Search Results

Artist:

Unidentified Artist  Search this

Sitter:

Unidentified Man  Search this

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

62.2 x 76.2cm (24 1/2 x 30")

Type:

Painting

Date:

1850s-1860s

Topic:

Costume\Dress Accessory\Eyeglasses  Search this

Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard  Search this

Unidentified Man: Male  Search this

Portrait  Search this

Credit Line:

Owner: Private collection

Object number:

PC991812

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Catalog of American Portraits

Data Source:

Catalog of American Portraits

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm41fc5d568-350e-42df-b593-7d4df3841c12

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:npg_PC991812

Artist:

Unidentified Artist  Search this

Sitter:

Albert Sidney Johnston, 2 Feb 1803 - 6 Apr 1862  Search this

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

74.3cm x 61.5cm (29 1/4" x 24 3/16"), Sight

Type:

Painting

Date:

c. 1855

Topic:

Interior  Search this

Costume\Dress Accessory\Tie  Search this

Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache  Search this

Costume\Outerwear\Coat  Search this

Albert Sidney Johnston: Male  Search this

Albert Sidney Johnston: Military\Army\Officer\Civil War\Confederate  Search this

Portrait  Search this

Credit Line:

Owner: Private collection

Object number:

SSSA3702

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Catalog of American Portraits

Data Source:

Catalog of American Portraits

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm498cb0efa-7fc3-42c0-be33-cf65d3fd10b9

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:npg_SSSA3702

Artist:

John Rutherford  Search this

Sitter:

David Rozel Poignand, 1793 - 1883  Search this

Medium:

Watercolor on ivory

Dimensions:

7cm x 5.3cm (2 3/4" x 2 1/16"), Sight

Type:

Painting

Date:

c. 1818

Topic:

Interior  Search this

Miniature  Search this

Costume\Dress Accessory\Stock  Search this

Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Muttonchops  Search this

David Rozel Poignand: Male  Search this

David Rozel Poignand: Natural Resources\Agriculturist\Farmer  Search this

David Rozel Poignand: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Merchant  Search this

Portrait  Search this

Credit Line:

Owner: Private collection

Object number:

SSSA3704

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Catalog of American Portraits

Data Source:

Catalog of American Portraits

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm45a67a476-eb1b-41b9-ba27-79133cc24b79

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:npg_SSSA3704

Attribution:

William Brown Cooper, 1811 - 1900  Search this

Sitter:

John Mcpherson Briggs, 1798 - 1882  Search this

Medium:

Oil on canvas

Dimensions:

76.5cm x 62.3cm (30 1/8" x 24 1/2"), Sight

Type:

Painting

Date:

c. 1875

Topic:

Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard  Search this

Costume\Outerwear\Coat  Search this

John Mcpherson Briggs: Male  Search this

John Mcpherson Briggs: Health and Medicine\Physician  Search this

Portrait  Search this

Credit Line:

Owner: Private collection

Object number:

SSSA4066

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Catalog of American Portraits

Data Source:

Catalog of American Portraits

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm43ab75a4d-ed60-44b4-bee3-9253ac2f2557

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:npg_SSSA4066

Recording artist:

Robison, Carson  Search this

Luther, Frank  Search this

Manufacturer:

Crown  Search this

Physical Description:

shellac (overall material)

Measurements:

overall: 10 in; x 25.4 cm

Object Name:

sound recording

Place made:

United States

Recording date:

1931

Related Publication:

Russell, Tony. Country Music Records: A Discography, 1921-1942

ID Number:

1996.0320.26191

Accession number:

1996.0320

Catalog number:

1996.0320.26191

Collector/donor number:

14530

Maker number:

3070

See more items in:

Cultural and Community Life: Entertainment

Music & Musical Instruments

Popular Entertainment

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-bf61-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1377405

Pilot:

Amelia Earhart  Search this

Manufacturer:

Lockheed Aircraft Company  Search this

Materials:

Fuselage: wooden monocoque

Wings: wooden cantilever

Dimensions:

Wingspan: 12.49 m (41ft.)

Length: 8.38 m (27ft. 6in.)

Height: 2.49 m (8ft. 2in.)

Weight: Empty 748kg. (1,650lbs.)

Gross: 1,315-1,450kg. (2,900-3,200lbs.)

Type:

CRAFT-Aircraft

Country of Origin:

United States of America

Date:

1927-1929

Credit Line:

Gift of the Franklin Institute

Inventory Number:

A19670093000

Restrictions & Rights:

CC0

See more items in:

National Air and Space Museum Collection

Location:

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA

Hangar:

Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar

Data Source:

National Air and Space Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv908b322a7-9925-4071-b2b2-26a162dc0fce

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nasm_A19670093000

Medium:

tortoiseshell

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 26 × 23.5 × 3 cm (10 1/4 × 9 1/4 × 1 3/16 in.)

Type:

costume & accessories

Decorative Arts

comb

Object Name:

comb

Made in:

Cuba

Used in:

Cuba

Date:

19th century

Credit Line:

Gift of Belmont Freeman, for the family of Maria Magdalena Kjellesvig González de Freeman

Accession Number:

2018-41-1

Restrictions & Rights:

CC0

See more items in:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection

Product Design and Decorative Arts Department

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq451f852eb-a801-41bc-b0f7-5691afb4dafc

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:chndm_2018-41-1

Creator:

Dale, Dianne  Search this

P.H. Polk, 1898-1984  Search this

Names:

Barry, Marion, 1936-2014  Search this

Dale, Almore M., 1911-1984  Search this

Dale, Dianne  Search this

Dale, John Henry, Jr., 1888-1973  Search this

Dale, Lucille Emma Patterson, 1889-1973  Search this

Dale, Marie Howard, 1914-2011  Search this

Dale, Norman Edward, 1908-1991  Search this

Garner, Araminta Dale, 1913-1987  Search this

Patterson, Frederick D. (Frederick Douglass), 1901-1988  Search this

Patterson, Wilhelmina Bessie, 1888-1962  Search this

Extent:

6 Linear feet (9 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Programs

Clippings

Correspondence

Ephemera

Postcards

Place:

Anacostia (Washington, D.C.)

Date:

1866 - 1990.

Summary:

The Dale-Patterson family papers, which date from 1866 to 2010 and measure 6 linear feet, document the personal and professional lives of the Dale-Patterson family who came to live in Hillsdale, Anacostia, area of Washington, D.C., in 1892.

Scope and Contents note:

The Dale-Patterson family papers, which date from 1866 to 1990 and measure 6 linear feet, document the personal and professional lives of the Dale-Patterson family who came to live in Hillsdale, Anacostia, area of Washington, D.C., in 1892. The collection is comprised of correspondence, photographs, clippings, and ephemera.

Arrangement note:

The collection is arranged in four series:

Series 1: Dale-Patterson Family papers Series 2: Charles Qualls papers Series 3: Community Organizations Series 4: Subject Files

Biographical/Historical note:

The Dale family came to Washington, DC in 1886 when John Henry Dale, Sr., a gifted self-taught man, obtained a position as clerk in the newly contracted Pension Bureau building at 5th and G Streets, NW. First they lived near 13th Street and Florida Avenue, NW, then moved to Howard Road in Anacostia. Dale built a house at 2619 Nichols Avenue, now Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, drawing the plans and supervising the construction. The Dales and only one other family lived in this solidly built house for 100 years before it was sold to a church group and demolished.

General Note:

Finding Aid Note: This finding aid is associated with a MARC collection-level record.361883

Provenance:

The Dale-Patterson Family collection was donated to the Anacostia Community Museum on April 07, 2013.

Restrictions:

Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.

Rights:

The Dale-Patterson Family collection is the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.

Topic:

African Americans  Search this

African American families  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Programs

Clippings

Correspondence

Ephemera

Postcards

Citation:

Dale-Patterson Family collection, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution, gift of Dianne Dale.

Identifier:

ACMA.06-074

See more items in:

Dale-Patterson Family collection

Archival Repository:

Anacostia Community Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-acma-06-074

Creator:

Parsons, Betty  Search this

Names:

Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this

Bess, Forrest, 1911-1977  Search this

Congdon, William, 1912-1998  Search this

Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956  Search this

Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this

Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this

Extent:

61.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sketchbooks

Interviews

Video recordings

Drawings

Date:

1916-1991

bulk 1946-1983

Summary:

The Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers measure 61.1 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1991, with the bulk of the material dating from 1946-1983. Records provide extensive documentation of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1946 to its closing in 1983 and of the activities of Betty Parsons as one the leading art dealers of contemporary American Art in the latter half of the twentieth century, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists. Over one third of the of the collection is comprised of artists files containing correspondence, price lists, and printed materials. Additional correspondence is with galleries, dealers, art institutions, private collectors, and the media. Also found are exhibition files, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales records, stock inventories, personal financial records, and photographs. Betty Parsons's personal papers consist of early curatorial files, pocket diaries, personal correspondence, and evidence of her own artwork, including sketchbooks, and files documenting her personal art collection.

Scope and Content Note:

The Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers measure 61.1 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1991, with the bulk of the material dating from 1946-1983. Records provide extensive documentation of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1946 to its closing in 1983 and of the activities of Betty Parsons as one the leading art dealers of contemporary American Art in the latter half of the twentieth century, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists. Over one third of the of the collection is comprised of artists files containing correspondence, price lists, and printed materials. Additional correspondence is with galleries, dealers, art institutions, private collectors, and the media. Also found are exhibition files, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales records, stock inventories, personal financial records, and photographs. Betty Parsons's personal papers consist of early curatorial files, pocket diaries, personal correspondence, and evidence of her own artwork, including sketchbooks, and files documenting her personal art collection. Personal papers also include personal photographs.

Artists files, the largest and most extensive series, consist of a wide variety of documents, including biographical materials, correspondence with or related to the artist, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales and expense invoices, clippings, price lists, and photographs of the artist, exhibitions, and artwork. The files reflect Parsons's close personal relationships with certain artists, particularly Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, and Barnett Newman. Extensive documentation is also found for Forrest Bess, William Congdon, Paul Feeley, Thomas George, Alexander Liberman, Seymour Lipton, Richard Pousette-Dart, Jesse Reichek, and Jack Youngerman. Historians and researchers will find these files to be an invaluable resource both in tracing Betty Parsons's role in promoting Abstract Expressionism and researching individual artists.

Exhibition files primarily document the gallery's infrequent group or themed exhibitions. Of particular note are the files on The Ideographic Picture, which was organized by Barnett Newman and included his work, as well as that of Pietro Lazzari, Boris Margo, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, and Clyfford Still. Price lists, artist biographies and exhibition schedules are housed in the general exhibition files. Loan exhibition files provide documentation of artwork borrowed by other galleries or institutions for exhibitions, as well as shows outside of the gallery that were organized by Betty Parsons. Also found are gallery exhibition guest books, and announcements and catalogs.

Gallery correspondence is primarily with galleries and dealers, museums, arts organizations, and collectors. Scattered letters from artists are also found, although the bulk of the artists' correspondence is filed in the Artists Files. Also found here are memoranda and letters between Betty Parsons and her staff that contain detailed information concerning Parsons's schedule and gallery activities. Similar correspondence is found amongst the correspondence files within the series Betty Parsons papers.

Appraisal and conservation files include correspondence, appraisal invoices, forms, and appraisal requests and other information from the Art Dealers Association of America, and conservation invoices and reports. The majority of the appraisal records contain information about the specific works of art, including artist, title, date, current owner and the estimated value at the time of the request. Conservation records document conservation treatments undertaken by outside conservators to gallery stock.

Sales, purchases, stock and inventory are well documented in the sales and inventory records. The records provide detailed information about individual sales, prices of individual pieces of artwork, consignments, and loans. Most sales records also include detailed information about the buyer and are a valuable resource for provenance research. Files documenting the general administration, routine business operations, and financial transactions (not individual sales) of the gallery are housed in the general business and financial records. These records include ledgers, receipts, tax records, and banking records. There is some limited information about works of art scattered amongst the receipts and in the "in/out slips" files. Legal records house general legal documents and those concerning specific lawsuits. Of particular note is the file detailing the lawsuit between Betty Parsons and Sidney Janis over the fifth floor of 24 West 57th Street.

The remainder of the collection consists of Betty Parsons's personal papers which document her career prior to opening her own gallery, her work as an artist, and her personal art collection.

Some information about Parsons's work prior to opening her own gallery is found in the early curatorial files she retained from her curatorial and administrative work at the Wakefield Gallery and the Mortimer Brandt Gallery. Clippings, correspondence, announcements, exhibition lists and exhibition files are found. For both positions, she kept only the exhibition files for a small group of exhibitions organized around a specific theme, the most notable being the exhibition of Pre-Columbian Sculpture at the Wakefield Gallery.

Biographical materials include copies of her biography, family genealogies, photographs of Parsons, interviews with Colette Roberts and WYNC radio, memberships, photographs, and ephemera, including a collection of programs and invitations from events that she attended. Throughout her life Parsons gave generously of her time to various cultural and charitable institutions and was awarded for her contributions. There are also a number of files that document her speaking engagements, her participation as a juror in numerous juried exhibitions, charitable work, and awards that she received.

Parsons's personal correspondence files reflect how deeply Parsons's life was intertwined with the gallery. There are letters from museum directors, dealers, artists seeking representation, and personal letters from artists with whom she had close personal relationships, most notably Larry Bigelow, Alexander Calder, William Condon, and Ad Reinhardt. There are also letters from the English artist Adge Baker, with whom Parsons was romantically involved. Correspondence also includes several files of postcards and Christmas cards.

Pocket diaries and engagement calendars, spanning from 1933-1981, record social engagements, meetings, vacations, and telephone numbers. Also found are circa two linear feet of notebooks and sketchbooks, many of which are annotated with addresses, poetry, journal entries, and other observations of people, places, and travels. Writings by others include writings about Betty Parsons or the Betty Parsons Gallery, such as Lawrence Alloway's unpublished typescript titled "An American Gallery" and other topics.

Printed material consists of exhibition announcements and catalogs, art magazines, and newspaper and magazine clippings about Betty Parsons, her family and acquaintances, artists, and other art related topics, coupled with a miscellaneous selection of clippings, and a video recording, on topics that presumably captured Parsons's attention.

Personal art work records document Betty Parsons's career as an artist through inventories, group and solo exhibitions files, price lists, appraisals, sales and consignment invoices. Photographs are primarily reproductions of her works of art, although there are scattered photographs of exhibition installations.

Betty Parsons's private art collection files document her extensive personal collection of art that included works by Jackson Pollock, Agnes Martin, Romare Bearden, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko, in addition to Amlash sculpture from ancient Persia and primitive sculpture from New Hebrides. These files include inventories, lists, exhibition records, sales and purchase invoices, and photographs. There are also files for donations and loans from Parsons's personal collection to museums and fund raising auctions for several non-profit institutions.

Finally, the personal financial records provide information about the Parsons's family finances and her personal financial success as an art dealer. In addition to her own investments, Parsons inherited shares in family investments through the estates of her parents, J. Fred Pierson, Jr. and Suzanne Miles Pierson, and younger sister, Emily Rayner. Real estate files include correspondence, utility bills, receipts, area maps, and land plots for houses in Sheepscot, Maine and St. Maartens, Netherlands Antilles. Tax returns, ledger worksheets, receipts, banking statements, deposit slips, and cancelled checks are among the other financial records.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as seven series. Many of the series are further divided into subseries.

Series 1: Artists Files, 1935-1983 (19.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-18, 51, 55-56, OVs 53, 65)

Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1941-1983 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 18-21, 51, 55, OVs 54, 66)

Series 3: Correspondence Files, 1941-1983 (3.9 linear feet; Boxes 21-24, 52, 56)

Series 4: Appraisal Files, 1954-1983 (0.7 linear feet; Box 24)

Series 5: Sales and Inventory Records, 1946-1983 (3.9 linear feet; Boxes 25-28, 51)

Series 6: General Business and Financial Records, 1946-1983 (9.3 linear feet; Boxes 28-38, 51, 56)

Series 7: Betty Parsons Personal Papers, 1916-1991 (21 linear feet; Boxes 38-51, 55-64, OVs 65-67)

Historical Note:

Betty Parsons (1900-1982) was one of the leading art dealers in New York City specializing in modern art, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists, and an abstract painter and sculptor in her own right. She opened Betty Parsons Gallery in 1946 at 15 E. 57th St., later moving to 24 W. 57th St.

The history of the Betty Parsons Gallery is inextricably bound to the life and experiences of its founder. Betty Parsons was born Betty Bierne Pierson on January 31, 1900 in New York City. She enjoyed a privileged childhood, which included vacation homes in Newport and Palm Beach. Her only formal education was a five-year stint at the prestigious Chapin School from 1910-1915, where she met many of the women who would become life-long friends and supporters. In the spring of 1920, she married Schuyler Livingston Parsons from one of New York's oldest families. The marriage ended after only three years and the couple traveled to Paris where they could obtain a divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. She retained her married surname and purchased a house on the rue Boulard in Paris, where she remained for ten years, pursuing studies in painting and sculpture.

Financial constraints forced Parsons to return to the United States in 1933. She first traveled west to California, but it was her return to New York in 1935 that marked the start of her career as an art dealer. Her first opportunity to connect with the New York art world came after a successful exhibition of her watercolors at the Midtown Galleries where the owner, Alan Gruskin, noted Parson's faithful and wealthy group of supporters and offered her work installing exhibitions and selling paintings on commission. Her work for the Midtown Galleries led to a second position in the Park Avenue gallery of Mary Sullivan, one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art. Here, Parsons learned the business of running a gallery. By 1940 Parsons was ready to take on more independent responsibility and agreed to manage a gallery within the Wakefield Bookshop. In this job, she exercised full curatorial control by selecting artists and organizing exhibitions. She championed then unknown contemporary American artists and the gallery's roster soon included Saul Steinberg, Hedda Sterne, Alfonso Ossorio, Joseph Cornell, Walter Murch, and Theodore Stamos. Although the majority of the exhibitions were solo shows, there were a few group shows and themed exhibitions, such as Love in Art (1941) and Ballet in Art (1942). Under Parson's direction, the gallery hosted an important exhibition of Pre-Columbian sculpture, curated by Barnett Newman.

When the owners of the Wakefield Bookshop decided to close the gallery late in 1944, Mortimer Brandt, a dealer who specialized in Old Master paintings and drawings, offered her a position as head of the newly created contemporary section of his gallery. Many of the artists who had shown with Parsons at the Wakefield Gallery followed her to her new gallery, where they were joined by Ad Reinhardt, Boris Mango, and Hans Hofmann. While the exhibitions garnered attention from the press and the interest of contemporary artists, the contemporary section was not a financial success and Brandt opted to close his gallery in 1946.

Using $1000 of her own money and an additional borrowed $4000, Parsons sublet the space that previously housed Mortimer Brandt's contemporary section, on the fifth floor of 15 East 57th Street, and opened the Betty Parsons Gallery.

In many respects the early years of the Betty Parsons Gallery were the most vital, as it was during the period of 1947-1951 that the gallery became linked with the Abstract Expressionists and the history of post-WWII American Art. In an unpublished history of the gallery, noted art critic Lawrence Alloway stated that the significance of the gallery's early exhibitions ranks with Durand-Ruel's Impressionists exhibitions or Kahnweiler's shows of the Cubists. Betty Parsons Gallery quickly became one of the most prestigious galleries in New York City associated with new American Art of all styles. Her close friend Barnett Newman organized the gallery's inaugural exhibition of Northwest Coast Indian Art and he soon began to exhibit his own work at the gallery. When Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery closed, Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, and Mark Rothko joined Parsons' growing stable of artists. Although Parsons continued to promote and exhibit many of the artists whom she had previously discovered, these four artists dominated this period. Newman, Pollock, Still, and Rothko worked closely together, holding themselves apart from the other artists somewhat. They were actively involved in the curatorial process and often hung their own shows. For these artists, the exhibition itself was an artistic act of creation.

Parsons provided a supportive environment and allowed her artists enormous freedom in planning and designing their exhibitions. She was not, however, an aggressive salesperson. During this early period the gallery ledgers document sales to an impressive array of museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as important collectors such as Edward Root and Duncan Phillips. Nevertheless, the art that the gallery promoted was not yet widely accepted. Sales were few, prices were low and the business would not turn a profit for several years. Meanwhile, there was mounting pressure from Pollock, Newman, Still, and Rothko to drop some of the other artists from Parsons' stable and focus all resources on them. They wanted to be promoted to a larger audience and have their work sold at higher prices, but Parsons enjoyed discovering new artists and did not want to be restricted in this endeavor. The year 1951 marks the last time that Pollock's drip paintings or the monumental works of Newman, Rothko or Still were shown at the Betty Parsons Gallery.

In the following years the Betty Parsons Gallery continued to attract a diverse group of talented artists. Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Tuttle, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jack Youngerman had their first New York exhibitions at the Betty Parsons Gallery. Parsons opened Section Eleven in 1958, a short-lived annex to the main gallery, so that she could promote younger, less well-known artists. It closed in 1960 due to the administrative difficulties in running two essentially separate galleries.

In 1962, Sidney Janis, another prominent art dealer, started proceedings to evict Parsons from the floor that they shared on 15 East 57th Street. The Betty Parsons Gallery moved to 24 West 57th Street in 1963, where it remained until it closed in 1983, following Parsons' death the preceding year. Throughout the gallery's history, Parsons continued to promote faithful artists such as Hedda Sterne and Saul Steinberg, who had been with her from the beginning and to seek out new talent, both for her main gallery and for other venues, such as the short-lived Parsons-Truman Gallery, which she opened in 1974 with former Parsons Gallery director Jock Truman to show works on paper by emerging artists.

In addition to being an art dealer, Betty Parsons was a respected artist and collector. With her connoisseur's eye and connections, Parsons amassed an impressive private collection of art. She bought her first piece while an art student in Paris in the 1920s, a small gouache by Zadkine, but did not begin acquiring works in earnest until she was established as an art dealer. Partial inventories of her personal collection show that the majority of her collection contained works by artists associated with the gallery. Mark Rothko, Hans Hofmann, Ad Reinhardt, Agnes Martin, and Kenzo Okada were among the artists represented. Many were gifts from the artists, such as an ink drawing by Jackson Pollock, inscribed "For Betty." Selections from her collection appeared in small museums across the United States, including a traveling exhibition organized by Fitch College, New York, in 1968. In her role as a promoter of contemporary American art, Parsons lent generously from her collection, particularly to the federal Art in the Embassies Program. Throughout her life she also donated works to a variety of museums, most notably, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.

Parsons frequently claimed that her desire to pursue a career as an artist stemmed from a visit to the Armory Show when she was thirteen. In her late teens, after pressuring her father for art lessons, she studied with the sculptor Gutzon Burglum of Mount Rushmore fame. In Paris, she continued her studies first with Antoine Bourdelle, whose sculptures she had admired at the Armory Show, and later with Ossip Zadkine. The first exhibition of her work, figurative watercolors and sculptures, took place in Paris in 1927. As she matured as an artist, her art became more abstract. Her late works were painted wood sculptures that she pieced together from wood that she found near her studio in Long Island. Parsons's work was exhibited in more than thirty solo exhibitions, including, Betty Parsons; Paintings, Gouaches and Sculpture, 1955-1968, at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. During her lifetime, she would not allow her works to be shown in her own gallery. Shortly after she died of a stroke in 1982, In Memoriam, Betty Parsons: Late Sculptures, opened at the Betty Parsons Gallery.

Related Material:

Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Betty Parsons, June 4-9, 1969, by Paul Cummings, and June 11, 1981 by Gerald Silk.

Separated Material:

Some of the material originally loaned for microfilming in 1968 and 1969 was not included in later donations and can be viewed on microfilm reels N68/62-N68/74 and N69/105-N69/106. Loaned materials are not described in the container listing in this finding aid.

Provenance:

The gallery donated some records in 1974, many of which had been loaned earlier for microfilming. The bulk of the collection was donated in 1984 and 1986 by William Rayner and Christopher Schwabacher, executors of the Estate of Betty Parsons. Additional material was donated by William Rayner in 1998 and Christopher Schwabacher in 2017. Additional material was donated in 2018 by the Lee Hall estate via Carolyn Crozier and Deborah Jacobson, co-executors. Hall was Parsons's biographer and had the material in her possession at the time of Parsons's death. An additional photograph of Parons and Marie Carr Taylor by Henri Cartier-Bresson was donated in 2021 by Mary Carpenter, who inherited the photograph from her mother, Nan Thorton Jones, who received it as a gift from Taylor.

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Occupation:

Gallery owners -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

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

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

Topic:

Women art dealers  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Abstract expressionist  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketchbooks

Interviews

Video recordings

Drawings

Citation:

Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers, 1916-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and The Walton Family Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.parsbett

See more items in:

Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-parsbett

Creator:

Walinska, Anna  Search this

Names:

Guild Art Gallery  Search this

Avery, Milton, 1885-1965  Search this

Beata, Welsing  Search this

Hacohen, Bracha  Search this

Littlefield, William Horace, 1902-1969  Search this

Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this

Walinsky, Louis Joseph, 1908-2001  Search this

Extent:

2.1 Linear feet

2.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Interviews

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Sketches

Transcripts

Travel diaries

Place:

Europe -- description and travel

Israel -- Description and Travel

Date:

1927-2002

bulk 1935-1980

1927-2002

bulk 1935-1980

Summary:

The papers of New York-based painter, teacher and art director Anna Walinska measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1927 to 2002, with the bulk of material from 1935 to 1980. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, travel diaries, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographs.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York-based painter, teacher and art director Anna Walinska measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1927 to 2002, with the bulk of material from 1935 to 1980. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, travel diaries, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographs.

Biographical material consists of awards, certificates, curriculum vitae, biographical outlines, exhibition lists, passports and other material. There is a partial transcript from a radio interview of Anna Walinska. Also included are limited financial records.

Correspondence includes Anna Walinska's letters to her family from her 1954-1955 trip abroad to multiple countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. There is personal and professional correspondence with friends, artists and art institutions. Notable correspondents include Milton Avery, Louise Nevelson, Beata Welsing, Bracha Hacohen, William Littlefield, and Walinska's brother Louis Walinsky.

Writings consist of Walinska's notes, notebooks, lectures, essays, and a handwritten prospectus for Guild Art Gallery. There is one folder of writings by others about Walinska at the end of the series. There are four travel diaries that describe Walinska's trip around the world from 1954-1955, during which she traveled to many countries, and later trips to locations such as Israel and Trinidad.

Printed Material include clippings about Anna Walinska, group and solo exhibition catalogs, announcements, event invitations, and course catalogs for the Master Institute of United Art in New York City, where Walinska taught painting and drawing classes.

There are three scrapbooks: one scrapbook is about Guild Art Gallery, the second scrapbook is about the Holocaust exhibition, the third oversized scrapbook documents Walinska's career and activities overall.

Artwork consists of two bound sketchbooks as well as drawings and sketches in a variety of mediums from pencil and ink to watercolors and oils.

Photographs are of Walinska, friends, family, artists, artwork, exhibition installations, and other subjects. One album includes photos of Anna Walinska and her travels, along with images of friends and colleagues. The second album includes photographs of Walinska's solo exhibition at Sunken Meadow Gallery (1959). There is also one folder of photocopies of photos of assorted artwork by Walinska.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1927-2002 (Box 1; 11 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1949-1995 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1935-circa 1983 (Box 1; 8 folders)

Series 4: Travel Diaries, 1954-1973 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1942-2002 (Boxes 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 6: Scrapbooks, circa 1929-1980 (Boxes 2, 4; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1929-1963 (Box 3; 5 folders)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1932-1980 (Box 3; 0.3 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Anna Walinska (1906-1997) was a New York artist, teacher and gallery director who traveled widely and is most well known for her paintings related to the subject of the Holocaust.

Anna Walinska was born in London, England in 1906 to labor organization leader Ossip Walinsky and poet Rosa Newman Walinska. She had two siblings, Emily and Louis. The family immigrated to New York City in 1914, and Anna Walinska began studying at the Art Students League in 1918. In 1926, she travelled to Paris and studied art at the Academie de Grande Chaumier with Andre L'Hote. France was her primary residence until 1930.

In 1935, Walinska and artist Margaret Lefranc co-founded the Guild Art Gallery at West 57th Street in New York and gave Arshile Gorky his first solo exhibition in the city. The gallery closed its doors in 1937. In 1939, Walinska was the Assistant Creative Director of the Contemporary Art Pavilion at the New York World's Fair. During this time, Walinska also pursued her own art and exhibited work in numerous group shows.

From 1954 to 1955, Walinska traveled around the world, visiting the capitals and major cities of many countries in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Places she went included Japan, Burma (now known as Myanmar), Pakistan, Greece, Italy, France and Spain. During her four month stay in Burma, she painted a portrait of Prime Minister U Nu and she later became a highly respected portrait artist who painted numerous illustrious subjects such as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, artists Louise Nevelson and Mark Rothko, and many others.

In 1957, Walinska became the artist-in-residence at the Riverside Museum where she also taught and exhibited with other artists. That same year, she had her first retrospective at the Jewish Museum in New York City.

Walinska exhibited widely and often. Holocaust: Paintings and Drawings, 1953-1978, which opened at the Museum of Religious Art at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, is probably the most well-known of her exhibitions and it traveled across the country to several other sites such as the War Memorial Building in Baltimore and Mercy College of Detroit. Works from this exhibition were acquired by multiple museums to become part of their permanent collections.

Walinkska died on December 19, 1997 at the age of 91 in New York City. In 1999, there was a retrospective of her work titled Echoes of the Holocaust: Paintings, Drawings, and Collage, 1940-1989 held at Clark University's Center for Holocaust Studies. The Onisaburo Gallery at New York's Interfaith Center also held a solo exhibition titled Portraits of Faith (2000). Her art is part of the collections at the Denver Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Rose Art Museum, and other museums.

Related Materials:

The Archives of American Art also has the Guild Art Gallery records, which consists of material related to the gallery that was co-founded by Anna Walinska.

Provenance:

The papers were donated by Anna Walinska in two installations in 1976 and 1981. Rosina Rubin, Anna Walinska's niece, made a third donation of material in 2017.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., research center.

Occupation:

Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

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

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

Topic:

Drawing--Study and teaching  Search this

Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in art  Search this

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

Asia--Description and travel  Search this

Middle East--Description and travel  Search this

Trinidad and Tobago--Description and travel  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Interviews

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Sketches

Transcripts

Travel diaries

Citation:

Anna Walinska papers, 1927-2002, bulk 1935-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by Rosina Rubin.

Identifier:

AAA.walianna

See more items in:

Anna Walinska papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-walianna

Collector:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History  Search this

Series Collector:

National Museum of American History (U.S.). Archives Center  Search this

Series Donor:

Gay Officers Action League. GOAL  Search this

Becker, John M.  Search this

Gay Officers Action League. GOAL  Search this

Heritage of Pride (HOP)  Search this

Rohrbaugh, Richard  Search this

Series Creator:

Hirsch, Leonard  Search this

Guest, Barbara  Search this

Barna, Joseph T.  Search this

Guest, Michael E.  Search this

Extent:

176 Items

Type:

Archival materials

Letters

Date:

1945 to 1953

Scope and Contents:

These letters are clues to a secret life. This is a series of letters and addressed envelopes sent to Philip St. George (?-1997) of New York City who, from all indications, identified as being a closeted gay man. George's correspondents, who may have also have been gay or bisexual, tell of their experiences in the armed forces after World War II and their life after the war, 1945-1953.

Arrangement:

In Box 84, Folders 1 - 10.

Local Numbers:

AC1146-0000117-01 to AC1146-0000273 (AC Scan)

Restrictions:

Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.

Series Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

LGBT  Search this

Homosexuality  Search this

Genre/Form:

Letters

Series Citation:

Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:

Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection

Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection / Series 13: St. George, Philip / 13.1: Correspondence and envelopes

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1146-ref2773

Creator:

National Zoo  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2017-09-06T16:46:13.000Z

YouTube Category:

Pets & Animals  Search this

Topic:

Zoology;Animals;Veterinary medicine;Animal health  Search this

See more by:

SmithsonianNZP

Data Source:

National Zoo

YouTube Channel:

SmithsonianNZP

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_Y1aHAlaxwFc

Creator:

National Portrait Gallery  Search this

Type:

Interviews

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2011-04-07T22:57:23.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Portraits  Search this

See more by:

NatlPortraitGallery

Data Source:

National Portrait Gallery

YouTube Channel:

NatlPortraitGallery

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_-RggYQj5PtA

Creator:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Type:

Interviews

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2019-10-25T19:58:59.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, modern  Search this

See more by:

hirshhornARTLAB

Data Source:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

YouTube Channel:

hirshhornARTLAB

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_-8X7ViHwz7w

Creator:

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

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2019-06-03T21:22:55.000Z

YouTube Category:

Education  Search this

Topic:

Art, Asian  Search this

See more by:

FreerSackler

Data Source:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

YouTube Channel:

FreerSackler

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_LQqhS0VbdHs

Creator:

Smithsonian Channel  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2013-04-03T17:51:07.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianchannel

Data Source:

Smithsonian Channel

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianchannel

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_51AMF-cY8Uk

Creator:

Smithsonian Channel  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2013-08-13T20:18:10.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianchannel

Data Source:

Smithsonian Channel

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianchannel

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_Dp0ninuEC84

Creator:

Smithsonian Channel  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2016-11-18T17:55:31.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianchannel

Data Source:

Smithsonian Channel

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianchannel

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_K96KKPTsr1o

Creator:

Smithsonian Channel  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2013-01-14T00:00:32.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianchannel

Data Source:

Smithsonian Channel

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianchannel

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_fPZSerFLGNA

Creator:

Smithsonian Channel  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2014-05-30T20:17:53.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

See more by:

smithsonianchannel

Data Source:

Smithsonian Channel

YouTube Channel:

smithsonianchannel

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_iGwK67IcUKg