Biographical material (1945-1965), letters (1917-1979), notes (1950-1970), writings (1944-1970), business records (1927-1977), art works (1932-1964), subject files (1952-1955), scrapbook (1927-1939), printed material (1923-1977), and photographs (1922-1968) documenting Botkin's career and his friendship with George and Ira Gershwin and other entertainment and artistic figures.
Among the correspondents and subjects of photographs or letters are: George and Ira Gershwin, their sister Frances Godowsky, Botkin's brother Benjamin, Botkin's daughter Toinette Botkin Laurent, and grandson Alexander Laurent, composer Harold Arlen, Fanny Brice and her son William Brice, artists Chaim Gross, Saburo Hasegawa, Hans Hofmann, Karl Knaths, Paul Manship, Paul Mocsanyi, Robert Motherwell, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Pablo Picasso, Wallace Putnam, Abrahmam Rattner, Hugo Robus, Arnold Schoenberg, Jack Shadbolt, John Von Wicht, and Abraham Walkowitz. Also included are photographs of Botkin's studio, night picnic in Provincetown attended by many artists; and material relating to American Abstract Artists, New School Art Center, Provincetown Art Association, and the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors. [See Finding Aid for information on location of items on the microfilm].
UNMICROFILMED: 3 untranscribed interviews of Botkin, 1 done for the "Today" show, NBC, June 4, 1965; 1 for Colette Roberts "Meet the Artist" Program, undated, and 1 by an unidentified interviewer. Also included is an untranscribed monologue, Oct. 11, 1970.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; New York, N.Y. and Provincetown, Mass. Born in Boston and attended art schools there from 1913-1917. From 1917-1920, he attended the Art Students League and was employed as an illustrator for prominent magazines until 1929. Traveling abroad between 1926 and 1933, he attained his first one-man show in 1927 at the Billiet Galleries in Paris. Through his cousin, composer George Gershwin, Botkin became acquainted with people active in the performing arts, such as Harold Arlen, Fanny Brice, Harry Kurnitz, and Bert Lahr. Botkin was also involved in the American Abstract Artists, Artists Equity Association, Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, and Gallery 256 in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Related Materials:
Henry Botkin papers also at Syracuse University.
Provenance:
Donated 1969-1982 by Henry Botkin and by his son Glenn and his assistant Rene Barilleaux. Many items were returned to Botkin after microfilming.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use microfilm copy. Use of untranscribed tapes requires an appointment at the Washington, D.C. office.
5 Reels (ca. 1200 items (on 5 partial microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reels
Date:
1917-1945
Scope and Contents:
Papers relate mainly to the Blue Four and contain primarily correspondence; also business materials, photographs, essays, and printed materials.
REEL 1644: Correspondence with Lyonel Feininger and his wife Julia, mainly concerning personal matters, contemporary events in Europe and America, and Scheyer's efforts to establish the Blue Four's reputation on the west coast. Many letters are illustrated with Feininger block cuts.
REEL 1854: Letters from Feininger, Alexei Jawlensky, Wassily Kandinsky, and Paul Klee; typescripts of letters to members of the Blue Four; import declarations; a shipping invoice; a consular certificate for paintings; and price lists of works of art.
REEL 1905: Correpsondence documenting Scheyer's friendship with various artists associated with the Blue Four and her efforts to exhibit and sell their work. Important correpsondents include: Alexander Archipenko, Hans Arp, Giorgio de Chirico, Marcel Duchamp, Paul Klee, Le Corbusier, Fernand Leger, Carlos Merida, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Diego Rivera, Arthur Segal, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Arnold Schoenberg, Kurt Schwitters, Rufino Tamayo, Mies van der Rohe, Edgar Varese, Max Weber, and Edward Weston. Also included are miscellaneous photographs, essays, notes, and financial and printed materials.
REEL 2031-2032: Correspondence with Alexei Jawlensky and Wassily Kandinsky, including several illustrated letters; two photographs of interiors; a published article by Kandindsky, "Abstrakte Kunst," ca. 1925-1926; and price lists for works of art by Kandkinsky. Some letters are typescripts.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector, dealer; b. 1889; d. 1945; Los Angeles, Calif. Scheyer worked to introduce the art of the Blue Four (Blaue Vier), Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee, and Alexei Jawlensky, to American collectors.
Other Title:
Galka Scheyer Blue Four Archive.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming by Norton Simon Museum of Art, 1979-1980.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Primarily records of the San Francisco Art Association (1871-1920), but also of the California School of Design (1873-1905) (briefly called the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in 1893), the Palace of Fine Arts (1915-1945), The Western Round Table on Modern Art (1949), the San Francisco Art Institute (1911-1978), the San Francisco Museum of Art (1921-1970), and the Douglas MacAgy papers (1944-1950).
REELS 1288-1289: 3 vol. containing minutes of board of trustees meetings of the Association and Institute, 1871-1915, and minutes of the meetings of the board of directors of the California School of Design, 1873-1905.
REELS 2429-2433: Historical data contains material relating to the museum. San Francisco Art Association records include correspondence; photographs; membership records; organizational and registrarial records; reports; printed material; and materials regarding the Palace of Fine Arts. San Francisco Museum of Art section includes correspondence; minutes of board meetings; reports; legal documents; clippings; and printed materials. "Western Round Table on Modern Art" conference sponsored by SFAA, April 8-10, 1949, includes letters to organizer Douglas MacAgy regarding arrangements, publicity, and comments, including several from participants Gregory Bateson, Kenneth Burke, George Boas, Marcel Duchamp, Alfred Frankenstein, Norman Bel Geddes, Robert Goldwater, Darius Milhaud, Andrew Ritchie, Arnold Schoenberg, Mark Tobey, and Frank Lloyd Wright; Abstract of Proceedings; transcripts of the meeting edited by participants; clippings; and photographs. The microfilm also includes papers of Douglas MacAgy; and correspondence, clippings, and photographs of artists' models for the San Francisco Art Institute.
REELS 4962-4963: Files, primarily correspondence, from the director, J. Nilsen Laurvik, from the 43rd (1919) and 44th (1920) San Francisco Art Association Annual Art Exhibition of the Works of American Artists, pertaining to its organization, promotion and administration; and additional material relating to the "Western Round Table on Modern Art," including transcripts from the Apr. 8th session edited by participants, some with notes and letters, and a final draft of an edited version; a scrapbook of publicity clippings on the Round Table; and 30 photographs taken during the conference.
Also included are 9 audio cassettes (copied from original Webcor wire recordings) of the entire proceedings of the "Western Roundtable."
Biographical / Historical:
The San Francisco Art Association (SFAA) was founded in 1871 and incorporated in 1889. The California School of Design was established under the auspices of SFAA in 1874, changing its name to the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art in 1893 after the Mark Hopkins mansion was given to SFAA. It became the San Francisco Institute of Art in 1907, and the California School of Fine Arts in 1917. From 1916-1924, SFAA retained the Palace of Fine Arts, which had been part of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. In 1921, SFAA incorporated the San Francisco Museum of Art (SFMA) into its administration although each retained autonomy. In 1961, SFAA merged with the School and was renamed the San Francisco Art Institute. A change in the constitutional by-laws officially dissolved the SFAA in 1966, leaving the SFAI and the SFMA. In 1976, SFMA changed its name to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
On April 8-10, 1949, the SFAA sponsored the Western Round Table of Modern Art, organized by Douglas MacAgy for the purpose of bringing together a representation of the best informed opinion to discuss questions about art of the day.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1977-1987 by the San Francisco Art Institute. The sound recordings were borrowed from the San Francisco Art Institute, recorded on cassette in 1987 and then the orginal wire tapes were subsequently returned to the San Francisco Art Institute.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Arnold Schönberg : das bildnerische Werk / herausgegeben von Thomas Zaunschirm = Arnold Schoenberg : paintings and drawings / edited by Thomas Zaunschirm
Schoenberg / edited by Merle Armitage ; articles by Arnold Schoenberg ... [et al.] ; foreword by Leopold Stokowski ; affirmations by Arnold Schoenberg ; a bibliography of Schoenberg works ; ports. by Edward Weston and George Gershwin ; a self port. by Arnold Schoenberg ; candid camera photos. by Otto Rothschild and two ink drawings by Carlos Dyer
Schönberg, Kandinsky, Blaue Reiter und die Russische Avantgarde : die Kunst gehört den Unbewussten = art belongs to the unconscious : 9. März-28. Mai 2000 / [Herausgeber und für den Inhalt verantwortlich, Christian Meyer ; Redaktion und Lektorat, Therese Muxeneder und Iris Pfeiffer]
Die Visionen des Arnold Schönberg : Jahre der Malerei / herausgegeben von Max Hollein, Blaženka Perica, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt ; mit Beiträgen von Otto Breicha ... [et al.] = The visions of Arnold Schönberg : the painting years / edited by Max Hollein, Blaženka Perica, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt ; contributions by Otto Breicha ... [et al.]
Hommage à Schönberg : der Blaue Reiter und das Musikalische in der Malerei der Zeit : 11. September bis 4. November 1974, Nationalgalerie Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Preussischer Kulturbesitz / [Ausstellung, Werner Haftmann, Angela Schneider ; Organisation und Katalog, Lucius Grisebach ... et al.]
Das Lied von der Erde [sound recording] = The song of the earth / Gustav Mahler ; chamber orchestra version by Arnold Schoenberg (1921), completed by Rainer Riehn (1983)
