Acee Blue Eagle was a Pawnee-Creek artist, poet, dancer, teacher, and celebrity. The papers relate to both Blue Eagle's personal and professional life. Also included are some materials of Blue Eagle's friend Mae Abbott and a collection of art by other Indians.
Scope and Contents:
This collection reflects the life and work of Acee Blue Eagle, internationally famed Indian artist of Oklahoma. Identified for his brilliant paintings of tribal ceremonies, legend and dance, Blue Eagle's work is represented in numerous private collections and museums both in this country and abroad.
A portion of the papers contains correspondence. Fan mail written by school children to Chief Blue Eagle of the Chief Blue Eagle television program is included. Letters regarding Blue Eagle's participation in Indian festivals and events, art shows and exhibitions, speaking engagements on Indian life and culture are found in the collection. Personal correspondence is included; most frequent correspondents are Devi Dja, Mae Abbott, and Charles E. Pond. There are approximately 100 letters from Devi Dja, approximately 90 to or from Mae Abbott, and approximately 36 from Charles E. Pond. Some letters addressed to these individuals from other friends and acquaintances are also within this collection.
Photographs comprise a large portion of the Blue Eagle collection. Included are not only portraits of the artist himself and photographs of his art work, but a large number of prints of Blue Eagle in full costume and other Indians engaged in tribal ceremonies, identified by tribe, whenever possible. Photographs of Mae Abbott, Devi Dja and the latter's Balinese dance troupe are identified. A file of negatives is arranged in the same subject order as the prints. Newspaper and magazine clippings regarding Blue Eagle's work and activities are also included in the collection. These clippings have not been arranged. In addition, Mae Abbott's recipes and notes for her cookbook, wood blocks, greeting cards and other miscellaneous publications can be found in the collection. These items have been sorted but not arranged.
Within the collection are also over 600 pieces of artwork. A good number are by Blue Eagle while most are by other Native artists. Artists whose are work are represented in the collection include Fred Beaver, Harrison Begay, Archie Blackowl, Woodrow Crumbo, Allan Houser, Ruthe Blalock Jones, Quicy Tahoma, Pablita Verde, and members of the Kiowa Five (Spencer Asah, James Auchiah, Stephen Mopope, Monroe Tsatoke).
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged into six series: 1) Personal; 2) Collections; 3) Artwork; 4) Television; 5) Correspondence; 6) Photographs.
Biographical / Historical:
Acee Blue Eagle was an artist, poet, dancer, teacher, and celebrity. Born Alex C. McIntosh in 1907, Blue Eagle attended Indian schools in Anadarko, Nuyaka, and Euchee, Oklahoma, and the Haskell and Chilocco Indian schools. Advanced study came at Bacone Indian College and the University of Oklahoma. At the latter, he studied with Oscar B. Jacobson. Privately he studied with Winold Reiss. Discrepancies exist in the records regarding his early life: born in either Anadarko or Hitchita, Oklahoma; he's cited as both Pawnee-Creek and 5/8 Creek without any Pawnee blood; his mother is either Mattie Odom, the first wife of Solomon McIntosh or Ella Starr, McIntosh's second wife.
A prolific painter who, for the sake of authenticity, carried out research in libraries and museums, Blue Eagle was an outstanding American Indian artist of the 1930s-1950s. His paintings hung in many exhibits, including the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts, 1932-1933; International Art Exhibition of Sport Subjects at Los Angeles, 1932; Chicago Century of Progress Exposition, 1934; a one-man show at the Young Galleries in Chicago; National Exhibition of Art at the Rockefeller Center in New York, 1936; a one-man show at the Washington, D.C., Arts Club, 1936; Museum of Modern Art, 1941; Northwest Art Exhibition at Spokane, Washington, 1944; a one-man show at the Gilcrease Institute in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1953; An Exposition of American Indian Painters in New York, 1955; and a one-man show at the Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, 1957. Between 1946 and 1965, over fifty galleries hung his paintings. Some pieces are among the permanent holdings of many institutions.
In 1934, Blue Eagle joined the Work Projects Administration (WPA) Public Works of Art Project, painting murals in public buildings. In 1935 at Oxford University, he participated in a program of the International Federation of Education and lectured on Indian art. A tour of Europe followed. He taught at Bacone Indian College from 1935-1938 where he founded the art program and became Director of Art. He also taught at the University of Kansas extension division in 1949 and Oklahoma State Technical College beginning in 1956. During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Force; and, following the war, he spent a few years attempting to get into the movies. During 1946-1952, he was married to his second wife, a famous Balinese dancer, Devi Dja, and became involved in her career, an involvement that was briefly reflected in his art. However, Dja and Blue Eagle divorced and Blue Eagle lived with Mae Wadley Abbott for the last years of his life. During the 1950s, he had a television show for children on a Tulsa-Muskogee station. Acee Blue Eagle died on June 18, 1959 of a liver infection.
Sources Consulted
Martindale, Rob. Muskogee Paying Tribute to Blue Eagle. Biographical/Genealogical data, Box 1, Acee Blue Eagle Collection, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
West, Juanita W. 1967. Acee Blue Eagle: A.C. McIntosh. Biographical/Genealogical data, Box 1, Acee Blue Eagle Collection, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
1907 -- Born August 17, 1907 on the Wichita Reservation, north of Anadarko, Oklahoma
1928 -- Graduated Chilocco High School
1929-1934 -- Attended Bacone College, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Tech
1935 -- Toured United States and Europe giving lecture-exhibition program, "Life and Character of the American Indian"
1935-1938 -- Established and headed art department at Bacone College at Muskogee
1936 -- Exhibited at the National Exhibition of Art, Rockefeller Center, New York
1942-1945 -- World War II, U.S. Air Force (Army)
1947-49 -- Free-lance work in New York and Chicago
1951-52 -- Artist-in-residence at Oklahoma Tech
1950-54 -- Conducted TV program, Muskogee, OklahomaToured U.S. West Coast exhibiting and lecturing about ways to improve TV programs for children
1958 -- Named Indian-of-the-Year by the American Indian Expostion at Anadarko, Oklahoma
1959 -- Died June 18, 1959
Related Materials:
Other materials relating to Acee Blue Eagle at the National Anthropological Archives include correspondence in the Solomon McCombs papers, 1914-1972, and correspondence with Betty Meilink under Manuscript 2011-20.
Provenance:
Acee Blue Eagle's private papers and collection of paintings were donated to the National Anthropological Archives by Mrs. Mae Abbott of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Restrictions:
There are no restrictions on access.
Rights:
Literary property rights to unpublished material in the collection in the National Anthropological Archives has been given to the public.
Series consists of Marsh's personal and professional correspondence. Among the correspondents are vaudeville performers and producers, artists, museums, galleries, publishers, greeting card companies, government officials, admirers, and former students, as well as family and friends. Correspondence largely concerns Marsh's career as a painter and illustrator, and his relationships with family, friends, and colleagues.
Correspondence documents his work as a vaudeville reviewer for the New York Daily News from 1922 to 1925; the sale and exhibition of his art work; the publication of his illustrations and caricatures in various magazines; his book illustrations; and the reproduction of his art work on greeting cards produced by American Artists Group and Living American Art, Inc. There are also extensive files (which also contain scattered business, financial, and travel documents) relating to his work on two federal art projects, murals in the Post Office Department, Washington, D.C. (1935) and the Customs House in New York (1937), and his assignment as an artist correspondent in Brazil during the Second World War (1943). Similar materials are also found amongst the business and financial papers in Series 7.
Correspondence documents his relationships with his father, Fred Dana Marsh, his first wife, Betty Burroughs, and his second wife, Felicia Meyer Marsh, as well as his relationships with friends and colleagues, including the English writer, Llewelyn Powys, the artists, Yasuo and Katherine Kuniyoshi, and the U.S. Senator (and former Yale classmate), William Benton, who ended up being one of the largest collectors of Marsh's work.
Letters from artists, such as Edward Laning, and curators, such as Lloyd Goodrich, provide some sense of Marsh's methods and techniques for creating art work (especially his use of the "Maroger medium") and his views on art and current art movements (especially Abstract Expressionism). Correspondence pertaining to the award competition for the U.S. Building at the New York World's Fair, which includes versions of Marsh's letters to and letters from Edward Bruce of the Treasury Department Section of Painting and Sculpture, is especially suggestive of Marsh's strong feelings of "despair" over the lack of originality in contemporary art.
General correspondence is typically arranged in chronological files, interspersed with files named according to correspondent. Letters are typically to Marsh, unless otherwise noted. Project correspondence is arranged according to the name of the project on which Marsh worked or to which correspondence pertains. Envelopes, which had at some earlier point been separated from correspondence, and greeting cards are arranged in files at the end of the series. An appendix of significant correspondent's names from the chronological files is included in this finding aid.
See Appendix for a list of selected correspondents from Series 2.
Appendix: Selected Correspondents from Series 2:
This list represents only a selection of correspondents and does not include names of family.
University of Rochester, College of Arts and Sciences: 1940
Weyhe Gallery (E. Weyhe): 1943
Whitney Museum of American Art: 1944, 1953, 1954
Wilder, Thornton: 1923
Worcester Art Museum: 1951
Wyeth, Andrew: 1952, 1953
Project CorrespondenceBiddle, George: 1935, 1943
Bruce, Edward: 1938
Dows, Olin: 1935, 1936
Jones, Cecil H.: 1936, 1937, 1938
Nordmark, Olle: 1935, 1936, 1937, 1941, 1942
Owen, William B.: 1936
Rowan, Edward B.: 1935, 1936
Sharkey, Alice M.: 1936
Watson, Forbes: 1936, 1937
Collection Restrictions:
The bulk of the collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not digitized 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:
Reginald Marsh papers, 1897-1955. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
This series includes letters written to William Gropper from 1916 until 1977, including some photocopies. Very few of William Gropper's responses are in this collection, which are mostly undated. There is also correspondence written by and to Sophie Gropper from 1980 to 1983. Notable correspondents include Louis Lozowick, Frank Crowninshield, Raphael Soyer, Robert Henri, and Frank Alvah Parsons. There are many letters from Ben Horowitz with the Heritage Gallery, which sold Gropper's art. Additionally, there are letters concerning William Gropper's participation in the Works Progress Administration. Correspondence from 1935 documents Gropper's contributions to Vanity Fair magazine before it ceased publication in 1936. Correspondence after Gropper's death is between his widow, Sophie Gropper and various museums, galleries, and publishers.
See Appendix for a list of selected correspondents from Series 5
Arrangement note:
Correspondence is arranged chronogically.
Appendix: Selected Correspondents from Series 5:
Although this index is not comprehensive, an effort has been made to highlight the major artists, museums and galleries with which William and Sophie Gropper corresponded.
Angelo, Emidio (artist): 1971; 1972
Ballot, Adele ( -- Vanity Fair -- magazine): 1935
Barr, Alfred H. Jr. (The Museum of Modern Art): 1936
Sharkey, Alice (United States Treasury Department): 1936
Singer, Clyde (Butler Institute of American Art): 1973
Soby, James Thrall (The Museum of Modern Art): 1964
SoRelle, Jane (ACA Gallery, Rome): 1964
Soyer, Raphael (artist): 1947; 1970
Taylor, Francis Henry (The Museum of Modern Art): 1942
Tolley, William P. (Syracuse University): 1968
United States Treasury Department: 1935
Vanity Fair -- magazine: 1935
Valeska, S. (Valeska Art Studios): 1966
Watson, Forbes (United States Treasury Department): 1936; 1942
Winser, Beatrice (Newark Museum): 1935
Yasko, Karel (Public Buildings Service): 1969; 1971; 1977; undated
Young, Art (artist): 1934
Collection Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's 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:
William Gropper papers, 1916-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
This series consists of personal and work-related correspondence (primarily incoming correspondence) between Cahill and various friends and colleagues. While a large portion of the series documents Cahill's position as Director of the FAP, it also extends beyond those years and illuminates other aspects of Cahill's career including his interest in folk and Asian art, and his work as an art critic.
There is significant correspondence with the artist Stanton MacDonald Wright between 1936 and 1950, and with the artist Irene Pereira between 1950 and 1953. The series also documents research which Cahill conducted in the late 1940s on the development of the Index of American Design for his introduction to a book on the Index by the National Gallery of Art, published by the Macmillan Company. Correspondence from 1949 provides another angle on the historical details of the FAP through lengthy correspondence documenting Cahill's criticism of William Francis McDonald's book Federal Relief Administration and the Arts (Ohio State University Press, 1969).
There is a large amount of correspondence from July 1960 comprising sympathy letters to Dorothy C. Miller following Cahill's death. Correspondence from 1977 encloses a catalog of an exhibition organized by New York WPA Artists, Inc., at the Parsons School of Design in November 1977. The exhibition, New York City WPA Art, was dedicated to the memory of Holger Cahill.
See Appendix for a list of correspondents (with the exception of those microfilmed on reel 1105) in Series 2
Appendix: Correspondents in Series 2:
Abbott, Berenice: 1944 (letter to the Editor)
Abbott, John: [1946]
Abell, Walter ( -- Canadian Art): -- 1943-1944 (2 letters)
Adams, Charles C.: 1940
Alcopley, Mr.: [1952] (including typescript "Pictures of Alcopley" by Saburo Hasegawa); 1953-1960 (4 letters)
Alsberg, Henry G. (Director, Federal Writers' Projects): 1936 (4 letters)
American Council of Learned Societies: 1949
American Federation of Arts: 1949-1952 (3 letters)
American Folk Art Gallery: 1941
American Heritage: 1954
American Swedish Historical Foundation: 1949
Andrews, Robert Armstrong and Eleanor: [1960], undated
Art in America: 1953
Artists For Victory: [1942]
Artists League of America: 1945
Artists Union of Massachusetts: 1936 (telegram to President Roosevelt)
Arts Council of Japanese Americans for Democracy: 1944
Ashton, Dore: [1960]
Bach, Richard F. (Metropolitan Museum): 1924 and 1950
Bailey, Herbert: 1972 (letter from Naomi Bliven)
Baker, Donald: [1936]
Baker, Jacob (WPA): 1935-1960, undated (10 letters)
Barach, Frederica (Writers' War Board): 1944
Barker, Virgil and Ida: 1945-1960 (4 letters)
Barnard College: 1951 (2 letters)
Barr, Alfred H., Jr. (Museum of Modern Art): 1935-1960 (16 letters)
Barr, Tony: 1960
Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc.: 1950
Baur, John (Brooklyn Museum): 1946-1960 (6 letters)
Winchester, Alice ( -- Antiques -- Magazine): 1950-1951 (6 letters)
Winser, Beatrice: 1924-1944 (6 letters)
Winter, Anna K. (antiques dealer): 1935
Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin: 1939
Woodstock Artists Association: 1960
Woodward, Ellen S.: 1936-1938 (3 letters)
Worcester, Wakefield (architect): 1936
Wright, Russell (industrial designer): [1960]
Wyn: A. A. Wyn, Inc.: 1951
Youngerman, Jack: 1960
Zegri, Armando (Galeria Sudamericana): 1960
Zimmerman, Fred and Dorothy: [1960]
Zorach, William: 1936-1960 (3 letters)
Collection Restrictions:
The microfilm of 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:
Holger Cahill papers, 1910-1993, bulk 1910-1960. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by Jane Blumenfeld.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
The Myron Bement Smith Collection, FSA A.04. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of Katherine Dennis Smith.
The bulk of the collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not digitized 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:
Gifford Beal sketches, sketchbooks, and papers, 1889-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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:
Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990, bulk 1933-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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:
Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990, bulk 1933-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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:
Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990, bulk 1933-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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:
Ben Shahn papers, 1879-1990, bulk 1933-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Chronological professional and personal letters received by Ben Benn relating to exhibitions, affiliations with various artists' groups, and relationships with other artists and friends. Found are letters from Alfred Barr, Holger Cahill, Juliana Force, Sidney Geist, Kaj Klitgaard, Rowan and Irene LeCompte, Audrey McMahon, Elie and Viola Nadelman, Samuel Rosenblum, Harry Salpeter, and Hugh Stix, and various art galleries and museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Newark Museum, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Walker Art Center Also found is correspondence from containing letters from Hudson Walker and others, relating to Benn's one-man exhibition; included are price lists of Benn's paintings.
See Appendix for list of notable correspondents from Series 2.1. and 2.3.
Appendix: Notable Correspondents from Series 2.1. and 2.3.:
Abbott, Jere, (See The Museum of Modern Art)
American Artists' Congress, 1936 (1 letter)
American British Art Center, 1944 (1 letter
American Federation of the Arts, 1959 (1 letter)
American Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Gravers, 1935-1936 (3 letters)
American Society for Technion, Women's Division, Israel Institute of Technology, 1958 (4 letters)
Anderson Galleries, The, 1922 (2 letters)
Arden Studios, Inc., 1931 (1 letter)
Art Appreciation Movement, 1942
Art For Living, 1949 (1 letter)
Art USA, 1959 (2 letters)
Artists Equity Association, 1951 (1 letter)
Artists' Gallery, The, 1937-1956 (11 letters)
Artists' and Sculptors' Division, Joint Distribution Committee, 1938 (1 letter)
Artists for Victory, 1943 (1 letter)
Artists Welfare Fund, Inc., 1973 (1 letter)
Associated American Artists, 1942 (1 letter)
Avery, Milton, 1930 (1 letter)
Barr, Alfred A., 1953-1956 (2 letters): See also The Museum of Modern Art
Baziotes, William, 1942 (1 letter)
Beer-Monti, Federica, (See The Artists' Gallery)
Bender, William H., 1968 (1 letter)
Benton, Tom, undated (1 letter)
Benton, Rita and Tom, 1925 (1 letter)
Benton, Rita, 1926-1928, undated (2 letters)
Biddle, George, 1949-1950 (3 letters)
Bluemner, Oscar, 1918-1932 (2 letters)
Blume, Peter, (See The National Institute of Arts and Letters)
Board, Brewster, (See First Municipal Art Exhibition)
Bourgeois Galleries, 1917-1918 (5 letters)
Bourgeois, P., (See Bourgeois Galleries)
Bourgeois, S., (See Bourgeois Galleries)
Breckinridge, Mrs. Henry, (See City of New York, Municipal Art Committee)
Brooklyn Museum, 1931-1932 (4 letters)
Brown, George Lippincott, 1922 (1 letter)
Brownell-Lamberston Galleries, 1930 (1 letter)
Bruckel, Fred H., (See Montross Gallery)
Bry, Edith, (See Artists' and Sculptors' Division, Joint Distribution Committee)
Bummell, Peter, (See The Museum of Modern Art)
Burck, Jacob, (See New Masses)
Cahill, Holger, (See First Municipal Art Exhibition): See also Works Progress
Administration/Federal Art Project
Carmel, Hilda, (See Artists Welfare Fund)
Chidsey, Alan C., 1937 (1 letter)
City of New York, Municipal Art Committee, 1936 (3 letters)
Coady, R.W., 1915-1918 (5 letters)
Codry, Patrick, (See New Masses)
Coffey, Katherine, (See The Newark Museum)
Cohen, Mildred, (See College Art Association)
College Art Association, 1932-1936 (5 letters; 1 press release)
Committee of Five/League for American Citizenship, 1928 (1 letter)
Corcoran Gallery of Art, The, 1938 (1 letter)
Dasburg, Andrew, 1921, undated (2 letters)
Educational Art Alliance, 1944 (1 letter)
The Day, 1935 (1 letter)
Egan, Charles, (See Egan Gallery)
Egan Gallery, 1946 (1 letter)
Elliott, James H., 1954 (1 letter)
Fair Lawn Art Association, The, 1950 (1 letter)
Ferargil Galleries, 1934 (1 letter)
First Municipal Art Exhibition, 1934 (2 letters)
Fisher, William, 1917-1925 (5 letters)
Fitzgerald, Eleanor M., The Studio Theatre, 1941 (2 letters)
Force, Juliana, (See Whitney Museum of American Art)
Ford Foundation, The, 1958-1960 (7 letters)
Forum Exhibition Committee, The, 1916 (6 letters)
Fraser, Joseph T., (See The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts)
Frueh, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred, 1916 (1 invitation)
Frueh, Alfred, 1917 (1 invitation)
Frueh, Giuliette, 1923 (1 letter)
Geist, Sidney, 1939-1959 (35 letters)
Gerdts, William H., (See The Newark Museum)
Glassgold, C. Adolph, (See Whitney Museum of American Art)
Goff, Carleton, (See Providence Art Club)
Gollomb, Joseph, 1931, undated (2 letters)
Goodyear, A. Conger, (See The Museum of Modern Art)
Hale, Robert Beverly, (See The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Hamlin, Elizabeth, (See Brooklyn Museum)
Hanna Ray, (See John Wanamaker New York)
Harris, Ruth F., (See The New York Times)
Hartley, Marsden, 1934 (1 postcard)
Hellman, George, 1926-1927 (2 letters): See also The New Gallery
Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 1974 (1 letter)
Horch, Louis L., (See Roerich Museum)
Irvine, Rosalind, (See Whitney Museum of American Art)
Johnston, E.M., (See Bourgeois Galleries)
Katz, Harry, The Library of Congress, 1993 (1 letter)
Kent, H.W., (See The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Klitgaard, Georgina and Kaj, 1920 (1 letter)
Klitgaard, Kaj, 1921-1936, undated (8 letters)
Korzenik, Lillian, (See American Society for Technion, Women's Division, Israel Institute of Technology
Krasne, Bell, 1954-1955 (2 letters)
Kruse, Alexander Z., 1941 (1 letter)
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, (See American Artists' Congress)
LaGuardia, Fiorello, 1941 (1 letter)
Lambertson, Dorothy, (See Brownell-Lambertson Galleries)
Lang, Gladys V., (See The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Laurent, Robert, 1920 (1 letter)
Lechay, James, 1971 (1 letter)
LeCompte, Rowan, 1949-1953 (12 letters)
LeCompte, Irene and Rowan, 1952-1967 (12 letters)
LeCompte, Irene, 1951-1953 (4 letters)
Lerner, Abram, (See Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden)
Lewis, Robert, 1950-1952 (5 letters)
Lowry, W. McNeill, (See The Ford Foundation)
McBride, Henry, 1932 (1 letter)
McCausland, Elizabeth, 1951 (1 letter)
McKinney, Roland, (See Pepsi-Cola's Fifth Annual Art Competition): See also The Metropolitan Museum of Art
McMahon, Audrey, (See College Art Association)
Mallette, Alice, (See The Museum of Modern Art)
Marantz, Evelyn, (See Art For Living)
Marvel, Josiah P., The Springfield Museum of Art, 1932 (2 letters)
Meeting Place, The, 1931, (2 letters)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, The, 1939-1957 (8 letters)
Miller, Ann, (See The Fair Lawn Art Association)
Minnigerode, C. Powell, (See The Corcoran Gallery of Art)
Montross Gallery, 1930 (1 letter)
More, Hermon, (See Whitney Museum of American Art)
Museum of Modern Art, The, 1931-1951, undated (5 letters)
Musgrove, Louis, 1935-1954, undated (4 letters)
Musgrove, Nonnie, 1963 (1 letter)
Nadelman, Elie, 1915 (1 letter): in French
Nadelman, Elie and Viola, 1921-1947, undated 6 letters)
Nadelman, Viola, 1925-1929 (4 letters)
National Society of American Art, 1934 (2 letters)
Nestor, Bernard and Dudley Pratt, (See Seattle Art Museum)
New Gallery, The, 1926-1927 (2 letters)
New Masses, 1933 (3 letters)
Newark Museum, The, 1958 (4 letters)
New York Times, The, 1938-1957 (2 letters)
Nordness, Lee, (See Art USA)
Ostrowsky, Abbo, (See Educational Art Alliance)
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The, 1942-1965 (3 letters)
Pepsi-Cola's Fifth Annual Art Competition, 1948 (3 letters)
Phillips Memorial Gallery, 1929 (1 letter)
Providence Art Club, 1965 (3 letters)
Rickey, George, 1936 (1 letter)
Ritchie, Andrew C., (See The Museum of Modern Art)
Robinson, Eleanor, (See Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.)
Rockefeller, Mrs. John D., 1940 (1 letter)
Roerich, Horch L., (See Roerich Museum)
Roerich Museum, 1936 (1 letter)
Rogovin, Howard, 1956 (4 letters)
Rollins, Lloyd L., 1944 (3 letters): See also Works Progress Administration/Federal Art Project
Ross, Sidney, (See Theatre in Art Exhibition)
Rowan, Edward B., (See Treasury Department, Section of Painting and Sculpture)
Saarinen, Aline B., (See The New York Times)
Salpeter, Harry, (See Harry Salpeter Gallery, Inc.)
Harry Salpeter Gallery, Inc., 1956-1961 (11 letters)
Seattle Art Museum, 1933 (1 letter)
Shahn, Ben, 1949 (1 letter)
Slatkin, Charles E., (See Charles E. Slatkin Galleries)
Charles E. Slatkin Galleries, Inc., 1959 (1 letter)
Society of Independent Artists, The, 1923 (1 letter)
Marie Sterner Fine Arts, 1930 (1 letter)
Stix, Hugh, 1930-1960 (6 letters): See also The Artists' Gallery
Theatre in Art Exhibition, 1932 (2 letters)
Treasury Department, Section of Painting and Sculpture, 1934 (1 letter)
Tschudy, Herbert B., (See Brooklyn Museum)
Usher, Elizabeth, (See The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Van Deventer, S., Kröller-Müller Museum, 1924 (1 letter)
Varian , Dorothy, 1937 (1 letter)
Von Groschwitz, Gustave, (See Ferargil Galleries)
Walker Art Center, 1953-1954 (17 letters)
Walker, Hudson, 1948-1958 (6 letters): See also Hudson Walker Art Center
Walkowitz, Abraham, 1928 (1 letter)
John Wanamaker New York, 1934 (1 letter)
Wehle, Harry B., (See The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Weichsel, John, The People's Guild, 1915 (1 letter)
Whitney Museum of American Art (pre-1930: Whitney Studio Club), 1927-1950, undated (16 letters)
Woodstock Artists Association, 1977 (1 letter)
Works Progress Administration/Federal Art Project, 1935-1936 (2 letters)
Wright, Willard Huntington, (See The Forum Exhibition Committee)
Yiddisher Kultur Farband, 1951 (1 letter)
Zorach, William, 1916 (1 letter)
Notable Correspondents from Series 2.3: Velida Benn Correspondence, 1906-1963
Art Foundation, The, 1943 (Page proof of advertisement for Art News)
Ashton, Dore, The New York Times, 1958 (1 letter)
Avery, Sally, 1934 (1 letter)
Benton, Rita, 1925 (2 letters)
Bluemner, Oscar, undated (1 letter)
Bouché, Louis, 1918 (2 letters)
Champanier, Abram, 1933 (1 letter)
City of New York, The, Department of Parks, 1915 (Permit to paint and sketch in the boroughs of Manhattan and Richmond)
Columbia University, 1928-1929 (4 letters)
Force, Juliana, 1933 (1 letter)
Freeman, Anne, (See Juliana Force)
Furlong, Tomás, 1909-1911 (3 letters; 1 letter in Spanish)
Hitchings, Elisabeth J., College Art Association 1935 (1 letter)
Kelly, Anne, (See Mrs. John D. Rockefeller)
Klitgaard, Kaj, undated (1 note)
LeCompte, Irene, 1951-1953, (2 letters)
LeCompte, Rowan and Robert Lewis, 1949 (1 letter)
Mora, Luis F., 1911 (1 letter in Spanish)
Nadelman, Viola, 1942 (1 letter)
Osma, Julio, 1923-1924 (4 letters: 2 letters in Spanish)
Rockefeller, Mrs. John D., 1931 (1 letter)
Rollins, Lloyd, 1944 (2 postcards)
Salpeter, Betty and Harry, 1956 (1 letter)
Salpeter, Harry, 1960 (1 postcard)
Sanger, William, 1915 (1 letter)
Stella, Joseph, 1918 (1 letter)
Stieglitz, Alfred, 1925 (1 letter)
Weber, Max, 1918 (1 letter)
Weischel, Mr. and Mrs., 1915 (1 postcard)
Zorach, Marguerite, 1915-1916 (2 letters)
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Ben Benn papers, 1905-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
This series consists of the business and personal correspondence of Edith Gregor Halpert and the Downtown Gallery. For the most part, this series is general business correspondence concerning routine activities of the Downtown Gallery, including the American Folk Art Gallery and the Daylight Gallery, both operated by the Downtown Gallery on the same premises. Included are correspondence with clients, employees, other galleries, and colleagues concerning sales, loans, purchases, appraisals, and so forth; arrangements for shipping, framing, photography, reproduction permissions, and insurance; and gallery housekeeping and improvements, ordering of supplies, and other administrative concerns.
Also included is personal correspondence of Edith Gregor Halpert. There are letters and greeting cards from nieces, nephews, and other relatives; correspondence with longtime friends, including some who were art collectors, museum curators, or museum directors; and correspondence concerning upkeep and improvement of her Newtown, Connecticut, country home and entertaining there.
See Appendix A for a list of selected correspondents from Series 1
Arrangement note:
Letters (with enclosures) are arranged chronologically, with those of the same date alphabetized by name of correspondent; undated material is arranged alphabetically, followed by unidentified correspondents and letters bearing illegible signatures.
Box numbers provided in the Container Listing are approximate.
Appendix A: List of Selected Correspondents in Series 1:
Names and titles indicated in this list are those that appear on the letters. Where appropriate, terms have been standardized and cross-referencing provided. Because filing is not always consistent, researchers are advised to check both the name of an individual and the institution that he or she represented.
Abate Associates, Inc., 1956
Abbot and Land, 1965
Abbot, B. Vincent, 1944
Abbot, Bernice, 1957
Abbot, John E., 1945, 1948
Abbot Laboratories, 1950, 1952
ABC Employment Agency, 1951
Richard Abel and Co., Inc., 1968
Abendroth, Robert W., 1966-1967
Abercrombie and Fitch Co., 1962
Abilene Museum of Fine Arts, undated, 1949, 1954
Abingdon Square Painters, 1965
Abraham and Straus, 1930, 1960, 1965-1966, 1968
Abraham, Mae C., 1965
Abrahamsen, Mrs. David, 1962
Abramowitz, M., 1958
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1958-1960, 1965-1966, 1968-1969
"HemisFair '68," 1968 (see also: "International Exposition, HemisFair '68")
Hemmenway, Catherine C., 1961
Hemmingsen, R. V., 1963
Hemmingson, Victoria, 1965
Henderson, Hanford, 1960
Henderson, Priscilla A. B. (Mrs. A. I.), 1934-1955
Henderson, Ray, 1956
Hendrick, Mrs. James Pomeroy, 1961
Heninger, Helen, undated, 1963, 1969
Henquet, Roger, 1948, 1965
Henri, Robert, 1926-1927
Henry, David T., 1964
Henry, Helen (Mrs. Charles), undated, 1949
Henry, James F., 1958
Henry Street Settlement, 1958, 1962-1963
Hentschel, R. A. A., 1951-1954
Hepburn, Katharine, 1952
Herbert, Elmer, 1962
Herbert, James D., 1962
Herider, Ed. L., 1961
Heritage Gallery, 1960, 1964
Herman, Stanley, 1964
Herman, Vic, 1968
Herring, Audrey L., 1964
Herrington, Nell Ray (Mrs. A. W. S.), 1962, 1965
John Herron Art Institute, undated, 1934, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1957-1958, 1962-1964, 1967 (see also: Art Association of Indianapolis; Art School of the John Herron Art Institute)
Hertslet, G. Gordon, 1962, 1966
Hertz, Richard C., 1965
Hertzberg, Stuart E., 1967-1968
Heschel, Mrs. Abraham, 1961
Hess, Elaine Marie, 1965
Hess, Mrs. Thomas B., 1954
Hetzel, Margaret deL. (Mrs. Joseph L.), 1948
Hewitt, Ada M., 1953
Edwin Hewitt Gallery, 1953
Heydenryk, Henry, 1954, 1960, 1964
Heynick, Carla Marian, 1965
Hickok, M., 1958
Hiddens, Mrs. Earl, 1952
Hiersoux, Arne, 1966
Hi Fi/Stereo Review, 1960
High Museum of Art, 1950, 1955, 1961-1962, 1965-1968 (see also: Atlanta Art Association; Atlanta Art Association and High Museum of Art)
Highway Antique Shop, 1954
R. Hill and Son, Ltd., 1960
Hill, Ralph Nading, 1952, 1962
Hille, Elise B., undated
Hille and Curran, 1954
Hilleman, Alex L., 1956
Hiller, Paula, 1962
Hilles, Mrs. Frederick W., 1956
Hillman, Mrs. Joel, II., 1960
Hillside Hospital Clinic, 1949, 1953
Hillstrom, Richard L., 1958, 1962, 1964-1965
Hilltop Theatre, Incorporated, 1952
Hilsenrath, Yakov R., 1965
Hilson, Catherine [Katy] and/or John S., undated, 1958-1959, 1961-1966
Himel, Irving, 1963
Himmelsfarb, Samuel, 1955
Hines, Felrath, 1961
Hinkhouse, Inc., 1960, 1964
Hirsch, B., 1961
Hirsch, E. W., 1954
Hirschberg, J. Cotter, 1956
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc., 1958, 1960, 1963-1965, 1968
Hirschland, Dr. and/or Mrs. F. H., undated, 1959
Hirschland, Paul Michael, 1945
Hirschburg, Mrs. Roy, undated
S. A. Hirsh Manufacturing Co., 1966
Hirshberg, Henrietta, 1961
Hirshhorn, Mrs. Arthur, 1960
Hirshhorn, Joseph H., 1946, 1948, 1951-1954, 1956, 1960, 1963, 1965
Joseph H. Hirshhorn Collection, 1959-1960, 1962-1963, 1965-1966
[incomplete; without signature], undated, 1953, 1961, 1967, 1968
Collection Restrictions:
The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.
Collection Rights:
The Downtown Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. 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. Prior to publishing information regarding sales transactions, researchers are responsible for obtaining written permission from both artist and purchaser involved. If it cannot be established after a reasonable search whether an artist or purchaser is living, it can be assumed that the information may be published sixty years after the date of sale.
Collection Citation:
Downtown Gallery records, 1824-1974, bulk 1926-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing, microfilming and digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
