The papers of painter, printmaker, and curator Jacob Kainen measure 33.3 linear feet and date from 1905 to 2009, with the bulk of the material from 1940-2001. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence/subject files including personal correspondence to and from friends and family members and professional correspondence and records concerning Kainen's activities as an artist, curator, teacher, and art collector. The collection also contains biographical material, writings, diaries, calendars, inventories, interview transcripts, printed material, photographs, works of art by other artists, and nine scrapbooks.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, printmaker, and curator Jacob Kainen measure 33.3 linear feet and date from 1905 to 2009, with the bulk of the material from 1940-2001. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence/subject files including personal correspondence to and from friends and family members and professional correspondence and records concerning Kainen's activities as an artist, curator, teacher, and art collector. The collection also contains biographical material, writings, diary and journal entries, calendars, inventories, interview and "dialog" transcripts, printed material, photographs, works of art by other artists, and nine scrapbooks.
Biographical materials include items concerning Kainen's career as a curator and artist, in addition to a useful bibliography, detailed biographical outline, and a copy of an FBI report compiled on him. Also included are five videocassette recordings of Kainen.
Alphabetical correspondence/subject files comprise the bulk of the collection and include both Jacob's and Ruth's correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, artists, art critics, curators, museums, arts organizations, galleries, and many others. There is a significant amount of correspondence with David Acton, the Addison Gallery of Art and Jock Reynolds, William Agee, Australian National Gallery, Baltimore Museum of Art, Avis Berman, the British Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Elizabeth Broun and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bryce Butler, Pheobe Cole, the Corcoran Gallery and School of Art, Richard Field, Ruth Fine, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Newton Frohlich, Gordon Gilkey and the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Arshile Gorky, Piri Halesz, Carol Harrison, Donald Holden, Wilhelmina Holladay, John Baptist Jackson, Jim Jordon, Lou Kantor, Harry Lunn Jr., Middendorf Gallery, National Gallery of Art, Peter Morse, Gerald Nordland, Francis O'Connor, Jerome Pollack, Richard Powell, Ann Purcell, Harry Rand, Martin Ries, Joseph Solman, Leo Steinberg, Prentiss Taylor, Victorino Tejera, Valerie Thornton, Joanne Weber, and numerous family members.
Writings are by and about Jacob Kainen. Kainen's writings include articles, lectures, exhibition catalog essays, notes, travel notebooks, short stories, poems, and written statements about his artistic motivations and justifications. There are writings about Kainen by Avis Berman, Ruth Cole Kainen, and others. The bulk of the numerous diary entries are from Ruth Cole Kainen's diaries, many of which concern Jacob and their family. There are also annotated and revised diary entries. There is one folder of diary entries and one folder of journal entries by Jacob Kainen and two dismantled journal-like notebooks. The papers include daily calendars and travel itineraries from 1972 through 2001.
The papers include transcripts of formal interviews and informal conversations with Jacob Kainen. Transcripts are of informal dinner, telephone, and general conversations between friends, colleagues, artists, and Ruth Cole Kainen. Included are conversations with Avis Berman, Walter Hopps, Harry Rand, Joshua Taylor, and several others. Many of these transcripts were also annnotated by Jacob and Ruth Kainen. Also found are numerous transcripts of more formal interviews with Kainen by art historians, art critics, and students.
There are inventories, appraisals, and lists of sold and not sold paintings, as well as color photographs of some of Kainen's works of art. Also found are inventories of the Kainens' art collection. Printed materials include Kainen's exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings of articles by and about Jacob Kainen, and an exhibition guestbook.
Photographs are of Kainen with his family and friends, at exhibition openings, and working in his studios. Works of art by others includes handmade greeting cards, limited edition prints, and portfolios given to Jacob Kainen. Nine scrapbooks containing news clippings and exhibition publications document the entirety of Kainen's career as an artist.
Arrangement:
The Jacob Kainen papers are arranged into 11 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1938-2001 (Boxes 1, 32; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence/Subject Files, 1936-2003 (Boxes 1-12, 32-33; 11.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1920s-2002 (Boxes 12-13, 33; 1.6 linear feet)
Series 4: Diaries, circa 1952-2002 (Boxes 13-18, 33-38; 10.0 linear feet)
Series 5: Calendars, 1953-2008 (Boxes 18-20, 38; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 6: Transcripts, circa 1975-1994 (Boxes 20-21, 38; 1.4 linear feet)
Series 7: Inventories, 1927-2001 (Boxes 21-22; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1938-2003 (Box 22, 38, OV 31; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 9: Photographs, 1905-2000 (Boxes 22-25, 38, OV 31; 3.3 linear feet)
Series 10: Works of Art by Others, 1942-2000 (Boxes 25-26, OV 31; 1.2 linear foot)
Series 11: Scrapbooks, 1936-1998 (Boxes 27-30, 38; 1.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Jacob Kainen (1909-2001) was a painter, printmaker, and curator who worked primarily in Washington, D.C.
Born on December 7, 1909 in Waterbury, Connecticut, Jacob Kainen moved with his family to New York City in 1918. Kainen studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn from 1927 until 1930, and at the Art Student's League. In the early 1930s, Kainen became involved in social causes and formed close friendships with the early abstractionists, including John Graham, Arshile Gorky, and Stuart Davis. He joined the Artists' Union and a contributor to its journal, Art Front, along with Stuart Davis and Harold Rosenberg. Jacob's participation in the Artists' Union was later investigated by the FBI.
From 1935 until 1942, Kainen worked for the Graphic Arts Division of the Works Progress Administration in New York City and began exhibiting with the New York School. It was during this period that he married Bertha Friedman. Jacob and Bertha had two sons together, Dan and Paul, and divorced in 1968.
1947 marked the opening of the Washington Workshop Center for the Arts, where Kainen served as a teacher and guide to several important artists, helping to make the workshop a magnet for new talent and instrumental in furthering the careers of several artists. Although Kainen taught Gene Davis and Alma Thomas and introduced Morris Louis to Leon Berkowitz, he never considered himself a member of the "Washington Color School."
In 1949, the Corcoran Gallery of Art held a retrospective of Kainen's prints and three years later Kenneth Noland organized Kainen's first painting retrospective at Catholic University. Kainen's paintings from the 1940s illustrated a shift away from social realism toward abstract expressionism. In 1956, Jacob Kainen received a grant from the American Philosophical society to conduct research in Europe for his monograph on the English woodcut artist, John Baptist Jackson. He traveled to Europe again in 1962 to study paintings and prints from the Mannerist Period.
From 1966 until 1970, Kainen worked as the Curator of prints and drawings at the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum). He married Ruth Cole in February of 1969. Kainen retired from the Smithsonian a year later to devote himself full-time to his art, but continued to serve as a special consultant to the Smithsonian American Art Museum for nineteen years. In 1971 and 1972, Kainen taught painting and the history of printmaking at the University of Maryland. A retrospective of Kainen's paintings was held in 1993 at the National Museum of American Art (SAAM).
Throughout his artistic career, Kainen experimented with different mediums and explored different styles, yet he identified himself as a painter. Jacob Kainen participated in at least twenty-five one man shows and several group exhibitions. His works are in collections across the United States and abroad, including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the British Museum. He worked in his studio up until the time of his death on March 19, 2001 at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Related Material:
Found among the holdings of the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview of Jacob Kainen conducted by Avis Berman in 1982 for the Archives' "Mark Rothko and His Times" oral history project. Also found are microfilm copies of Bertha Kainen's correspondence with Avis Berman regarding Berman's essay about Jacob Kainen.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 565, 2147-2149, and 2200) including correspondence, writings by Kainen, and papers relating to the Smithsonian Institution Loyalty Board's investigation of Jacob Kainen from 1942-1954. Most, but not all, of the loaned materials were included in later gifts. Loaned materials not donated at a later date remain with the lender and are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
Provenance:
Jacob and Ruth Kainen first lent the Archives of American Art material for microfilming from 1973-1981, the bulk of which was included in the later gifts. Papers were then donated in multiple accretions between 1981-2007 by Jacob and Ruth Kainen, and in 2009 from the estate of Ruth Kainen via executor Teresa Covacevich Grana. Also in 2003, eight photographs of Jacob and Ruth Kainen were transferred from the National Portrait Gallery to the Archives of American Art.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
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 born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Robert Alexander papers and Temple of Man records, 1938-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of sculptor, painter, and publishing executive Alexander Semeonovitch Liberman date from circa 1913-2003 and measure 59 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; correspondence with family, galleries, museums, and many artists; numerous recorded interviews and transcripts with and by Liberman, including one of Walter Hopps; writings and writing project files; extensive subject files maintained by Liberman; exhibition files; printed materials; scattered drawings; and extensive photographs of Liberman's artwork, exhibitions, Liberman, and of Liberman with notable artists, dealers, collectors, and critics. Many of the photographs were taken by noted photograhers. Also found within the papers are unidentified sound and video recordings. Additional sound and video recordings have been integrated into other series.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor, painter, and publishing executive Alexander Semeonovitch Liberman date from circa 1913-2003 and measure 59 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials; correspondence with family, galleries, museums, and many artists; numerous recorded interviews and transcripts with and by Liberman, including one of Walter Hopps; writings and writing project files; extensive subject files maintained by Liberman; exhibition files; printed materials; scattered drawings; and extensive photographs of Liberman's artwork, exhibitions, Liberman, and of Liberman with notable artists, dealers, collectors, and critics. Many of the photographs were taken by noted photograhers. Also found within the papers are unidentified sound and video recordings. Additional sound and video recordings have been integrated into other series.
Biographical materials include awards, biographies and chronologies, family history materials, membership cards,
writings by Liberman's mother, and a scrapbook about his father.
Correspondence is extensive and concerns both personal and professional affairs. It is with artists and photographers, art magazines, organizations and museums, art collectors, businesses, and family. Notable correspondents include Cecil Beaton, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Burt Chernow, Salvador Dali, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, Barnett and Annalee Newman, Additional correspondence is found within the subject files compiled and organized by Liberman (series 6).
There are sound and video recordings and transcripts of interviews with and by Liberman, most completed for broadcast television and radio shows. Of particular interest are sound cassettes, a sound tape reel, and a transcript of an interview with Walter Hopps by Liberman.
Writings by Liberman include essays, short stories, and a play entitled 2+1. Writing project files were organized by Liberman for writing projects for which he was the author, collaborator, or subject. There are numerous files concerning Barbara Rose's book about Liberman Alexander Liberman that also include recorded interviews with Liberman and transcripts. Other books for which there are files include The Art and Technique of Color Photography, The Artist in His Studio, Vogue: The First 100 Years, Vogue History of Fashion Photography, and others.
Ten linear feet of printed materials include exhibition announcements and catalogs, books and book flyers, brochures, calendars, clippings, postcards, posters, press releases, and other materials.
There are scattered drawings and sketches found within the papers, some of which are sketches of sculpture pieces.
Nearly one-half of the collection is comprised of photographs of Liberman and his artwork, and of artists and colleagues, many of which were taken by noted photographers, including Cecil Beaton, Henri Cartier-Bresson, William Klein, Henri Lartique, Annie Leibowitz, Inge Morath, Ugo Mulas, Hans Namuth, Helmut Newton, Gordon Parks, Irving Penn, Herb Ritts, and Lord Snowden, among others. Subjects of note found in the photographs include Alfred Barr, Salvador Dali, Marlene Dietrich, Willem de Kooning, Andre Emmerich, Helen Frankenthaler, Clement Greenberg, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman, Betty Parsons, Pablo Piccaso, Edward Steichen, Lucien Vogel, and Diana Vreeland, among many others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into twelve series. Photographs retain Liberman's original numerical and alpha schemas and the corresponding indexes are found in the Inventory Records in Series 8.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1930s-1999 (1 linear foot; Box 1, 56)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1944-1997 (4 linear feet; Boxes 1-5, 56, OV 65)
Series 3: Interviews, 1946-1996 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 5-7, 56)
Series 4: Writings, 1948-1995 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 7-8)
Series 5: Writing Project Files, 1951-1997 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 8-9, 56)
Series 6: Subject Files, 1946-2000 (6 linear feet; Boxes 9-15, 56, OV 66-67)
Series 7: Exhibition Files, 1954-1991 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 15-16, 56, OV 68)
Series 8: Inventory Records, 1938-1998 (6 linear feet; Boxes 16-22)
Series 9: Printed Materials, 1932-2003 (10 linear feet; Boxes 22-31, 56-57, OV 69)
Series 10: Artwork, circa 1940s-1990s (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 32, 57, OV 70)
Series 11: Photographic Materials, circa 1912-1999 (26 linear feet; Boxes 32-55, 57-64, OVs 71-77)
Series 12: Unidentified Sound and Video Recordings, circa 1941-1999 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 55, 64)
Liberman was also a photographer whose subjects included Georges Braque, Alexander Calder, Alberto Giacometti, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Marlene Dietrich, among others, many represented in his 1960 book entitled The Artist in his Studio and Marlene: An Intimate Photographic Memoir (1992). He was also the subject of the work of noted photographers Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gordon Parks, Lord Snowden, Jill Krementz, Henri Lartique, Annie Leibovitz, and Hans Namuth.
Liberman was briefly married to Hildegarde Sturm. He married his second wife Tatiana Yacovleff du Plessix in 1942. Before their marriage, they fled occupied France together. She was a noted hat designer, working for Henri Bendel and Saks, where she became known as Tatiania of Saks. She died in 1991 and, in 1992, Liberman married Melinda Pechangco, a nurse who had earlier cared for Tatiania. Alexander Liberman died in 1999 in Miami, Florida.
Related Materials:
Related collections found at the Archives of American Art include the Dodie Kazanjian and Calvin Tomkins research materials on Alexander Liberman and numerous collections of gallery records.
Provenance:
The Alexander Liberman papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Liberman Art Partners in 2010 via Dodie Kazanjian.
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. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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:
Publishers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Smithsonian Institution. Anacostia Community Museum Search this
Extent:
2 Sound recordings (open reel, 1/4 inch)
Type:
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Interviews
Place:
Washington (D.C.)
Atlanta (Ga.)
United States
Date:
1983
Scope and Contents:
Interviews with Dana Cook, Francis Fralin, and David Bronson for Stovall Workshop Inc. Slide Show, which focused on the formation of Workshop by Lou Stovall and Lloyd McNeill from its origins at the Corcoran Gallery of Art to its current location in northwest Washington, D.C. Cook, an illustrator and printmaker, discusses her experience working with and learning from Stovall at Workshop. Fralin speaks of Walter Hopps' outreach program idea leading to a relationship between Stovall and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, development of the Workshop at the Corcoran Gallery Dupont Circle, Stovall's and McNeill's poster collaboration, Stovall's silkscreening and drawing, Di Stovall's art and imagination, and other Workshop and Corcoran artists, including Sam Gilliam, David Bronson and Gene Davis. Bronson, a technician and craftsman, discusses his role at Workshop: helping to set up Workshop at Corcoran, learning silk screen process, working in woodshop, and creating prints for artists, including Ed McGowin for Name Change exhibition at Baltimore Museum of Art. All speak of Stovall's personality as a person, teacher and leader, particularly his perfectionist nature and high standards.
Interviews for slide show about Stovall Workshop Inc. Part of Through Their Eyes: The Art of Lou and Di Stovall Audiovisual Records. Dana Cook interview dated 19830801: AV003309-1. Frances Fralin interview dated 19830809: AV003309-1 and AV003309-2. David Bronson interview dated 19830810: AV003314. All recordings have some distortions or skips in sound recording.
Biographical / Historical:
Stovall Workshop Inc. Slide Show is related to an exhibition featuring the works of Washington, D.C. artists, Lou and Di Stovall, organized by the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum and held there from September 18, 1983 - March 4, 1984. The exhibition, Through Their Eyes: The Art of Lou and Di Stovall, showcased 84 works - silkscreen prints, drawings, and arcylic paintings - illustrating the artists' progression from posterists to master printmaker and miniaturist, respectively. The art was complemented by audiovisual presentations on the technique of silkscreen printing and a biographical essay on the artists.;Lou Stovall was born Luther McKinley Stovall in Athens, Georgia in 1937. When Stovall was four years old, his family moved north to Springfield, Massachusetts to find work. At age of fifteen, he was an apprentice to Al LaPierre in his silkscreen sign shop at the Growers Outlet Super Market. In 1956, Stovall received a grant and scholarship to attend Rhode Island School of Design. After the first semester, his father became ill so Stovall returned home to support his family for about five or six years. When he returned to school, Stovall attended Howard University, where he received a B.F.A. in 1965. James Lesesne Wells introduced to Stovall to silkscreen as a fine art rather than a commercial medium. Stovall also learned about collaboration in printmaking (artist and printer combining ideas and skills to create a work of art) from Wells. In 1968, Stovall received a grant to buy printmaking equipment. However, he made most of the tools and tables himself creating a full scale printmaking, wood making, and metal workshop in Washington, D.C. Under his direction, Workshop Inc. has grown from a small but active studio primarily concerned with community posters into a professional printmaking outfit. Stovall creates his own original silkscreen prints and is the printmaker of choice for other master artists including Elizabeth Catlett, David C. Driskell, and Sam Gilliam. For each work of art, he finds new and unique ways to replicate as closely as possible a painting supplied by the artist. He has the ability to make the medium do just about anything he and the artist(s) want it to do. Stovall's innovative techniques and distinctive style is credited by artists and critics with helping to transform the concept of silkscreen printmaking from a commercial craft to a true art form. In 1971, Stovall married Di Bagley, a painter who specializes in acrylic on paper and incorporates miniature images into many of her works.;Stovall Workshop Inc. was formed as a result of a poster collaboration between printmaker Lou Stovall and designer Lloyd McNeill in 1966. Printmaking, sculpture, photography, and furniture making were directed by Stovall in Workshop, first located at the Concoran Gallery of Art [Corcoran Gallery Dupont Circle]. By 1973, Stovall moved Workshop to northwest DC.
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV003309-2
ACMA AV003314
Series Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
An interview of Sam Gilliam conducted 1989 Nov. 4-11, by Ben Forgey for the Archives of American Art. Gilliam speaks of his decision to come to Washington, D.C., from Louisville, Ky.; his shift from figurative painting to abstract painting; meeting Washington painters Robert Gates and Tom Downing; the "stature" of Tom Downing in the Washington art scene in the 1960s and Walter Hopps' role; influential exhibitions at the Jefferson Place Gallery and the Washington Gallery of Modern Art; being a Washington artist and a black artist; artist/teachers at American University; the Johnson Avenue Workshop grant; his relationship with Rockne Krebs; the history of the Washington Coalition of Artists; the Corcoran Gallery and the Washington Project for the Arts' relationship to Washington artists; his involvement with the District of Columbia Art Center; teaching; and his working methods. Gilliam also discusses various paintings, processes, materials, ideas and experiments at length. He recalls Gene Davis, Howard Mehring, Ken Noland, Morris Louis, Nesta Dorrance, Alma Thomas, Lou Stovall, Al Nodal, Jock Reynolds, Michael Botwinick, Willem de Looper, Paul Reed, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Sam Gilliam (1933-2022) was a painter in Washington, D.C.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
The records of the Washington Gallery of Modern Art measure 15.7 linear feet and 0.523 GB and date from 1959 to 1992. The records document the history of the gallery through Board of Directors meeting minutes, various committee meetings minutes and agendas, bylaws, and other trustee records; correspondence and other materials associated with each of the four gallery directors over the course of the gallery's existence; general correspondence; exhibition files, proposed exhibitions, collection files, and other curatorial and registrar records; financial records; development and membership records; tour guide information, gift shop finances and orders, and other museum services; and clippings, catalogs, and other printed and digital material.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the Washington Gallery of Modern Art measure 15.7 linear feet and 0.523 GB and date from 1959 to 1992. The records document the history of the gallery through Board of Directors meeting minutes, various committee meetings minutes and agendas, bylaws, and other trustee records; correspondence and other materials associated with each of the four gallery directors over the course of the gallery's existence; general correspondence; exhibition files, proposed exhibitions, collection files, and other curatorial and registrar records; financial records; development and membership records; tour guide information, gift shop finances and orders, and other museum services; and clippings, catalogs, and other printed and digital material.
Trustee records includes general administrative documents such as the bylaws of the gallery, certificates of incorporation, permits, and a history of the organization. Also included are the agendas and minutes for quarterly board of trustee meetings between 1962 and 1968, correspondence and agendas for various committees, annual reports, and president's records belonging to Julian Eisenstein, Carleton B. Swift, Jr., and Helen "Leni" Stern.
Director's records are arranged according to the tenure of each director of the gallery: Adelyn Breeskin (June 1962-May 1964), Gerald Nordland (June 1964-July 1966), Charles Millard (July 1966-June 1967), and Walter Hopps (August 1967-October 1968). Documents include correspondence with notable individuals, reports made to the board of trustees, and documents regarding exhibitions during each director's tenure.
Correspondence is arranged by year and includes correspondence from 1987 and 1992 between various researchers and Dr. Julian Eisenstein, chairman of the Board of Trustees for the gallery, concerning the history of the gallery.
Curatorial records include loan agreements and other documentation regarding exhibitions held at the gallery, information regarding proposed exhibitions for the gallery, and the collection files for objects in the permanent collection. Also included are transcripts and recordings of interviews from the "Popular Image" exhibition.
Financial documents include general ledgers, miscellaneous accounts arranged alphabetically, copyright information, stocks, and financial reports. Development records include attendance and sales information for each exhibition at the gallery, membership drive statistics and solicitation forms, information from foundations who contributed to the gallery, and membership lists.
Museum service documents include consignment records, rental agreements, museum shop sales and catalog orders, guided tour documents, docent training information, and volunteer lists. Public relation records are primarily on benefits, recitals, and other special events hosted by the gallery. Printed materials include brochures, newspaper clippings, press releases and exhibition catalogs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into nine series. The arrangement is based on a pre-existing finding aid created by the Washington Gallery of Modern Art.
Series 1: Trustee Records, 1959-1968 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 2: Director's Records, 1962-1968 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 2-4)
Series 3: Correspondence, 1961-1992 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 4-5)
Series 4: Curatorial/Registrar Records, 1962-1969 (6.4 linear feet; Boxes 5-11, OV 18, 0.523 GB; ER01)
Series 5: Financial Records, 1962-1969 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 11-13)
Series 6: Development/Membership Records, 1962-1968 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 13-14)
Series 7: Museum Services, 1962-1968 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 14-15)
Series 8: Public Relations, 1963-1968 (0.1 linear feet; Box 15)
Series 9: Printed Material, 1961-1968 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 15-17, OV 18)
Biographical / Historical:
The Washington Gallery of Modern Art (established 1961; closed 1968) was a gallery in Washington, D.C. The Washington Gallery of Modern Art was a non-profit institution organized for the purpose of presenting significant exhibitions of contemporary American painting and sculpture. In conjunction with exhibitions, the gallery also sponsored lectures, concerts, films, tours, and an art rental service designed to encourage the understanding and appreciation of contemporary art. It was located at 1503 21st Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Among its directors were Gerald Nordland, Charles Millard, Adelyn Breeskin and Walter Hopps. In 1968, the Washington Gallery of Modern Art sold its permanent collection to the Oklahoma Art Center and its programs were incorporated into the Corcoran Gallery of Art. At that time, the Washington Gallery of Modern Art turned over all assets to the Corcoran.
Provenance:
Donated 1965 by the Washington Gallery of Modern Art, in 1996 and 2002 by the Washington Gallery of Modern Art via Dr. Julian Eisenstein, one of the founders of the Gallery and President of Board of Trustees (1961-1966), in 2004 via Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan, director of public affairs (1965-1967), and in 2015 by the Corcoran Gallery of Art via David S. Julyan representative for the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. One announcement for an exhibition by Mary Meyer was donated in 2009 by former director and curator (1966-1974) Charles Millard.
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 born-digital records or 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:
Arts administrators -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Function:
Arts organizations -- Washington (D.C.)
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Citation:
Washington Gallery of Modern Art records, 1959-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
Walter Hopps and Mary Swift. Interview with Al and Walter Hopps, 1979 January 10. Mary Swift papers, 1973-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Walter Hopps and Mary Swift. Interview with Walter Hopps, 1982 April 22. Mary Swift papers, 1973-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Records of the Fine Arts Program of the Federal Reserve measure 1.01 linear feet and date from 1975-1981. Includes are letters and interoffice memoranda from Mary Anne Goley, Director, and others, to donors, artists, and others, including lists of works exhibited and artist biographies;two letters from Seymour Lipton to Goley; exhibition catalogs from the Fine Arts Program's permanent collection; catalogs of loan exhibitions hosted by the Program; and a draft of a public relations brochure. Also included are 4 cassettes of an interview of Walter Hopps conducted by Goley for the Fine Arts Program's exhibition "6 L.A. Sculptors," 1980, and a partial transcript of the interview published in the catalog for the exhibition.
Biographical / Historical:
The Fine Arts Program of the Federal Reserve (est. 1975- ) is an art program in Washington, D.C. established in 1975 as exhibition space for American and European paintings given or loaned to the Federal Reserve Bank. The art program operated under the auspices of a chairman aided by a Volunteer Advisory Panel which has included J. Carter Brown, Douglas Dillon, Mary Lasker, and Dr. Joshua Taylor. Mary Anne Goley was the director from 1975-2006.
Provenance:
Donated 1980-1982 by The Fine Arts Program, Federal Reserve Board through Mary Ann Goley, director. In 2022 Goley donated two additional letters from Seymour Lipton.
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.
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.
