Search Results

Maker:

Franz Schmidt & Haensch  Search this

Physical Description:

wood, oak (overall material)

metal, aluminum (overall material)

Measurements:

frame: 139 cm x 64.5 cm x 64.8 cm; 54 3/4 in x 25 3/8 in x 25 1/2 in

scope box: 49.5 cm x 30.5 cm x 44.5 cm; 19 1/2 in x 12 in x 17 1/2 in

overall: 170 cm x 86.5 cm x 135 cm; 66 15/16 in x 34 1/16 in x 53 5/32 in

table: 80 cm x 64.8 cm x 55.3 cm; 31 1/2 in x 25 1/2 in x 21 3/4 in

Object Name:

Spectrophotometer

spectrophotometer

Credit Line:

Transfer from National Bureau of Standards

ID Number:

CH.335549

Accession number:

1977.0181

Catalog number:

335549

See more items in:

Medicine and Science: Chemistry

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a0-e889-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_2955

Creator:

Jacques Seligmann & Co  Search this

Subject:

Hauke, Cesar M. de (Cesar Mange)  Search this

Glaenzer, Eugene  Search this

Haardt, Georges  Search this

Seligman, Germain  Search this

Seligmann, Arnold  Search this

Parker, Theresa D.  Search this

Waegen, Rolf Hans  Search this

Trevor, Clyfford  Search this

Seligmann, René  Search this

Seligmann, Jacques  Search this

De Hauke & Co., Inc.  Search this

Jacques Seligmann & Co  Search this

Eugene Glaenzer & Co.  Search this

Germain Seligmann & Co.  Search this

Gersel  Search this

Type:

Gallery records

Citation:

Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Mackay, Clarence Hungerford, 1874-1938 -- Art collections  Search this

Schiff, Mortimer L. -- Art collections  Search this

Arenberg, duc d' -- Art collections  Search this

Liechtenstein, House of -- Art collections  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- France -- Paris  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this

La Fresnaye, Roger de, 1885-1925  Search this

Art, Renaissance  Search this

Decorative arts  Search this

Art treasures in war  Search this

Art, European  Search this

Theme:

Art Gallery Records  Search this

Art Market  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9936

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212486

AAA_collcode_jacqself

Theme:

Art Gallery Records

Art Market

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_212486

Author:

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Physical description:

199 pages : illustrations, plans. ; 27 cm

Type:

Exhibitions

Expositions

Exhibition catalogs

Date:

1969

20th century

Topic:

Architecture, Modern  Search this

International style (Architecture)  Search this

Style international (Architecture)  Search this

Style international (Architecture)--Expositions  Search this

Call number:

NA2430 .N4 1969X

NA2430.N4 1969X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_4745

Author:

Sieber, Roy 1923-2001  Search this

Author:

Rubin, Arnold  Search this

High Museum of Art  Search this

International Exhibitions Foundation  Search this

Subject:

Tishman, Paul Art collections  Search this

Tishman, Paul Art collections  Search this

Physical description:

150, A39 pages illustrations (part color), maps. 30 cm

Type:

Exhibitions

Expositions

Catalogues d'exposition

Exhibition catalogs

Place:

Africa, West

West Africa

Date:

1970

Topic:

Sculpture, African  Search this

Sculpture  Search this

Sculpture africaine  Search this

Art--Private collections  Search this

Call number:

NB1098 .S57 1970

NB1098.S57 1970

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_5103

Author:

Nihon Bankoku Hakurankai Kyōkai  Search this

Subject:

Expo (International Exhibitions Bureau) (1970 : Osaka, Japan)  Search this

Expo (International Exhibitions Bureau) (1970 :) Osaka, Japan)  Search this

Physical description:

352 pages col. illustrations, color maps, portraits 21 cm

Type:

Books

Guidebooks

Date:

1970

Call number:

T796.7 1970.A1E9X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_5104

Creator:

United States. Centennial Commission  Search this

Subject:

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this

Citation:

International exhibition, 1876 : official catalogue / United States Centennial Commission, Department of Art, 1876. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Theme:

Patronage  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)21855

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)311675

AAA_collcode_unitstac

Theme:

Patronage

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_311675

Creator:

United States. Centennial Commission  Search this

Names:

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)  Search this

Extent:

70 Pages (ill., 21 cm.)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Date:

1876

Scope and Contents:

Catalog describing the art installations of the United States Centennial Commision's International exhibition in Philadelphia, Penn.,1876. The exhibition included works in a range of media from painting and sculpture to industrial design with twelve countries represented. Contents are as follows: Plan of exhibition grounds -- Subject index, national exhibits -- The memorial hall and annex -- Synopsis of the classification -- Classification of the Department of Art -- Catalogue of the Department of Art -- Photographic exhibition building -- Alphabetical index of exhibitors in Department IV.

Biographical / Historical:

The United States Centennial Commission (1872-1879) was a congress appointed group established to plan the United States' centennial anniversary with an exhibition in Phildelphia, Penn.

Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):

Philadelphia : Published by John R. Nagle and company, 1876.

Provenance:

Donated 2012 by William DeCosta, who purchased the catalog at a bookstore.

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.

Identifier:

AAA.unitstac

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw928709cff-2612-4a15-9572-acd8941a4b0a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-unitstac

Creator:

Alexander, John White, 1856-1915  Search this

Names:

MacDowell Club of New York  Search this

Abbey, Edwin Austin, 1852-1911  Search this

Alexander, Elizabeth A., d. 1947  Search this

Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919  Search this

Chase, William Merritt, 1849-1916  Search this

Gibson, Charles Dana, 1867-1944  Search this

James, Henry, 1843-1916  Search this

La Farge, John, 1835-1910  Search this

Levy, Florence N. (Florence Nightingale), 1870-1947  Search this

Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912  Search this

Remington, Frederic, 1861-1909  Search this

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 1850-1894  Search this

Whistler, James McNeill, 1834-1903  Search this

Extent:

11.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Awards

Interviews

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Scrapbooks

Medals

Date:

1775-1968

bulk 1870-1915

Summary:

The papers of the painter, muralist, and illustrator John White Alexander measure 11.9 linear feet and date from 1775 to 1968, with the bulk of materials dating from 1870 to 1915. Papers document Alexander's artistic career and many connections to figures in the art world through biographical documentation, correspondence (some illustrated), writings, 14 sketchbooks, additonal artwork and loose sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, awards and medals, artifacts, and other records. Also found is a souvenir engraving of a Mark Twain self-portrait.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of the painter, muralist, and illustrator John White Alexander measure 11.9 linear feet and date from 1775 to 1968, with the bulk of materials dating from 1870 to 1915. Papers document Alexander's artistic career and many connections to figures in the art world through biographical documentation, correspondence (some illustrated), writings, 14 sketchbooks, additonal artwork and loose sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, awards and medals, artifacts, and other records. Also found is a souvenir engraving of a Mark Twain self-portrait.

Biographical Information includes multiple essays related to Alexander, his family, and others in his circle. Also found is an extensive oral history of Alexander's wife Elizabeth conducted in 1928. Correspondence includes letters written by Alexander to his family from New York and Europe at the start of his career, and later letters from fellow artists, art world leaders, and portrait sitters of Alexander's. Significant correspondents include Charles Dana Gibson, Florence Levy, Frederick Remington, Robert Louis Stevenson, Henry James, John La Farge, Francis Davis Millet, and Andrew Carnegie. Correspondence includes some small sketches as enclosures and illustrated letters.

Certificates and records related to Alexander's career are found in Associations and Memberships, Legal and Financial Records, and Notes and Writings, which contain documentation of Alexander's paintings and exhibitions. Scattered documentation of Alexander's memberships in various arts association exists for the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Academy in Rome, the National Academy of Design, the Onteora Club in New York, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany, the Ministère de L'Instruction Publique et des Beaux-Arts, the Union Internationale des Beaux Arts et des Lettres, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notes and Writings include speeches written by Alexander, short stories and essays written by his wife, and articles by various authors about Alexander. Extensive documentation of the planning and construction of the Alexander Memorial Studio by the MacDowell Club is found, along with other awards, medals, and memorial resolutions adopted by arts organizations after Alexander's death.

Artwork includes fourteen sketchbooks with sketches related to Alexander's commercial illustration and cartooning, murals, paintings, and travels. Dozens of loose drawings and sketches are also found, along with two volumes and several dozen loose reproductions of artwork, among which are found fine prints by named printmakers. Many sketches are also interspersed throughout the correspondence. Eight Scrapbooks contain mostly clippings, but also scattered letters, exhbition catalogs, announcements, invitations, and photographs related to Alexander's career between 1877 and 1915. Additional Exhibition Catalogs and later clippings, as well as clippings related to the career of his wife and other subjects, are found in Printed Materials.

Photographs include many portraits of Alexander taken by accomplished photographers such as Zaida Ben-Yusuf, Aimé Dupont, Curtis Bell, Elizabeth Buehrmann, and several signed Miss Huggins, who may have been Estelle Huntington Huggins, a New York painter and photographer. Portraits of others include Alexander's friends William Merritt Chase and Edward Austin Abbey. Also found are photographs of groups, juries, family, friends, and studios in New York, Paris, and New Jersey, and a handful of scenic photographs of Polling, Bavaria, where Alexander had an early studio. A large number of photographs of works of art are found, many with annotations. Among the photographs of murals are a small collection of snapshots of the Carnegie Institute murals in progress. Miscellaneous artifacts include a palette, several printing plates, and an inscribed souvenir engraving of a self-portrait caricature of Mark Twain.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 11 series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Information, circa 1887-1968 (Box 1, OV 23; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1870-1942 (Box 1; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Associations and Memberships, circa 1897-1918 (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 4: Legal and Financial Records, 1775, 1896-1923 (Box 1; 5 folders)

Series 5: Notes and Writings, circa 1875-1943 (Boxes 1-2; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Awards and Memorials, circa 1870-1944 (Box 2, OV 24; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, circa 1875-1915 (Boxes 2-3, 6, 14-16, OV 23; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, circa 1877-1915 (Boxes 17-22; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 9: Printed Materials, circa 1891-1945 (Boxes 3-4, OV 23; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1870-1915 (Boxes 4-8, MGP 1-2, OV 25-43, RD 44-45; 4.2 linear feet)

Series 11: Artifacts, circa 1899-1915 (Box 6, artifact cabinet; 0.4 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

John White Alexander was born in 1856 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. He was orphaned at age five and taken in by relatives of limited means. When Alexander left school and began working at a telegraph company, the company's vice-president, former civil war Colonel Edward Jay Allen, took an interest in his welfare. Allen became his legal guardian, brought him into the Allen household, and saw that he finished Pittsburgh High School. At eighteen, he moved to New York City and was hired by Harper and Brothers as an office boy in the art department. He was soon promoted to apprentice illustrator under staff artists such as Edwin A. Abbey and Charles Reinhart. During his time at Harpers, Alexander was sent out on assignment to illustrate events such as the Philadelphia Centennial celebration in 1876 and the Pittsburgh Railroad Strike in 1877, which erupted in violence.

Alexander carefully saved money from his illustration work and traveled to Europe in 1877 for further art training. He first enrolled in the Royal Art Academy of Munich, Germany, but soon moved to the village of Polling, where a colony of American artists was at its peak in the late 1870s. Alexander established a painting studio there and stayed for about a year. Despite his absence from the Munich Academy, he won the medal of the drawing class for 1878, the first of many honors. While in Polling, he became acquainted with J. Frank Currier, Frank Duveneck, William Merritt Chase, and other regular visitors to the colony. He later shared a studio and taught a painting class in Florence with Duveneck and traveled to Venice, where he met James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

Alexander returned to New York in 1881 and resumed his commercial artwork for Harpers and Century. Harpers sent him down the Mississippi river to complete a series of sketches. He also began to receive commissions for portraits, and in the 1880s painted Charles Dewitt Bridgman, a daughter of one of the Harper brothers, Parke Godwin, Thurlow Weed, Walt Whitman, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Alexander met his wife Elizabeth, whose maiden name was also Alexander, through her father, James W. Alexander, who was sometimes mistaken for the artist. Elizabeth and John White Alexander married in 1887 and had a son, James, in 1888.

Alexander and his family sailed for France in 1890, where they became a part of the lively literary and artistic scene in Paris at the time. Among their many contacts there were Puvis de Chavannes, Auguste Rodin, and Whistler, who arrived in Paris shortly thereafter. Alexander absorbed the new aesthetic ideas around him such as those of the symbolists and the decorative style of art nouveau. Critics often note how such ideas are reflected in his boldly composed paintings of women from this period, who titles drew attention to the sensual and natural elements of the paintings. His first exhibition in Paris was three paintings at the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts in 1893, and by 1895 he has become a full member of the Société.

Independent and secession artist societies emerged throughout Europe during this period, and Alexander exhibited with several of them, including the Société Nouvelle in Paris, the Munich Secession, and the Vienna Secession. He was also elected an honorary member of the Royal Society of Belgian Artists and the Royal Society of British Painters in London. His exhibited works sold well, and his influence began to be felt back in the United States. Andrew Carnegie and John Beatty of the Carnegie Institute consulted closely with Alexander in the planning and execution of the first Carnegie International Exhibitions. Alexander also became active in supporting younger American artists who wanted to exhibit in Europe, a stance which resulted in his resignation from the Society of American Artists in Paris, which he felt had become a barrier to younger artists. His promotion of American art became an central aspect of his career for the remainder of his life, most visibly through his presidency of the National Academy of Design from 1909 until shortly before his death in 1915. He also served frequently on juries for high-profile exhibitions, and was a trustee at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, and the national Institute of Arts and Letters. Around 1912, he helped to form the School Art League in New York, which provided art instruction to high school students.

Alexander returned to the United States nearly every summer while based in Paris, and among his commissioned paintings were murals for the newly-constructed Library of Congress, completed around 1896. In 1901, the Alexanders returned to New York permanently. The demand for portraits continued, and he had his first solo exhibition at the Durand-Ruel Galleries in 1902. Around 1905 he received a commission for murals at the new Carnegie Institute building in Pittsburgh for the astounding sum of $175,000. He created 48 panels there through 1908. During this period, the Alexanders spent summers in Onteora, New York, where Alexander painted his well-known "Sunlight" paintings. There they became friends and collaborators with the actress Maude Adams, with Alexander designing lighting and stage sets, and Elizabeth Alexander designing costumes for Adams' productions such as Peter Pan, the Maid of Orleans, and Chanticleer. The couple became known for their "theatricals" or tableaux, staged at the MacDowell Club and elsewhere, and Elizabeth Alexander continued her design career when her husband died in 1915.

Alexander left several commissions unfinished upon his death at age 59, including murals in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Elizabeth Alexander held a memorial exhibition at Arden Galleries a few months after his death, and a larger memorial exhibition was held by the Carnegie Institute in 1916. Alexander won dozens of awards for artwork in his lifetime, including the Lippincott Prize at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1899, the Gold Medal of Honor at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, the Gold Medal at the Panama Pacific Exposition of 1901, and the Medal of the First Class at the Carnegie Institute International Exhibition in 1911. In 1923, the Alexander Memorial Studio was built at the MacDowell colony in New Hampshire to honor his memory.

Provenance:

Papers were donated in 1978 and 1981 by Irina Reed, Alexander's granddaughter and in 2017 by Elizabeth Reed, Alexander's great grandaughter.

Restrictions:

Use of the original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.

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.

Topic:

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

Portrait painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Portrait painting -- 20th century  Search this

Portrait painting -- 19th century  Search this

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

Portrait painting, American  Search this

Genre/Form:

Awards

Interviews

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Scrapbooks

Medals

Citation:

John White Alexander papers, 1775-1968, bulk 1870-1915. 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. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.alexjohn

See more items in:

John White Alexander papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw917c89625-97e2-4dce-a5e6-4cbf6627b78e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-alexjohn

Creator:

Levy, Beatrice S., 1892-1974,  Search this

Citation:

Beatrice S. Levy papers, 1890-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this

Theme:

Women  Search this

Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9632

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211840

AAA_collcode_levybeat

Theme:

Women

Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211840

Creator:

Levy, Beatrice S. (Beatrice Sophia), 1892-1974  Search this

Extent:

3.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1890-1974

Scope and Contents:

The Beatrice S. Levy papers measure 3.9 linear feet and date from circa 1890-1974. Included are biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings, works of art, photographs, and printed material.

Biographical material includes awards, a confirmation certificate, and a diploma. Correspondence is with Levy's family and art organizations. Writings consist of numerous diaries by Levy. Works of art include a sketchbook, sketches and etches. Loose photographs and three photograph albums contain images of Levy, family, friends, and travels as well as images used as source material. Also included is a picto-viewer with images of Levy's works. Printed material relates to Art News and Levy's work.

Biographical / Historical:

Beatrice S. Levy (1892-1974) was an etcher in Chicago, Ill. and La Jolla, Calif. Levy studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under Ralph Clarkson and with Charles W. Hawthorne in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She had a studio in Chicago's 57th Street Art Colony. Her work was exhibited at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition (1915), the Century of Progress in Chicago (1933-1934), and the New York's World's Fair (1939). Levy was President of the Chicago Society of Artists, Supervisor of the Works Progress Administration Art Project Gallery, and Supervisor of the Easel Painting Division in 1936 for the Federal Art Project. In 1950 she moved to California, where she taught at the La Jolla Museum School of Arts and Crafts (1961-1962) and continued to exhibit her work.

Provenance:

Donated 2018 and in 2023 by Heather Peck, granddaughter of Dorothy Stratton, a friend of Beatrice Levy. Material microfilmed on reel 4190 (frames 773-1023) was originally part of a larger collection of material given to the University of Louisville (Kentucky) by Samuel Steinfeld, a cousin of Beatrice Levy. The University of Louisville transferred this group of papers to the Art Institute of Chicago, who in turn donated them to the Archives of American Art in 1986. Samuel Steinfeld donated additional material on reel 4190 (frames 1024-1311) in 1986.

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.

Occupation:

Etchers -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Art teachers -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Engravers -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.levybeat

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f8abb4e5-348f-43e9-b677-abc37752bfea

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-levybeat

Collection Creator:

Packard, Emmy Lou, 1914-1998  Search this

Container:

Box 3, Folder 15

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1966-1979

Collection 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.

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:

Emmy Lou Packard papers, 1900-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

See more items in:

Emmy Lou Packard Papers

Emmy Lou Packard Papers / Series 2: Correspondence / 2.2: Personal Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw926bf5c1c-4100-4b19-a19c-c56a24595242

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-packemmy-ref119

Published by:

MelPat Associates, American, 1965 - 1986  Search this

Created by:

C. Melvin Patrick, American, died 1985  Search this

Medium:

ink on paper

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 10 13/16 × 8 7/16 × 9/16 in. (27.5 × 21.4 × 1.5 cm)

Type:

magazines (periodicals)

Place made:

Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

Place depicted:

Houston, Harris County, Texas, United States, North and Central America

San Francisco, California, United States, North and Central America

Oakland, Alameda County, California, United States, North and Central America

Martha's Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Date:

1984

Topic:

African American  Search this

Advertising  Search this

Associations and institutions  Search this

Black Press  Search this

Business  Search this

Communities  Search this

Dance  Search this

Film  Search this

Fraternal organizations  Search this

Fraternities  Search this

Government  Search this

Hollywood (Film)  Search this

Journalism  Search this

Labor  Search this

Mass media  Search this

Men  Search this

Olympics  Search this

Political organizations  Search this

Politics  Search this

Professional organizations  Search this

Religion  Search this

Social life and customs  Search this

Sororities  Search this

Sports  Search this

U.S. History, 1969-2001  Search this

Urban life  Search this

Women  Search this

Women's organizations  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Anne B. Patrick and the family of Hilda E. Stokely

Object number:

2012.167.18

Restrictions & Rights:

Public domain

Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Documents and Published Materials-Published Works

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5a99826b2-563a-492a-9d22-e03c2c02f99c

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2012.167.18

Creator:

Kuhn, Walt, 1877-1949  Search this

Names:

Armory Show (1913: New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Association of American Painters and Sculptors (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Kit Kat Club (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Penguin Club (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen), 1862-1928  Search this

Kuhn, Brenda, 1911-  Search this

Kuhn, Vera, d. 1961  Search this

Oldfield, Otis, 1890-1969  Search this

Pach, Walter, 1883-1958  Search this

Quinn, John, 1870-1924  Search this

Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965  Search this

Photographer:

Rainford, Percy  Search this

Weston, Edward, 1886-1958  Search this

Extent:

31 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Diaries

Scrapbooks

Sound recordings

Date:

1859-1984

bulk 1900-1949

Summary:

The Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records measure 31 linear feet and date from 1859 to 1984, with the bulk of material dating from 1900 to 1949. Papers contain records of the legendary Armory Show of 1913, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, which introduced modern European painting and sculpture to the American public. Papers also contain records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), the artist-run organization that mounted the Armory Show; records of the New York artists' clubs the Kit Kat Club (founded 1881) and the Penguin Club (founded 1917); and the personal and family papers of New York artist Walt Kuhn (1877-1949), one of the primary organizers of the Armory Show.

Scope and Contents note:

The Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records measure 31 linear feet and date from 1859 to 1984, with the bulk of material dating from 1900 to 1949. Papers contain records of the legendary Armory Show of 1913, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, which introduced modern European painting and sculpture to the American public. Papers also contain records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), the artist-run organization that mounted the Armory Show; records of the New York artists' clubs the Kit Kat Club (founded 1881) and the Penguin Club (founded 1917); and the personal and family papers of New York artist Walt Kuhn (1877-1949), one of the primary organizers of the Armory Show.

As Secretary for the AAPS, Kuhn retained the bulk of existing records of that organization and of the Armory Show. Minutes and correspondence make up most of the AAPS records (Series 2), as well as documents related to John Quinn's legal brief against a tariff on imported works of living artists. Armory Show Records (Series 1) include personal letters, voluminous business correspondence, a record book, miscellaneous notes, inventories and shipping records, two large scrapbooks, printed materials, a small number of photographs, and retrospective accounts of the show. The printed materials and photographs in Kit Kat Club and Penguin Club Records reflect Kuhn's deep involvement in those clubs.

The Walt Kuhn Family Papers (Series 4) contain records of his artwork, career, travels, personal and professional associations, family members, and work in vaudeville, film, and interior design. Notable among the family papers are illustrated letters and other cartoons; sketches, drawings, watercolors, and prints; candid letters from Walt to Vera Kuhn discussing art scene politics and personalities in New York, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Florida, and the Midwest; general correspondence with artists, dealers, collectors, journalists, writers, models, and fans; notes in index card files containing biographical anecdotes of the Kuhns' many contacts; provenance files that document the origin and fate of Kuhn's paintings, sculptures, and prints; papers relating to Kuhn's exhibitions and his relationships with the Marie Harriman Gallery and Durand-Ruel Gallery; and photographs and drawings depicting Kuhn's early years in Munich, Germany and Fort Lee, New Jersey; trips to Nova Scotia, New England, the Western United States, and Europe; New York and summer studios, among other subjects.

Arrangement:

This collection has been arranged into 4 series, with multiple subseries in Series 1 and 4.

Missing Title

Series 1: Armory Show Records, 1912-1963 (Boxes 1-2, 27-31, 56, OV 36; 3.6 linear feet)

Series 2: Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS) Records, 1911-1914, undated (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 3: Kit Kat Club and Penguin Club Records, 1909-1923, undated (Box 3, 32, 56, OVs 37-38; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Walt Kuhn Family Papers, 1859-1984, undated (Box 3-26, 32-35, 56-57, OVs 39-55, 58; 26.7 linear feet)

In general, documents are arranged chronologically, alphabetically, or by type of material. Copy negatives and copy prints made from documents in this collection have been filed separately from originals, in a folder marked "copy." Duplicates of original records made or obtained by the Kuhns have been filed separately as well.

Existing envelopes are filed in front of correspondence and enclosures directly after. Correspondence in the Armory Show Records and AAPS Records is arranged alphabetically, and correspondents are listed in the box inventory following series descriptions below.

Biographical/Historical note:

Walt Kuhn (1877-1949) was an etcher, lithographer, and watercolorist, as well as being a teacher, an advisor to art collectors, an organizer, and a promoter of modern art. He played a key role in the art scene of New York City in the early 20th century, and was among the small group that organized the infamous Armory Show of 1913, officially known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, held at the 69th Regiment Armory building in New York City. After the Armory Show, Kuhn went on to a distinguished career as a painter. He was best known for his sober oil portraits of show people, clowns, acrobats, and circus performers, but was equally prolific in landscapes, still lifes, and figure and genre drawings.

Walt Kuhn was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1877. After a brief career as a bicycle shop owner in downtown Brooklyn, Kuhn traveled West in 1899 to San Francisco, CA and earned his living as a cartoonist for newspapers such as Wasp. After two years in California, he moved back East and then on to Europe to pursue further art training. He briefly attended the Académie Colarossi studio in Paris, but quickly moved to Munich where he joined the class of Heinrich von Zügel in the Royal Academy.

Kuhn returned to New York City in 1904 and took up an active role in the art scene there, participating in the Salmagundi Club and the Kit Kat Club, teaching at the New York School of Art, and cartooning for Life, Judge, Puck, and other publications. In 1910, he participated in an exhibition of Independent Artists on 35th St. with Robert Henri and met artist Arthur B. Davies.

In 1911, when the National Academy of Design opened their annual exhibition, Kuhn, Henry Fitch Taylor, Elmer MacRae, and Jerome Myers were exhibiting at Clara Potter Davidge's Madison Gallery. To these four young artists, the Academy exhibition was typically lackluster, and the attention it received was unwarranted. Sensing that they were not alone in their attitude, they decided to organize. They invited a dozen other artists to join them, thus forming the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS). The group elected Kuhn Secretary and Arthur B. Davies President, and with the help of attorney and art collector John Quinn, they incorporated and began raising funds for an independent exhibition the following year.

In September of 1912, at Davies' suggestion, Kuhn traveled to Cologne, Germany to view the Sonderbund Internationale Kunst-Austellung. There he saw presented, in overwhelming volume, the work of his European contemporaries and their modern antecedents, the post-impressionists. He immediately began selecting and securing artwork for the upcoming AAPS exhibition. Kuhn traveled through Germany, Holland, France, and England, visiting private collectors, dealers, and artists. In Paris, Kuhn was joined by Davies and American artist and art agent Walter Pach. Kuhn and Davies sailed for New York in November, leaving the details of European arrangements to Pach.

The resulting Armory Show exhibition opened in New York in February 1913, and a selection of the foreign works traveled to Chicago and Boston in March and April. It included approximately 1300 American and European works of art, arranged in the exhibition space to advance the notion that the roots of modernism could be seen in the works of the old masters, from which the dramatically new art of living artists had evolved. Savvy and sensational publicity, combined with strategic word-of-mouth, resulted in attendance figures over 200,000 and over $44 thousand in sales. The Armory Show had demonstrated that modern art had a place in the public taste, that there was a market for it and legitimate critical support as well.

During the first World War, Kuhn stayed in NY and was active in the Kit Kat Club, an artists' club founded in 1881, which provided its members with collective studio space, live models, exhibitions, and an annual costume ball. In 1917, Kuhn founded another group called the Penguin Club, which had similar objectives to the Kit Kat Club, but with Kuhn himself as the gatekeeper. In addition to exhibitions and costume balls, the Penguin Club held summer outings and stag dinners, and maintained collective studio and exhibition space on East 15th Street in Manhattan. Its members included Americans and European artists displaced by the war in Europe. In the 1920s, Kuhn expanded a few sketches he had written for Penguin Balls into full-blown vaudeville productions, some of which were incorporated into larger musical revues such as The Merry Go Round and The 49ers and traveled around the country. Kuhn's theater work continued until 1928, and his fascination with show business continued to influence him throughout his life.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Kuhn gradually achieved recognition for his artwork, with sales to private collectors and dealers including Edith Halpert, Merritt Cutler, Lillie Bliss, John Quinn, and Marie Harriman. Kuhn also promoted other young painters whose work he liked, including Otis Oldfield, Lily Emmet Cushing, John Laurent, Frank di Gioia, and the self-taught Vermont artist Patsy Santo. Sometimes artists would contact him by mail, asking for lessons or advice. His lengthy letters to students offer coaching in technique and subject matter, as well as in the overall problem of success in art.

In 1929, Kuhn moved into the 18th St. studio that he would keep until the end of his life. He kept a rack of costumes in the studio, mostly made by Vera Kuhn, and his models, many of them stage and circus performers, would come and sit for Kuhn's portraits. The same year his painting The White Clown was exhibited at the newly established Museum of Modern Art in New York, bringing intense publicity and sales interest. Around this time, Kuhn began to receive the support of collector Duncan Phillips and curator Juliana Force of the Whitney Museum of American Art, both of whom made purchases and consistently exhibited his work.

Marie Norton Whitney Harriman, second wife of railroad magnate and diplomat W. Averell Harriman, shared a professional liaison with Kuhn that would take many forms and last until his death. Soon after the success of The White Clown, Kuhn established a relationship with the Marie Harriman Gallery, where he participated in group and solo shows during the height of his career. Kuhn also traveled with the Harrimans to Europe in 1931, where the three visited important private collections and acquired many valuable modern paintings for the Harrimans. Their collection, so heavily influenced by Kuhn's ideas about art, would eventually go to the National Gallery of Art.

Kuhn was an artist who understood the art business and never shied away from it. For Kuhn, promoting the ideas and practitioners of a certain brand of modernism was an expression of both aesthetic ideology and pragmatic self-interest. His contribution to the public discourse on modernism situated his own work at the heart of art history and the marketplace. Regardless of his motivations, he was indisputably a key player at a pivotal time in American art, when academic art was riotoulsy overturned to make way for modernism. His paintings are now held in major museum collections around the country, where most of them arrived with bequests from the collectors Kuhn had cultivated so carefully in his lifetime.

Sources consulted for this biography include The Story of the Armory Show (1988) by Milton W. Brown, Walt Kuhn, Painter: His Life and Work (1978) by Philip Rhys Adams, and "Walt Kuhn" by Frank Getlein, in the 1967 catalog of the Kennedy Galleries, Inc.

Related Archival Materials note:

The Archives of American Art holds the papers of Walter Pach, the European representative of the Armory Show.

Provenance:

The Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records were loaned for microfilming and later donated to the Archives of American Art by Walt Kuhn's daughter Brenda Kuhn in several installments between 1962 and 1979. An additional accession of letters, photographs, and an artifact was purchased by the Archives in 2000. Another addition was donated by Terry DeLapp, Kuhn's dealer, in 2015.

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:

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

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

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

Topic:

New York school of art  Search this

Modernism (Art)  Search this

Function:

Arts organizations -- New York (State)

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Diaries

Scrapbooks

Sound recordings

Citation:

Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records, 1859-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.kuhnwalt

See more items in:

Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw99ee222af-4da2-4011-b910-9e0933a5f81e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-kuhnwalt

Donor Name:

Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission  Search this

Object Type:

Betel Box

Place:

Thailand, Asia

Accession Date:

1876

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Accession Number:

005318

USNM Number:

E27121-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/33aa38f14-1b2c-4e57-8ec3-8863a9cc28fb

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8378893

Donor Name:

Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission  Search this

Object Type:

Presentation Bowl

Place:

Thailand, Asia

Accession Date:

1876

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Accession Number:

005318

USNM Number:

E27122-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3f9dde227-48c7-4b6d-ac3a-472e7c6f5aa9

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8378894

Donor Name:

Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission  Search this

Object Type:

Box

Place:

Thailand, Asia

Accession Date:

1876

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Accession Number:

005318

USNM Number:

E27123-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/398f4c979-4822-4310-b26f-3fc6fca38910

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8378898

Donor Name:

Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission  Search this

Culture:

Not Given  Search this

Object Type:

Food Stand

Place:

Thailand, Asia

Accession Date:

1876

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Accession Number:

005318

USNM Number:

E27124A-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3457477a3-cff2-470b-9ea9-fa8b9d7f2458

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8378899

Donor Name:

Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission  Search this

Culture:

Not Given  Search this

Object Type:

Food Stand

Place:

Thailand, Asia

Accession Date:

1876

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Accession Number:

005318

USNM Number:

E27124B-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/33b8fb626-d462-4c67-8fd5-5cf43103b1e8

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8378900

Donor Name:

Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission  Search this

Culture:

Not Given  Search this

Object Type:

Food Stand

Place:

Thailand, Asia

Accession Date:

1876

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Accession Number:

005318

USNM Number:

E27124C-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/30f6ad2c6-c485-4b3f-8969-a75251b22621

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8378901

Donor Name:

Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition, Royal Siamese Commission  Search this

Object Type:

Cloth

Place:

Thailand, Asia

Accession Date:

1876

Topic:

Ethnology  Search this

Accession Number:

005318

USNM Number:

E27126-0

See more items in:

Anthropology

Data Source:

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3117761d6-3e95-4850-b640-c9dffd243e9a

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmnhanthropology_8378903