The papers of painter, teacher, and writer Hans Hofmann measure 29.92 linear feet and 5.00 GB and date from circa 1904 to 2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1945 to 2000. The majority of the papers were created after 1932 and document Hofmann's life and professional career after settling in the United States. Among his papers are personal and professional correspondence; records of his schools in Munich, New York City, and Provincetown, Mass.; writings and notes; financial records; photographs; printed matter; estate records; and a small number of personal papers of his second wife, Renate Schmitz Hofmann. Hofmann's personal papers are augmented by a large selection of printed matter, including exhibition catalogs, articles, news clippings, and monographs about Hofmann and modern art, as well as documentary projects including Tina Dickey's compilation of oral histories and records of Hofmann's students, and research materials, sound and video recordings, digital material, and motion picture film created and gathered by Madeline Amgott during the production of two video documentaries about Hans Hofmann released in 1999 and 2002. Hofmann's Library was acquired with his papers; inscribed/annotated volumes have been retained with the collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, teacher, and writer Hans Hofmann measure 29.92 linear feet and 5.00 GB and date from circa 1904 to 2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1945 to 2000. The majority of the papers were created after 1932 and document Hofmann's life and professional career after settling in the United States. Among his papers are personal and professional correspondence; records of his schools in Munich, New York City, and Provincetown, Mass.; writings and notes; photographs; address and appointment books; artifacts; artwork; biographical information; interview transcripts; sales and estate records; and a small number of personal papers of his second wife, Renate Schmitz Hofmann. Hofmann's personal papers are augmented by a large selection of printed matter, including exhibition catalogs, articles, news clippings, and monographs about Hofmann and modern art, as well as documentary projects including Tina Dickey's compilation of oral histories and records of Hofmann's students, and research materials, sound and video recordings, digital materials, and motion picture film created and gathered by Madeline Amgott during the production of two video documentaries about Hans Hofmann released in 1999 and 2002. Hofmann's Library was acquired with his papers; inscribed/annotated volumes have been retained with the collection.
Correspondence, 1914-1966 (Series 1), consists mainly of incoming letters about professional matters and personal business. A large portion of the letters are from museum directors and curators regarding the exhibition, loan, sale or donation of Hofmann's work; publishers, editors, and others preparing catalogs or biographical works; and galleries that showed Hofmann's paintings or represented him. Also among the correspondents are students and former students, art historians, art critics, fans, and friends. Family correspondents are a sister-in-law, nieces, and a nephew in Germany. Additional correspondence concerning administrative matters, and requests for catalogs, transcripts and recommendations are among the Records of the School of Fine Arts (Series 2). Financial Records (Series 4) contain a small amount of correspondence regarding banking, taxes, and Social Security. Estate Records (Series 9) include correspondence relating to taxes, the sale of Hofmann's Provincetown house, and various legal documents. Correspondence among the Papers of Renate Schmitz Hofmann (Series 10) include condolence letters, and a small number of personal letters and business correspondence regarding Hofmann's estate.
School of Fine Arts Records, 1915-1965 (Series 2), include a very small number of items relating to the Hans Hofmann Schule fur Bildende Kunst that operated in Munich from 1915 until 1933. These are printed prospectuses, a financial record, 1925; and "Italian Schools of Painting: The Renaissance in Italy," a printed chart, probably used as a teaching aid. Other items relating to the Munich school are photographs (Series 6) of Hans Hofmann with students in the 1920s, including some taken during the summer course in Capri, circa 1925. Travel photographs, 1920s, may have been taken while teaching summer courses in Europe, and an unidentified photograph, undated, of an exhibition installation in Germany may be school-related.
The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts was established in New York in 1933, and his summer school in Provincetown, Mass., opened in 1934; both operated continually until Hofmann closed them in 1958 in order to paint full-time. Records of these schools are more substantial, but still quite incomplete. They consist of administrative files containing accreditation records, correspondence, model bookings, inquiries from prospective students, and printed matter about the schools. Financial records are comprised of expense statements and an analysis of income from the 1956 summer session. Student records consist of student ledgers, registration and payment records, and requests for transcripts and recommendations. Miscellaneous items are student artwork and notes. Records postdating the schools' closing are inquiries from prospective students and requests from former students for transcripts or recommendations. Additional letters from former students about matters other than transcripts and recommendations are filed with Correspondence (Series 1).
Writings, circa 1904-1965 (Series 3), are published and unpublished manuscripts by Hans Hofmann and other authors. Hofmann wrote extensively about his philosophy of painting, about himself as a teacher and an artist, and about modern art. Included are manuscripts, drafts, and revisions of Hofmann's book, Das Malerbuch: Form und Farbe in Gestaltung, circa 1904-[1952?], Search for the Real in the Visual Arts and Other Essays, published in 1948, and The Painter and His Problems-A Manual Dedicated to Painting, 1963. Articles and Essays include the constituent essays of Search for the Real in the Visual Arts and Other Essays and others on theoretical aspects of painting, Alfred Maurer, and Charles W. Hawthorne. Talks and Lectures consist of notes, outlines, and some complete texts of Hofmann's speeches. Miscellaneous Writings are shorter, informative pieces, mostly unpublished. Representative titles include: "I Am Often Asked to Explain My Work," 1946, and "About the Relation of Students and Teachers," undated. Poems by Hofmann include some written to Miz Hofmann. Notes and Lists include notes on specific works of art and lists of paintings for exhibitions, framing, and shipping.
Financial Records, 1927-1966 (Series 4), consist mainly of banking records and tax returns with supporting documentation. There are also statements of assets and liabilities, and a few subject files concerning financial matters such as "House Expenses," "Social Security," and "University of California-Financial Standing With." Additional tax records are among the documents of the Estate of Hans Hofmann (Series 9), and expenses are recorded in his 1932 appointment book (Series 5).
Miscellaneous Records, 1906-1966 (Series 5) include Addresses and Appointment Books. Artifacts are a leather wallet and 6 photogravure blocks. Artwork consists of 4 sketches and block prints of 3 red shapes, one the numeral 5. Included with Biographical Information are birth and marriage certificates, immigration and naturalization papers, wills, Hofmann and Wolfegg family documents, biographical notes and chronologies, and a bibliography of writings on and by Hofmann. Interview Transcripts are of 3 interviews with Hofmann conducted for various purposes. Sales Records include lists of paintings sold through galleries and privately, and a list of prices computed by canvas size.
Photographs, circa 1925-1966 (Series 6) are of People, Events, Places, Works of Art, and Miscellaneous Subjects; also, Oversize Photographs. People include views of Hofmann alone and with Miz, students, and others; Miz Hofmann; Renate Schmitz Hofmann; and the Hofmann family. Also, there are pictures of identified and unidentified individuals and groups. Events recorded are "Forum 49" at Gallery 200, exhibition installations, openings, and ceremonies for honorary degrees awarded Hofmann. Photographs of places include Miz Hofmann's Munich apartment; interior and exterior views of Hofmann's Provincetown house; exterior views of the Provincetown school; Hofmann's New York studio; and unidentified houses and landscapes. Travel pictures are of Italy, Mexico, California [?], and unidentified locations. Photographs of works of art by Hofmann are mainly 35-mm color slides of works completed from 1935 to 1965. There are also photographs of works by other artists and Hofmann students. Teaching materials are photographs of Old Masters paintings, drawings, and Classical sculpture, some marked to indicate line, form, or proportion. Miscellaneous subjects are a dog, cat, and doll; also, a cover design for Search for the Real in the Visual Arts. The oversize photographs include portraits of Hans Hofmann and Miz, and works of art by Hofmann students.
Printed Matter, 1930-1978 (Series 7), contains articles, essays and a letter to the editor by Hans Hofmann; the remaining material by other authors is categorized by type. Exhibition Catalogs and Related Items (mainly announcements and invitations), 1931-1978, undated, are from group and solo shows that featured the work of Hans Hofmann; also, catalogs and announcements of other artists' exhibitions collected by Hofmann. Newspaper clippings and articles from periodicals include reviews, feature articles, articles with brief references to Hofmann or reproductions of his work, and obituaries. Others are on art-related topics and miscellaneous subjects. Miscellaneous printed matter includes a variety of items such as brochures about art courses (not the Hofmann school), reproductions of works by Hofmann and other artists, book prospectuses, and statements. Art Museum: A Center for Cultural Study, a prospectus showing models and drawings of the proposed University Art Museum, Berkeley, notes the location of its Maria and Hans Hofmann Wing. A Scrapbook, 1944-1962, contains clippings, exhibition reviews, and some catalogs, checklists, and invitations. Nineteen books that mention or are about Hofmann are a part of this series.
Hans Hofmann's Library (Series 8) of art books and general literature was acquired with his papers. Inscribed and annotated volumes have been retained. Books about or mentioning Hofmann are among Printed Matter (Series 7). All other books and periodicals (376 items) were transferred to the Library of the Smithsonian's American Art Museum.
Estate of Hans Hofmann, 1945-1974 (Series 9), consists of records of Hofmann's attorney and co-executor, Robert Warshaw, and includes correspondence and legal documents concerning taxes, the Provincetown house, and miscellaneous business matters.
Papers of Renate Schmitz Hofmann, 1962-1967 (Series 10), include notes, correspondence, condolence letters and records regarding Hans Hofmann's funeral, and information about the theft of Hofmann paintings from his Provincetown house in 1966.
Hans Hofmann Documentary Projects, 1944-2011 (Series 11) includes research materials compiled by Tina Dickey concerning Hofmann's students, correspondence as well as primary source and supplementary research materials produced and gathered by Madeline Amgott for two video documentaries on Hofmann released in 1999 and 2002. Original and edited audiovisual recordings are included in the series, as well as primary source material gathered from a variety of sources. Some material is in digital format.
Arrangement:
The Hans Hofmann papers are arranged into 11 series. Correspondence (Series 1), Financial Records (Series 4), and Papers of Renate Schmitz Hofmann (Series 10) are arranged alphabetically by folder title. Unless noted otherwise, material within each folder is arranged chronologically.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1914-1966 (3 linear feet; Box 1-3)
Series 2: School of Fine Arts records, 1915-1965 (2 linear feet; Box 4-5)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1904-1965 (2.5 linear feet; Box 6-8)
Series 4: Financial records, 1927-1966 (0.5 linear feet; Box 8)
Series 5: Miscellaneous records, 1906-1966 (0.8 linear feet; Box 9)
Series 6: Photographic materials, circa 1925-1965 (1.5 linear feet; Box 9-10, Box 19, MGP 1)
Series 7: Printed material, 1928-1978 (5.2 linear feet; Box 11-15, Box 20)
Series 8: Hans Hofmann Library (2.5 linear feet; Box 16-18, Box 20)
Series 9: Estate of Hans Hofmann, 1945-1974 (0.5 linear feet; Box 18)
Series 10: Papers of Renate Schmitz Hofmann, 1962-1967 (0.1 linear feet; Box 18)
Series 11: Hans Hofmann Documentary Projects, 1944-2011 (12.3 linear feet; Box 19, 21-31, FC 32-44, 5.00 GB; ER01-ER04)
Biographical Note:
German-born Hans Hofmann (1880-1966), a leading figure of the 20th century art world, was the first painter to be called an Abstract Expressionist. An esteemed and influential teacher, Hofmann operated his own school in Munich and later in New York City and Provincetown, Mass. He wrote extensively on theoretical aspects of modern art, and about himself as an artist and teacher, and was in demand as a speaker. Hofmann alternated among a variety of styles and techniques throughout his career. Many paintings combine Fauve-inspired color and Cubist structure; influenced by the Surrealist's automatism, much of Hofmann's abstract work often uses poured and spattered paint.
Johann (Hans) Georg Albert Hofmann showed musical and artistic talent as a boy and excelled in the study of science and mathematics. Technical knowledge acquired through working as assistant to the Director of Public Works of the State of Bavaria enabled him, while still a teenager, to invent several mechanical devices. Hofmann attended Moritz Heymann's Munich art school in 1898. Willi Schwarz, one of his teachers during this period, introduced him to Impressionism, and by visiting galleries Hofmann's awareness of contemporary art movements expanded. Schwarz also introduced him to art collector Phillip Freudenberg whose patronage made a move to Paris possible.
Hofmann arrived in Paris in 1904 and began attending evening sketch classes at the Académie Colarossi and the Académie de la Chaumière where Matisse was among his fellow students. During his 10 years in Paris, Hofmann established a close friendship with Robert Delaunay and met Braque, Arthur B. Carles, Léger, Picasso, and Leo Stein. He painted Cubist landscapes, still lifes, and figure studies, and participated in group shows with Neue Sezessions, Berlin, 1908 and 1909. In 1910, the Paul Cassierer Gallery, Berlin, presented Hofmann's first solo exhibition.
When World War I broke out, Hofmann was visiting Germany. War conditions prevented his return to Paris and terminated Freudenberg's financial assistance. Disqualified for military service due to a lung condition, Hofmann decided to earn his living by teaching. The Hans Hofmann Schule für Bildende Kunst in Munich opened in 1915 and was a success from its earliest days. Beginning in 1917, summer courses were offered in locations such as Italy, France, Bavaria, and Dalmatia. After the war, Hofmann's school began to attract American students including Carl Holty, Alfred Jensen, Louise Nevelson, Worth Ryder, Vaclav Vytlacil, and Glenn Wessels.
Hofmann first came to the United States in 1930, when former student Worth Ryder, art department chairman at the University of California, Berkeley, invited him to teach the summer session at Berkeley. He returned to California the following year, teaching a semester at the Chouinard School of Art, Los Angeles, followed by another summer session at Berkeley. Hofmann moved to New York in 1932 because of the political situation at home and at the urging of his wife, who was to remain in Germany until 1939.
While Hofmann served as guest instructor at the Thurn School of Art, Gloucester, Mass., during the summers of 1932 and 1933, his Munich school offered summer sessions taught by Edmund Daniel Kinzinger. Its 1933 prospectus noted, "Mr. Hofmann will probably conduct the summer school personally..." But he did not return, and the school closed in the fall of 1933.
Hofmann taught at Art Students League in the fall of 1932. The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts opened in New York City in the autumn of 1933, operating in several locations before moving to permanent quarters at 52 West 8th Street in 1938. He established the summer school at Provincetown, Mass. in 1934. Firsthand knowledge of Picasso, Matisse, and european modern art trends, along with his theories and the freedom he offered students, made Hofmann a widely admired, influential, and important teacher. Among his students were: Burgoyne Diller, Ray Eames, Helen Frankenthaler, Red Grooms, Harry Holtzman, Allen Kaprow, Lillian Kiesler, Lee Krasner, George McNeil, Irene Rice Pereira, and Richard Stankiewicz. In addition, art critic Clement Greenberg was significantly influenced by Hofmann's lectures on artistic theory. Both schools flourished until Hofmann decided to close them in 1958; after teaching for 43 consecutive years, he wanted to paint full-time.
In his writings, Hofmann expanded on theories regarding form, color, and space developed during his years in Paris. His most important text, Das Malerbuch: Form und Farbe in Gestaltung, based on notes begun in Paris circa 1904, was written during his second summer at Berkeley, 1931. That same year, Glenn Wessels translated it into English as Creation in Form and Color. Although Hofmann produced additional notes and revisions over the next two decades, the manuscript remains unpublished. Hofmann wrote essays and articles, many of which were published. A collection of Hofmann's writings, Search for the Real and Other Essays, was published in conjunction with his 1948 retrospective exhibition at the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Mass., the first solo show of an Abstract Expressionist to be organized by a museum. Other published and unpublished articles, essays, and shorter writings that elucidate his theoretical concerns include: "The Mystification of the Two- and Three-Dimensional in the Visual Arts," 1946; "Pictorial Function of Colours," 1950; "Space Pictorially Realized Through the Intrinsic Faculty of the Colours to Express Volume," 1951; "The Color Problem in Pure painting-Its Creative Origin," 1955; "The Creative Process-Its Physical and Metaphysical Performing," 1956; "Nature as Experience and Its Pictorial Realization," undated; and "Pure Colour Space," undated.
Hofmann's lectures to his own students, and talks presented to art groups and the general public addressed many of the same themes. He gave his first American lecture in 1930 at the University of Minnesota, and presented talks to a variety of groups while in California. Hofmann was a frequent speaker at the Provincetown Art Association, and participated in the "Forum 49" series he helped to organize at Gallery 200 in Provincetown, 1949.
In the last decade of his life, Hofmann produced a large number of paintings. He was represented in the XXX Venice Biennale, 1960, and major retrospective exhibitions were organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, 1957, and the Museum of Modern Art, 1963. In 1963, he made a gift of 45 paintings to the University of California, Berkeley, and funded construction of a wing to house them in the soon-to-be-built University Art Museum. Hans Hofmann died in New York City on Feb. 17, 1966.
Missing Title
1880 -- Hans Hofmann is born in Weissenburg, Bavaria, on 21 March, the son of Theodor and Franziska Hofmann.
1886 -- The family moves to Munich, where Theodor becomes a government official. Hans studies mathematics, science, and music at the gymnasium. He plays the violin, piano and organ and begins to draw.
1896 -- With his father's help, finds a position as assistant to the director of public works of the State of Bavaria. Develops his technical knowledge of mathematics, resulting in several scientific inventions, including an electromagnetic comptometer.
1898 -- Studies with Willi Schwarz at Moritz Heymann's art school in Munich, where he is introduced to Impressionism.
1900 -- Meets Maria (Miz) Wolfegg, his future wife.
1903 -- Through Willi Schwarz, he meets the nephew of a Berlin collector, Philipp Freudenberg, who becomes his patron from 1904-1914 and enables him to live in Paris.
1904 -- Frequents the Café du Dome, a haunt of artists and writers, with Jules Pascin, a friend from Moritz Heymann's school. Miz joins him in Paris. Attends evening sketch class at the Académie de la Grand Chaumière and the Académie Colarossi. Meets Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Henri Matisse.
1908 -- Exhibits with the Neue Sezession in Berlin and again in 1909. Miz designs scarves with Sonia Delaunay (then Sonia Uhde).
1910 -- First one-person exhibition held at Paul Cassirer Gallery, Berlin. Meets Robert Delaunay, with whom he designs patterns for Sonia Delaunay's Cubist fashions. During their close friendship, both men develop as colorists.
1914 -- Hans and Miz leave Paris for Corsica so that Hans can regain his health during a bout of what turned out to be tuberculosis. Called to Germany by the illness of his sister Rosa, they are caught on the Tegernsee by the outbreak of World War I.
1915 -- Disqualified for the army due to the after effects of his lung condition, and with the assistance of Freudenberg terminated by the war, Hofmann decides to earn a living teaching. In the spring, he opens the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts at 40 Georgenstrasse, Munich.
1918-29 -- After the war his school becomes known abroad and attracts foreign students such as Worth Ryder, Glenn Wessels, Louise Nevelson, Vaclav Vytlacil, Carl Holty, Alfred Jensen, and Ludwig Sander. Holds summer session at Tegernsee, Bavaria (1922), Ragusa (1924), Capri (1925-1927), St. Tropez (1928-1929). Makes frequent trips to Paris. Has little time to paint but draws continually.
1924 -- Marries Miz Wolfegg on 5 June.
1929 -- A series of his drawings is reproduced by a photographic process known as Lichtdrucke.
1930 -- At the invitation of Worth Ryder, teaches in a summer session at the University of California, Berkeley, where Ryder is chairman of the Department of Art. Returns to Munich for the winter.
1931 -- In the spring, teaches at the Chouinard School of Art, Los Angeles, and again at Berkeley in the summer. Wessels helps him with the first translation of his book Form und Farbe in der Gestaltung, begun in 1904. Exhibits a series of drawings at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, his first show in the United States.
1932 -- Returns to the Chouinard School of Art in the summer. Advised by Miz not to return to Munich because of a growing political hostility to intellectuals, settles in New York. Vaclav Vytlacil helps arrange a teaching position for him at the Art Students League.
1932-33 -- Summer sessions at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts continue in St. Tropez (1932) and Murnau (1933), taught by Edmund Daniel Kinzinger. The school closes in the fall of 1933, and Miz gives up the lease in 1936.
1933 -- Spends the summer as guest instructor at the Thurn School of Art in Gloucester, Mass. In the fall, opens the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts at 444 Madison Avenue in New York. After a prolonged period of drawing, begins to paint again.
1934 -- Upon the expiration of his visa, travels to Bermuda to return with a permanent visa. Opens a summer school in Provincetown, Mass. The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts opens at 137 East 57th Street in New York. In 1936, the Hofmann School moves to 52 West 9th Street.
1938 -- The Hofmann School moves to 52 West 8th Street. A planned European summer session (traveling to Paris, the Cote d'Azure, Italy, and Capri) is called off after Hitler moves into Austria in the Spring. Delivers a lecture series once a month at the school in the winter of 1938-39, which is attend by the vanguard of the New York art world, including Arshile Gorky and Clement Greenberg.
1939 -- Miz Hofmann arrives in America. After a stay in New Orleans, joins her husband in Provincetown. They spend five months each summer in Provincetown and the rest of the year in New York.
1941 -- Becomes an American citizen. Delivers an address at the annual meeting of the American Abstract Artists at the Riverside Museum. One-person exhibition at the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans.
1942 -- Hofmann's former student Lee Krasner introduces him to Jackson Pollock.
1944 -- First exhibition in New York at Art of This Century Gallery, arranged by Peggy Guggenheim. "Hans Hofmann, Paintings, 1941-1944" opens at the Arts Club in Chicago and travels on to the Milwaukee Art Institute in January 1945. Howard Putzel includes Hofmann in "Forty American Moderns" at 67 Gallery, New York. He is also included in "Abstract and Surrealist Art in America" at the Mortimer Brandt Gallery, New York (arranged by Sidney Janis in conjunction with publication of Janis's book of the same title).
1947 -- Exhibitions at Betty Parsons Gallery in New York, in Pittsburgh, and at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The Texas show travels to Denton, Tex.; Norman, Okla.; and Memphis, Tenn. Begins to exhibit with the Kootz Gallery in New York. Kootz holds a one-person show of Hofmann's work each year until his death (with the exception of 1948 and 1956).
1948 -- Retrospective exhibition a the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Mass., in conjunction with publication of his book, Search For the Real and Other Essays.
1949 -- Travels to Paris to attend the opening of his exhibition at the Galerie Maeght and visits the studios of Picassso, Braque, Constantin Brancusi, and Joan Miro. Helps Fritz Bultman and Weldon Kees organize Forum 49, a summer series of lectures, panels, and exhibitions at Gallery 200 in Provincetown.
1950 -- Participates in a three-day symposium at Studio 35 in New York with William Baziotes, James Brooks, Willem de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Theodoros Stamos, David Smith, and Bradley Walker Tomlin. Joins the "Irascibles"-a group of Abstract Expressionists-in an open letter protesting the exclusion of the avant-garde from an upcoming exhibition of American art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
1951 -- Juries the 60th Annual Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago with Aline Louchheim and Peter Blume.
1954 -- One-person exhibition held at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
1955 -- Designs mosaic murals for the lobby of the new William Kaufmann Building, architect William Lescaze, at 711 Third Avenue, New York. Retrospective held at the Art Alliance in Philadelphia.
1957 -- Retrospective exhibitions held at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, which then travel to Des Moines, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Utica, and Baltimore.
1958 -- Hofmann ceases teaching to devote himself full time to painting. He moves his studio into the New York and Provincetown schools. Completes a mosaic mural for the exterior of the New York School of Printing (Kelley and Gruzen, architects) at 439 West 49th Street.
1960 -- Represents the United States with Philip Guston, Franz Kline, and Theodore Roszak at the XXX Venice Biennale.
1962 -- Retrospective exhibition opens in Germany at the Frankische Galerie am Marientor, Nuremberg, and travels to the Kolnischer Kunstverein, Cologne, and the Kongreilhalle, Berlin. In Munich, Neue Galerie im Kunstlerhaus presents "Oils on Paper, 1961-1962." Awarded an honorary membership in the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Nuremberg and an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree by Dartmouth College in Hanover, N. H.
1963 -- Miz Hofmann dies. Retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art organized by William Seitz travels throughout the United States and internationally to locations in South America and Europe, including Stuttgart, Hamburg, and Bielefeld. Signs a historic agreement to donate 45 paintings to the University of California at Berkeley and to fund the construction of a gallery in his honor at the new university museum, then in the planning stage. The exhibition "Hans Hofmann and His Students," organized by the Museum of Modern Art, circulates in the United States and Canada.
1964 -- Awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California at Berkeley. Serves on the jury for the 1964 Solomon Guggenheim International Award. Becomes a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, New York. Renate Schmitz inspires the Renate series.
1965 -- Awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree by Pratt Institute, New York. Marries Renate Schmitz on 14 October.
1966 -- Hans Hofmann dies on 17 February in New York.
Related Material:
The holdings of the Archives of American Art include papers and oral history interviews of many former students and friends of Hofmann; among these collections are correspondence, photographs, reminiscences, writings, and printed items relating to Hofmann and his school. The Lillian Kiesler Papers, 1920s-1990s include records of the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts.
Other Hans Hofmann Papers, 1929-1976 (1.65 linear ft.) are owned by The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley (Collection number: BANC MSS 80/27 c). An inventory is available on The Bancroft Library's website at http//www.lib.berkeley.edu/BANC/
Separated Materials:
Monographs and periodicals (376 items) from Hofmann's Library not directly related to the artist were transferred to the Library of the Smithsonian's American Art Museum in 2001. The Library retained relevant volumes, dispersed others to appropriate libraries within the Smithsonian Institution, and made final decisions regarding disposition of any remaining items.
Provenance:
Renate Schmitz Hofmann, widow of the artist, donated to the Archives of American Art 313 35-mm color slides of work by Hans Hofmann in 1974. The remainder of the collection was a gift of the Estate of Hans Hofmann in 1997. Tina Dickey donated her research material in 2000 and 2001 under the auspices of the Renate, Hans, and Maria Hofmann Trust. In 2006, additional manuscripts, notes, and illustrations for Hofmann's Das Malerbuch: Form und Farbe in der Gestaltung were received from the Trust. In 2015, the Trust donated additional correspondence, research and video production materials related to two documentaries on Hans Hofmann by Madeline Amgott. 13.0 linear ft. books, exhibition catalogs, and periodicals (376 items) from Hofmann's library, received with the collection, were transferred to the Smithsonian's American Art Museum-National Portrait Gallery Library.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
Max Spoerri interview: Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from Max Spoerri. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Study and teaching Search this
Art students -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Function:
Art schools -- Massachusetts
Art Schools -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Transcripts
Interviews
Photographs
Citation:
Hans Hofmann papers, circa 1904-2011, bulk 1945-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, 1943-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Hidden Collections grant program. Funding for the digitization of two motion picture films was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee, and for the remaining sound and video recordings from the Smithsonian's Collection Care Pool Fund. Funding for the digitization of the collection, not including audiovisual materials, was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, 1943-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, administered through the Council on Library and Information Resources' Hidden Collections grant program. Funding for the digitization of two motion picture films was provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee, and for the remaining sound and video recordings from the Smithsonian's Collection Care Pool Fund. Funding for the digitization of the collection, not including audiovisual materials, was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Midtown Galleries records, 1904-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Midtown Galleries records, 1904-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
The Exhibitions series includes schedules and information about traveling shows, which were usually group exhibitions built around themes; these records are arranged chronologically. The majority of the records in this series consist of files on particular exhibitions, including both traveling shows and exhibitions held at Midtown Galleries; these records are arranged alphabetically by exhibition title. See the Appendix for .
See Appendix for a chronological list of Midtown Galleries exhibitions documented in Series 2.
Arrangement note:
The series is organized into two subsseries:
Missing Title
2.1: Schedules and General Correspondence, 1932-1982, undated
Appendix: List of Midtown Galleries Exhibitions Documented in Series 2:
This list was compiled from announcements and catalogs produced by Midtown Galleries. A few of these were not included with the Midtown Galleries records, but were microfilmed in the mid-1960s as part of an Archives of American Art project to microfilm exhibition catalogs at a number of art libraries. Microfilm reel and frame numbers for these items are indicated in parentheses (reel: frames) immediately following the title. Most are part of Series VII: Printed Matter, and are microfilmed in chronological order; those marked with an asterisk (*) are part of the 1997 addition (5438: 713-838 and 889-932).
DateExhibitionNov. 1-15, 1932 -- Paintings by Bertram Goodman
Dec. 5-29, 1932 -- Paintings by Saul [Berman]
Nov. 7-22, 1933 -- Paintings by Marko Vukovic
Jan. 2-17, 1934 -- Recent Paintings of Nantucket by Margaret Wendell Huntington
Jan. 22-Feb.3, 1934 -- Paintings by Miron Sokole
April 2-17, 1934 -- Watercolors by Eleanor Hine
April 18-May 5, 1934 -- Paintings by Ary Stillman
Oct. 15-27, 1934 -- Paintings by Arthur L. Esner
Dec. 5-22, 1934 -- New York Night, Paintings by Eugene C. Fitsch
Jan. 14-26, 1935 -- Water Colors by E. Helen Young
Feb. 18-March 15, 1935 -- Paintings by Saul [Berman]
March 7-23, 1935 -- Drawings and Etchings by Isabel Bishop
April 1-19, 1935 -- Four Recent Guggenheim Fellows (Paintings by Francis Criss, Frank Mechau, Jr., and Doris Rosenthal, and Sculptures by Oronzio Maldarelli)
April 16-29, 1935 -- Feminanities, Paintings by Minna Citron
May 1-19, 1935 -- Doris Rosenthal (N442:537-538)
Dec. 26-Jan. 9, 1936 -- Vermont Farms by Margaret W. Huntington
Dec. 26-Jan. 12, 1936 -- Paintings of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania by Maurice Freedman
Feb. 11-29, 1936 -- Paintings by Isabel Bishop
April 10-25, 1936 -- Watercolors by Eugenie Schein
May 11-25, 1936 -- Paintings by Vincent Spagna
Oct. 14-31, 1936 -- Paintings by Martha Simpson
Dec. 8-24, 1936 -- Watercolors by Betty Pierson-Parsons
Dec. 13-24, 1936 -- American Print Makers Tenth Anniversary Annual Exhibition of Etchings, Lithographs, Woodcuts
Feb. 1-15, 1937 -- Doris Rosenthal
March 22-April 10, 1937 -- Paintings by Paul Cadmus
April 12-24, 1937 -- Paintings by Edith Nagler
April 19-May 3, 1937 -- Watercolors of Mexico by Eugenie Schein
Oct. 5-18, 1937 -- Vincent Spagna (Br15:527-529)
Oct. 19-Nov. 4, 1937 -- Paintings by Minna Citron
Nov. 5-22, 1937 -- Paul Mommer (Br15:533-535)
Nov. 23-Dec. 6, 1937 -- Paintings by Mary Hutchinson
Nov. 23-Dec. 6, 1937 -- Contemporary American Artists (Br15:536)
Dec. 7-20, 1937 -- Herbert Ferber (Br15:539-541)
Dec. 21-Jan. 3, 1938 -- Paintings by Alfred Kraemer
Jan. 4-17, 1938 -- Paintings by M. Azzi Aldrich
Feb. 8-26, 1938 -- Paintings and Drawings of Mexico by Doris Rosenthal
Sept. 16-Oct. 3, 1938 -- Paintings by Margit Varga
Nov. 21-Dec. 10, 1938 -- Paintings and Drawings by Zoltan Sepeshy
Dec. 8-24, 1938 -- Water Colors by Betty P. Parsons
Dec. 12-30, 1938 -- Water Colors of Bucks County by Lionel S. Reiss
Dec. 27-Jan. 14, 1939 -- Paintings by Jacob Getlar Smith
Jan. 17-Feb. 4, 1939 -- Paintings and Drawings by Isabel Bishop
Feb. 6-20, 1939 -- Paintings by Vincent Drennan
March 7-25, 1939 -- Paintings by Miron Sokole
March 27-April 15, 1939 -- Paintings of Mexico by Doris Rosenthal
April 17-May 6, 1939 -- Recent Paintings by Waldo Peirce
Sept. 26-Oct. 14, 1939 -- Paintings by Maurice Freedman
Oct. 17-Nov. 2, 1939 -- Paintings by Vincent Spagna
Nov. 3-20, 1939 -- Paintings by Minna Citron
Nov. 21-Dec. 9, 1939 -- Paintings by Frederic Taubes
Dec. 9-24, 1939 -- Water Colors by Betty P. Parsons
Jan. 3-20, 1940 -- Paintings by Emlen Etting
Feb. 20-March 9, 1940 -- Paintings by Paul Meltsner
March 19-April 6, 1940 -- Paintings and Watercolors by Bernardine Custer
Nov. 11-30, 1940 -- Paintings by Fletcher Martin
Dec. 2-21, 1940 -- Paintings by Simka Simkhovitch
Feb. 3-22, 1941 -- Paintings and Watercolors by Zoltan Sepeshy
March 3-22, 1941 -- Paintings by Doris Rosenthal
April 14-May 3, 1941 -- Paintings by Waldo Peirce
July 22-Aug. 22, 1941 -- Dealers Show American Art
Nov. 3-22, 1941 -- Pastels by Gladys Rockmore Davis
Nov. 25-Dec. 13, 1941 -- Water Colors by Betty P. Parsons
Dec. 15-Jan. 3, 1942 -- Paintings of the Tennessee Valley by Minna Citron
Jan. 6-24, 1942 -- Paintings by Jacob Getlar Smith
Jan. 26-Feb. 14, 1942 -- Watercolors by Zoltan Sepeshy
March 3-21, 1942 -- Tenth Anniversary Loan Exhibition, Works of Art by Midtown Artists Borrowed Back for this event from the Permanent Collections of Leading American Museums and Collectors
March 31-April 18, 1942 -- Watercolors by Waldo Peirce
April 27-May 16, 1942 -- Paintings by Vincent Spagna
May 18-June 6, 1942 -- Drawings by Isabel Bishop
Jan. 4-29, 1943 -- Watercolors by Jacob Getlar Smith
Feb. 8-March 6, 1943 -- Paintings of Mexico by Doris Rosenthal
March 5-27, 1943 -- Water Colors, Drawings and Prints by Contemporary American Artists at MacMurray College, courtesy of Midtown Galleries
March 29-April 17, 1943 -- Drawings by Minna Citron
April 19-May 15, 1943 -- Paintings by Gladys Rockmore Davis
May 17-June 4, 1943 -- Sculpture, Water Colors and Drawings by Herbert Ferber
Oct. 19-Nov. 6, 1943 -- Watercolors of the United States by Dong Kingman
Nov. 9-27, 1943 -- Ceramic Sculpture by Lilian Swann Saarinen
Nov. 23-Dec. 11, 1943 -- Drawings, Pastels, and Paintings by Doris Rosenthal
Jan. 25-Feb. 12, 1944 -- Paintings by William Thon
Feb. 5-21, 1944 -- Paintings by Mary E. Hutchinson
March 21-April 15, 1944 -- Paintings of the Ballet Backstage by Gladys Rockmore Davis
April 17-May 6, 1944 -- Paintings by Miron Sokole
May 9-27, 1944 -- Paintings by Waldo Peirce
May 29-June 17, 1944 -- Water Colors of the Stage Door Canteen and Other Home Front Activities by Bernardine Custer
Nov. 13-Dec. 2, 1944 -- Watercolors by Dong Kingman
Dec. 5-23, 1944 -- The Road to Paris, Gouaches by Emlen Etting
Dec. 26-Jan. 13, 1945 -- New York Harbor in Wartime by Julien Binford
Dec. 28-Jan. 15, 1945 -- Paintings by Fletcher Martin
Jan. 15-Feb. 3, 1945 -- Paintings, Gouaches and Drawings by Philip Guston
May 1-19, 1945 -- Paintings of Guatemala by Doris Rosenthal
Oct. 16-Nov. 3, 1945 -- Watercolors by Dong Kingman
Nov. 6-Dec., 1945 -- The Peirce Children Grow Up, Paintings by Waldo Peirce
Jan. 8-26, 1946 -- Memorial Exhibition of Paintings and Watercolors by Renee Lahm
Feb. 3, 1946 -- Upjohn Company Collection of Contemporary American Painting, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
Feb. 19-March 9, 1946 -- Paintings by Henry Billings
April 23-May 11, 1946 -- Paintings by William Thon
Oct. 22-Nov. 9, 1946 -- Moods of Children, Paintings by Gladys Rockmore Davis
Oct. 6-26, 1946 -- Upjohn Collection of Contemporary American Paintings, Delaware Art Center, Wilmington, Delaware
Nov. 19-Dec. 7, 1946 -- Paintings and Watercolors by Zoltan Sepeshy
Feb. 2-March 1, 1947 -- Paintings by Isabel Bishop
Feb. 11-March 1, 1947 -- Paintings by Maurice Freedman
March 11-29, 1947 -- Watercolors by Dong Kingman
March 12-30, 1947 -- Recent Oil Paintings by Emlen Etting
April 1-26, 1947 -- 15th Anniversary Exhibition, Painting and Sculpture by Members of the Midtown Group of American Artists
April 2-20, 1947 -- Recent Oil Paintings by Fred Nagler
April 13-26, 1947 -- Upjohn Collection of Contemporary American Paintings, Stockwell Memorial Library, Albion College, Albion, Michigan
April 29-May 16, 1947 -- Paintings by Lenard Kester
May 12-28, 1947 -- Upjohn Collection of Contemporary American Painting, Davenport Municipal Art Gallery, Davenport, Iowa
Sept. 2, 1947 -- Upjohn Collection of Contemporary American Painting, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, Tennessee
Oct. 5-25, 1947 -- Upjohn Collection of Contemporary American Painting, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, Illinois
Oct. 14-Nov. 1, 1947 -- Paintings by William Palmer
Dec. 8-29, 1947 -- Upjohn Company Collection of Contemporary American Painting, The Burpee Art Gallery, Rockford, Illinois
Jan. 27-Feb. 16, 1948 -- Paintings by Henry Koerner
Feb. 1, 1948 -- Upjohn Company Collection of Contemporary American Painting, Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University, Topeka, Kansas
March 2-20, 1948 -- Watercolors by Dong Kingman
March 7-28, 1948 -- Upjohn Company Collection of Contemporary American Painting, Oklahoma Art Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
March 22-April 3, 1948 -- American Art, A Multiple Exhibition arranged by The Association of Dealers in American Art, and Held in Their Galleries
April 6-24, 1948 -- Paintings and Gouaches by Maurice Freedman
April 11-25, 1948 -- Upjohn Company Collection of Contemporary American Painting, Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana
May 6-23, 1948 -- Upjohn Company Collection of Contemporary American Painting, Dallas Health Museum, Dallas, Texas
May 11-29, 1948 -- Paintings and Mural Sketches by Emlen Etting
June 5-28, 1948 -- Upjohn Company Collection of Contemporary American Painting, William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Arts and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri
July 6-29, 1948 -- Upjohn Company Collection of Contemporary American Painting, Kenosha Historical and Art Museum, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Oct. 5-23, 1948 -- Paintings by Lenard Kester
Jan. 4-22, 1949 -- Watercolors of Italy by William Thon
Jan. 25-Feb. 12, 1949 -- Paintings by Henry Koerner
Feb. 21-March 12, 1949 -- Paintings by Cecile Belle
March 15-April, 1949 -- Paintings and Drawings by Anatol Shulkin
April 5-23, 1949 -- Watercolors by Dong Kingman
May 3-21, 1949 -- Paintings by Isabel Bishop
June 3-26, 1949 -- Upjohn Company Collection of Contemporary American Painting, E. B. Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, California
Oct. 4-22, 1949 -- Paintings in Gouache by Fred Meyer
Oct. 25-Nov. 19, 1949 -- Paintings by Gladys Rockmore Davis
Nov. 22-Dec. 17, 1949 -- Paintings by Paul Cadmus, 1938-1949
Jan. 10-28, 1950 -- Non-Realistic and Objectionable Portraits of American Artists by Isabella Howland (drawings)
Jan. 31-Feb. 18, 1950 -- Paintings and Watercolors by Zoltan Sepeshy
Feb. 28-March 18, 1950 -- Drawings and Water Colors, Paris - Honolulu, by Emlen Etting
March 9-20, 1950 -- The Art Department of Northeast Missouri State Teachers College Presents... Contemporary American Artists, Midtown Galleries, New York City
March 21-April 15, 1950 -- Paintings and Gouaches by Henry Koerner
April 18-May 6, 1950 -- Paintings of Italy by William Thon
May 9-27, 1950 -- Recent Watercolors by Dong Kingman
Oct. 31-Nov. 25, 1950 -- Twenty-one Paintings in Casein and Ink by William C. Palmer
Nov. 28-Dec. 23, 1950 -- Recent Paintings by Fred Nagler
Jan. 2-29, 1951 -- Mobile Art Association Presents Contemporary Artists Circuited by Midtown Galleries
Feb. 6-24, 1951 -- Paintings by Miron Sokole
March 6-31, 1951 -- Paintings and Drawings by Henry Koerner
April 3-21, 1951 -- The Dance, Paintings and Drawings by Emlen Etting
May 1-26, 1951 -- 10 Year Retrospective Exhibition of Watercolors by Dong Kingman
Oct. 9-27, 1951 -- Watercolors and Oil Paintings by William Thon
Nov. 6-Dec. 1, 1951 -- 100 Drawings by Henry Koerner
Jan. 8-26, 1952 -- Oil Paintings by William Palmer
Feb. 5-25, 1952 -- Paintings by Maurice Freedman
Feb. 20-23, 1952 -- Paintings and Drawings by Doris Rosenthal Presented by Haygood Lasseter Interiors, Miami, through courtesy of Midtown Galleries, New York City
May 6-24, 1952 -- Paintings of the West Indies by Doris Rosenthal
June 4-28, 1952 -- 20 Years of the Midtown Galleries, A Pictorial Survey of Twenty Years' Activity in the Promotion of Outstanding Contemporary American Art
Nov. 5-29, 1952 -- Paintings by Henry Koerner
March 31-April 25, 1953 -- Paintings of Spain by Gladys Rockmore Davis
April 28-May 23, 1953 -- Paintings by Cecile Belle
Oct. 20-Nov. 7, 1953 -- Paintings by Margit Varga
Nov. 17-Dec. 5, 1953 -- Paintings by Zoltan Sepeshy
Dec. 14-Jan. 9, 1954 -- Paintings by William Palmer
Feb. 9-27, 1954 -- Dong Kingman's Water Colors
April 6-May 1, 1954 -- Recent Paintings and Drawings by Henry Koerner
May 4-29, 1954 -- Watercolors by William Thon
Sept. 20, 1954 -- Art In Interiors
Oct. 19-Nov. 6, 1954 -- Paintings by Robert Vickrey
Nov. 16-Dec. 4, 1954 -- Recent Paintings by Emlen Etting
Dec. 7-31, 1954 -- Recent Paintings by William Thon
Jan. 25-Feb. 12, 1955 -- Paintings of Mexico by Doris Rosenthal
Feb. 23-March 19, 1955 -- Paintings by Henry Koerner
April 12-May 7, 1955 -- Paintings and Lithographs by Robert Sivard
May 10-June 4, 1955 -- Watercolors and Drawings by Dong Kingman
Oct. 25-Nov. 19, 1955 -- Paintings and Drawings by Isabel Bishop
Nov. 22-Dec. 17, 1955 -- Paintings by William Thon
Feb. 21-March 10, 1956 -- Paintings and Gouaches by Maurice Freedman
March 13-31, 1956 -- Paintings by Cecile Belle
April 3-21, 1956 -- Recent Paintings by Miron Sokole
May 8-June 2, 1956 -- Watercolors by Dong Kingman
Sept. 25-Oct. 17, 1956 -- 5th Annual Exhibition, Art In Interiors
Nov. 20-Dec. 15, 1956 -- Paintings of Bali by Gladys Rockmore Davis
Dec. 26-Jan. 19, 1957 -- Paintings by Zoltan Sepeshy
Jan. 22-Feb. 16, 1957 -- Paintings of Mexico by Doris Rosenthal
Feb. 19-March 9, 1957 -- Paintings and Drawings by Emlen Etting
March 12-30, 1957 -- Paintings by Henry Koerner
May 7-June 8, 1957 -- 25th Anniversary Loan Exhibition, Lent by American Museums and Collectors
Nov. 12-30, 1957 -- Paintings by Betty Parsons
Dec. 3-28, 1957 -- Paintings by William Palmer
Dec. 31-Jan. 25, 1958 -- Paintings by Fred Nagler
Feb. 18-March 15, 1958 -- Paintings by Henry Koerner
March 18-April 12, 1958 -- Watercolors by Dong Kingman
April 15-May 10, 1958 -- Paintings by William Thon
May 13-31, 1958 -- Paintings by Annette Bartle
Oct. 28-Nov. 15, 1958 -- Paintings by Robert Sivard
Nov. 18-Dec. 6, 1958 -- Paintings by Robert Vickrey
Jan. 27-Feb. 21, 1959 -- Paintings by Ernest Fiene
Feb. 24-March 14, 1959 -- Paintings by Jason Schoener
March 17-April 4, 1959 -- Paintings by Waldo Peirce
April 14-May 2, 1959 -- Sculpture by Raimondo Puccinelli
May 5-23, 1959 -- Annual Good Drawing Exhibition by Distinguished American Draughtsmen
Sept. 29-Oct. 21, 1959 -- Th Annual Exhibition, Art In Interiors
Nov. 17-Dec. 5, 1959 -- Paintings by Maurice Freedman
Dec. 8-26, 1959 -- Paintings by William Palmer
Jan. 5-30, 1960 -- Paintings by Henry Koerner
March 1-26, 1960 -- Paintings by Waldo Peirce
March 29-April 23, 1960 -- Paintings and Watercolors by William Thon
May 3-28, 1960 -- Paintings by Isabel Bishop
Sept. 20-Oct. 19, 1960 -- The Annual Exhibition, Art In Interiors
Oct. 25-Nov. 19, 1960 -- Paintings by Robert Vickrey
Nov. 22-Dec. 10, 1960 -- Paintings by Annette Bartle
Dec. 12-Jan. 6, 1960 -- Paintings by William Palmer
Dec. 13-Jan. 7, 1961 -- Paintings by Jason Schoener
Jan. 10-Feb. 4, 1961 -- Recent Paintings by Emlen Etting
Feb. 28-March 18, 1961 -- Drawings by Henry Koerner
March 21-April 15, 1961 -- Paintings by Zoltan Sepeshy
April 18-May 13, 1961 -- Watercolors by 5: William Thon, Jason Schoener, Robert Vickrey, Edward Betts, Fred Nagler
Sept. 27-Oct. 18, 1961 -- 10th Anniversary Exhibition, Art In Interiors
Jan. 16-Feb. 3, 1962 -- Oh, Fearful Wonder of Man, Recent Paintings and Drawings by Henry Koerner
March 21-April 7, 1962 -- Barabbas
April 10-May 5, 1962 -- Paintings and Watercolors by Robert Vickrey
June 5-July 6, 1962 -- Oil Paintings and Watercolors by William Thon
Nov. 23-Dec. 15, 1962 -- 30th Anniversary Loan Exhibition, Loans from American Museums and Collectors
Dec. 19-Jan. 5, 1963 -- Recent Paintings and Drawings by Henry Koerner
Jan. 8-Feb. 2, 1963 -- Oil Paintings, Nos. 1 through 25, Paintings of Maine, California, Greece, etc., Gouaches by Jason Schoener
March 5-30, 1963 -- Four Distinguished American Painters: William Thon, Robert Vickrey, Jason Schoener, Edward Betts
April 2-27, 1963 -- 30 Years of Religious Painting by Fred Nagler
April 30-May 18, 1963 -- Forms in Light, 1959-1963, Recent Paintings by Henry Billings
Oct. 8-26, 1963 -- Recent Paintings by Annette Bartle
Oct. 29-Nov. 16, 1963 -- Recent Paintings by Maurice Freedman
Nov. 26-Dec. 21, 1963 -- Recent Paintings by William Palmer
Feb. 18-March 14, 1964 -- Paintings and Drawings by Siegfried Reinhardt
March 17-April 11, 1964 -- Paintings and Drawings by William Thon
April 21-May 9, 1964 -- Drawings, Watercolors, and Welded Sculpture by Nathan Cabot Hale
Oct. 6-31, 1964 -- Paintings of Maine by Midtown's Maine Artists (Hans Moller, Edward Betts, William Thon, Waldo Peirce, and Jason Schoener)
Nov. 10-Dec. 5, 1964 -- Paintings by Hans Moller
Dec. 8-26, 1964 -- Twenty Five Years of Drawing by Emlen Etting
Jan. 4-22, 1966 -- Paintings from the Greek Islands by Emlen Etting
Jan. 25-Feb. 12, 1966 -- Paintings of Greece by Jason Schoener
Feb. 15-March 12, 1966 -- Recent Paintings by Robert Sivard
March 15-April 2, 1966 -- Recent Paintings by Annette Bartle
April 5-30, 1966 -- Paintings and Watercolors by William Thon
Sept. 11-Oct. 7, 1966 -- Midtown Galleries Exhibition at Charleston Art Gallery, Charleston, W. Va.
Sept. 7-Oct. 22, 1966 -- Paintings of Maine by Midtown's Maine Artists (Hans Moller, William Thon, Edward Betts, Waldo Peirce, and Jason Schoener)
Oct. 25-Nov. 12, 1966 -- Flowers in Art, Paintings and Watercolors
Nov. 8-Dec. 3, 1966 -- Paintings by Siegfried Reinhardt
Dec. 6-31, 1966 -- Small Paintings by Major Artists (Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, William Palmer, Robert Vickrey, Emlen Etting, Doris Rosenthal, Robert Sivard, Edward Betts, Jason Schoener, Roy Moyer, Waldo Peirce, Hans Moller, Charles Coiner, Maurice Freedman, Fred Nagler, etc.)
Jan. 4-28, 1967 -- Recent Paintings by Hans Moller
March 14-April 1, 1967 -- 35th Anniversary Exhibition, A Documentary Presentation of Midtown Galleries' 35 Years of Varied Activities in Behalf of the Contemporary American Artist
April 4-29, 1967 -- Paintings by Isabel Bishop
May 9-June 3, 1967 -- Watercolors by Four Distinguished American Painters (William Thon, Hans Moller, Jason Schoener, Edward Betts)
Oct. 3-28, 1967 -- Recent Paintings of France by Robert Sivard
Oct. 31-Nov. 25, 1967 -- Recent Paintings by Roy Moyer
Nov. 28-Dec. 16, 1967 -- Watercolors by Four (William Thon, Edward Betts, Jason Schoener, Hans Moller)
Dec. 12-Jan. 6, 1968 -- Paintings by William Palmer
Jan. 7-28, 1968 -- Group Exhibition at the Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts, Inc., Columbus, Ga., Courtesy of Midtown Galleries
Jan. 16-Feb. 10, 1968 -- Recent Paintings of the Scottish Highlands by Charles Coiner
Feb. 13-March 9, 1968 -- Recent Sculpture by Fred Meyer
March 1-April 6, 1968 -- Retrospective Selection of Drawings and Prints, Including Loans from Public and Private Collections, 1907-1968
April 9-May 4, 1968 -- Paintings of Ireland by William Thon
May 7-31, 1968 -- Sculpture, Watercolors and Drawings by Nathan Cabot Hale
Oct. 15-Nov. 9, 1968 -- Recent Paintings by Edward Betts
Nov 12-Dec. 7, 1968 -- Elections: Waldo Peirce, 1938-1968
Dec. 10, 1968-Jan. 4, 1969 -- Watercolors by 4 Members of the Midtown Group Noted for their Work in this Medium (William Thon, Edward Betts, Jason Schoener, Hans Moller)
Feb. 4-March 1, 1969 -- Paintings by Jason Schoner
April 1-26, 1969 -- Recent Paintings by Ethel Magafan
April 29-May 24, 1969 -- Paintings by Robert Vickrey
Oct. 7-Nov. 1 Hans, 1969 -- Watercolors by Five Distinguished American Painters (William Thon, Moller, Ethel Magafan, Jason Schoener, and Edward Betts)
Nov. 5-29, 1969 -- Paintings by Richard Mayhew
Dec. 2-27, 1969 -- Recent Paintings by William Palmer
Jan. 6-24, 1970 -- Exhibition of Paintings by Maurice Freedman
Feb., 1970 -- 38th Anniversary Exhibition
March 3-28, 1970 -- Paintings of Mykonos, Etc. by Margit Varga
Sept. 29-Oct. 24, 1970 -- Watercolors and Pastels of Monhegan, Maine, by Hans Moller
Jan. 19-Feb. 13, 1971 -- Recent Paintings by Stephen Etnier
March 16-April 10, 1971 -- Paintings by Richard Mayhew
April 13-May 8, 1971 -- Paintings by Charles Coiner
May 21-June 5, 1971 -- Earth, Sea and Sky: Naturescapes by Eight Artists, Squibb Gallery, Courtesy of Midtown Galleries
Sept. 28-Oct. 23, 1971 -- Paintings by Emlen Etting
Oct. 26-Nov. 20, 1971 -- Bishop, Cadmus, Vickrey*
Nov. 23-Dec. 18, 1971 -- Paintings by William Thon
Dec. 21-Jan. 15, 1972 -- Paintings by Maurice Freedman
Jan. 18-Feb. 12, 1972 -- Paintings of Latin America by Jason Schoener
Feb. 15-March 11, 1972 -- Fortieth Anniversary Exhibition (In Tribute to the Memory of Alan D. Gruskin)
March 14-April 8, 1972 -- Paintings of Maine and California by Edward Betts
May 9-June 3, 1972 -- Flowers in Art (Paintings by Waldo Peirce, William Palmer, Emlen Etting, Roy Moyer, Maurice Freedman, Hans Moller, Charles Coiner, Julien Binford, Robert Vickrey)
Oct. 24-Nov. 18, 1972 -- Waldo Peirce Memorial Exhibition, Paintings of the Last Two Decades
Oct. 3-21, 1972 -- Drawings by Eight Important Contemporary American Artists (Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Emlen Etting, Ethel Magafan, Richard Mayhew, Hans Moller, William Palmer, William Thon)
Nov. 21-Dec. 16, 1972 -- Paintings by Robert Vickrey
Dec. 19-Jan. 13, 1973 -- Religious and Figurative Paintings by Fred Nagler
March 6-31, 1973 -- Recent Paintings by Hans Moller
April 3-28, 1973 -- Paintings by Ethel Magafan
June 5-22, 1973 -- New Talent Festival
Oct. 2-27, 1973 -- Sculpture and Drawings by Nathan Cabot Hale
Oct. 30-Nov. 24, 1973 -- Recent Paintings of England, Scotland and Wales by Charles Coiner
Jan. 8-Feb. 2, 1974 -- A Selection of Drawings and Prints by Isabel Bishop
Feb. 5-March 2, 1974 -- 42nd Anniversary Exhibition, Paintings of the Thirties
March 5-30, 1974 -- Paintings by Richard Mayhew
April 2-27, 1974 -- Flowers by Julien Binford
June 4-15, 1974 -- New Talent Festival
Oct. 1-26, 1974 -- Terra Cottas and Bronzes by Fred Meyer
Oct. 29-Nov. 23, 1974 -- Paintings and Prints by Robert Sivard
Nov. 26-Dec. 21, 1974 -- Paintings by William Palmer
Jan. 7-25, 1975 -- Recent Paintings by Robert Vickrey
Jan. 28-Feb. 22, 1975 -- Paintings and Gouaches by Jason Schoener
Feb. 25-March 22, 1975 -- Watercolor Paintings by William Thon
March 25-April 12, 1975 -- Paintings by Maurice Freedman
Oct. 6-31, 1975 -- Religious Paintings by Fred Nagler at Saint Peter's Gallery, New York City (in cooperation with Midtown Galleries)
Oct. 28-Nov. 22, 1975 -- Paintings by Emlen Etting
Dec. 23-Jan. 17, 1976 -- Richard Mayhew*
Jan. 20-Feb. 14, 1976 -- Paintings by Ethel Magafan
March 16-April 10, 1976 -- Paintings by Edward Betts
April 13-May 10, 1976 -- Selected Works by Paul Cadmus
May 11-28, 1976 -- American Landscapes (William Palmer, Charles Coiner, Robert Vickrey, Waldo Peirce, William Thon, Jason Schoener)
June 1-18, 1976 -- New Talent Festival
Sept. 28-Oct. 23, 1976 -- Paintings of The Hamptons by Margit Varga
Oct. 26-Nov. 20, 1976 -- Paintings by Stephen Etnier
Nov. 2-20, 1976 -- Illustrations by Isabel Bishop for "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Nov. 23-Dec. 18, 1976 -- Paintings by Robert Vickrey
Dec. 28-Jan. 22, 1977 -- On Loan from a Private Collection, "Seven Deadly Sins" and "Subway Symphony" by Paul Cadmus
Feb. 22-March 19, 1977 -- Paintings of Artists and Writers in Paris by Robert Sivard
March 22-April 16, 1977 -- Paintings and Watercolors by William Thon
April 19-May 14, 1977 -- Paintings by Maurice Freedman
May 17-June 4, 1977 -- New Talent and Guest Exhibition (Mary L. Buckley, Ruth Cobb, David Cobb Kupferman, Meyer Tannenbaum)
Nov. 1-26, 1977 -- Paintings by Waldo Peirce
Nov. 29-Dec. 24, 1977 -- Paintings by William Palmer
Feb. 28-March 25, 1978 -- Paintings of England, Scotland, Maine by Jason Schoener
March 28-April 22, 1978 -- Drawings and Serigraphs by Gregorio Prestopino
April 25-May 20, 1978 -- Terra Cottas and Bronzes by Fred Meyer
Oct. 31-Dec. 2, 1978 -- Paintings by Charles Coiner
Nov. 28-Dec. 16, 1978 -- Watercolors of Paris Shops, Dublin Pubs, etc. by Robert Sivard
Dec. 5-30, 1978 -- Drawings and Etchings by Isabel Bishop
Jan. 9-Feb. 3, 1979 -- The Seasons (Paintings by William Palmer, Paul Cadmus, William Thon, Hans Moller, Edward Betts, Emlen Etting, Gregorio Prestopino, Richard Mayhew, Maurice Freedman, Waldo Peirce, Jason Schoener, Charles Coiner)
Feb. 6-March 3, 1979 -- Recent Paintings by Stephen Etnier
Oct. 9-Nov. 3, 1979 -- Paintings by Maurice Freedman
Nov. 6-Dec. 1, 1979 -- Watercolors by Gregorio Prestopino
Dec. 4-29, 1979 -- Paul Cadmus, A Small Intimate Retrospective on the Occasion of His Seventy-fifth Birthday
Feb. 5-March 1, 1980 -- Drawings by Emlen Etting
March 4-29, 1980 -- Paintings of Summer in Maine by Jason Schoener
April 29-May 24, 1980 -- Paintings by Bruce Currie
Nov. 4-29, 1980 -- Paintings by Stephen Etnier
Dec. 2-Jan. 3, 1981 -- Paintings by William Thon
Jan. 6-31, 1981 -- Paintings by Ethel Magafan
Feb. 3-28, 1981 -- Watercolors by Ruth Cobb
March 3-28, 1981 -- Paintings by Robert Sivard
Sept. 8-Oct. 3, 1981 -- Self Portraits *
Oct. 6-31, 1981 -- A Fifty Year Drawing Retrospective and Recent Paintings by Isabel Bishop
Dec. 1-Jan. 9, 1982 -- William Palmer: Painting 50 Years
Jan. 19-Feb. 27, 1982 -- Retrospective Exhibition of Selected Paintings, 1932-1982, by Maurice Freedman
March 2-27, 1982 -- Retrospective Exhibition by Margit Varga
March 30-April 24, 1982 -- Midtown Galleries Golden Anniversary, Selected Work by Gallery Artists
April 27-May 22, 1982 -- New Bronzes and Terra Cottas by Fred Meyer
Oct. 5-20, 1982 -- Ruth Cobb: A Selection of Watercolors *
Nov. 2-27, 1982 -- A Twenty Year Retrospective Exhibition by Edward Betts
Jan. 4-29, 1983 -- Recent Paintings and Sculpture by Artists Associated with Midtown Galleries since the Thirties and Forties *
Feb. 1-26, 1983 -- Isabel Bishop: An Intimate Exhibition of Work of the Past Five Years
July 10-Aug. 4, 1983 -- Selected Works of Contemporary American Artists from the Midtown Galleries, New York City [at Fairfield University] *
Oct. 4-30, 1983 -- Paintings, Drawings and Prints by Bernarda Bryson Shahn
Nov. 1-26, 1983 -- Jason Schoener: The Artist's Travels *
Sept. 21-Nov. 5, 1994 -- Paul Tchelitchev: A Reevaluation *
Nov. 11-Dec. 30, 1994 -- Paul Cadmus: Still Lifes, Portraits, Tableaux
Jan. 12-Feb. 25, 1995 -- Jacob Lawrence: An Overview, Paintings from 1936-1994 *
March 2-April 8, 1995 -- Robert Kushner: Mille Fleurs, a Cornucopia of New Paintings *
Below is a list of exhibitions for which the year or date is unknown.
DateExhibitionundated -- Solo Exhibitions, A - Z (by artist)
Jan. 27-Feb. 10 -- Paintings by M. Azzi Aldrich
Nov. 23-Dec. 9 -- Paintings by M. Azzi Aldrich
April 17-May 6 -- Paintings by Saul Berman
Nov. 9-28 -- Paintings by Julien Binford
March 7-23 -- Drawings and Etchings by Isabel Bishop
Oct. 3-15 -- Paintings by Isabel Bishop
Feb. 15-March 4 -- Paintings by Homer Boss
April 18-30 -- Paintings and Watercolors by Homer Boss
Oct. 24-Nov. 17 -- Paintings and Drawings by Paul Cadmus
April 16-29 -- Feminanities, Paintings by Minna Citron
April 27-May 13 -- Paintings by Minna Citron
Dec. 14-25 -- Paintings by Adelaide De Groot
June 8-21 Other -- Exhibition of Drawings of the Philadelphia Stage Door Canteen and Recent Drawings by Emlen Etting
Oct. 23-Nov. 11 -- Paintings and Gouaches by Maurice Freedman
Dec. 26-Jan. 12 -- Paintings of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania by Maurice Freedman
Feb. 1-14 -- Watercolors by Ethel Katz
Oct. 13-31 -- Watercolors by Dong Kingman
Oct. 14-Nov. 1 -- Dong Kingman's Watercolors
undated -- Watercolors by Dong Kingman
June 6-23 -- Building the New York World's Fair, Gouaches and Oil Paintings by Renee Lahm
March 23-April 15 -- New York Murals by Edward Laning
May 22-June 9 -- Drawings of War in Italy by Edward Laning
Oct. 19-Nov. 4 -- Sculpture by Oronzio Maldarelli
Oct. 29-Nov. 17 -- Sculptures in Hammered Metal by Oronzio Maldarelli
March 18-31 -- Paintings and Watercolors by Joseph Margulies
June 2-21 -- Drawings by Fletcher Martin
April 20-May 9 -- Oils, Water Colors, Lithographs, and Drawing by Paul R. Meltsner
April 30-May 18 -- Oils, Tempera, and Lithographs by Paul R. Meltsner
May 24-June 10 -- Oil Paintings and Water Colors by Paul Meltsner
May 14-29 -- Watercolors by Thalia Millett
May 7-27 -- Watercolors by Kaname Miyamoto
May 1-16 -- Paintings by Paul Mommer
Oct. 2-18 -- Paintings by Paul Mommer
Oct. 13-31 -- Paintings by Paul Mommer
Nov. 1-16 -- Paintings by Paul Mommer
May 12-31 -- Paintings by Fred Nagler
Oct. 18-31 -- Paintings by Fred Nagler
Jan. 4-29 -- Iowa Landscapes, Paintings and Watercolors by William C. Palmer
March 24-April 12 -- Recent Wash Drawings by William C. Palmer
Sept. 25-Oct. 14 -- Paintings and Drawings by William Palmer
Dec. 12 -- Paintings by William Palmer
Dec. 3-16 -- Watercolors by Betty Pierson-Parsons
Feb. 15-March 1 -- Paintings and Sculpture by Alzira Peirce
Oct. 4-17 -- Paintings by Alzira Peirce
Jan. 7-25 -- Paintings by Waldo Peirce
March 3-29 -- Paintings, Watercolors, Prints by Waldo Peirce
Aug. 30-Sept. 25 -- Six Year Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings by Waldo Peirce
Nov. 16-Dec. 5 -- Paintings by Waldo Peirce
Nov. 14-Dec. 9 -- Paintings and Drawings by Siegfried Reinhardt
Dec. 12-30 -- Watercolors by Lionel S. Reiss
Nov. 2-14 -- Water Scenes of New York by Saul [Berman]
April 10-25 -- Watercolors by Eugenie Schein
Nov. 1-19 -- Paintings by Anatol Shulkin
Sept. 28-Oct. 12 -- Paintings by Martha Simpson
Jan. 18-Feb. 5 -- Paintings by Jacob Getler Smith
April 9-27 -- Drawings and Watercolors by Jacob Getlar Smith
Dec. 27-Jan. 14 -- Watercolors by Jacob Getlar Smith
Jan. 11-28 -- Paintings by Miron Sokole
Dec. 10-23 -- Gouaches by Miron Sokole
March 2-16 -- Paintings by Isaac Soyer
May 3-21 -- Paintings by Isaac Soyer
March 2-20 -- Paintings by Frederic Taubes
Nov. 27-Dec. 22 -- Recent Paintings by William Thon
undated -- Paintings and Watercolors by William Thon
Feb. 27-March 10 -- Watercolors of Mexico by Edward Valentine
March 22-April 9 -- Sculpture by Arline Wingate
Jan. 14-26 -- Water Colors by E. Helen Young
Group Exhibitions, date or year unknown
DateExhibitionundated -- Group Exhibitions
Feb. 27-March 26 -- Cooperative Exhibition of Contemporary American Art
May 4-31 -- Peggy de Salle Presents Little Gallery's 20th Anniversary: Four Nationally Known Artists, Courtesy Midtown Galleries (Isabel Bishop, Stephen Etnier, Zoltan Sepeshy, William Thon)
June 24-July 30 -- Three Painters from the Midtown, Watercolors, Drawings, Pastels at United Virginia Bank Gallery, Norfolk, Va. (Hans Miller, Jason Schoener, William Thon)
July 31-Aug. 13 -- Contemporary American Artists Associated with Midtown Galleries of New York, Four Fountains, Southampton
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Midtown Galleries records, 1904-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Sue M. Thurman, 1993 April 23-1998 March 11. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Interviews Search this
Museum directors -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews Search this
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Access of diaries and appointment books required written permission.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
André Emmerich Gallery records and André Emmerich papers, circa 1929-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Leon Levy Foundation.
This subseries consists of administrative records, artists biographies, artwork condition reports and lists, correspondence, catalog drafts, registrar records, presentation and lecture manuscripts, and files for the traveling exhibition. The exhibition was initially held at the Yale University Art Gallery, the University of Texas Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Art, the La Jolla Museum of Art, and the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art before traveling to other locations.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Stanton L. Catlin papers, 1911-1998, bulk 1930-1994. 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
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Mel Casas papers, 1963-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Additional funding for the digitization of the papers was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
An interview with Sue M. Thurman conducted 1993 April 23-1998 March 11, by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art over 7 sessions, in Thurman's home, Brookline, Massachusetts.
Thurman discusses her childhood in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, a major tobacco center; her father's work in retail sales; her early schooling; and the impact on her of the Methodist church, attending Bethel Women's College, and World War II.
Study of studio art and art history at the University of Kentucky; the influence of teachers Ray Barnhart, Cliff Amyx, and Ted Rannells; founding an art deptartment at Wilmington College (a small Quaker college near Cinncinatti, Ohio); marriage to artist Harold Thurman; moving to NYC in 1951 to study art history at Columbia on an American Council of Learned Societies' scholarship; study of communal tribal arts, in particular the transfer of motifs from one medium to another in the Congo, under Paul Wingert, with consultation from Meyer Schapiro, and research in several anthropological collections in NYC; teaching of design at the Barnard School for Boys in the Bronx; returning to Kentucky to direct the Junior Art Gallery at the Louisville Free Public Library and developing it into a program which stressed display of original art and borrowing items from New York dealers; going to New Orleans in 1957 to direct the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art (now the New Orleans Museum of Art) at the urging of sculptor and museum trustee George Rickey, whom Thurman had met when he installed a sculpture in the Louisville library.
The near chaotic situation she faced at the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art due to its understaffing and the involvement of various factions - politicians, socialites and artists; help from George Rickey; enhancing the museum's local presence and stature through an exhibition, "Early Masters of Modern Art" (1959); getting the building renovated and obtaining a professional curator to assist her.
Leaving New Orleans, in 1961, after sucessfully competing for the directorship of the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (at the urging of former director Thomas Messer); finding the ICA to be in serious financial trouble; holding a Potlatch event, in which artists contributed work for purchase, which put ICA on stable financial footing and enabled it to move into new quarters in the shopping district; Thurman's cyclical exhibition program from 1963-1967 which featured contemporary artists, regional work, topical issues relating to design, and international shows. She recalls the response to the Edward Kienholz installations in 1966, and an Andy Warhol exhibition which was marred by vandalism by his entourage and led to ICA's eviction from its leased quarters.
Thurman continues her discussion of her tenure at ICA, including exhibitions focusing on themes and various media; its no-collecting policy; display of art from New England museums and from art collected by the federal government for embassies; her belief that art should be allowed to speak for itself through careful installations and absence of intrusive labels; and exhibitions of unconventional media and of contemporary design. She describes her work undertaken for the Ford Foundation, in 1969, to study the effectiveness of its financial support of art schools.
Thurman discusses the ICA's board of trustees, mentioning Charles Withers as someone she felt was an exemplary trustee and her views to exclude art collectors as trustees. She discusses her membership on MIT's Committee for the Arts; her appointment, as a result of her Ford Foundation work, as vice-president for development at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, for a 3-year term (1970-1973), and the difficulties there of imposing changes and raising funds.
Caring for her terminally-ill mother, 1973-1975; returning to Boston and beginning a new career as a general fund raiser; directing a quilt museum in Lowell, Massachusetts; and her beliefs that what sustained her through the years was altruism, acute powers of observation, and determination.
Biographical / Historical:
Sue M. Thurman (1927-2012) was an art administrator in Louisville, Kentucky, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Boston, Massachusetts. Thurman received a M.A. at Bethel Women's College, University of Kentucky, 1950 and in art and archeology from Columbia University in 1953. She taught at Wilmington College, Ohio, 1950-1951, and held directorships at the Junior Art Gallery, Louisville Free Public Library, Kentucky. (1954-1957), the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, New Orleans, La. (1957-1961), the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (1961-1968) and the New England Quilt Museum (1991-1992). She was Vice-President for Development at Cranbrook Academy of Art (1970-1973) and has served as consultant and director to various development and fundraising initiatives.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 57 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Topic:
Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Interviews Search this
Museum directors -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Sponsor:
Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and 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.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and 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.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and 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.
