Search Results

Creator:

Richardson, Edgar Preston, 1902-1985  Search this

Richardson, Constance Coleman, 1905-2002  Search this

Richardson, Edgar Preston, 1902-1985  Search this

Subject:

Rutledge, Anna Wells  Search this

Simper, Fred  Search this

McDermott, John Francis  Search this

Speck, Walter  Search this

Stevens, William B.  Search this

Fredericks, Marshall M.  Search this

Castano, Giovanni  Search this

Soria, Regina  Search this

Lynes, Russell  Search this

Frankenstein, Alfred V. (Alfred Victor)  Search this

Hardy, Jeremiah Pearson  Search this

Pleasants, J. Hall (Jacob Hall)  Search this

Garrison, Eve Josephson  Search this

Bishop, Isabel  Search this

Allston, Washington  Search this

Woolfenden, William E. (William Edward)  Search this

Ripley, Sidney Dillon  Search this

Morse, John D.  Search this

Watkins, Franklin Chenault  Search this

Lewis, W. S. (Wilmarth Sheldon)  Search this

Marsh, Reginald  Search this

Sheeler, Charles  Search this

Kuniyoshi, Yasuo  Search this

Bostick, William A.  Search this

Jungwirth, Irene G. (Irene Gayas)  Search this

Oliver, Andrew  Search this

Simpson, Corelli C. W.  Search this

Andrews, Wayne  Search this

Valentiner, Wilhelm Reinhold  Search this

Middeldorf, Ulrich Alexander  Search this

Spark, Victor D. (Victor David)  Search this

Fleischman, Lawrence A. (Lawrence Arthur)  Search this

Sellers, Charles Coleman  Search this

Heil, Walter  Search this

Lee-Smith, Hughie  Search this

Bouché, Louis  Search this

Moser, Liselotte  Search this

Flexner, James Thomas  Search this

Vose, Robert C. (Robert Churchill)  Search this

Cohn, Harold  Search this

Aram, Siegfried F.  Search this

Mast, Gerald  Search this

Krentzin, Earl  Search this

Groce, George C.  Search this

Peale, Charles Willson  Search this

Culver, Charles B. (Charles Beach)  Search this

Wedda, John  Search this

Boyd, Julian P. (Julian Parks)  Search this

O'Keeffe, Georgia  Search this

Wyeth, Andrew  Search this

Hopper, Edward  Search this

Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich)  Search this

Rockefeller, John D.  Search this

Copeland, Lammot du Pont  Search this

Freeman, Michael W.  Search this

Allen, Joseph  Search this

Peale family  Search this

Castano Galleries (Boston, Mass.)  Search this

Historical Society of Pennsylvania  Search this

Macbeth Gallery  Search this

Archives of American Art  Search this

Philadelphia Museum of Art  Search this

National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.)  Search this

National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution)  Search this

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this

White House (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Detroit Institute of Arts  Search this

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Manuscripts

Interviews

Diaries

Transcripts

Sketches

Lectures

Place:

Detroit (Mich.)

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Painting, American  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Romanticism  Search this

Art -- History -- Study and teaching  Search this

Theme:

Diaries  Search this

Art Theory and Historiography  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)10104

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212990

AAA_collcode_richedga

Theme:

Diaries

Art Theory and Historiography

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_212990

Creator:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-03-25T12:34:43.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, Asian  Search this

See more by:

FreerSackler

Data Source:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

YouTube Channel:

FreerSackler

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_9cx965RdxW0

Creator:

Smithsonian American Art Museum  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-10-15T18:50:07.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

See more by:

americanartmuseum

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

YouTube Channel:

americanartmuseum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_Afh122mXQqU

Creator:

Smithsonian American Art Museum  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2020-04-20T13:59:25.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

See more by:

americanartmuseum

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

YouTube Channel:

americanartmuseum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_D-p96np-Pw4

Collection Creator:

Macbeth Gallery  Search this

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1838-1968

Scope and Contents note:

This series contains the gallery's general correspondence with artists, clients, curators, galleries, and art organizations and institutions. Outgoing letters are generally copies on highly-acidic fragile paper and are written by a combination of the gallery's proprietors and employees including William Macbeth, Robert Macbeth, Robert G. McIntyre, Hazel Lewis, Henry Miller, and Marguerite Onderdonk. The correspondence is fairly complete although there is very little outgoing correspondence before 1913 and very little correspondence, both outgoing and incoming, between 1928 and 1931 and 1933 and 1936. Although the gallery closed in 1953 correspondence in this series extends to 1968 documenting Robert G. McIntyre's continued activity as an art dealer operating from his home. Some records, generally from 1915, 1916 and 1923, are damaged by mold. For preservation reasons these have been placed in a separate box at the end of the collection and appear in the container listing at the end of 1.1: Correspondence.

Of particular interest is the substantial body of correspondence with artists. From the late 19th to the early 20th-century period there is significant correspondence with artists such as Cecilia Beaux, Emil Carlsen, John F. Carlson, Charlotte Buell Coman, Arthur B. Davies, Charles Harold Davis, Charles W. Hawthorne, Charles Hazeltine, Robert Henri, Winslow Homer, Jonas Lie, J. Francis Murphy, Henry Rankin Poore, Chaucey F. Ryder, William Sartain and Abbot Handerson Thayer. From the early to mid-20th-century period correspondents include Jay Connaway, Carl Gaertner, Rockwell Kent, James Lechay, Herman Maril, Ivan G. Olinsky, Ogden M. Pleissner, Constance Richardson and Andrew Wyeth.

There are letters from Arthur B. Davies in which he writes of his travels in Europe during the 1890s, letters from Robert Henri from Ireland in the 1920s, and a letter from John Sloan to William Macbeth (one of only two in the collection) dated March 4, 1908, thanking Macbeth in the name of the "noble eight" for "all of the innumerable courtesies and kindnesses you have shown us in the long to be remembered exhibition of Feb. 3-18 1908." There are lengthy, detailed epistles from William Sartain written prior to, and during, the outbreak of World War I in Paris, and eighteen letters from Winslow Homer (although the two dated 1861 and 1876 respectively are copies) including an illustrated letter, an undated price list and notes on Homer paintings. There are also details regarding the settling of the Homer estate, which designated the Macbeth Gallery as sole selling agents of Homer's pictures in 1937, found in correspondence with members of the Homer family.

Although there is no correspondence with Homer D. Martin in the collection there are letters from his widow, Elizabeth, which reveal something of the painter's relationship with the gallery and chart the rise in popularity of Martin's work after his death. Elizabeth Martin's letters also discuss the appreciation of her husband written by her after his death and published by William Macbeth.

Correspondence with Andrew Wyeth reveals Wyeth's original agreement with the Macbeth Gallery and charts the launching of his career and apparently effortless rise to fame. Wyeth's correspondence includes illustrated letters and the original manuscript of the foreword to the catalog for his first exhibition at Macbeth Gallery, written by his father, N. C. Wyeth.

This series also documents the gallery's hand in the development of some of the country's major public and private art collections including those established by the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Albright Art Gallery, Butler Art Institute, Carnegie Institute, the City Art Museum of St. Louis, Dallas Art Association, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and the Rhode Island School of Design.

Obviously, letters from the gallery's proprietors are found throughout the series, but there are also several named files for William Macbeth, Robert Macbeth and Robert G. McIntyre. William Macbeth's correspondence includes a copy of his opening announcement of 1892. A pencil sketch of two cows on the back of the announcement reminds us of his other love - the Macbeth Farm in Suffolk County, New York. Also found here are some letters of recommendation that William acquired prior to his emigrating to the United States from Ireland, and several letters regarding the sale of an Arthur B. Davies picture in which he refers to the need to let Davies know about the sale of the picture as quickly as possible. "You would understand why," writes Macbeth to James Quinlan on 1 February 1898, "if you knew this nervous impatient artist as well as I do."

Robert Macbeth's correspondence deals primarily with gallery business up to 1920 but from that point on relates primarily to personal and family business. His correspondence includes one folder of twenty-seven letters from artists written in response to an invitation to a dinner honoring William Macbeth in 1909. Most are addressed to Augustus Vincent Tack and include letters from Chester Beach, Charles H. Davis, Robert Henri, John La Farge, Jerome Myers, Chauncey F. Ryder and Carleton Wiggins. There is also a copy of a poem written by Albert Pinkham Ryder.

Correspondence with Jessie L. Macbeth and Phoebe K. Maccbeth deals with Robert Macbeth's estate and includes correspondence between Phoebe and Robert G. McIntyre discussing the gallery's finanical difficulties during the 1940s.

Robert G. McIntyre's correspondence generally relates directly to gallery business. Three of his letters (found in the files of correspondents to which the letters were addressed) are of particular note as they display his lucid and engaging style and reveal details of his friendships with some of the gallery's most important artists: a 1948 letter to Joseph J. Kwiat describes his memories of "The Eight" and recounts in particular his impressions of William J. Glackens, Robert Henri and George Luks; a 1956 letter to Bennard B. Perlman recalls "Tuesday evenings" at Robert Henri's studio; and a 1945 letter to Lloyd Goodrich of the Whitney Museum describes watching Childe Hassam paint and date a picture as if he were "writing a letter." "He was so emphatic that this was the proper procedure" writes McIntyre, "that one may take it for granted that a date on a Hassam is the date it was begun, not finished."

Records relating to McIntyre's research for, and writing of, his book on Martin Johnson Heade, published in 1948, can be found in his correspondence with Maxim Karolik.

Although it is not always possible to determine which gallery member is responsible for an outgoing letter as they are generally unsigned copies, each of the proprietors appeared to enjoy letter writing and discussing their views on art with gallery clients. A good example of this can be found in letters to William Winter Drew in January and May of 1925 which provide a lengthy and detailed discussion of whom the letter writer (probably Robert Macbeth) believes should be included in a representative collection of American art.

The dating and arrangement of undated incoming letters, particularly those written before 1913 which do not have an accompanying response from the gallery, is often based on pencil notations made by Robert G. McIntyre which, while assumed to be reliable, are not necessarily accurate.

While the series is primarily comprised of folders arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent, there are a few folders arranged by subject including several which relate to exhibitions at the gallery. These are interfiled alphabetically by folder title with the exhibition files, for example, being filed under "E."

Although the gallery's financial records are generally found in Series 2: Financial and Shipping records, Series 1: Correspondence does include substantial financial information in the form of correspondence with banks, insurance agents and accountants. Correspondence with Frederic B. Thomason, Inc., for example, consists of over two linear feet of records containing insurance information from 1895 to 1952.

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Fragile original scrapbooks are closed to researchers.

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:

Macbeth Gallery records, 1838-1968, bulk 1892 to 1953. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Grant Program. Digitization of the scrapbooks was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee. Correspondence, financial and shipping records, inventory records, and printed material were digitized with funding provided by the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, the Terra Foundation for American Art and The Walton Family Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.macbgall, Subseries 1.1

See more items in:

Macbeth Gallery records

Macbeth Gallery records / Series 1: Correspondence Files

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-macbgall-ref6340

Artist:

Gregory, John 1879-1958  Search this

Subject:

Confucius  Search this

Type:

Photograph

Topic:

Portrait male--Full length  Search this

Occupation--Education--Philosopher  Search this

Fantasy--Dragon  Search this

Image number:

JUL J0076683

See more items in:

Photograph Archives

Data Source:

Photograph Archives, Smithsonian American Art Museum

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_jul_76684

Creator:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2014-01-27T16:45:08.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, Asian  Search this

See more by:

FreerSackler

Data Source:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

YouTube Channel:

FreerSackler

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_PzCKBQtpwao

Creator:

Zimmerman, Elyn, 1945-  Search this

Names:

Dicker, Ruth  Search this

Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993  Search this

Gund, Agnes  Search this

Teraoka, Masami, 1936-  Search this

Varnedoe, Kirk  Search this

Extent:

28.5 Linear feet

0.223 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Sound recordings

Date:

1969-2017

Summary:

The papers of sculptor and site-specific installation artist Elyn Zimmerman measure 28.5 linear feet and 0.223 gigabytes, and date from 1969-2017. The collection documents the artist's life and work through correspondence, writings, project and commission files, exhibition files, teaching files, and printed material. Project and commission files comprise the majority of the collection at 18.2 linear feet and comprehensively document dozens of Zimmerman's site-specific sculptural projects and proposals for public and private sites across the United States and internationally. Items include correspondence, contracts, photographs, models, blueprints, and original sketches and drawings. The papers include a small number of born digital records, including digital images of projects, construction sites, and floorplans, as well as PowerPoint presentations.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of sculptor and site-specific installation artist Elyn Zimmerman measure 28.5 linear feet and 0.223 gigabytes, and date from 1969-2017. The collection documents the artist's life and work through correspondence, writings, project and commission files, exhibition files, teaching files, and printed material.

Correspondence is comprised predominately of received letters and fewer drafts and copies of outgoing letters. Notable correspondents include Zimmerman's late husband, curator Kirk Varnedoe, arts advocate Agnes Gund, and artists Ruth Dicker, Richard Diebenkorn, Kady Hoffman, and Masami Teraoka.

Writings include drafts of journal articles, a book mock-up, project notes, and statements. Agendas and address books are filed with writings.

Project and commission files comprise the bulk of the collection and comprehensively document dozens of Zimmerman's site-specific sculptural projects and proposals for public and private sites across the United States and internationally. Items include correspondence, contracts, photographs, models, blueprints, and original sketches and drawings. The files include a small number of born digital records, including digital images of projects, construction sites, and floorplans, as well as PowerPoint presentations.

Exhibition files document Zimmerman's site-specific installations and exhibitions in a gallery and museum context. Files include correspondence, photographs, slides, statements, press releases, shipping information, and price lists.

Teaching files document the many courses Zimmerman taught in painting, drawing, design, architecture, and landscape architecture. Items include syllabi, assignments, lecture notes, reading lists, and articles.

Printed material primarily consists of items cataloging Zimmerman's career including exhibition announcements, catalogs, and press clippings. Subject files were saved and collected by Zimmerman and are arranged at the end of the series.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as six series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1978-2011 (3.7 linear feet; Box 1-4)

Series 2: Writings, Agendas, and Address Books, 1970-2003 (0.5 linear feet; Box 4-5)

Series 3: Project and Commission Files, 1970-2016 (18.2 linear feet, Box 5-15, 21-22, OV 23-85, RD 97-98; 0.223 gigabytes, ER01-04)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1969-2015 (3.5 linear feet; Box 15-16, 20-21, OV 86-96, RD 99)

Series 5: Teaching Files, 1970-1994 (0.4 linear feet; Box 16)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1970-2017 (2.2 linear feet; Box 16-19)

Biographical / Historical:

Elyn Zimmerman (1945-) is a New York City and Los Angeles based sculptor best known for her large scale site-specific outdoor installations incorporating granite, water features, and landscape architecture.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Zimmerman moved to California for college, earning both her BFA and MFA from University of California, Los Angeles. While at UCLA, she studied with Richard Diebenkorn and Robert Irwin, and worked in photography, drawing, and site-specific installation. In 1978 she created Monarch's Trough for Artpark in Lewiston, New York, her first site-specific work using granite. For the next several decades Zimmerman would complete dozens of site-specific installations in public and private spaces across the United States, and submit proposals for dozens more. Working frequently with stone and granite, she developed a decades long relationship with a granite quarry in Cold Spring, Minnesota, which fabricated many of her designs. Zimmerman's clients have included the National Geographic Society, the Birmingham Art Museum, and the New York City Parks Department.

In addition to her site-specific work, Zimmerman has had an extensive exhibition history, and has shown for many years with Gagosian Gallery. In 2016, Zimmerman was the recipient of the Isamu Noguchi Award. She has taught at Mills College, California Institute of the Arts, Harvard University, New York University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Zimmerman was married to the late curator Kirk Varnedoe from 1978-2002.

Provenance:

The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in 2015 and 2017 by Elyn Zimmerman.

Restrictions:

This collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing. 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:

Sculptors -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Installation artists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this

Installation artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Women sculptors  Search this

Installations (Art)  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Citation:

Elyn Zimmerman papers, 1969-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.zimmelyn

See more items in:

Elyn Zimmerman papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-zimmelyn

Creator:

Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919  Search this

Extent:

131 Linear feet (29 architectural drawings)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Diaries

Financial records

Correspondence

Photographs

Place:

China

Syria

Egypt

India

London (England)

Japan

Boston (Mass.)

Detroit (Mich.)

Washington (D.C.)

Kandy (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka

Anuradhapura (Sri Lanka)

Date:

1876-1931

Summary:

The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, and photographs.

Scope Content:

The personal papers of Charles Lang Freer, the industrialist and art collector who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. The papers include correspondence, diaries, art inventories, scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeil Whistler and other press clippings, financial material, architectural drawings, and photographs.

Correspondence, circa 1860-1921, includes Freer's correspondence, 1876-1920, with artists, dealers, collectors, museums, and public figures; letterpress books contain copies of Freer's outgoing letters, 1892-1910; correspondence collected by Freer of James McNeill Whistler, and his wife Beatrix, 186?-1909, with Lady Colin Campbell, Thomas R. Way, Alexander Reid, Whistler's mother, Mrs. George W. Whistler, and others; correspondence of Whistler collector Richard A. Canfield, 1904-1913, regarding works in Canfield's collection; and correspondence of Freer's assistant, Katharine Nash Rhoades, 1920-1921, soliciting Freer's letters from his associates, and regarding the settlement of his estate.

Also included are twenty-nine pocket diaries, 1889-1890, 1892-1898, 1900-1919, recording daily activities, people and places visited, observations, and comments; a diary kept by Freer's caretaker, Joseph Stephens Warring, recording daily activities at Freer's Detroit home, 1907-1910. Inventories, n.d. and 1901-1921, of American, European, and Asian art in Freer's collection, often including provenance information; vouchers, 1884-1919, documenting his purchases; five volumes of scrapbooks of clippings on James McNeill Whistler, 1888-1931, labeled "Various," "Peacock Room," "Death, etc.," "Paris, etc.," and "Boston...London" ; three volumes of newsclippings, 1900-1930, concerning Freer and the opening of the Freer Gallery of Art.

Correspondence regarding Freer's gift and bequest to the Smithsonian Institution, 1902-1916; and photographs, ca. 1880-1930, of Freer, including portraits by Alvin Langdon Coburn and Edward Steichen, Freer with others, Freer in Cairo, China and Japan, Freer's death mask, and his memorial service, Kyoto, 1930; photographs of artists and others, including Thomas Dewing, Ernest Fenollosa, Katharine Rhoades taken by Alfred Stieglitz, Rosalind B. Philip, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Abbott H. Thayer, Dwight Tryon, and Whistler; and photographs relating to Whistler, including art works depicting him, grave and memorial monuments, works of art, the Peacock Room, and Whistler's memorial exhibition at the Copley Society.

Organization of the Papers:

This collection is organized into twelve series.

Series 1: Genealogical and Biographical Data

Series 2: Correspondence

Series 3: Diaries

Series 4: Freer Colleague Materials

Series 5: Art Inventories

Series 6: Financial Materials

Series 7: Exhibition Loan Files

Series 8: Biblical Manuscripts and Gold Treasure Files

Series 9: American School of Archaeology in China

Series 10: Printed Material

Series 11: Outsize Material

Series 12: Photographs

Biographical Note:

1854 February 25 -- Born in Kingston, New York

1873 -- Appointed accountant and paymaster of New York, Kingston and Syracuse Railroad by Frank J. Hecker (1846-1927)

1876 -- Moves to Indiana to work, with Hecker, for the Detroit and Eel River and Illinois Railroad

1880 -- Moves to Detroit, participates in organization of the Peninsular Car Works with Hecker

1883 -- Becomes vice president and secretary of Peninsular Car Company when it succeeds Peninsular Car Works

1883 -- Begins collecting European prints

1884 -- Peninsular Car Company constructs plant on Ferry Avenue

1887 -- Meets Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)

1887 -- Acquires proofs of 26 etchings, Venice, Second Series(1886), by James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

1887 -- Purchases a small Japanese fan attributed to Ogata Karin(1658-1715)

1887 -- Buys land on Ferry Avenue

1889 -- Meets Frederick Stuart Church (1826-1900) and Dwight William Tryon (1849-1925) in New York

1890 -- Commissions Wilson Eyre (1858-1944) to design house on Ferry Avenue, Detroit, Michigan

1890 -- On first trip to London, meets James McNeill Whistler(1834-1903)

1892 -- Moves to Ferry Avenue house

1892 -- Tryon and Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) undertake decoration of reception rooms

1893 -- Lends American paintings to World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago

1893 -- Purchases first piece of Chinese art, a small painting of white herons by an anonymous Ming dynasty (1368-1644) artist

1894 -- Begins yearlong trip around the world, which includes visit to the Whistlers in Paris and first trip to Asia, stopping in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), India, China, and Japan

1896 -- Meets Matsuki Bunkyo (1867-1940) in Boston

1899 -- Takes part in consolidation of railroad-car building companies then retires from active business

1900 -- Attends Exposition International Universelle in Paris

1900 -- Buys villa in Capri with Thomas S. Jerome

1901 -- Meets Siegfried Bing (1838-1905) in Paris and Ernest Fenollosa(1853-1908), who visits Freer in Detroit

1902 -- Meets Dikran Kelekian (1868-1951)

1902 -- Spends summer in Britain building Whistler collection

1902 -- Views Whistler's, Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room

1904 -- Purchases Whistler's Peacock Room

1904 -- Offers his art collections and funds to build a museum in which to house them to the Smithsonian Institution

1905 -- Smithsonian committee visits Freer in Detroit

1906 -- United States government formally accepts Freer's gift on January 24

1906 -- Freer signs Deed of Gift to Smithsonian Institution on May 5

1907 -- On second tour of Asia, meets Hara Tomitaro 1868-1939) in Yokohama, Japan

1908 -- Takes third trip to Asia, specifically to West Asia to study Rakka ware

1909 -- Tours Europe to study art museums

1909 -- On fourth trip to Asia, attends memorial ceremony for Fenollosa (d.1908 September) at Miidera, Japan, and meets Duanfang (1861-1911) in China

1910 -- On last trip to Asia, visits Longmen Buddhist caves in China

1911 -- Suffers stroke

1912 -- Lends selection of objects for exhibition at Smithsonian Institution

1913 -- Meets Eugene (1875-1957) and Agnes E. (1887-1970) Meyer

1913 -- Commissions Charles Adams Platt (1861-1933) to design museum building in Washington

1914 -- Meets Katharine Nash Rhoades (1885-1965) in Detroit

1915 -- Settles in New York City

1915 -- Site of future Freer Gallery of Art is determined

1916 -- Platt's plans for Freer Gallery are approved by Smithsonian Regents and Commission of Fine Arts and ground is broken in September

1918 -- After falling ill in Detroit, Freer travels to New York for treatment

1918 -- Work on the museum building is delayed by the war

1919 -- Freer appends codicil to will permitting acquisitions of Asian, Egyptian, and Near Eastern (West Asian) art

1919 -- Dies in New York City on 25 September and is buried in Kingston, New York

1919 -- Construction of Freer Gallery completed

1920 -- John Ellerton Lodge (1876-1942) is appointed director of the Freer Gallery

1923 -- Freer Gallery opens to the public on May 9

1930 -- Memorial ceremony for Freer is held at Koetsuji, Kyoto

Charles Lang Freer was an American industrialist who founded the Freer Gallery of Art. He was a well-known collector of Asian art, and strongly supported the synthesis of Eastern art and Western art. One of his most famous acquisitions was James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room.

Index:

Index to cross-referenced correspondents in the series Charles Lang Freer correspondence

Beal, Junius E. -- See: -- Warring, Joseph Stephens

Black, George M. -- See: -- Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Board of Education (Kingston, New York) See: Michael, M. J.

Bonner, Campbell See: University of Michigan

Boughton, George H. See: Yardley, F. C.

British Museum See: Binyon, Laurence; Hobson, R. L.

Brown, Harold H. See: Art Association of Indianapolis

Buchner, Evelyn B. See: Knoedler, M., and Company

Buckholder, C. H. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Butler, S. B. See: Unidentified correspondents

Carnegie Institute See: Balken, Edward Duff; Harshe, Robert B.

Carpenter, Newton H. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Caulkins, Horace James See: Pewabic Pottery

Chao, Shih-chin See: Gunn, Chu Su

Chicago & North Western Railway Co. See: Hughett, Marvin

Clark, Charles Upson See: Clark, Arthur B.

Cleveland Museum of Art See: Whiting, Frederic Allen

Columbia University See: Braun, W. A.; Gottheil, Richard; Hirth, Friederich

Commission of Fine Arts See: Moore, Charles

Corcoran Gallery of Art See: Minnigerode, C. Powell

Crocker, Anna B. See: Portland Art Association

Dannenberg, D. E. See: Karlbeck, Orvar

De Menoncal, Beatrice See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection

De Ricci, Seymour See: Ricci, Seymour de

Defnet, William A., Mrs., See: Franke, Ida M.

DeMotte See: Vigouroux, J.

Detroit Institute of Arts See: Detroit Museum of Art

Detroit Publishing Company See: Livingstone, W. A.

Detroit School of Design See: George Hamilton; Stevens, Henry

DeVinne Press See: Peters, Samuel T.; Witherspoon, A. S.

Dyrenforth, P. C. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Eddy, Arthur J. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Eggers, George Williams See: Art Institute of Chicago

Farr, Daniel H. See: Robinson and Farr

Farrand School (Detroit) See: Yendall, Edith

Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) See: Laufer, Berthold

Flagg, Frederick J. See: Allen, Horace N.

Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University See: Forbes, Edward; Pope, Arthur Upham; Sachs, Paul J.

French, M. R. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Fu, Lan-ya See: Pang, Lai-ch'en

Fujii, Yoshio See: Yoshio, Fujii

Gerrity, Thomas See: Knoedler, M., and Company

Goupil Gallery See: Marchant, William

Gray, William J. See: Barr, Eva

Great Lakes Engineering Works See: Hoyt, H. W.

Grolier Club See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Heinemann, W. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Holden, Edward S. See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy

Hudson, J. L. See: Weber, William C.

Hutchins, Harry B. See: University of Michigan

Hutchins, Charles L. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Kelekian, H. G. See: Kelekian, Dikran G.

Kent, H. W. See: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lee, Kee Son See: Li, Chi-ch'un

Levy, John See: Schneider, A. K.

Library of Congress See: Rice, Richard A.; Wright, Helen

Louvre (Paris, France) See: Midgeon, Gaston

Matsuki, Z. See: Matsuki, Kihachiro

McKim, Mead and White See: White, Stanford

Mills, A. L., Colonel See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Miner, Luella See: Lien, Hui Ch'ing Collection

Minneapolis Institute of Arts See: Breck, Joseph; Van Derlip, John R.

Monif, R. Khan See: Rathbun, Richard

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston See: Lodge, John Ellerton

Naser, Katen & Nahass See: Katen, K.

Nordlinger, Marie, Miss See: Meyer-Riefstahl, Marie

Panama Pacific International Exposition See: Moore, Charles C.; Trask, John E. D.

Peabody Museum See: Morse, Edward Sylvester

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Trask, John E. D.

Perry, Mary Chase, Miss., See: Pewabic Pottery

Philip, Ronald M. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Pope, G. D. See: Barr, Eva

Reinhart, A. G. See: Gottschalk, E.

Reitz, Sigisbert Chrétien Bosch See: Bosch-Reitz, Sigisbert Chrétien

Rutgers College See: Van Dyke, John C.

Saint-Gaudens, Augusta H. See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Saint-Gaudens, Homer See: Saint-Gaudens, Augustus

Samurai Shokai See: Nomura, Yozo

San Francisco Art Association See: Laurvik, J. Nilsen

Scribner's, Charles, Sons See: Van Dyke, John C.

Shaw, Wilfred B. See: University of Michigan

Shirae, S. Z. See: Yamanaka and Company

Smith College See: Clark, Arthur B.

Smithsonian Institution See: Holmes, William Henry; Rathbun, Richard; Ravenel, Walcott, Charles D.

Society of Arts and Crafts (Detroit) See: Plumb, Helen

Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander

Stevens, George W. See: Toledo Museum of Art

Stratton, Mary Chase Perry See: Pewabic Pottery

Tanaka, Kichijiro See: Yamanaka and Company

Tuttle, William F. See: Art Institute of Chicago

Union Trust Company (Detroit) See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

United States Military Academy See: West Point, U. S. Military Academy

University of Chicago See: Zug, George Breed

University of Pennsylvania, Univ. Mus. See: Gordon, George Bryon

Ushikubo, D. J. R. See: Yamanaka and Company

Wallis & Son See: Barr, Eva; Thompson, C. Croal Ward, Clarence See: Oberlin College

Warren, Edward K. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Warring, Stephen See: Warring, Joseph Stephens

Watkin, Williams R. T. See: Philip, Rosalind Birnie

Watson, Margaret, Miss See: Parker, Margaret Watson

Whistler, Anna See: Stanton, Anna Whistler

Whiting, Almon C. See: Toledo Museum of Art

Williams College See: Rice, Richard A

Wright, F. G. See: Orbach and Company

Yatsuhashi, H. See: Yamanaka and Company

Index to cross-referenced correspondence in the series Whistler correspondence

Bell, William See: Unidentified correspondents

Brown, Ernest See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee

Cowen, John T. See subseries: Charles Lang Freer Correspondence

Ford, Sheridan See: Reid, Alexander

Haden, Francis Seymour See: Painter Etchers' Society, Committee

Haden, Francis Seymour, Lady See: Haden, Deborah Whistler

Leighton, Frederick, Baron See: Campbell, Lady Colin

Moore, Albert See: Reid, Alexander

Morley, Charles See: Pall Mall Gazette

Morris, Harrison S. See: Reid, Alexander

Pennell, Joseph See: Miscellaneous typescripts

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts See: Reid, Alexander

Prange, F. G. See: Reid, Alexander

Societe des Beaux-Arts See: Reid, Alexander

Society of Portrait Painters See: Reid, Alexander

Stevens Fine Art See: Reid, Alexander

Studd, Arthur See: Miscellaneous typescripts

[Vanderbilt?], George, Mrs. See: George, Mrs.

Whistler, William McNeill, Mrs. See: Whistler, Nellie

Whistler Memorial Committee See: Miscellaneous typescripts

Related Material:

The Archives of American Art microfilmed portions of the Freer papers in 1992. The microfilm is available at the Archives of American Art's Washington D.C. office, the Freer Gallery of Art Library, and through interlibrary loan.

Provenance:

Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.

Topic:

Art, American -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Architecture -- Asia  Search this

Genre/Form:

Diaries

Financial records

Correspondence

Photographs

Citation:

Charles Lang Freer Papers. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.

Identifier:

FSA.A.01

See more items in:

Charles Lang Freer Papers

Archival Repository:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-fsa-a-01

Creator:

Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919  Search this

Names:

Freer Gallery of Art  Search this

Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919  Search this

Collection Creator:

Freer, Charles Lang, 1856-1919  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (typed, with handwritten edits)

Type:

Archival materials

Inventories

Date:

undated

Scope and Contents:

Comprehensive index of Charles Lang Freer's library, mostly relating to art and Asian culture. Headings include authors, countries, and topical subjects. Sections include locations in Freer's original Detroit home; an index of all books transferred to the Smithsonian; a list of collections and collectors catalogues of American and Near and Far Eastern art; sales catalogues, and books in Chinese language.

Arrangement:

Organized in the original manner by the creator.

Local Numbers:

FSA A.01 05.22

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:

Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.

Topic:

Art, Asian -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art, American -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Book collecting  Search this

Function:

Libraries

Genre/Form:

Inventories

Collection Citation:

Charles Lang Freer Papers. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.

Identifier:

FSA.A.01, Item FSA A.01 05.22

See more items in:

Charles Lang Freer Papers

Charles Lang Freer Papers / Series 5: Art Inventories / 5.22: Printed Books [Library]

Archival Repository:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-fsa-a-01-ref3332

Creator:

Claghorn, James Lawrence, 1817-1884  Search this

Claghorn, James Lawrence, 1817-1884  Search this

Subject:

Durand, Asher Brown  Search this

Kensett, John Frederick  Search this

Powers, Hiram  Search this

Read, Thomas Buchanan  Search this

Rothermel, Peter Frederick  Search this

Whittredge, Worthington  Search this

Church, Frederic Edwin  Search this

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this

Goupil & Cie  Search this

Type:

Scrapbooks

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Art museum attendance  Search this

Theme:

Art Market  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9986

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212721

AAA_collcode_clagjame

Theme:

Art Market

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_212721

Creator:

Blanc, Giulio V.  Search this

Names:

Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami, Fla.)  Search this

Brito, Maria, 1947-  Search this

Cano, Margarita, 1932-  Search this

Cano, Pablo  Search this

Carreño, Mario  Search this

Carulla, Ramón, 1938-  Search this

Demi, 1955-  Search this

Garcia, Hernan, 1935-  Search this

Gattorno, Antonio  Search this

Gaztelu, A. (Angel)  Search this

Goldman, Shifra M., 1926-2011  Search this

Gómez-Peña, Guillermo  Search this

Lam, Wifredo  Search this

Larraz, Julio  Search this

Libin, Victoria  Search this

Macia, Carlos A., 1951-1994  Search this

Martínez-Cañas, María  Search this

Riverón, Enrique  Search this

Rodríguez, Arturo, 1956-  Search this

Sánchez, Juan, 1954-  Search this

Sí, Juan  Search this

Trasobares, César  Search this

Vater, Regina  Search this

Vázquez Lucio, Oscar E. (Oscar Edgardo), 1932-  Search this

Interviewee:

Cabrera, Lydia  Search this

Gómez Sicre, José  Search this

Extent:

11 Linear feet

0.001 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Sound recordings

Date:

1920-1995

Summary:

The dates for the Giulio V. Blanc papers range from 1920-1995. Measuring a total of eleven linear feet and 0.001 GB, the collection provides documentation of the art exhibitions Blanc curated during his career, including original writings and exhibition catalogs. The extensive artists files in the collection provide information on numerous Latin American and Caribbean artists. The collection also provides historical information on the life and culture of Cuba.

Scope and Content Note:

The Giulio V. Blanc papers measure approximately 11 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1920 to 1995. Compiled by Blanc since the beginning of his curatorial, writing, and research career in the 1980s, the papers consist primarily of artist files on Cuban, Cuban-American, and Latin American artists (1920-1995 and undated). Also found is biographical information (1994-1995), interviews by Blanc (1984-1987, 1994) and miscellaneous letters from artists and friends (1983-1995 and undated).

The first series, Biographical Files, 1994-1995 includes information about Blanc's career. Series 2: Miscellaneous Letters, 1983-1995, undated, consists of letters from artists and friends on various topics. Series 3: Artist Files, 1920-1995, undated, represents the bulk of the collection (approximately 300 artists in all, 6 linear feet), and contain materials either collected by Blanc or received by Blanc from the artists themselves. These consist of biographical material about the artist, usually two or three paragraphs written by Blanc, scattered resumes and copies of fellowship applications. Also found are newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and letters or correspondence between Blanc and the artists. Of special interest in this series are numerous taped interviews with celebrated Cuban artists and art historians such as José Gómez Sícre, founder and first director of the Art Museum of the Americas, Organization of American States. Gómez-Sícre describes his early career and involvement with acquisitions for the museum's permanent collection as well as his working relationship with Alfred H. Barr, first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Gómez-Sícre's notable book, Pintura Cubana de Hoy, published in Havana in 1944 is included in the files.

Elena Peláez de Medero, another interviewee, discusses her sister, Cuban painter Amelia Peláez (1896-1968). Blanc interviewed Elena Peláez in Miami for his 1988 exhibition Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective. The Peláez file includes Blanc's correspondence with her as well as copies of rare 1930s and 1940s exhibition catalogs from Amelia Peláez's early career. Among the catalogs is a copy of Modern Cuban Painters from the 1944 exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Also found are rare French, German and Spanish newspaper clippings on Peláez dating back to the 1920s. Of interest is a copy of Amado Blanco's 1937 poetry book, Poema desesperado. Published in Havana, the book is dedicated to the memory of Federico García Lorca and includes illustrations by Peláez.

Another prominent artist whom Blanc interviewed was Enrique Riverón (b. 1901) leader of the Cuban vanguardia. He was a member of El Grupo de Montparnasse, a talented group of painters and writers living in the southern district of Paris in the late 1920s, an area noted for its boisterous after-hour activities. The interview was published in the Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts in 1997. Also found in the papers are illustrated letters and greeting cards addressed to Blanc and his parents, Baron Lodovico Blanc and María V. Blanc.

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1977-1995, undated, consists primarily of material Blanc compiled for exhibitions he curated. Found here are letters from museum directors, artists and colleagues, drafts and finished essays for exhibition catalogs, and printed material such as newspaper clippings of art reviews. This series also includes files on exhibitions Blanc did not curate.

Series 5: Subject Files, 1933-1995, undated, are files relating to Cuban art, culture, and society, the Cuban revolution, book projects, Biennials in Havana and São Paulo, the 1988 controversy surrounding the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami, FL) and other topics. Found are letters, drafts of writings, notes, printed material such as newspaper clippings and magazine articles, press releases, and exhibition announcements.

Particularly extensive is the documentation about the 1980s conflict at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture. In April 1988, a fund-raising auction at the 24-year-old 'little Havana' institution resulted in heated disputes that escalated to violence. The works auctioned were by Cuban artists still living on the island. Many in Miami's Cuban community considered these artists to be supporters of the Communist regime and were outraged. One of the disputed works purchased the night of the auction, a drawing by Manuel Mendive, was taken across the street by its successful bidder and burned. In addition, the museum building was damaged by a pipe bomb shortly after the sale. In the National Public Radio news story (available in Blanc's papers on audio cassette) Helen Kohen, critic for the Miami Herald commented, "We're not talking about paintings. We're talking about `my brother's in jail'. That's what we're talking about." The situation intensified quickly; transcending local politics and involving the Treasury and Justice Departments, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses. Ramón Cernuda, the museum vice-president who organized the auction also had his personal collection of Cuban art impounded by the FBI. A second bombing took place in 1989 to protest an exhibition of Cuban artists who came to the U. S. during the early 1980s Mariel boatlift.

The seriousness of the conflicts in the Miami museum prompted the Museum of Modern Art in New York to withdraw an offer to lend three paintings to the Cuban museum for the 1988 exhibition Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective scheduled to open later that year. Curated by Giulio Blanc, it was the first U.S. retrospective of this important Cuban artist and the exhibition helped situate her work. The Cuban Museum of Art in Daytona Beach, an institution that helped start the Miami museum, also withdrew an offer to lend "Amelias". The result was an exhibition devoid of works owned by the Museum of Modern Art, important paintings created after 1963, the year President Kennedy imposed economic sanctions on Cuba.

To publicize the Peláez exhibition and boost attendance, the museum placed a public invitation in the Spanish section of the Miami Herald. The half page ad, also found in the Blanc papers, lists more than 100 intellectuals and professionals who supported the exhibition. Blanc stated in a letter to the Miami Herald, "It is horrifying to think there are those in Miami who would burn a painting for the sake of politics. This was the same reasoning utilized by Joseph Goebbels when he made bonfires of books and paintings by anti-Nazi and `degenerate' artists and writers in 1930s Germany... One can only pity the ignorance of those who play into the hands of the Castro regime by resorting to uncivilized tactics that can only hurt the image of the Cuban-exile community and of Miami in general."

The files concerning the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture contain exhibition announcements, copies of court orders, press releases and correspondence between Blanc and the Museum of Modern Art in New York regarding the museum and the Peláez exhibition. Also included are a great number of newspaper articles printed in two of Miami's major newspapers, the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald which covered the story until it was resolved in the early 1990s. Offering additional information on the controversy are a number of letters addressed to either Blanc or his parents from artists and friends expressing either discontent with the museum's state of affairs or gratitude for the Blanc's financial support during the museum's reconstruction. These provide remarkable insight into a relatively heterogeneous Cuban community.

Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1992, 1994 consists of two untranscribed audio cassette tapes. One is of the 1992 College Art Association's session: Artistic Voices of Latin America: The Aesthetics of Anti-Colonialism held in Chicago, Illinois in which Giulio V. Blanc was a panelist. The other is a rare 1994 interview conducted by Blanc with poet-priest Monseñor Angel Gaztelu, a friend of many Cuban writers and artists, and who presided over Peláez's funeral service in 1968.

The last series, Series 7: Photographs, 1981-1993, undated, includes black and whiteportraits of artists, group shots of Blanc with "Miami Generation" artists María Brito, Pablo Cano, María Martínez-Cañas, Carlos Macía, Arturo Rodríguez, and César Trasobares, and photos of other artists.

Arrangement:

The Giulio V. Blanc papers are arranged into seven series primarily according to type of material. Within each series, materials are arranged chronologically, except for Artist Files and Subject Files which are arranged alphabetically by either name or subject.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Files, 1994-1995, undated (box 1; 3 folders)

Series 2: Miscellaneous Letters, 1983-1995, undated (box 1; 3 folders)

Series 3: Artist Files, 1920-1995, undated (boxes 1-8, ER01; 6 linear ft., 0.001 GB)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1977-1995, undated (box 8; 1 linear foot)

Series 5: Subject Files, 1933-1995, undated (boxes 8-12; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Untranscribed Sound Recordings, 1992-1994 (box 12; 2 folders)

Series 7: Photographs, 1981, 1993, undated (box 12; 2 folders)

Biographical Note:

Cuban born independent curator, critic, art historian and consultant Giulio V. Blanc (1955-1995) specialized in Cuban and Latin American art history and in his lifetime collected a wealth of material on the subject. Through his numerous exhibitions and keen articles appearing in national and international art journals, Blanc became a leading authority on Latin American art and successfully established himself as a link between Cuban and Cuban-American artists and US galleries and museums. The Miami Generation (1983) and Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective (1988) are two significant exhibitions Blanc curated for Miami's Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in addition to the celebrated Wifredo Lam and His Contemporaries, 1938-1952 (1992) for New York's Studio Museum in Harlem. Giulio V. Blanc was among the key figures that catapulted Latin American art onto the mainstream in the early 1980s.

Giulio V. Blanc was born in Havana in 1955 to Baron Lodovico Blanc and María V. Blanc. The Blanc name hails from Italy and the title of Baron was awarded to Alberto Blanc, Lodovico Blanc's grandfather, while he was Secretary of State in 1873 under Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. As young advocates of Cuban culture, the Blanc's collected a number of paintings by Cuban artists but were forced to leave behind the works of Cuban masters such as Carlos Enríquez, Victor Manuel, René Portocarrero, Fidelio Ponce and others to facilitate an uncomplicated exodus from the country during the revolution. Lodovico and María were in their thirties and Giulio was five years old when the family settled in Miami.

Giulio Blanc completed his undergraduate education at Harvard and proceeded to Brown University and the Institute of Fine Arts in New York for graduate work (1979-1980). During his career, he served as an independent curator and consultant to The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami), The Metropolitan Museum (Miami), and The Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (New York) among others. He also lectured on Latin American art history at the Art Museum of the Americas, OAS (Organization of American States), Washington, DC, The University of Miami, and El Museo Nacional de Arte in La Paz, Bolivia. In addition, he worked as a consultant in the Latin American Paintings Department at Sotheby's auction house in New York and served on the editorial board of the magazine Art Nexus. Blanc was pursuing a doctoral degree in art history at the City University of New York before his premature death in 1995 at the age of thirty-nine.

Missing Title

1955 -- Born November 1 in Havana, Cuba to Baron Lodovico and Baroness María V. Blanc, young collectors of Cuban art. The title of Baron was awarded to Alberto Blanc, Lodovico Blanc's grandfather, in 1873 while Alberto was Secretary of State under Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.

1960 -- The Blanc family migrates to the United States because of the escalating revolution. Lodovico and Maria V. Blanc are in their thirties when they flee the island. The works of Cuban painters such as Carlos Enríquez, Victor Manuel, René Portocarrero, Fidelio Ponce and others were left behind to facilitate an uncomplicated exodus.

1976 -- Giulio V. Blanc serves as research assistant for one year at the Tozzer Library, Peabody Museum, Harvard University.

1977 -- Graduates cum laude from Harvard College with a B.A. in Archeology.

1979 -- Graduates from Brown University with a M.A. in Archeology. Was a research assistant until 1980 at the Gallery of the Center for Inter-American Relations, New York city.

1980 -- Receives a certificate in Museum Studies from the Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York University. Curates Emilio Sánchez: Lithographs which opens at the Pagoda, Ransom-Everglades School, Coconut Grove, Florida. Co-curates Cuba in the Nineteenth Century for Miami's Miami-Dade Public Library.

1981 -- Joins the Latin American Paintings Department, Sotheby's Auction House, New York and serves for two years.

1982 -- Co-curates Young Hispanics, USA which opens at the Lehigh University Museum, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and curates Ten Out of Cuba for INTAR Latin American Gallery in New York.

1983 -- Curates Cuban Fantasies at the Kouros Gallery in New York and Pablo Cano en Paris for the 4 Place de Saussaies in Paris, France. Also curates The Miami Generation: Nine Cuban-American Artists for the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in Miami and the Meridian House in Washington, DC.

1984 -- Serves as independent curator and consultant to Miami's Metropolitan Museum and Art Center and The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture; The Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art in New York and other institutions. Lectures at the Art Museum of the Americas (Organization of American States) in Washington, DC; The University of Miami; The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami); The Center for the Fine Arts (Miami); Rockland Center for the Arts (West Nyack, NY); and the National Museum of Art, La Paz, Bolivia. Curates Young Collector's of Latin American Art which opened at Miami's Metropolitan Museum and Art Center.

1985 -- Curates Dancing Faces: An Exhibition of Mexican Masks for the Metropolitan Museum and Art Center in Miami and Nuevas Vistas: Latin American Paintings which opens at the Wistariahurst, Holyoke, Massachusetts. Curates Architecture in Cuban Painting, for the Miami Dade Public Library.

1986 -- Receives and M.A. in Art History at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. Curates Carlos Enríquez for the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, Miami, Florida and Into the Mainstream: Ten Latin American Artists Working in New York for the Jersey City Museum in Jersey City, New Jersey.

1987 -- The exhibition Aurelia Muñoz: Selections, curated by Blanc, opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Miami, Florida. Serves as juror for Expresiones Hispanas: Coors National Hispanic Art Exhibition, Denver, Colorado. Curates Visions of Self: The American Latin Artist for the Miami-Dade Community College gallery.

1988 -- Receives a grant from the NY State Council on the Arts for research on Cuban artist Wifredo Lam for the exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Enrolls in the art history Ph.D. program at the City University Graduate Center, New York city. First bombing of the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in Miami takes place. Blanc's Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective successfully opens at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture despite much controversy.

1989 -- Curates Urgent Dream: New Work by Mario Bencomo at the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MoCHA), New York. Second bombing of the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, Miami FL.

1990 -- New York correspondent for Arte en Colombia, Bogota. Serves as adjunct lecturer at Queens College (CUNY) for the Fall semester. Curates the exhibition, The Post-Miami Generation for the Inter-American Gallery in Miami, Florida. Co-curates Figurative Perspectives: Six Artists of Latin American Background for the Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY.

1991 -- Visiting scholar at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Writes a small play, Tía Carmela: A Cuban Tragicomedy, illustrated by Cuban artist and friend Pablo Cano.

1995 -- Dies at the age of forty of AIDS related complications.

Related Materials:

Papers of Giulio V. Blanc, 1930-1982, are also located at the University of Miami Archival Collections.

Provenance:

Margherite Blanc, sister of Giulio V. Blanc, donated her brother's papers in 1998 to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. This collection, along with numerous other Latino collections, was acquired through the 1996 Latino Art Documentation Project in South Florida. Initiated to chronicle the thriving art scene so apparent in the city's galleries, museums, and private collections, the project resulted in numerous acquisitions described in the revised edition of the Papers of Latino and Latin American Artists. Both the project and the publication were made possible, in part, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Latino Initiatives.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.

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 -- Florida -- Miami  Search this

Topic:

Cuban American art  Search this

Art, Latin American  Search this

Artists -- Cuba  Search this

Cuban American artists  Search this

Latino and Latin American artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Citation:

Giulio V. Blanc papers, 1920-1995. Smithsonian Institution. Archives of American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.blangiul

See more items in:

Giulio V. Blanc papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-blangiul

Creator:

Richardson, Edgar Preston, 1902-1985  Search this

Richardson, Constance, 1905-  Search this

Names:

Archives of American Art  Search this

Castano Galleries (Boston, Mass.)  Search this

Detroit Institute of Arts  Search this

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum  Search this

Historical Society of Pennsylvania  Search this

Macbeth Gallery  Search this

National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.)  Search this

National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution)  Search this

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this

Philadelphia Museum of Art  Search this

White House (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

Peale family  Search this

Allen, Joseph  Search this

Allston, Washington, 1779-1843  Search this

Andrews, Wayne  Search this

Aram, Siegfried F.  Search this

Bishop, Isabel, 1902-1988  Search this

Bostick, William A.  Search this

Bouché, Louis, 1896-1969  Search this

Boyd, Julian P. (Julian Parks), 1903-  Search this

Castano, Giovanni, 1896-1978  Search this

Cohn, Harold  Search this

Copeland, Lammot du Pont  Search this

Culver, Charles B. (Charles Beach), 1908-1967  Search this

Fleischman, Lawrence A. (Lawrence Arthur), 1925-1997  Search this

Flexner, James Thomas, 1908-2003  Search this

Frankenstein, Alfred V. (Alfred Victor), 1906-1981  Search this

Fredericks, Marshall M., 1908-1998  Search this

Freeman, Michael W.  Search this

Garrison, Eve Josephson, 1903-2003  Search this

Groce, George C., 1899-  Search this

Hardy, Jeremiah Pearson, 1800-1889  Search this

Heil, Walter, 1890-1973  Search this

Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967  Search this

Jungwirth, Irene G. (Irene Gayas), 1913-  Search this

Krentzin, Earl, 1929-  Search this

Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953  Search this

Lee-Smith, Hughie  Search this

Lewis, W. S. (Wilmarth Sheldon), 1895-1979  Search this

Lynes, Russell, 1910-1991  Search this

Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954  Search this

Mast, Gerald, 1908-1971  Search this

McDermott, John Francis, 1902-  Search this

Middeldorf, Ulrich Alexander, 1901-  Search this

Morse, John D., 1906-  Search this

Moser, Liselotte, 1906-1983  Search this

O'Keeffe, Georgia , 1887-1986  Search this

Oliver, Andrew, 1906-  Search this

Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827  Search this

Pleasants, J. Hall (Jacob Hall), 1873-1957  Search this

Ripley, Sidney Dillon, 1913-2001  Search this

Rockefeller, John D., 1906-  Search this

Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979  Search this

Rutledge, Anna Wells  Search this

Sellers, Charles Coleman, 1903-  Search this

Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965  Search this

Simper, Fred, 1914-  Search this

Simpson, Corelli C. W.  Search this

Soria, Regina, 1911-  Search this

Spark, Victor D. (Victor David), 1898-1991  Search this

Speck, Walter, 1895-  Search this

Stevens, William B.  Search this

Valentiner, Wilhelm Reinhold, 1880-1958  Search this

Vose, Robert C. (Robert Churchill), 1911-1998  Search this

Watkins, Franklin Chenault, 1894-1972  Search this

Wedda, John  Search this

Woolfenden, William E. (William Edward), 1918-1995  Search this

Wyeth, Andrew, 1917-2009  Search this

Extent:

28.7 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Manuscripts

Interviews

Diaries

Transcripts

Sketches

Lectures

Place:

Detroit (Mich.)

Date:

1814-1996

bulk 1921-1996

Summary:

The papers of art historian E. P. Richardson measure 28.7 linear feet and date from 1814-1996, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1921-1996. Within the papers are scattered biographical materials; acquisition files for Richardson's personal art collection; professional and personal correspondence with colleagues, art historians and critics, artists, museums, galleries, and dealers; numerous writings, including manuscripts and research files for his published books, articles, and lectures; general research notebooks and files compiled by Richardson on a wide variety of art-related topics and artists; professional and committee files; as well as a smaller amount of Constance C. Richardson's papers.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of art historian E. P. Richardson measure 28.7 linear feet and date from 1814-1996, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1921-1996. Within the papers are scattered biographical materials; acquisition files for Richardson's personal art collection; professional and personal correspondence with colleagues, art historians and critics, artists, museums, galleries, and dealers; numerous writings, including manuscripts and research files for his published books, articles, and lectures; general research notebooks and files compiled by Richardson on a wide variety of art-related topics and artists; professional and committee files; as well as a smaller amount of Constance C. Richardson's papers.

Biographical materials include certificates, awards, and honorary degrees, membership information, personal and family photographs, a few sketches, and a transcript of an oral history Interview with E.P. Richardson conducted by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1982.

There are acquisitions files for the Richardsons' personal art collection that invoices, photographs, correspondence with galleries and collectors, appraisals, price lists, and artwork examination forms.

Correspondence is with colleagues, art dealers, collectors, museums and museum curators, foreign scholars, organizations, galleries, artists, art historians and critics, publishers, editors, librarians, friends, and family. Topics regard purchasing art for various collections, consultations about art and collecting including authentications and attributions, publishing, general art history, lectures, and personal matters, among other topics. There is correspondence with the Archives of American Art, Castano Galleries, Lawrence Fleischman, James Thomas Flexner, Alfred V. Frankenstein, George Croce, Walter Heil, Earl Krentzin, Wilmarth Lewis, Russel Lynes, John Francis McDermott, Philadelphia Museum of Art, J. Hall Pleasants, Anna Rutledge, Charles Sellers, Smithsonian Institution, Regina Soria, Victor Spark, William Stevens, Robert Vose, William Woolfenden, and many others. Scattered correspondence with artists is with Isabel Bishop, Louis Bouche, William Bostick, Eve Garrison, Edward Hopper, Irene Jungwirth, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Hughie Lee-Smith, Reginald Marsh, Gerald Mast, Georgia O'Keefe, Charles Sheeler, Walt Speck, and John Wedda, among many others. The greatest extent of correspondence is with Andrew Wyeth, Harold Cohn, and Frederick Simper. There is also personal correspondence with family and friends, and between E.P. and Constance Richardson.

E.P. Richardson's prominence as an art historian, writer, and expert on collecting is well documented through his prolific writings. Materials include drafts, notes, typescripts, and outlines for articles, exhibition catalog essays, and lectures. Also found are research files and publishing documentation for Richardson's books, including Washington Allston: A Study of the Romantic Artist in America (1948), Painting in America (1956), Charles Willson Peale and his World (1983), and American Romantic Painting (1944). There are also miscellaneous notes and four diaries. Two of the diaries comment on the social and cultural life of Detroit; the authenticity of paintings; Richardson's reflections on contemporary American painting, thoughts about museums, dealers, artists, and art historians (especially Wilhelm R. Valentiner); and travel.

Notebooks compiled by Richardson on a wide variety art-related topics cover nearly six decades. There are also numerous research files organized Richardson about individual artists and art history. And, the art collector files contain reference materials about art collectors and their collections including Lamont du Pont Copeland, Michael W. Freeman, Nelson Rockefeller, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Allen, and the Marquis de Somerlous. There are three index card file boxes containing bibliographic data on published books and articles.

Professional and committee files document Richardson's professional and consulting work for the Art Quarterly, Detroit Institute of Arts, National Collection of Fine Arts, the National Portrait Gallery, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the John D. Rockefeller III collection, Winterthur Museum, the White House, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Constance C. Richardson's papers include business and professional correspondence with various institutions, most extensively with the Macbeth Gallery. In addition, there is a smaller amount of personal correspondence, photographs and slides of her artworks, printed materials, two illustrated notebooks on her work, and miscellaneous notes. Also included is Constance's artist palette.

Biographical / Historical:

Art historian, museum director, and writer E. P. (Edgar Preston) Richardson (1902-1985) served as director of the Detroit Institute of Arts (1945-1962) and Winterthur Museum (1963-1966). He was also a board member of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1966-1977 and, in 1954, co-founded the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

E. P. Richardson was born in 1902 in Glens Falls, New York and died in Philadelphia in 1985. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts in 1925 and studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for the three years following graduation. In 1930 he became educational secretary at the Detroit Institute of Arts, was quickly named assistant director in 1933, and served as director from 1945 to 1962. He left Detroit to take the position of director of the Winterthur Museum, where he remained until 1966. Richardson married Constance Coleman in 1931. Born in Berlin, Germany in 1905, Constance Coleman Richardson was an award-winning and widely exhibited realist style painter of American landscapes. She gave up painting in the 1960s and died in 2002.

While at the Detroit Institute of Arts, E. P. Richardson co-founded the Archives of American Art with Lawrence Fleischman, and served as the Archives' first director. Richardson was also art advisor to John D. Rockefeller III for over ten years, editor of Art Quarterly from 1938 to 1967, and a member of various boards, including the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Smithsonian Arts Commission, and the National Portrait Gallery. He authored numerous books including ones on artists Washington Allston and Charles Willson Peale, and The Way of Western Art: American Romantic Painting (1939), Painting in America: The Story of Four Hundred and Fifty Years (1956), A Short History of Painting in America (1963), and American Art, an Exhibition of the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3d (1976).

Related Materials:

Related collections among the holdings of the Archives of American Art include an interview with E.P. Richardson dated February 6, 1978 conducted by Linda Downs; and several miscellaneous manuscripts that include an E.P. Richardson Letter to Rockwell Kent, June 15 1959; E.P. Richardson letters to Lawrence Arthur Fleischman, May 13, 1962 and August 22 1954; and a Yasuo Kunioshi letter to E.P. Richardson, July 25 1948.

Additional E.P. Richardson papers are found at the Detroit Institute of Arts and in the archives of the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.

Separated Materials:

The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel D46) including E.P. Richardson's research material on Jeremiah P. Hardy. These materials are housed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Library and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

Edith Wilkinson first donated a letter to E. P. Richardson from herself in 1957. E.P. Richardson donated papers to the Archives of American Art in 1958 and 1960 and lent materials for microfilming in 1961. Addition material was donated by Constance Richardson in 1985, and by Martha Fleischman in 2003.

Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. 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:

Authors -- Michigan -- Detroit  Search this

Art historians -- United States  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Painting, American  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Romanticism  Search this

Art -- History -- Study and teaching  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Manuscripts

Interviews

Diaries

Transcripts

Sketches

Lectures

Citation:

Edgar P. Richardson papers, 1814-1996, bulk 1921-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

Identifier:

AAA.richedga

See more items in:

E.P. (Edgar Preston) and Constance Richardson papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-richedga

Collection Creator:

Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation  Search this

Collection Collector:

Johnson, Frederick, 1904-1994  Search this

Churchill, Frank C. (Frank Carroll), 1850-1912  Search this

Davis, Edward H., b. 1862  Search this

Churchill, Clara G.  Search this

Harrington, M. R. (Mark Raymond), 1882-1971  Search this

Harvey, Byron  Search this

Emmons, George Thornton  Search this

Gridley, Marion E. (Marion Eleanor), 1906-1974  Search this

Wildschut, William  Search this

Stiles, William F., 1912-1980  Search this

Verrill, A. Hyatt (Alpheus Hyatt), 1871-1954  Search this

Skinner, Alanson, 1886-1925  Search this

Waterman, T. T. (Thomas Talbot), 1885-1936  Search this

Harvey, Fred  Search this

Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956  Search this

Lothrop, S. K. (Samuel Kirkland), 1892-1965  Search this

Barrett, S. A. (Samuel Alfred), 1879-1965  Search this

Pepper, George H. (George Hubbard), 1873-1924  Search this

Speck, Frank G. (Frank Gouldsmith), 1881-1950  Search this

Hodge, Frederick Webb, 1864-1956  Search this

Collection Director:

Dockstader, Frederick J.  Search this

Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957  Search this

Collection Source:

Force, Roland W.  Search this

Burnett, Edwin K.  Search this

Container:

Box 404, Folder 7

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1938 - 1941

Collection Restrictions:

Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Collection Rights:

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.

Collection Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records / Series 12: Publications / 12.1: Annual Reports

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-001-ref15246

Collection Creator:

Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation  Search this

Collection Collector:

Johnson, Frederick, 1904-1994  Search this

Churchill, Frank C. (Frank Carroll), 1850-1912  Search this

Davis, Edward H., b. 1862  Search this

Churchill, Clara G.  Search this

Harrington, M. R. (Mark Raymond), 1882-1971  Search this

Harvey, Byron  Search this

Emmons, George Thornton  Search this

Gridley, Marion E. (Marion Eleanor), 1906-1974  Search this

Wildschut, William  Search this

Stiles, William F., 1912-1980  Search this

Verrill, A. Hyatt (Alpheus Hyatt), 1871-1954  Search this

Skinner, Alanson, 1886-1925  Search this

Waterman, T. T. (Thomas Talbot), 1885-1936  Search this

Harvey, Fred  Search this

Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956  Search this

Lothrop, S. K. (Samuel Kirkland), 1892-1965  Search this

Barrett, S. A. (Samuel Alfred), 1879-1965  Search this

Pepper, George H. (George Hubbard), 1873-1924  Search this

Speck, Frank G. (Frank Gouldsmith), 1881-1950  Search this

Hodge, Frederick Webb, 1864-1956  Search this

Collection Director:

Dockstader, Frederick J.  Search this

Heye, George G. (George Gustav), 1874-1957  Search this

Collection Source:

Force, Roland W.  Search this

Burnett, Edwin K.  Search this

Container:

Box 262A, Folder 3

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1928 - 1968

Restrictions:

Image number 011 "Holiday Handcraft" has been removed from the slideshow due to culutral sensitivity.

Collection Rights:

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish or broadcast materials from the collection must be requested from the National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiarchives@si.edu.

Collection Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation Records, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records

Museum of the American Indian/Heye Foundation records / Series 6: Collectors

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmai-ac-001-ref14859

Creator:

Catherine Viviano Gallery  Search this

Names:

American Academy of Arts and Letters  Search this

American Federation of Arts  Search this

Art Club of Chicago  Search this

Art Institute of Chicago  Search this

Barnes Foundation  Search this

Brooklyn Museum  Search this

Carnegie Institute  Search this

City Art Museum of St. Louis  Search this

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center  Search this

Dallas Museum of Fine Arts  Search this

Des Moines Art Center  Search this

Detroit Institute of Arts  Search this

Fogg Art Museum  Search this

Harvard University  Search this

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Los Angeles County Museum  Search this

Mary Washington College  Search this

Massachusetts Institute of Technology  Search this

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this

Philadelphia Art Alliance  Search this

Santa Barbara Museum of Art  Search this

University of Virginia  Search this

Wadsworth Atheneum  Search this

Walker Art Center  Search this

William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts  Search this

World House Galleries  Search this

Yale University. Art & Architecture Library  Search this

Afro, 1912-1976  Search this

Ashton, Dore  Search this

Baker, Richard Brown  Search this

Bareiss, Walter  Search this

Barker, Walter  Search this

Birolli, Renato, 1905?-1959  Search this

Bishop, Elizabeth, 1911-1979  Search this

Broderson, Robert M, 1920-  Search this

Callery, Mary, 1903-1977  Search this

Chaet, Bernard  Search this

Cox, Jan, 1919-1980  Search this

Dorazio, Piero, 1927-  Search this

Dorazio, Virginia Dortch  Search this

Dubuffet, Jean, 1901-  Search this

Dudensing, F. Valentine, 1892-1967  Search this

Eisendrath, William N., 1903-  Search this

Ernst, Dallas  Search this

Faison, S. Lane (Samson Lane), 1907-2006  Search this

Fleischman, Barbara  Search this

Fleischman, Lawrence A. (Lawrence Arthur), 1925-1997  Search this

Genauer, Emily, 1910-2002  Search this

Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966  Search this

Glasco, Joseph, 1925-  Search this

Goodhue, Bertram Grosvenor, 1869-1924  Search this

Graves, Morris, 1910-  Search this

Guerrero, José, 1914-  Search this

Göpel, Barbara  Search this

Göpel, Erhard  Search this

Hirschhorn, Joseph  Search this

Lerner, Abe, 1908-  Search this

Ludgin, Earle, 1898-1981  Search this

Mabe, Manabu  Search this

Manrique, César, 1920-  Search this

McCray, Porter A., 1908-2000  Search this

Meltzer, Doris, 1908-1977  Search this

Menil, Dominique de  Search this

Miller, Stephen Robeson  Search this

Minguzzi, Luciano, 1911-  Search this

Miró, Joan, 1893-  Search this

Morlotti, Ennio, 1910-1992  Search this

Moyens, H. Marc  Search this

Myers, John Bernard  Search this

Ossorio, Alfonso, 1916-1990  Search this

Perlin, Bernard, 1918-  Search this

Price, Vincent, 1911-1993  Search this

Pulitzer, Joseph, 1913-1993  Search this

Rathbone, Perry Townsend, 1911-2000  Search this

Ribicoff, Belle Krasne, 1924-  Search this

Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979  Search this

Rosenthal, Bernard M.  Search this

Sage, Kay  Search this

Seeger, Stanley J.  Search this

Shapiro, Meyer  Search this

Stout, George L. (George Leslie)  Search this

Tanning, Dorothea, 1910-2012  Search this

Valentin, Curt, 1902-1954  Search this

Van Veen, Stuyvesant  Search this

Viviano, Catherine, 1899-1992  Search this

Wakabayashi, Kazuo  Search this

Yunkers, Adja, 1900-1983  Search this

Extent:

11.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Notes

Photographs

Date:

1930-1990

bulk 1949-1978

Summary:

The records of the Catherine Viviano Gallery measure 11.6 linear feet and date from 1930-1990, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1949-1978. Established in New York City in 1949, the gallery specialized in contemporary painting and sculpture primarily by American and European artists. The collection consists of artists' files; correspondence with artists, collectors, dealers, museum directors, curators, and publishers; business records; printed material; and photographs of artwork and artists. Also included are records relating to Catherine Viviano's activities as a private dealer and consultant after she closed the gallery in 1970.

Scope and Contents note:

The records of the Catherine Viviano Gallery measure 11.6 linear feet and date from 1930-1990, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1949-1978. Established in New York City in 1949, the gallery specialized in contemporary painting and sculpture primarily by American and European artists. The collection consists of artists' files; correspondence with artists, collectors, dealers, museum directors, curators, and publishers; business records; printed material; and photographs of artwork and artists. Also included are records relating to Catherine Viviano's activities as a private dealer and consultant after she closed the gallery in 1970.

Artists' files include biographical material; artists' statements; correspondence; sales and expense reports; lists and notes; guest lists; writings by others; receipts, invoices, and statements; printed material, including press releases, exhibition announcements, brochures, catalogues, clippings; and photographs of artwork and artists. Included are extensive files on Afro Basaldella, Renato Birolli, Robert Broderson, Anselmo Franesconi, Joseph Glasco, Manabu Mabe, César Manrique, Luciano Minguzzi, Ennio Morlotti, Bernard Perlin, Daniel Rice, and Bernard Rosenthal. There are also files on Jan Cox, Kay Sage, and Kazuo Wakabayashi.

Correspondence comprises the largest series in the collection and consists of general correspondence; correspondence with museums, galleries, and art-related institutions in the United States; and correspondence with museums, galleries, and art-related institutions abroad. Letters focus on routine business matters, e.g., appraisals and sales, acquisitions, and organizing exhibitions at the Catherine Viviano Gallery and other venues.

General correspondence includes letters between Catherine Viviano and artists and their family members. Among the correspondents are: Mary Callery, Bernard Chaet, Piero and Virginia Dorazio, Jean Dubuffet, Dallas Ernst, Karl Fortress, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Sage Goodwin, Morris Graves, José Guerrero, Earle Ludgin, Joan Miro, Alfonso Ossorio, Dorothea Tanning, Stuyvesant Van Veen, Adja Yunkers and his wife, Dore Ashton, among others. Also found is Viviano's correspondence with clients, many of whom were prominent collectors, e.g., Richard Brown Baker, Carl and Joan Fisher, Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman, Joseph Hirschhorn, Marc Moyens, Vincent Price, Joseph Pulitzer, Jr., Nelson Rockefeller, Stanley Seeger, and Frederick and Dorothy Zimmerman. Of interest, are letters from Elizabeth Bishop inquiring about the purchase of a work of art from the gallery. Included are letters from art historians, museum directors, curators, representatives at other art-related institutions, and publishers including Walter Bareiss, Walter Barker, Dominque De Menil, Valentine Dudensing, William Eisendrath, S. Lane Faison, Emily Genauer, Bertram Goodhue, Erhard and Barbara Göpel, James Laughlin, Porter McCray, Abram Lerner, Doris Meltzer, Stephen Robson Miller, John Bernard Myers, Perry Rathbone, Belle Krasne Ribicoff, Meyer Shapiro, George Stout, and Curt Valentin.

Correspondence with museums, galleries, and art-related institutions in the United States contains letters between Viviano and museum directors, curators, dealers, artists, and collectors pertaining to loans, shipping and delivery of artwork, appraisals and sales, and acquisitions. Files include substantive correspondence with the American Academy of Arts and Letters, American Federation of the Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, Arts Club of Chicago, the Barnes Foundation, Bristol Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Bundy Art Gallery, Carnegie Institute, City Art Museum of St. Louis, Cleveland Museum of Art, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Denver Art Museum, Des Moines Art Center, Detroit Institute of Arts, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles County Art Museum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, Museum of Modern Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, University of Nebraska Art Galleries, University of Virginia, Mary Washington College, Wadsworth Atheneum, Walker Art Center, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, Atkins Museum of the Fine Arts, World House Gallery, and Yale University Art Library.

Correspondence with museums, galleries, and art-related institutions abroad primarily concerns the lending of artwork for exhibitions, acquisition and sales; also included are letters requesting biographical information on artists. Letters between Catherine Viviano and representatives of Max Beckmann Gesellschaft Archiv and Galerie Gunther Franke contain provenance-related information on Beckmann's work.

Business records document the routine business operations of the gallery. Printed material includes an incomplete run of Catherine Viviano Gallery exhibition catalogues; invitations and announcements from other galleries and institutions; and miscellaneous printed material.

Photographs include three images of miscellaneous artwork used for art reference.

Arrangement note:

Records are generally arranged by material type and in chronological order thereafter. Artists' files and correspondence files are arranged in alphabetical order and materials within the folders are arranged chronologically

The collection is arranged as 5 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Artists' Files, 1945-1986 (Boxes 1-3; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1939-1985 (Boxes 3-6; 5.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Business Records, 1949-1972 (Boxes 10-11; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1930-1990 (Boxes 11-13; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographs (1948-1954), undated (Box 14; 1 folder)

Biographical/Historical note:

Catherine Viviano (1889-1992) opened her gallery in 1949 on 42 East 57th Street in New York City. Specializing in contemporary American paintings and sculpture, the gallery featured younger American and European artists, e.g., Robert Broderson, Carlyle Brown, Jan Cox, Joseph Glasco, Peter Lanyon, Manabu Mabe, César Manrique, Bernard Perlin, Joseph Rollo, Bernard Rosenthal, and Kay Sage, among others. The gallery was also notable for introducing the work of Italian artists, who had been cut off from the American art scene during World War II, including Afro Basaldella and his brother Mirko Basaldella, Renato Birolli, Leonardo Cremonini, and Luciano Minguzzi.

Born in Italy in 1899 and raised in Chicago, Catherine Viviano came to New York in the early 1930's to work at the Pierre Matisse Gallery, where she remained for sixteen years before founding the Catherine Viviano Gallery.

In 1970, Catherine Viviano closed the gallery, though she continued to work from her home as an art dealer and consultant. She died of a stroke at the age of ninety-two in 1992.

Related Archival Materials note:

Among the other resources relating to Catherine Viviano Gallery in the Archives of American Art are the Kay Sage papers, 1925-circa 1985, bulk 1950-1965.

Provenance:

The Catherine Viviano Gallery records were donated in 2003 on behalf of Margaret Viviano, Catherine Viviano's sister, by her grandnephew, Peter C. Salerno, who had Power of Attorney for Margaret Viviano.

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.

Topic:

Sculpture  Search this

Painting  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)

Genre/Form:

Notes

Photographs

Citation:

Catherine Viviano Gallery records, 1930-1990, bulk 1949-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.cathvivi

See more items in:

Catherine Viviano Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-cathvivi

Creator:

Claghorn, James Lawrence, 1817-1884  Search this

Names:

Goupil & Cie  Search this

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this

Church, Frederic Edwin, 1826-1900  Search this

Durand, Asher Brown, 1796-1886  Search this

Kensett, John Frederick, 1816-1872  Search this

Powers, Hiram, 1805-1873  Search this

Read, Thomas Buchanan, 1822-1872  Search this

Rothermel, Peter Frederick, 1812-1895  Search this

Whittredge, Worthington, 1820-1910  Search this

Extent:

0.8 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Date:

1849-1882

Scope and Contents:

Letters (1849-1856), business records (1849-1856), a visitors' register (1873-1885), and a scrapbook (ca. 1866-1885) concern the acquisition of paintings and prints for Claghorn's collection.

REEL 3580: 37 letters (1849-1882) to Claghorn regard his art collection and dealing activities and include letters from Goupil & Cie., J. Crumby, who served as a purchasing agent, Frederic Edwin Church, John Frederick Kensett, Hiram Powers, Thomas Buchanan Read, Peter F. Rothermel, and Thomas Worthington Whittredge.

REEL 4131: Visitors Register, March 18, 1873-Jan. 1885, containing names and addresses of those who viewed the Claghorn Collection; many artists, local art students and instructors, and foreign visitors are listed. Scrapbook, most likely compiled by Claghorn with posthumous entries added by family, contains mainly newspaper clippings concerning Claghorn, his collections, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, art activities in Philadelphia, and artists (particularly printmakers); also includes photograph of Seymour Haden, catalogs of the Claghorn Collection, admission tickets, reprints of lengthy articles about Claghorn and his collections, and a few letters to J. Raymond Claghorn [son of James L.] regarding the disposition of the collection and its sale to Thomas Harrison Garrett.

REEL 4152: 88 letters (1848-1864) from various agents in New York and Europe regard purchases of paintings, prints and sculpture by artists, including Asher B. Durand and Worthington Whittredge. Four letters regard paintings to be exhibited at the Great Sanitary Fair. Nine letters (1855-1864) from Thomas Buchanan Read regard his activities in England. Read's letters from Cincinnati discuss his poetry and commissions for his paintings.

Biographical / Historical:

Collector and art patron; Philadelphia, Pa. Claghorn was an officer of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Philadelphia School of Design for Women. Best known for his print collection, he began by collecting paintings by American artists, ca. 1840. In 1877, he sold his painting collection in order to devote his efforts to his print collection. His private gallery in Philadelphia was open to visitors, and selections from the Claghorn Collection were exhibited in other cities. After his death, his print collection was purchased by Thomas Harrison Garrett, and thereafter was known as the Garrett Collection. After being on long-term loan to the Library of Congress between 1904 and 1930, the collection is now owned by the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Related Materials:

Also in the Archives on microfilm only are papers lent for microfilming by the Philadelphia Maritime Museum (reel 3581), including: letters and receipts addressed to Claghorn document the purchase and sale of American and European paintings and prints (1849-1856). There are also inventories of shipments. Letters frequently include titles and prices.

Provenance:

Materials on reel 3581 were borrowed for filming from Philadelphia Maritime Museum. Materials on reel 3580 were borrowed for filming from John W. Claghorn on July 16, 1985, and were later donated to the Archives of American Art by his descendant Frederic S. Claghorn along with additional letters appearing on reel 4152. Material on reel 4131 was donated by Mabel Claghorn Bulkeley, granddaughter of James L. Claghorn.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Occupation:

Painters  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Art museum attendance  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Identifier:

AAA.clagjame

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-clagjame

Creator:

Catlin, George, 1796-1872  Search this

Names:

Clay, Henry, 1777-1852  Search this

Seward, William Henry, 1801-1872  Search this

Sully, Thomas, 1783-1872  Search this

Extent:

2.3 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photogravures

Date:

undated

1821-1904

Summary:

The collection comprises 2.3 feet of papers concerning George Catlin's creation and promotion of his famed "Indian Gallery" of paintings, drawings, and artifacts of North American Indians. Dating from 1821 through 1904, with one item dated 1946, the papers include letters, notebooks and journals, receipt books and loose receipts, printed materials, and other documentation. The bulk of the collection focuses on Catlin's efforts to promote the sale of his gallery to the United States government through tours, including London and Paris, and petitions to various governments to purchase the Gallery. Among the rare printed catalogs and petitions in the collection are exhibition catalogs for the U.S., London, and Paris tours, the earliest dating from 1837. Letters and other documents include letters dating from the 1830s from Henry Clay, Thomas Sully, and William Henry Seward commending Catlin's work, as well as Catlin family correspondence and papers dating from 1821 through the 1870s.

Scope and Contents note:

The collection comprises 2.3 feet of papers concerning George Catlin's creation and promotion of his famed "Indian Gallery" of paintings, drawings, and artifacts of North American Indians. Dating from 1821 through 1904, with one item dated 1946, the papers include letters, notebooks and journals, receipt books and loose receipts, printed materials, and other documentation. The bulk of the collection focuses on Catlin's efforts to promote the sale of his gallery to the United States government through tours, including London and Paris, and petitions to various governments to purchase the Gallery. Among the rare printed catalogs and petitions in the collection are exhibition catalogs for the U.S., London, and Paris tours, the earliest dating from 1837. Letters and other documents include letters dating from the 1830s from Henry Clay, Thomas Sully, and William Henry Seward commending Catlin's work, as well as Catlin family correspondence and papers dating from 1821 through the 1870s.

Of particular interest in the collection are letters to and from Catlin, including two written by Catlin during his early travels to the west in the 1830s. Other letters include ones from Henry Clay, John Adams Dix, Ralph Randolph Gurley, James Hall, William Henry Seward, Thomas Sully (illustrated), and Baron Friederich von Humbolt, among others. Most wish Catlin well and offer support in his endeavors to sell his collection.

Also found within the collection are several notebooks and notes describing Native American ceremonies, name translations, customs, and other information pertinent to Catlin's catalog, two volume book, and exhibitions of the "Indian Gallery." There are also numerous loose receipts and account and receipt books documenting the 1840s London and Paris venues of the "Indian Gallery" exhibition. The collection also houses printed catalogs for the exhibitions, including a rare 1837 catalog for the first show in New York.

Additional materials include certificates of authenticity testifying to the authenticity of Catlin's paintings from life of Native American sitters, announcements relating to exhibition openings, printed memorials and petitions to Congress, printed letters of support, envelopes and name cards, and handwritten tickets to Catlin lectures. Also found are a handwritten journal of Theodore B. Catlin, photogravures of Catlin, obituaries for Catlin, and printed reviews of the exhibitions.

Arrangement note:

The George Catlin papers are arranged into five series based primarily on document type. Within each series, materials are arranged in chronological order.

Missing Title

Series 1: Correspondence, 1821-1885 (Boxes 1, 6; Reel 5824; 12 folders)

Series 2: Writings, 1825-circa 1872 (Boxes 1, 6; Reel 5824; 9 folders)

Series 3: Financial Records, 1826-1848 (Boxes 2, 6; Reels 5824-5825; 13 folders, 3 bound volumes)

Series 4: Catalogs, 1837-1871 (Boxes 3-5; Reel 5825; 1 linear foot)

Series 5: Ephemera and Miscellaneous Printed Material, 1832-1904, 1946 (Boxes 5-6, OV 7; Reel 5825; 14 folders)

Biographical/Historical note:

George Catlin was born in 1796 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Although trained as a lawyer, Catlin quit his law practice and moved to Philadelphia in 1823 to begin a career as a portrait painter. He gained membership in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1824, but his career in formal portraiture met with little success. In 1830, Catlin embarked upon his lifetime achievement of documenting the lives, customs, and culture of the declining native American population of the Plains. He spent the next six years traveling, drawing, painting, and writing about the Plains Indians. By 1837, he had amassed enough documentation to hold a major exhibition in New York of Catlin's Indian Gallery of Portraits, Landscapes, Manners and Customs, Costumes, etc. The same exhibition, with an added live show, traveled to London in 1842 and Paris in 1845, where it was met with rave reviews.

Catlin spent the remainder of his life gathering support for the sale of the Indian Gallery to the U.S. Congress. Between 1841 and 1842, at his own expense, Catlin wrote and published his two volume set Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians. He also wrote numerous petitions and "memorials" to Congress, often including statements from national and international reputable supporters, such as Daniel Webster, General Lewis Cass, the Joint Committee on the Library (of Congress), and the American Ambassador to France. The Smithsonian Institution's first Secretary Joseph Henry strongly supported congressional acquisition of Catlin's work and even provided Catlin with a small studio in the Castle building. All of the appeals to the government for the purchase of the collection were, in the end, unsuccessful and Catlin died almost penniless in 1872.

Related Archival Materials note:

The Archives holds several related collections of differing provenances related to George Catlin, including a small collection of manuscripts and drawings microfilmed on reel 1191 related to Catlin's work in marine art and documentation. A microfilmed loan of circa 500 items is also available on reel 3277 of letters between Catlin and Sir Thomas Phillipps, 1840-1860, writings by Catlin and material on Catlin's Indian Gallery, including clippings, catalogs, handbills, invitations, drawings and portrait sketches of native Americans, and printed material; a watercolor sketchbook; a list of paintings; and miscellany. Also found within the Archives is one undated letter microfilmed on reel D8 from Catlin, and a collection of art historian William Truettner's research papers on George Catlin.

Provenance:

The papers of George Catlin were transferred to the Archives of American Art by the Library of the Smithsonian's National Collection of Fine Arts, now the Smithsonian's American Art Museum. Accession records indicate that the papers were once maintained by the Smithsonian's Bureau of Ethnology and were probably part of the orginal 1879 acquisition of Catlin's Indian Gallery by the Smithsonian. Businessman Joseph Harrison rescued the "Indian Gallery" from Catlin's creditors in the 1850s and stored the collection in a Philadelphia warehouse, where it suffered damage from at least two fires before Harrison's widow donated the collection to the Smithsonian.

Restrictions:

A digitized version of the microfilm of this collection is available online via the Archives of American Art website.

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:

Portrait painters  Search this

Painters  Search this

Ethnological painters  Search this

Topic:

Miniature painters  Search this

Indians of North America -- Portraits  Search this

Illustrators  Search this

Ethnological illustrators  Search this

Art and race  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photogravures

Citation:

George Catlin papers, 1821-1946. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.catlgeor

See more items in:

George Catlin papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-catlgeor

Former owner:

Deering, James, 1859-1925)  Search this

Architect:

Hoffman, Francis Burrell, 1882-1980)  Search this

Landscape architect:

Suarez, Diego, 1888-1974  Search this

Sculptor:

Calder, Alexander Stirling, 1870-1945  Search this

Collection Collector:

Marchand, Richard  Search this

Extent:

5 Slides (photographs)

Type:

Archival materials

Slides (photographs)

Postcards

Place:

Vizcaya estate (Florida)

United States of America -- Florida -- Miami-Dade County -- Miami

General:

The Vizcaya gardens span over ten acres surrounding the former winter home of the wealthy industrialist and patron of the arts, James Deering (1859-1925). The Vizcaya estate, located in the Coconut Grove area of Miami, was conceived of by Deering and artist and designer Paul Chalfin (1874-1959). Together they traveled extensively through Europe, particularly Italy, to inspire the design for Deering's South Florida retreat. Vizcaya which means "an elevated place" in Basque, was built in the years 1914 to 1916, and transformed a jungle tract of land into one of the most celebrated houses on the Eastern Seaboard. Diego Suarez (1888-1974), a Columbia-born landscape architect trained in Florence, Italy, was commissioned to create a modern, subtropical interpretation of classical, European Renaissance and Baroque landscape design suited to Miami's climate and terrain. Suarez' extensive knowledge of Italian gardens was combined with a consciousness of architectural design to create a setting for the house.

The garden scheme was divided into various terraces and areas, including a completely walled secret garden, a maze garden, theater garden, pergola garden, and the fountain garden, which features a fountain from the town square of Sutri, Italy. Plants were chosen for their ability to withstand south Florida's climate and pests and combined with native soil and plant materials in designs inspired by gardens seen by Deering and Chalfin on their tours of Italy and France. Varieties of bougainvillea, roses, water lilies, and jasmine were among the flowers found throughout the gardens, along with potted pines and podocarpus, some carefully trimmed in the art of topiary. The gardens were trimmed with hedges and trees and feature decorative walls, balustrades, urns, and sculpture. The areas were supplied with water through designed elements meant to compliment the garden such as pools, cascades, a frescoed grotto pool, fountains, and a system of canals, which invokes scenes on the waterways of Venice.

Unique among country estates, the gardens of Vizcaya integrated statues, busts, vases and urns that ranged from antiquity to the Renaissance and Baroque periods, as well as modern art from Deering's time into the lush vegetation. As the artistic advisor of the property, Paul Chalfin, acquired artifacts as decoration rather than to create a collection. Garden artworks ranged from antique elements to new sculptural decorations by contemporary artists. The gardens also featured several structures including a Baroque casino (garden house), decorative bridges, a large boathouse with a rooftop garden, and a domed garden house called the Casba. The most celebrated outdoor feature was the Barge by artist Alexander Stirling Calder (1870–1945), located in the water in front of the house. In addition to the house and gardens, the grounds also housed a swimming pool and tennis courts. Over two-thirds of the estate, originally 180 acres of subtropical forest along the shores of Biscayne Bay, remains in its natural state. The untouched hammock, shoreline, and pineland serves as a background for the more formal main gardens and along the drive up to the house. The Vizcaya property was surrounded by a wall with decorative paintings on stone and wrought-iron grills.

The house was designed to take advantage of its location on west shore of Biscayne Bay and each side of the house had a unique relationship with the surrounding grounds with loggias, terraces, arcades, and a partially enclosed swimming pool and, from some rooms, views of the gardens and bay. Architect F. Burrell Hoffman Jr. (1884-1980) was commissioned to design the house in the manner of an Italian Renaissance-style villa. Hoffman adapted traditional Mediterranean architectural elements to the subtropical climate in the palatial 70-room mansion. The beautifully planned interior was designed around an airy garden courtyard with a peripheral gallery, originally open to the sky, that was the heart and primary living space of the home. The house embraced modern conveniences and employed the latest technology of the period with an automated telephone switch board, a central vacuum-cleaning system, central heating, several elevators, generators and a water filtration system. The house also included a billiard room, bowling alley, and smoking room. The interiors were designed by the artistic advisor Paul Chalfin around objects acquired on Deering's travels in period rooms ranging in style from the Renaissance through the Neoclassical. The villa housed entire ceilings, mural paintings, chimney pieces, carved paneling, and doorways removed from foreign palaces along with rare rugs, tapestries, and antique furnishings. A working farm called the "Village" with eleven outbuildings was also located on the estate. These buildings were designed to look like an Italian village by Hoffman to compliment the architecture of the house. The Village included barns, stables, chicken houses, mechanical shops, housing for the staff, and the gate lodge making it nearly self-sufficient. A pumphouse provided water for the flower and vegetable gardens, groves for citrus, pineapple, and other fruits, greenhouses, and a large shade house for delicate plants grown at the Village to supply the mansion.

The estate, mansion, and its interiors were celebrated in magazines of the time. Deering occupied the house for four months each winter season beginning at Christmas in 1916.The whole complex was created for entertaining and recreation and Deering frequently invited family, visitors, and houseguests to the enjoy his estate. After Deering's death in 1925, the estate passed to his brother's children. Some of the acreage was sold off, and in 1952 Dade County purchased the remaining land and house. With donations of art and furniture from the family, the Vizcaya estate, became a decorative arts museum operated by Dade County Park and Recreation Department. The property, including the house, gardens, hammock forest, and Vizcaya Village, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994.

Other notable artists who contributed to the house and grounds were: Alexander Stirling Calder (1870-1945), Gaston Lachaise (1882-1935), Robert Chanler (1872-1930), Charles Gary Rumsey (1879-1922), Ettore Pellagatta (1881-1966), Paul Thevenez (1891-1921), and Samuel Yellin (1885-1940).

Persons associated include: James Deering (former owner), F. Burrall Hoffman, Jr. (architect), Paul Chalfin (architect of interiors), Diego Suarez (landscape architect), and Alexander Stirling Calder (sculptor), and Metro Dade County Park & Recreation Department (owner).

National Register of Historic Places, Vizcaya, Miami, Dade County, Florida, National Register #70000181.

Postcards circa 1915-1930.

Varying Form:

Also known as Villa Vizcaya, Vizcaya Palace, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, and the James Deering Estate.

Collection Restrictions:

Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Collection Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.

Topic:

Gardens -- Florida -- Miami  Search this

Seaside gardening  Search this

Formal gardens  Search this

Mansions  Search this

Genre/Form:

Postcards

Collection Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Richard Marchand historical postcard collection.

Sponsor:

A project to describe images in this finding aid in this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.

Identifier:

AAG.MAR, File FL083

See more items in:

Richard Marchand historical postcard collection (35mm slides)

Richard Marchand historical postcard collection (35mm slides) / Florida

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aag-mar-ref1329

Creator:

Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974  Search this

Names:

Beal, Gifford, 1879-1956  Search this

Biddle, George, 1885-1973  Search this

Bishop, Isabel, 1902-1988  Search this

Bruce, Edward, 1879-1943  Search this

Faulkner, Barry, 1881-1966  Search this

Glackens, William J., 1870-1938  Search this

Henri, Robert, 1865-1929  Search this

Langsam, Julie  Search this

Manship, Paul, 1885-1966  Search this

Nichols, Hobart, 1869-1962  Search this

Speicher, Eugene Edward, 1883-1962  Search this

Sterne, Maurice, 1878-1957  Search this

Williams, Esther, 1907-1969  Search this

Extent:

8.7 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sketchbooks

Interviews

Drawings

Date:

circa 1900-1988

Summary:

The papers of realist painter, muralist, and educator Leon Kroll date from circa 1900 to 1988 and measure 8.7 linear feet. The collection documents Kroll's painting career, teaching, and active participation in numerous art organizations. Over one-half of the collection is correspondence with artists, schools, galleries, museums, patrons, arts organizations, and others. Also found are scattered biographical material, writings and notes, legal and financial records, exhibition catalogs, clippings, other printed material, photographs of Kroll and colleagues, loose drawings and nine sketchbooks.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of realist painter, muralist, and art instructor Leon Kroll date from circa 1900 to 1988 and measure 8.7 linear feet. The collection documents Kroll's painting career, teaching, and active participation in numerous art organizations. Over one-half of the collection is correspondence with artists, schools, galleries, museums, patrons, arts organizations, family members, and others. Also found are scattered biographical material, writings and notes, legal and financial records, exhibition catalogs, clippings, other printed material, photographs of Kroll and colleagues, loose drawings, and nine sketchbooks.

Biographical material contains chronologies, biographical essays, awards, price lists, interview transcripts, and a file about the Committee on Government and Art. More than one-half of the collection consists of Kroll's personal and professional correspondence with artists such as Gifford Beal, George Biddle, Isabel Bishop, Barry Faulkner, William Glackens, Robert Henri, Paul Manship, Hobart Nichols, Eugene Speicher, Maurice Stern, Esther Williams, and many others. Additional correspondence is with art critics, curators, dealers, students, patrons, schools, museums, and numerous arts organizations. There is also extensive correspondence with arts administrators regarding government art projects, especially his friend and fellow artist Edward Bruce, Director of the U. S. Treasury Department's Section for Fine Arts.

Writings and notes by Leon Kroll including autobiographical essays, drafts of lectures and speeches, lists, and other scattered notes. Also found is a small amount of writings by others, including an essay by Julia Langsam describing her experience as an artist's model for Kroll. Legal and financial records include contracts, loan agreements, art sales receipts, and several ledgers recording consignments and monthly receipts and expenditures. One ledger specifically documents financial transactions for Kroll's mural commissions for the Justice Department and the Worcester War Memorial.

Printed material contains numerous news clippings about Kroll and his work and includes several articles written by Kroll. Also found are exhibition announcements and catalogs for Kroll's solo exhibitions, material about the Worcester War memorial, and miscellaneous printed items.

Photographs include one of Kroll with his family, Kroll in his studio and working on murals, and several of him with other artists as jurors for art exhibitions. Artists pictured include Isabel Bishop, Reginal Marsh, John Sloan, Raphael Soyer, Eugene Speicher, and others. Also found are photographs of Edward Bruce, as well as photographs of exhibitions, artwork by Leon Kroll, and artwork by others. All of the original artwork in this collection is by Leon Kroll and includes loose drawings and ten sketchbooks containing drawings of landscapes, figures, portraits, and animals.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 7 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1906-1977 (Boxes 1, 7; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1905-1988 (Boxes 1-4, 7; 3.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1920s-1972 (Box 4-5, 7; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 4: Legal and Financial Records, circa 1914-1985 (Boxes 5, 7; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1920s-1987 (Boxes 5-6, 8-9; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1900-1979 (Boxes 6, 8-10; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1910-1950s (Boxes 6, 8; 0.4 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Leon Kroll (1884-1974) was a leading realist painter during the 1920s and 1930s.

Born in New York City, Kroll attended classes at the Art Students League as a teenager, and studied painting with John Henry Twachtman. In the early 1900s he began taking classes at the National Academy of Design, where he won student prizes, and had his first major exhibition in 1906. In 1908 he won a scholarship to study art in Paris and attended the Académie Julian, studying at the atelier of Jean-Paul Laurens. Through he practiced realism, Kroll was also influenced by French impressionist painters, specifically Paul Cézanne. While in Paris he also met Genevieve (Viette) Domec. They married later in 1923 and had one daughter, Marie-Claude.

Upon his return to New York in 1910, Kroll had a one man show of his Paris work at the National Academy where he received critical acclaim. The next year he began teaching at the National Academy of Design. During his career, he also taught at the Maryland Institute, Art Institute of Chicago, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and was a guest instructor and lecturer at several other schools.

Kroll was part of a circle of New York artists that included several members of "The Eight", and he was especially close with Robert Henri, William Glackens, George Bellows, and Eugene Speicher. During his time in Europe he also became friends with Marc Chagall and Robert and Sonia Delaunay. He exhibited at the Armory Show in 1913 and during the next few decades won numerous major national and international prizes in painting, including first prize at the 1936 Carnegie International Exhibition. He had his first retrospective exhibition at the Worcester Art Museum in 1937. Kroll was especially known for his paintings of female nudes, but also painted New York City street scenes, New England landscapes, and portraits. Beginning in the late 1930s he was commissioned to paint murals at public buildings including, among others, the U. S. Department of Justice Building, the war memorial in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the auditorium at Johns Hopkins University.

Throughout his career Kroll was a very active member of professional arts organizations. He was an Associate and later a Academician at the National Academy of Design, and his memberships included the New Society of Artists; American Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Gravers; Artists Equity Association; Four Arts Aid Association; and the National Institute of Arts and Letters among others. He also served as a board officer for many of these organizations. Kroll was active in the federal arts programs from the 1930s to the 1950s and close friends with Edward Bruce, director of the U.S. Treasury Department's Section for Fine Arts.

Kroll maintained a studio in New York City and spent summers at his home and studio at Folly Cove, Gloucester, Massachusetts. Leon Kroll died in 1974 at the age of 89.

Provenance:

Leon Kroll donated a portion of his papers in 1968. His widow, Genevieve Kroll, donated the rest of the papers in 1976. Two additions were donated in 2019, via Cory Churches and the Estate of Grace Pugh, both descendants of Kroll.

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:

Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketchbooks

Interviews

Drawings

Citation:

Leon Kroll papers, circa 1900-1988. 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.

Identifier:

AAA.krolleon

See more items in:

Leon Kroll papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-krolleon