The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) provide researchers with a complete set of documentation focusing on the founding and history of the organization from its inception through the 1960s. The collection measures 79.8 linear feet, and dates from 1895 through 1993, although the bulk of the material falls between 1909 and 1969. Valuable for its coverage of twentieth-century American art history, the collection also provides researchers with fairly comprehensive documentation of the many exhibitions and programs supported and implemented by the AFA to promote and study contemporary American art, both nationally and abroad.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) provide researchers with a complete set of documentation focusing on the founding and history of the organization from its inception through the 1960s. The collection measures 79.8 linear feet, and dates from 1895 through 1993, although the bulk of the material falls between 1909 and 1969. Valuable for its coverage of twentieth-century American art history, the collection also provides researchers with fairly comprehensive documentation of the many exhibitions and programs supported and implemented by the AFA to promote and study contemporary American art, both nationally and abroad.
The earliest documentation from 1895 to 1909 concerns the organization's history and founding and is located in Series 1: Board of Trustees. Also found in this series are meeting minutes, 1909-1963 and 1968. Interfiled with the board meeting minutes are minutes of the executive committee and other special and ad hoc committees, reports to the board, financial statements and reports, and lists of committee appointments and board membership. This series also contains the scattered correspondence and subject files of various officers. Although not a complete set of officers' files, Presidents' Frederick Allen. Whiting (1931-1936), Lawrence M.C. Smith (1948-1952), Thomas Brown Rudd (1952-1954), Daniel Longwell (1954-1956), James S. Schramm (1956-1958), and Roy R. Neuberger (1958-1961) are represented. Leila Mechlin served on AFA's board as secretary from its founding to 1929, and her files are a particularly rich resource for AFA's activities during its early years. Lawrence M.C. Smith's files documenting his years as board treasurer are also arranged in this series. Additional officers' correspondence is interspersed throughout the Alphabetical Files and other series.
General information about the scope of AFA's programs, affiliations, founding, functions, and proceedings are arranged in Series 2: Administrative Records. The first subseries, Alphabetical Files, houses a wide variety of subject files that contain memoranda, correspondence, printed materials, lists, reports, and other papers. These files document the AFA's general history and founding, organizational affiliations, buildings and moves, grants, federal and state government art programs, auctions and other fund-raising efforts, publicity and public relations, publications, and fiftieth anniversary celebration. The subject headings by which these files are arranged are, for the most part, the ones designated by the AFA. The second subseries, Staff Records, houses the scattered files of AFA's director, assistant director, registrar, and special state representative, Robert Luck.
During its most active period, the AFA sponsored or participated in several special programs and Series 3: Special Programs houses the files that document many of them. The first subseries consists of the files for the Artists in Residence program that was funded by the Ford Foundation. Awarded in 1963, the grant sponsored short-term teaching residencies for artists in museums throughout the United States. The host museums were encouraged to hold exhibitions of the artists' works. This subseries contains both the general files of the program, as well as individual files on the participating artists. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, the AFA and the Ford Foundation also sponsored additional programs for artists, including Grants in Aid, Purchase Awards, and the Retrospective Exhibitions Program. The files documenting these three programs are also arranged in Series 3, under the subseries Ford Foundation Program for Visual Artists. In the late 1950s, the AFA implemented the Museum Donor Program with benefactors and philanthropists Audrey Bruce Currier and Stephen Richard Currier. Through the administration of the AFA, the Curriers donated funds to selected institutions specifically for the purchase of contemporary American art. The Curriers preferred to remain anonymous throughout the program. Files documenting this program include correspondence, applications from the accepted institutions, rejections, a summary report, and clippings about the untimely deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Currier in 1967.
Also found in Series 3 are the files documenting AFAs working relationship with the first state arts council, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). In 1961, AFA and NYSCA implemented a traveling exhibition program in New York State. Found here are files for possible itineraries, proposals, publicity, loans, budgets, and the actual exhibition files. Additional AFA special programs documented in Series 3 include the Picture of the Month program of the mid-1950s and the Jean Tennyson Foundation Color Slide Lecture Program.
AFA Annual Convention files constitute Series 4. Beginning with the Third Annual Convention in 1912 and continuing through the 1963 Annual Convention, the files contain official proceedings, speeches, programs, clippings, correspondence, and press releases. Files are missing for 1913, 1915, 1918, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1931, 1936-1949, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1960, and 1962. There are also audio recordings in the form of reel-to-reel tapes for the 1951 Annual Convention.
Series 5: Exhibition Files forms the bulk of the collection at circa 62 linear feet and is arranged into twenty subseries. The first subseries, Exhibitions, General, houses primarily the records of the Board of Trustees Exhibition Committee and documents the AFA's earliest involvement with traveling exhibitions. These files contain reports, budgets, correspondence, memoranda, scattered exhibition catalogs, and photographs. They are primarily the files of the chair of the Exhibition Committee and include the files of Juliana R. Force, Eloise Spaeth, and Mrs. John Pope. Also found in this series is a subseries of Mrs. John Pope's records documenting circulating exhibitions from 1934 to 1955, arranged by state.
The remaining nineteen subseries of the Exhibition Files reflect either specific exhibition programs, many of which have unique numbers assigned by AFA to individual exhibitions, or other exhibition-related files, such rejected, canceled, and suggested exhibitions and miscellaneous installation photographs. The Annual Exhibitions files constitute the largest of the subseries and are numbered according to the system assigned by AFA, following a typical chronological order. Although the documentation for each exhibition varies widely by both type and amount, most of the files contain contracts and legal agreements, correspondence, memoranda, itinerary information, condition reports, publicity materials, catalogs, announcements, price lists, and other such information arranged into one or more files. The files were labeled "documentation files," "dispersal files," "report form files," "loan agreement files," and "publicity files" according to the filing system devised by AFA. Many of the files also house a significant amount of correspondence with museum officials, lenders, and artists.
Additional subseries document AFA's exhibition venues and partnerships with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the New York State Council on the [UNK] Life magazine, and Addison Gallery. A complete list of all of the subseries, including specific exhibition programs, follows in the Series Outline.
The final three series of the collection are small: Printed Material, Miscellaneous Files, and Oversized Material. The printed material was donated much later to the Archives and dates from 1990 to 1993. Found here are scattered press releases, annual reports, and an exhibition program. Miscellaneous Files contain scattered records, 1926-1962, of the Architectural League of New York relating to national award programs. It is not clear why this small group of Architectural League records was found mixed with the AFA records but perhaps the collaboration between the two organizations on several special projects provides an explanation. Also found in Miscellaneous Files is a group of black and white lantern slides from a lecture series, "New Horizons in America." Oversized Material includes a portfolio, a work of art, and posters.
See Appendix for a list of artists exhibiting with the American Federation of Arts
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight primary series based primarily on administrative units or program areas. Several of the series are further subdivided into subseries. While processing, it became clear that the two filing systems were redundant and overlapped in both subject area and type of material. Most of these files were subsequently merged into the now broader Alphabetical Files or into separate series. Oversized material may be found at the end of the collection arranged in a separate series.
In most cases, files related to one another by subseries or subject areas (in the case of the Alphabetical Files) or by individual name (in the case of officers and staff files) are arranged in chronological order. The entire subseries of Alphabetical Files in Series 2 is arranged by subject heading, as assigned by the AFA, or individual name. The Alphabetical Files originally formed two broad filing systems as established by the AFA: one for general correspondence arranged by subject; and one for director's and other staff correspondence, also arranged by subject.
Series 1: Board of Trustees, circa 1895-1968 (Boxes 1-3)
Series 2: Administrative Records, 1910-1966 (Boxes 4-8)
Series 3: Special Programs, 1950-1967 (Boxes 9-13)
Series 4: Annual Conventions, 1912-1963 (Boxes 14-16)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1934-1969 (Boxes 17-78)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1990-1993 (Box 78)
Series 7: Miscellaneous Files, 1926-1962, undated (Box 79)
Series 8: Oversized Materials, 1890, undated (Boxes 80-85)
Historical Note:
Founded in 1909 by Elihu Root, the American Federation of Arts (AFA) exists today as a national nonprofit museum service organization striving to unite American art institutions, collectors, artists, and museums. Elihu Root, then secretary of state in the administration of Theodore Roosevelt, spoke of his idea at the first meeting of the AFA held in New York at the National Academy of Arts. He envisioned an organization that would promote American art most often seen only by the elite in the major cities of the East and upper Midwest by sending "exhibitions of original works of art on tour through the hinterlands across the United States."
The American Academy in Rome, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and Metropolitan Museum of Art were influential organizing member institutions. Individual members included such notables as William Merritt Chase, Charles L. Freer, Daniel C. French, Charles L. Hutchinson, Henry Cabot Lodge, J.P. Morgan, and Henry Walters. The founding of the AFA provided the American art world with a forum for communication and participation among artists, cultural institutions, patrons of the arts, and the public.
To accomplish its mission, the AFA established volunteer committees for membership, exhibitions, and publications. During its first year, the AFA began publishing Art and Progress (later changed to Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual (now the American Art Directory). In 1909, the AFA also organized its first traveling exhibition, Paintings by Prominent American Artists, which was shown at museums in Fort Worth, New Orleans, Minneapolis, and New Ulm, Minnesota.
By the end of the first year, the headquarters of the organization moved to Washington, D.C., to facilitate lobbying the federal government for favorable art legislation. In 1913, the AFA lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on foreign art entering the United States. In 1916, the Federation met with the Interstate Commerce Commission to protest prohibitively high interstate taxes on traveling art exhibitions.
Throughout the next fifteen years, the AFA continued to grow in membership and influence. By 1919, membership included 438 institutions and 2,900 individuals. The AFA's annual conventions were held in major national art centers and were attended by members, chapter delegates, and the public. At the conventions, scholars, patrons, and curators lectured on and discussed subjects of national interest, thereby fostering an exchange of ideas. The AFA also sponsored periodic regional conferences to promote institutional cooperation and to discuss mutual problems and needs. To facilitate exhibition venues west of the Mississippi River, in 1921 the AFA opened regional offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University. The AFA produced and circulated slide programs and lecture series to museums and educational institutions that fostered art education. By 1929, the Federation had developed forty-six slide-lecture programs that covered American mural painting, European and American contemporary art, and textiles.
During the 1930s, the Federation expanded its services by providing schools with teaching guides, student workbooks, slides, and films about art. In 1935, the AFA began publishing Who's Who in American Art, later publishing The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists and Films on Art reference guides. To reach an even larger audience, the AFA began collaborating with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to organize national circulating exhibitions to "bring the museum to the people."
One of AFA's priorities was to make American art more visible abroad. The Federation focused on encouraging the representation of American artists in foreign exhibitions, and in 1924 it lobbied successfully for additional American participation in the Venice Biennale. The AFA's focus on exhibiting American art abroad continued to expand, particularly following World War II. In 1950, recognizing that the AFA could assist in promoting American culture, the State Department awarded the AFA a grant for a German "re-orientation program" consisting of educational exhibitions shown in German museums. Additional government funding further enabled the AFA to organize American participation in exhibitions in India, Japan, Paris, Switzerland, and Rotterdam between 1950 and 1970. Later, the AFA collaborated with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program which permitted donations of American art to foreign institutions on a restriction-free, tax-deductible basis. During the 1950s, the AFA was a very active member of the Committee on Government and Art, a national committee with members from across the art and museum world concerned with government sponsorship of and legislation affecting art sales, commissions, and trade.
In 1952, the headquarters of the AFA returned to New York, sparking a period of innovation and expanded of programs. Throughout the 1950s, the AFA distributed films about art and co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York. The AFA also introduced its Picture of the Month Program in 1954, renting original works of art to small American art and educational institutions. In 1956, the AFA organized the Art Collectors Club of America to provide fellowship for art collectors through meetings and activities. The club disbanded in the 1970s.
The Federation's exhibition programs continued to flourish during the 1950s and 1960s. Private and public financial support allowed the AFA to achieve many of its goals. In 1958, the Ford Foundation awarded an important grant to organize a series of traveling one-person shows and a series of monographs devoted to contemporary American artists. Milton Avery, Andrew Dasburg, José DeCreeft, Lee Gatch, Walter Quirt, Abraham Rattner, and others were among the artists who participated. Private foundation support for the AFA's Museum Donor Program provided an annual allowance that was distributed to regional museums for the pourchase of contemporary American art. Cooperative programs and joint venues also became popular during this period. For example, public support from the New York State Council on the Arts allowed the AFA to circulate exhibitions to small New York State communities, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts provided the AFA with five exhibitions for national tours.
Throughout its history, the American Federation of Arts has concentrated on its founding principle of broadening the audience for contemporary American art. Through its numerous exhibition and film programs, the AFA has succeeded in "breaking down barriers of distance and language to broaden the knowledge and appreciation of art." Annual exhibitions such as New Talent in the USA and Art Schools USA, organized by the AFA, brought before the public the most contemporary American artists and craftspeople, genres, and artistic forms of experimentation, exposing viewers to new ways of thinking and expression. In 1965, AFA produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films created to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
A vital part of American art history, the AFA was one of the first organizations to develop successfully the concept of traveling art exhibitions on a national and international level. The AFA was instrumental in assisting museums with circulating important juried exhibitions of contemporary art, such as the Whitney Annual and Corcoran Biennial. The AFA also recognized the importance of the exchange of cultural ideas, and it brought exhibitions of the European masters to the American public as well as exhibitions focusing on foreign contempoorary art, photography, and architecture. Many organizations and museums have followed the AFA's precedent, and traveling national and international venues are now commonplace.
Since 1909, women have served as officers and members of the Board of Trustees. Leila Mechlin was a founding participant and served as secretary from 1909 to 1933. Juliana R. Force and Eloise Spaeth both chaired the Exhibition Committee in the late 1940s. Women and artists of diverse backgrounds and nationalities were widely represented in the AFA's exhibition programs, most notably during the 1960s. In 1960, the AFA organized, with financial support from the Ford Foundation, a major Jacob Lawrence retrospective. Additional culturally diverse exhibitions included Contemporary Jewish Ceremonial Art (1961), The Heart of India (1962), 1,000 Years of American Indian Art (1963), and Ten Negro Artists from the United States (1966).
The AFA also had an impact on patronage in the arts. AFA exhibitions of contemporary art provided collectors with knowledge of new artists and avant-garde art forms, creating a broader demand and market for this type of work. Museums and collectors began purchasing work by new or obscure American artists whom they learned about through AFA exhibitions and programs.
The historical records of the American Federation of Arts offer the researcher a unique opportunity to study the development of American art and artists in the twentieth century as well as providing insight into trends in American culture.
1909 -- Founded in New York City. Began publishing Art and Progress (later retitled Magazine of Art) and the American Art Annual.
1910 -- Moved headquarters to Washington, D.C.
1913 -- Lobbied successfully for the removal of the tariff on art entering the United States.
1915-1916 -- Lobbied successfully against the Cummins Amendment and the Interstate Commerce Commission's prohibitively high interstate tax on traveling art.
1920 -- Organized a lobbying campaign for the development of a national gallery of art at its national convention.
1921 -- Opened two new offices at the University of Nebraska and at Stanford University.
1924 -- Arranged American participation in the Venice Biennale exhibition.
1927 -- Closed office at Stanford University.
1929 -- Organized American participation in exhibitions in France and Germany.
1933 -- Closed office at the University of Nebraska.
1935 -- Began publishing Who's Who in American Art.
1948 -- Published The Official Directory of Illustrators and Advertising Artists.
1949 -- Collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to circulate exhibitions from its collections.
1950 -- Participated in the U.S. government's German re-orientation program.
1951 -- Joined forces with the United States Information Agency (USIA) to create the Overseas Museum Donor Program. Published the reference guide Films on Art. Co-sponsored the Films on Art Festival in Woodstock, New York, through 1957.
1952 -- Moved headquarters to New York City.
1953 -- Magazine of Art liquidated.
1954 -- Introduced the Picture of the Month Program.
1956 -- Founded the Art Collectors Club of America.
1958 -- Received a Ford Foundation grant to finance a series of one-person shows of contemporary American artists.
1960 -- Created the Museum Donor Program.
1961 -- Received a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts to circulate exhibitions to small New York state communities.
1963 -- Received a grant from the Ford Foundation for the Artists in Residence program.
1964 -- Introduced the List Art Poster Program.
1965 -- Produced The Curriculum in Visual Education, a series of films that attempted to heighten the aesthetic awareness of children.
Appendix: List of Artists Exhibiting with American Federation of Arts:
The following is an alphabetical list of artists who exhibited with the American Federation of Arts; many are obscure. The alpha-numeric codes and numbers appearing with the artist's name represent specific AFA exhibition programs and, most often, AFA's exhibition numbering system. In cases where the AFA did not assign an exhibition number, Archives' staff have done so.
The primary reference source for the names and name variants is the American Federation of Arts Records. The names are documented in handwritten notes and lists, typed lists, and exhibition catalogs and announcements. The Archives of American Art name authority file was also consulted in questionable cases. The majority of names, however, were not found in either the AAA name authority file or standard bibliographic resources, and only in the AFA records.
Examples:
55-1: AFA annual exhibitions program
AD-1: Addison Gallery exhibitions
L-1: Life Magazine Exhibitions
ME-1: Misceallaneous exhibitions (numbers assigned by AAA staff)
NMA-1: Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibitions
NE-96: Contemporary Color Lithography
NY-1: New York State Council on the Arts exhibitions
VA-1: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts exhibitions
A. Quincy Jones, Frederick E. Emmons & Assoc: 62-34
The records of the American Federation of Arts (AFA) were donated to the Archives of American Art (AAA) over a thirteen-year period, with the bulk of the material arriving between 1964 and 1966. In 1979, Preston Bolton donated his letters and those from John de Menil, Ann Drevet, Lee Malone, and others regarding planning for the 1957 AFA annual convention held in Houston, Texas; convention committee minutes from 1956; and AFA newsletters. This material, as well as a 1979 gift from Louise Ferrari of transcripts from a panel discussion from the 1957 AFA convention in Houston, was microfilmed on AAA Reel 1780. All material previously microfilmed on Reel 1780 has been fully integrated into the collection and arranged within proper series and subseries. The provenance of the 1990-1993 printed material is unknown.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The American Federation of Arts records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
REELS N591-N597: Photographs of the Museum, Juliana Force, Herman Moore; scrapbooks on the Whitney Studio Club, Whitney Studio Galleries and the Museum, 1927-1965.
REELS N599-N604: Notebooks of Edwin W. Dickinson; photographs and provenance information for works by Philip Evergood; a catalog of information and some photographs of Chinese ink drawings and other works by Reginald Marsh; and photographs and information on Bernard Reder, Jack Tworkov, Max Weber (portions also microfilmed on reel NY59-8 (fr. 497-658), reel NY59-9 (fr. 1-51), and William Zorach.
REELS N604-N609: Exhibition catalogs, 1946-1966, for artists and groups shows at the Museum, including Robert Feke, William Rimmer, Ralph Blakelock, Albert Maurer, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Thomas Cole, Max Weber, Arshile Gorky, Mark Tobey, John Sloan, Loren MacIver, I. Rice Pereira, George Grosz, Reginald Marsh, Charles Burchfield, Morris Graves, Theodore Roszak, John Marin, Hans Hofmann, Bradley Tomlin, Stuart Davis, Milton Avery, Lee Gatch, Jose De Creeft, Maurice Prendergast, Edward Hopper, Hyman Bloom, Robert E. Jones, Balcomb Greene, Karl Zerbe, Arthur G. Dove, William Zorach, Philip Evergood, Bernard Reder, Herbert Feber, Oliver O'Connor Barrett,Arthur B. Davies, Jose De Rivera, Paul Burlin, Joseph Stella, Jack Tworkov, Ivan Albright, Stuart Davis, Edwin Dickinson, John Quidor, and Niles Spencer.
REELS N646-N694: Artists' files on: Oliver O'Connor Barrett,William Baziotes, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Peter Blume, James Brooks, Patrick Henry Bruce, Charles Burchfield, Paul Burlin, David Burliuk, Paul Cadmus, Mary Cassatt, Thomas Cole, Glenn Coleman, Jon Corbino, John Steuart Curry, Jo Davidson, Arthur B. Davies, Jose DeCreeft, Charles Demuth, Jose De Rivera, Arthur Dove, Guy Pène du Bois, Stuart Davis, Frank Duveneck, Ralph Earl, Eastman Johnson, The Eight, Philip Evergood, Robert Feke, Lyonel Feininger, Ernest Fiene, George Fuller, Lee Gatch, William Glackens, Arshile Gorky, Balcomb Greene, Chaim Gross, George Grosz, William Harnett, Marsden Hartley, Childe Hassam, John Heliker, Robert Henri, Hans Hofmann, George Inness, Leon Kelly, Franz Kline, Karl Knaths, Leon Kroll, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Gaston Lachaise, Robert Laurent, Ernest Lawson, Jack Levine, Seymour Lipton, George B. Luks,
Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Loren MacIver, John Marin, Reginald Marsh, Alfred Maurer, K. H. Miller, Robert Motherwell, William Mount, Jerome Myers, Louise Nevelson, Georgia O'Keeffe (portions also microfilmed on reels NY59-13 (fr. 98-115, 406-424, 586-685), reel NY59-14 (entire), and reel NY59-15 (fr. 1-140, 145-153), I. Rice Pereira, Bernard Perlin, Joseph Pollett, Jackson Pollock, Reginald Pollack, Henry V. Poor, Richard Pousette-Dart, Maurice Prendergast, Abraham Rattner, Bernard Reder, Ad Reinhardt, William Rimmer, Larry Rivers, Hugo Robus, Theodore Roszak, Mark Rothko, Concetta Scarvaglione, Henry Schnakenberg, Ben Shahn, John Sloan, David Smith, Eugene Speicher, Theodoros Stamos, Joseph Stella, Maurice Sterne, Mark Tobey, Bradley Tomlin,Trajan, Allen Tucker, John Twachtman, Jack Tworkov, Abraham Walkowitz (also on reel NY/59-15) , Max Weber, James M. Whistler, Gertrude Whitney, Grant Wood, Alexander Wyant, Mahonri Young, and William Zorach.
REELS NWH 1-NWH 7: Artist files on Charles Sheeler, Bernard Karfiol, Louis Eilshemius; scatterred records of the Whitney Studio Club and Museum, 1914-1945, including minutes, Oct. 15, 1930, and Whitney Studio ledgers, 1928-1931; catalogs of one-man shows, 1932-1945; catalogs of annual painting exhibitions, 1932-1940, sculpture, watercolor and drawing exhibitions, 1933-1945, and group exhibitions, 1932-1945; and clippings, Oct. 1935-1936.
REELS NY59/8 (fr. 256-end)-NY59/10: Files on Max Weber, including biographical material, lists of work, and miscellany. Also found (NY59/8 frames 354-383) are ca.20 letters from Weber to Abraham Walkowitz, 1907-1924.
Biographical / Historical:
Whitney Museum of American Art is an American art museum in New York, New York. Founded by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and formally opened in 1931. Previous to its opening as a museum it was known as the Whitney Studio Club (1914-28) and Whitney Studio Galleries (1928-30).
Provenance:
The Weber files on reels NY59/8-10 were lent for microfilming 1959 by the Whitney Museum of American Art; the remainder was lent 1964-1967; additional material from the Museum was lent at the same time, and subsequently donated, including the papers of Lloyd Goodrich, Juliana Force, Thomas B. Clarke, the American Art Research Council, and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney; these have each been cataloged separately. Portions of Weber, and O'Keeffe material that was microfilmed in 1959 were refilmed in 1967.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Artists -- Exhibitions -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Correspondence, photographs, clippings, biographical data on artists, press notices, Christmas cards, and publications documenting the organization's attempt to provide a market for artists affected by the Depression by using original work for greeting cards.
REELS NAGI-NAG12: Correspondence is between Samuel Golden, director, and artists whose work was sought. Among the correspondents are George Ahgupuk, C.W. Anderson, Ralph Avery, R. Fayerweather Babcock, Merrill A. Bailey, Jozef Bakos, Ken Barker, Nile Jurgen Behncke, Ludwig Bemelmans, Thomas H. Benton, Aaron Bohrod, Clarence Bolton, Cornelius Botke, Jessie Arms Botke, Fiske Boyd, Conrad Buff, Charles E. Burchfield, Ranulph Bye, Howard N. Cook, John O'Hara Cosgrave, John Steuart Curry, Gladys R. Davis, Harold Thomas Denison, Frederick K. Detwiller, Olin Dows, Yvonne Pène Dubois, Roger Antoine Duvoisin, Mabel Dwight, Kerr Eby, Louis M. Eilshemius, W.J. Enright, Daniel R. Fitzpatrick, Don Freeman, Tom Funk, Richard Gaige, Emil Ganso, Joseph Webster Golinkin, Witold Gordon, Gordon Grant, Vernon Grant, Jim Harmon, Dalzell Hatfield, Peter Helik, Edward Hopper, Peter Hunt,
Victoria Hutson Huntley, Elmer Jacobs, Ralph Johnstone, Ilonka Karasz, Norman Kent, Rockwell Kent, Nettie King, Hans Kleiber, Georgina Klitgaard, Gene Kloss, Manuel Komroff, Jo Kotula, Leon Kroll, Adolf Kronengold, Max Kuehne, Richard Lahey, Paul Hambleton Landacre, Edward Landon, Barbara Latham, Margaret Laughlin, Wolfgang Lederer, Lois Lenski, James Lewicki, Gisella Loeffler, C. A. Luce, Omer Luneau, Kyra Markham, Reginald Marsh, Maxwell Mays, Dudley Morris, Thomas F. Naegele, Thomas W. Nason, Alexander Nesbitt, Vera Neville, Woldemar Neufeld, Warren Newcombe, Edith Newton, Dale Nichols, Hobart Nichols, Frank L. Nicolet, Olle Nordmark, Jose Clemente Orozco,
William E. Pajaud, Virginia Plummer, Grace Paull, John C. Pellew, A. Sheldon Pennoyer, Leon Pescheret, Gilmer Petroff, John Pike, Henry C. Pitz, Stan Poray, Tina Prentiss, Gregorio Prestopino, Rosalie Rees, Grant Reynard, John Rogers,Conrad Roland, Arnold Ronnebeck, Ruth Starr Rose, James N. Rosenberg, Doris Rosenthal, Sanford Ross, Andree Ruellan, Rudolph Ruzicka, Martha Ryther,Paul Sample, Patsy Santo, Helen Sawyer, William J. Schaldach, Georges Schreiber,Frederick Shane, John Sharp, Charles Sheeler, Millard Sheets, Alphonse Shelton, Dwight Shepler, William Shevis, Harry Shokler, Gerrit V. Sinclair, Mortimer Slotnick, Bissell Phelps Smith, Yngve Edward Soderberg, Harry Sternberg, Anthony Thieme, Nura Ulreich, Joseph P. Vorst, Maynard Walker, Heinz Warneke,Stow Wengenroth, John Whorf, Warren F. Wheelock, Harry H. Wickey, Guy Wiggins, Myra A. Wiggins, Edward A. Wilson, Ronau W. Woiceske, Stanley W. Woodward, and others.
UNMICROFILMED: A portfolio of 106 Christmas cards, with the evelopes and original packing materials, printed and distributed by the American Artists Group in 1935. This is a nearly complete set (missing only two cards) and the first set published by the group. Also included are three publications: "Handbook of the American Artists Group," 1935, "Original Etchings, Lithographs, and Woodcuts Published by the American Artists Group," 1937, and "Ten Years, A Christmas Card Adventure," ca. 1944
Biographical / Historical:
Greeting card company. Founded 1934; New York, N.Y. One of its aims was to popularize contemporary American art by publishing fine reproductions of original etchings, lithographs, drawings and paintings on greeting cards.
Provenance:
Materials on reels NAG1-12 lent for microfilming by the American Artists Group, 1966-1968. Unmicrofilmed material donated 1994 by Allen P. Golden, son of Samuel Golden who founded the American Artists Group.
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.
Topic:
Art -- Marketing -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of abstract painter Milton Avery measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1926 to 1982, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1950 to 1982. Almost the entire collection consists of records of the Milton Avery Trust (2.4 linear feet) maintained by Avery's wife Sally, who served as a trustee. Milton Avery's business and personal correspondence (five folders) contains letters from friends and fellow artists, including a few from George Duthuit, Louis Eilshemius, Marsden Hartley, Wallace Putnam, and Mark Rothko. Also found are scattered writings about Avery, price lists, estate records, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and news clippings.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of abstract painter Milton Avery measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1926 to 1982, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1950 to 1982. Almost the entire collection consists of business files maintained by Milton Avery's wife Sally as a trustee for the Milton Avery Trust (2.4 linear feet). Milton Avery's business and personal correspondence (five folders) contains letters from friends and fellow artists, including a few from George Duthuit, Louis Eilshemius, Marsden Hartley, Wallace Putnam, and Mark Rothko. Also found are scattered writings about Avery, price lists, estate records, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and news clippings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 7 series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1964, 1975 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1935-1981 (Box 1; 10 folders)
Series 3: Subject Files, 1950-1981 (Box 1-4; 2.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings, circa 1951-1979 (Box 4; 5 folders)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1926, 1962-1977 (Box 4; 4 folders)
Series 7: Photographs, circa 1970 (Box 4; 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Milton Avery (1885-1965) was born in Altmar, New York and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. Around 1905 he began attending the Connecticut League of Art Students in Hartford where he studied life drawing while also working full-time as a factory worker and file clerk. In 1915 he had his first public exhibition and, in 1918, transferred to the School of Art Society in Hartford. In 1924 he met Sally Michel (1905-2003), a student at the Art Students League in New York, and moved to New York City to be closer to her. They married one year later. Around this time Avery also altered his year of birth to 1893, perhaps due to the age difference between him and Sally. After their marriage Sally worked as an illustrator so that Avery could paint full time.
During the early 1920s, Avery's works were traditional figurative and genre subjects, influenced by American Impressionism. By the mid 1920s, with his move to New York, Avery began to simplify his forms and use broader expanses of flat color. Although his paintings became increasingly abstract, he never fully abandoned representational subject matter, painting figure groups, still lifes, landscapes, and seascapes. By the mid-1940s, Avery's work was characterized by a reduction of elements and elimination of detail, filled with an emphasis on arbitrary color.
Avery exhibited in a group show at The Opportunity Gallery in 1928 which also featured Mark Rothko and the two became close friends. He became friends with many other artists including Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, and Marsden Hartley. Avery's color work was an important influence on many younger artists, particularly Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, Barnett Newman, Helen Frankenthaler, and other Color Field painters. The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. was the first museum to purchase one of his paintings in 1929 and to give him his first solo museum exhibition in 1944.
In 1949 Milton Avery suffered a major heart attack and began making monotypes during his recovery. He returned to painting despite periods of ill-health, and his reputation grew rapidly over the next ten years, culminating in a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in 1960. He also exhibited along with his wife Sally Avery and their daughter, March Avery Cavanaugh (born in 1932), both of whom were also painters. Avery died in 1965 and left behind an oeuvre of paintings that numbers in the thousands. His wife Sally managed his estate and the sale of his works to many major museums, and served as a trustee for the Milton Avery Trust until her death in 2003.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reels N68-95, N68-115, N69-63, and 2535 including six scrapbooks, a sketchbook, Christmas cards, exhibition catalogs, and photographs. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Milton Avery papers were donated in 1968, 1969, and 1982 by his widow Sally Avery, including a few letters previously loaned for microfilming.
Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art's website.
Rights:
The Milton Avery papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The records of the New York City based Valentine Gallery measure 1.8 linear feet and date from circa 1890 to 1960. The bulk of the material documents the gallery's dealings with artists Louis Eilshemius, John Kane, Henri Matisse, and C.S. Price. Additionally, there is one scrapbook which contains printed materials regarding Valentine Gallery exhibitions from 1925-1936.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the New York City based Valentine Gallery measure 1.8 linear feet and date from circa 1890 to 1960. The bulk of the material documents the gallery's dealings with artists Louis Eilshemius, John Kane, Henri Matisse, and C.S. Price. Additionally, there is one scrapbook which contains printed materials regarding Valentine Gallery exhibitions from 1925-1936.
The artist's file for Eilshemius contains biographical information; correspondence between Valentine Dudensing and the artist, as well scattered letters from Carl Van Vecten, Alfred H. Barr, and museums and institutions; writings and notes; price lists and other financial and legal documents; printed material from Eilshemius's varied career and from his affiliation with the Valentine Gallery; photographs including portraits of the artist, and photos of installations and of works of art; and a scrapbook containing clippings and scattered other printed materials covering Eilshemius's shows at the Valentine Gallery.
Artists' files for John Kane, Henri Matisse, and C.S. Price contain scattered documentation. The file for John Kane includes correspondence between Valentine Dudensing and Kane's estate managers as well as museums and institutions, price lists, legal records, and printed materials. There are two letters from Henri Matisse to Valentine Dudensing regarding travel plans and a thank you message. The C.S. Price file consists of letters from Price regarding specific works of art, and scattered financial records.
A scrapbook dates from 1925-1936 and includes newspaper and magazine clippings about exhibitions and artists represented by the Valentine Gallery. Artists and exhibitions mentioned in the clippings include Alexander Brook, Giorgio de Chirico, Stuart Davis, Jean Lucrat, Carlos Merida, and Joseph Stella. Also, there is a poster created by Valentine Dudensing to fundraise for ambulances for France.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 2 series.
Series 1: Artists Files, circa 1890-1960 (Box 1, 3; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 2: Scrapbook, 1925-1936 (Box 2, 4; 0.5 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
The Valentine Gallery was founded by F. Valentine Dudensing in 1926 and operated in New York City until 1947. The gallery hosted many exhibitions of Modern European art and specialized in School of Paris paintings.
F. Valentine Dudensing was born in 1892 in New York City. His father, Richard Dudensing was a well known art publisher and gallerist who owned Dudensing Galleries. Valentine served in World War I in the United States Aviation Corps and in 1920, married Margaret van der Gros. During a trip to Europe in the early 1920s, Dudensing became acquainted with the son of artist Henri Matisse, Pierre. Together, they conceived a gallery managed by Dudensing in New York while Matisse organized and curated art from Europe.
Dudensing opened his gallery in 1926 at 43 East 57th Street as the F. Valentine Dudensing Gallery. At this time, his father's gallery, the Dudensing Galleries, was located at 45 West 44th Street. Valentine Dudensing changed his gallery's name in 1927 to the Valentine Gallery to distinguish it from his father's gallery. The gallery was one of the first to bring Modern European works to New York City and hosted exhibitions of Giorgio de Chirico, Jean Lurçat, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and André Dunoyer de Segonzac. Additionally, Valentine Gallery represented American artists including Louis Eilshemius, John Kane, and C.S. Price. Pierre Matisse left the partnership with Valentine Dudensing to open his own gallery in 1931.
In 1947, Valentine Dudensing closed his gallery and moved to France with his wife. He died in 1967.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel NY59-5) including gallery index cards. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Valentine Gallery records were donated by gallery founder, Valentine Dudensing in 1958. Dudensing also lent the Archives of American Art gallery index cards for microfilming in 1959. Roy R. Neuberger donated materials regarding Louis Eilshemius in 1959 who received the material from Valentine Dudensing.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Valentine Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as posessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Research materials for Schack's books on Albert C. Barnes and Louis Michel Eilshemius, ART AND ARGYROL: THE LIFE AND CAREER OF DR. ALBERT C. BARNES and AND HE SAT AMONG ASHES.
REEL D193: Eilshemius material, including fifteen letters, 1891-1831, primarily thanks from Eilshemius to C. H. Collins, a poet and a critic who favorably reviewed Eilshemius' books of verse, "Mamon" and "'Lady' Vere" in local Hillsboro, Ohio papers; 2 letters, undated and 1936, from Eilshemius to Schack; 13 hotel and restaurant receipts, 1893-1903; a certificate concerning Eilshemius' coat-of-arms; 21 clippings, 1897-1917; 3 tickets, 1903; a place card from the Art Students at Paris' Thanksgiving dinner at Restaurant Lapérouse, 1887; and a map of Arlington, Hudson County, New Jersey, 1900. The place card and the map were not microfilmed. Other Eilshemius material from sources other than Schack appearing on microfilm reel D193 has been cataloged and housed separately.
REEL 2917: Barnes and Eilshemius material. Barnes material includes correspondence with Ira Glackens, Dr. Hermann Hille, George Biddle, Thomas Hart Benton, James A. Michener, and others; notes; manuscript pages; a catalog; printed material; and a photograph. Eilshemius material includes letters to Eilshemius; Schack's correspondence with Katherine S. Dreier, Duncan Phillips, and others; notes; copies of writings on Eilshemius by others; and clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Writer; Jerusalem, Israel.
Provenance:
Material on reel D193 donated 1959 by William Schack. These papers appear on the microfilm with records of the Valentine Gallery relating to Eilshemius.
Material on reel 2917 donated 1981 by William Schack.
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.
Reel NMcB 1 - 13: Correspondence, mostly 1910-1960; manuscript writings; notes; reviews; and articles. Correspondents include the Stettheimer sisters, Charles Aiken, Alexander Archipenko, George Biddle, Edward Bruce, Alexander Calder, Mary Callery, Royal Cortissoz, Chester Dale, Randall Davey, Katherine Dreier, Guy Pène du Bois, Marcel Duchamp, Valentine Dudensing, Albert Duveen, Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Thomas Eakins, Louis Eilshemius, Lyonel Feininger, Juliana Force, Edith Halpert, George Hart, Max Kalish, Rockwell Kent, Samuel M. Kootz, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Gaston Lachaise, Jacques Lipchitz, Robert Macbeth, John Marin, Peppino Mangravite, Georgia O'Keeffe, Amédée Ozenfant, Walter Pach, Jules Pascin, John Quinn, Man Ray, Gertrude Stein, Joseph Stella, Maurice Sterne, Albert Sterner, Alfred Stieglitz, Gustave Verbeek, Malcolm Vaughan, Forbes Watson, Max Weber, Guy Wiggins, and William Zorach.
Reel D105: Notes, letters, clippings, photographs and catalogs relating to Thomas Eakins from the collection of Henry McBride.
Reel NMcB 14: Letters, 1946-1962, to Dr. and Mrs. Everett S. Barr, and letters, 1950-1957, to Mr. and Mrs. C. Earle Miller.
Reel 372: Letters and photographs, ca. 1903-1962. McBride writes in journal-like detail from 1947-1962 to his friends, Alice and Everett Barr, West Chester, Pa., commenting on politics during the Truman and Eisenhower years, theatre and opera in New York, and the social and domestic activities of the social group with which he associates, including members of the Delano, Stettheimer and Wetmore families, as well as literary and art figures including Glenway Wescott, Monroe Wheeler, Claude Rains, and others. Photographs, ca. 1903-1947, include McBride with Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, Henri Matisse, and others; one postcard from Carl Van Vechten, June 4, 1933, and a photograph of Marianne Moore.
Biographical / Historical:
Art critic and author, New York, N.Y. Wrote for THE NEW YORK SUN (1913-1949) and THE DIAL (1920-1929). Author of MATISSE, SOME FRENCH MODERNS, MARIN, and FLORINE STETTHEIMER. Gave many prominent artists their first critical acclaim, such as Thomas Eakins, Jules Pascin, John Marin, Charles Demuth, Louis Eilshemius.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming by Maximillian Miltzlaff, executor of McBride's estate.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Files on ca. 150 American artists and art subjects, selected from Duveen's art reference files. Included are photographs of paintings in other collections, auction and exhibition catalogs, miscellaneous publications.
Files include: Francis Alexander, Washington Allston, William H. Bartlett, Ben-Zion, Thomas Birch, Joseph Blackburn, Ralph A. Blakelock, Charles F. Blauvelt, Peter Blume, Emile Branchard, Albertis D. O. Browere, John G. Brown, Jonathan Buddington, James E. Buttersworth, Carra, Dennis M. Carter, Mary Cassatt, George Catlin, Centurion, Paul Cezanne, Moura Chabor, Marc Chagall, T. Chambers, Jean Charlot, Thomas Cole, John Constable, George Cope, John S. Copley, Ralston Crawford, Jasper F. Cropsey, Arthur B. Davies, Charles Despiau, Roland Detre, Thomas R. Dibble, Enrico Donati, William Doriani, Thomas Doughty, Jessie Drew-Bear, Robert S. Duncanson, Dunlap, Asher B. Durand, George H. Durrie, Frank Duveneck, Evert Duyckinck, Thomas Eakins, Jacob Eichholtz, Louis M. Eilshemius, Charles L. Elliott, Robert Field, Emil Ganso, Pablo Gargallo, Jan Gelb, Paul Gillman, Christian Gullager, George H. Hall, Chester Harding, William M. Harnett, George Harvey, William J. Hays, George P. A. Healy, Edward L. Henry, John Hesselius, Edward Hicks, Thomas Hicks, Holland House, Charles Fevret de Saint-Memin, Winslow Homer, S. A. Hudson, Daniel Huntington, Henry Inman, George Inness, John W, Jarvis, Eastman Johnson, Henrietta Johnston, John Johnston, Hilde B. Kayn, Dikran K. Kelekian, Fitz Hugh Lane, Ernest Lawson, M. F. Lefferts, William R. Leigh, Abraham Lincoln, George B. Luks, Edward G. Malbone, Alfred H. Maurer, Louis Maurer, McKay, Alfred J. Miller, Louis C. Moeller, Samuel F. B. Morse, John Neagle, Donald Organ, Bass Otis, Walter Pach, Charles W. Peale, James Peale, Rembrandt Peale, William Penn, Enoch W. Perry, F. E. H. Philippoteaux, Charles P. Polk, T. B. Pope, Rufus Porter, William M. Prior, Walter Quirt, William T. Ranney, Reinhardt, Frederic Remington, Louisa Robins, Severin Roesen, Thomas P. Rossiter, Peter F. Rothermel, Charles M. Russell, Edward Savage, William Sawitzky, Nikol Schattenstein, Christian Schussele, D. Serres, James Sharples, Morris Shulman, John Smibert, Sergei Soudeikin, Haim Soutine, Frederick R. Spencer, Albert Stewart, Robert Street, William J. Strong, Gilbert Stuart, C. (Charles ?) Sullivan, Thomas Sully, Arthur F. Tait, G. Tirrell, John Trumbull, John Vanderlyn, Pieter Vanderlyn, William Von Schlegell, Samuel L. Waldo, Abraham Walkowitz, George Washington, Elbert Weinberg, Julian A. Weir, Thomas B. Welch, Adolph U. Wertmuller, Benjamin West, Anne Whitney, Arnold Wiltz, William E. Winner, S. Wood, and Thomas W. Wood.
The Saint-Memin, Stuart, B. West and Wertmuller files contain material from Albert Rosenthal relating to the above artists.
Arrangement:
Files are arranged alphabetically by artist and subject, rolls NDU1-NDU3; publications and other miscellany were filmed on rolls NDU4-NDU5.
Biographical / Historical:
Albert Duveen was an art dealer and collector with offices in New York, N.Y., specializing in early American art. He was a cousin to Joseph Duveen (1869-1939), 1st Baron Duveen, president of Duveen Brothers art dealers.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1958 by Duveen.
Restrictions:
The Archives does not own the original papers. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm.
The papers of painter De Hirsh Margules measure 5.5 linear feet and date from 1888-2001, with the bulk dating from 1923-1965. The papers contain biographical material, and business and personal correspondence, including letters from Alfred Stiegliz, John Marin, Henry Miller, Max Schnitzler, Charles J. Connick, Louis M. Eilshemius, Alex King, and Myron Lechay. Also found are writings, printed material, scrapbooks, photographs, works of art and audio recordings documenting Margules' personal life and professional career.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter De Hirsh Margules measure 5.5 linear feet and date from 1888-2001, with the bulk dating from 1923-1965. The papers contain biographical material, and business and personal correspondence, including letters from Alfred Stiegliz, John Marin, Henry Miller, Max Schnitzler, Charles J. Connick, Louis M. Eilshemius, Alex King, and Myron Lechay. Also found are writings, printed material, scrapbooks, photographs, works of art and audio recordings documenting Margules' personal life and professional career.
Biographical material consists of Margules' curriculum vitae, address books, war ration books, press credentials, passports, naturalization documents, membership and social security cards, and memorial material on De Hirsh and Blanche Margules.
Correspondence of De Hirsh Margules covers both personal and business matters. Family correspondents include his wife Blanche London, her parents, De Hirsh's mother Rosa and his sister Sam. There is correspondence with Jean and Harrison Horblit, friends and business associates of the Margules, as well as correspondence with his girlfriend, Marieli Kailin Mandel. Other correspondents include Alfred Stieglitz, John Marin, Henry Miller, Max Schnitzler, Charles J. Connick, Louis M. Eilshemius, Alex King, Myron Lechay, and two letters from New York Governor Herbert H. Lehman. There are single letters from Sasha Kolin; New York City Mayor John V. Lindsay; Lawrence F. O'Brien, special assistant to President John F. Kennedy; Buckminster Fuller. This last letter was not addressed exclusively to Margules. Other personal correspondence includes letters, postcards and greeting cards from family members and friends. Other business correspondents include galleries and museums such as Babcock Galleries, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Niveau Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Brooklyn Museum, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Ferargil Gallery, Feigl Gallery, Guggenheim Museum, Worcester Art Museum and Walker Art Center.
Writings consist mostly of poems by De Hirsh Margules, sometimes appearing in multiple draft forms, as well as a longer work titled "Mulberry Bend." Also included within the series are notebooks filled with poems and works of prose, the latter expounding upon his theories and ideas. Writings by other authors range from poetry to works of prose, criticism and biography, including A. Lincoln Gillespie, Jr., Kenneth Lawrence Beaudoin, David Weber, Aaron Frankel, James Grady, Dick Higgins, and Esther Gilman, among others. There are three illustrated writings by Alfred Jensen. Audio recordings contain a sound tape reel of De Hirsh Margules reciting his poems Rainbow and Mulberry Bend.
Printed material includes newspaper and magazine clippings, press releases, exhibition announcements, catalogues and books. Scrapbooks include printed material, newspaper and magazine clippings, and exhibition announcements on the career of De Hirsh Margules. Also included are two scrapbooks by Blanche London Margules, representing newspaper clippings of her writing, among others.
Works of Art include an oil painting on wood and sketchbooks by Margules. Also included are six collages in a series by Kenneth Lawrence Beaudoin titled "Eye Poems"; and text-based drawings/writings by A. Lincoln Gillespie, Jr.
Photographs, transparencies and slides include works of art by De Hirsh and Blanche London Margules. Also included are personal photographs of the Margules', their friends, family and students, and two folders of photographs of Marieli Kailin Mandel.
Arrangement:
The De Hirsh Margules papers are organized into 8 series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1888-1978, undated (Box 1, 6; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1923-2000, undated (Box 1-3; 2.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1936-1965, undated (Box 4; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1933-2001, undated (Box 5; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1922-1957, undated (Box 5, 7; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographs, 1926-1992, undated (Box 5, 7; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 7: Works of Art, 1948, undated (Box 6, 7; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 8: Audio Recordings, undated (Box 6; 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
De Hirsh Margules (1899-1965) was a painter in New York, NY. Margules was born in Jasse, Romania and arrived in New York City at only ten months of age. His parents were in the Yiddish Theater; his father, Edouard was a playwright/director, and his mother, Rosa, was an actress. Margules received much of his art education outside of the conventional art institutional framework. Early on, he studied with Edwin Randby in Pennsylvania from 1917-1918, but it was really his neighbor, the painter Benno Greenstein, who encouraged Margules to pursue a career in the arts. From 1919-1921 he studied period architecture, design and decoration at the New York Evening School of Art and Design.
By 1922, Margules began working nights as a police reporter for the City News Association of New York, a job he would hold until 1942. However, he continued to study and paint during the day, this time working with Myron Lechay.
In 1927 Margules took a leave of absence from the City News Association to travel to Paris. He studied at the Musée du Louvre, and painted landscapes in Montmartre, Paris; Fontenay-près-Vézelay, Burgundy; and Tunis, Africa. In 1929 Margules returned to New York and met artist/dealer Alfred Stieglitz, who quickly became his most trusted friend and advisor. It was through Stieglitz that Margules was introduced to John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, Paul Rosenfeld, Stuart Davis and Jan Matulka. While Margules would benefit from his relations with all of these artists, it was John Marin who would become his most important mentor. He felt that Marin was the only one who could help him with the formal problems he was having with painting.
Margules lived most of his life in Greenwich Village and was a well-known member of the colorful and vivacious arts community. He was commonly recognized by his affable demeanor, but mostly it was his attire, particularly the dark blue beret that he was rarely seen without. To his friends he was known simply as "the Baron."
De Hirsh Margules has been called an abstract realist. He used saturated colors and bold textures in the construction of his abstract landscapes, but more specifically it was his interest in the concept of "time painting" or "time perspective" that propelled his work. It was through the physical rendering and representation of his subject matter that he explored the psychological concepts of time. From 1936-1937 Margules established "Another Place," an exhibition space set up in his New York City apartment at 43 West 8th Street. Over a two year period there were fourteen solo-exhibitions by Margules and other artists.
He taught painting in 1951 at Ball State College in Muncie, Indiana, and at the New York Equity Workshop in 1952. In 1951 Elaine de Kooning wrote a piece about his working methods in the December edition of Art News.
De Hirsh Margules died from a heart attack in 1965. He was 65 years old.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives in 2005 by Elita Agee.
Restrictions:
The De Hirsh Margules papers are open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The De Hirsh Margules papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Kaitz, Hyman B. (Hyman Benjamin), 1916-1996 Search this
Names:
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941 Search this
Extent:
5 Items ((on a partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1933-1978
Scope and Contents:
Two letters, 1933 and undated, from Eilshemius in response to Kaitz's "fan letter" to Eilshemius. One letter is illustrated with a pen and ink sketch of a nude falling into a stream, and is titled "Flop! in." Also included are an undated clipping about Eilshemius; a review, 1970, written by John Canaday reviewing an Eilshemius exhibition at the Sidney Janis Gallery; and a review, 1978, by Jo Ann Lewis of a retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum.
Provenance:
Donated 1987 by Hyman B. Kaitz.
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.
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941 Search this
Extent:
5 Volumes ((on 2 partial microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Volumes
Date:
1886-1904
Scope and Contents:
REEL D193 (fr. 955-1341): 4 v., 1886-1904, of ledgers recording the household accounts of the Eilshemius family.
REEL 4781: 1 v., 1892-1894, recording the household accounts of the Eilshemius family, probably kept by Eilshemius' brother or another family member.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, mathematician, composer, writer; New York, N.Y.
Related Materials:
Additional Louis Eilshemius papers also located at: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution.
Provenance:
Donated by the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1956 (reel D193) and 1984 (reel 4781), who received it from the Eilshemius family.
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.
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941 Search this
Extent:
2 Pages
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
1935 Mar. 17
Scope and Contents:
Handwritten lighthearted letter from Eilshemius to Mr. W. J. F., probably a critic. Eilshemius writes: "Dear Mr. Writer in Art: I quite appreciate your kindness to let your Hartford, Conn. readers know a BIT about my stupendous production ... The matter with the art world is: the layman does not go to the artist to buy. The dealer is the lord. The layman could encourage the artist, thus letting the artist produce better work. That is what I've been lacking." On the verso: "This is sotto voce ... This is not for print."
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, mathematician, composer, writer. New York, New York.
Provenance:
Donated 1994 by James A. Gay, a Hartford, Conn. native and a Roman Catholic priest. According to Gay, the letter came from either Gay's great-uncle George A. Gay (d. 1939), a collector in Hartford, Conn., or, more likely, from Reverend Andrew Kelly (d. 1947), a collector and a friend of James Gay's family, and he believes, a friend of Eilshemius as well.
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.
Photographs of works of art and of friends; scrapbooks; clippings; exhibition materials; typescripts; greeting cards; and correspondence.
REEL 682: 29 photographs of Fruhauf, her "Making Faces" exhibition, 1968, and her caricature drawings; photographs of a painting by Louis Eilshemius, photographs of caricatures of Fruhauf by William Zorach, Alexander Calder, and Raphael Soyer; a photograph of a Christmas card from Maurice Ravel; 12 rough caricature drawings including one of Yasuo Kuniyoshi by Fruhauf; typescripts of conversations with Lord David Cecil and Alice Roosevelt Longworth, and notes on Aldous Huxley.
REEL 1119: Nine scrapbooks containing published caricatures of theatrical and musical personalities from newspapers and magazines; Christmas cards designed by Fruhauf; and clippings, exhibition announcements, and miscellaneous printed materials.
REEL 1816: A typescript of Fruhauf's 307 page autobiography "MAKING FACES: MEMOIRS OF A CARICATURIST," 1966; a press release regarding an exhibition of her works at the Smithsonian Institution in 1966, and a list of her work in the exhibition; and 62 reproductions of caricatures.
REEL 2803: a printed musical score "Six Musical Moods for the Piano" by Louis Michel Eilshemius (1897), autographed "Wedding Bells for Aline Vollmer, best wishes Louis M. Eilshemius 1934."
REEL 2812: Two undated letters to Fruhauf from Louis Eilshemius. In one he affirms that he hates to see nudes "in kitchen chairs," and remarks that a reproduction of his "Nymphs" would clarify this statement for her. A sketch, "Idyllness" is drawn on this letter. In the other letter he mentions Fruhauf's caricature of him, talks about his health and about their mutual friend [Harry] Salpeter.
Biographical / Historical:
Caricaturist and lithographer. Date of birth also given as 1907.
Other Title:
Louis Michel Eilshemius (microfilm title reel 2803)
Provenance:
Material on reels 682, 1119 and 1816 lent for microfilming 1970-1976; and material on reels 2803 and 2812 donated 1970 and 1980 all by Aline Fruhauf.
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.
A photograph of the interior of Eilshemius' studio in his house on East 57th St., New York; typescripts of letters to his mother, a diary entry, and a poem. Two letters to his mother describe his feelings about creating art work. One letter is a birthday poem written in Malaga, Spain in 1892 to his brother, Gustave. The diary entry, dated August 2, 1931, comments that "The one who understood my paintings is...Henry McBride."
REEL 439 AND SCANNED One photograph of Eilshemius, previously microfilmed under Photos of Artists I; it has been scanned.
Related Materials:
Louis Eilshemius papers also located at: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution.
Provenance:
Donated by Florence Lewison, 1965, who purchased some papers from Eilshemius' estate for the purpose of researching his art and personality. Lewison also owned many of his paintings, a number of which were bought by Joseph Hirshhorn. Also at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden are a portion of Eilshemius papers, including correspondence with Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Rigby, letters, sketches and a sketchbook, a manuscript, handbills and pamphlets. Hirshhorn may have received some or all of these items from Lewison.
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.
An interview of Louis Kaufman conducted 1985 Feb. 15, by Ruth Howard Cloudman, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.
Kaufman, a great friend and patron of Milton Avery, recalls introducing Mark Rothko to Avery. He describes his memories of Rothko, including a discussion of Rothko's knowledge of art history and his interest in the French avant-garde. Much of the interview concerns Milton Avery, including Kaufman's interest in his work as a collector, the group of artists surrounding Avery, and Avery's influence upon Kaufman as a musician. He also recalls visits to Louis Eilshemius. Kaufman recalls Mary Kumpt, Aaron Berkman, Sally Avery, David Burliuk, John Graham, Zborowski, Adolf Gottlieb, Louis Elishemius, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Louis Kaufman (1905-1994) was an art collector and musician.
Provenance:
This interview was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.
Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Ben-Zion, Bernard Braddon, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Jack Kufeld, Katharine Kuh, Stanley Kunitz, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Rebecca Reis, Maurice Roth, Sidney Schectman, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Hedda Sterne, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- 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.
Funding for the interview was provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941 Search this
Extent:
0.3 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1880-1963
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence with Eilshemius regarding sales of his paintings; letters to Zimbalist's daughter Jane; copied pencil drawings of people, two hand rendered maps of France and Switzerland and class notes (in German) created when Eilshemius was a school boy in Europe. Printed material includes pamplets and poetry written and published by Eilshemius, inscribed to Jane; and clippings about his life and work.
Biographical / Historical:
Zimbalist was a poet and friend of Eilshemius. She also handled sales of his smaller works, selling them for between 5 and 40 dollars, and not profiting from the sales. Her daughter, Jane, was an aspiring poet and friend to Eilshemius. Eilshemius was a painter, composer, mathematician, writer; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated by Syracuse University, who received the papers from Marguerite Harris (nee Zimbalist).
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.
Eilshemius's journal and essays, and McCarthy's sketchbooks and a scrapbook, collected by Sterling Strauser.
REEL 4398: Eilshemius's 125-page journal (1882-1884) discusses classes, student life, and sketching at Cornell University and an 1884 stay in New York City, including his studies at the Art Students League. Sixteen two- to five-page manuscripts (n.d. and 1934), titled "Experiences of Louis Eilshemius" and numbered from 2 to 18, discuss his studies at the Art Students League in New York City and the Academie Julian in Paris, technical matters, and other memories. A 1932 pamphlet by Eilshemius concerns "Some New Discoveries in Science and Art."
REEL 4408: Eight manila folders, each with 2 pages of poems concerning food and eating glued inside, were designed for lunch wagons and diners. One of the three sketchbooks contains drawings of Bethlehem Steel workers, some identified by name and shift number. A notebook (1920-1921) includes crayon and ink, watercolor, and pencil sketches; cartoons; and clippings of women. Seven pages of cartoons are attached to a manila folder. A scrapbook, labeled "made in Ritterville State Hospital, 1920," is filled with clippings of actresses, models, society women, and women athletes, some of whom are identified. Several clippings have been colored over with colored pencil.
Biographical / Historical:
Folk art collector and dealer, painter; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Discovered and helped popularize many folk or self-taught artists, including Justin McCarthy.
Other Title:
Sterling Strauser collection of Louis Eilshemius writings and pamphlet (microfilm title)
Sterling Strauser collection of Justin McCarthy materials (microfilm title)
Provenance:
Microfilmed in 1990 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. Strauser purchased the Eilshemius materials from New York artist Esther Pressoir, who received the materials from Eilshemius. Strauser received the McCarthy materials directly from Justin McCarthy.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Correspondence, writings, printed material, small paintings, drawings, and photographs of Louis Eilshemius collected by Robert K. Fitzgerel. consisting largely of material of the previous collector/owner, William Schack.
Included are letters to William Schack relating to Shack's publication of his biography on Eilshemius, including references to the individual owners and institutions holding Eilshemius's artwork; other correspondents are Robert Tannahill and George L.K. Morris; writings, including self-published material by Eilshemius; promotional cards; and a handwritten play script, The Course of Love. The printed material consists of newspaper clippings about Eilshemius and an extensive group of Eilshemius' letters to the editors of New York dailies. Photographs include nineteenth century images of Eilshemius as a child and his family members and photographs of artists model nudes.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Fitzgerel is a collector; Newcastle, Maine. William Schack was Louis Eilshemius's first biographer. Louis Eilshemius (1869-1941) was a painter, writer, and composer.
Provenance:
Donated 2001 by Robert K. Fitzgerel. The letters and epherema in the Fitzgerel collection were loaned to Steven Harvey, director of contemporary exhibitions at Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, who organized an exhibition on Eilshemius at the National Academy of Design (Sept.-Dec. 2001).
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.
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941 Search this
Names:
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941 Search this
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941 Search this
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941 Search this
Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941 Search this
Extent:
30 Items ((partially microfilmed on 3 partial reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1897-1941
Scope and Contents:
Published poems, memoir, brochures, announcements and a musical score by Eilshemius; exhibition catalogs; and clippings.
REEL 2803 (fr. 1091-1143, 1153-1160): A booklet containing "Satires on Art" and reproductions of two paintings for sale at 118 E. 57th St (1931); an announcement for "Companionship - an unusual metrical work"; an announcement for "over 4,000 oils, 1500 drawings of scenes in 20 countries. A real educative output non pareill"; an announcement "You Make Money by Making Your Own Picture Frames"; a musical score, "Six Musical Moods," 1897, composed and autographed by Eilshemius; and a brochure, "Some New Discoveries in Science and Art," 1932, containing writings and biographical information.
REEL 4283:Published poems: "Mystery and Truth : A Sonnet-Sequence (c1907),"Thoughts at Night-time" (c1909); "Creation's End - a Four Page Epic" (c1925); all published under his Dreamer's Press' and Three Arts' Friend - A Monthly, v. 1, no. 2 (Nov. 1925)
UNMICROFILMED: Three Arts' Friend (v. 1, no. 3 (Feb. 1926); and "My Brother Victor - A Convalescent's Fancy" (c1912) described on the title page as "[a] memorie was written at Paris, France, in the author's twenty-third year; while studying Art at Julian's."
REEL N70-48: Clippings, 1932-1941; exhibition catalogs from the Boyer and Kleemann Galleries; and pamphlets.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, mathematician, composer, writer; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Material on reel N70-48 lent for microfilming 1970 by an unknown lender. Nine brochures on reels 2803 (fr. 1091-1114) and 4283 (fr. 570-622) were transferred from the National Museum of American Art Library, 1981 and 1988. Brochure, "Some New.." on reel 2803 (fr.1153-60) was donated by Hugh Stix, wonder of Artist' Gallery and author of an exhibition catalog on Eilshemius. Provenance of the musical score is unknown.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use microfilm copy; contact AAA reference staff for access to unmicrofilmed publications.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Two-page holograph manuscript, signed by Eilshemius, (n.d., ca. 1930s) describing the inspiration for his paintings in addition to his life in Europe in the 1880s. Also included is a drawing by Eilshemius of an embellished picture frame.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, draftsman, writer, composer; New York, New York. Born 1864. Died 1941.
Provenance:
Donated 2002 by Robert N. Williams, who received the mss. and drawing from a friend.
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.
