The papers of Cambridge sculptor and illustrator, Lilian Swann Saarinen, measure nine linear feet and date from circa 1909 to 1977. The collection documents Saarinen's career through correspondence with artists, architects, publishers, and gallery owners; writings and notes, including manuscripts and illustrations for children's books and publications; project and teaching files; financial records; artwork, including numerous project sketches; and photos of Saarinen and her artwork. Saarinen's personal life is also documented through diaries and correspondence with friends and family members, including Eero Saarinen, to whom she was married from 1939-1953.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Cambridge sculptor and illustrator, Lilian Swann Saarinen, measure nine linear feet and date from circa 1909 to 1977. The collection documents Saarinen's career through correspondence with artists, architects, publishers, and gallery owners; writings and notes, including manuscripts and illustrations for children's books and publications; project and teaching files; financial records; artwork, including numerous project sketches; and photos of Saarinen and her artwork. Saarinen's personal life is also documented through diaries and correspondence with friends and family members, including Eero Saarinen, to whom she was married from 1939-1953.
Biographical material consists of resumes and biographical sketches, as well as a 1951 blueprint for the Eero Saarinen and Associates Office Building in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Correspondence documents Saarinen's personal and professional life through letters to and from Eero Saarinen and other family members, including six letters from Loja Saarinen; correspondence with artists and architects, including Merle Armitage, Charles and Ray Eames, Carl Koch, Henry Kreis, Carl Milles, Laszlo and Sibyl Moholy-Nagy, Robert Venturi, and Harry Weese; and friends and colleagues at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Knoll Associates. Also documented is Saarinen's business relationship with Midtown Galleries and Caresse Crosby, and publishers and publications including Child Life, Interiors, Otava Publishing Company, and Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc.
Writings and Notes document Saarinen's work on several children's publications, including Picture Book Zoo (1935) and Who Am I? (1946), through correspondence, notes, manuscript drafts, and extensive sketches. This series also includes Saarinen's ideas for other publications and incorporates some early writings and notes, as well as typescripts of her reminiscences about Eliel Saarinen, the Saarinen family, and the Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Diaries consist of bound diary volumes, loose-leaf journal entries, and heavily annotated engagement calendars, documenting Saarinen's personal life, artistic aspirations, and career development from the 1930s-1970s. This material provides a deeply personal view of the emotional landscape of Saarinen's life, her struggles to balance her identity as a working artist with the roles of wife, mother, and homemaker, and the complex, and often competing, relationships within the renowned architectural family into which she married.
Project files document Saarinen's work on book cover designs, federal and post office commissions in Bloomfield, Indiana, Carlisle, Kentucky, and Evanston, Illinois, reliefs for the Crow Island School in Winnetka, Illinois, and other important commissions including the Harbor National Bank Clock in Boston, Massachusetts, the KLM Airlines installation at JFK Airport, the Fountain of Noah sculpture at the Northland Center in Detroit, Michigan, and the interior of Toffenetti's restaurant in Chicago, Illinois. Also documented is her role in designs for the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, with Eero Saarinen.
Teaching files document Saarinen's "Language of Clay Course" which she taught at Cambridge Art Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Financial records document exhibition and sales expenses for two exhibitions, including her show at G Place Gallery in 1944.
Printed material consists of clippings about Saarinen and her family, exhibition announcements and catalogs for herself and others, and reference files from the 1930s-1940s, primarily comprising clippings of animals.
Additional printed material documenting Saarinen's career can be found in one of two scrapbooks found in the collection. An additional scrapbook consists of clippings relating primarily to Saarinen's parents.
Artwork comprises extensive sketches, particularly animal and figure sketches, in graphite, crayon, ink, pastel, and watercolor. The sketches demonstrate in particular Saarinen's developing interest in and skill with animal portraiture from her childhood to the 1960s.
Photographs are primarily of artwork and Saarinen's 1944 exhibition at G Place Gallery. Also found are one negative of Saarinen, probably with Eero Saarinen, and a group photo including Lilian, Eero, and Eliel Saarinen with the model for the Detroit Civic Center, circa 1940s.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1930s-1960s (3 folders; Box 1, OV 12)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1920-1974 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 8, OV 12)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1920s-1973 (1.3 linear feet, Boxes 2-3, 8, OVs 13-16)
Series 4: Diaries, 1930-1973 (1.4 linear feet, Boxes 3-5, 8)
Series 5: Project Files, 1931-1966 (1.7 linear feet, Boxes 5-6, 8, OVs 17-19)
Series 6: Teaching Files, 1966-1970 (3 folders, Box 6)
Series 7: Financial Records, 1940s-1970s (2 folders, Box 6)
Series 8: Printed Material, circa 1930s-1970s (0.2 linear feet, Box 6)
Series 9: Scrapbooks, circa 1909-1974 (2 folders; Boxes 6, 9)
Series 10: Artwork, circa 1920s-circa 1960s (1.7 linear feet, Boxes 6-7, 9-10, OVs 20-27)
Series 11: Photographs, circa 1940s, 1977 (0.5 linear feet, Boxes 7, 11, OV 27)
Biographical / Historical:
Cambridge artist and sculptor, Lilian Swann Saarinen (1912-1995), studied at the Art Students League with Alexander Archipenko in 1928, and later with Albert Stewart and Heninz Warneke from 1934-1936, before moving to Michigan where she studied with Carl Milles at the Cranbrook Academy of Art from 1936-1940. Saarinen was an accomplished skier and a member of the 1936 US Olympic ski team.
At Cranbrook, Swann met architect Eero Saarinen, whom she married in 1939. She subsequently worked with Saarinen's design group on a variety of projects, including the Westward Expansion Memorial, which later became known as the "Gateway Arch" in St. Louis. Lilian and Eero had a son, Eric, and a daughter, Susie, before divorcing in 1953.
Saarinen, who had developed an affinity for drawing animals in childhood, specialized in animal portraits in a variety of sculptural media. In 1939, she exhibited her sculpture Night, which depicted Bagheera the panther from Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book, at the World's Fair. The sculpture was placed in the Boston Public Garden in 1986. In the 1930s and 1940s Saarinen was commissioned to work on a variety of architectural projects, including reliefs for post offices in Bloomfield, Indiana, Carlisle, Kentucky, and Evanston, Illinois, and the Crow Island School in Winnetka, Illinois. She also executed commissions for the Harbor National Bank in Boston, KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) at JFK Airport, the Northland shopping Center in Detroit Michigan, and Toffenetti's Restaurant in Chicago.
Saarinen was a contributing author and illustrator for a variety of publications, including Child Life, Interiors and Portfolio: An Intercontinental Quarterly. In 1935 she illustrated Picture Book Zoo for the Bronx Zoo and in 1946 Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc. published Who Am I?, a children's book which Saarinen wrote and illustrated.
Saarinen taught ceramic sculpture to soldiers for the Red Cross Arts and Skills Unit rehabilitation program in 1945, served on the Visiting Committee to the Museum School at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, from 1959-1964, where she taught ceramics, and later taught a course entitled "The Language of Clay" at the Cambridge Art Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One of Saarinen's private students at Cambridge was her cousin, Edie Sedgwick.
Saarinen died in Cohasset, Massachusetts, in 1995 at the age of 83.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reels 1152 and 1192) including a scrapbook containing clippings, copies of letters and telegrams received, and reproductions of Saarinen's work. There is a copy of Saarinen's book, "Who Am I?", and three albums containing photographs of Saarinen, photographs and reproductions of her work, a list of exhibitions, quotes about her, and writings by her about sculpture. Lent material was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Lilian Swann Saarinen donated the collection in 1975. She lent additional materials for microfilming in 1976.
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 Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- Massachusetts -- Cambridge Search this
Lilian Swann Saarinen papers, circa 1909-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation; and John R. & Barbara Robinson and Deborah Schmidt Robinson & Dr. R. Perry Robinson, The Widgeon Point Charitable Foundation.
Awards and certificates; photocopies of correspondence; catalogs and announcements and a book, Harry Bertoia, Sculptor by June Compass Nelson (Wayne State Univ., 1970), and a phonograph album of Bertoia's sound sculpture "Sonambient." Also included is an illustrated booklet entitled "My Career" by Bertoia written when he was 17 and a student in Gladys Little's occupational information class at Cleveland Junior High School in Detroit, Mich. The booklet has been microfilmed on reel 2787.
Biographical / Historical:
Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) was a sculptor, designer, and metalsmith from Michigan and California. Harry Bertoia was born in Italy. He attended Cranbrook Academy of Art and was a designer for Knoll Associates.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives are extensive papers lent for microfilming. Microfilm reels 3843-3851 contain personal correspondence, 1947-1979 and undated; business records, 1943-1979; and clippings. Among the correspondents are: Anni Albers, Josef Albers, Albert Christ-Janer, Charles Eames, Walter Gropius, Victor Gruen, Henry Moore, Louis Redstone, Zoltan Sepechy, and Minoru Yamasaki. Reel 1471 consists of sketches; jewelry designs; monoprints; three photographs of Bertoia with his work; a photograph of his assistant, Jim Flanagan working on a sculpture; and photographs of works. Also, a scrapbook containing family and personal photographs and photographs of works; clippings; a statement to friends by Bertoia; a funeral address by his widow Brigitta; and Bertoia's death certificate. Notes by Brigitta are included.
Provenance:
Papers donated 1979 by Brigitta Bertoia, Bertoia's widow; she also lent material on reel 1471 for microfilming. The booklet and phonograph album were donated in 1975-1977 by Gladys M. Little, Bertoia's teacher in junior high school; and papers on reels 3843-3851 were lent for microfilming 1986 by Bertoia Studios Ltd. (and subsequently purchased by the Vitra Design Museum, Germany).
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.
An interview of Massimo Vignelli conducted 2011 June 6-7, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Vignelli's home and office, in New York, New York.
Vignelli speaks of his youth and early start in art design and architecture; his early work at Catiglione architects at the age of 16; his father; his education; meeting his favorite architects; his influences; architecture and design magazines; organic and rationalist architecture in Italy; influence of Ignazio Gardella; Adolf Loos' idea of spoon to the city; European, American, and Italian architecture; education in Milan; his work with Venini Glass; Italian design; his early graphic work; design and vulgarity; marriage and working with Lella Vignelli; graphic design work at the Container Corporation; concept of design as a whole; his work on corporate identities; his establishment of Vignelli Associates; introduction and use of Helvetica in the United States; working with Knoll; choosing clients; design and culture; his work on St. Peter's Lutheran Church; design work for the United States National Parks newspaper design and layout; Unimark; timelessness and design; working with Poltrona Frau, Zero Labor design; major influences; his work for the United States Postal Service; connectivity and context in architecture; his clothing designs and historical perspectives on clothing; postmodernism; his work on the New York Subway; design work before and after computers; Japanese architecture and design; his work as a teacher; Oliviero Toscani and working for Benetton; America and international design; modernism and the office building; modern design and furniture; a timeline of his career; the Vignelli Center at RIT and archiving. Vignelli also recalls, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Giuseppe Terragni, Giuseppe Pagano, Domus, Gió Ponti, Metron, Bruno Zevi, Ignazio Gardella, Ray and Charles Eames, Giancarlo De Carlo, Venini Glass, Carlo Scarpa, Ralph Eckerstrom, Umberto Eco, Sansoni Publishing House, Vignelli Associates, Walter Kacik, Helvetica, Knoll, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, National Parks, New York Herald, Unimark, Lella Vignelli, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Poltrona Frau, Dieter Rams, Louis Kahn, Stendig Calendar, A to Z, Salon de Mobile, Michael Graves, Robert Venturi, Oliviero Toscani, Benetton, Herman Miller, Steelcase, and the Vignelli Center.
Biographical / Historical:
Massimo Vignelli (1931- ) is a designer in New York, New York. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is an independent scholar in San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded as 9 sound files. Duration is 6 hr., 52 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.
5.3 Linear feet (Boxes 1-6, OV 47; Reels 5708-5717)
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1923-1986
Scope and Contents note:
Correspondents in this series include a wide range of international architects, designers, and artists who interacted with Breuer. The letters discuss his training and the execution of his hundreds of architectural projects and designs for furnishings. Researchers will find the letters between Breuer and his Bauhaus colleagues, including Josef Albers, Herbert Bayer, Walter Gropius, and László Moholy-Nagy, of particular interest.
Appendix A: List of Notable Correspondents from Series 2: Correspondence
Arrangement note:
The files are arranged chronologically, with the undated letters arranged alphabetically according to the correspondents' surnames.
Appendix A: List of Notable Correspondents from Series 2: Correspondence:
Missing Title
Aalto, Alvar, 1964 (1 invitation): to reception honoring Aalto
Abercrombie, Stan (architect), 1964-1977 (8 letters)
Abramovitz, Max (Harrison & Abramovitz, Architects), 1947 (3 letters) and 1963 invitation from Brandeis University in honor of Abramovitz
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1975 (2 letters): from Breuer's office Académie d'Architecture, 1976-1979 (4 letters)
Acme Laboratory Equipment Company, 1950 (1 letter): from Breuer's office ács, Gábor and Anikó, 1956 (1 letter)
Agel, Jerome B. (Agel & Friend), 1959 (1 letter): includes press release
Agostini, Edward (Becker and Becker Associates), 1969 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Airflow Refrigeration, 1954: (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Alabama Polytechnic Institute, 1947 (1 letter)
Albers, Josef ("Juppy") and Anni (Black Mountain College), 1933-1958 (11 letters): a 1956 letter includes miscellaneous typescripts by Albers and clippings; a 1965 letter to the Phoenix Art Museum from William A. Leonard of the Contemporary Arts Center concerns an Albers exhibition and includes a list of works; a 1967 letter from Breuer to National Institute of Arts and Letters includes a typescript concerning Albers
Alexander, H. J. W. (Architectural Association), 1957-1958 (4 letters)
Alpern, Robert, 1964 (letter from Breuer)
B. Altman & Company, 1951 (1 letter)
Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA), 1946-1964 (2 letters)
Aluminum Import Corporation, 1946 (2 letters)
Alvarez, Raúl J., 1968 (1 letter)
American Academy in Rome, 1947-1961 (4 letters): request recommendations for Frederic S. Coolidge, Arthur Myhrum, and Thomas B. Simmons
American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1965-1978 (10 letters): a letter 1967 is a nomination by Walter Gropius for Sigfried Giedion's honorary membership in American Academy of Arts and Letters and National Institute of Arts and Letters; see National Institute of Arts and Letters
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1977 (1 letter)
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1946 (1 letter)
American Arbitration Association, 1960-1968 (52 letters)
American Church in Paris, 1966 (1 letter): from Robert F. Gatje
American Council for Emigres in the Professions, Inc., undated: letter introduces Viola Kondor
American Craftsmen's Council (Mrs. Vanderbilt Webb), 1967 (1 letter)
American Designer's Institute, 1947 (convention schedule)
American Export and Isbrandtsen Lines, 1963 (1 letter)
American Federation of Arts, 1958-1967 (8 letters)
American Field Service, 1956 (1 ): letter from Breuer on behalf of Danielle Eyquem
American Fork & Hoe Company, 1944 (1 letter)
American Hungarian Studies Foundation (August J. Molnár), 1964-1968 (10 letters): a 1967 invitation is to George Washington Awards Dinner in honor of Breuer, Watson Kirkconnel, and Hans Selye
American Institute of Architects, 1946-1976 (45 letters): membership applications for Edward Larrabee Barnes, Landis Gores, John MacL. Johansen, George Sherman Lewis, A. McVoy McIntyre, Robert Hays Rosenberg, Bernard Rudofsky); a 1963 letter from Breuer's office concerns a Skyscraper Architecture survey team from Japan; a 1968 letter concerns the Comité Organizador de Los Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada
American Institute of Architects, College of Fellows, 1976 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
American Institute of Architects, Jury of Fellows, 1960 (3 letters): from Breuer
American Institute of Architects, Library Buildings Award Program, 1967 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter, 1945-1963 (16 letters)
American Institute of Decorators (Richard F. Bach), 1956 (1 letter)
American Institute of Interior Design in Switzerland (Charles D. Gandy and Susan Zimmermann), 1977-1978 (2 letters)
American-Jewish Congress: see Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI)
American Library Association, 1951-1968 (2 letters)
American Planning and Civic Association, undated: membership notice
American Press Institute, 1974-1975 (5 letters): from Breuer
American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corporation, 1947 (1 letter): from Breuer
American Shakespeare Festival, 1954 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
American Society for Church Architecture, 1965-1966 (4 letters)
American Society for Friendship with Switzerland, 1969 (1 letter)
American Society of Interior Decorators, 1976 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
American Society of Planners and Architects (ASPA), 1945-1947 (12 letters)
Anderson, Lawrence B., 1945-1965 (2 letters): see American Society of Planners and Architects (ASPA)
András, Ivánka, 1957 (1 letter)
Andrews, Robert, 1956 (1 letter)
Aoyagi, Nobuo, 1964 (1 letter)
Aoyagi, Tetsu, 1965 (1 letter)
Arbelaez, Carlos, 1952 (1 letter): from Breuer)
Architects & Engineers Institute, 1959 (1 letter)
Architects' Collaborative, 1946-1959 (3 letters): see McMillan, Louis and Peggy
Architectural Association, London, 1965-1969 (7 letters): see project file for UNESCO for correspondence with Edward J. Carter Architectural Design, 1960 (1 letter): from Ernesto Fuenmayor and Manuel Sayago of Centro Profesional del Este)
Architectural Forum, 1960 (1 letter): from Leonard J. Currie
Architectural Group, (W. D. Wilson), 1947 (1 letter)
Architectural League of New York, 1947-1975: (26 letters and minutes from 6 meetings): see Ketchum, Morris
Architectural Record, 1946-1959 (9 letters)
Architectural Students Association, 1958 (1 letter)
Architecture Formes Fonctions, 1971 (3 letters): includes a typescript "Design Research in Concrete" for July 1971 magazine
Architektur + Wohnwelt, 1975 (3 letters)
Argan, Giulio Carlo, 1955-1957 (6 letters)
Arizona, University of, 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Bergen County Cut Stone Company, 1967 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Bergen, Emiel, 1956 (1 letter)
Berger, Donald (North Dakota Agricultural College), 1953 (1 letter)
Berger, George, 1950 (1 letter)
Berger, Otti, undated and 1934-1937 (7 letters)
Berger, Sanford and Helen (architects), 1945 (1 letter): from
Breuer to László Moholy-Nagy and Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe introducing the Bergers
Berger, Stephen E., 1959 (1 letter)
Berizzi, Sergio, 1959 (4 letters): letters of introduction
Berko, Franz, 1946-1947 (5 letters): including one from László Moholy-Nagy
Berlin Interbau, (International Building Exhibition), 1957 (1 letter): from mayor of Berlin
Berndt, Marianne, 1933 (1 letter)
Berti, Vincent, 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Better-Philadelphia Exhibition (Richard A. Protheroe, Harry
B. Nason, Hugh B. Sutherland), 1947 (1 letter)
Bevington, Alistair M., 1959 (1 letter): includes résumé
Bevington, Mariette (stained-glass designer), 1967 (1 letter): to Herbert Beckhart
Bharadwaj, Ajaya, 1955 (2 letters)
Biasini, E. J. (French prime minister), 1972 (1 letter)
Biddle, Mrs. Francis, 1962-1968 (3 letters): includes a funeral announcement for her husband)
Biddle, George, 1965 (4 letters): 3 from Breuer
Bier, Justus (University of Louisville), 1938 (3 letters)
Bigeleisen, Jacob (University of Rochester), 1970 (1 letter) Ronald S. Biggins and Associates, 1958 (1 letter)
Bijenkorfbeheer N.V., Amsterdam, 1967-1974 (2 letters): from Breuer
Bill, Alexander H., Jr., undated (1 calling card)
Blake, Peter (architect), undated and 1950-1976 (41 letters): a 1958 letter from Breuer is illustrated with a hand-drawn map by
Blake of Easthampton property
Blanton, John A., 1951 (1 letter)
Blaustein, Morton K., 1963-1965 (2 letters)
Bliss, Douglas P. (Glasgow School of Art), 1947 (1 letter): from Breuer
Bloeme, Sidney, 1963 (1 memorandum): from James S. Plaut
Blum, Kurt (photographer), 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Bode, Paul (architect), 1956 (1 letter)
Bodri, Ferenc, 1967-1975 (3 letters): 2 1975 letters from Breuer
Boehringer Ingelheim, Ltd., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Bogner, Walter, 1938-1960 (4 letters): see Project File for UNESCO
Boissonnas, Eric and Sylvie, undated and 1960-1978 (20 letters)
Bollingen Foundation, 1964 (1 invitation): to reception in honor of Sigfried Giedion
Bonaparte, Mrs. Robert L., 1955 (1 letter)
Bonomi, Maria, undated and 1958 (2 letters)
Bookman, Mrs. John, 1964 (1 letter)
Borbíró, Virgil (Hungarian architect), 1945-1956 (2 letters): includes Borbíró's obituary
Borglum, Paul, 1950 (1 letter): see Project File for UNESCO
Born, Karl, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Borsódy, István ("Stephen"; historian; Hungarian Legation) and Zsóka, 1946-1965 (5 letters): 1951 letter includes a biographical sketch of Borsódy by Aladár Szegedy-Maszák
Bortfeldt, Hermann (Büro Willy Brandt), 1963 (1 letter)
Bosch, Robert, 1934 (2 letters)
Bosserman, Joseph Norwood, 1963-1967 (2 letters)
Bosshard, J., 1956 (1 letter)
Boston Architectural Center, 1968 (1 letter)
Boston Redevelopment Authority, 1970 (1 letter)
Boston Society of Architects, 1946 (1 letter): from Breuer to John R. Abbott
Botond, Stephen G. ("Pista"; architect), 1958-1960 (2 letters): includes wedding announcement for Botond and Patricia Potter Luce
Bouchet, Maxime, 1953 (5 letters)
Bourget, Inc., 1955 (2 letters): from Breuer's office
Bower, John, 1954 (1 letter)
Bozzola, Vittorio, 1964 (2 letters)
Bradford, Carol (Mrs. Amory H. Bradford), 1951 (1 letter): from Breuer
Brandon-Jones, John, 1958 (1 letter)
Brandstätter, Elsbeth, 1936-1937 (2 letters)
Brassaï, Gyula Halász (Romanian photographer), undated (1 calling card): no signature
Peter Bratti Associates, 1974-1975 (2 letters): from Breuer
Bratti, Peter (A. Tozzini Tile Works, Inc.), 1958 (1 letter)
Braun, Wolfgang, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Braziller, George, 1966 (1 letter)
Bremer, Paul and Nina, 1975 (2 letters)
Breuer, Constance (née Leighton), 1947-1982 (22 letters): from Breuer and Breuer's office; a 1967 letter, 1967, from French filmmaker Gerard Calisti is routed from Robert Osborn; an invitation from M. Knoedler and Company concerns reception for Lina Kandinsky
Breuer, Francesca, undated and 1966-1973 (3 letters): includes a letter of recommendation from Tician Papachristou
Breuer, Hermina, 1950 (1 telegram): from Breuer
Brewer-Cantelmo Company, Inc., 1966 (3 letters): from Breuer's office
Brewer, Joseph, 1965 (1 letter)
Brewster, George W. W., Jr., undated and 1946 (2 letters)
Brey, David M. (architect), 1950 (1 letter)
Breydert, Katherine, 1946 (1 letter)
Brickel/Eppinger, Inc., 1963 (3 letters)
Brigham, Richard C., 1954 (1 letter)
Brion, Maud (secretary to Eric Cercler), 1966-1972 (10 letters)
Brissenden, Norine (Mrs. P. R. Brissenden), 1947 (1 letter)
British Chair Company, 1954 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
General Electric Appliances, Inc., 1947 (1 letter)
General Electric Company, 1943-1950 (6 letters)
General Fireproofing Company, 1943-1946 (4 letters)
Georges, Alexandre (photographer), 1974-1976 (2 letters): from Breuer's office
Geraghty, Margaret, 1960 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Gerbman, Joyce, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Giedion-Welcker, Sigfried and Carola, undated and 1932-1976 (62 letters): see Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM; Chapter for Relief and Post-War Planning)
Grimball, Henry G. (Harvard University), 1950 (1 letter)
Gropius, Walter ("Pius") and Ise ("Pia"), undated and 1933-1969 (120 letters): see Harvard University, Graduate School of Design; Project File for UNESCO
Grosse Pointe Public Library, 1960 (1 letter)
Grossi, Olindo (Architectural League of New York), 1957 (4 letters): see Pratt Institute; see Project File for UNESCO
Grosswirth, M. (New York University, College of Engineering), 1958 (1 letter)
Gröte, Dr. Andreas and Laura, 1961-1967 (3 letters)
Gröte, Ludwig and Gertrud Maud, 1956-1967 (5 letters)
Groupe Espace, 1952-1954 (5 letters)
Gruber, Gerd, 1965-1967 (2 letters)
Gruber, Richard D. (Independent Oil Company of Connecticut, Inc.), 1970 (1 letter)
Gruzen, Barney Sumner, 1956 (1 letter): from Breuer
Gstrein, Kassian, 1936 (1 letter)
Guenther, Carl Frederic, 1958 (1 letter)
Guerrero, Pedro E. (photographer), 1955 (1 letter): from Breuer
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1964 (1 letter): concerns the loan from Breuer of an Alexander Calder work
Guilford Leather Company, 1950 (1 letter): from Breuer
Gumbel, Robert W., 1950 (1 letter)
Gutheim, Polly (Mrs. Frederick A. Gutheim), 1946 (1 letter)
Haas, Robert (Ram Press), 1954-1957 (8 letters): from Breuer's office
Hächler, W. (architect), 1956 (1 letter): from Breuer
Hack, Lynda, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Hackett, Gabriel D. (photographer), 1963 (1 letter)
Hackley Art Museum, 1977 (3 letters)
Hagenbach, Marguerite: see Arp, Hans Jean
Hagerty, Francis (Hagerty Company), 1945 (2 letters)
Hagerty, John, 1958 (1 letter)
Haggerty, Brian (Sacred Heart Seminary), 1964 (1 letter)
Hagmann, John S. (and Robert A. M. Stern), undated (1 letter)
Hagood, M. Lindsey (Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Architectural Speakers Committee), 1952 (3 letters)
Hahn, Alexander, 1957-1958 (2 letters)
Halász, Dezso (International Union of Local Authorities), 1957-1959 (3 letters)
Halász, Ferenc, 1959 (2 letters)
Halborg, Rev. John E. (Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Advent), 1968 (1 letter)
Hall, John Hughes (Nardin & Radoczy), 1956-1957 (2 letters)
Halprin, Lawrence, 1966-1970 (2 letters)
Halverson, Marvin (National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA), 1955-1956 (4 letters)
Halvorson, Roy E., 1956-1971 (4 letters)
Hambuechen, Dr. Eva-Dorothee, 1937 (1 letter)
Hamer, R. D. (Aluminium Laboratories Ltd.), 1946 (1 letter)
Hammett, Ralph W., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Hancy, L., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Hansen, Thomas L. (University of Colorado, Boulder), 1956 (1 letter)
Hanson, B. (Mrs. John Hanson), 1955-1967 (3 letters)
Haraszty, Eszter, undated and 1956 (2 letters)
Harbert, Guido, 1950 (1 letter)
Hardoy, Jorge Ferrari (architect), 1965 (1 letter)
Hendry, Charles E. ("Chick"; University of Tornoto), 1950 (2 letters): see Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI) of the American Jewish Congress
Henin, Mme. S., 1956 (2 letters)
Henze, Wilfried, 1964 (1 letter)
Herbe, Paul (architect), 1963 (1 letter)
Herford, Julius G., 1945 (1 letter)
Herman, Harold M., undated (1 letter)
Hermanson, Ray T. (Trynor & Hermanson, Architects), 1957 (1 letter)
Herrera, Alberto Rodriguez (El Recreo, Centro Profesional del Este), 1960 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Herrey, Hermann (architect), 1946-1947 (3 letters)
Herter, Susan and Chris, undated (1 letter)
Hertner, W. (architect), 1939 (1 letter)
Hertzell, Tage (Meningsblad for Unge Arkitekter), 1956 (1 letter)
Hervé, Lucien, 1960 (4 letters): see Project File for UNESCO
Herz, Alexandra, 1965-1967 (2 letters)
Hess, Orvan W., 1976 (1 letter)
Hester, James M. (New York University, Washington Square), 1963-1970 (2 letters)
Hetényi, George, 1954 (1 letter)
Heyer, Paul O., 1965-1970 (11 letters)
Heyman, Marla, undated (1 letter)
Heywood-Wakefield Company (Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Paul Posser), 1944 (6 letters)
Higgins, Ambrose S. (architect), 1947 (1 letter)
Hill, Albert Henry, 1950-1951 (2 letters)
Hill and Knowlton, Inc., 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Hill, Henry and Heather, 1950-1964 (7 letters): see Project File for UNESCO
Hirschfeld, Ludwig, undated and 1935-1963 (18 letters)
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 1975 (2 letters): from Breuer
Hudnut, Joseph ("Vi"; Harvard University) and Claire, undated and 1946-1947 (3 letters): see American Society of Planners and Architects (ASPA); Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), Chapter for Relief and Post-War Planning; Harvard University, Graduate School of Design
Hug, Hattula Moholy-Nagy (daughter of László Moholy-Nagy), 1976 (1 letter)
Hungarian Alumni Association, undated (1 letter): includes a hand-drawn map, 8 photographs of Hungarian cityscapes, 4 photographs of city views, and a drawing of the facade of a building
Hunter, Louise, 1947 (1 letter)
Hurley, Jane C., 1947 (1 letter): from Breuer
Hurwitz, Joe, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Hutchhausen, Walther, 1937 (1 letter)
Hutchins, John Jay (Law Offices of S. G. Archibald), 1963-1969 (14 letters): see Project File for UNESCO
Hutton: E. F. Hutton Company, 1946-1951 (7 letters)
Huygens, W., 1957 (1 letter)
Ichban [?], Hans ("Zero"), undated and 1939 (2 letters)
Ikuta, Tsutomu, 1951 (1 letter)
Illinois, University of, Chapter of AIA, 1959 (2 letters)
Illinois, University of, Urbana, 1957-1964 (4 letters)
Ilmanen, J. William, 1955-1956 (2 letters)
Immanuel, M., 1946 (2 letters)
India, ambassador from, 1965 (1 invitation): to Nehru
N.V. Induventa, 1935 (1 letter)
Ingrand, Max, undated (2 letters)
Institute der Schwestern, Baldegg, Switzerland, 1970-1975 (5 letters): 4 from Breuer
Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, 1970 (1 letter)
Institute of Contemporary Art, 1954-1956 (3 letters): see Project File for UNESCO
Institute of Contemporary Art, Department of Design in Industry, 1951 (3 notices of meetings)
Institute of Design, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1953-1959 (6 letters)
Institute of International Education, 1960-1961 (4 letters)
Instituto Internazionale di Arte Liturgica, 1970 (1 letter)
Interiors Incorporated, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Interiors International, 1963 (4 letters)
Interiors magazine, 1950 (1 letter)
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), 1963-1974 (4 letters): 2 from Breuer
International Business Machines (IBM) Deutschland, 1970 (1 letter)
International Congress for Engineering Education, 1947 (2 letters)
International Congress for Modern Architecture: see Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM)
International Contract Furnishings, Inc., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
International Design Conference, Aspen, Colorado, 1953-1955 (4 letters)
International Lighting Review, 1961 (1 letter)
International Rescue Committee, Inc., undated (1 letter)
Iowa State College, 1960 (1 letter): see Myers, John S.
Iran, empress of, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Irving & Casson/A. H. Davenport Company, 1945 (1 letter): see Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI)
Irving, Michael H. (Irving and Jacob), undated and 1968-1971 (4 letters)
Kennedy, John Fitzgerald, 1961-1963 (3 letters): from the White House
Kennedy, Robert Woods (first architect in Gropius-Breuer office, Cambridge, Massachusetts), undated and 1950 (3 letters): see American Society of Planners and Architects (ASPA)
Kennerly, Albert (Kennerly Construction Company, Inc.), 1947 (1 letter)
Keogh, Eugene J. (Halpin, Keogh & St. John), 1970 (1 letter)
Kepes, György (architect) and Juliet, undated and 1924-1978 (29 letters)
Maas, Carl ("Happy"/"Hap"; editor, House Beautiful), 1937-1946 (6 letters)
Maas, Walter, 1947 (1 letter): from Breuer
Macomber, George A. (Cambridge Trust Company), 1947 (2 letters)
Madison, Bob, 1951 (1 letter)
I. Magnin, San Francisco, 1961 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Magyar Album, 1956 (1 letter)
Magyar épitomuvészek Szövetsége magazine, 1956-1977 (4 letters)
Maki, Fumihiko (Harvard University), 1963 (1 letter) George E. Mallison Importing Company, 1950-1955 (2 letters)
Manders, Dave, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Mandl, Zoltán, 1939 (1 letter)
Manfred, Ernest F., 1966 (1 letter)
Mang, Karl (architect), 1967 (1 letter)
Manitoba, University of, Students' Architectural Society, 1953 (1 letter)
Mantel, H. J., 1951 (1 letter)
Manton, Mr. and Mrs. John, 1967 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Marbleloid, Inc., 1946 (1 letter)
Marine-Air-Research Corporation, 1946 (1 letter): from Breuer
Maroy, Jean-Paul, 1981 (1 letter): from Robert F. Gatje William L. Marshall, Ltd., 1944-1947 (8 letters)
Marson, Bernard A. (architect), 1968 (1 letter)
Marston, Natalie (Institute of Contemporary Art), 1951 (1 letter)
Martens, Michel (Hedendaagse Kerkelijke Kunst), 1956-1957 (2 letters)
Martignetti, Antonio, 1956 (1 letter)
Martin, J. L. (architect), 1938 (1 letter)
Martin, Leslie and Sadie, undated and 1954 (3 letters)
Mary College and the Annunciation Priory, 1963-1976 (6 letters)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Art Committee, 1968 (1 letter)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Office of the President, 1961-1965 (2 letters)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, 1958-1960 (4 letters)
Massachusetts, University of, Amherst, 1968 (1 letter)
Massenot, J. P. (éditions Techniques), 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer's office Master, Dipak C. (Master Sathe and Kothari, Architects), 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Mathews, Joseph F., 1956 (1 letter)
Maucher, Helmut, 1976 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Maurer, Laurie, undated (3 letters)
Mauser Kommandit-Gesellschaft, 1966 (1 letter)
Mayekawa, Kunio, 1963 (1 letter)
McClean-Smith, Betty, 1940 (1 letter)
McComb, Peter K. and Karen, 1954-1956 (4 letters)
McGarry, Ann M., 1947 (1 letter)
McGill University, Montreal, 1967 (1 letter)
McGlynn Associates, Inc., 1956 (1 letter)
McGrath, Raymond (Office of Public Works, Dublin, Ireland), 1937-1969 (9 letters)
McGraw-Hill Publications, 1967 (1 letter)
McGuinness, William J. (Pratt Institute), 1951 (1 letter)
McIntyre, A. McVoy, 1950-1951 (2 letters)
McLaughlin, Peter, 1959 (1 letter)
McMillan, Louis and Peggy (Architects' Collaborative), 1945-1946 (2 letters)
McVitty, John D., 1946 (1 letter)
John O. Meadows Associates, Ltd., 1984-1985 (2 letters)
Medical Economics, 1960 (1 letter)
Meier, Richard Alan, undated and 1957-1967 (5 letters)
Meldrum, Andrew, 1956 (1 letter): from Breuer
Meller, Herbert, 1969-1970 (4 letters)
Mellon, Mary, 1938 (1 letter)
Meng, John J. (Hunter College), 1963 (1 letter)
Menken, Julian (Julian Menken and Associates), 1964 (1 letter)
Merit Studios, Inc., 1965 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Merle, André (André Merle Associates, Architectural Engineers), 1946 (1 letter)
Merrill and Holmbren, Architects, 1954 (1 letter): concerns Campbell Building Company
Merrill, Ruth P., 1950-1964 (2 letters)
Metropolitan Milwaukee War Memorial, Inc., 1945 (4 letters): 1 to Walter Gropius
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1944-1975 (8 letters)
Metropolitan Structures, Inc., 1974 (2 letters): from Breuer's office
Metropolitan Washington Board of Trade, 1969 (2 letters)
Meunier, John, 1957 (1 letter)
México, Consulado Honorario de, 1938 (2 letters)
Meyer-Bohe, Walter, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Michaëlis, Lorenz S. (Swiss doctor), undated (1 letter)
Michel, John (General American Transportation Corporation), 1947-1948 (2 letters)
Michelson, Val (architect), 1970 (1 letter)
Michigan, University of, Ann Arbor, 1957-1963 (19 letters)
Middelhauve, Dr. F. G., 1963 (1 letter)
Mies Van der Rohe, Ludwig, 1945 (1 letter): from Breuer introducing Sanford L. and Helen Berger, architects
Mihályfy, Károlyné, 1966 (1 letter)
Millar, L. R., 1935 (1 letter)
Millard, Charles W., 1957 (1 letter)
Miller Company, 1945-1947 (2 letters)
Miller, Flora W. (Mrs. G. MacCulloch Miller), undated (1 letter)
Miller, H. Wisner, 1968-1969 (2 letters)
Herman Miller Furniture Company, 1951-1954 (4 letters): from Breuer
Miller, Rev. John (St. Charles Seminary), 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Miller, Richard J., 1955 (1 letter)
Miller, Steve, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Milliken, W. H. (Binney & Smith Company), 1951 (1 letter)
Mills, Mrs. Edward E., 1954 (1 letter): from William W. Landsberg
Mills, Willis N. (Sherwood, Mills and Smith, Architects), 1960-1969 (2 letters)
Ministre d'état Chargé des Affaires Culturelles, 1963 (1 letter): from Breuer
Minnesota Society of Architects, 1958 (1 letter)
Minnesota, State of, Board of Registration, 1954 (2 letters)
Minnesota, University of, 1953 (1 letter)
Miró, Joan, 1959-1963 (2 letters): 1 from Breuer
Mitchell and Ritchey, 1947 (2 letters)
Mitchell, Mary, 1954 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Miya & Company, 1956 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Modern Industry, 1947 (1 letter)
Modern Master Tapestries, Inc., 1974-1975 (4 letters): from Breuer's office
Moffett, Toby, 1974 (1 letter)
Moholy, Lucia, 1957-1958 (5 letters)
Moholy-Nagy, László ("Lakci") and Sibyl, 1934-1955 (40 letters): includes a 1946 exhibition catalog for a Walter Gropius exhibition at the School of Design, Chicago; see also Hug, Hattula Moholy-Nagy
Moldcast Products, Inc., 1950 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Molitor, Joseph W. (photographer), 1955-1975 (5 letters): 4 from Breuer
Molnár, Farkas (Hungarian architect), undated and 1933-1940 (25 letters)
Mongan, Agnes, 1938 (1 letter)
Montague, Harvey, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Montgomery, Elizabeth (Mrs. Wilmot), 1950 (1 letter)
Moore, Henry, 1946-1962 (13 letters): 6 from Breuer
Moore, Joe A., 1945 (2 letters)
Moore, Paul S. (architect), 1966-1967 (3 letters)
Morassutti, Mangiarotti, 1961 (1 letter)
Moretti, Bruno, 1936 (1 letter)
Morgan, Alice, 1939 (1 letter)
Morgan, Sherley W. (Princeton University), 1952 (3 letters)
Móricz, Miklós, 1947 (1 letter)
Morrell, Mrs. Ben, 1965 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Sydney Morrell & Company, Inc., 1973-1976 (4 letters)
Morris, Walter (Fuller & Smith & Ross, Inc.), 1950 (1 letter)
Morrow, Margot, 1950 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Mory, Bob, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Moschette, Angela, 1950 (1 letter)
Motherwell, Robert, 1968 (1 letter)
Muguruza Otaño, José María (architect), 1935-1967 (3 letters)
Mulford, Edwin H., 1966 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Murray, J. A. (University of Toronto School of Architecture), 1947-1956 (3 letters)
Murrow, Mrs. Edward R., 1961 (1 letter)
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 1969 (2 letters)
Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, 1954 (1 letter)
Museu de Arte Moderna do São Paulo, 1956 (1 letter concerning IV Bienal de S. Paulo)
Museum of Contemporary Crafts, 1967 (7 letters)
Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1941-1976 (49 letters)
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, 1967 (3 letters)
Museum of the City of New York, 1959 (2 letters)
Muskat, Irving E., 1968 (2 letters)
Mutsu, Masako, 1964-1965 (2 letters): from Breuer
Myers, John S. and Shirlee, 1955-1959 (4 letters)
Myers, Ralph E., 1958 (2 letters)
Myers, Robert L., 1950 (1 letter)
Nadeau, Eleanor Saxe, 1950 (1 letter)
Nader, Fouzieh, 1972 (2 letters)
Nagare, Masayuki, 1963-1965 (6 letters): 5 letters from Breuer
Nagel, Chester (architect), 1968 (1 letter)
Nagy Iván, Dr. Vitéz (Ministry Secretary), undated (1 letter)
Najibullah, Yousof, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Napier, Frieda (Mrs. Ian Napier), undated and 1937 (7 letters)
Nathan, Carl H. (Suncraft), 1945 (1 letter)
National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, undated (1 letter)
National Citizens for Johnson and Humphrey, 1964 (1 letter)
National Committee of Arts, Letters and Sciences for John F. Kennedy for President, 1960 (2 letters)
National Concrete Masonry Association, 1958-1959 (7 letters)
National Council of American Soviet Friendship, Inc., Architects' Committee, 1944-1945 (13 letters)
National Council of American Soviet Friendship, Inc., Building Industry Committee, 1946 (6 letters)
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, 1946-1959 (5 letters): request recommendations for Jean Bodman Fletcher, I. M. Pei, and Richard G. Stein
National Council of Churches, 1955 (1 letter)
National Council on Schoolhouse Construction, 1951 (1 letter)
National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1965-1968 (47 letters): 1967 letter from Breuer includes typescripts concerning Josef Albers and Constantino Nivola; 1968 encloses a letter from Philip Johnson; see American Academy of Arts and Letters National Society of Interior Designers, Inc., 1958 (1 letter) National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association, 1955 (1 letter from Murray S. Emslie)
National Trust for Historic Preservation, 1975 (2 letters): from Breuer's office
Pack, Nancy (Mrs. Howard Meade Pack), undated and 1953 (2 letters)
Paine Furniture Company, 1946 (1 letter)
Pajor, Zoltán, 1938-1947 (7 letters)
Palestrant, Stephen, 1963 (1 letter)
Palmer Physical Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey, 1945 (1 letter)
Papachristou, Tician and Judy, undated and 1967-1974 (6 letters)
Papadaki, Stamo, 1945-1951 (14 letters): see Commission on Community Interrelations (CCI) of the American-Jewish Congress; Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM), Chapter for Relief and Post-War Planning
Praeger, Frederick A. (Frederick A. Praeger, Inc.), 1959-1969 (19 letters): includes a 1959 transcript of Praeger's conversation with Breuer concerning the publication of a book on Breuer's life work
Pratt Institute, 1953-1969 (11 letters)
Présentè, G. M., 1954 (1 letter): see Project File for UNESCO
Prestressed Concrete Institute, 1970 (1 letter)
Price, Thomas M., 1946 (1 letter)
Prichard, Theodore J. (University of Idaho), 1946-1950 (3 letters)
Schawinsky, Xanti and Irene, undated and 1934-1964 (14 letters)
Schecter, Jack H. (architect), 1950 (1 letter)
Schendell, Hal, 1947 (2 letters): to Eliot Noyes
Schickel, William J., 1964 (1 letter)
Schillinger, Emilio F., 1964 (1 letter)
Schleifer, Fritz, 1934 (1 letter)
Schlemmer, Tut (Mrs. Oscar Schlemmer), 1960-1965 (3 letters)
Schlesinger, Alajos, undated (1 letter)
Schmalenbach, Werner (Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen), 1976 (2 letters)
Schmid, Elsa, 1950 (1 card): sent jointly with J. B. Neumann
Schmidt, Benno C. (J. H. Whitney & Company), 1970 (1 letter)
Schmidt-Gellerau, Karl, 1934 (3 letters)
Schmieg & Kotzian, 1945 (1 letter)
Architekturbüro Joachim Schmitz, 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Schnall, Ben (photographer), undated (2 letters) vSchneck, Adolf G. (architect), 1947-1950 (2 letters)
Schneider-Manzell, Toni (Biennale Christlicher Kunst der Gegenwart Salzburg), 1964 (2 letters)
Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, undated (1 invitation): to meet Walker Evans
Schoendorff, Ellen G., 1937 (1 letter)
Schömer, Ervin (architect), 1974-1975 (6 letters)
Schorer, Mark, 1960 (1 letter): from Breuer
Schultz, Lili, 1964 (1 letter)
F. Schumacher & Company, 1954-1964 (2 letters): from Breuer's office
Schuster, Mathias and Gerda (Schuster & Geiger), 1950-1964 (3 letters)
Schweighofer, Dr. Fritz, 1960 (1 letter)
Science Illustrated, 1955 (1 letter): from Breuer
Scitorszky, Hanna, 1966 (1 letter)
Scott, Stuart N. (Dewey, Gallantine, Bushby, Palmer & Wood), 1958 (1 letter)
Seagram-Distillers Corporation: see Kessler-Gallacher & Burton
Sears, Roebuck and Company (Arthur M. Wood), 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer concerning luncheon for Alexander Calder
Segal, Georgette, 1954 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Seghers, Pierre, 1963 (1 letter)
Segner, Marvin H., and John C. R. O'Neill (consulting engineers), undated (1 letter)
Segre, Mr., 1959 (2 letters): from Breuer
Seidel, Bert (architect), 1955 (2 letters)
Seidler, Harry (architect, Black Mountain College), 1946-1978 (24 letters)
Sekey, Sue, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Selinger, Hans, 1956 (1 letter)
Selwood, Christopher, 1958-1959 (2 letters): see also Gardner-Medwin, R. J.
Selye, Hans, 1967 (1 invitation): to George Washington Awards Dinner in honor of Breuer, Selye, and Watson Kirkconnell
Semrad, Peter H., 1957 (1 letter)
Senix Aerial (Don Preuss), 1947 (1 letter)
Sert, José Luis (architect) and Moncha, 1945-1970 (7 letters): see National Council of American Soviet Friendship, Inc., Architects' Committee; Project File for UNESCO
Setzer, H. O. (Spartan Tire & Recapping Company), 1947 (3 letters)
Sevely, Marvin, 1951 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Seyton, Mrs., 1954 (1 letter)
Shackleton, Edwin, 1951 (1 letter)
Shand, James (Art and Technics, Ltd.), 1950 (1 letter)
Shankland, Graeme, 1939 (1 letter)
Shannon, Edgar Finley (University of Virginia), 1967 (1 invitation): to Founder's Day Exercises
Sharon Forest Service Company, Inc., 1950 (5 letters)
Shattuck, George, 1946 (1 letter): from Breuer
Shelton Roofing Company, Inc., 1956 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Vitrum magazine (Centro Informazioni e Studi per le Applicazioni del Vetro nell'Edilizia e nell'Arredamento; C.I.S.A.V.), 1955 (1 letter)
Vogel, George S. (Temple Israel, Cortlandt), 1951 (1 letter)
Voigt, James D. (Voigt and Fourré, Architects), 1958 (4 letters)
Volante, Julio C., 1955-1963 (2 letters)
von Debschitz, Irene, 1935 (1 letter)
von Erffa, H., 1951-1968 (2 letters)
von Meyerburg, Henrietta [?], undated (1 letter)
von Moltke, Wilhelm Viggo, 1946-1958 (4 letters)
von Segesser, Beat and Francisca, 1968-1975 (1 letter, plus 4 from Breuer)
Wachsmann, Konrad (architect/designer, General Panel Corporation), 1945-1965 (8 letters): see National Council of American Soviet Friendship, Inc., Architects' Committee
Wadsworth, Suzanne G., 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer's office
Wagner, Martin (Harvard University), 1946 (2 letters)
Senator Wagner Memorial Dinner, 1965 (1 invitation): from mayor of New York
Walker and Company, 1966-1967 (2 letters): includes a typescript about Breuer; see also Heyer, Paul O.
Walker Art Center, Center Arts Council, 1959-1962 (12 letters)
Walker, H. E. L. (Universal Moulded Products Company, Ltd.), 1943 (1 letter)
Walker, Ralph (AIA), 1951 (1 letter): from Walter Gropius
Walker, Vicki, 1968 (1 letter): from Breuer
Ward, Ernest and Priscilla (Sprague Electric Company), 1946 (2 letters)
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Watson, Arthur K. (U.S. Embassy, Paris), 1970-1972 (2 letters)
Watson, Thomas, 1970 (1 letter)
Wattjes, Professor J. G., 1935 (1 letter)
Webb & Knapp (Canada), Ltd., 1963 (3 letters)
Weidler, Charlotte (Bauhaus Ausstellung), 1968 (1 letter)
Weidlinger, Paul, 1946: see Project File for UNESCO
Weidlinger Associates, 1983-1984 (2 letters)
Weiner, Paul L., 1950-1966 (2 letters)
Weinstein, Jerry, 1945 (1 letter)
William H. Weintraub & Company, Inc., 1943-1947 (3 letters)
Weiz [?], Tiberio, 1939 (1 letter)
Weizenblatt, Sprinza, 1946-1963 (20 letters)
Wenzler, William P. (architect), 1965-1968 (4 letters)
Weren, Edward C., 1946 (1 letter)
Werner, Ingrid, 1963 (3 letters)
Wertz, Mr. (Der Finanzminister des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen), 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer
West China Development Corporation, 1947 (1 letter)
West Coast Stained Shingle Company, 1950 (1 letter): from Breuer
Westcott and Mapes, Inc. (architects and engineers), 1970 (1 letter)
Western Arts Association, 1959 (4 letters)
Western Reserve University, 1958 (5 letters)
Westport Public Library, 1975 (1 letter): from Breuer
Zahedi, H. E. Ardeshir (ambassador of Iran), 1974-1975 (4 letters): from Breuer
Zanuso, Marco (architect; Olivetti), 1957 (1 letter): from Breuer
Zechlin, Hans Josef, 1950 (1 letter)
Ziegler, Barbara, 1947 (1 letter)
Ziegler, Frank, 1974 (1 letter): from Breuer
Ziegler, Richard, undated (1 letter)
Zwick, Virgil J., 1959 (1 letter)
Collection Restrictions:
The microfilm for this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.
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:
Marcel Breuer papers, 1920-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the microfilming of this collection was provided by the Gerta Charitable Trust. Funding for the digitization of the microfilm was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The papers of architect and designer Florence Knoll Bassett, measure approximately 2 linear feet dating from 1932 to 2000. Through correspondence, sketches, drawings, designs, subject files, photographs, and printed material, the collection selectively documents Knoll Bassett's education, her work with Knoll Associates from the 1940s until her resignation in 1965, and projects undertaken since her retirement. It is an important source of information on the development of interior architecture and design from the 1940s to the 1970s.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of architect, and interior designer and planner Florence Knoll Bassett, measure approximately 2 linear feet dating from 1932 to 2000. The collection selectively documents Knoll Bassett's education and her career at Knoll Associates, Inc. from the 1940s until her resignation in 1965, in addition to personal design projects and other activities after leaving the company. It is an important source of information on the development of interior architecture and design from the 1940s to the 1970s, chronicling the Knoll mission to synthesize space, furniture, and design by creating interiors based on practical use, comfort, and aesthetics.
The collection documents the growth of Knoll's international reputation for its modern furnishings and interiors and the impact of a business philosophy that encompassed design excellence, technological innovation, and mass production. The material includes a chronology of Knoll Bassett's career; a portfolio of sketches, drawings and designs; photographs of Knoll Bassett and others; subject files containing sketches and photographic material; letters from friends, colleagues, clients and others; awards received by Knoll Bassett throughout her career; and printed material.
Much of the material is annotated with historical and biographical notes written by Knoll Bassett which provide invaluable contextual information for the materials found therein. The notes are dated 1999 in the Container Listing, under the assumption that they were written by Florence Knoll Bassett as she was arranging her archival papers.
Arrangement:
Before donating her papers to the Archives of American Art, Knoll Bassett organized the material in portfolios and color-coded files and designed four containers for them. Because the method of arrangement in itself provides insight into Knoll Bassett's style and creativity the collection has been minimally processed with the addition of acid-free materials for preservation reasons and the transcription of labels which may, over time, become detached. The original order of the collection has been retained throughout.
The collection was organized into what Bassett termed "storage units," the first container being divided into three units and the collection as a whole being divided into six units. Knoll Bassett supplied a detailed inventory of the contents of each container and the subjects represented in each porfolio or folder. Subject headings from this inventory have been used in the Series Description/Container Listing. Knoll Bassett also supplied a vita summarizing her career and copies of this, and her original container inventory are enclosed with the collection and can be consulted at AAA's research center in Washington D.C.
The collection is arranged as seven series. These series represent the categories into which Knoll Bassett organized the material, with the exception that Letters and Awards are presented as two series in the finding aid. Most of the items in Series 1 to 4 are presented as portfolios in spiral-bound notebooks and the remainder of the collection is organized in folders.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1932-1999 (Box 1; 1 portfolio)
Series 2: Selected Publications, 1946-1990, 1999 (Box 1; 1 portfolio)
Series 3: Drawings, Sketches, and Designs, 1932-1984, 1999 (Boxes 1-2; 2 portfolios)
Series 4: Photographs and Printed Material, 1956-1997, 1999 (Box 2; 1 portfolio)
Series 5: Subject Files, circa 1930s-1999 (Box 3; 1.0 linear ft.)
Series 6: Letters, circa 1930s-2000 (Box 4; 7 folders)
Series 7: Awards, 1954-1999 (Box 4; 6 folders)
Biographical Note:
Florence Knoll Bassett (1917-2019) was born Florence Schust and was affectionately known as Shu by her colleagues and friends. She was orphaned at age 12 and then cared for by Emile Tessin, a friend of the family whom her mother had appointed as Florence's legal guardian in the event of her death. When arrangements were being made for Florence to attend boarding school she was given the opportunity to make the selection. Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, held a strong aesthetic appeal for her and she "made an immediate decision that it was the right place for me," beginning her architectural studies under the school's art director, Rachel de Wolfe Raseman.
At Kingswood Knoll Bassett met the Saarinen family, studying under Eliel Saarinen and developing her interest in texture and color through her friendship with Loja Saarinen who supervised the school's weaving studio. Following Florence's graduation from Kingswood in 1934, Eliel Saarinen encouraged her to spend some time at Cranbrook Academy of Art before attending an accredited architecture school. She spent the next two years at Cranbrook working closely with advanced students and artists such as the Saarinens and Carl Milles, and gaining experience in all aspects of design.
Knoll Bassett then studied for two years at the Architectural Association in London, spending summers with the Saarinens in Europe. She completed her formal training at the Illinois Institute of Technology where she studied under Mies van der Rohe, whom she credits with having "a profound effect on my design approach and the clarification of design."
After graduation Knoll Bassett worked for architecture firms in Boston and New York where she met Hans Knoll who was then in the process of establishing a furniture business. In 1943 she began working for him in her spare time as an interior space planner and designer. In 1946 the two were married and formed Knoll Associates, Inc.
As director of the Knoll Planning Unit, Knoll Bassett established herself as one of the most important and influential interior planners and designers of the second half of the twentieth century. Believing that intelligent design "strikes at the root of living requirements and changing habits," she established the practice of working closely with the corporate sector to determine the needs of the people who would actually use the spaces that her company designed. Her connections with leading contemporary architects and designers, and the company's commitment to crediting designers by name and paying them royalties, laid the foundations for the strong working relationships upon which the commercial success of Knoll Associates was built. Drawing on a pool of top architects and designers, many of whom were personal friends, Knoll Bassett directed the company's Bauhaus approach, incorporating design excellence, technological innovation, and mass production in a seamless package of "total design."
While Knoll Bassett oversaw the creative process of the Planning Unit's operations in its entirety, she was also directly responsible for many of the individual elements used in the Unit's projects. During the war years, she worked with her designers to overcome the scarcity of materials, establishing Knoll Textiles in response to the dearth of available fabrics and textile colors, and developing the company's hallmark style of spare clean lines and vibrant colors in a functional, comfortable, and aesthetically appealing space. Finding that much of the "fill-in" furniture, primarily cabinetry, that she envisaged in many of her plans was not available, Knoll Bassett designed the pieces herself. She used the Knoll showrooms as "experimental laboratories" to convince clients to use modern ideas and materials, showcasing and putting into production the classic designs of people such as Eero Saarinen, Mies van der Rohe, Jens Risom, Harry Bertoia, Isamu Noguchi, and Marcel Breuer.
After the war Knoll Associates expanded to Europe through a series of government contracts which resulted ultimately in the formation of Knoll International. When Hans Knoll died suddenly in an automobile accident in 1955 Florence became president of the company. She married Harry Hood Bassett in 1958 and began to divide her time between New York and Florida. In 1959 she sold her interest in Knoll Associates to Art Metal and retired as President of the company the following year, while continuing to work as a consultant and serving as Design Director. In 1961 she became the first woman to be awarded the Gold Medal for Industrial Design by the American Institute of Architects, one of many awards received over the course of her career. In 1965 she resigned from Knoll Associates entirely after completing the interior design for the CBS headquarters in New York.
Following her retirement Knoll Bassett devoted more time to private commissions and other interests such as her campaign against billboards in Miami in the mid 1980s. She spent summers in Vermont and winters in Florida with her husband, until his death in 1991. In July 2001, Metropolis magazine published a rare interview with Knoll Bassett in which she reflects upon the life she so skillfully documented in the extraordinary gift of her archival papers to the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Florence Knoll Bassett in 2000.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Architects -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Furniture designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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:
Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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:
Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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:
Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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:
Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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:
Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment.
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:
Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Saarinen, Aline B. (Aline Bernstein), 1914-1972 Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1961-1963
Collection Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not digitized requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
NBC TV scripts or film prepared for television: Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from NBC Studios. 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.
Collection Citation:
Aline and Eero Saarinen Papers, 1906-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by Terra Foundation for American Art
Friedman, B. H. (Bernard Harper), 1926-2011 Search this
Container:
Box 8, Folder 42
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1951-1955
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is ACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission is required. Use of original materials 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:
Bernard Harper Friedman papers, 1926-2011, bulk 1943-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Massimo Vignelli, 2011 June 6-7. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
