The Schneider-Gabriel Galleries records measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1918 to 1953. The collection is comprised mostly of photographs of paintings that span the European and American continent, dating from the 13th century to the mid-20th century. The collection also includes correspondence relating to the sale, conservation, and legitimacy of the New York gallery's artwork; a folder of papers concerning the immigration of artist Grigory Gluckmann and his wife, Anna, to the United States in 1941; financial records comprised of scant bills, checks, and statements; the catalog draft from a Walter Pach exhibition; and correspondence, printed material, and provenance records concerning portraits of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart.
Scope and Contents:
The Schneider-Gabriel Galleries records measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1918 to 1953. The collection is comprised mostly of photographs of paintings that span the European and American continent, dating from the 13th century to the mid-20th century. The collection also includes correspondence relating to the sale, conservation, and legitimacy of the New York gallery's artwork; a folder of papers concerning the immigration of artist Grigory Gluckmann and his wife, Anna, to the United States in 1941; financial records comprised of scant bills, checks, and statements; the catalog draft from a Walter Pach exhibition; and correspondence, printed material, and provenance records concerning portraits of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Schneider-Gabriel Galleries was an art gallery in New York, New York, started circa 1938 by art dealers Albert Schneider and Gilbert Gabriel. Before starting their own business, Schneider and Gabriel worked with John Levy of John Levy Galleries in New York in the 1920s. Schneider-Gabriel exhibited and dealt paintings, mostly portraits and landscapes, by well-known European artists from the 13th to 20th centuries as well as a number of American artists from the 19th and 20th centuries. Artists whose work was sold and exhibited by Schneider-Gabriel include Walter Pach, Winslow Homer, Alexander Canedo, Gilbert Stuart, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, and among many others.
Provenance:
The collection was donated circa 1958 by the widow of Albert Schneider.
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.
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.
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
Citation:
Schneider-Gabriel Galleries records, 1918-1953. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The collection documents George Eaton Simpson's fieldwork in Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad, and Nigeria from 1936-1964. There are 704 images in several formats including negatives, prints, and slides. The photographs were primarily made by Simpson, but a few were made by Frederic Ramsey, Jr. Ramsey's prints are stamped on verso with his name. Many prints and slides are annotated by Simpson.
The collection also includes a few reprints of articles based on Simpson's field work and words and musical transcription from Savalou Ricourt, a musician of Port au Prince in 1937.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series:
1. Haiti, 1936-1937
2. Jamaica, 1953, 1957
3. Trinidad, 1960
4. Nigeria, 1964
5. Lantern slides, undated
6. Publications, 1940-1987
Biographical/Historical note:
George Eaton Simpson (1904-1998) was an anthropologist whose focus was the various social aspects of Caribbean religions. He wrote over 60 articles and books, and taught sociology and anthropology at Oberlin College from 1947-1971.
Born in Knoxville, Iowa, Simpson received his B.S. from Coe College in 1926, his M.A. from the University of Missouri in 1927, and his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1934. In 1947 he began teaching at Oberlin College in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. In addition to teaching classes, Simpson served on numerous committees and as department chair.
Simpson conducted fieldwork in the Caribbean, specifically Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad, and Nigeria. He focused primarily on Caribbean religions such as Vodun in Haiti, Rastafarianism in Jamaica, and the Spiritual Baptists in Trinidad. His fieldwork has been documented in numerous articles and books, including "The Vodun Service in Northern Haiti", "The Shango Cult in Nigeria and Trinidad", and Black Religions in the New World. He occasionally collaborated on articles with fellow anthropologists Joseph G. Moore and J. Milton Yinger. He also served as a visiting professor at several leading universities.
He was the recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Wellcome Medal for Anthropological Research, the Anisfield-Wolf Award in Race Relations (with J. Milton Yinger), Doctor of Humane Letters – Oberlin College, and Doctor of Humane Letters – Coe College.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 93-14
Related Materials:
Additional photographs from Simpson are held in National Anthropological Archives Photo Lot 2001-24.
The George Eaton Simpson Film Study of Plaisance, Haiti, 1937, accession No. 92.12.1 in the Smithsonian Institution Human Film Studies Archives contains silent black and white film footage of Plaisance, Haiti shot by Simpson and his colleagues. The footage contains events also depicted in the photograph collection including work coumbites, marketplace scenes, a wedding ceremony, a funeral, drumming and dancing at a social gathering, and a dancing demonstration. Included in this accession are 21 audiotapes recorded by Simpson and Joseph G. Moore during their fieldwork in Jamaica and Trinidad.
The Joseph G. Moore Collection: Jamaican Revival and Kumina, 1957-1958, accession No. 92.1.1 in the Smithsonian Institution Human Film Studies Archives contains related material to Simpson's study of Jamaican Revival Zion and Kumina. The collection contains film footage of Morant Bay and West Kingston, Jamaica shot in 1957. The footage was originally intended for the "Odyssey" program or possibly a short feature. Some of the it ended up being featured on the CBS program "Lamp Unto My Feet" which also includes interviews with Joseph G. Moore and George Eaton Simpson. There is over 10 hours of footage, and in 1992 Simpson, Smithsonian Institution Human Film Studies Archives Director John Homiak, and research associate Ken Bilby recorded approximately 10 hours of commentary about the footage. This collection also contains audio recordings made in 1993 of a discussion between Simpson, Homiak, and Bilby concerning the relation of Jamaican Revival with Rastafari.
Sound recordings by Simpson held in the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections in the Folkways Records Collection and the Moses and Frances Asch Collection.
Oberlin College has a manuscript collection of George Eaton Simpson's papers (RG 30/64) that document Simpson's research and academic work.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the National Anthropoligical Archives by George E. Simpson in 1992.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
The negatives are in cold storage and require advanced notice to access.
The fountain is also known as the Fontaine des Quatre-Parties-du-Monde or the Fontaine Carpeaux. The lantern slide was apparently made by Williams, Brown, & Earle, Inc., of Philadelphia, possibly from a color postcard published by A. C. Champagne, 180 Rue de Rivoli, Paris. See FR025001 and FR025002 for comparable lantern slide derivations from published works
Mount reads: "Williams, Brown & Earle, Inc., 918 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, Pa."
Historic plate number: "5261."
Historic plate caption: "LEWIS [photographer?]; Paris - Luxembourg Garden - La Fontaine Carpeaux."
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials 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. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.