Château de Méréville Park (Méréville, Essonne, France)
France -- Île-de-France -- Essonne -- Méréville
Date:
[between 1914 and 1949]
General:
A film negative is at Photographic Services, Smithsonian Institution. Negative Number 94-7115.
Mount reads: "[Painting by artist, Hubert Robert] Edward Van Altena, 71-79 W. 45th St., N.Y.C."
Historic plate number: "32."
Historic plate caption: "[label on recto:] Mereville; H. Robert [text printed on plate, visible from verso:] Hubert Robert."
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Gardens -- France -- Essonne -- Méréville Search this
Genre/Form:
Lantern slides
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
1 Photograph (lantern slide, hand-colored, 3.25 x 4 in.)
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Lantern slides
Date:
[between 1914 and 1949?]
General:
The painting appears to be in the style of French artist Hubert Robert (1733-1808), whose name was written on the lantern slide. The location of the original painting is not known.
Mount reads: "Hubert Robert, painter; Edward Van Altena [remaining text obscured]."
Historic plate number: "26."
Historic plate caption: "Hubert Robert."
Collection Restrictions:
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Collection Rights:
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, The Garden Club of America collection.
Sponsor:
A project to describe images in this finding aid received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care Initiative, administered by the National Collections Program.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
The Schaeffer Galleries records measure 1.6 linear feet and date from circa 1921 to 1982, with the bulk of the material dating from 1935-1950 when the gallery was most active. Owned by Hanns S. and Kate Schaeffer, the gallery first operated in Berlin from 1925 to 1939 and later in New York City from 1936 to circa 2000. Correspondence, subject and exhibition files, purchase records, printed materials, and photographs document the gallery's operations. Primary correspondents include art collector Arthur C. Tate and the gallery's Pacific Coast Director LeRoy Backus.
Scope and Contents:
The Schaeffer Galleries records measure 1.6 linear feet and date from circa 1921 to 1982, with the bulk of the material dating from 1935-1950 when the gallery was most active. Owned by Hanns S. and Kate Schaeffer, the gallery first operated in Berlin from 1925 to 1939 and later in New York City from 1936 to circa 2000. Correspondence, subject and exhibition files, purchase records, printed materials, and photographs document the gallery's operations. Primary correspondents include art collector Arthur C. Tate and the gallery's Pacific Coast Director LeRoy Backus.
Correspondence is with art collector Arthur C. Tate from 1933-1963 and Schaeffer Galleries' Pacific Coast director LeRoy Backus from 1938-1948. Scattered Artist/Research files contain primarily printed materials on Pablo Picasso, Ogden Pleissner, and Hubert Robert. There is also a list of art from various countries.
Exhibition files document Schaeffer Galleries' exhibitions of European Art, particularly Flemish and Dutch Old Masters. There are also one person exhibition files and a file concerning works of arts loaned for an exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art in 1938. The height of Schaeffer Galleries' activities from the late 1930s to the early 1950s, when the gallery held the most shows, are documented in the LeRoy Backus correspondence and exhibition series.
The gallery worked with art collector Arthur C. Tate and the financial records documenting these transactions are the only sales records in the collection. The series contains receipts and invoices for sales of decorative and other arts to Arthur C. Tate, including sales arranged by Schaeffer Galleries with other dealers.
Printed Materials include a scrapbook of clippings, a guest book, exhibition catalogues and announcements, and bulletins.
Photographs depict paintings, mostly portraits and landscapes by 16th through 18th century Dutch and Flemish Masters, plus one photograph of the painter Ann Phillips.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 6 series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1933-1963 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Subject Files, circa 1935-circa 1980 (4 folders; Box 1, 3)
Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1935-1953 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, 3, OV 4)
Series 4: Arthur C. Tate Purchase Records, 1932-1963 (4 folders; Box 1)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1938-1957 (0.5 linear feet; Box 2-3)
Series 6: Photographs, 1921-1982 (3 folders; Box 2-3)
Biographical / Historical:
Owned by Hanns S. and Kate Schaeffer, Schaeffer Galleries specialized in Old Masters paintings and drawings, originally focusing on works by Flemish and Dutch masters. The gallery operated in Berlin, Germany from 1925 to 1939 and in New York City from 1936 to circa 2000.
Hanns Schaeffer opened an art gallery in Berlin in 1921. He then established branches in London and San Francisco, all named Schaeffer Galleries. The Schaeffers closed all three branches in 1939 following the opening of their New York City gallery space in 1936. The New York gallery was first located at 61 East 57th Street in Manhattan, but changed locations a few times. As of 2000, Schaeffer Galleries had stayed at its location at 983 Park Avenue for over fifty years. Schaeffer Galleries was most active from the late 1930s until the early 1950s. During this period, the gallery held numerous exhibitions and built its reputation by selling paintings and drawings by Old Masters, primarily Flemish and Dutch, to private collectors and museums.
The Schaeffers also donated works of art to museums throughout their lives. They were knowledgable art dealers who advised museum directors and curators on selecting art work for their collections. For example, The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Leonardo da Vinci's ''Bear Walking'' and a Jean-Antoine Watteau were both acquired through the Schaeffer galleries. Other paintings and drawings that the Schaeffers sold through their gallery include Botticelli's ''Madonna and Child with Singing Angels'' at the Staatliche Museen in Berlin, Correggio's ''Salvator Mundi'' in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Rubens's ''Cleopatra'' at the Detroit Institute of Arts, and many paintings by Dutch artists such as Frans Hals and Rembrandt.
The couple ran the gallery together for three decades until Hanns Schaeffer died in 1967. Kate Schaeffer then became the owner and president of Schaeffer Galleries and continued managing the business for almost 20 years with more emphasis on drawings. Kate Schaeffer died at the age of 102 on December 20, 2000 at her home in Manhattan. Schaeffer Galleries closed circa 2000, shortly thereafter.
James J. Rorimer, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1955 to 1967, observed, "The Schaeffers are among the most serious, knowledgeable, and helpful art dealers who are enabling American museums to grow for the benefit of our public. They are friends who share unstintingly in helping curators, directors and trustees to choose with care the works of art which redound to the credit of their museums."
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of Kate (Mrs. Hanns) Schaeffer conducted June 18, 1975 by Paul Cummings.
The Getty Research Library holds 100 linear feet of the historical records of Schaeffer Galleries dating from 1925-1985.
Provenance:
Kate Schaeffer donated the Schaeffer Galleries records to the Archives of American Art in 1982.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Schaeffer Galleries records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Visitors' books
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Citation:
Schaeffer Galleries records, circa 1921-1982, bulk 1935-1950. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.
