Papers created by Asian art historian, curator, and collector Dr. James Francis Cahill. Includes personal and professional correspondence and project files documenting his many publications, lectures and activities in the Asian art field. Documents span his early career at the Freer Gallery of Art, where he served as curator of Chinese art from 1957-1965, and his tenure 1965-1994 as Professor of the History of Art at the University of California, Berkeley.
Scope and Content Note:
The James Cahill Papers span the years 1945 to 1996 and measures 15 linear feet. The collection includes: personal and administrative correspondence with other art historians, art dealers and collectors; lecture manuscripts and administrative material and correspondence with art museums, universities and other organizations in the Asian art community. There are also several personal letters and postcards with family friends of James and Dorothy Cahill. The folder descriptions were retained from Cahill's own folder titles and organized alphabetically within each series.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 2 series:
Series 1 -- Project Files, 1945-1996
Series 2 -- Correspondence with Individuals, 1945-1996
Biographical Note:
1926 -- Born, Fort Bragg, CA
1950 -- Receives BA degree in Oriental Languages from University of California, Berkeley
1952 -- Receives MA degree in Art History from University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor
Circa 1953 -- Holds a museum training fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
1954-1955 -- Studies with Shujiro Shimada at Kyoto University in Japan on a Fulbright Scholarship
1956 -- Works with Osvald Sirén in Stockholm on his seven-volume series "Chinese Painting: Leading Masters and Principles" Joins staff of Freer and Sackler Gallery as Curator of Chinese Art
1958 -- Receives PhD in Art History from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, working principally with Max Loehr
1960 -- Publishes first and highly influential book: "Chinese Painting." In: Treasures of Asia series, Editions d'Art Albert Skira, Geneva, Switzerland 1960. Published also in French and German editions
1965 -- Leaves the Freer and Sackler Gallery to accept position as Professor of History of Art at the University of California, Berkeley
1973 -- Goes to China as member of the Chinese Archaeological Delegation, first group of art historians to visit China from the US
1976 -- Publishes first of projected five-volume series on later Chinese paintings: "Hills Beyond a River: Chinese Painting of the Yuan Dynasty"
1977 -- Visits China as chairman of Chinese Old Painting Delegation
1978 -- Publishes second of projected five-volume series on later Chinese painting: "Parting At the Shore: Chinese Painting of the Early and Middle Ming Dynasty"
1978-1979 -- Accepts appointment as Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry at Harvard; delivers series of lectures titled, "The Compelling Image: Nature and Style in 17th Century Chinese Painting"
1982 -- Publishes "Barnhart-Cahill-Rogers Correspondence, 1981" (collection of correspondence published for colleagues) The Harvard lecture series: "The Compelling Image: Nature and Style in 17th Century Chinese Painting" published as a book, receives College of Art Association's Morey Prize for Best Art History book
1998-1999 -- Spends a year at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton with his wife, the art historian and artist Hsingyuan Tsao
2007 -- Former students organize 80th birthday party/symposium at Berkeley, titled: "Returning to the Shore"
2010 -- Became the 12th Recipient of the Charles Lang Freer Medal
Present -- Living in Vancouver, Canada
Related Material:
The James Cahill website, http://www.jamescahill.info/ which contains digitized versions of selected unpublished papers, correspondence and personal reminisces.
Provenance:
Gift of James Cahill.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Due to cold storage requirements, digital surrogates are prefered for access. One week's notice is required prior to access originals.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
James Cahill papers, 1945-1996. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of James Cahill, December 12th, 2001.
This series consists of administrative material and correspondence relating to the different symposia, exhibits, publications, lectures and other projects that Cahill was involved in during his career. It includes letters exchanged with art organizations such as the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, Freer Gallery of Art, the College Art Association, National Palace Museum (Guo Li Gu Gong Bo Wu Yuan; in the folder descriptions listed as 'Ku Kung' according to Cahill's own descriptions) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This series also includes some personal biographical documents, such as his military record with the army, and documentation regarding the Hackney Scholarship he received while he was a graduate student.
Collection Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Due to cold storage requirements, digital surrogates are prefered for access. One week's notice is required prior to access originals.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce and publish an item from the Archives is coordinated through the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery's Rights and Reproductions department. Please contact the Archives in order to initiate this process.
Collection Citation:
James Cahill papers, 1945-1996. Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of James Cahill, December 12th, 2001.
Gu ren zhang zhong shu : yuan cang jin xiang ben te zhan = Books in the plam of your hand : the kerchief-box editions in the National Palace Museum collection / Xu Yuanting zhu bian ; Huang Shihan fan yi
Title:
古人掌中書 : 院藏巾箱本特展 = Books in the plam of your hand : the kerchief-box editions in the National Palace Museum collection / 許媛婷主編 ; 黃詩涵翻譯
Yuan cang jin xiang ben te zhan
院藏巾箱本特展
Kerchief-box editions in the National Palace Museum collection
Books in the plam of your hand : kerchief-box editions in the National Palace Museum collection
Taibei, Guo li gu gong bo wu yuan zhen cang shu hua = Fine reproductions : masterpieces of Chinese painting and calligraphy in the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Title:
台北・國立故宮博物院珍藏書畫 = Fine reproductions : masterpieces of Chinese painting and calligraphy in the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Taibei Guo li gu gong bo wu yuan zhen cang shu hua
台北國立故宮博物院珍藏書畫
Masterpieces of Chinese painting and calligraphy in the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Fine reproductions masterpieces of Chinese painting and calligraphy in the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Xiao shi dai de ri chang : yi ge shi qi shi ji de sheng huo ti an = The literati's ordinaries : a proposal of life from the 17th century / zhu bian Huang Yongtai, Yu Peijin
Title:
小時代的日常 : 一個十七世紀的生活提案 = The literati's ordinaries : a proposal of life from the 17th century / 主編黃永泰, 余佩瑾
Yi ge shi qi shi ji de sheng huo ti an
一個十七世紀的生活提案
Yi ge 17 shi ji de sheng huo ti an
一個17世紀的生活提案
Literati's ordinaries : a proposal of life from the 17th century
Bai hui qing gong : ping hua yu pen jing hua te zhan / zhu bian Lin Lina = Pure offerings of a myriad plants : paintings on flower vases and potted scenes / Editor Lin Lina
Title:
百卉清供 : 瓶花與盆景畫特展 / 主編林莉娜 = Pure offerings of a myriad plants : paintings on flower vases and potted scenes / Editor Lin Lina
Ping hua yu pen jing hua te zhan
瓶花與盆景畫特展
Pure offerings of a myriad plants : paintings on flower vases and potted scenes
Shi yu xin : Ming dai Yongle huang di de ci qi = Pleasingly pure and lustrous : porcelains from the Yongle Reign (1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty / [zhu bian Huang Lanyin]
Title:
適於心 : 明代永樂皇帝的瓷器 = Pleasingly pure and lustrous : porcelains from the Yongle Reign (1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty / [主編黃蘭茵]
Pleasingly pure and lustrous : porcelains from the Youngle reign (1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty
Ming dai Yongle huang di de ci qi
明代永樂皇帝的瓷器
Porcelains from the Yongle Reign (1403-1424) of the Ming Dynasty
Shou er kang : yuan cang yi yao tu shu wen wu te zhan = Traditional Chinese medical texts on life, health and longevity in the collection of the National Palace Museum / Zhu bian Liu Shixun
Title:
壽而康 : 院藏醫藥圖書文物特展 = Traditional Chinese medical texts on life, health and longevity in the collection of the National Palace Museum / 主編劉世珣
Traditional Chinese medical texts on life, health and longevity in the collection of the national palace museum
An ma ne ba mi hong : Yuan cang Zang zhuan Fo jiao wen wu = Oṃ-maṇi-padme-hūṃ : Tibetan Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum / zhu bian Song Zhaolin
Title:
唵嘛呢叭咪吽 : 院藏藏傳佛教文物 = Oṃ-maṇi-padme-hūṃ : Tibetan Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum / 主編宋兆霖
Oṃ-maṇi-padme-hūṃ : Tibetan Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum
Yuan cang Zang zhuan Fo jiao wen wu
院藏藏傳佛教文物
Tibetan Buddhist art in the National Palace Museum
Shi zhi chun feng : ke xiu yu hui hua de hua niao shi jie / zhu bian Tong Wene = Flights of fragrance at a fingertip : the world of birds and flowers in painting, tapestry, and embroidery / chief editor Tung Wen-e
Title:
十指春風 : 緙繡與繪畫的花鳥世界 / 主編童文娥 = Flights of fragrance at a fingertip : the world of birds and flowers in painting, tapestry, and embroidery / chief editor Tung Wen-e
Flights of fragrance at a fingertip: the world of birds and flowers in painting, tapestry, and embroidery
Lai qin tu : ling mao yu hua guo de he xie zou ming = Of a feather flocking together : birds, flowers, and fruit in melodic harmony / zhu bian Liu Fangru
Title:
来禽圖 : 翎毛與花果的和諧奏鳴 = Of a feather flocking together : birds, flowers, and fruit in melodic harmony / 主編劉芳如
Of a feather flocking together : birds, flowers, and fruit in melodic harmony
