Records of four of Nathan Halper's Provincetown galleries measure 4.2 linear feet and date from 1952-1979. The records relate to Kootz Gallery, H-C Gallery, HCE Gallery, and Sun Gallery - all based in Provincetown. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with artists, estate executors, collectors, galleries, and museums. There are also scattered business and financial records documenting operations and sales, photographs and slides, printed materials, and one poem. Correspondents include Milton Avery, Anthony Caro, John Murray Cuddihy, Marsden Hartley, Hans Hofmann, Samuel Kootz, Robert Motherwell, David Smith, Richard Stankeiwicz, and many others.
Scope and Contents note:
Records of four of Nathan Halper's Provincetown galleries measure 4.2 linear feet and date from 1952-1979. The records relate to Kootz Gallery, H-C Gallery, HCE Gallery, and Sun Gallery - all based in Provincetown. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with artists, estate executors, collectors, galleries, and museums. There are also scattered business and financial records documenting operations and sales, photographs and slides, printed materials, and one poem. Correspondents include Milton Avery, Anthony Caro, John Murray Cuddihy, Marsden Hartley, Hans Hofmann, Samuel Kootz, Robert Motherwell, David Smith, Richard Stankeiwicz, and many others.
Biographical material consists of one literary poem.
The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with many artists, estate executors, gallery partners, collectors, galleries, and museums regarding works of art, sales, account balances, requests for information, and general updates.
Scattered business records are found for all four galleries and include a Kootz Gallery guest register, address books, corporation and partnership agreements for the Kootz, H-C, HCE, and Sun galleries, insurance policies, and a Kootz Gallery employee file. Both the guest register and address books were also used as general business related notebooks.
Financial material consists of inventory stock books, price lists and sales, checkbook registers, and general expense invoices/receipts for the four galleries. The undated stock books list artists' names, general artwork identification information, and prices. Additional sales information is found in price lists, correspondence, sales notebooks, and checkbook registers. Invoices and receipts also document general operating expenses.
Printed material includes newspaper clippings on the Provincetown art scene and major artists represented by Halper, three exhibition catalogs, and an event calendar from the National Association of Women Artists.
Photographic material consists of prints and slides of the Kootz, H-C, and HCE galleries; black and white and color prints of exhibitions by Harry Botkin, Adolph Gottlieb, Robert Motherwell, and Hans Hofmann; and black and white prints, color slides, and transparencies of select works of art shown at the galleries.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 6 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1953-1970 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1952-1979 (Boxes 1-2; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 3: Business Records, 1953-1970 (Box 2; .7 linear feet)
Series 4: Financial Material, 1953-1970 (Boxes 3-4; 2 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1952-1976 (Box 5; 3 folders)
Series 6: Photographic Material, 1953-1969 (Box 5; 11 folders)
Biographical/Historical note:
Nathan Halper (1907-1983) worked in Provincetown, Massachusetts as a contemporary American art dealer, writer, and James Joyce scholar.
Nathan Halper first moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1936 where he met and eventually married his wife, Helen Marjorie Windust Halper. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, their circle of friends included artists, writers, and academics drawn to the Provincetown art colony. Through friendships with Adolph Gottlieb and Fritz Bultman, Halper was introduced to Hans Hofmann, his students, and other abstract expressionist artists.
In 1949, Halper was invited to give a talk on James Joyce at Forum 49, a Provincetown summer lecture series on the future of art organized by Weldon Kees and held in a gallery at 200 Commercial Street. Speakers ranged from Jackson Pollock to poet laureate Howard Nemerov, and the series also presented one of the first major exhibitions of abstract expressionism in America. In 1952, Halper became the treasurer of the Provincetown Art Association (est. 1914), an influential social nexus that connected artists, galleries, patrons, and the public through memberships and annual events.
In 1953, he entered into a partnership with New York art dealer Sam Kootz and helped establish the Kootz Gallery in Provincetown. Their stable initially consisted of abstract expressionists Kootz represented in New York: Robert Motherwell, Hans Hofmann, Adolph Gottlieb, Fritz Bultman, and William Baziotes. Halper and Kootz mutually agreed to dissolve their partnership in 1954 and Halper opened the H-C Gallery with John Murray Cuddihy in 1955. After Cuddihy's departure at the end of the 1956 season, Halper opened the HCE Gallery (1957-1967), a name inspired by Joyce's Finnegan's Wake. In 1962, Halper entered into a one year partnership with Noah Goldowsky to help finance and run the Sun Gallery.
After the dissolution of the Kootz Gallery, Halper continued to represent Motherwell and, for a short time, Gottlieb in the Provincetown area, but quickly added other artists to the HCE stable. Through its relationship with New York dealers, such as Martha Jackson Gallery, Andre Emmerich Gallery, and Waddington Galleries, HCE was able to exhibit and sell works by Milton Avery, Gandy Brodie, Anthony Caro, Edwin Dickinson, Marsden Hartley, Hans Hoffman, Wolf Kahn, William King, Jan Muller, Elie Nadelman, David Smith, Richard Stankiewicz, Tal Streeter, and Anthony Vevers, among others.
Related Archival Materials note:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Kootz Gallery records and oral history interviews with Nathan Halper conducted by Dorothy Seckler, July 17, 1963 and by Robert Brown, July 8-August 14, 1980. Columbia University also holds Nathan Halper's papers concerning his literary scholarly work.
Provenance:
The Nathan Halper business records were donated by Nathan Halper in 1979. Additional materials were donated in 1983 and 1984 by his wife Helen Marjorie Windust Halper.
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.
The papers of New York City abstract expressionist painter William Baziotes and his wife Ethel measure 6.3 linear feet and date from circa 1900-1992, bulk 1935-1980. The collection includes William Baziotes biographical material, correspondence, writings, printed material, and photographs. The papers of Ethel Baziotes consists of correspondence mostly dated after her husband's death regarding exhibitions of his work, along with limited biographical material and writings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York City abstract expressionist painter William Baziotes and his wife Ethel measure 6.3 linear feet and date from circa 1900-1992, bulk 1935-1980. The collection includes William Baziotes biographical material, correspondence, writings, printed material, and photographs. The papers of Ethel Baziotes consists of correspondence mostly dated after her husband's death regarding exhibitions of his work, along with limited biographical material and writings.
Biographical material on William Baziotes consists of a bibliography, teaching files, a sound recording of an interview, membership cards, sales records, a sketchbook, and other miscellaneous material. There is one folder regarding Ethel Baziotes containing a few certificates and her college diploma.
Correspondence consists of letters to William and Ethel Baziotes. Notable correspondents include Lawrence Alloway, Alfred Barr, Andre Breton, Clement Greenberg, Peggy Guggenheim, David Hare, Jean Helion, Maria and Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, and others. There are also letters from the Samuel M. Kootz Gallery regarding the sales of William Baziotes's artwork and letters written by William Baziotes to his brother Christos. Letters to Ethel Baziotes include condolence letters as well as letters from museum and galleries regarding exhibitions of her husband's work.
Writings include William Baziotes's notes on various subjects, a list of book titles, and a transcript for a speech. Writings by others include essays about William Baziotes and other subjects.
Printed materials consist of clippings, announcements, magazines, and many exhibition catalogs, mostly on group exhibitions which included artwork by William Baziotes.
Photographs are of William Baziotes, Ethel Baziotes, family and friends, their residence, and his artwork. There are a also photographs of Meir Bernstein, Samuel Kootz, Paul Bodin, Maria Motherwell, Pablo and Maya Picasso, Rudi Blesh, Nathan Halper, Ethel Schwabacher, Clyfford Still, and others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 5 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1933-1982 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1936-1988 (Boxes 1-2; 1 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1950-1992 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1944-1992 (Boxes 2-7, 9; 4.1 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographs, circa 1900-1979, bulk 1940-circa 1963 (Boxes 7-9; 0.7 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
William Baziotes (1912-1963) was an abstract expressionist painter in New York City. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baziotes moved to New York City in 1933, where he studied painting at the National Academy of Design, 1933-1936. He participated on the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project as a teacher, 1936-1938, and painted for the Easel Painting Project, 1938-1940.
In 1941 he married Ethel Copstein. He had his first one-man show at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery in 1944. The Samuel M. Kootz Gallery, Inc. held a solo show for Baziotes in 1946 and continued to exhibit his works until 1958.
Baziotes taught at Subjects of the Artist, 1948; the Brooklyn Museum Art School and New York University, 1949-1952; the People's Art Center at the Museum of Modern Art, 1950-1952; and Hunter College, 1952-1962. Baziotes died in 1963.
Provenance:
The William and Ethel Baziotes papers were donated by Ethel Baziotes, widow of William Baziotes, in several installments from 1969 to 1993.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
0.8 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 1 reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1949-1980
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; writings and notes; financial data; sketchbooks; photographs; exhibition catalogs and clippings.
UNMICROFILMED: Correspondence with galleries and others; writings and notes; consignment and sales statements and other financial records from the Gres Gallery and the Martha Jackson Gallery, 1955-1961; a guest book from exhibitions sponsored by the Rainbow Art League of New York, 1973-1975; 3 sketchbooks, containing watercolor sketches and ink, charcoal, pencil, and crayon drawings; exhibition announcements and catalogs; clippings, and other printed materials; and photographs of Carton, Willem de Kooning, Rene d'Haroncourt, John Ferren, Clement Greenberg, John Hultberg, Martha Jackson, Samuel M. Kootz, Betty Parsons, Milton Resnick, works of art by Carton, and gallery installations.
REEL 2787: Fifteen exhibition catalogs, twelve clippings, a resume, and a photograph of Carton in his studio with a model.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and instructor; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 1978 and 1984 by Mr. & Mrs. Norman Carton.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The papers of American New York School painter Ludwig Sander measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1975. Found are biographical materials primarily consisting of army records; correspondence with family and colleagues discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities; diaries; personal scattered business records; address books and art history typescripts; sketchbooks and illustrations for magazines; photographs of Sander, his colleagues, his travels, and exhibition openings; and miscellaneous printed material. The collection documents Sander's career and interactions with some of the most important modern artists of twentieth century.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of American New York School painter Ludwig Sander measure 2.8 linear feet and date from 1910 to 1975. Found within the collection are biographical materials primarily consisting of army records; correspondence with family and colleagues discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities; diaries containing brief annotations of daily activities; personal business records including studio leases, teaching contracts, and miscellaneous receipts; notes and writings including address books and art history typescripts; art work consisting primarily of sketchbooks and illustrations for magazines; photographs of Sander, his colleagues, his travels, and exhibition openings; and miscellaneous printed material. The collection Sander's career and interactions with some of the most important artists of 20th century modern art.
Chronological correspondence primarily consists of letters from Sanders to his mother during his army service, and letters from his colleagues discussing exhibitions and other art-related activities. Correspondents include Clement Greenberg, Philip Guston, Yvonne Hagen, Gottfried Honegger, Sam Kootz, and Vaclav Vytlacil. There are single letters from Georgi Daskaloff, Philip Johnson, Richard Neutra, George Plimpton, and Maximilian Schell, and an invitation to a croquet party from Willem and Elaine De Kooning, Sander, Nancy Ward, and Franz Kline.
Arrangement:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1927-1969 (Box 1, 4; 9 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1931-1975 (Box 1; 28 folders)
Series 3: Diaries, 1931-1973 (Box 1; 11 folders)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1953-1974, undated (Box 2; 4 folders)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1951-1960, undated (Box 2; 8 folders)
Series 6: Art Work, circa 1930s-1970s (Box 2, 4; 18 folders)
Series 7: Photographs, 1910-1973, undated (Box 2, 4; 34 folders)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1926-1975, undated (Box 2-5; 30 folders)
Biographical Note:
American painter Ludwig Sander was born on July 18, 1906 in Staten Island, New York. After independent studies with Boardman Robinson and Alexander Archipenko, he attended the Art Students' League from 1928 to 1930. From 1931 to 1932, Sander studied art in Paris and with Hans Hofmann in Munich. While in Europe, he befriended many other artists including Balcomb Greene, Reuben Nakian, and Vaclav Vytlacil.
After Army service from 1942 to 1945, Sander returned to school, earning a B.A. in Art History from New York University in 1952. He taught at various schools including the Art Students' League, the School of Visual Art, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was also a charter member of The Club, a postwar group of New York artists famous for its polemic discussions.
From 1959, Sander regularly exhibited his art work and had solo exhibitions at prominent galleries including the Leo Castelli Gallery, Kootz Gallery, and the Knoedler Gallery. His work is in the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Ludwig Sander died July 3, 1975 in New York City.
Separated Materials:
Also available at the Archives of American Art are materials lent for microfilming (reel 32) consisting of printed material including catalogs and announcements, a biography, and reviews and articles by and about Sander, including excerpts from Sander's column in Saturday Review. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Ludwig Sander loaned printed material for microfilming in 1970. The Ludwig Sander papers were donated by the artist's widow, Kate Sander, in 1975.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sketches
Exhibition catalogs
Sketchbooks
Citation:
Ludwig Sander papers, 1910-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Samuel M. Kootz, 1964 Apr. 13. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Samuel M. Kootz conducted by Dorothy Seckler on 1964 Apr. 13, in New York, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Samuel M. Kootz (1898-1982) was an art dealer in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 59 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sound recording: 1 sound cassette and 1 sound tape reel
125 Pages (Transcription)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1980 July 8-Aug. 14
Scope and Contents:
An Interview of Nathan Halper conducted 1980 July 8-1980 Aug. 14, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Halper speaks of his family background and early interest in art; the beginning of his painting career; getting involved with the Beachcombers; the art scene in Provincetown in the 1930s and 1940s; his circle of artist friends; and Hans Hofmann's influence. Halper also speaks of his experiences with his own gallery, H.C. and H.C.E. Gallery. He recalls Edwin Dickinson, Charles Webster Hawthorne, Sam Kootz, and Robert Motherwell.
Biographical / Historical:
Nathan Halper (1907-1983) was an art dealer, writer, and James Joyce scholar from Provincetown, Mass.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
An interview of Richard Stankiewicz conducted 1979 June 26, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Stankiewicz speaks of his life since the Archives last interviewed him in the mid-sixties; joining the Zabriskie Gallery; the Loft Living Program and his struggles with city officials; the beginning of the respectability of modern art in America; deciding to leave New York City and move to Massachusetts; accepting a teaching position at the University of Albany; his ambivalence about teaching; his comments on photographs being shown to him of his art work over the years; how his ideas develop; how he doesn't mix his politics and art; an exhibition he did in Australia; and what he is working on right now. He recalls Hans Hofmann, Fairfield Porter, Virginia Zabriskie, Sam Kootz, David Smith, Julio Gonzales, Fernand Léger, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Richard Stankiewicz (1922-1983) was a sculptor and educator from Huntington, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 30 min.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also has interviews, video recordings, and the papers of Richard Stankiewicz.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Samuel Melvin Kootz. Kootz Gallery scrapbook #2, between 1931 and 1945. Kootz Gallery records, 1923-1966. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Samuel M. Kootz, 1960 Mar. 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of David Hare conducted 1968 Jan. 17, by Dorothy Seckler, for the Archives of American Art.
Hare speaks of his background and education; his start in commercial and color photography; his early sculpture; his first exhibition in 1944 with Peggy Guggenheim; later shows with Sam Kootz and Julien Levy; materials and techniques; his philosophy; abstract expressionism versus surrealism. He discusses several contemporary artists, including Barnett Newman, Kenneth Noland, Frank Stella and Jackson Pollock.
Biographical / Historical:
David Hare (1917-1992) was a sculptor from New York, N.Y.
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 others.
Correspondence, exhibition materials, writings, printed materials, photographs, sketchbooks, and scrapbooks.
REEL D114: Correspondence, including letters from students, friends, and institutions; sketchbooks; and scrapbooks. Correspondents include: Sperry Andrews, Benjamin G. Benno, Edith Brodsky, Alice Forman, George Grosz, Anita Hatofsky, Alvin and Helen King Hattorf, John E. Hubbard, Werner Koepf, Samuel M. Kootz, David Nathan Lund, Garnett McCoy, Walter Pach, Charles Allen Patterson, Rubin Reif, Alvin Ross, Sonia Sekula, Vaclav Vytlacil, and Franklin C. Watkins.
REEL 969: Correspondence, mostly concerning the exhibition and loan of paintings; exhibition catalogs and announcements; clippings; and photographs of his work with Kantor's notes analyzing them.
REEL 3784-3785 Biographical material; correspondence, including letters from Kantor's students, personal letters, letters of condolence to Kantor's widow after his death, and others; notes on painting and teaching, and drafts for lectures; business records, including statements from the Rehn Gallery, a record book of income and expenses, receipts and records relating to teaching and household expenses; art works, including working drawings, sketches and paintings on paper; exhibition catalogs and announcements; printed material; and photographs of Kantor and of his work.
REEL 439 AND SCANNED Photo of Kantor, taken by Kuniyoshi,and previously microfilmed under Photos of Artists I; it has now been scanned and returned to the Kantor papers.
ADDITION: A resume; a letter from Ala Story, 1972; ten notebooks and loose pages containing handwritten notes, essays, and other writings by Kantor; an account book, 1971-1973; photographs of the Kantor family, ca. 1905, photographs of Kantor, Kantor in his Welfleet, Mass. studio, his work, his New York studio at the time of his death taken by Lee Friedlander, and snapshots of the view of Union Square from his studio window; among the photographers are Peter A. Juley & Son, De Witt Ward, and Yasuo Kiniyoshi; exhibition catalogs and announcements, 1929-1971; reproductions of paintings by Kantor; and clippings, 1965-1974. Also included are letters from the Zabriskie Gallery to Mrs. Morris Kantor, 1976.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; New City, N.Y.
Provenance:
Materials on reels D114 and 969 donated 1963-1969 by Morris Kantor. Material on reels 3784-3785 donated 1976-1984 by Martha (Mrs. Morris) Kantor and Syracuse University, which had been given some of Kantor's papers. The addition was transferred from the National Museum of American Art, 1997, which had received it from Martha Kantor for use in researching the large number of Kantor's works in the museum's collection.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New City Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Samuel M. Kootz conducted 1960 Mar. 2, by John Morse, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Samuel M. Kootz (1898-1982) is an art dealer in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 35 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
