This series houses scattered documentation of activities in which Katherine Schmidt and her colleagues were involved for advocating government support of the arts. Included are several speeches by Schmidt concerning recent trends in the arts, a presentation by Elizabeth McCausland on art patronage, and proposals, reports, and essays written by others analyzing government support of the arts. Also found are meeting minutes taken by Schmidt as secretary of the Committee for New York State Art Legislation, and minutes she collected from other art committee meetings. This series also contains other notes by Schmidt, including a list of exhibits from 1923 to 1933.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Katherine Schmidt papers, circa 1922-1971. 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.
An interview with David M. Solinger conducted 1977 May 6, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
David M. Solinger (1906-1996) was an art collector and patron from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 58 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art patronage -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art patrons -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929-1994 Search this
Extent:
2.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1937-1983
Scope and Contents:
Scrapbooks, correspondence, exhibition files, photographs, and printed materials.
REEL D181: Scrapbooks containing correspondence, clippings, reviews, and photographs relating to the Dayton Art Institute and to the Religious Art Exhibition held there in 1944.
REEL 63: Correspondence concerning a Spaeth Foundation commission to Jacques Lipchitz for a bronze bust of John F. Kennedy. Correspondents include Lipchitz, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
REEL 1201: Correspondence concerning the Spaeth Foundation Religious Art Information Center; a Foundation prospectus; letters from Thomas Merton concerning his book on sacred art; correspondence dealing with the Annual Liturgical Congress Architectural Competition, an exhibition of architectural students' work, the Woodstock Center for Religion and Worship, and other aspects of art and religion.
REEL 1817 and scanned: Photograph of Alexander Brook taken by Peter A. Juley and Son.
UNMICROFILMED: Letters from Alexander Brook, Alexander Calder, William Congdon, Andre Girard, Edward Hopper, Walt Kuhn, Grant Wood, and others; correspondence concerning the American Federation of Arts, the Archives of American Art, Guild Hall, the Spaeth Foundation, UNESCO, and other art organizations; exhibition files of the AFA containing correspondence, printed material, and photographs; files on the "Films on Art" project developed by Otto Spaeth; correspondence and a scrapbook of Otto Spaeth concerning the Liturgical Arts Society; a scrapbook on the Spaeth's art collection; printed material and photographs used in AMERICAN ART MUSEUMS; photographs of paintings by John Singleton Copley, and other works of art and exhibition installations; Correspondence with Daniel Longwell, Harris K. Prior, and Thomas Brown Rudd regarding activities of the American Federation of Arts; Correspondence and clippings, 1963-1966, regarding the Lipchitz bust of JFK; letters, 1981-1983, from critic John Russell, and art collectors, Gertrude Schweitzer, Robert Osborn and Jean de Menil; and an exhibition catalog on Rico Lebrun, 1950; a letter to Otto Spaeth from Gala Dali regarding a loan of the painting "La Naissance du Noveau Monde," 1943; writings about Walt Kuhn, and an illustrated letter to Spaeth from Walt Kuhn.
Biographical / Historical:
Eloise O. Spaeth (1902-1998) was an art collector, writer and art patron from New York, N.Y. She and husband Otto Spaeth founded the Spaeth Foundation.
Provenance:
Material on reels 63 and 1201 lent for microfilming 1971 and 1977 by Eloise Spaeth. Unmicrofilmed material donated 1966-1988 by Spaeth. Material on reel D181 lent for filming 1965 and subsequently donated in 1977.
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.
Correspondence, photographs, business and financial records, printed matter, scrapbooks, and exhibition catalogs document Mrs. Liebman's acquisition of modern American art, European painting and decorative arts, her interest in and support of photography, her encouragement of individual artists, the inception and early history of the Museum of Modern Art, and her own painting career.
REEL 4203: Correspondence with Ansel Adams, Oscar Bluemner, Gutson Borglum, Gaston Lachaise, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, John Marin, the Museum of Modern Art, Alfred Stieglitz and An American Place, Paul Strand and Edward Weston, among many others. Among the business records are receipts for works of art purchased by Mrs. Liebman. Photographs show a photography exhibition opening (1935). Printed matter, mainly newspaper clippings and gallery announcements, relates to artists represented in the Liebman Collection, exhibitions which included loans from the Liebman Collection, and events in which Aline Meyer Liebman participated. Four scrapbooks (1936-1947), comprised of printed matter, correspondence, and photographs, relate to Aline Meyer Liebman's career as a painter. Six exhibition catalogs date from 1921 to 1935. Other material concerns Edgar Degas, Artistide Maillol, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, and Gino Severini.
ADDITION (NOT MICROFILMED): Letters, 1906-1978; invoices for paintings purchased, 1929-1931; financial statements; photographs of Liebman's apartment, works in the Liebman Collection, paintings by Aline Meyer Liebman, and exhibition installations; and a catalog of Parke-Bernet's 1955 Liebman sale.
Biographical / Historical:
Aline Meyer Liebman (1879-1966) was a painter, art patron, and collector of modern art from New York, N.Y. Born in Los Angeles, Calif., Aline Meyer Liebman studied at Barnard College, and with Stefan Hirsch and Henry Mosler. She exhibited at Walker Galleries (1936), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1937), Bennington College (1937), Portland Museum (1939), and Weyhe Gallery (1943), among others.
Provenance:
Donated 1986 and 1989 by Margaret Liebman Berger, Aline Meyer Liebman's daughter.
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:
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art patrons -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Collectors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Nancy Holt conducted 1993 Aug. 3, by Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz, at the artist's studio in New York, NY, for the Archives of American Art.
In the interview, Holt talks about her body of work, including pieces such as Catch Basin, Star Crossed, Sun Tunnels, and Ransacked; her creative process; the conceptual and physical ideas that influence her work; why she does public art; the functions or needs public art fulfills for its audience; the difficulties of being a public artist; and the future of public art and its patronage. Holt also recalls Richard Long, Jan Dibbets, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Nancy Holt (1938- ) is a sculptor, filmmaker, and installation artist from New York, N.Y. Married to sculptor Robert Smithson.
General:
Poor sound quality in some sections.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators. Funding for this interview was provided by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of wife and husband Dale and Doug Anderson conducted 2005 July 21-22, by Tina Oldknow, for the Archives of American Art, in their home.
The Andersons discuss their respective childhoods and growing up in Manhattan; their education and early experiences with art; their early collection of Native American art; their first art purchases, including a Richard Marquis Patchwork teapot, a Lowell Nesbitt painting, and a Carolyn Brady painting; their initial involvement with the American Craft Museum's Collector's Circle, as well as other craft organizations including Creative Glass Center of America, Millville, New Jersey, The Metropolitan Glass Group, Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, and the Friends of Contemporary Ceramics, among others; their involvement with, and support of, various museums, including the Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, the Seattle Art Museum, the Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, and the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York; their involvement with, and support of, various art schools, including the Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington, the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, Maine, and Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine; their independent commissioning of works by various artists, including Dale Chihuly, Ginny Ruffner, Sandy Skoglund, Tom Patti, Paul Marioni and Ann Troutner, and Silas Kopf; their involvement in various large-scale glass exhibitions and expositions, including the annual Sculptural Objects and Functional Art expositions, "Glass Today by American Studio Artists," August 13, 1997-January 11, 1998, at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and palmbeach3, West Palm Beach, Florida, among others; their participation in, and support of, the publishing of various books on glass, including Martha Drexler Lynn's "Sculpture, Glass, and American Museums," Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005, and Tina Oldknow's "Pilchuck: A Glass School", Seattle: Pilchuck Glass School, in association with the University of Washington Press, 1996; their dealings with various galleries across the country, including Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, Michigan, Heller Gallery, New York, New York, UrbanGlass, Brooklyn, New York, Barry Friedman Ltd., New York, New York, browngrotta arts, Wilton, Connecticut, and Ferrin Gallery, Lenox, Massachusetts, among others.
The Andersons recall Christina Orr-Cahall, George and Dorothy Saxe, Ronald and Anita Wornick, Susan Steinhauser and Dan Greenberg, Jack and Rebecca Benaroya, Weston Naef, Daphne Farago, Dale Chihuly, Thomas and Marilyn Patti, Catherine Chalmers, Jeremy Flick, Zhuan Huang, William Warmus, Akio Takamori, Linda Schlenger, Bruce Pepich and Lisa Englander, Pike Powers, Parks Anderson, Sonny and Gloria Kamm, Flora Mace and Joey Kirkpatrick, Davira Taragin, Bill Morris, Sam and Eleanor Rosenfeld, Daganeet Schokauer, Albert Paley, John McQueen, Jeff Mermelstein, Jane Adlin, Henrietta Brunner, Mark Lyman, Charles and Andrea Bronfman, Norman and Elizabeth Sandler, Ferdinand Hampson, Dafna Kaffeman, Paul Stankard, Toots Zynsky, Marjorie Levy, Gregory Grenon, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Dale (1944- ) and Doug (1943- ) Anderson are glass collectors from New York, New York Tina Oldknow is a curator at the Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 19 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hrs., 6 minutes.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Collectors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An exhibition announcement and catalog from the Artists' Gallery 20th anniversary exhibition, 1955; letters from artists responding to Stix's request for drawings for the exhibition, including Milton Avery, George Biddle, Isabel Bishop, Victor Candell, Philip Evergood, T. Lux Feininger, Ernest Fiene, Chaim Gross, Morris Kantor, James Lechay, Oronzio Maldarelli, Abraham Rattner, and Moses Soyer; a copy of ARTS DIGEST; six illustrated letters from Gaston Longchamp; material relating to the Museum Purchase Fund including correspondence with Gloria Vanderbilt, printed material, and photographs; and printed material on Gloria Vanderbilt.
Biographical / Historical:
Gallery president and art administrator; New York, N.Y. Died 1992. Founded the the Artists' Gallery in 1936. Administrator for the Museum Purchase Fund. Gloria Vanderbilt annually contributed to the fund, which gave recognition to young artists by purchasing their work.
Provenance:
Donated by Hugh Stix, 1975 and 1979.
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:
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art patronage -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The James Stillman letters relating to Homer Dodge Martin measures 0.2 linear feet and consists of 28 letters and 2 pencil sketches dating from 1882-1898. Primarily from late-19th century painter Homer Dodge Martin and his wife, Elizabeth, to art patron and banker, James Stillman, the letters discuss consignment, exhibition and sale of Martin's artwork, his experiences painting while living in France, his financial struggles, and his physical and mental condition. Two pencil sketches by Martin are accompanied by a note dated 1884. Also found are 2 letters from Martin to Mr. Van Loon discussing payment for paintings and 2 letters to Stillman from Bancel La Farge concerning Stillman's purchase of a La Farge watercolor.
Scope and Content Note:
The James Stillman letters relating to Homer Dodge Martin measures 0.2 linear feet and consists of 28 letters from Martin and his wife Elizabeth to banker and art patron James Stillman documenting Stillman's financial and practical assistance to the Martin's through consignment, exhibition and sale of Martin's artwork. The letters provide insight into Martin's experiences painting while living in Honfleur and Villerville, France, his financial struggles, and his physical and mental condition. They also reveal Elizabeth Martin's efforts as advocate for her husband's work and reputation, and her dismay at his physical and mental decline due in part to lack of financial success.
Also found are 2 1884 pencil sketches by Martin, of a view in Honfleur; 2 letters from Martin to Mr. Van Loon discussing payment for paintings; and 2 letters to Stillman from Bancel La Farge concerning Stillman's purchase of a La Farge watercolor.
The collection contains no letters from Stillman.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 1 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: James Stillman Letters Relating to Homer Dodge Martin, 1882-1898 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Biographical Note:
Banker and art patron James Stillman, was committed to promoting the artwork of landscape artist Homer Dodge Martin and providing financial investment in and practical assistance with the logistics of handling Martin's artwork over a period of at least 16 years.
Homer Dodge Martin (1836-1897) was born in Albany, New York. He studied briefly with James Hart and spent his summers during the 1860s in the Adirondacks, the Catskills and the White Mountains, and painted landscapes from the sketches he made there in the style of the Hudson River school at his studio in New York City's Tenth Street Studio Building.
In 1876 he took his first trip to Europe and from 1882-1886 lived in Normandy, France in Honfleur and Villerville. There he was influenced both by the Barbizon school of painting and the Impressionists and his painting took on darker, more melancholy tones.
By 1897 Martin had returned to New York City and in 1893 Martin moved to St. Paul, Minnesota where, nearly blind, he painted one of his best-known works, Adirondack Scenery (1895) from memory.
Although never successful within his lifetime, within 2 years of his death Adirondack Scenery sold for $5500 and Harp of the Winds (1895) was aquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Martin's paintings can be found in the collections of other important American museums including the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Albany Institute of History and Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Martin became a member of the National Academy of Design in 1874 and in 1877 was one of the founders of the Society of American Artists.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Thomas B. Clarke letters from or about Homer Dodge Martin, 1893-1897. Additional material relating to Homer Dodge Martin, including correspondence with Thomas B. Clarke and Elizabeth Martin, can be found in the Macbeth Gallery records.
Provenance:
Six letters from Homer Dodge Martin were donated to AAA by Chauncey Stillman, grandson of James Stillman, in 1955 and 1959. Additional letters to Stillman from Martin, Elizabeth Martin, and Bancel La Farge, and from Martin to Mr. Van Loon, were donated by Mrs. P. S. Paine, grandaughter of James Stillman, in 1978.
Restrictions:
Use of the 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.
An interview of Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller conducted 1972 July 24, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Rockefeller speaks of his family's art collection, and the influence of growing up surrounded by art; his interest in architecture; his involvement with the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the development of his own collection; his methods for collecting.
Biographical / Historical:
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (1908-1979) was a collector, patron, governor of New York, and U.S. Vice-President under Gerald Ford.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 49 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- Interviews Search this
Read, William A. (William Augustus), 1858-1916 Search this
Extent:
525 Items ((on 2 partial microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
1907-1965
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, photographs, exhibition materials, interviews, sketches, and a scrapbook.
REELS D252-D253: Correspondence, primarily with his benefactors Miss Lydia Osgood and Mr. William A. Read; portfolio of Salemme's drawings; photographs of Salemme and his sculpture; photographs of the Italian front during World War I; and clippings.
UNMICROFILMED: 2 phonograph records of an interview of Salemme with Peter O'Brien and an accompanying illustrated article about the interview.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and sculptor; Williams Township, near Easton, Pa. Died 1995. Born in Gaeta, Italy. Worked in New York City until 1962 when he moved to Pennsylvania. His brother, Attilio Salemme, was also an artist.
Provenance:
Material on reels D252-D253 lent for microfilming 1966; unmicrofilmed material donated 1978 all by Antonio Salemme.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The papers of arts administrator, museum director, collector, dealer, and editor Charles M. Kurtz (1855-1909), measure 27.74 linear feet and date from 1843-1990 (bulk dates 1884-1909). The bulk of the collection consists of detailed chronological correspondence between Kurtz and his wife and family, friends, colleagues, and business associates that documents many notable exhibitions, galleries, museums, private collections, as well as cities, people, and events of the period. Also found in the collection are Kurtz's diaries, scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The Charles M. Kurtz papers measure 27.74 linear feet and date from 1843 to 1990 with the bulk of the material dating from 1884 to 1909. The bulk of the collection consists of chronological correspondence between Kurtz and his family, most notably his wife, friends, colleagues, and business associates. Kurtz's letters are amazingly detailed and document many notable exhibitions, galleries, museums, private collections, as well as cities, people, and events of the period. The letters between Kurtz and his wife are most interesting for their descriptive commentary on late 19th century life and offer a complete picture of Kurtz's activities. Many of Kurtz's letters to Halsey C. Ives can be found in the Halsey C. Ives Papers. Some of the letters in the collection are illustrated. Also found in the collection are Kurtz's diaries, scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into twelve series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Information, 1885-1931, undated
Series 2: Correspondence, 1843-1940, undated
Series 3: Circulars/Requests for Submissions of Works of Art, 1886-1905
Series 4: Legal Records, 1881-1928
Series 5: Financial Records, 1870-1989, undated
Series 6: Diaries, 1894-1901
Series 7: Notes and Writings, 1872-1980, undated
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1878-1909
Series 9: Printed Material, 1873-1990, undated
Series 10: Photographs, 1898-1990
Series 11: Photographs of Works of Art, undated
Series 12: Miscellany, undated
Biographical Note:
Charles M. Kurtz's name is known to many scholars and students of American art history. To some he is important for his critical writings, others are interested in his management of exhibitions for the Art Union and the American Art Association. Many are aware of him because of his publication of National Academy Notes, which continued for nine years. Still others are familiar with Kurtz in his role as an art administrator for late 19th century art exhibitions like those at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the St. Louis Fair, or for his accomplishments as the first director of the Albright Gallery in Buffalo, New York. Sometimes researchers have become familiar with his name through the sale catalogue for his considerable collection, which was sold at auction after his death in 1909. His career, which encompassed the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, touched on virtually every aspect of art in America during that period.
Born in 1853 to Davis Brook Kurtz (1826-1906), an attorney, and Julia Wilder, Charles Kurtz enjoyed a genteel upbringing. The Kurtz family originated in Darmstadt, Germany, and migrated to America in the eighteenth century. D.B. Kurtz, a leading member of the Lawrence County bar, was also a vice-president of the National Bank of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. As a local representative of many important railroad and business interests, he accumulated assets estimated at one million dollars by the time of his death, just three years before that of his son, Charles, the eldest of his five children. Unlike his brothers Louis, who also became an attorney, and Edward, a professor at Columbia University, Charles eschewed a professional career to enter the art world, as did his sisters Emily, an artist, and Catherine, a musician.
After his graduation from Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, Kurtz visited the Centennial Exposition, held in 1876 in Philadelphia, before coming to New York to study art at the National Academy of Design. These two activities foreshadowed the direction that his career would eventually take. As the chronology indicates, his early efforts revolve around writing for a variety of publications, most notably, his own National Academy Notes. In 1881 he took what was to be the first of many trips abroad to survey the art scene in Europe. Later in his career, his fascination with foreign art and his own entrepeneurial interests led him to become an outspoken opponent of tariffs on imported art.
Kurtz's personal life changed significantly in 1884 when he met Julia Stephenson, a physician's daughter and fledging art student from Harrodsburg, Kentucky. Throughout their courtship and after their marriage the couple was frequently separated. Consequently, they wrote lengthy letters which document not only their personal relationship but also Kurtz's aspirations and activities in the art world.
With his appointment as one of Halsey C. Ives's (1847-1911) chief assistants of the Fine Arts Department of the World's Columbian Exposition in 1891, Charles Kurtz's career achieved international stature. Among the most notable European artists he introduced into this country through circulating exhibitions were the Glasgow School, the Danish School, the Hungarian artist, Mihaly Munkacsy, and the subject of his final exhibition, the Spanish artist, Sorolla.
Throughout his life, Kurtz was plagued by health problems and, in 1899, illness forced him to resign as Assistant Director of Fine Arts for the United States for the Paris Exposition of 1900. Throughout the following decade, his work was increasingly interrupted by ill health. His death in 1909 at the age of 54, while sudden, was not entirely unexpected. However it most certainly cut short a cosmopolitan career that encompassed virtually every aspect of the art world and the pertinent issues of the day.
Kurtz is remembered for his editorial work with the National Academy of Design; as Art Director for the Southern Exposition, 1883-1886, and the St. Louis Exposition, 1894-1899 (where he introduced the Glasgow School of Painting); and as Assistant Chief/Director for the World's Columbian Exposition, the 1900 Paris Exposition, and the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. He was also director of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy.
Missing Title
1855 -- Charles McMeen Kurtz born
1876 -- receives B.S. degree from Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania
1876-78 -- studies at the National Academy of Design, N.Y. with Lemuel Wilmarth and William Morgan; writes a column, "New York Letters," for The Courant published in New Castle, Pennsylvania
1878 -- edits a small daily paper published during a "National Camp Meeting for the promotion of Holiness" held that summer in New Castle, Pa.; its critical stance resulted in his public denouncement and earned him a reputation as a journalist in western Pennsylvania; receives M.A. from Washington and Jefferson College
1878-79 -- becomes the local editor of The Guardian of New Castle
1879 -- publishes The Daily Reporter, a financial success
1881 -- publishes the first issue of National Academy Notes; travels in Europe, spending time in England, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France (Paris)
1881-82 -- prepares Illustrated Notes for Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition
1882 -- writes "Art Notes" in The New York Tribune and resigns Dec. 23rd
1882-83 -- accepts position to write for Music and Drama, a new daily paper
1883 -- becomes the general manager of the American Art Union; exhibits a large collection of Art Union paintings in Buffalo, N.Y. and Louisville, Ky., where they became part of the Southern Exposition's first great art display
1883-86 -- accepts offer to become Director of the Art Department, Southern Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky
1884 -- edits Art Union magazine until December; applies for position to head the Art Department of the New Orleans World's Fair in September
1884-86 -- accepts a position offered by the American Art Association; terminates uncongenial relationship in March, 1886
1885 -- writes catalogues for the sale of the George Seney Collection and for the Watts exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; October 1, marries Julia Stephenson (1861-1931), daughter of Dr. A. T. Stephenson of Harrodsburg, Kentucky; they had two daughters who survived them: Julia Wilder Kurtz (1889-1977), and Isabella Starkweather Kurtz (1901-1991); another daughter, Elizabeth Stephenson Kurtz (1886-1897), predeceased them
1886 -- terminates employment with the Art Association; daughter, Elizabeth Stephenson Kurtz, born
1886-87 -- manages the circulation of Mihaly Munkacsy's Christ Before Pilot for Charles Sedelmeyer to American venues: New York, Boston, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, Nashville, Phildelphia, Indianapolis; tour generates $90,000 in ticket receipts
1889-91 -- February 24, appointed art critic ("Art Notes") and book reviewer for New York Daily Star; later literary and art editor of the Sunday Star
1890 -- writes for the Sunday edition The Press, a New York paper
1891 -- writes for The World; art editor for The New York Recorder; contributes to the New York Truth
1891-93 -- contributes to Chicago Evening Post ; writes artist biographies for The Chicago Graphic, a regional magazine; appointed Assistant Chief of the Department of Fine Arts of the World's Columbian Exposition
1894 -- contributes column, "Art at the Exposition" to St. Louis Life
1895 -- tours Denmark, Scotland, and France during the summer on behalf of the St. Louis Exposition
1894-99 -- appointed Director of the Art Department of the St. Louis Annual Exposition
1896 -- elected member of The Japan Society, London
1897 -- daughter, Elizabeth (Daisy), dies
1898 -- receives a diploma and medal "in recognition of valuable services in connection with the Fine Arts Exhibit" from the directors of the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition, Omaha
1899 -- appointed Assistant Director of Fine Arts for the United States Commission to the Paris Exposition of 1900; resigned in July due to ill health
1901-04 -- appointed Assistant Chief of the Department of Art of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, August
1901 -- daughter, Isabella Starkweather Kurtz, born
1902 -- receives honorary Ph.D from Washington and Jefferson College "in recognition of distinguished ability and services as an art critic and writer"
1905 -- receives the cross of the Order of Merit from Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria; appointed Director, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, in January; exhibits Glasgow paintings at Albright Art Gallery from November until the following April
1906 -- writes Academy Notes, a bulletin pubished by the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and the Albright Art Gallery; father, D.B. Kurtz, dies in Newcastle, Pennsylvania
1907 -- accused of importing German pictures free of duty for exhibition purposes and then selling some for profit
1908 -- Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree conferred by Washington and Jefferson College
1909 -- Charles M. Kurtz dies in Buffalo, New York on March 21
1910 -- Sale of the private collection of Charles M. Kurtz at auction, Fifth Avenue Art Galleries, February 24-25
1931 -- Widow, Julia Stephenson Kurtz dies October 30
1977 -- Daughter, Julia Wilder Kurtz, dies
1991 -- Daughter, Isabel Starkweather Kurtz, dies in Buffalo, N.Y.; remaining Charles M. Kurtz Papers bequeathed to the Archives of American Art and the National Academy of Design, New York
Related Material:
The St. Louis Exposition/Halsey C. Ives papers in the Archives of American Art contain material relating to Charles M. Kurtz.
Additional Charles Kurtz papers, 1870-1910, including 340 letters which discuss exhibitions, sales of art, patronage, atelier visits, and submissions to publications, and letters to his parents in which he discsses the art market and art world new; as well as manuscripts, notebooks, a diary, and printed ephemera relating to exhibitions and publications, are available at the Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Los Angeles, California.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 4912) including Charles Kurtz's Glasgow painting diary. The loaned diary was returned to the lender and can now be found at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut. This material is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
For many years, the Kurtz Papers were thought to have been destroyed in a fire. Isabel Kurtz, a school teacher who lived with her older sister in Buffalo, New York, was vague when initially approached about her father's papers by Archives Regional Director, Robert Brown in the mid-1980s. However upon her death in 1991, her will revealed that the papers were indeed in her house in Buffalo and the bulk of them were bequeathed to the Archives of American Art. Paintings and a diary relating to the Glasgow School were given to the Yale Center for British Art. That diary has subsequently been duplicated on microfilm and is now also available in the Archives. Scorch marks on some of the papers and also on the paintings given to Yale suggest that there was indeed a fire. The material that was not bequeathed to the Archives included duplicates of printed documents along with books from the Kurtz library and a coin collection, all of which were dispersed in an estate auction that was held in Buffalo in 1991.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Rights:
Glasgow painting diary, Microfilm reel 4912: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Yale Center for British Art. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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 museum directors -- New York (State) -- Buffalo Search this
Correspondence, 1953-1973, with the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art regarding, among other topics, purchase funds established for each museum by the Larry L. Aldrich Foundation, Inc., including lists of works of art approved for acquisition, and invoices; correspondence regarding Aldrich's private collection, including purchase invoices and cancelled checks, shipping and loan paperwork, and information on works from the collection consigned for sale at auction in 1963; printed material and exhibition catalogs from the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, 1964-1971; and 9 photographs, including works from Aldrich's private collection (2 photographs), works acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (4 photographs), and 4 views of the Aldrich Museum.
Biographical / Historical:
Collector; New York, N.Y.; b. 1906; d. 2001
Provenance:
Donated 1972-1973 by Larry Aldrich.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings and born-digital records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
The Artists' Questionanaires require permission from each artist before publishing, quoting, or reproducing. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
Items created by Francis V. O'Connor: copyright held by Avis Berman. Artists' questionnaires: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from the individual artist. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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:
Francis V. O'Connor papers, 1920-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The papers of art collector and former United States Ambassador Donald Blinken measure .4 linear feet and date from 1956-2011. The collection is comprised of correspondence and printed material regarding several of the artists Blinken collected, including Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, and Esteban Vicente.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art collector and former United States Ambassador Donald Blinken measure .4 linear feet and date from 1956-2011. The collection is comprised of correspondence and printed material regarding several of the artists Blinken collected, including Willem de Kooning, Philip Guston, and Esteban Vicente.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as two series
Series 1: Correspondence, 1956-2011 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Printed Material, 1974-2008 (0.1 linear foot; Box 1)
Biographical / Historical:
Donald Blinken (1925- ) is an art collector in New York City and served as United States Ambassador to Hungary from 1994-1997. Throughout his career, Blinken has held leadership roles in investment banking, education, and arts patronage.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives of American Art by Donald Blinken in 2014.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Citation:
Donald Blinken papers, 1956-2011. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Man at the crossroads : Diego Rivera's mural at Rockefeller Center / Susana Pliego Quijano, Javier Aranda Luna ; Pablo Ortiz Monasterio, picture editing ; Trilce Ediciones, edition and design
Art as text, war as context : the art gallery of the Metropolitan Fair, New York City's artistic community and the Civil War / by Charlotte Emans Moore
