the Federal Tax Reform Act of 1969 and its effect on artists; correspondence from artists to Norman Pendergraft; artist files; and printed material.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Series 1: Lynn and James Igoe papers, 1883, 1968-1996 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Lynn Moody Igoe (1937-2006) was an art historian and author who wrote about African American art and artists. She was the chairman of the department of art and the director of the art gallery at North Carolina Central University. In 1981, she and her husband James Igoe published 250 Years of Afro-American Art: An Annotated Bibliography, a comprehensive annotated bibliography compiling citations on 3,900 black artists.
Provenance:
The Lynn and James Igoe papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Lynn Igoe in 1985, with additional material donated through 1996.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
The Richard J. Powell papers date from 1971 through 1992 and mostly concern Powell's research and writings on painter William H. Johnson. Found is correspondence with curators, scholors, arts administrators, and U.S., Danish, and Scandinavian museums and associations. The papers also include two of Powell's illustrated research and travel journals from 1984 and 1985, printed materials concerning the exhibition Powell curated in 1991 at the National Museum of American Art Homecoming: William H. Johnson and Afro-America, 1938-1946, research files that contain photocopies of original Johnson archival documents from various research repositories, and photographs (copy prints) of Johnson and his artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
Papers, 1980-1992, mostly concerning art historian Richard Powell's research and writings on African American painter William H. Johnson (1901-1970). Found is Powell's correspondence with Robert Baehr, Sigrid Bondo, Adelyn Breeskin, David C. Driskell, Michel Fabre, Robert Ferris Thompson, ?ystein Hjort, Margo Humphrey, Gregers Krake, Richard A. Long, Torben Lundbæk, Virginia Mecklenburg, Jostein Nerbøvik, Mette Nørredam, James Parker, Jules D. Prown, Kjetil Tandstad, Judith Wilson, Debbie Wood, and Danish and Scandinavian museums and associations. There are also two illustrated research/travel journals containing Powell's comments on Johnson's works of art, related thoughts, slide lists, notes from his lectures at the Sorbonne in Paris, and other experiences dating from July 14 to November 28, 1984, and January 1 to June 20, 1985; two wall calendars, 1984-1985, noting appointments and exhibition openings; a notebook, loose notes and other writings; postcards, reseach files that contain photocopies of printed material and other primary documents about Johnson including clippings from foreign newspapers with translations; printed material concerning the exhibition Homecoming: William H. Johnson and Afro-America, 1938-1946, curated by Powell at the National Museum of American Art, 1991-1992; photographs (copy prints, contact prints, and negatives) of Johnson and his artwork; and miscellany.
Arrangement:
Missing Title
Series 1: Research and Project Correspondence, 1981-1991(Box 1; 19 folders)
Series 2: Travel and Research Journals and Notes, 1984-1985, 1991, undated (Box 1; 5 folders)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1971-1992, undated (Box 1; 9 folders)
Series 4: Research Files, undated (Box 1; 10 folders)
Series 5: Photographs and Negatives, undated (Box 1; 4 folders)
Biographical Note:
Richard J. Powell is an African American art historian and educator in Durham, North Carolina. Powell curated the exhibition Homecoming: William H. Johnson and Afro-America, 1938-1946, at the National Museum of American Art, 1991-1992.
Related Materials:
Richard Powell papers, 1960-2011, is located at Duke University David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Provenance:
Richard Powell collected this material while conducting research on William H. Johnson. He donated it to the Archives of American Art in July, 2000.
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.
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Robert Ebendorf, 2004 April 16-18. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Metal-workers -- North Carolina -- Interviews Search this
Jewelers -- North Carolina -- Interviews Search this
