Search Results

Creator:

Nordness, Lee  Search this

Names:

American Art Expositions (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Cooper-Hewitt Museum.  Search this

Forms and Objects (Firm)  Search this

Johnson Wax  Search this

Lee Nordness Galleries  Search this

Little Studio  Search this

Metromedia, Inc.  Search this

Nordness Gallery  Search this

Talent Discovery Company  Search this

Aronson, David, 1923-2015  Search this

Blaustein, Al H., 1924-2004  Search this

Collie, Alberto  Search this

Crawford, Ralston, 1906-1978  Search this

D'Arista, Robert, 1929-  Search this

Gibran, Kahlil, 1922-  Search this

Gikow, Ruth, 1915-1982  Search this

Grippe, Peter, 1912-  Search this

Guglielmi, Louis, 1906-1956  Search this

Hebald, Milton  Search this

Kachadoorian, Zubel, 1924-  Search this

Kearns, James  Search this

Lebrun, Rico, 1900-1964  Search this

Levi, Julian E. (Julian Edwin), 1900-1982  Search this

Meigs, Walter, 1918-1988  Search this

Prestopino, Gregorio  Search this

Williams, Hiram  Search this

Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972  Search this

Extent:

117.5 Linear feet (Boxes 1-121)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Date:

circa 1931-1992

bulk 1954-1984

Summary:

The Lee Nordness business records and papers measure 117.5 linear feet and date from circa 1931 to 1992 with the bulk of materials dating from 1954 to 1984. The records document seven New York City art-related companies with which Nordness was involved: Talent Discovery Company, The Little Studio, Ltd., American Art Expositions, Inc., Nordness Gallery, Inc., Lee Nordness Galleries Art Advisory Section, Inc., Lee Nordness Galleries Exhibition Section, Inc., and Forms & Objects, Inc. Records include correspondence, artist's files, business and legal records, inventories, financial and sales records, printed materials, scrapbooks, and photographic materials. Also found is a small group of personal papers.

Scope and Contents:

The Lee Nordness business records and papers measure 117.5 linear feet and date from circa 1931 to 1992 with the bulk of materials dating from 1954 to 1984. The records document seven New York City art-related companies with which Nordness was involved: Talent Discovery Company, The Little Studio, Ltd., American Art Expositions, Inc., Nordness Gallery, Inc., Lee Nordness Galleries Art Advisory Section, Inc., Lee Nordness Galleries Exhibition Section, Inc., and Forms & Objects, Inc. Records include correspondence, artist's files, business and legal records, inventories, financial and sales records, printed materials, scrapbooks, and photographic materials. Also found is a small group of personal papers.

More than half of the collection documents Lee Nordness' primary businesses, Nordness Gallery, Inc. and Lee Nordness Galleries Art Advisory Section, Inc. Business correspondence, artist's files, extensive project files, business and legal records, financial and sales records, inventories, printed materials, scrapbooks, and photographic materials reveal Nordness' role as an art dealer of contemporary American artwork and art consultant to companies and organizations. The records document his ability to adapt to changing external markets as well as his own interests, from dealing primarily in paintings and sculpture to promoting American fine crafts. Artists from Nordness' permanent roster are represented, including David Aronson, Al Blaustein, Alberto Collie, Ralston Crawford, Robert D'Arista, Kahlil Gibran, Ruth Gikow, Peter Grippe, Louis Guglielmi, Milton Hebald, Zubel Kachadoorian, James Kearns, Rico Lebrun, Julian Levi, Walter Meigs, Gregorio Prestopino, Hiram Williams, and Karl Zerbe. Companies and organizations represented include S.C. Johnson & Son, Co., Metromedia, and Cooper-Hewitt, National Museum of Design. Because materials from Nordness Gallery, Inc. and Art Advisory Section were often interfiled and related, the records were not separated into different series.

The records of Lee Nordness Galleries Exhibition Section, Inc. document the exhibition and sale of artwork through correspondence, artist's files, business records, financial and sales records, and scrapbooks for artists and exhibition seasons. Forms & Objects, Inc. contains correspondence, lecture notes, public relations files, business records, financial and sales records, scrapbooks and photographic materials related to American fine crafts.

The organization and press surrounding the monumental exhibitions Art:USA:58 and Art:USA:59 are illustrated in the correspondence, banking records, founding documents, newspaper clippings, paid bill receipts, and sales invoices of the American Art Expositions, Inc. records. Photographs of the Art:USA:59 artists taken by Fred Darrah are also found here.

The bulk of the records of The Little Studio, Inc. are financial records and sales invoices. Lee Nordness' involvement in the gallery is also documented through correspondence and business records. The records of Talent Discovery Company are primarily financial, including banking records, receipts, and tax records. Also found are shipping records, correspondence, and inventory cards.

There are few personal papers of Lee Nordness, the bulk of which are related to his involvement with his tenant cooperative. Also found is scattered correspondence, a scrapbook, and travel documents.

Records for the various companies were co-mingled upon accession. AAA has attempted to place papers in Nordness' original order based on discussions with Nordness and evidence from the records. However, researchers should note there is significant interfiling of the companies' records throughout the collection, especially scrapbooks and photographs. Researchers are strongly encouraged to use dates and keywords to help discover related materials throughout all series.

Abbreviations were often written by the gallery in the upper left-hand corner of a document to indicate to which company the record should be filed. Abbreviations used include: Nordness Gallery, "NG" or "LN"; Art Advisory Section, "AA" or "LN"; Exhibition Section, "ES" or "E/S"; Forms & Objects, "F/O"; American Art Expositions, "AAE"; The Little Studio, "TLS"; and, Talent Discovery Company, "TDC."

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Series 1: Nordness Gallery, Inc. and Lee Nordness Galleries Art Advisory Section, Inc., circa 1938-1992, bulk 1958-1982 (67.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-67, 117-119)

Series 2: Lee Nordness Galleries Exhibition Section, Inc., 1938-1985 (25.5 linear feet; Boxes 68-93, 120, FC 122)

Series 3: Forms & Objects, Inc., circa 1931, circa 1959-1984 (13.5 linear feet; Boxes 93-106, 120)

Series 4: American Art Expositions, Inc., 1955-1968 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 106-107)

Series 5: The Little Studio, Inc., 1947-1969 (7.7 linear feet; Boxes 108-115, 121)

Series 6: Talent Discovery Company, 1953-1957 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 115-116, 121)

Series 7: Personal Papers of Lee Nordness, 1948-1976 (0.7 linear feet; Box 116)

Biographical / Historical:

New York City gallerist and entrepreneur Lee Nordness (1922-1995) was born in Olympia, Washington. He studied art in college and received a bachelor's degree from Uppsala University in Sweden. From 1954-1956, Nordness ran a small gallery, Talent Discovery Company, out of his apartment in New York City. Around 1955, Nordness became the director of The Little Studio, Ltd., a gallery started by Richard Kollmer in 1952 to showcase moderately priced artwork by young artists. Nordness took over the business in 1957; it closed in April 1963.

In 1958, Nordness incorporated American Art Expositions, Inc. to organize Art:USA:58, a large exposition of contemporary American art held at Madison Square Garden. The following year Art:USA:59 was held at the New York Coliseum.

Lee Nordness opened his own gallery, Nordness Gallery, Inc., in December 1957 on Madison Avenue. The gallery promoted a roster of contemporary painters and sculptors, including David Aronson, Al Blaustein, Alberto Collie, Ralston Crawford, Robert D'Arista, Kahlil Gibran, Ruth Gikow, Peter Grippe, Milton Hebald, Zubel Kachadoorian, James Kearns, Julian Levi, Walter Meigs, Gregorio Prestopino, Hiram Williams, Karl Zerbe, and the estates of Louis Guglielmi and Rico Lebrun. In 1966, Lee Nordness reorganized his businesses. He closed Nordness Gallery and opened Lee Nordness Art Advisory Section, an art consulting service to corporations, collectors, museums, and individuals, and Lee Nordness Galleries Exhibition Sections, Inc. to handle exhibitions and the sale of paintings and sculptures.

Lee Nordness had an interest in American crafts and, beginning in 1968, he added a permanent roster of American craftmakers to exhibit alongside paintings and sculpture. He opened Forms & Objects, Inc. to handle the exhibition and sales of fine crafts such as ceramics, fiber, glass, metal and wood. With a need for additional exhibition space, the gallery moved a few blocks off Madison Avenue to 236-238 East 75th Street.

Nordness traveled the globe to assemble prominent collections for clients, such as Art:USA, a collection of contemporary works by 102 American artists for S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Art:USA traveled throughout the United States and Europe in the mid-late 1960s before being donated to the National Collection of Fine Arts (Smithsonian Institution). In the late 1960s, he assembled a collection of 300 American craft objects for S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. called Objects:USA, which toured throughout the United States and Europe. This collection was disassembled in the late 1970s, many of the works donated to the Museum of Arts and Design, formerly the Museum of Contemporary Craft.

Nordness closed his New York galleries in the mid-1980s. Soon after, he moved to Belfair, Washington and opened Lee Nordness Galleries, Inc. in 1986. He passed away in 1995 in Washington.

Separated Materials:

Three microfilm reels of material were loaned to the Archives of American Art by Lee Nordness in 1959 regarding American Art Exposition, Inc.'s Art:USA 58 and Art:USA:59. Microfilm includes correspondence, catalogs, visitor lists, press releases, lists of artwork, financial records, and advertising materials and is available on reels NAU1, NAU2 and NAU3.

Later, in 1964 and 1969, Lee Nordness loaned original materials for microfilming compiled by Nordness Gallery about the careers of Gregorio Prestopino, Julian E. Levi, and Lee Gatch, including correspondence, exhibition materials, biographical information, clippings, and photographs. Loaned material is available on reels N69-21 and D169. Original materials were returned to Nordness, but some may have been included in later donations and those originals have been integrated with the other donated records.

The contents of microfilm reels are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.

Provenance:

The Lee Nordness business records and papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in several increments by Lee Nordness in 1976, 1986 and as a bequest in 1996. Original materials were also lent by Nordness in 1964 and 1969 for microfilming, some of which may have been included in subsequent donations.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Lee Nordness business records and papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Citation:

Lee Nordness business records and papers, circa 1931-1992, bulk 1954-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collection Care Preservation Fund

Identifier:

AAA.nordlee

See more items in:

Lee Nordness business records and papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-nordlee

Creator:

Richard York Gallery  Search this

Names:

Art Dealers Association of America  Search this

De Forest, Lockwood, 1850-1932  Search this

Goldyne, Joseph R.  Search this

Hale, Ellen Day, 1855-1940  Search this

Hill, J. W. (John William), 1812-1879  Search this

Hill, John Henry, 1839-1922  Search this

Hornby, Lester George, 1882-1956  Search this

Lozowick, Louis, 1892-1973  Search this

Lucioni, Luigi, 1900-1988  Search this

MacRae, Emma Fordyce, 1887-1974  Search this

Mapplethorpe, Robert  Search this

Marin, John, 1870-1953  Search this

Marin, John, Jr., 1915?-1988  Search this

Smith, Houghton Cranford, 1887-1983  Search this

Stella, Joseph, 1877-1946  Search this

Stevens, Will Henry, 1881-1949  Search this

Wheeler, Steve, 1912-1992  Search this

York, Richard  Search this

Extent:

89.5 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Date:

circa 1865-2005

bulk 1981-2004

Summary:

The records of the Richard York Gallery, a New York gallery specializing in American art from early 1800s to 1950, measure 79.3 linear feet and date from circa 1865-2005, with the bulk of the material dating from 1981 to 2004. Three-fourths of the records are artists' artwork files, documenting the sale and consignment of nearly 6,500 works of art. The gallery's activities are also recorded through correspondence, client files, gallery invoices, inventories, business and financial records, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographic materials of artwork, and estate records for the John Marin estate and Sergio Stella estate (Joseph Stella). An addition of 10.2 linear feet, dated circa 1865 to 2005, includes artists' files arranged alphabetically containing printed material, clippings, exhibition announcements, and scattered correspondence and financial documents.

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the Richard York Gallery, a New York gallery specializing in American art from early 1800s to 1950, measure 79.3 linear feet and date from circa 1865-2005, with the bulk of the material dating from 1981 to 2004. Three-fourths of the records are artists' artwork files, documenting the sale and consignment of nearly 6,500 works of art. The gallery's activities are also recorded through correspondence, client files, gallery invoices, inventories, business and financial records, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographic materials of artwork, and estate records for the John Marin estate and Sergio Stella estate (Joseph Stella). An addition of 10.2 linear feet, dated circa 1865 to 2005, includes artists' files arranged alphabetically containing printed material, clippings, exhibition announcements, and scattered correspondence and financial documents.

Correspondence includes both incoming and outgoing correspondence with collectors, clients, galleries and museums, primarily regarding appraisals, consignments, exhibitions, general inquiries, loans, and sales. Also found are scattered transactional records, information sheets for artwork, and photographic materials. Correspondence from the mid-late 1980s is poorly represented.

The sale and consignment of nearly 6,500 pieces of artwork at the Richard York Gallery are documented through transactional records, photographic materials, correspondence, and scattered printed materials found in the Artists' Artwork Files. Artists for which there are significant quantities of materials (over 50 folders) include Joseph Goldyne, Ellen Day Hale, John Henry Hill, John William Hill, Lester George Hornby, Louis Lozowick, Luigi Lucioni, Emma Fordyce MacRae, John Marin, Joseph Stella, William Henry Stevens, and Steve Wheeler. Also included are the files of the Richard York photography collection, which contained works by Robert Mapplethorpe.

Similar to the Artists' Artwork Files, Client Files document the sale and consignment of artwork, but are arranged by artist's and client's name. Materials found are primarily from the early 1990s and include correspondence, notes, photographic materials, photocopied client information cards, and printed materials.

The Richard York Gallery represented the John Marin estate and the Sergio Stella estate (Joseph Stella). The records of the John Marin estate are primarily artwork in-take sheets from 1998 and inventory lists from 2001. The Sergio Stella Estate records include correspondence, inventories of artwork by Joseph Stella, and some photographic materials.

Sales and inventory records contain a nearly complete set of gallery invoices from 1995-2000, and 2004. Inventories includes gallery inventory lists, and inventory cards of sold artwork from 1981-1997 (bulk 1981-1991).

The business and financial records include accounting records, bank deposit records, corporate records, index cards for contacts, invoices for gallery expenses, materials related to Richard York's involvement in the ADAA, mailing lists, records of payments to consignors, receipts, shipping records, and tax records. The gallery migrated from paper records to Artbase, an artwork management system, around 2000-2002. Included are two CDs of database data and digital images from Artbase, as well as inventories of the digital file names.

Printed materials contain advertising tear sheets from 1998-2002, exhibition catalogs, magazine and newspaper clippings of reviews and announcements, and other miscellaneous printed materials. Printed materials are also found in eight scrapbooks which document the activities of the Richard York Gallery, Richard York, and the gallery's exhibitions from 1981-2002. Materials in the scrapbooks include clippings, correspondence, photographs, exhibition catalogs, announcements, and invitations.

Photographic materials includes color photographs, transparencies, digital prints, and scattered printed materials, as well as over 600 slides of artwork, primarily works of art which were sold or consigned by the gallery. Artists for which there is significant volume of transparencies include Houghton Cranford Smith and Lockwood de Forest, Sr.

Materials with dates prior to 1981 in this collection are primarily research materials for works of art, such as printed materials, correspondence, and transparencies, as well as some artwork artifacts, such as back labels.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1975-2005 (Boxes 1-7; 6.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Artists' Artwork Files, circa 1865-2004 (Boxes 7-64; 56.85 linear feet)

Series 3: Client Files, 1965, circa 1981-circa 2004 (Box 64; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Estate Records, 1983-circa 2004 (Boxes 64-65; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 5: Sales and Inventory Records, 1977-2004 (Boxes 65-70; 5.0 linear feet)

Series 6: Business and Financial Records, 1974-2005 (Boxes 70-77; 6.25 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Materials, 1980-2004 (Boxes 77-78; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1981-2002 (Boxes 78, 80; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 9: Photographic Materials, 1977-2004 (Boxes 78-79; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 10: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1865-2005 (Boxes 81-91; 10.2 linear feet)

Historical Note:

Richard T. York (circa 1950-2003) opened his eponymous gallery in the spring of 1981 on East 65th Street in New York City. Specializing in American painting and sculpture from early 1800s to 1950, the Richard York Gallery dealt in the artwork of hundreds of artists including Albert Bierstadt, Charles Demuth, Arthur Dove, Lockwood de Forest, John Graham, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Singer Sargent, Charles Sheeler, and Steve Wheeler. It also represented the estates of artists John Marin and Joseph Stella.

Richard York passed away in April 2003, and the gallery closed in May 2004.

Provenance:

The Richard York Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2006 by Kevin Scott, the executor of Richard York's estate; and in 2015 by Lisa Bush Hankin, former gallery director.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Richard York Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Citation:

Richard York Gallery records, circa 1865-2005, bulk 1981-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care Fund

Identifier:

AAA.richyorg

See more items in:

Richard York Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-richyorg

Collection Creator:

Tanager Gallery  Search this

Extent:

0.5 Linear feet (Box 1)

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1952-1962

Scope and Contents note:

Found are account books, banking materials, certificates, materials relating to the closing of the gallery in 1962, invoices, two ledgers, loan materials, price lists, receipt books, and Department of Labor records. The ledger books show expenses and income for Tanager Gallery exhibitions, organized by date and divided by exhibition. Receipt books span December of 1959 to May of 1962 and record those works of art sold at the Tanager Gallery. Researchers will find the artist, buyer, artwork details, and price.

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Collection Rights:

The Tanager Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Collection Citation:

Tanager Gallery records, 1952-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.tanagall, Series 2

See more items in:

Tanager Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-tanagall-ref25

Creator:

Ankrum Gallery  Search this

Names:

Art Dealers Association of America  Search this

Black Arts Council (Washington, D.C.)  Search this

California Arts Council  Search this

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Krannert Art Museum  Search this

Laguna Art Museum (Laguna Beach, Calif.)  Search this

Paramount Pictures  Search this

San Diego Museum of Art  Search this

Staempfli Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Storm King Art Center  Search this

Almaraz, Carlos  Search this

Andrews, Benny, 1930-2006  Search this

Ankrum, Joan  Search this

Bauer, Richard, 1944-  Search this

Block, Irving  Search this

Broderson, Morris, 1928-2011  Search this

Caryl, Naomi  Search this

Casey, Bernie  Search this

Duveneck, Frank, 1848-1919  Search this

Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978  Search this

Groth, Bruno  Search this

Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970  Search this

Herschler, David  Search this

Hirsch, Joseph, 1910-1981  Search this

Hirshhorn, Olga  Search this

Homer, Jessie  Search this

Jackson, Suzanne, 1944-  Search this

Johnson, Buffie  Search this

Lundeberg, Helen, 1908-1999  Search this

Mesches, Arnold, 1923-  Search this

Miller, Henry, 1891-  Search this

Palm Springs Desert Museum  Search this

Schuler, Melvin  Search this

Secunda, Arthur  Search this

Shores, Kenneth, 1928-  Search this

Varda, Jean  Search this

Zev  Search this

Extent:

41.5 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Date:

circa 1900-circa 1990s

bulk 1960-1990

Summary:

The Ankrum Gallery records measure 41.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 1990s, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1990. The papers include over 395 artists files, general gallery correspondence, project files, administrative records, exhibition files, collector and client files, financial material, printed material, 1 unbound scrapbook, and photographs. Also included are personal papers of gallery founder Joan Ankrum and her nephew, artist Morris Broderson.

Scope and Contents:

The Ankrum Gallery records measure 41.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 1990s, with the bulk of the records dating from 1960 to 1990. The papers include over 395 artists files, general gallery correspondence, project files, administrative records, exhibition files, collector and client files, financial material, printed material, 1 unbound scrapbook, and photographs. Also included are personal papers of gallery founder Joan Ankrum and her nephew, artist Morris Broderson.

General correspondence is with artists, museums, collectors, and clients, and generally concerns sales, exhibitions, and consignments. Correspondents include Irving Block, Morris Broderson, Naomi Caryl, Suzanne Jackson, Joseph and Olga Hirshhorn, among many others. Correspondence is also found in the artists files and the collector/client files.

Project files document various events, benefits, and projects undertaken by the gallery, including a UNICEF benefit, "Up Against Hunger," the Exceptional Children's foundation, and the Young Art Patrons.

Administrative files document many activities of the gallery, such as the gallery's and Joan Ankrum's membership in the Black Arts Council, the California Arts Council, and the Art Dealers Association of California of which Joan Ankrum was a primary organizer. Also found are publicity files, a file on the history of the gallery, leases, floor plans, insurance documents, lists of graphics for sale, and other miscellany.

Exhbition files appear to be incomplete, but do include files for Huichol Indian's art, "The Art of African Peoples" (1973), "Five Contemporary Mexican Painters" (1977), Ethiopian Folk Painting (1978), San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild All Media Exhibition (1982), "25th Anniversary Exhibition" (1985), among several others.

Extensive artists' files include correspondence, price lists, photographs and slides,resumes and biographical material, and sales invoices. Files are found for Benny Andrews, Carlos Almaraz, Richard Bauer, Irving Block, Naomi Caryl, Bernie Casey, Frank Duveneck, Lorser Feitelson, Bruno Groth, David Herschler, Jessie Homer, Suzanne Jackson, Buffie Johnson, Samella Lewis, Helen Lundeberg, Arnold Mesches, Henry Miller, Melvin Schuler, Arthur Secunda, Ken Shores, Jean Varda, and Zev, among many others. The Pat Alexander and Andy Nelson files also contain motion picture film.

Collector and client files document the gallery's relationship with over 115 collectors, museums, and art centers. Files may include correspondence and sales records and are found for Edith Halpert, Olga and Joseph Hirshhorn and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Krannert Art Museum, Laguna Art Museum, Palm Spring Desert Museum, Paramount Pictures, San Diego Museum of Art, Staempfli Gallery, and Storm King Art Center, among many others.

Financial material documents sales through numbered invoices, consignments, loans, and insurance valuations. Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements, bulletins, periodicals, and newspaper clippings. One unbound scrapbook contains clippings and exhibition materials.

Photographs are of artwork, artists, and gallery openings. Additional photographs are found in the artists' files.

Joan Wheeler Ankrum personal papers document her personal and professional relationship with family, artists, and collectors. They include correspondence, personal writings, personal financial materials, printed material and loose scrapbook materials, family photographs and photographs of her as an actress, and artwork from various artists.

The papers of artist Morris Broderson, nephew of Joan Ankrum, document his professional relationship with the gallery as his primary dealer. Included are biographical materials, correspondence, publicity files, travel files, projects, exhibitions, collector/client files, financial material, printed material, photographs, and artwork.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged as 12 series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1961-1994 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Project Files, 1965-1987 (0.25 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Administrative Records, 1961- circa 1990s (1 linear foot; Boxes 1-2)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1961-1991 (1 linear foot; Boxes 2-3)

Series 5: Artists' Files, 1957-1994 (22.5 linear feet; Boxes 3-25, 41-42, FC 43-45)

Series 6: Collector and Client Files, 1960-1994 (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 25-28)

Series 7: Financial Material, 1962-1990 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 28-30)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1957-1994 (2 linear feet; Boxes 30-32, 41)

Series 9: Scrapbook, 1960-1988 (3 folders; Box 32)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1960s-circa 1990s (0.35 linear feet; Boxes 32, 42)

Series 11: Joan Ankrum Personal Papers, circa 1900-1993 (2 linear feet; Boxes 32-34, 41)

Series 12: Morris Broderson Papers, 1941-1989 (7.2 linear feet; Boxes 34-42)

Biographical / Historical:

The Ankrum Gallery was established 1960 in Los Angeles by American film actress Joan Wheeler Ankrum and William Chalee. The gallery closed in 1989.

Joan Wheeler Ankrum and William Challee opened Ankrum Gallery on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1960 with a one-man show of Ankrum's nephew Morris Broderson. With a focus on contemporary California artists, Ankrum Gallery represented over 395 artists during its 30 years in operation, including Benny Andrews, Carlos Almaraz, Richard Bauer, Irving Block, Naomi Caryl, Bernie Casey, Frank Duveneck, Lorser Feitelson, Bruno Groth, David Herschler, Jessie Homer, Suzanne Jackson, Buffie Johnson, Samella Lewis, Helen Lundeberg, Arnold Mesches, Henry Miller, Melvin Schuler, Arthur Secunda, Ken Shores, Jean Varda, and Zev. In addition, the gallery was among the earliest to exhibit the work of black artists. The gallery also held exhibitions of world artists, which included "Art of African Peoples" (1973), "Yarn Paintings of the Huichol Indians" (1973), "Five Contemporary Mexican Painters" (1977), and "Ethiopian Folk Painting" (1978). Ankrum Gallery closed in 1989.

Art dealer and gallery owner, Joan Wheeler Ankrum was an actress before establishing the Ankrum Gallery primarily to showcase the work of her deaf nephew, Morris Broderson. Born in 1913 in Palo Alto, California, she began acting at the Pasadena Playhouse where she met her first husband Morris Ankrum with whom she had two sons, David and Cary Ankrum. She married gallery co-owner and partner William Challee in 1984. She helped organize the Los Angeles Art Dealers Association and the Monday Night Art Walks on La Cienega Boulevard. She was a member of the relatively short-lived Black Arts Council. Joan Wheeler Ankrum died in 2001 at the age of 88.

Morris Broderson (1928-2011) was a deaf painter. His first one-man show was at the Stanford Museum in 1957, followed by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. By 1959 he'd won two awards from the Los Angeles County Museum, and appeared in the Whitney Museum's "Young America" show in 1960. His travels influenced his work, including the hand gestures of Kabuki art in Japan. His work is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, among others. Following Joan Ankrum's death in 2001, Broderson was represented by her son David Ankrum.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Joan Ankrum, one conducted by Betty Hoag, April 28, 1964, and a second by Paul Karlstrom, November 5, 1997-February 4, 1998. Additionally, there is an oral history interview with Morris Broderson conducted by Paul Karlstrom, March 11-13, 1998.

Provenance:

The Ankrum Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art by Joan Ankrum in 1995.

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.

Rights:

The Ankrum Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Art galleries, Commercial -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this

Artists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Citation:

Ankrum Gallery records, circa 1900-circa 1990s, bulk 1960-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund

Identifier:

AAA.ankrgall

See more items in:

Ankrum Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-ankrgall

Creator:

Hess, Thomas B.  Search this

Names:

Mark Rothko Foundation  Search this

Bess, Forrest, 1911-1977  Search this

Campbell, Lawrence  Search this

De Kooning, Elaine  Search this

De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this

Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this

Gottlieb, Adolph, 1903-1974  Search this

Guston, Philip, 1913-1980  Search this

Kline, Franz, 1910-1962  Search this

Milles, Carl, 1875-1955  Search this

Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970  Search this

Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988  Search this

Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this

Rivers, Larry, 1925-2002  Search this

Rosenberg, Harold, 1906-1978  Search this

Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this

Schapiro, Meyer, 1904-  Search this

Schuyler, James  Search this

Smith, David, 1906-1965  Search this

Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980  Search this

Extent:

10 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sound recordings

Drawings

Greeting cards

Illustrated letters

Paintings

Cartoons (humorous images)

Photographs

Collages

Date:

1939-1978

Summary:

The papers of New York editor and art critic Thomas Hess measure 10.0 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1978. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, extensive writings and notes, artists and subject files that also include recorded conversations with artists and others, printed materials, photographic materials, and artwork.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York editor and art critic Thomas Hess measure 10.0 linear feet and date from 1939 to 1978. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, extensive writings and notes, artists and subject files that also include recorded conversations with artists and others, printed materials, photographic materials, and artwork.

Biographical material includes a certificate, architectural plans, investment information, invoices, publisher and loan agreements, will for Paul Stamm, and resumes. Correspondence is with members of Hess' family including his wife and children, Philip Guston, Meyer Schapiro, David Smith, James Schuyler, Forrest Bess, Elaine de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Larry Rivers, Clyfford Still, Ad Reinhardt, and others.

Writings and notes consist of manuscripts and drafts by Hess for Art News, Le Monde, Vogue, New York magazine, and other publications; Hess' senior essay and class notes; notes on Ingres, Italian artists, and travels abroad; notebooks on art and literature; and scattered writings by others.

Artists and subject files contain primarily photographs of artwork, artists, and colleaguesare mostly photographs of artwork, artists, and colleagues. Some of the files also contain printed materials, writings, notes, and other documentation. The file on Willem de Kooning includes a sound recording of a conversation between Hess, de Kooning, and Harold Rosenberg. There are also significant files on Elaine de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, Carl Milles, Barnett Newman, Isamu Noguchi, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko and the Mark Rothko Foundation Inc.

Printed materials include brochures and flyers, clippings, magazines and newspapers, press releases, travel memorabilia, and a printed scarf. Photographs are of of Hess, his wife Audrey, other family members, works of art, travel, Larry Rivers and Ad Reinhardt, and other artists and colleagues. Artwork includes drawings, paintings, collages, cartoons, and holiday cards made by Hess and his children, along with artwork by others including Audrey and Lawrence Campbell, Ad Reinhardt, and unidentified artists.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1945-1977 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, OV 15)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1945-1978 (1.0 linear feet; Box 1-2, OV 11)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1940-1978 (2.5 linear feet; Box 2-5, OV 12)

Series 4: Artists and Subject Files, circa 1946-1978 (4.5 linear feet; Box 5-9, OVs 13, 15-16)

Series 5: Printed Materials, 1943-1978 (0.5 linear feet; Box 9, OV 11)

Series 6: Photographic Materials, 1949-circa 1960s (0.8 linear feet; Box 9-10, OV14)

Series 7: Artwork, 1939-1978 (0.4 linear feet; Box 10, OV 11)

Biographical / Historical:

Thomas B. Hess (1920-1978) was an editor, art critic and curator who worked in New York City. He was on the staff at Art News for 26 years (1946-72). Starting as an editorial associate, he was named managing editor in 1948, then executive editor in 1954; he assumed the top editorial post in 1965 upon the death of long-time editor Alfred Frankfurter. In his critical writing from the late 1940s on, he was an influential supporter of the Abstract Expressionists. He wrote widely on other topics as well. In 1972 he left Art News after an ownership change. He then became the art critic for New York magazine (1972-78), a large-circulation weekly reaching a much larger public. (He was also, in the late '60s, a correspondent for the French daily newspaper Le Monde.)

Over the years he undertook several major curatorial projects including traveling retrospectives for Willem de Kooning (1968-69) and Barnett Newman (1971), which he organized for the Museum of Modern Art. His "New York School Painting and Sculpture" appeared at the New York State Museum in Albany in 1977. Both MoMA exhibitions were accompanied by comprehensive monograph/catalogues: Willem de Kooning (1968) and Barnett Newman (1971). Hess's other books include Abstract Painting: Background and American Phase (1951, Viking); Willem de Kooning (1959, Braziller); De Kooning, Recent Paintings (1967, Walker & Co.); Barnett Newman (1969, Walker & Co.); De Kooning: Drawings (1972, New York Graphic); and The Art Comics and Satires of Ad Reinhardt (1975, De Luca Editore, Rome).

Hess became consultative chairman of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of 20th-Century Art a few months before his death from a heart attack in July 1978, age 57. Already under way were a Clyfford Still retrospective and a smaller show of recent paintings and sculptures by Ellsworth Kelly. Both exhibitions, completed by Philippe de Montebello (the Met's then new director) and Lowery S. Sims (the Met's then acting 20th-century curator) respectively, took place the year after Hess's death.

Thomas Hess was born in Rye, New York, to Gabriel Lorie Hess, a lawyer, and Helen Baer. He attended school in the United States and Switzerland. He continued his education at Yale University majoring in French 17th-century art history and literature. After graduating in 1942, Hess worked for a short period at the Museum of Modern Art under Alfred H. Barr and Dorothy Miller, before entering World War II as a pilot. In 1944 he married Audrey Stern with whom he had three children, William, Philip, and Anne Helen.

Separated Materials:

Materials on legacy microfilm reel 5028 related to Barnett Newman are photocopies. The originals are located at the Barnett New Foundation in New York City.

Provenance:

The Thomas Hess papers were donated in multiple increments from 1985 to 1987 by Hess' children, Anne Helen, William, and Philip Hess, except for a file on Barnett Newman donated by Newman's widow, who presumably had borrowed it from Hess. In 2014, additional correspondence, writings, photographs, printed material, and cartoons, including some by Ad Reinhardt, were donated by Elizabeth Wolff, Hess' sister.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Rights:

The Thomas Hess papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

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

Artists -- Italy  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Drawings

Greeting cards

Illustrated letters

Paintings

Cartoons (humorous images)

Photographs

Collages

Citation:

Thomas Hess papers, 1939-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

Identifier:

AAA.hessthom

See more items in:

Thomas Hess papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-hessthom

Creator:

James Graham & Sons  Search this

Names:

Coe Kerr Gallery  Search this

Duveen-Graham (Gallery)  Search this

Graham Gallery  Search this

Graham Modern (Gallery)  Search this

Cicero, Carmen, 1926-  Search this

Coheleach, Guy  Search this

Crile, Susan, 1942-  Search this

De Kooning, Elaine  Search this

Dickinson, Edwin Walter, 1891-1978  Search this

Duveen, Albert  Search this

Fogel, Seymour, 1911-1984  Search this

Fried, Nancy  Search this

Graham, Robert Claverhouse, 1913-1994  Search this

Kriesberg, Irving, 1919-  Search this

Melchers, Gari, 1860-1932  Search this

Perrine, Van Dearing, 1869-1955  Search this

Santlofer, Jonathan, 1946-  Search this

Schley, Reeve, 1936-  Search this

Stevens, Peter  Search this

Thorne, Joan, 1943-  Search this

Trieff, Selina, 1934-  Search this

Wyeth, Andrew, 1917-2009  Search this

Wyeth, Jamie, 1946-  Search this

Wyeth, N. C. (Newell Convers), 1882-1945  Search this

Extent:

103.2 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Visitors' books

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Date:

1821

1815

circa 1896-2011

Summary:

The records of the New York City gallery James Graham & Sons measure 103.2 linear feet and date from 1815, 1821, circa 1896-2011 (bulk 1950s-1980s). The collection generally documents the gallery's contemporary art department during the time in which Robert Claverhouse Graham, Sr. worked at the gallery (1940-1979); records prior to 1954 are sparse and scattered. Gallery records include artist files; correspondence; exhibition files; financial records; inventory records; printed materials; sales, loans, and consignment records; scrapbooks; and photographic materials. Also found are records from Coe Kerr Gallery regarding exhibitions.. There is a 8.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2018 that includes artists' files regarding exhibitions and photographs of works of art.

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the New York City gallery James Graham & Sons measure 103.2 linear feet and date from 1815, 1821, circa 1896-2011 (bulk 1950s-1980s). The collection generally documents the gallery's contemporary art department during the time in which Robert Claverhouse Graham, Sr. worked at the gallery (1940-1979); records prior to 1954 are sparse and scattered. Gallery records include artist files; correspondence; exhibition files; financial records; inventory records; printed materials; sales, loans, and consignment records; scrapbooks; and photographic materials. Also found are records from Coe Kerr Gallery regarding exhibitions of artwork by Jamie Wyeth, and to a lesser extent, Andrew and N.C. Wyeth.

Over the years, the gallery changed names and established contemporary art departments. In addition to records of James Graham & Sons, the collection holds the records of Duveen-Graham Modern Art (in partnership with Albert Duveen), Graham Gallery, Graham Modern, JG|Contemporary, and, to a lesser extent, The Clapp and Graham Co.

Alphabetical files are a mix of business correspondence and business records. The bulk of the series contains correspondence with galleries, museums, other institutions, and, to a lesser extent, clients regarding sales, consignments, and loans of artwork. Also found are materials relevant to the daily operations of the gallery, including correspondence, subject files, and scattered financial, business and legal records.

Exhibition files provide scattered documentation of the gallery's exhibitions through catalogs, clippings, correspondence, guest books, notes, photographs, press materials, price lists, and sales receipts and other financial records.

Artists' Files document the numerous artists who have been represented by the gallery, especially modern American artists. Folders for each artist can contain a variety of materials, including correspondence with the artist or with institutions regarding consignments, loans, sales and exhibitions; photographic materials primarily of artwork; sales invoices; exhibition catalogs, postcards, and other printed materials; press releases; magazine and newspaper clippings; price lists; artist binders; and research materials on artists and artwork. Also found are some subject files, per original arrangement. There is extensive material related to artists Carmen Cicero, Susan Crile, Elaine De Kooning's portrait of President John F. Kennedy, Edwin Dickinson, muralist Seymour Fogel, Nancy Fried, Irving Kriesberg, Gari Melchers, Jonathan Santlofer, Reeve Schley, Peter Stevens, Joan Thorne, and Selina Trieff.

Artwork files document sales, consignments, and loans of artwork primarily from the mid-1980s to 2000s. Materials include agreements and contracts; condition reports; correspondence; invoices and receipts; photographs of artwork; shipping records; and photocopied printed material and other documentation. This series requires written permission from the donor in order to access.

Sales records from 1959-1984 (missing 1974) are found in the Financial Records series. Also found are check stub books from the mid-late 1950s; price lists; records for the Four Seasons Charter Corp.; and scattered banking, consignment, tax, and other financial records. Inventory cards from mid-1950s-1970s and inventory lists, often with notations and prices, are found in the series Inventory Records.

Coe Kerr Gallery Records regarding the Wyeths document Jamie Wyeth's exhibitions primarily from the mid-1970s-early 1980s. Also found is limited material regarding Andrew Wyeth and N.C. Wyeth. Materials include correspondence, photographs, exhibition printed materials, and extensive newspaper clippings.

There are exhibition catalogs, books, announcements, magazines, clippings, postcards, posters and other printed materials related to artists, John Graham & Sons exhibitions, and exhibitions by Graham artists held at other galleries and museums. Also found is an 1815 fifty cent note which was redeemed in 1821.

Seven scrapbooks document discrete aspects of the business, including the gallery's advertising, participation in an art fair, and the careers of artists Guy Coheleach and Van Dearing Perrine. Materials housed in the scrapbooks include clippings, catalogs, photographs, and other printed materials.

Photographic Materials include mostly black and white photographs, negatives, slides and transparencies of artwork; scattered photographs of installations, artists, and the gallery; and a handful of personal snapshots. The bulk of the photographs are undated, but were likely printed between 1950s-1990s.

There is a 8.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2018 that includes artists' files regarding exhibitions and photographs of works of art.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 11 series:

Series 1: Alphabetical Files, circa 1896, 1902-1999, bulk 1955-1986 (Boxes 1-15; 15 linear feet)

Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1912, 1947-2004 (Boxes 16-24; 8 linear feet)

Series 3: Artists' Files, circa 1907-2006, bulk 1955-1999 (Boxes 24-62, 95-96; 39.1 linear feet)

Series 4: Artwork Files, circa early 1900s-2011, bulk mid-1980s-2009 (Boxes 63-71, 94, 101; 9.3 linear feet)

Series 5: Financial Records, circa 1937-1993 (Boxes 72-76, 96; 4.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Inventory Records, circa 1954-1993 (Boxes 76-78, 96; 2.1 linear feet)

Series 7: Coe Kerr Gallery Records Regarding Wyeths, 1964-1988 (Boxes 78-80, 97; 2.7 linear feet)

Series 8: Printed Materials, 1815, 1821, 1949-2006 (Boxes 81-82, 97; 2.1 linear feet)

Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1897-1990s (Boxes 82, 98-100; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1929-1990s (Boxes 83-93, 96, 100-101; 11.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1940-1980 (Boxes 102-109; 8 linear feet)

Historical Note:

The James Graham & Sons gallery has been owned and managed by the Graham family in New York City since 1857. Throughout its history, the gallery has specialized in decorative arts, antiques, and 19th-early 20th century and contemporary American art.

In 1857, Samuel Graham founded a gallery at 66 Third Street and specialized in furniture. Graham was joined by his son James in the 1880s and expanded the business to include antiques and decorative arts. James A. Graham, the third generation Graham, joined the gallery in the early 20th century. James Graham and antiques dealer Marshall Clapp created Clapp & Graham in 1914, a partnership which was dissolved around 1940.

James R. Graham, the fourth generation Graham, joined the gallery in 1937, followed by his brother Robert Claverhouse Graham, Sr. in 1940. The gallery was then named James Graham & Sons and was located at 514 Madison Avenue. At this time, the gallery specialized in bronzes, ceramics, silver, sculptures, and 19th-early 20th century American art. Robert C. Graham, Sr. introduced modern American art, especially The Eight, into the gallery's inventory.

In 1955, the gallery moved to 1014 Madison Avenue, where it remained until the late 2000s. That same year, Graham opened its first contemporary department with Albert Duveen. Duveen-Graham Modern Art gallery was based on the third floor of the Madison Avenue building and dealt solely in contemporary art until its closing in 1958. Robert C. Graham, Jr. (Robin) joined the gallery in 1963, becoming the fifth generation Graham to run the family business. The gallery is currently located at 32 East 67th Street.

Betsy Fahlman's "James Graham & Sons: A Century and a Half in the Art Business" (2007) was a valuable resource in constructing this Historical Note.

Related Material:

Among the other resources relating to James Graham & Sons in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Robert Claverhouse Graham, November 19, 1976, and the David Herbert papers, 1950-1995.

Provenance:

The James Graham & Sons records were donated in 2007, 2008, and 2012 by Priscilla Caldwell and Jay Grimm of James Graham & Sons and in 2018 by Cameron Shay of James Graham & Sons.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. Artwork Files (Boxes 63-71, 94) and some photographic materials (Box 93 and 101) require written permission to access.

Rights:

The James Graham & Sons records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Painting -- United States  Search this

Sculpture -- United States  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Visitors' books

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Citation:

James Graham & Sons records, 1815, 1821, circa 1896-2011, bulk 1950s-1980s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution Collections Care Preservation Fund

Identifier:

AAA.jamegras

See more items in:

James Graham & Sons records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-jamegras

Creator:

Perls Galleries  Search this

Names:

Art Institute of Chicago  Search this

Fujikawa Gallery  Search this

Galerie Maeght  Search this

James Corcoran Gallery  Search this

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

National Gallery of Art (U.S.)  Search this

Pierre Matisse Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Austin, Darrel, 1907-  Search this

Cafritz, Gwendolyn  Search this

Cafritz, Morris, 1886?-1964  Search this

Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this

Canaday, John, 1907-1985  Search this

De Menil, Adelaide  Search this

Dudensing, F. Valentine, 1892-1967  Search this

Ford, Henry, 1917-1987  Search this

Garbo, Greta, 1905-1990  Search this

Hitchcock, Alfred, 1899-  Search this

Luce, Claire  Search this

Luce, Henry, III, 1925-2005  Search this

Miró, Joan, 1893-  Search this

Perls, Klaus  Search this

Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this

Priebe, Karl J., 1914-1976  Search this

Streisand, Barbra  Search this

Extent:

79.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Illustrated letters

Drawings

Photographs

Date:

1937-1997

Summary:

The records of the Perls Galleries measure 79.6 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1997. Founded by Klaus Perls in 1937 and operating until 1997, the gallery dealt primarily in modern French art and the artwork of Alexander Calder. Found within the records are extensive correspondence (circa 44 linear feet) with artists, dealers, galleries, museums, and collectors; photographs and negatives of inventory and other artwork; exhibition files, scattered financial records; and exhibition catalogs and clippings.

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the Perls Galleries measure 79.6 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1997. Founded by Klaus Perls in 1937 and operating until 1997, the gallery dealt primarily in modern French art and the artwork of Alexander Calder. Found within the records are extensive correspondence (circa 44 linear feet) with artists, dealers, galleries, museums, and collectors; photographs and negatives of inventory and other artwork; exhibition files, scattered financial records; and exhibition catalogs and clippings.

Correspondence primarily discusses sales (and includes invoices), loans, and exhibitions, as well as more routine activities such as gallery maintenance, the printing of exhibition catalogs and letterhead, and the shipment, framing, or restoration of artwork. Many letters enclose photographs, negatives, or slides of artwork, and clippings. A few letters contain oversize architectural or engineering drawings, and a small handful of letters are illustrated.

Correspondents include artists such as Darrell Austin, Joan Mir, Pablo Picasso, and Karl Priebe; galleries such as the Corcoran Gallery, Fujikawa Galleries, Galerie Maeght, and the Pierre Matisse Gallery; museums such as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Whitney Museum of Modern Art; collectors such as Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz, Adelaide de Mnil, Valentine Dudensing, and Henry Ford, II; and celebrity clients such as Greta Garbo, Alfred Hitchcock, Henry and Clare Booth Luce, and Barbra Streisand.

The records contain nearly thirty-two linear feet of photographs and negatives. Photographs are of artists and the inventory of the gallery's artwork. Additional photographs represent artwork either by artists not represented by the gallery or not included in the gallery's inventory. Most of the photographs are black and white. Over fifteen linear feet of negatives are of gallery stock. Photographs are also found in the exhibition files.

There is a relatively small amount of records relating to exhibitions, loans, and sales. Found are exhibition lists, schedules, invitations and announcements, photographs of exhibition installations, press releases, and records of loans to other institutions and galleries. Sales records include artist lists, inventory lists, invoices, pick up and delivery receipts, and price lists.

Printed materials include a large number of clippings and an incomplete run of catalogs from Perls Galleries exhibitions between 1939 and 1980.

The collection also includes ten original pencil drawings from John Canaday's series entitled My Beautiful Girls and a reproduction of eight drawings from the same series

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1937-1995 (Boxes 1-44, OV 81-83; 43.6 linear feet)

Series 2: Negatives, circa 1937-1995 (Boxes 44-59; 15.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Photographs, circa 1937-1995 (Boxes 60-75, OV 84; 16.1 linear feet)

Series 4: Exhibition, Loan, and Sales Records, 1937-1995 (Boxes 76-78; 2.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Clippings Files, 1943-1989 (Box 78; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Exhibition Catalogs, 1939-1980 (Boxes 78-79; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 7: Drawings by John Canaday, circa 1967-1972 (Box 80; 0.3 linear feet)

Historical Note:

Klaus Perls (b. 1912, d. 2008) formally opened Perls Galleries in New York in 1937, and ran it with his wife Amelia until its closing in 1997. The gallery dealt in contemporary French artists of the School of Paris, such as Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, but also acted as the primary representative of Alexander Calder beginning in 1954. In the 1970s Mr. Perls developed an interest in art from Benin and built an important collection of African sculpture, some of which was later donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Amelia Perls died in 2002, and Klaus Perls died in 2008.

Klaus Perls was born in 1912 in Berlin in a house Mies van der Rohe designed for his parents, who owned an art gallery specializing in Impressionists, post-Impressionists, Old Master paintings, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and African sculpture. Perls studied Art History in Hamburg and Munich but completed his PhD in Basel, Switzerland in 1933 after the Nazi government stopped awarding degrees to Jews. His dissertation covered the complete works of 15th-century French painter Jean Fouquet.

Before moving to New York in 1935, Perls worked for his mother, Kaethe Perls, in her Paris gallery that she opened in 1932 after splitting up with Klaus' father Hugo. He spent his first two years in New York selling paintings through other art dealers, primarily paintings shipped or recommended to him by his mother from Paris that were not selling well in the Depression-era French art market. These were primarily the work of Maurice Utrillo, Marie Laurencin, Raoul Dufy and Maurice de Vlaminck. In 1937 he formally established his own gallery, the Perls Galleries, on East 58th Street and continued to specialize in French and European contemporary art. Around the same time, his older brother Frank opened a gallery in Beverly Hills, California.

Klaus Perls was familiar with other New York dealers specializing in modern European art such as Valentine Dudensing and Pierre Matisse, but he tried to distinguish himself by catering to young collectors. When the war restricted the international art trade and his mother was forced to flee France during the Occupation, Perls began dealing in contemporary American artists such as Darrel Austin and Karl Priebe.

Perls married Amelia Blumenthal, fondly known as "Dolly," in 1940, and she became his business partner.

After the war, the international art market exploded, and the Perls made frequent buying trips to Europe. The Perls Galleries continued to sell primarily contemporary French art and gained an early reputation as a staunch defender of modern art by European artists such as Picasso, Modigliani, Braque, Lger, Soutine and Pascin. Perls prepared catalogues raisonns on Soutine and Pascin.

Klaus Perls was one of the founding members of the Art Dealer's Association, whose initial mission was to clean up the reputation of the art market following a series scandals involving fake antiquities that flourished in the 1960's. Perls was the Association's second president, after Pierre Matisse.

In 1954 Perls Galleries moved to 1016 Madison Avenue, a building that served as both gallery and home for the Perls. The same year Perls became Alexander Calder's dealer after the death of Calder's previous dealer, Curt Valentin. Perls explained his inclusion of Calder, a rare American among his stable of European artists, by saying that Calder's roots lay in France and that Calder bridged Europe and America the way Perls felt he did himself. In 1970, Calder designed the terrazzo sidewalk in front of the gallery and often resided in the Perls' home during long visits to New York City. Perls Galleries later handled Calder's estate and functioned as a quasi-archives of Calder's works, holding more than 7,000 negatives depicting Calder's art and preparing a Calder catalogue raisonn.

Klaus was named as a third-party defendant in the 1969 World War II looted art case Menzel v. List. When Erna Menzel sued Albert List for ownership of a Chagall painting confiscated from Menzel by the Nazis, List in turn sued Perls, who had sold him the painting in 1955, having purchased it himself from a Paris art dealer. The court awarded the Chagall painting to Menzel and ordered Perls to pay List the appreciated value of the painting.

Perls began building an important collection of African artwork and fell in love with art from Benin in the 1970's. In 1991 he donated more than 150 pieces of royal art from Benin to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Perls closed their gallery in 1997; Amelia Perls died in 2002, and Klaus Perls died in 2008.

Related Material:

Among the resources relating to the Perls Galleries in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Klaus Perls done by Mona Hadler on January 19, 1993.

Provenance:

The records were donated in 1997 by Douglas Mayhew, associate and legal representive of Klaus G. and Amelia B. Perls.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Perls Galleries records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

Art, Modern  Search this

Genre/Form:

Illustrated letters

Drawings

Photographs

Citation:

Perls Galleries records, 1937-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.perlgall

See more items in:

Perls Galleries records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-perlgall

Creator:

Vose Galleries of Boston  Search this

Subject:

Vose, Robert Churchill  Search this

Hassam, Childe  Search this

Hoffman, Malvina  Search this

Jonniaux, Alfred  Search this

Ladd, Anna Coleman (sculptor)  Search this

Thayer, Abbott Handerson  Search this

Norton, William E.  Search this

Sargent, John Singer  Search this

Vose, Robert C. (Robert Churchill)  Search this

Arthur U. Newton Galleries  Search this

Ehrich Galleries (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Howard Young Galleries (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Jill Newhouse (Gallery)  Search this

M. Knoedler & Co.  Search this

Macbeth Gallery  Search this

Milch Galleries  Search this

Norton Gallery and School of Art  Search this

R.C. & N.M. Vose (Firm)  Search this

Robert C. Vose Galleries  Search this

Centennial Exhibition  Search this

Type:

Video recordings

Manuscript

Topic:

Artists -- United States -- Photographs  Search this

Picture frame industry -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Picture frames and framing  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- Rhode Island -- Providence  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9272

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211467

AAA_collcode_vosegall

Theme:

The Art Market

Art Gallery Records

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211467

Creator:

Gardner, Isabella Stewart, 1840-1924  Search this

Subject:

Abbott, Lyman  Search this

Adams, Brooks  Search this

Agassiz, Alexander  Search this

Agassiz, Elizabeth Cabot Cary  Search this

Agassiz, Louis  Search this

Agostini, Luigi  Search this

Aïdé, Hamilton  Search this

Aldrich, Thomas Bailey  Search this

Andrew, A. Piatt (Abram Piatt)  Search this

Anisfeld, Boris Israelevich  Search this

Arliss, George  Search this

Balch, Anne L.  Search this

Barnard, George Grey  Search this

Barnes, Grace Edith  Search this

Beaux, Cecilia  Search this

Bigelow, William Sturgis  Search this

Okakura, Kakuzō  Search this

Blake, William P. (William Phipps)  Search this

Blashfield, Edwin Howland  Search this

Bode, Wilhelm von  Search this

Brimmer, Martin  Search this

Brown, J. Appleton  Search this

Bunker, Dennis Miller  Search this

Burroughs, Bryson  Search this

Byard, Theodore  Search this

Carter, Morris  Search this

Chalfin, Paul, 1874-  Search this

Chapman, Conrad Wise  Search this

Chapman, John Jay  Search this

Collins, Alfred Quinton  Search this

Cook, Walter W. S. (Walter William Spencer)  Search this

Coolidge, Archibald Cary  Search this

Coolidge, Thomas Jefferson  Search this

Copeland, Charles Townsend  Search this

Cox, Kenyon  Search this

Cram, Ralph Adams, 1863-1942  Search this

Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion)  Search this

Crosby, Raymond Moreau  Search this

Cross, Sally  Search this

Curtis, Ralph W. (Ralph Wormeley)  Search this

Cushing, Howard Gardiner  Search this

Cushman, Charlotte  Search this

Damrosch, Walter  Search this

Davis, Richard Harding  Search this

De Wolfe, Elsie  Search this

Dexter, Mary  Search this

Dole, Nathan Haskell  Search this

Donoghue, John  Search this

Draper, Ruth  Search this

Dwight, J. S.  Search this

Dwight, Theodore F.  Search this

Dyer, Louis  Search this

Eliot, Charles William  Search this

Faulkner, Barry  Search this

Faure, Gabriel  Search this

Fiske, Minnie Maddern  Search this

French, Daniel Chester  Search this

Frick, Helen Clay  Search this

Fry, Roger Eliot  Search this

Gabrilowitsch, Ossip  Search this

Gardner, John Lowell  Search this

Gardner, William Amory  Search this

Gaugengigl, I. M. (Ignaz Marcel)  Search this

Gilder, Richard Watson  Search this

Gimpel, René  Search this

Godkin, Edwin Lawrence  Search this

Gordon, Leon  Search this

Gregory, Lady  Search this

Guiney, Louise Imogen  Search this

Hale, Edward Everett  Search this

Hale, Philip Leslie  Search this

Hale, Philip Leslie, Mrs  Search this

Hale, Mary  Search this

Hammond, Richard P.  Search this

Hampden, Walter  Search this

Hazelton, George C.  Search this

Helleu, Paul  Search this

Higginson, Henry Lee  Search this

Higginson, Thomas Wentworth  Search this

Hinckley, Robert C.  Search this

Hoffman, Malvina  Search this

Hooper, Edward W.  Search this

Hosmer, Harriet Goodhue  Search this

Howe, Julia Ward  Search this

Huntington, Archer M.  Search this

Indy, Vincent d'  Search this

Irving, Henry, Sir  Search this

Jaccaci, Augusto Floriano  Search this

Kittredge, William  Search this

Kronberg, Louis  Search this

Kropotkin, Petr Alekseevich, kni︠a︡zʹ  Search this

Ladd, Anna Coleman (sculptor)  Search this

La Farge, John  Search this

Lamb, Charles R. (Charles Rollinson)  Search this

Lanman, Charles  Search this

Loring, Charles Greely  Search this

Lowell, James Russell  Search this

MacKnight, Dodge  Search this

Macomber, Mary L. (Mary Lizzie)  Search this

Mansfield, Richard  Search this

Manship, Paul  Search this

Mather, Frank Jewett  Search this

McComas, Francis John  Search this

Melba, Nellie, Dame  Search this

Millet, Francis Davis  Search this

Mitchell, S. Weir (Silas Weir)  Search this

Modjeska, Helena  Search this

Monteux, Pierre  Search this

Mosby, John Singleton  Search this

Murray, Gilbert  Search this

Norton, Andrews  Search this

Norton, Lily  Search this

Norton, Richard  Search this

O'Connell, William  Search this

Okakura, Kakuzō  Search this

Oliver, Jean Nutting  Search this

Partridge, William Ordway  Search this

Pater, Walter  Search this

Pavlova, Anna  Search this

Peirce, Waldo  Search this

Pennell, Joseph  Search this

Pennington, Harper  Search this

Perry, Lilla Cabot  Search this

Pickering, Edward C. (Edward Charles)  Search this

Pitman, Sophia L.  Search this

Prichard, Matthew Stewart  Search this

Quinn, John  Search this

Reid, Robert  Search this

Rives, Amélie  Search this

Roberts, Elizabeth Wentworth  Search this

Rodin, Auguste  Search this

Ross, Denman Waldo  Search this

Rothenstein, Will  Search this

Russell, Lillian  Search this

Sachs, Paul J. (Paul Joseph)  Search this

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus  Search this

St. Denis, Ruth  Search this

Sanborn, F. B. (Franklin Benjamin)  Search this

Sargent, Charles Sprague  Search this

Sears, Sarah C.  Search this

Slade, C. Arnold (Caleb Arnold)  Search this

Slade, Irene  Search this

Sleeper, Henry Davis, 1878-1934  Search this

Smith, Francis Hopkinson  Search this

Smith, George Warren  Search this

Smith, Joseph Lindon  Search this

Spaulding, Albert C. (Albert Clanton)  Search this

Sterne, Maurice  Search this

Stillman, William James  Search this

Story, Julian  Search this

Story, Waldo  Search this

Swift, Henry & Mary Coffin  Search this

Symonds, John Addington  Search this

Terry, Ellen, Dame  Search this

Thaxter, Celia  Search this

Thayer, Abbott Handerson  Search this

Thayer, William Roscoe  Search this

Tiffany, Mary A. (Mary Adeline)  Search this

Van Rensselaer, Schuyler, Mrs.  Search this

Wadsworth, Adelaide E.  Search this

Walker, Francis Amasa  Search this

Ward, Humphry, Mrs.  Search this

Warren, Fiske, Mrs  Search this

Wheelwright, Edmund March  Search this

James McNeill Whistler  Search this

White, Margaret  Search this

Whitman, Sarah  Search this

Wister, Owen  Search this

Woodbury, Charles H. (Charles Herbert)  Search this

Zogbaum, Rufus Fairchild  Search this

Zorn, Anders  Search this

Zorn, Anders, Mrs  Search this

Sargent, John Singer  Search this

Berenson, Mary  Search this

Berenson, Bernard  Search this

Duveen Brothers  Search this

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this

Wildenstein Galleries  Search this

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Art, Renaissance -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Art, Italian -- Italy -- Venice  Search this

Painting, Renaissance  Search this

Sculpture, Renaissance  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)8959

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211146

AAA_collcode_gardisab

Theme:

Diaries

The Art Market

Art Collectors

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211146

Collection Creator:

Asch, Moses  Search this

Distler, Marian, 1919-1964  Search this

Folkways Records  Search this

Container:

Box Asch_01_019, Folder 21

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1941-1994

Scope and Contents note:

Royalty statements/records of payment, 1942-1981; royalty payments to Alan Lomax, 1950; sales records, 1964; invoices, 1941-1994

Collection Restrictions:

Access by appointment only. Contact the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections at rinzlerarchives@si.edu or (202) 633-7322 for additional information.

Collection Rights:

Copyright restrictions apply. Contact archives staff for additional information.

Collection Citation:

Moses and Frances Asch Collection, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

CFCH.ASCH, File Asch_01_019_021

See more items in:

Moses and Frances Asch Collection

Moses and Frances Asch Collection / Series 1: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-cfch-asch-ref1945

Creator:

MacRae, Elmer Livingston, 1875-1953  Search this

Names:

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

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

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

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

Kuhn, Walt, 1877-1949  Search this

Pach, Walter, 1883-1958  Search this

Extent:

1.8 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1899-circa 2013

bulk 1912-1916

Summary:

The Elmer Livingston MacRae papers related to the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, Inc., (AAPS) measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1899 to circa 2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1912-1916. Elmer Livingston MacRae served as Treasurer of the AAPS when the association organized the International Exhibition of Modern Art, also known as the Armory Show of 1913. The bulk of this collection concerns MacRae's involvement with the AAPS and the Armory Show and includes administrative files, correspondence, exhibition files, financial records, printed materials, and artifacts.

Scope and Contents:

The Elmer Livingston MacRae papers related to the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, Inc., (AAPS) measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1899 to circa 2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1912-1916. Elmer Livingston MacRae served as Treasurer of the AAPS when the association organized the International Exhibition of Modern Art, also known as the Armory Show of 1913. The bulk of this collection concerns MacRae's involvement with the AAPS and the Armory Show and includes administrative files, correspondence, exhibition files, financial records, printed materials, and artifacts.

Biographical material includes an old collection inventory from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, two annotated appointment books, and a small handbook with notes.

Correspondence consists of letters addressed to Elmer MacRae from AAPS members such as Arthur B. Davies, Walt Kuhn, and Walter Pach, as well as other various artists, dealers, lenders, and buyers. Most letters concern AAPS business and organizing the Armory Show.

AAPS administration records include the organization's constitution, letterhead, meeting minutes, a report, and a membership list.

The Armory Show exhibition tour files consist of materials related to openings in Chicago and Boston. Materials include lists that track sales of tickets and pamphlets, insurance lists, a contract, an art inventory, and other items.

Financial records consist of AAPS and exhibition expenses in the form of sales lists of artwork, payroll information, shipping and transportation invoices, bills, rescinded dues, cashiers' journals, ledgers, a receipt book, and a checkbook.

Printed material includes copies of Armory Show exhibition catalogs, AAPS pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, clippings, postcards, and a poster.

Artifacts consist of AAPS memorabilia from the exhibition. There are button pins, calling cards, event invitations, mailing cards, signs, tickets, and other miscellany.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1899-1913, circa 1988 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1911-1915, 1958 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Administration Records, circa 1911-circa 1916 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 4: Armory Show Tour Files, 1913 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 5: Financial Records, 1912-1916 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1911-1959 (0.6 linear feet; Box 2, OV 4-5)

Series 7: Artifacts, 1913, circa 2013 (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)

Biographical / Historical:

Elmer MacRae (1875-1953) was a New York and Connecticut-based painter and served as treasurer of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors when the association organized the 1913 Armory Show.

Elmer Livingston MacRae was born in New York City in 1875. In the late 1890s, MacRae summered in an artist's community in Cos Cob, Connecticut, where he met his wife Emma Constant Holley. He moved full time to Cos Cob in 1899. MacRae became active in the Pastellists group. He was affiliated with the Macbeth and Madison Galleries in New York, where he was on friendly terms with fellow painters Jerome Myers and Walt Kuhn. In 1911, MacRae became a member of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), Inc. From 1912 to 1916, MacRae served as Treasurer of the AAPS, the organization which organized the seminal 1913 Armory Show exhibition of modern American and European art. Formally titled the International Exhibition of Modern Art, the exhibition introduced many Americans to modern art for the first time. The Armory Show began at New York City's 69th Street Armory, then continued on to the Art Institute of Chicago, and Boston's Copley Society of Art. The latter venue did not include the American art due to space constraints.

Related Materials:

The Archives of American Art also holds the Walt Kuhn, Walt Kuhn family papers and Armory Show records as well as the Joseph Hirshhorn papers regarding the Elmer MacRae papers.

Provenance:

The Elmer Livingston MacRae papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2016 by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

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.

Rights:

The Elmer Livingston MacRae papers related to the American Association of Painters and Sculptors are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Painters -- Connecticut  Search this

Painters -- New York (State)  Search this

Topic:

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

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- societies, etc  Search this

Citation:

Elmer Livingston MacRae papers related to the American Association of Painters and Sculptors, 1899-circa 2013, bulk 1912-1916. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.macrelme

See more items in:

Elmer Livingston MacRae papers related to the Association of American Painters and Sculptors

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-macrelme

Creator:

Vose Galleries of Boston  Search this

Names:

Arthur U. Newton Galleries  Search this

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

Ehrich Galleries (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Howard Young Galleries (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Jill Newhouse (Gallery)  Search this

M. Knoedler & Co.  Search this

Macbeth Gallery  Search this

Milch Galleries  Search this

Norton Gallery and School of Art  Search this

R.C. & N.M. Vose (Firm)  Search this

Robert C. Vose Galleries  Search this

Hassam, Childe, 1859-1935  Search this

Hoffman, Malvina, 1887-1966  Search this

Jonniaux, Alfred, b. 1882  Search this

Ladd, Anna Coleman, 1878-1939 (sculptor)  Search this

Norton, William E., 1843-1916  Search this

Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925  Search this

Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921  Search this

Vose, Robert C. (Robert Churchill), 1911-1998  Search this

Vose, Robert Churchill, 1873-  Search this

Extent:

25.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Video recordings

Manuscript

Date:

circa 1876

1890s-1996

bulk 1920-1940

Summary:

The records of Vose Galleries of Boston measure 25.6 linear feet and date from circa 1876, 1890s-1996 with the bulk of materials dating from 1920s-1930s. Nearly 90 percent of the collection documents the gallery's handling of American paintings and portraits through incoming and outgoing business correspondence with artists, clients, galleries, and museums, including considerable correspondence with portrait artist Alfred Jonniaux and clients regarding commissioned portraits. Other materials include client files; artists' biographies; records of sales, consignments, framing, restoration, and banking, mostly from the 1940s-1960s; and scattered exhibition catalogs, newspaper clippings, and postcards. Also found is a handwritten manuscript regarding the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, PA and a 1991 videotape about the Vose Galleries and its founding family.

Scope and Contents note:

The records of Vose Galleries of Boston measure 25.6 linear feet and date from circa 1876, 1890s-1996 with the bulk of materials dating from 1920s-1930s. Nearly 90 percent of the collection documents the gallery's handling of American paintings and portraits through incoming and outgoing business correspondence with artists, clients, galleries, and museums, including considerable correspondence with portrait artist Alfred Jonniaux and clients regarding commissioned portraits. Other materials include client files; artists' biographies; records of sales, consignments, framing, restoration, and banking, mostly from the 1940s-1960s; and scattered exhibition catalogs, newspaper clippings, and postcards. Also found is a handwritten manuscript regarding the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, PA and a 1991 videotape about the Vose Galleries and its founding family.

Correspondence of note is with artists Childe Hassam, Malvina Hoffman, Alfred Jonniaux, and John Singer Sargent; galleries Ehrich Galleries, Clapp & Graham Co., M. Knoedler & Co., Macbeth Galleries, Milch Galleries, Newhouse Galleries, Arthur U. Newton Galleries, Norton Galleries, and Howard Young Galleries; the estates of Anna Coleman Ladd and William E. Norton; and the family of Abbott H. Thayer.

Researchers should note that the records do not comprehensively span the gallery's history or operations. The bulk of the collection is correspondence from Robert C. Vose's era running the Robert C. Vose Galleries in the 1920s-1930s and, lesser so, under Robert C. Vose, Jr.'s direction in the 1970s. There is little material in the collection which dates before the 1910s or the 1950s-1960s, other than correspondence regarding Alfred Jonniaux and some financial records. There is a handful of correspondence which covers the period of R.C. & N.M. Vose Gallery. Records loaned for microfilming should be consulted for materials outside of the bulk dates of this collection, especially for materials from the late 1800s-early 1900s.

Arrangement note:

The collection is arranged as 5 series:

Series 1: Correspondence, 1895-1996 (Boxes 1-23; 22.6 linear feet)

Series 2: Customer Files, 1912-1946 (Boxes 23-24; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Art-Related Files, circa 1876, 1890s-1947 (Box 24; 7 folders)

Series 4: Financial Records, 1911-1962, 1991 (Boxes 24-25; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Materials, circa 1904-1990 (Boxes 25-26; 0.4 linear feet)

Biographical/Historical note:

Vose Galleries is a long time family run art gallery based in the Boston, Mass. area.

In 1841, Joseph Vose purchased Westminster Art Gallery, a small Providence, Rhode Island art gallery founded by Ransom Hicks. At the age of 19 in 1850, Joseph's son Seth Morton Vose joined the gallery and five years later became director. The gallery's primary business until the late 1860s was frame making, gilding and art supplies. Seth Morton Vose had a passion for art, especially the French painters of the Barbizon School and he slowly began buying and exhibiting artwork. By 1882, the gallery regularly exhibited in Boston.

Seth's son Robert C. Vose joined the business in 1896, and managed the gallery's Boston office from 1897. Robert broadened the gallery's horizons by showing his fine stock of Barbizon, Dutch, English and American artists throughout America, while his younger brother, Nathaniel, and his cousin, Charles Thompson, handled the Boston gallery. During the next sixty-seven years, Robert C. Vose moved the gallery into a position of national prominence.

In 1924, Nathaniel left the gallery and established his own gallery in Providence. The Boston gallery's name changed to Robert C. Vose Galleries, and around the same time, took over the Carrig-Rohane framing company. In 1931-1932, Robert's three sons, Robert C. Vose, Jr., Seth Morton Vose II, and Herbert Vose, joined the firm. The gallery continued to show exhibitions in Boston, and the sons took turns joining their father on the road. The gallery's name was changed to Vose Galleries of Boston, Inc. in 1952. In 1963, Vose Galleries moved to their current location at 238 Newbury Street in Boston. Robert C. Vose passed away in 1964.

Robert C. Vose, Jr.'s sons, Abbot W. Vose and Robert C. Vose III, joined the gallery in 1968 and 1970, respectively. Robert C. Vose, Jr. passed away in 1998. The Vose Galleries of Boston continues to operate at Newbury Street under the direction of the sixth generation of the Vose family.

Related Archival Materials note:

The Archives of American Art holds several separately cataloged collections related to Vose Galleries of Boston, including the Carrig-Rohane Shop records (1903-1962); oral history interviews with Seth Morton Vose (July 24, 1986 - April 28, 1987) and Robert C. Vose, Jr. (June 27 - July 23, 1986); a sound recording and videotape of a Robert C. Vose, Jr. lecture at the Somerset Club (May 14, 1987); a sound recording of an interview with Robert C. Vose (March 1961); the Miscellaneous Art Exhibition Catalog collection containing Vose Galleries exhibition catalogs, circa 1900-1941; and, Robert C. Vose, Jr. typescripts and clippings, 1961, on microfilm reels 3480 and 4314.

Separated Materials note:

The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming.

Reel B1 contains a scrapbook compiled by Seth Vose and annotated by Robert Vose that contains clippings, 1886-1900, and an 1889 letter from author and critic Alfred Trumble; and a scrapbook compiled and annotated by Robert C. Vose spanning the years 1920-1940, 1897, and 1905, containing clippings and handwritten lists.

Reel 2380 includes numerous photographs, circa 1890-1964, of Seth Morton Vose, Robert C. Vose, Sr., artists, collectors, and dealers associated with Vose Galleries; a Macbeth Gallery "smoker" in honor of Emil Carlsen; a drawing of Charles Emil Heil by George F. Wing, and a charcoal drawing after Monticelli by Albion Harris Bicknell. Many of the photographs are annotated by Robert C. Vose.

Reels 3936-3940 are comprised of account books, 1871-1887; a journal, 1889-1903, a ledger, 1889-1901; invoice books, 1896-circa 1954, inventories of paintings and drawings in stock, 1884, 1892 and 1906; exhibition records, 1911-1982?; traveling exhibition records, 1915-1949; and a record of paintings sold, 1876-1894. Written permission is required to access these reels.

Reels 4593-4594 contain clippings, undated and 1891-1989, chiefly about purchases, sales and exhibitions, but also pertaining to art dealers, museums, artists, and art events.

Reel 4909 contains a scrapbook of clippings, announcements, programs, and other printed materials, 1882-1993.

Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

From 1965-1994, Vose Galleries of Boston loaned materials to the Archives of American Art for microfilming. Robert C. Vose, Jr. also donated records in several installments from 1974 to 1997.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Vose Galleries of Boston records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Art dealers -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Topic:

Artists -- United States -- Photographs  Search this

Picture frame industry -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Picture frames and framing  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- Rhode Island -- Providence  Search this

Art galleries, Commercial -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Genre/Form:

Video recordings

Manuscript

Citation:

Vose Galleries of Boston records, circa 1876, 1890s-1996, bulk 1920s-1930s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collection Care Preservation Fund

Identifier:

AAA.vosegall

See more items in:

Vose Galleries of Boston records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-vosegall

Creator:

Gardner, Isabella Stewart, 1840-1924  Search this

Names:

Duveen Brothers  Search this

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum  Search this

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this

Wildenstein Galleries  Search this

Abbott, Lyman, 1835-1922  Search this

Adams, Brooks  Search this

Agassiz, Alexander, 1835-1910  Search this

Agassiz, Elizabeth Cabot Cary, 1822-1907  Search this

Agassiz, Louis, 1807-1873  Search this

Agostini, Luigi  Search this

Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, 1836-1907  Search this

Andrew, A. Piatt (Abram Piatt), 1873-1936  Search this

Anisfeld, Boris Israelevich, 1879-1973  Search this

Arliss, George, 1868-1946  Search this

Aïdé, Hamilton, 1826-1906  Search this

Balch, Anne L.  Search this

Barnard, George Grey, 1863-1938  Search this

Barnes, Grace Edith  Search this

Beaux, Cecilia, 1855-1942  Search this

Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959  Search this

Berenson, Mary, 1864-  Search this

Bigelow, William Sturgis, 1850-1926  Search this

Blake, William P. (William Phipps), 1826-1910  Search this

Blashfield, Edwin Howland, 1848-1936  Search this

Bode, Wilhelm von, 1845-1929  Search this

Brimmer, Martin, 1829-1896  Search this

Brown, J. Appleton, 1844-  Search this

Bunker, Dennis Miller, 1861-1890  Search this

Burroughs, Bryson, 1869-1934  Search this

Byard, Theodore  Search this

Carter, Morris, 1877-  Search this

Chalfin, Paul, 1874-  Search this

Chapman, Conrad Wise, 1842-1910  Search this

Chapman, John Jay, 1862-1933  Search this

Collins, Alfred Quinton, d. 1903  Search this

Cook, Walter W. S. (Walter William Spencer), 1888-1962  Search this

Coolidge, Archibald Cary, 1866-1928  Search this

Coolidge, Thomas Jefferson, 1831-1920  Search this

Copeland, Charles Townsend, 1860-1952  Search this

Cox, Kenyon, 1856-1919  Search this

Cram, Ralph Adams, 1863-1942  Search this

Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion), 1854-1909  Search this

Crosby, Raymond Moreau, 1876-1945  Search this

Cross, Sally  Search this

Curtis, Ralph W. (Ralph Wormeley), 1854-1922  Search this

Cushing, Howard Gardiner, 1869-1916  Search this

Cushman, Charlotte, 1816-1876  Search this

Damrosch, Walter, 1862-1950  Search this

Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916  Search this

De Wolfe, Elsie, 1865-1950  Search this

Dexter, Mary  Search this

Dole, Nathan Haskell, 1852-1935  Search this

Donoghue, John, 1853-1903  Search this

Draper, Ruth, 1884-1956  Search this

Dwight, J. S.  Search this

Dwight, Theodore F.  Search this

Dyer, Louis, 1851-1908  Search this

Eliot, Charles William, 1834-1926  Search this

Faulkner, Barry, 1881-1966  Search this

Faure, Gabriel, b. 1877  Search this

Fiske, Minnie Maddern, 1865-1932  Search this

French, Daniel Chester, 1850-1931  Search this

Frick, Helen Clay, 1888-1984  Search this

Fry, Roger Eliot, 1866-1934  Search this

Gabrilowitsch, Ossip, 1878-1936  Search this

Gardner, John Lowell  Search this

Gardner, William Amory  Search this

Gaugengigl, I. M. (Ignaz Marcel), 1855-1932  Search this

Gilder, Richard Watson, 1844-1909  Search this

Gimpel, René  Search this

Godkin, Edwin Lawrence, 1831-1902  Search this

Gordon, Leon, 1884-1960  Search this

Gregory, Lady, 1852-1932  Search this

Guiney, Louise Imogen, 1861-1920  Search this

Hale, Edward Everett, 1822-1909  Search this

Hale, Mary  Search this

Hale, Philip Leslie, 1865-1931  Search this

Hale, Philip Leslie, Mrs  Search this

Hammond, Richard P., 1896-  Search this

Hampden, Walter, 1879-1955  Search this

Hazelton, George C.  Search this

Helleu, Paul, 1859-1927  Search this

Higginson, Henry Lee, 1834-1919  Search this

Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 1823-1911  Search this

Hinckley, Robert C., 1853-1941  Search this

Hoffman, Malvina, 1887-1966  Search this

Hooper, Edward W.  Search this

Hosmer, Harriet Goodhue, 1830-1908  Search this

Howe, Julia Ward, 1819-1910  Search this

Huntington, Archer M., 1870-1955  Search this

Indy, Vincent d', 1851-1931  Search this

Irving, Henry, Sir, 1838-1905  Search this

Jaccaci, Augusto Floriano, 1857-1930  Search this

James McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903  Search this

Kittredge, William  Search this

Kronberg, Louis, 1872-1965  Search this

Kropotkin, Petr Alekseevich, kni︠a︡zʹ, 1842-1921  Search this

La Farge, John, 1835-1910  Search this

Ladd, Anna Coleman, 1878-1939 (sculptor)  Search this

Lamb, Charles R. (Charles Rollinson), 1860-1942  Search this

Lanman, Charles, 1819-1895  Search this

Loring, Charles Greely, 1828-1902  Search this

Lowell, James Russell, 1819-1891  Search this

MacKnight, Dodge, 1860-1950  Search this

Macomber, Mary L. (Mary Lizzie), 1861-1916  Search this

Mansfield, Richard, 1857-1907  Search this

Manship, Paul, 1885-1966  Search this

Mather, Frank Jewett, 1868-1953  Search this

McComas, Francis John, 1874-1938  Search this

Melba, Nellie, Dame, 1861-1931  Search this

Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912  Search this

Mitchell, S. Weir (Silas Weir), 1829-1914  Search this

Modjeska, Helena, 1840-1909  Search this

Monteux, Pierre, 1875-1964  Search this

Mosby, John Singleton, 1833-1916  Search this

Murray, Gilbert  Search this

Norton, Andrews, 1786-1853  Search this

Norton, Lily  Search this

Norton, Richard  Search this

O'Connell, William, 1859-1944  Search this

Okakura, Kakuzō, 1862-1913  Search this

Okakura, Kakuzō, 1862-1913  Search this

Oliver, Jean Nutting, d. 1946  Search this

Partridge, William Ordway, 1861-1930  Search this

Pater, Walter, 1839-1894  Search this

Pavlova, Anna, 1881-1931  Search this

Peirce, Waldo, 1884-1970  Search this

Pennell, Joseph, 1857-1926  Search this

Pennington, Harper, 1854 or 5-1920  Search this

Perry, Lilla Cabot  Search this

Pickering, Edward C. (Edward Charles), 1846-1919  Search this

Pitman, Sophia L., 1855-1943  Search this

Prichard, Matthew Stewart  Search this

Quinn, John, 1870-1924  Search this

Reid, Robert, 1862-1929  Search this

Rives, Amélie, 1863-1945  Search this

Roberts, Elizabeth Wentworth, 1871-1927  Search this

Rodin, Auguste, 1840-1917  Search this

Ross, Denman Waldo, 1853-1935  Search this

Rothenstein, Will  Search this

Russell, Lillian, 1861-1922  Search this

Sachs, Paul J. (Paul Joseph), 1878-1965  Search this

Saint-Gaudens, Augustus, 1848-1907  Search this

Sanborn, F. B. (Franklin Benjamin), 1831-1917  Search this

Sargent, Charles Sprague, 1841-1927  Search this

Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925  Search this

Sears, Sarah C., 1858-1935  Search this

Slade, C. Arnold (Caleb Arnold), 1882-1961  Search this

Slade, Irene  Search this

Sleeper, Henry Davis, 1878-1934  Search this

Smith, Francis Hopkinson, 1838-1915  Search this

Smith, George Warren  Search this

Smith, Joseph Lindon, 1863-1950  Search this

Spaulding, Albert C. (Albert Clanton), 1914-1990  Search this

St. Denis, Ruth, 1880-1968  Search this

Sterne, Maurice, 1878-1957  Search this

Stillman, William James, 1828-1901  Search this

Story, Julian, 1857-1919  Search this

Story, Waldo, 1855-1915  Search this

Swift, Henry & Mary Coffin  Search this

Symonds, John Addington, 1840-1893  Search this

Terry, Ellen, Dame, 1847-1928  Search this

Thaxter, Celia, 1835-1894  Search this

Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921  Search this

Thayer, William Roscoe, 1859-1923  Search this

Tiffany, Mary A. (Mary Adeline)  Search this

Van Rensselaer, Schuyler, Mrs., 1851-1934  Search this

Wadsworth, Adelaide E., 1844-1928  Search this

Walker, Francis Amasa, 1840-1897  Search this

Ward, Humphry, Mrs., 1851-1920  Search this

Warren, Fiske, Mrs  Search this

Wheelwright, Edmund March, 1854-1912  Search this

White, Margaret  Search this

Whitman, Sarah  Search this

Wister, Owen, 1860-1938  Search this

Woodbury, Charles H. (Charles Herbert), 1864-1940  Search this

Zogbaum, Rufus Fairchild, 1849-1925  Search this

Zorn, Anders, 1860-1920  Search this

Zorn, Anders, Mrs  Search this

Extent:

40 Microfilm reels

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Microfilm reels

Date:

1760-1956

Scope and Contents:

Letters, business records, diary, and photographs.

REEL 380-413: Primarily correspondence, mostly Gardner's own, but including family correspondence and Gardner Museum correspondence. Also included are misc. items and printed material. Correspondents include: Edwin Austin Abbey, Lyman Abbott, Brooks Adams, Alexander Agassiz, Elizabeth C. Agassiz, Louis Agassiz, Luigi Agostini, Hamilton Aide, Thomas B. Aldrich, Abram P. Andrew, Boris Anisfeld, George Arliss, Anne L. Balch, George G. Barnard, Grace Edith Barnes, Cecilia Beaux, Martin Birnbaum, William Sturgis Bigelow, William Phipps Blake, Edwin Howland Blashfield, Wilhelm von Bode, Martin Brimmer, J. Appleton Brown, Dennis Miller Bunker, Bryson Burroughs, Theodore Byard, Morris Carter, Paul Chalfin, Conrad Chapman, John Jay Chapman, Alfred Q. Collins,

Frederick Shepard Converse, Walter William Spencer Cook, Archibald Cary Coolidge, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, Charles Townsend Copeland, Kenyon Cox, Ralph Adams Cram, Francis Marion Crawford, Raymond Crosby, Sally Cross, Ralph W. Curtis, Howard G. Cushing, Charlotte Cushman, Walter Damrosch, Richard Harding Davis, Elsie De Wolfe, Mary Dexter, Nathan H. Dole, John Donoghue, Ruth Draper, Duveen Brothers, J. S. Dwight, Theodore F. Dwight, Louis Dyer, Charles W. Eliot, Barry Faulkner, Gabriel Faure, Minnie Maddern Fiske, Daniel Chester French, Helen C. Frick, Roger E. Fry, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, John Lowell Gardner, William Amory Gardner, I. M. Gaugengigl, Richard Watson Gilder, Rene Gimpel, Edwin L. Godkin, Leon Gordon, Lady Augusta Gregory, Louise I. Guiney, Edward E. Hale,

Mary (Mrs. Richard Walden) Hale, Philip Leslie Hale, Mrs. Philip Hale, Richard Hammond, Walter Hampden, George C. Hazelton, Paul Helleu, Henry Lee Higginson, Thomas W. Higginson, Robert Hinckley, Malvina Hoffman, Edward W. Hooper, Harriet Hosmer, Julia W. Howe, Archer M. Huntington, Vincent d'Indy, Henry Irving, August F. Jaccaci, Clarence King, William Kittredge, Louis Kronberg, Petr A. Kropotkin, Anna C. Ladd, John La Farge, Charles Rollinson Lamb, Charles Lanman, Charles G. Loring, James R. Lowell, Dodge Macknight, Mary L. Macomber, Richard Mansfield, Paul Manship, Frank J. Mather, Francis John McComas, Nellie Melba, Francis Davis Millet, S. Weir Mitchell, Helena Modjeska, Pierre Monteux, John S. Mosby, Gilbert Murray,

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Andrews Norton, Lily Norton, Richard Norton, William O'Connell, Kazuzo Okakura, Jean N. Oliver, William O. Partridge, Walter Pater, Anna Pavlova, Waldo Peirce, Joseph Pennell, Harper Pennington, Lilla Cabot Perry, Edward C. Pickering, Sophia L. Pitman, Matthew Stewart Prichard, John Quinn, Robert Reid, Amelie Rives, Elizabeth W. Roberts, Auguste Rodin, Denman Ross, Will Rothenstein, Lillian Russell, Paul J. Sachs, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Ruth St. Denis, Franklin B. Sanborn, Charles Sprague Sargent, John Singer Sargent, J.M. Sears, C. Arnold Slade, Irene Slade, Henry Davis Sleeper, F. Hopkinson Smith, George Warren Smith, Joseph L. Smith, Albert Spaulding, Maurice Sterne, William James Stillman, Julian Story, Thomas W. Story, Henry Swift,

John Addington Symonds, Ellen Terry, Celia Thaxter, Abbott H. Thayer, William R. Thayer, Mary A. Tiffany, Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer, Adelaide E. Wadsworth, Francis Amasa Walker, Mrs. Humphry Ward, Mrs. Fiske Warren, Edmund March Wheelwright, James McNeill Whistler, Margaret White, Sara de Prix Wyman Whitman, Wildenstein Galleries, Owen Wister, Charles H. Woodbury, Rufus F. Zogbaum, Anders Zorn, Mrs. Anders Zorn, and others.

REELS 631-632: Personal papers of Gardner and some records of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum including dealers' files containing invoices, notes, cancelled checks, and letters; a record book, "Prices Paid for Paintings," 1917; a record book, "Prices Paid for Works of Art"; 118 installation photographs of the museum as arranged by Gardner, 1924; a diary kept in Egypt, 1874, with sketches; a diary kept in Shanghai and India, 1883-1884; "Directions for my funeral," 1912; and "Suggestions for Running a Museum," 1913.

REELS 696-698: Letters from Bernard Berenson to Gardner, 1887-1924. Letters contain references to literary topics, Berenson's impressions of Europe, various paintings and artists, advice to Gardner on the purchase of paintings and information on their sale.

REEL 846: Checklist of Gardner's letters to Bernard and Mary Berenson, 1894-1924; typescripts of personal and official correspondence (originals found on AAA microfilm reels 696-698), 1887-1924.

Biographical / Historical:

Art patron, collector, and museum founder; Boston, Mass. Immediately after graduation from Harvard, Bernard Berenson was hired by Gardner to travel throughout Italy collecting Italian Renaissance art for her recreated Venetian palazzo in Boston. She established her palazzo as a museum of fine European art with stipulations that after her death none of the exhibited works was to be moved or rearranged, but left as she had designed during her lifetime.

Provenance:

Microfilm lent by Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for duplicating, 1972-1975.

Restrictions:

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Occupation:

Art patrons -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Art, Renaissance -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Art, Italian -- Italy -- Venice  Search this

Painting, Renaissance  Search this

Sculpture, Renaissance  Search this

Function:

Art museums -- Massachusetts -- Boston

Identifier:

AAA.gardisab

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-gardisab

Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Extent:

2.1 Cubic feet (consisting of 4 boxes, 2 folder, 11 oversize folders, 2 map case folders.)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Ephemera

Business ephemera

Date:

circa 1639-1960

Summary:

A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Real Estate forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

Scope and Contents:

This subject category, Real Estate, consists primarily of land site plans, advertisements, receipts, invoices, correspondence, and publications relating to real estate transactions, mainly land sales, building and home construction drawings, rental and mortgage documents and receipts, investment firms, real estate agents, and other businesses relating to the acquisition and development of real estate. There are images of buildings, and a few catalogs, pamphlets and publications related to real estate. It is arranged from the most fundamental component, land, through to finished product, i.e. a home, including the transactional processes of acquiring the property, and a building which sits upon it (via financing through a lease or mortgage). Materials from peripheral businesses related to property ownership such as lawyers or surveyors are also included.

Series 1, Land Transfers, 1828-1914; undated, consist of bills, receipts, land grants and warrants, printed advertisements and invoices relating to the transfer of land in the United States. The materials include both personal and business transactions, between individuals and between businesses and individual buyers/sellers. The transactions occurred mainly in the Northeastern United States, primarily New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, with some from other areas. Materials in this series are arranged by type of transfer and then in chronological order.

Subseries 1a, Land Sales, Exchanges and Trades, 1828-1914; undated, includes maps of land tracts, correspondence, solicitations, business cards, bills of sale, exchange or trade between sellers and buyers, and advertisements primarily by landowners for property sales. These materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 1b, Land Grants, Warrants, Deeds and Bonds, 1828-1890, include correspondence and official property deed documents. These materials are arranged by subject, and then in chronological order. Series 2, Buildings, 1639-1963; undated, consists of material related for the most part to residential property: receipts, invoices, correspondence, promotional literature, and blank forms (rental agreements, receipts, mechanic's liens, and mortgages). There are construction plans, prospectuses for apartment houses in Manhattan, rental receipts, leases, and rental/indenture agreements between lessors and lessees. These materials are concerned with businesses engaged in rental/sale or construction of residential property in the Northeastern United States (primarily New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania) with several from other areas in the United States. Materials in this series are arranged alphabetically by business name, and then in chronological order.

Subseries 2a, Developers and Developments, Builders 1871-1931, includes advertisements and literature describing real estate developments (builder's multiple unit housing projects). These materials are arranged by name of the Developer or Development Company and then in chronological order.

Subseries 2b, Residential Property, 1900-1963; undated, include promotional literature for cooperative apartment houses in New York City and photos/descriptions of residential property for sale in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Hudson Valley, New York areas. These materials are arranged by type (apartment house or estate) and then in chronological order.

Subseries 2c, Rental Property, 1822-1916; undated, includes leases, receipts, rental property descriptions and advertisements, correspondence about repairs to rental property, blank rental agreement and rent receipt forms as well as blank forms for mortgages and mechanic's liens. These materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 2d, Historical Properties, 1639-1915; undated, include black and white and color drawings as well as black and white photos of historical properties in New York State, Massachusetts, New England, and unknown locations. These are almost all residential homes in rural settings. A pamphlet, published in 1912 "Forty of Boston's Historic Houses" shows homes in an urban environment. A pamphlet published in 1915 "American Historic Homes" shows photographs of the Jumal Mansion in New York City, Monticello (Virginia), The Hermitage (Nashville, Tennessee), Westover (Virginia), The Pickering House (Salem, Massachusetts), and Mount Vernon (Virginia). These materials are arranged in chronological order by date of the image.

Series 3, Property Acquisition, 1823-1960; undated, includes mortgage documents and advertising materials from individual banks or other lenders, and Realtors or real estate agents. Materials in this series are arranged in three sub series: investment companies, mortgages, and Realtors/real estate agents. Within these sub series materials are arranged alphabetically by business name, and then in chronological order.

Subseries 3a, Investment Companies, 1908-1928; undated, includes correspondence on letterhead stationary, solicitation letters, advertisements, stock and bond certificates, and published annual reports from companies involved in real estate investment or financing. These materials are arranged alphabetically by business name, and then in chronological order.

Subseries 3b, Mortgages, 1823-1922; undated, consist of mortgage and indenture documents, and letterhead and personal correspondence related to mortgages. These materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 3c, Auctioneers, Realtors and Real Estate Agents, 1832-1888; undated, include advertising cards, promotional literature, advertisements, brochures, and correspondence on letterhead stationery related to the sale of property by a Realtor or real estate agent. These materials are arranged alphabetically by business name, and then in chronological order.

Series 4, Businesses and People Related to Real Estate Transactions, 1836-1959; undated, contains documents regarding different kinds of businesses concerned with real estate transactions: companies performing tax searches, title searches, and offering insurance coverage, as well as an appraiser, an abstractor, a "real estate office," a "real estate manager," and a scheme for real estate valuation, Realtor training, lawyers and real estate boards and associations. This series includes correspondence on letterhead stationery, drawings, receipts, advertising cards, and business documents. It also includes black and white drawings, portraits of real estate tycoons. These materials are arranged by subject, and then in chronological order.

Series 5, Government, 1836-1959; undated, includes documents relating to taxes, urban renewal projects in New York City, low income housing in Manhattan, municipal and federal government services. These materials are arranged by subject and then in chronological order where possible.

Subseries 5a, Taxes, 1836-1897; undated, includes protest notices, assessments, receipts, and correspondence related to real estate taxes. These materials are arranged in chronological order.

Subseries 5b, Services, 1852-1959; undated, includes documents related to various municipal and federal government services and offerings including urban renewal and low income housing. These materials are arranged by type of service and then in chronological order.

Series 6, Publications, 1855-1930; undated includes pamphlets and government publications related to real estate. Publications include "A General Statement on the Subject of Public Lands," 1836, "A Catechism of Land Surveying, With Examples," 1855, "Real Estate Record and Builder's Guide," 1872, a New York City Directory from 1873, "Investment Nails and a Hammer," 1908, "The Real Estate Magazine," 1912, "Building Permits in the Principal Cities of the United States in 1929," 1930, and two undated publications, "The Real Estate Bulletin," and "The Home News." These are arranged in chronological order.

Materials in the Archives Center:

Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)

Forms Part Of:

Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material

Provenance:

Real Estate is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.

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.

Genre/Form:

Ephemera

Business ephemera

Citation:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Real Estate, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0060.S01.01.Real

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Real Estate

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-real

Creator:

Boris Mirski Gallery (Boston, Mass.)  Search this

Names:

Aronson, David, 1923-2015  Search this

Baskin, Leonard, 1922-2000  Search this

Bloom, Hyman, 1913-  Search this

Geller, Esther  Search this

Lebrun, Rico, 1900-1964  Search this

Mazur, Michael, 1935-2009  Search this

Mirski, Boris, 1898-1974  Search this

Polonsky, Arthur  Search this

Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969  Search this

Siporin, Mitchell, 1910-1976  Search this

Swan, Barbara, 1922-  Search this

Zerbe, Karl, 1903-1972  Search this

Extent:

6.2 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

circa 1936-2000

bulk 1945-1972

Summary:

The Boris Mirski Gallery records measure 6.2 linear feet and date from 1936-2000, bulk 1945-1972. They include gallery administrative files; artist files including correspondence, exhibition and loan paperwork as well as photographic documentation of artwork; gallery correspondence; financial materials including outgoing and incoming invoices and sales records; printed materials promoting the gallery and its artists; press materials; and a number of photographs of Boris Mirski at events and with others, as well as photographs of artwork. Artists particularly well represented in the collection include David Aronson, Leonard Baskin, Hyman Bloom, Esther Geller, Rico Lebrun, Michael Mazur, Arthur Polonsky, Ben Shahn, Mitchell Siporin, Barbara Swan, and Karl Zerbe.

Scope and Contents:

The records of the Boris Mirski Gallery, which showed the avant-garde art of the Boston Expressionist school, as well as New York and international modern art styles and non-western art, measure 6.2 linear feet and date from 1936-2000, bulk 1945-1972. They include gallery administrative files; artist files including correspondence, exhibition and loan paperwork as well as photographic documentation of artwork; gallery correspondence; financial materials including outgoing and incoming invoices and sales records; printed materials promoting the gallery and its artists; press materials; and a number of photographs of Boris Mirski at events and with others, as well as photographs of artwork. Artists particularly well represented in the collection include David Aronson, Leonard Baskin, Hyman Bloom, Esther Geller, Rico Lebrun, Michael Mazur, Arthur Polonsky, Ben Shahn, Mitchell Siporin, Barbara Swan, and Karl Zerbe.

The administrative files cover a number of topics including documents related to various properties, mortgages, and insurance, copyrights, legal cases, administrative events, and select group exhibitions at the gallery.

The artist files document each gallery artist's exhibition history in the gallery and include correspondence with the artist as well as files documenting significant outside exhibitions, projects and the placement of artworks. While exhibiting artists showed a range of sculpture, painting, and drawing at the gallery, there was a tendency towards highly expressive figurative artwork sometimes referred to as Boston Expressionism, often associated with the first generation Jewish American experience.

The gallery correspondence, primarily with patrons and institutions, is arranged alphabetically with select regular correspondents of the gallery having their own file, in addition to a folder of holiday cards.

The financial files include both outgoing and incoming transactions as invoices and sales records, organized by patron or vendor.

The printed materials are a records of the printing activities of the gallery as well as a press archive, with select printed materials from outside the gallery reflecting the activities of the gallery and gallery artists.

The photographic materials include both images that include the gallerist as well as images that document artworks.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 6 series.

Series 1: Administrative Files, circa 1948-1995 (0.5 Linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Artist Files, circa 1945-2000 (2.7 Linear feet; Boxes 1-4, OV 7)

Series 3: Gallery Correspondence, circa 1936-1976 (1 Linear feet; Boxes 4-5)

Series 4: Financial Files, circa 1958-1974 (1.2 Linear feet; Boxes 5-6)

Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1944-1981 (0.7 Linear feet; Box 6, OV 8)

Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1945-1976 (0.1 Linear feet; Box 6)

Biographical / Historical:

The Boris Mirski Gallery (est.1944; closed 1979) was a gallery in Boston, Massachusetts owned and operated by Boris Mirski (1898-1974). The gallery evolved out of various businesses owned by Mirski from the late 1910s, including his first formal gallery established alongside a framing shop on Charles Street in Beacon Hill in 1927. The gallery moved to its final incarnation on the lower level of 166 Newbury in 1972, and closed in 1979 following the gallerist's death in 1974.

Boris Chaim Mirski, born 1898, immigrated to the United States at the age of fourteen, leaving behind his troubled youth as a Lithuanian Jew in a harsh political climate that included frequent pogroms. At the advice of his mother, an activist in the resistance, Boris acquired a number of marketable skills including metalwork and framing, which allowed him to establish a lucrative business while he developed opportunities to show art that interested him. Early in his career this included a home for non-western and "primitive" art styles from around the globe, as well as the work of emerging local artists. Mirski's gallery created opportunities for artists working against the generally conservative tradition of the Boston School, and helped establish an identity for the local avant-garde. The gallery program had strong ties with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston alumni and faculty, and frequently hosted exchange shows with New York City's Downtown Gallery, whose director Edith Halpert acted as a mentor. While exhibiting artists showed a range of sculpture, painting, and drawing at the gallery, there was a tendency towards highly expressive figurative artwork sometimes referred to as Boston Expressionism, often associated with the first generation Jewish American experience. Gallery artists included David Aronson, Leonard Baskin, Hyman Bloom, Esther Geller, Rico Lebrun, Michael Mazur, Arthur Polonsky, Ben Shahn, Mitchell Siporin, Barbara Swan, and Karl Zerbe.

Related Materials:

Related materials include Archives of American Art's Oral history interview with Boris Mirski, 1973 June 19.

Provenance:

The Boris Mirski Gallery records were donated by Deborah Mirski Brown, Boris Mirski's daughter from 1989-1996, with additions in 2007 and 2017.

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.

Rights:

The Boris Mirski Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Art dealers  Search this

Painters  Search this

Topic:

Art galleries, Commercial -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Expressionism (Art) -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Jewish artists  Search this

Modernism (Art)  Search this

New York school of art  Search this

Sculptors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Boris Mirski Gallery records, 1936-2000, bulk 1945-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.mirsbori

See more items in:

Boris Mirski Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-mirsbori

Creator:

Weston, Harold, 1894-1972  Search this

Names:

Adirondack Trail Improvement Society  Search this

Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA). Americans-in-Britain Outpost  Search this

Corcoran Gallery of Art  Search this

Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors  Search this

Food for Freedom, Inc.  Search this

Harvard Lampoon (Organization)  Search this

Harvard University -- Students  Search this

International Association of Art. United States Committee  Search this

Montross Gallery  Search this

National Council on the Arts and Government  Search this

National Endowment for the Arts  Search this

New York State Council on the Arts  Search this

Phillips Collection  Search this

Studio House (Phillips Memorial Gallery)  Search this

Carmichael, Leonard, 1898-1973  Search this

Dows, Olin, 1904-1981  Search this

Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990  Search this

Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966  Search this

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962  Search this

Rosenfeld, Paul, 1890-1946  Search this

Sizer, Theodore, 1892-1967  Search this

Weston, Faith  Search this

Extent:

24.3 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Christmas cards

Notes

Etchings

Speeches

Articles

Postcards

Poems

Woodcuts

Sketches

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Glass negatives

Lantern slides

Copper plates

Place:

Adirondack Mountain Reserve (N.Y.)

Date:

1894-1978

bulk 1912-1972

Summary:

The papers of modernist painter and activist Harold Weston (1894-1972) date from 1894 to 1978 and measure 24.3 linear feet. The papers focus on Weston's painting career and his involvement with humanitarian and artistic causes. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, association and organization records, commission and project files, materials relating to Weston's book Freedom in the Wilds, writings, artwork, printed materials, two scrapbooks, and photographs.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of modernist painter and activist Harold Weston (1894-1972) date from 1894 to 1978 and measure 24.3 linear feet. The papers focus on Weston's painting career and his involvement with humanitarian and artistic causes. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, association and organization records, commission and project files, materials relating to Weston's book Freedom in the Wilds, writings, artwork, printed materials, two scrapbooks, and photographs. The papers document his involvement with the Committee to Defend America, Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, Food for Freedom, the International Association of the Plastic Arts, National Countil on the Arts and Government, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, Reconstruction Service Committee, and the YMCA in Baghdad.

Biographical materials include biographical sketches and resumes, including a short biography written by Faith Weston in 1969. There are records from his school years at Exeter Academy and Harvard University that include yearbooks, report cards, scholarship information, Harvard Lampoon materials, and a diploma from Harvard. Also found are materials relating to Faith Weston, membership cards, memorials information, passports and travel papers, and wedding wishes.

Correspondence from Harold Weston dates from his school years up until his death in 1972. In letters to his family, Weston discusses his education; his travel and activities in the Middle East during World War I; the Adirondacks; convalescense in France in the mid-1920s; his immediate family life; and exhibitions. Also found are holiday cards designed and printed by Weston. The majority of correspondence is with his father S. Burns Weston, mother Mary, sister Esther, brother Carl, Faith Weston and the Borton family, children Barbara, Bruce, and Haroldine, and others. Also found are letters between Weston and friend Theodore Sizer and Duncan Phillips of the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

Personal business and financial records relating to Weston's exhibitions include delivery receipts, agreements, hand-drawn gallery plans for exhibitions, lists of exhibitions, framing invoices, legal information, pricelists, records of sales, and lists of works of art. Galleries with which Weston held exhibitions, sold, or lent works of art include Boyer Galleries, Corcoran Gallery, the Gallery in Paoli, Montross Gallery, the Phillips Collection, and Studio House Galleries.

Records relating to Harold Weston's memberships and involvement with professional associations and service organizations are from the Adirondack Trail Improvement Society, the Committee to Defend America, Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, Food for Freedom, International Association of the Plastic Arts/International Arts Association, National Countil on the Arts and Government, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Reconstruction Service Committee, and the Young Men's Christian Association, Baghdad. The files include correspondence, financial records, meetings and membership information, notes, organizational history, photographs, printed materials, programs and activities records, speeches, and writings.

Files that document Weston's Building the United Nations and the Treasury Relief Project sponsored "Procurement Building Murals" are found within the Commissions and Project files series. The files include correspondence, financial information, legal documents, photographs of the works of art and research photos, and printed materials. Correspondence of note includes letters written by Lewis Mumford, Duncan Phillips, Eleanor Roosevelt on behalf of Weston's Building of the United Nations and letters from Leonard Carmichael, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Letters from Olin Dows of the Treasury Relief Art Project are within correspondence relating to the "Procurement Building Murals." Also found are preliminary sketches of the murals.

The Freedom in the Wilds series contains materials relating to the book which combined Weston's autobiography with a history of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. Additional writings and notes are by Harold Weston and others, and include articles, poetry, notes, speech notes and speeches, and lists. Harold Weston's articles include "Persian Caravan Sketches" published in 1921 discussing his travels throughout the Middle East. Other articles are written by Duncan Phillips, Paul Rosenfeld, Barbara Weston, and Faith Weston. Also found are postcards annoted with notes by Harold Weston about his travels.

Artwork inlcudes sketches, etchings, copperplates, and woodcuts. There are copperplates entitled "Shroud" and of the series Building the United Nations for the Harvard Alumni bulletin in 1957; an untitled etching by Weston; sketches including those from Baghdad and watercolor sketches; a woodcut of the 1924 Weston holiday card; and scattered unsigned sketches probably not by Weston.

Printed materials include calendars with notations; clippings; exhibition catalogs and announcements for Weston's exhibitions dating from 1922-1976 and for others; gallery tags or labels for paintings shown in exhibitions; reproductions of illustrations for the Harvard Lampoon and full issues from 1911-1916; materials relating to the Harvard production of Henry IV, for which Weston designed the sets; reproductions of works of art by Weston and by others; school seals; and various art related publications.

There are two scrapbooks compiled by Faith Weston about her husband. The first contains materials relating to Weston's activity with the International Association of the Plastic Arts Conference of 1963, including a letter and photograph of President John F. Kennedy. The second scrapbook dates from 1977 and consists of general clippings relating to Weston's career, dating from 1917 to 1952 with additional materials added by Faith in 1977.

Photographs are of Weston, family members, exhibitions and installations, and works of art by Weston and others. There are also numerous photographs of Weston's travel through the Adirondacks, the Middle East, Europe, and India. Also found are glass plate negatives of works of art painted in France between 1926-1930; scattered glass plate negatives of Baghdad and the Middle East; glass plates belonging to S. Burns Weston of the Adirondacks, circa 1900; and approximately 100 lantern slides of the various Middle Eastern cities and ruins - probably used by Weston to illustrate his talks given in the 1920s.

Arrangement:

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

Series 1: Biographical Information, 1896-1974 (Box 1, 38; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1894-1975 (Box 1-3, 38; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal Business and Financial records, 1912-1977 (Box 4; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 4: Associations and Organizations records, 1916-1972 (Box 4-10, 37-38; 6.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Commissions and Project files, 1935-1965 (Box 10-12, 38, OV 39; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 6: -- Freedom in the Wilds -- records, late 1960s-1976 (Box 12-13; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Writings and Notes, 1912-1975 (Box 13-14; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Artwork and Artifacts, circa 1917-1967 (Box 14, 21; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 9: Printed Material, circa 1900-1978 (Box 15-18, 38; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Scrapbooks, circa 1963-1977 (Box 17-18; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Photographs, circa 1900-1975 (Box 18-20, 22-36, 38; 4.8 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Modernist painter and federal Treasury Relief Art Project artist Harold Weston (1894-1972) worked primarily in New York City and St. Huberts, New York in the Adirondacks. Weston was president of the U.S. Commission of the International Association of Art/Plastic Arts and the Federation of Modern Painters and Scultors. He was also chairman of the National Council on the Arts and Government and active with various political and humanitarian causes.

Harold Weston was born in 1894 in Merion, Pennsylvania into a privileged family. He attended school in Europe as a teenager, where he began to draw and sketch. In 1910, Harold contracted Polio which left him with a weak leg. After graduating from Exeter Academy, Harold entered Harvard University with the class of 1916 and was active in the Delta Upsilon Club and the Harvard Lampoon, for which he illustrated.

Despite his leg, Weston was determined to serve in some form during World War I. He traveled to Baghdad and volunteered with the YMCA. Here he started the Baghdad Art Club and organized exhibitions of soldier art. He remained in the Middle East until 1919 and served as the official painter for the British Army. The colors and the landscape of the region also inspired later works of art.

Upon returning to the United States, Weston built a one-room cabin in the Adirondack Mountains, where he lived and painted. He had his first one-man exhibtition at the Montross Gallery in 1922. In 1923, he married Faith Borton who moved with him to the Adirondacks. His wife inspired his series of "landscape nudes" which treated the body with different techniques that would typically be used in landscape painting. After suffering from a kidney infection in 1925, Weston and his wife moved to Ceres, France to recover. Weston continued to paint and started a family with Faith while in France. In 1930, the family moved back to the United States and lived in Greenwich Village, New York.

From 1936-1938, Harold Weston worked with the federal Treasury Relief Art Project and painted murals in the Procurement Building in Washington, D.C. The murals represent the growth of public buildings during the Great Depression. He took on a second major project to document the contruction of the United Nations in a series of six paintings. Later, the Smithsonian Instution received the paintings as gifts through an independent committee.

In addition to painting, Harold Weston devoted himself to public service by becoming involved in humanitarian causes, artist professional organizations, and federal government support of the arts. Weston served as president or chairman of three different organizations including the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, the International Association of Art/International Association of the Plastic Art, and the National Council on the Arts and Government. Before the start of World War II, Harold Weston was named the Chairman of Essex County Committee to Defend America, which argued for financial support of the allied forces in World War II. After the start of the war, he helped form the Food for Freedom movement which urged American aid for European and Asian refugees. Similarly, Weston served as Executive Secretary for the Reconstruction Service Committee which was established to assist the rebuilding of Europe.

Later in life, Weston wrote a book Freedom in the Wilds, which combined his own autobiography with a history of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. Harold Weston died on April 10th, 1972 in New York City.

Separated Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel N69-76) including biographic notes, exhibition material, clippings, a presentation album, and commemorative stamps. Some, but not all, of these papers were included in later donations. Materials not donated remain with the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Syracuse University also holds circa 14 linear feet of Harold Weston's papers.

Provenance:

Harold Weston lent the Archives of American Art materials for microfilming in 1969. Faith Borton Weston, Harold Weston's widow, donated the papers in several increments between 1972-1980 and lent materials for microfilming in 1977.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Harold Weston papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

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

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Art and state  Search this

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

World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American  Search this

Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Christmas cards

Notes

Etchings

Speeches

Articles

Postcards

Poems

Woodcuts

Sketches

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Glass negatives

Lantern slides

Copper plates

Citation:

Harold Weston papers, 1894-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing 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.westharo

See more items in:

Harold Weston papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-westharo

Creator:

Hitchcock, Henry-Russell, 1903-1987  Search this

Names:

Abbott, Jere  Search this

Austin, Arthur Everett, 1900-1957  Search this

Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981  Search this

Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959  Search this

Berman, Eugene, 1899-1972  Search this

Berman, Leonid, 1896-1976  Search this

Doesburg, Theo van, 1883-1931  Search this

Erffa, Helmut von, 1900-1979  Search this

Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956  Search this

Francis, Henry Sayles, 1902-1994  Search this

Gill, Brendan, 1914-1997  Search this

Goldwater, Robert John, 1907-1973  Search this

Howe, George, 1886-1955  Search this

Johnson, Philip C.  Search this

Kaufmann, Edgar, 1910-  Search this

Kirstein, Lincoln, 1907-  Search this

McCormick, Thomas J.  Search this

Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990  Search this

Oud, J. J. P. (Jacobus Johannes Pieter), 1890-1963  Search this

Panofsky, Erwin, 1892-1968  Search this

Pevsner, Nikolaus, 1902-1983  Search this

Porter, Kingsley  Search this

Sachs, Paul J. (Paul Joseph), 1878-1965  Search this

Schindler, R. M. (Rudolph M.), 1887-1953  Search this

Scully, Vincent Joseph, 1920-  Search this

Sizer, Theodore, 1892-1967  Search this

Smith, E. Baldwin (Earl Baldwin), 1888-1956  Search this

Smith, Peter van der Meulen  Search this

Soby, James Thrall, 1906-  Search this

Spark, Victor D. (Victor David), 1898-1991  Search this

Sterner, Harold  Search this

Summerson, John Newenham, Sir, 1904-  Search this

Thomson, Virgil, 1896-  Search this

Vanderbilt, Paul  Search this

Washburn, Gordon B. (Gordon Bailey), 1904-1983  Search this

Wittkower, Rudolf  Search this

Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959  Search this

Extent:

24.8 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Writings

Photographs

Date:

1919-1987

Summary:

The papers of architectural historian, author, critic, teacher, and museum director, Henry-Russell Hitchcock, date from 1919-1987 and measure 24.8 linear feet. Almost all of the collection is comprised of Hitchcock's correspondence files relating to academic research, teaching, curatorial interests, and professional associations. Letters are from prominent architectural historians, architects, artists, preservationists, museum directors and curators, and family and friends. Also found are two feet of writings by Hitchcock and others, scattered biographical information, printed material, and photographs of Hitchcock and architecture.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of architectural historian, author, critic, teacher, and museum director, Henry-Russell Hitchcock, date from 1919-1987 and measure 24.8 linear feet. Almost all of the collection is comprised of Hitchcock's correspondence files relating to academic research, teaching, curatorial interests, and professional associations. Letters are from prominent architectural historians, architects, artists, preservationists, museum directors and curators, and family and friends. Also found are two feet of writings by Hitchcock and others, scattered biographical information, miscellaneous records, printed material, and photographs of Hitchcock and architecture.

Among the biographical documents are Hitchcock's birth certificate, passport, and wills. Awards, citations, honorary degrees and commendations are from the University of Pennsylvania, Wesleyan University, the Friends of Cast Iron Architecture, National Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Victorian Society in America.

Chronological name and subject files consist mostly of correspondence and printed material along with a small number of photographs. They include personal and professional correspondence and subject files relating to academic research, teaching, curatorial interests, and professional associations. The correspondence includes large numbers of letters from prominent architectural historians, architects, artists, preservationists, museum directors and curators. Also included are students, friends, relatives, publishers, and representatives of organizations and institutions. Among those of note are: Jere Abbott, Everett A. (Chick) Austin, Alfred H. Barr, Bernard Berenson, Eugene Berman, Leonid Berman, Lyonel Feininger, Henry (Harry) Sayles Francis, Brendan Gill, Robert Goldwater, George Howe, Philip C. Johnson, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., Lincoln Kirstein, Thomas J. McCormick, Lewis Mumford, J.J.P. Oud, Erwin Panofsky, Nikolaus Pevsner, Kingsley Porter, Paul J. Sachs, R. M. Schindler, Vincent Scully, Jr., Theodore Sizer, E. Baldwin Smith, Peter van der Meulen Smith, James Soby, Victor Spark, Harold Sterner, John Summerson, Virgil Thomson, Paul Vanderbilt, Theo Van Doesburg, Helmut von Erffa, Gordon Washburn, Rudolf Wittkower, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Writings by Hitchcock consist of manuscripts and drafts of numerous published and unpublished articles, book chapters, and his masters thesis. Other writings by Hitchcock include lecture notes and texts, book reviews, notes, outlines, photo lists, and a bibliography. Among the other authors represented in this series are John Coolidge and Sir Wilfred Green.

Miscellaneous records consist of the alien registration card of Hitchcock's friend Peter van der Meulen Smith, architectural drawings by Hitchcock, book contracts, and a small number of receipts and invoices.

Printed material consists of articles about, by, or mentioning Henry-Russell Hitchcock, along with advertisements for his books, and postcards of architectural subjects.

Photographs are of architecture, art work, events, people, places, and miscellaneous subjects; also included are color slides, negatives, and transparencies. Architectural subjects include the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Gaudi, as well as interior and exterior views of buildings identified only by location. Photographs of people include Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Chick Austin and Ernestine Carter, Alexander Dorner, Tammy Grimes, Lincoln Kirstein, the Steinway family, and Edgar Tafel. Events recorded include the Society of Architectural Historians at the Newport Casino, Hitchcock receiving honorary degrees at the University of Glasgow and Wesleyan University, and a high tea sponsored by the Victorian Society in America. Family houses and views of Greece are among the photographs of places. Miscellaneous subjects include exhibition installations and family heirlooms.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 6 series:

Series 1: Biographical Information, 1922-1984 (Box 1; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 2: Chronological Name and Subject Files, 1919-1987 (Boxes 1-22; 21.9 linear ft.)

Series 3: Writings, 1922-circa 1978 (Boxes 23-24; 2.0 linear ft.)

Series 4: Miscellaneous Records, 1928-1977 (Box 25; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1922-1984 (Boxes 25-26; 0.4 linear ft.)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1926-1979 (Box 26; 0.3 linear ft.)

Biographical Note:

Henry-Russell Hitchcock, considered the "father" of modern architectural historiography, played a major role in bringing modern architecture to the United States. As an eminent professor for more than forty years, Hitchcock trained and influenced several generations of scholars and critics. He combined a love of architecture with criticism and scholarship to produce a large number of distinguished monographs and articles on a broad range of styles and periods.

Born in Boston in 1903, Henry-Russell Hitchcock was the son of Mayflower descendants. At Harvard University, he studied medieval history with A. Kingsly Porter as his mentor and completed the undergraduate curriculum in three years. Hitchcock spent his senior year studying architecture, graduated in 1924, and stayed to study for a master's degree, which was awarded in 1927. During his years at Harvard, he wrote for Hound and Horn and knew Alfred Barr, T. S. Eliot, Philip Johnson, Lincoln Kirstein, Virgil Thomson, and others who became leaders in the modernist movement.

Henry-Russell Hitchcock's teaching career began when he was appointed an assistant professor at Vassar College for the academic year 1927-28. In 1929, he joined the faculty of Wesleyan University, where he remained for two decades before moving to Smith College in 1949. During his tenures at Wesleyan and Smith, his services as a visiting lecturer were employed on many occasions by Cambridge University, Connecticut College, Harvard University, the Institute of Fine Arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale University. Upon retiring from Smith College in 1968, Hitchcock moved to New York City and taught briefly at Columbia University, the Institute of Fine Arts, and the University of Massachusetts, at Amherst.

Best known as a proponent of modernism, Hitchcock wrote more than two dozen books about a wide range of styles and periods, and most are considered standard works on their subjects. His first, Modern Architecture: Romanticism and Reintegration, appeared in 1929 and was the first book on the subject to be published in English; his final book, German Renaissance Architecture, was published in 1981.

Henry-Russell Hitchcock served as director of the Smith College Museum between 1949 and 1955. In addition, he was curator of several exhibitions, the first and most important of which was Modern Architecture: International Exhibition, organized in collaboration with Philip C. Johnson and held at the Museum of Modern Art. Their book, The International Style: Architecture Since 1922, was published in 1932 in conjunction with the exhibition.

During World War II, Hitchcock's civilian service included working as director of the U. S. Navy's Photographic Library and writing Pratt and Whitney aircraft engine manuals.

Henry-Russell Hitchcock was an active member of many professional associations. He served as president of the Society of Architectural Historians from 1952 to 1954. In addition, he was a founding member of The Victorian Society in Great Britain, and between 1969 and 1974 was president of its sister organization, The Victorian Society in America.

During his long and illustrious career, Henry-Russell Hitchcock won many awards and honors. Awards for Early Victorian Architecture in Britain and Architecture: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries were conferred by the Society of Architectural Historians (1955) and College Art Association (1960), respectively. Hitchcock received the Royal Society of Arts Medal for Best Lecture (1956) and its Benjamin Franklin Medal (1970), in addition to the American Institute of Architects' Architectural Critics' Medal (1970). Other awards include: National Institute of Arts and Letters Award (1956), American Council of Learned Societies Prize for Distinguished Accomplishment in Humanistic Scholarship (1961), Friends of Cast-Iron Architecture Certificate of Commendation (1978), the American Institute of Architects Award of Merit (1978), and Municipal Art Society Certificate of Merit (1978).

He received honorary degrees from Glasgow University and the University of Pennsylvania in 1973, and in 1979 from Wesleyan University. In Search of Modern Architecture: A Tribute to Henry-Russell Hitchcock, edited by Helen Searing, was published by The Architectural History Foundation in 1982.

Due to declining health, Henry-Russell Hitchcock lectured rarely and wrote little in the three years preceding his death from cancer. He died in New York City, February 19, 1987.

Related Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds Henry-Russell Hitchcock letters to Dorothy Stroud and John N. Summerson, 1946-1949. Additional Henry-Russell Hitchcock papers (circa 8 linear feet) are in the Special Collections division of Wesleyan University Library.

Provenance:

Mosette Broderick, assistant to Hitchcock and his literary executor, donated the papers to the Archives of American Art in 1988.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Henry-Russell Hitchcock papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Architectural historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

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

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

Genre/Form:

Writings

Photographs

Citation:

Henry-Russell Hitchcock papers, 1919-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.hitchenp

See more items in:

Henry-Russell Hitchcock papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-hitchenp

Creator:

Hirsch, Stefan, 1899-1964  Search this

Rogo, Elsa, 1901-1996  Search this

Names:

Bard College -- Faculty  Search this

Bennington College -- Faculty  Search this

Downtown Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs  Search this

Albers, Josef  Search this

Anguiano, Raúl, 1915-2006  Search this

Bier, Justus, 1899-1990  Search this

Field, Hamilton Easter  Search this

Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970  Search this

Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990  Search this

Mérida, Carlos, 1891-1984  Search this

Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969  Search this

Extent:

19.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Motion pictures (visual works)

Sound recordings

Etchings

Sketchbooks

Scrapbooks

Glass plate negatives

Transcripts

Place:

Mexico -- Photographs

Date:

1851-1986

bulk 1920-1960

Summary:

The papers of artists and educators Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo measure 19.6 linear feet and date from 1851 to 1986, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920s to the 1960s. Their artistic, teaching, and journalism careers are documented through biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, professional files, printed materials, photographs and motion picture films, and sketchbooks and other artwork.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of artists and educators Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo measure 19.6 linear feet and date from 1851 to 1986, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920s to the 1960s. Their artistic, teaching, and journalism careers are documented through biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, professional files, printed materials, photographs and motion picture films, and sketchbooks and other artwork.

Biographical materials include address lists, resumes and biographical sketches, identification cards, material relating to Hirsch's military service, and legal documents. Two sound recordings, one personal and another of Rogo on Spanish National Radio, are also found here.

Correspondence is both professional and personal. Professional correspondence concerns commissions, exhibitions, travel, and teaching. Notable correspondents include Josef Albers, Justus Bier, Downtown Gallery (Edith Halpert), Carlos Mérida, Lewis Mumford, Ben Shahn, and many others. Personal correspondence is largely between Hirsch and Rogo. Writings are found for both Hirsch and Rogo and include notebooks, diary fragments and transcripts, lectures, essays on art, articles, and notes. A manuscript by Hamilton Easter Field is also found and a writing by an unknown author. Professional files document teaching positions, projects, commissions, memberships, and other professional activities undertaken by Hirsch and Rogo. They document Hirsch's teaching career at Bard College, Bennington College, and his mural work in South Carolina and Mississippi. Files concerning Rogo's work with the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs are found here, as well as files documenting their professional and personal travel. These contain a wide variety of materials, such as correspondence, printed material, meeting minutes, photographs, and writings. Also found are scattered files relating to general areas of interest.

Hirsch's and Rogo's business records include contracts concerning Elsa Rogo's book agreements, records settling the estate of the Hirsch family in Nürnberg (Nuremberg), Germany, insurance records, a lease, price lists, and general receipts and invoices. Also found are personal art collection records including a sales agreement and a list of Latin American art owned by Hirsch and Rogo. Printed materials include books, brochures, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for Stefan Hirsch and others, issues of magazines and other periodicals, copies of published writings by Hirsch and Rogo, and a dismantled printed materials scrapbook.

Photographs are extensive and include personal photos of Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo, their family, friends, and colleagues. Numerous travel photos were taken by Rogo in her role as a journalist in Latin American and the United States. The bulk of the professional travel photos were taken in Mexico in the 1930s to the 1960s and show events, cities, and cultural activities. Also found are glass plate negatives, photographs of works of art, and sixteen reels of motion picture film taken in Mexico, Bard College, and Oqunquit, Maine.

Eighteen sketchbooks are largely unsigned but are likely by Stefan Hirsch. Additional artwork includes sketches and etchings by Hirsch, sketches by Elsa Rogo, and works by others including Raul Anquiano and Efren Villalobos.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1899-1986 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1920s-1960s (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-4)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1920-1960s (1.2 linear feet: Boxes 4-5)

Series 4: Professional Files, 1912-1966 (2.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-8)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1927-1957 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 8-9)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1851-1964 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 9-12, 19)

Series 7: Photographs and Motion Picture Film, circa 1870-1960s (6.9 linear feet; Boxes 12-17, 20, FC 21-29)

Series 8: Sketchbooks, circa 1930s-circa 1940s (0.6 linear feet; Box 18)

Series 9: Artwork and Artifacts, 1916-1982 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 18-19)

Biographical / Historical:

German-born Stefan Hirsch (1899-1964) was a painter and educator. Elsa Rogo (1901-1966) was married to Hirsch and was an artist, educator and journalist. They were active in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and Vermont, and traveled extensively throughout Mexico and Latin America where they documented local arts and crafts, village life, and befriended prominent Mexican artists.

Born in Nurnberg, Germany, Stefan Hirsch grew up in Europe and studied art at the University of Zurich. After settling in the United States in 1919, he took summer courses under Hamilton Easter Field in Ogunquit, Maine. Hirsch developed a Precisionist style combined with Social Realism but much of his work was difficult to restrict to one specific style. Hirsch was a founder and exhibitor at the avant-garde Salons of America which served as an alternative to the Society of Independent Artists. During the 1930s and 1940s, Hirsch participated in the U.S. government's Federal Art Project and painted murals in Aiken, South Carolina and Booneville, Mississippi. Hirsch began his teaching career in 1937 at Bennington College in Vermont, and later accepted a position at Bard College where he served as the chairman of the art department until he retired in 1961.

In 1930, Hirsch married Elsa Rogo. Together, they traveled throughout Mexico and Latin America where they became involved in the social and art scenes. They befriended prominent Mexican artists like Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros. As a journalist, Rogo documented Mexican life, events, and art extensively through photographs. Rogo also served in the U.S. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, established in 1940 to promote cultural diplomacy and solidarity primarily in Latin America. In Taxaco, Mexico, she taught art to school children. Her book, Walls and Volcanos: The Creative Impulse of the Mexican People, was published in 1937.

Stefan Hirsch died in 1964. Elsa Rogo died in 1966.

Provenance:

Portions of the Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers were donated in 1996 by the Elsa Rogo estate, via Sylvia Siskin, executrix. Additions were donated 2002, 2014, and 2019 by professor James Oles, Art Department, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts on behalf of Sylvia Siskin.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Original film reels and archival negative copies are stored off-site and are closed to researchers.

Rights:

The Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Painters -- New York (State)  Search this

Art teachers  Search this

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

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

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

Art, Latin American  Search this

Mural painting and decoration, Mexican -- Photographs  Search this

Mural painting and decoration -- South Carolina  Search this

Mural painting and decoration -- Mississippi  Search this

Genre/Form:

Motion pictures (visual works)

Sound recordings

Etchings

Sketchbooks

Scrapbooks

Glass plate negatives

Transcripts

Citation:

Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers, 1851-1986, bulk 1920s-1960s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Funding for the preservation of the Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo home movies shot in Mexico was provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.hirsstef

See more items in:

Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-hirsstef

Creator:

Weems, Katharine Lane, 1899-  Search this

Names:

Brookgreen Gardens  Search this

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.) -- Photographs  Search this

Cornell, Katharine, 1893-1974  Search this

Cresson, Margaret French, 1889-1973  Search this

Gildersleeve, Basil L. (Basil Lanneau), 1831-1924  Search this

Grafly, Charles, 1862-1929  Search this

Hancock, Walker Kirtland, 1901-1998  Search this

Huntington, Anna Hyatt, 1876-1973  Search this

Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974  Search this

Lane, Gardiner M., 1859-1914  Search this

Lane, Katharine Ward, 1862-1893  Search this

Manship, Paul, 1885-1966  Search this

Marans, Moissaye, 1902-1977  Search this

Monjo, Enric, 1895-1976  Search this

Putnam, Brenda, 1890-1975  Search this

Weinman, Adolph A. (Adolph Alexander), 1870-1952  Search this

Wong, Anna May, 1905-1961  Search this

Extent:

14.8 Linear feet

3 Items (rolled docs)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sketchbooks

Video recordings

Place:

Saranac Lake N.Y. -- Photographs

Date:

1865-1989

Scope and Contents:

Biographical material, extensive diaries, correspondence, notes, writings, business records, sketchbooks and drawings, project files, scrapbooks, printed materials, photographs and slides, motion picture film, and videotape relating to Weem's education and career as a sculptor. Also included are ca. 1 foot of papers of Weems' aunt, watercolorist Katharine Ward Lane (1862-1893), including letters, diaries, sketchbooks and photographs.

REEL 724: Biographical sketch, 1974; letters from Frederic Bartlett, George Demetrios, Walker Hancock, Leon Kroll, Lee Lawrie, Moissaye Marans, Adolph Alexander Weinman, and others; four sketchbooks, 1954-1965, containing pencil drawings of animals; a scrapbook of clippings, 1924-1941; and printed material.

UNMICROFILMED: Biographical material includes sketches and documents, and biographical information on Weems grandfather, Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve, and father, Gardiner Lane. Diaries (74 v.), 1906-1983, contain entries relating to art studies and her development as a sculptor; some include clippings and photographs. Correspondence, 1898-1989, includes letters from Gifford Beal, Margaret French Cresson, Charles Grafly, John Gregory, Walker Hancock, Malvina Hoffman, Anna Hyatt-Huntington, Paul Manship, Brenda Putnam, Gurdon Tarbox, and Adolph Weinman, discussing Weems' work and participation in various sculpture organizations. There are four notebooks on art history; recipes for clay and plaster; notes on patinas for bronze; lecture notes; lists of Weems' works and exhibitions; an exhibition guest book, 1931-1957; poems, 1933-1981; invoices and receipts, 1919-1981; copyright records, 1928-1978; and art work, including 15 v. of sketchbooks, 1913-1964, drawings and tracings of animal figures. and a copper printing plate mounted on a wood block.

Fourteen project files contain letters, drawings, photographs, and printed material on: an enlarging machine, the Saltus Medal for Merit, the frieze and Rhinoceros sculpture for the Biological Laboratories at Harvard, 1930-1942, including 7 reels of 16mm motion picture film (with script transferred to VHS), the Lotta Fountain, 1939-1974, Legion of Merit Medal, 1949-1952, War Department project, 1946, Goodwin Medal, 1949-1952, Wallace Goodrich Plaque, 1954, Hospital Teaching Clinic, 1955, Boston Museum of Science, 1964-1965, "Dolphins by the Sea" for the New England Aquarium, 1969-1979, Heredities Limited, 1971-1974, and the Museum School, 1977.

Included are two scrapbooks, one of clippings about the work of other artists and one containing poems, clippings of landscapes, animals, works by others, and autographed photographs of actresses Katharine Cornell and Anna May Wong and sculptor Brenda Putnam. Printed material includes clippings, 1911-1989; exhibition announcements and catalogs, 1922-1981; bulletins, programs, brochures on artists, organizations, Brookgreen Gardens, and supplies; reproductions of art works, and the books, Odds Were Against Me (1985, Weems autobiography, and Enrique Monjo (1955), inscribed by Mongo.

Photographs and slides, 1902-1988, are of Weems, family members, artists Charles Grafly, Walker Hancock, and Anna Hyatt-Huntington, Weems' house "The Chimneys," her studio, gardens, animals, works of art by Weems and others, exhibit installations, and views of New York City, Washington, D.C., Monticello, the University of Virginia, and Brookgreen Gardens. Nine albums, 1920-1980, contain photographs of an art class, Weems in her studio, her home, her friends, scenic views, and works of art. Videos and film include a videotape (5 min., U-matic) of an interview of Weems; a film, "From Clay to Bronze," showing the creation of Weems' sculpture "Dark Warrier" (transferred to VHS); motion picture film of the making of the sculpture "Rhinoceros" (transferred to digital betacam, VHS and DVD), and a home movie of a day at the beach, circa 1935.

The papers' of Weems' aunt, Katharine "Kitty" Ward Lane (d. 1893), include Lane's letters, 1898-1893, to her brother (Weems' father) and to other family members; a travel diary from Germany, 1886; notes; financial records, 1891-1892; 10 sketchbooks; printed material; and photographs, 1865-1893, of Lane, early views of Saranac Lake, and 9 views of the Columbia Exposition, 1893.

Biographical / Historical:

Sculptor; Boston, Mass. Died 1989. Specialized in animal sculpture. Studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston under Charles Grafly, Anna Hyatt-Huntington, George Demetrios, and Brenda Putnam. She married F. Carrington Weems in 1947. Named after her aunt, watercolor painter Katharine Ward Lane, who died in 1893.

Provenance:

Material on reel 724 lent for microfilming by Weems, 1974. The four sketchbooks on reel 724 were subsequently donated in 1989. Unmicrofilmed papers were donated 1975 and 1982 by Weems, and in 1989 by her estate. Eighteen diaries (1961-1965, 1967-1976 [1969 not included], 1978, and 1981-1983) and an apppointment book for 1966 donated by the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, 1991.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Occupation:

Animal sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Watercolorists -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Topic:

Women sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Animal sculpture -- United States  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching -- Massachusetts -- Boston  Search this

Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketchbooks

Video recordings

Sponsor:

Funding for the preservation and transfer of motion picture film provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.weemkath

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-weemkath

Owner:

Weems, Katharine Lane, 1899-  Search this

Lane, Emma Gildersleeve  Search this

Lane, Gardiner M., 1859-1914  Search this

Landscape architect:

Olmsted Brothers  Search this

Olmsted, Frederick Law, Jr., 1870-1957  Search this

Whiting, Edward Clark  Search this

Creator:

Massachusetts Horticultural Society  Search this

North Shore Horticultural Society  Search this

New York Florists Club  Search this

Names:

Dana, Rich H.  Search this

Mullen, James X.  Search this

Watson, B. M. (gardener)  Search this

Architect:

Gildersleeve, Raleigh C.  Search this

Extent:

15 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Diaries

Photocopies

Plans (drawings)

Books

Medals

Negatives

Correspondence

Trade catalogs

Place:

Massachusetts -- Manchester

The Chimneys (Manchester, Massachusetts)

Date:

1903-1985

Summary:

Correspondence, invoices, nursery and seed catalogs, estimates, planting plans, photocopies of blueprints, photographs, negatives, autochromes, and drawings relating to the gardens of The Chimneys, the home of Emma and Gardiner Martin Lane and their daughter Katharine Lane Weems in Manchester, Massachusetts. Also included are four garden journals (1903-1928), garden-related medals awarded to Emma Lane, index files of plant materials, photocopies of garden related library cards belonging to Gardiner M. Lane, a diascope and nursery and seed catalogs. The collection also includes architectural plans, invoices and specifications from, and a framed photograph of, Raleigh C. Gildersleeve, architect of The Chimneys and brother of Emma Lane.

Scope and Contents Note:

The Chimneys Collection includes extensive documentation relating to the gardens and grounds of "The Chimneys" estate in Manchester, Massachusetts, the home of Katharine Lane Weems and her parents in Manchester, Massachusetts. There is also some documentation on the residence designed by Raleigh Gildersleeve. The collection includes photographs, negatives, autochromes, a stereograph viewer, plant lists and index files of plant materials, garden journals, correspondence, nursery and seed catalogs, estimates, invoices, design specifications and plans and drawings. There are also three horticultural medals. The images focus primarily on the gardens at The Chimneys, though there are also numerous images showing the beachfront adjoining the property and images of family, friends, Weems' studio, the vicinity around Manchester, Massachusetts, and interiors of Beverwyck Manor in Rensselaer, New York. A copy of Katharine Lane Weems' autobiography, Odds Were Against Me, is also included in the collection.

Arrangement Note:

The collection is arranged into 6 series:

1) Design and Planting Records 2) Photographic images 3) Correspondence 4) Garden Journals 5) Printed Matter 6) Artifacts

Biographical/Historical note:

The property on which this estate in Manchester, Massachusetts sits was originally owned by the father of Richard Henry Dana, Jr., the author of Two Years Before the Mast. The estate was subdivided after the elder Dana's death in 1879. Gardiner Martin Lane purchased the land and had his brother-in-law, Raleigh Gildersleeve, design a large Georgian Colonial Revival summer house for him known as "The Chimneys." The Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm was hired in 1902 to help with the overall siting of the house and to plan a number of garden areas. During the next ten years, the Olmsted firm designed a number of areas including an approach road, formal terraced gardens, a water garden, and a variety of outdoor structures such as an arbor, tea house, and greenhouse.

Katharine Lane Weems (1899-1989), the daughter of Emma and Gardiner M. Lane, spent her childhood summers at "The Chimneys." She later attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and went on to specialize in sculpting animals. "The Chimneys" served as her principal studio after the stable was remodeled in 1930; later it became her primary residence. She married F. Carrington Weems in 1947 and published an autobiography, Odds Were Against Me, in 1985. She died at her family estate in 1989.

Related Archival Materials Note:

Records related to this site can be found at the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site, Olmsted Job Number 00273 Gardiner M. Lane / Richard H. Dana Estate.

The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts has the Papers of Katharine Lane Weems (MC406) which include various files and images relating to The Chimneys.

The Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art in Washington, D.C. has the Katharine Lane Weems Papers, 1865-1989 which include images of The Chimneys.

Restrictions:

Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens.

Topic:

Sculptors -- United States  Search this

Gardens -- Massachusetts -- Manchester  Search this

Water gardens  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Diaries

Photocopies

Plans (drawings)

Books

Medals

Negatives

Correspondence

Trade catalogs

Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Chimneys collection.

Identifier:

AAG.CHM

See more items in:

The Chimneys collection

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aag-chm