Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of electronic records with no duplicate copies 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:
Parish Gallery records, 1940-2013. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
The papers of Bernard Langlais measure 13.3 linear feet and date from circa 1925 to 2010. The papers document Langlais' career as a painter and sculptor through correspondence with friends, colleagues, and art institutions and organizations; writings; exhibition records, video recordings about Langlais, resumes, and other professional activity files; appraisals, invoices, inventories, and other personal business records; newspaper and magazine clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and press releases; as well as scrapbooks, drawings, sketchbooks, and photographic material of Langlais and his artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Bernard Langlais measure 13.3 linear feet and date from circa 1925 to 2010. The papers document Langlais' career as a painter and sculptor through correspondence with friends, colleagues, and art institutions and organizations; writings; exhibition records, video recordings about Langlais, resumes, and other professional activity files; appraisals, invoices, inventories, and other personal business records; newspaper and magazine clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and press releases; as well as scrapbooks, drawings, sketchbooks, and photographic material of Langlais and his artwork.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1940-2005 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 2: Writings, circa 1959-1979 (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 3: Professional Activity Files, 1948-2010 (2.7 linear feet; Boxes 2-4, FC 23-24)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1962-2004 (2.2 linear feet; Boxes 5-7)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1941-2008 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 7-9, 15)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1935-1979 (0.7 linear feet; Box 9, 15-16)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1937 (2.1 linear feet; Box 9, 12-14, OV 17-22)
Series 8: Photographic Material, 1936-2001 (2.2 linear feet; Boxes 10-11, 14-15)
Biographical / Historical:
Bernard Langlais (1921-1977) was a sculptor and painter in Cushing, Maine. Langlais was born in Old Town, Maine. He attended the Corcoran School of Art, moved to New York, and became a close friend of many of the rising New York artists. Tiring of the New York competitive art scene, he returned to Maine, abandoned abstract painting, and achieved considerable success with monumental wooden outdoor sculpture.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Bernard Langlais conducted by Robert Brown on February 21, 1973.
Provenance:
The bulk of the collection was donated 2015 by Colby College Museum of Art via Paige Doore, Curricular Registrar, who received the papers as a bequest from Helen Langlais. Papers on reels 859-860 were lent for microfilming in 1974 by Langlais and subsequently donated in 1997 with additional papers by Helen Friend Langlais, Langlais' widow. One video recording, "Noon Exercise: Bernard Langlais" was donated in 1981 by WCBB-TV, Lewiston, ME via Harriet Passerman, Cultural Affairs Director.
Restrictions:
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.
Rights:
Video recording "Noon Exercise: Bernard Langlais" is publication restricted. Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from WCBB-TV, Lewiston, Maine. 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.
Bernard Langlais papers, circa 1925-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers measure 61.1 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1991, with the bulk of the material dating from 1946-1983. Records provide extensive documentation of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1946 to its closing in 1983 and of the activities of Betty Parsons as one the leading art dealers of contemporary American Art in the latter half of the twentieth century, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists. Over one third of the of the collection is comprised of artists files containing correspondence, price lists, and printed materials. Additional correspondence is with galleries, dealers, art institutions, private collectors, and the media. Also found are exhibition files, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales records, stock inventories, personal financial records, and photographs. Betty Parsons's personal papers consist of early curatorial files, pocket diaries, personal correspondence, and evidence of her own artwork, including sketchbooks, and files documenting her personal art collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers measure 61.1 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1991, with the bulk of the material dating from 1946-1983. Records provide extensive documentation of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1946 to its closing in 1983 and of the activities of Betty Parsons as one the leading art dealers of contemporary American Art in the latter half of the twentieth century, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists. Over one third of the of the collection is comprised of artists files containing correspondence, price lists, and printed materials. Additional correspondence is with galleries, dealers, art institutions, private collectors, and the media. Also found are exhibition files, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales records, stock inventories, personal financial records, and photographs. Betty Parsons's personal papers consist of early curatorial files, pocket diaries, personal correspondence, and evidence of her own artwork, including sketchbooks, and files documenting her personal art collection. Personal papers also include personal photographs.
Artists files, the largest and most extensive series, consist of a wide variety of documents, including biographical materials, correspondence with or related to the artist, exhibition catalogs and announcements, sales and expense invoices, clippings, price lists, and photographs of the artist, exhibitions, and artwork. The files reflect Parsons's close personal relationships with certain artists, particularly Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, and Barnett Newman. Extensive documentation is also found for Forrest Bess, William Congdon, Paul Feeley, Thomas George, Alexander Liberman, Seymour Lipton, Richard Pousette-Dart, Jesse Reichek, and Jack Youngerman. Historians and researchers will find these files to be an invaluable resource both in tracing Betty Parsons's role in promoting Abstract Expressionism and researching individual artists.
Exhibition files primarily document the gallery's infrequent group or themed exhibitions. Of particular note are the files on The Ideographic Picture, which was organized by Barnett Newman and included his work, as well as that of Pietro Lazzari, Boris Margo, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, and Clyfford Still. Price lists, artist biographies and exhibition schedules are housed in the general exhibition files. Loan exhibition files provide documentation of artwork borrowed by other galleries or institutions for exhibitions, as well as shows outside of the gallery that were organized by Betty Parsons. Also found are gallery exhibition guest books, and announcements and catalogs.
Gallery correspondence is primarily with galleries and dealers, museums, arts organizations, and collectors. Scattered letters from artists are also found, although the bulk of the artists' correspondence is filed in the Artists Files. Also found here are memoranda and letters between Betty Parsons and her staff that contain detailed information concerning Parsons's schedule and gallery activities. Similar correspondence is found amongst the correspondence files within the series Betty Parsons papers.
Appraisal and conservation files include correspondence, appraisal invoices, forms, and appraisal requests and other information from the Art Dealers Association of America, and conservation invoices and reports. The majority of the appraisal records contain information about the specific works of art, including artist, title, date, current owner and the estimated value at the time of the request. Conservation records document conservation treatments undertaken by outside conservators to gallery stock.
Sales, purchases, stock and inventory are well documented in the sales and inventory records. The records provide detailed information about individual sales, prices of individual pieces of artwork, consignments, and loans. Most sales records also include detailed information about the buyer and are a valuable resource for provenance research. Files documenting the general administration, routine business operations, and financial transactions (not individual sales) of the gallery are housed in the general business and financial records. These records include ledgers, receipts, tax records, and banking records. There is some limited information about works of art scattered amongst the receipts and in the "in/out slips" files. Legal records house general legal documents and those concerning specific lawsuits. Of particular note is the file detailing the lawsuit between Betty Parsons and Sidney Janis over the fifth floor of 24 West 57th Street.
The remainder of the collection consists of Betty Parsons's personal papers which document her career prior to opening her own gallery, her work as an artist, and her personal art collection.
Some information about Parsons's work prior to opening her own gallery is found in the early curatorial files she retained from her curatorial and administrative work at the Wakefield Gallery and the Mortimer Brandt Gallery. Clippings, correspondence, announcements, exhibition lists and exhibition files are found. For both positions, she kept only the exhibition files for a small group of exhibitions organized around a specific theme, the most notable being the exhibition of Pre-Columbian Sculpture at the Wakefield Gallery.
Biographical materials include copies of her biography, family genealogies, photographs of Parsons, interviews with Colette Roberts and WYNC radio, memberships, photographs, and ephemera, including a collection of programs and invitations from events that she attended. Throughout her life Parsons gave generously of her time to various cultural and charitable institutions and was awarded for her contributions. There are also a number of files that document her speaking engagements, her participation as a juror in numerous juried exhibitions, charitable work, and awards that she received.
Parsons's personal correspondence files reflect how deeply Parsons's life was intertwined with the gallery. There are letters from museum directors, dealers, artists seeking representation, and personal letters from artists with whom she had close personal relationships, most notably Larry Bigelow, Alexander Calder, William Condon, and Ad Reinhardt. There are also letters from the English artist Adge Baker, with whom Parsons was romantically involved. Correspondence also includes several files of postcards and Christmas cards.
Pocket diaries and engagement calendars, spanning from 1933-1981, record social engagements, meetings, vacations, and telephone numbers. Also found are circa two linear feet of notebooks and sketchbooks, many of which are annotated with addresses, poetry, journal entries, and other observations of people, places, and travels. Writings by others include writings about Betty Parsons or the Betty Parsons Gallery, such as Lawrence Alloway's unpublished typescript titled "An American Gallery" and other topics.
Printed material consists of exhibition announcements and catalogs, art magazines, and newspaper and magazine clippings about Betty Parsons, her family and acquaintances, artists, and other art related topics, coupled with a miscellaneous selection of clippings, and a video recording, on topics that presumably captured Parsons's attention.
Personal art work records document Betty Parsons's career as an artist through inventories, group and solo exhibitions files, price lists, appraisals, sales and consignment invoices. Photographs are primarily reproductions of her works of art, although there are scattered photographs of exhibition installations.
Betty Parsons's private art collection files document her extensive personal collection of art that included works by Jackson Pollock, Agnes Martin, Romare Bearden, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko, in addition to Amlash sculpture from ancient Persia and primitive sculpture from New Hebrides. These files include inventories, lists, exhibition records, sales and purchase invoices, and photographs. There are also files for donations and loans from Parsons's personal collection to museums and fund raising auctions for several non-profit institutions.
Finally, the personal financial records provide information about the Parsons's family finances and her personal financial success as an art dealer. In addition to her own investments, Parsons inherited shares in family investments through the estates of her parents, J. Fred Pierson, Jr. and Suzanne Miles Pierson, and younger sister, Emily Rayner. Real estate files include correspondence, utility bills, receipts, area maps, and land plots for houses in Sheepscot, Maine and St. Maartens, Netherlands Antilles. Tax returns, ledger worksheets, receipts, banking statements, deposit slips, and cancelled checks are among the other financial records.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series. Many of the series are further divided into subseries.
Missing Title
Series 1: Artists Files, 1935-1983 (19.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-18, 51, 55-56, OVs 53, 65)
Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1941-1983 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 18-21, 51, 55, OVs 54, 66)
Series 3: Correspondence Files, 1941-1983 (3.9 linear feet; Boxes 21-24, 52, 56)
Series 4: Appraisal Files, 1954-1983 (0.7 linear feet; Box 24)
Series 5: Sales and Inventory Records, 1946-1983 (3.9 linear feet; Boxes 25-28, 51)
Series 6: General Business and Financial Records, 1946-1983 (9.3 linear feet; Boxes 28-38, 51, 56)
Series 7: Betty Parsons Personal Papers, 1916-1991 (21 linear feet; Boxes 38-51, 55-64, OVs 65-67)
Historical Note:
Betty Parsons (1900-1982) was one of the leading art dealers in New York City specializing in modern art, particularly the work of the Abstract Expressionists, and an abstract painter and sculptor in her own right. She opened Betty Parsons Gallery in 1946 at 15 E. 57th St., later moving to 24 W. 57th St.
The history of the Betty Parsons Gallery is inextricably bound to the life and experiences of its founder. Betty Parsons was born Betty Bierne Pierson on January 31, 1900 in New York City. She enjoyed a privileged childhood, which included vacation homes in Newport and Palm Beach. Her only formal education was a five-year stint at the prestigious Chapin School from 1910-1915, where she met many of the women who would become life-long friends and supporters. In the spring of 1920, she married Schuyler Livingston Parsons from one of New York's oldest families. The marriage ended after only three years and the couple traveled to Paris where they could obtain a divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. She retained her married surname and purchased a house on the rue Boulard in Paris, where she remained for ten years, pursuing studies in painting and sculpture.
Financial constraints forced Parsons to return to the United States in 1933. She first traveled west to California, but it was her return to New York in 1935 that marked the start of her career as an art dealer. Her first opportunity to connect with the New York art world came after a successful exhibition of her watercolors at the Midtown Galleries where the owner, Alan Gruskin, noted Parson's faithful and wealthy group of supporters and offered her work installing exhibitions and selling paintings on commission. Her work for the Midtown Galleries led to a second position in the Park Avenue gallery of Mary Sullivan, one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art. Here, Parsons learned the business of running a gallery. By 1940 Parsons was ready to take on more independent responsibility and agreed to manage a gallery within the Wakefield Bookshop. In this job, she exercised full curatorial control by selecting artists and organizing exhibitions. She championed then unknown contemporary American artists and the gallery's roster soon included Saul Steinberg, Hedda Sterne, Alfonso Ossorio, Joseph Cornell, Walter Murch, and Theodore Stamos. Although the majority of the exhibitions were solo shows, there were a few group shows and themed exhibitions, such as Love in Art (1941) and Ballet in Art (1942). Under Parson's direction, the gallery hosted an important exhibition of Pre-Columbian sculpture, curated by Barnett Newman.
When the owners of the Wakefield Bookshop decided to close the gallery late in 1944, Mortimer Brandt, a dealer who specialized in Old Master paintings and drawings, offered her a position as head of the newly created contemporary section of his gallery. Many of the artists who had shown with Parsons at the Wakefield Gallery followed her to her new gallery, where they were joined by Ad Reinhardt, Boris Mango, and Hans Hofmann. While the exhibitions garnered attention from the press and the interest of contemporary artists, the contemporary section was not a financial success and Brandt opted to close his gallery in 1946.
Using $1000 of her own money and an additional borrowed $4000, Parsons sublet the space that previously housed Mortimer Brandt's contemporary section, on the fifth floor of 15 East 57th Street, and opened the Betty Parsons Gallery.
In many respects the early years of the Betty Parsons Gallery were the most vital, as it was during the period of 1947-1951 that the gallery became linked with the Abstract Expressionists and the history of post-WWII American Art. In an unpublished history of the gallery, noted art critic Lawrence Alloway stated that the significance of the gallery's early exhibitions ranks with Durand-Ruel's Impressionists exhibitions or Kahnweiler's shows of the Cubists. Betty Parsons Gallery quickly became one of the most prestigious galleries in New York City associated with new American Art of all styles. Her close friend Barnett Newman organized the gallery's inaugural exhibition of Northwest Coast Indian Art and he soon began to exhibit his own work at the gallery. When Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century Gallery closed, Jackson Pollock, Clyfford Still, and Mark Rothko joined Parsons' growing stable of artists. Although Parsons continued to promote and exhibit many of the artists whom she had previously discovered, these four artists dominated this period. Newman, Pollock, Still, and Rothko worked closely together, holding themselves apart from the other artists somewhat. They were actively involved in the curatorial process and often hung their own shows. For these artists, the exhibition itself was an artistic act of creation.
Parsons provided a supportive environment and allowed her artists enormous freedom in planning and designing their exhibitions. She was not, however, an aggressive salesperson. During this early period the gallery ledgers document sales to an impressive array of museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as important collectors such as Edward Root and Duncan Phillips. Nevertheless, the art that the gallery promoted was not yet widely accepted. Sales were few, prices were low and the business would not turn a profit for several years. Meanwhile, there was mounting pressure from Pollock, Newman, Still, and Rothko to drop some of the other artists from Parsons' stable and focus all resources on them. They wanted to be promoted to a larger audience and have their work sold at higher prices, but Parsons enjoyed discovering new artists and did not want to be restricted in this endeavor. The year 1951 marks the last time that Pollock's drip paintings or the monumental works of Newman, Rothko or Still were shown at the Betty Parsons Gallery.
In the following years the Betty Parsons Gallery continued to attract a diverse group of talented artists. Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Tuttle, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jack Youngerman had their first New York exhibitions at the Betty Parsons Gallery. Parsons opened Section Eleven in 1958, a short-lived annex to the main gallery, so that she could promote younger, less well-known artists. It closed in 1960 due to the administrative difficulties in running two essentially separate galleries.
In 1962, Sidney Janis, another prominent art dealer, started proceedings to evict Parsons from the floor that they shared on 15 East 57th Street. The Betty Parsons Gallery moved to 24 West 57th Street in 1963, where it remained until it closed in 1983, following Parsons' death the preceding year. Throughout the gallery's history, Parsons continued to promote faithful artists such as Hedda Sterne and Saul Steinberg, who had been with her from the beginning and to seek out new talent, both for her main gallery and for other venues, such as the short-lived Parsons-Truman Gallery, which she opened in 1974 with former Parsons Gallery director Jock Truman to show works on paper by emerging artists.
In addition to being an art dealer, Betty Parsons was a respected artist and collector. With her connoisseur's eye and connections, Parsons amassed an impressive private collection of art. She bought her first piece while an art student in Paris in the 1920s, a small gouache by Zadkine, but did not begin acquiring works in earnest until she was established as an art dealer. Partial inventories of her personal collection show that the majority of her collection contained works by artists associated with the gallery. Mark Rothko, Hans Hofmann, Ad Reinhardt, Agnes Martin, and Kenzo Okada were among the artists represented. Many were gifts from the artists, such as an ink drawing by Jackson Pollock, inscribed "For Betty." Selections from her collection appeared in small museums across the United States, including a traveling exhibition organized by Fitch College, New York, in 1968. In her role as a promoter of contemporary American art, Parsons lent generously from her collection, particularly to the federal Art in the Embassies Program. Throughout her life she also donated works to a variety of museums, most notably, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark.
Parsons frequently claimed that her desire to pursue a career as an artist stemmed from a visit to the Armory Show when she was thirteen. In her late teens, after pressuring her father for art lessons, she studied with the sculptor Gutzon Burglum of Mount Rushmore fame. In Paris, she continued her studies first with Antoine Bourdelle, whose sculptures she had admired at the Armory Show, and later with Ossip Zadkine. The first exhibition of her work, figurative watercolors and sculptures, took place in Paris in 1927. As she matured as an artist, her art became more abstract. Her late works were painted wood sculptures that she pieced together from wood that she found near her studio in Long Island. Parsons's work was exhibited in more than thirty solo exhibitions, including, Betty Parsons; Paintings, Gouaches and Sculpture, 1955-1968, at the Whitechapel Gallery in London. During her lifetime, she would not allow her works to be shown in her own gallery. Shortly after she died of a stroke in 1982, In Memoriam, Betty Parsons: Late Sculptures, opened at the Betty Parsons Gallery.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Betty Parsons, June 4-9, 1969, by Paul Cummings, and June 11, 1981 by Gerald Silk.
Separated Material:
Some of the material originally loaned for microfilming in 1968 and 1969 was not included in later donations and can be viewed on microfilm reels N68/62-N68/74 and N69/105-N69/106. Loaned materials are not described in the container listing in this finding aid.
Provenance:
The gallery donated some records in 1974, many of which had been loaned earlier for microfilming. The bulk of the collection was donated in 1984 and 1986 by William Rayner and Christopher Schwabacher, executors of the Estate of Betty Parsons. Additional material was donated by William Rayner in 1998 and Christopher Schwabacher in 2017. Additional material was donated in 2018 by the Lee Hall estate via Carolyn Crozier and Deborah Jacobson, co-executors. Hall was Parsons's biographer and had the material in her possession at the time of Parsons's death. An additional photograph of Parons and Marie Carr Taylor by Henri Cartier-Bresson was donated in 2021 by Mary Carpenter, who inherited the photograph from her mother, Nan Thorton Jones, who received it as a gift from Taylor.
Restrictions:
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.
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:
Gallery owners -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The Cleve Gray papers, 1933-2005, measure 9.2 linear feet. Papers include biographical material, alphabetical files, writings, artwork, audio/visual records, artifacts, printed material, and photographs. Extensive alphabetical files contain personal and professional correspondence as well as subject files relating to projects and interests. Especially well-documented are: Gray's involvement with the Vietnam protest movement; and Threnody, his best-known work composed of fourteen large panels lamenting the dead of both sides sides in Vietnam, commissioned by the Neuberger Museum of Art.
Scope and Content Note:
The Cleve Gray papers, 1933-2005, measure 9.2 linear feet. Papers include biographical material, alphabetical files, writings, artwork, audio/visual records, artifacts, printed material, and photographs. Extensive alphabetical files contain personal and professional correspondence as well as subject files relating to projects and interests. Especially well-documented are: Gray's involvement with the Vietnam movement; and Threnody, his best-known work composed of fourteen large panels lamenting the dead of both sides sides in Vietnam, commissioned by the Neuberger Museum of Art.
Among the biographical material are award and membership certificates, biographical notes, and personal documentation.
The alphabetical files contain Cleve Gray's personal and professional correspondence, as well as subject files relating to projects and interests. Correspondence is with friends and family, colleagues, publishers, museum curators and directors, art dealers, collectors, and fans. Among the correspondents of note are: Jacques Barzun, James E. Davis, Naum Gabo, Louise N. Grace, Hans and Fridel Richter, and Jacques and Gaby Villon. Other substantial correspondence includes: Berry-Hill Galleries, Betty Parsons Gallery, Connecticut Commission on the Arts, Jacques Seligmann and Co., Neuberger Museum of Art, Pratt Institute, Princeton University, and Rhode Island School of Design. Subject files mostly consist of correspondence, but include printed material and some photographs. Among the subject files are: Art Collection of Cleve and Francine Gray, Artist-Dealer Consignments and Visual Artists' Rights Act of 1989, Artists' Tax Equity Act of 1979, Promised Gifts to Museums, Threnody, Vestments, and Vietnam Protest. Of particular interest are files relating to the Estate of Hans Richter (Cleve Gray, executor), and Gray's research correspondence and illustrations for his Cosmopolitan article "Women-Leaders of Modern Art."
Writings are manuscripts and drafts, research materials, notes, and miscellaneous writings by Cleve Gray and other authors. Those by Gray include articles and catalog introductions on a wide range of art-related topics, as well as book and exhibition reviews. Also found are a book proposal, texts and notes for lectures and talks, miscellaneous notes, poems, political statements, and student papers. Of particular interest are autobiographical notes in the form of a chronology that his biographer, Nicholas Fox Weber, cited as an "autochronology."
Among the writings by other authors are pieces about Cleve Gray including Nicholas Fox Weber's manuscript Cleve Gray. A significant amount of material relates to three books edited by Gray: David Smith by David Smith: Sculpture and Writings, Hans Richter, and John Marin. Research material survives for an unpublished volume, Naum Gabo. Also included are notes relating to his translation of A l'Infinitif by Marcel Duchamp. Jane Daggett Dillenberger is represented by a lecture, "The Resurrection in Art." The remaining items by other authors are unsigned; of particular interest is a small notebook of reminiscences and notes about Jackson Pollock.
Artwork by Cleve Gray consists mostly drawings and sketches, and a small number of paintings, prints, and watercolors. Works by other artists consist are an unsigned mobile of paper cut-outs, possibly by Alexander Calder, and a pencil drawing signed Dick (probably Richard Avedon).
Audio recordings are a radio broadcast featuring Cleve Gray, several lectures by Gray on John Marin, and a lecture titled "Meaning in the Visual Arts." Other recordings are of Hans Richter and an interview with Jimmy Ernst conducted by Francine du Plessix Gray. Also found is a videocassette of "Glenville School Students at SUNY (Lincoln Center Activity)."
Artifacts are a Chinese scroll representative of those that hung in Cleve Gray's studio, two of his paintbrushes, Aberdeen-Angus Breeders' Association blue ribbon, and Neuberger Museum of Art Lifetime Achievement Award.
The vast majority of printed material - articles, clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, reproductions of art work, etc. - are about or by Cleve Gray. Miscellaneous items and publications mentioning Gray consist of annual reports, brochures, calendars, newsletters, programs, etc. Clippings about Vietnam and Vietnam protest memorabilia reflect his passionate involvement in the anti-war movement; a small number of these items mention Gray or were written by him.
Photographs are of artwork, events, people, places, and miscellaneous subjects. Most of the art work appearing in the photographs is by Cleve Gray and includes images of destroyed paintings. Also found is an original print of Photo Abstraction by Gray, circa 1934. Of particular note are photographs of Threnody, among them preparatory drawings and views of the work in progress. Photographs of artwork by other artists include Louise N. Grace, Jacques Lipchitz, John Marin, Hans Richter, and Jacques Villon.
Photographs of people are mainly portraits of Gray, and views of him with his wife and sons. Other individuals appearing in photographs are Hans Richter and some of Richter's descendants. Pictures of places consist of Gray's studio.
Events are an unidentified exhibition opening. Miscellaneous subjects are mostly exhibition installations. Illustrations consist of photographs published in David Smith by David Smith: Sculpture and Writings. Also found are small number of negatives and color transparencies.
Arrangement:
The collection is organized into 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1943-circa 2001 (Box 1; 0.1 linear ft.)
Series 2: Alphabetical Files, 1936-2005 (Boxes 1-5, 9; 4.3 linear ft.)
Series 3: Writings, 1935-2000 (Boxes 5-6; 0.85 linear ft.)
Series 4: Artwork, circa 1933-1987 (Boxes 6, 9, OV 12; 0.45 linear ft.)
Series 5: Audio/Visual Records, 1971-1989 (Box 6; 0.25 linear ft.)
Series 6: Artifacts, 1957-1999 (Box 6, RD 11; 0.45 linear ft.)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1933-2005 (Boxes 7-8; 1.25 linear ft.)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1934-2002 (Boxes 8-10; 1.15 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Abstract Expressionist painter, sculptor, and writer Cleve Gray (1918-2004) lived and worked in Connecticut where he was politically active in the Vietnam protest movement and other liberal causes.
Born Cleve Ginsberg in New York City (the family changed its name to Gray in 1936), he attended the Ethical Culture School and at a young age developed a fascination with color and paint. At the urging of friends, Cleve's parents allowed him to accompany a school friend for lessons with George Bellows' student Antonia Nell. She encouraged and inspired the young artist, and a still life he painted in her class was shown at the National Academy of Design's 1932 annual exhibition. Miss Nell also introduced him to Louise N. Grace, an artist who became a good friend and had a lasting influence on him. While a student at Phillips Academy, Cleve studied painting with Bartlett Hayes and aspired to paint in France. Upon his graduation in 1936, he was awarded the Samuel F. B. Morse Prize for most promising art student.
Gray's mother was always supportive of his career choice. His businessman father, who didn't understand his son's desire to be an artist, insisted on a college education. Cleve chose Princeton, where he majored in art and archaeology, and studied painting with James E. Davis. His senior thesis was on Chinese landscape painting; both Eastern philosophy and art were long-term influences on Gray's work and outlook. He graduated summa cum laude in 1940, and then spent several months painting while living at the farm of a family friend in Mendham, New Jersey.
When a doctor suggeted that a dry climate might relieve sinus and asthma problems, Gray moved to Tucson, Arizona. Once settled in the desert, he contacted Louise N. Grace, whom he had met as a young teenager through his art instructor. Miss Grace, an artist and daughter of the founder of W. R. Grace and Co., was a highly cultured and independent woman older than his parents. The summer before Gray entered Phillips Academy, she had hired him to brush ground color onto canvases for murals she was painting for "Eleven Arches," her home in Tuscon then under construction. Miss Grace invited Gray to visit "Eleven Arches" to see the completed murals, and despite the substantial age difference, their friendship deepened; Gray found in her intellectual and spiritual guidance that was lacking in his own family. He remained in Tucson until enlisting in the U. S. Army in 1942, and they corresponded frequently during the the war. When a stroke in 1948 prevented Miss Grace from participating in the extensive tour of Europe she was arranging for a small group of friends, including Gray, she provided sufficient funds and insisted he make the trip on his own. Another stroke, suffered while Gray was traveling, left her in a coma; he was not permitted to see her again. Upon her death in 1954, Gray inherited "Eleven Arches."
Between 1943 and 1946, Gray was stationed in England, France, and Germany, serving in Army Signal Intelligence. Most of his work was performed at night, and he spent his free time drawing. While in London, Gray produced many colored pencil drawings of buildings that had been bombed. In France, a Red Cross volunteered to introduce him to Jacques Villon; although unfamiliar with the artist, Gray knew of Villon's brother, Marcel Duchamp, and accepted the invitation. Jacques and Gaby Villon lived near Gray's billet and he became a frequent visitor. Their friendship was important to his development as an artist. After being discharged from the Army in 1946, Gray remained in France to work with Villon who introduced him to the study of color and the concept of intellectual quality in painting. Gray also studied informally with André Lhote, Villon's former teacher. "American Painters in Paris," an exhibition presented in 1946 at Galerie Durand-Ruel, included work by Cleve Gray.
He returned to New York City in 1946. In the tight post-war rental market Gray managed to find a small room upstairs from a grocery store on East 106th Street for use as a studio. He commenced painting the London Ruins series based on drawings he had made during the war, and began thinking about exhibiting in New York. Gray secured introductions to Pierre Matisse, Curt Valentin, and Dorothy Miller. They encouraged him, but no opportunities came his way until Germain Seligmann, whose gallery was expanding its scope to include contemporary art, followed the advice of Curt Valentin and looked at Gray's work. Gary's first solo exhibition, held at Jacques Seligmann and Co., included selections from the London Ruins series, paintings done in Maine and Arizona, and a few portraits. The New York Times called it "an auspicious first," and one of the London Ruins series was selected by Edward Alden Jewell for the "Critic's Exhibition" at Grand Central Gallery.
Gray found New York City too frenetic. In 1949 he bought a large, old house in Warren, Connecticut, and lived and worked at "Graystones" for the remainder of his life. Half of a 6-car garage was converted to a studio; many years later, his studio moved to a barn, its renovation and design planned by sculptor and architect Tony Smith.
He married Francine du Plessix in 1957. Always interested in literature and philosophy, in the 1960s Francine du Plessix Gray began contributing articles to The New Yorker and is still affiliated with the magazine. Her reviews and articles appeared in prominent publications, and she wrote several award-winning novels and biographies. Their sons, Thaddeus and Luke (now a painter), were born in 1959 and 1961. Francine's mother, Tatiana du Plessix (the hat designer Tatiana of Saks), and step-father, the sculptor Alexander Liberman (also former art director of Vogue and later editorial director of Condé Nast publications) became Cleve Gray's closest friends.
The paintings and drawings of Cleve Gray - first consisting of figures and portraits, and then abstract compositions - were often produced in series. The earliest series, London Ruins, grew from the colored pencil drawings made while stationed in London during World War II. Travels to France, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Hawaii, Spain, Egypt, Japan, and Czechoslovakia, inspired many series, among them: Etruscan, Augury, Ceres, Demeter Landscape, Hera, Morocco, Hawaii, Ramses, Perne, Hatshepsut, Roman Walls, Zen, and Prague. His hometown, the Holocaust, and musicians inspired other series: Warren, Sleepers Awake!, Bela Bartok, and Four Heads of Anton Bruckner. Some series were works on paper, others were collage canvases, and a few series later spawned prints. Gray began using acrylics in the 1940s. Although the medium offered many benefits, he did not always like its appearance and frequently returned to oils. Around 1966 Gray was painting almost exclusively with acrylic, and eventually developed a technique of thinning the paint and applying successive layers of color (sometimes by pouring or with a sponge) on cotton duck rather than traditional canvas.
Gray was attracted to sculpture, too, working in that medium at different points in his career. His first sculpture, in plaster, was completed in 1959. In the early 1960s he visited a commercial sand-casting foundry and became excited about learning to cast in bronze. He made about a dozen sculptures to cast in sand, but due to too much undercutting, their casting became too difficult a problem. Lava flows seen while in Hawaii during 1970 and 1971 inspired a return to sculpture. This time, he used wood, papier maché, and metal. Gray then decided these pieces should be cast in bronze, and he was determined to do it himself. Friends taught him the lost wax process and he began working at the Tallix Foundry in Peekskill, New York where, over the next year, he cast about forty bronzes.
Gray's best known work is Threnody, a lament for the dead of both sides in Vietnam. In 1972, Gray received a commission to fill a very large gallery of the soon-to-open Neuberger Museum of Art (State University of New York, College at Purchase) designed by Philip Johnson. Friends of the Neuberger Museum paid his expenses and Gray, who was enormously excited about the project he considered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, donated his time. Developing plans for the execution of Threnody consumed most of his time during 1972 and 1973. Composed of a series of fourteen panels, each approximately twenty feet square, the piece presented a number of technical challenges. It was constructed and painted in situ during the summer and early fall of 1973. Since then, Threnody has been reinstalled at the Neuberger Museum of Art on several occasions.
Gray was commissioned to design liturgical vestments for two Episcopal churches in Connecticut in the 1970s. A chasuble, stoles, and a mitre were commissioned by the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut in 1984.
He won the "Outdoor Art at the Station Competition," for Union Station, Hartford, Connecticut. His very large porcelain enamel tile mural, Movement in Space, was installed on the façade of the transportation center in 1988.
Gray began writing occasional articles and exhibition reviews in the late 1940s. His concern with rational structure in art led him to question Abstract Expressionism and write "Narcissus in Chaos." This article, published in 1959 by The American Scholar, drew considerable attention. In 1960, Cosmopolitan published "Women - Leaders of Modern Art" that featured Nell Blaine, Joan Brown, Elaine de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, Sonia Gretchoff, Grace Hartigan, Ethel Magafan, Louise Nevelson, and Georgia O'Keeffe. Between 1960 and 1970, Gray was a contributing editor of Art In America, producing numerous articles (a few co-authored with Francine) and reviews for the periodical. He edited three books, David Smith by David Smith: Scupture and Writings, Hans Richter, and John Marin, all published by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, and translated Marcel Duchamp's A l'Infinitif.
During the early 1960s, Gray became intensely focused on the situation in Vietnam. His first artistic response came in 1963 with Reverend Quan Duc, painted to commemorate a Buddhist monk who had immolated himself. Francine, too, felt strongly about the issue and over time the couple became increasingly active in the anti-war movement. They joined a number of organizations and helped to found a local chapter of Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. The years 1968 and 1969 were an especially intense and active period for the Grays. They protested, wrote and spoke out against the war, raised funds to support anti-war political candidates, and on a few occasions were arrested and jailed. Writing for Art in America, editing the book series, and anti-war activities left little time for his art. In 1970 Gray refocused his attention on painting.
Beginning in 1947, Gray was always represented by a New York Gallery: Jacques Seligmann and Co. (1947-1959), Staempfli Gallery (1960-1965), Saidenberg Gallery (1965-1968), Betty Parsons Gallery (1968-1983), Armstrong Gallery (1984-1987), and Berry-Hill Galleries (1988-2003). He was represented by galleries in other cities, as well, but not as consistently or for such long periods.
He exhibited extensively in group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States and internationally. In addition to numerous solo exhibitions presented by the dealers who represented Gray, there were retrospective exhibitions at: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Brooklyn Museum, Columbus Museum of Art, Krannert Art Museum (University of Illinois, Champaign), Princeton University Art Museum, Rhode Island School of Design, and Wadsworth Atheneum.
Many museums' permanent collections include the work of Cleve Gray, among them: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Butler Institute of American Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Neuberger Museum of Art (SUNY, College at Purchase), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), Newark Museum, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Phillips Collection, Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), Smithsonian Institution, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Yale University Art Gallery.
Cleve Gray served as artist-in-residence at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in 1963 and at the Honolulu Academy of Arts in 1970, both sponsored by Ford Foundation programs. In 1980, he was appointed an artist-in-residence at the American Academy in Rome, where Francine concurrently served as a writer-in-residence; they returned for shorter periods during each of the subsequent seven years. Cleve Gray was presented the Connecticut Arts Award in 1987, and the Neuberger Museum of Art Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. He was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Hartford in 1992, and was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1998. In addition, he was a trustee of the Neuberger Museum of Art, New York Studio School, Rhode Island School of Design, and Wadsworth Atheneum.
Cleve Gray hit his head and suffered a massive subdural hematoma after falling on ice outside of his home. He died the following day, December 8, 2004.
Separated Material:
Exhibition catalogs and announcements and two scrapbooks donated to the Archives in 1967 and 1968 were microfilmed on reels D314-D315. Items on reel D315, transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum Library in 1975, are not described in this finding aid.
Provenance:
The Cleve Gray papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Mr. Gray in 1967 and 1968. The bulk of the collection was given by his widow, Francine du Plessix Gray, in 2007 and 2008.
Restrictions:
Use of original material requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordigs with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
Loose sheets and covers; oversize material housed in Box 15
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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:
George Grey Barnard papers, circa 1860-1969, bulk 1880-1938. 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. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
This series contains family correspondence and extensive professional letters from noted artists and art world figures including critics, writers, collectors, museums and other art institutions. Scattered letters from Pach can also be found here.
See Appendix for partial chronological list of letters from Series 2.
Arrangement note:
This series is arranged as two subseries.
Missing Title
2.1: Family Correspondence, 1883-1980
2.2. General Correspondence, 1903-1969
Appendix: Partial Chronological List of Letters from Series 2:
Missing Title
From J.B. Young [?], October 5, 1900: New York, N.Y. Eric Dell recovered from consumption; Terry also had it and was treated at an English sanitarium; entertained several actors; made a brief trip to the country. 2 pp., illustrated with drawing, "an interpretation of how you will look when you next visit New York."
From Franji Vaatsvoort, September 18, 1903: Haarlem, the Netherlands. Severe storm; received Pach's postcards. Picture postcard (Frans Hals, "Cordelia Voogt Claesd., vrouw van Nicolaes van der Meer"
From Theodore Roosevelt, Washington, D.C., March 5, 1904: President's autograph. Card with engraving of the White House.
From Frank R. Wadsworth, Chicago, Ill., [postmarked] March 2, 1905: Intends to go to Spain; advises Pach to write about art; recommends the Madrid gallery; discusses Chicago's new orchestra hall and the death of Thomas; opinions about the jury system; is sending pictures to Philadelphia, the one eastern city likely to accept them. 6 pp. + enclosures (silhouettes of monkey, 3 birds, and cat by a 10-year-old child).
From Luis E. de la Rochas, Madrid, Spain, December 24, 1905: thanks Pach for photographs of works of art; inquires about the progress of Pach's own painting; will send a picture of his latest painting, as he is interested in Pach's opinion; sends regards to Mr. Chase. 3 pp., in Spanish, illustrated with drawing of a bearded man.
From Edith Bell, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] December 24, 1905: Christmas greetings; thanks Pach for showing her the Goya sketch. 2 pp.
To Claude Monet, Giverny, France, June 3, 1906: advises that knowing how to use color is most important and should become a matter of habit; lists his palette. 1 p., in French, typescript copy.
From Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, N.Y., February 13, 1907: printed form letter with payment for "The Memoria of Velasquez."
From Moriye Ogihara, Vitry-sur-Seine, France, [postmarked] April 24, 1907: mentions Kenzan picture Pach is interested in; thanks Pach for showing sketch to Henri, Ogihara's former teacher; lists some exhibitors in the Salon, with opinions of their work; thinks Rodin's work is great; he met Rodin at his studio. 4 pp. + 1 p. enclosure (note to Yamanaka & Co., New York, about Kenzan picture), in Japanese.
From Piet van der Laan, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, May 11, 1907: likes portrait of Pach by Chase with its strong "Rembrandtic" shadow; reminisces about Chase; hopes to marry Annie in August. 4 pp.
From Moriye Ogihara, Vitry-sur-Seine, France, [postmarked] September 10, 1907: wonders if and when Pach is returning to Paris. Postal card.
From Moriye Ogihara, Vitry-sur-Seine, France, [postmarked] September 12, 1907: urges Pach to visit after his stay in Italy. Picture postcard ("Reine d'Egypte en Isis--Bronze antique").
From [signature illegible], Director, The Royal House, Florence, Italy, October 5, 1907: the king grants permission to copy the Catherine de Medici portrait at the Pitti Palace. 1 p., in Italian.
From Claude Monet, Giverny, France, November 4, 1907: Monet will receive Pach this week on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon. 1 p., in French.
From Lelebuss, New York, N.Y., November 21, 1907: thanks Pach for birthday greetings; several friends are now married.
From Edith Bell, New York, N.Y., November 25, 1907: visited Henri and saw 40 canvases; describes Henri's new studio at 135 E. 40th St.; Lawson and Stevenson called at the studio while she was there; recalls Pach's description of visits to Monet and Ogihara; "it is my belief that Mr. Henri is afraid of George Bellows. He praises him so." 5 pp. + enclosure (photograph of a portrait by Edith Bell).
From Moriye Ogihara, Florence, Italy, December 25, 1907: Christmas greetings; discusses travels in Italy and art seen. 4 pp.
From Moriye Ogihara, Florence, Italy, December 26, 1907: has been to the Academy; praises Miss Frohberg. Picture postcard ("Firenze Lung' Arno Corsine").
To Alice Klauber from Walter Pach, Paris, France, January 3, 1908: he is looking at art; received a picture from her cousin; asks if she saw the article on Matisse he wrote for the Hearst paper. Picture postcard ("Frans Hals, La Bohemienne"), in Japanese, with English postscript.
From Moriye Ogihara, Arezzo, Italy, January 5, 1908: leaving for Assisi soon; stayed too long in Florence sightseeing with Magdalene. Picture postcard ("Arezzo, La Catte drale").
From Moriye Ogihara, Rome, Italy, [postmarked] January 14, 1908: staying at the same pensione as Frost. Picture postcard ("Torso di Belvedere di Dietro").
From Moriye Ogihara, Athens, Greece, January 22, 1908: discusses sightseeing in Greece and his trip through Italy; observations about Frost; "I appreciate Rodin very much since I have been in Italy"; offers to correct Pach's written Japanese.
From Gerda Stein, [place unknown], January 29, 1908: "Dearest love to Lena and best wishes for a very happy Birthday." Greeting card.
From Roger Marx, Editor, -- Gazette des Beaux-Arts -- , Paris, France, February 12, 1908: wants to publish a comprehensive study of the state of painting in the United States; must choose between original engravings and photographic reproductions for illustrations. 2 pp., in French.
From Moriye Ogihara, Cairo, Egypt, February 13, 1908: steamer has been delayed two days but he can continue to work. Picture postcard ("Ramesseum at Thebes").
From [Rais?], Paris, France, [postmarked] March 19, 1908: invites Pach to visit on Friday. 1 p., in French.
From William Merritt Chase, Florence, Italy, July 16, 1908: is leaving for Paris tomorrow; invites Pach to meet him at Caffe [sic] Du Paix that evening. 1 p.
From Olga [de?], Paris, France, December 24, 1908: has completed 3 portrait commissions; wants to see the Velasquez, which is said to be "splendid." Picture postcard ("Paris, Eglise Saint-Augustin"), in French.
From Piet van der Laan, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, February 6, 1909: is looking for a new teaching position; their infant son is now healthier. 3 pp.
From Annie van der Laan, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, March 13, 1909: thanks Pach for the brush and birthday greetings; invites him to the Netherlands; tells about their baby. 1 p., in Dutch.
From Piet van der Laan, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, March 15, 1909: discusses Shaw's -- Candida -- and -- Man and Superman -- ; is studying Nietzsche. 2 pp.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., May 29, 1909: discusses Pach's essay about him. 1 p.
From Moriye Ogihara, Tokyo, Japan, May 30, 1909: "Devil came into my mind and I am suffering and suffering"; Saito visited with news of Pach and pictures to exhibit at the Taiheiyo Art Association. Sequence of 5 picture postcards (1, "Wisteria"; 2. "Peony Blossoms at Yotsame"; 3. [bridge--title in Japanese]; 4. "Iris"; 5. "Peony Blossoms at Yotsame").
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., June 1 [10?], 1909: wishes to reschedule studio visit by Pach and Mr. Of. 2 pp.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] July 9, 1909: interested in Gauguin and how he compares with Degas. 1 p.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., April 8, 1910: sends clipping about Matisse; recommends article about the Venus de Milo. 1 p.
From K. Tohary, Tokyo, Japan, May 11, 1910: Moriye Ogihara died in Tokyo, April 22, following an attack of vomiting blood; Tohary plans to publish a book about him; requests that Pach send Ogihara's letters and any recollections he wants to contribute. Rice paper scroll.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., May 14, 1910: "I found your article on Matisse the most enlightening I have read so far." 1 p.
From Albert Pinkham Ryder, New York, N.Y., May 26, 1910: thanks Pach for "kindly interest" in his work. 1 p. + enclosure (reprint of a poem, "The Voice of the Forest").
From Henri Rouart, La Queue en Brie, France, September 17, 1910: sorry he was unavailable to welcome Pach and his friends. 1 p., in French.
From [unknown], New York, N.Y., [postmarked] October 5, 1910: empty envelope with no return address. Sketch of head on reverse.
From Clifton A. Wheeler, Mooresville, Ind., October 12, 1910: describes fellow passengers aboard ship; gives details of getting paintings through customs; advises Pach to start preparing necessary documents for bringing home his property. 5 pp. + enclosures (4 small etchings: 2 portraits, 2 landscapes).
From Julian Alden Weir, New York, N.Y., November 25, 1910: discusses his interest in etching, especially drypoint. 4 pp.
From Morton Livingston Schamberg, Philadelphia, Pa., December 27, 1910: met Stieglitz and "was well satisfied with his attitude. He hasn't the intelligence of a Leo Stein but he is sincerely interested and is getting into a position where he could do one lots of good"; met Hartley; visited Henri's studio; Stieglitz and Henri think "I am too cock-sure of myself. If they only knew"; completed 20 to 25 pictures in the last year; sends photographs of some. 3 pp. + enclosures (7 photographs of Schamberg's work: 6 figures, 1 exhibition installation).
From Adolph Werner, New York, N.Y., December 21, 1910: is teaching less at the university now that he is the "President's lieutenant." 2 pp.
From Auguste Renoir, Cagnes, France, March 28, 1911: thanks Pach for allowing him to review the article before publication; wants the interview portion withheld because it seems critical of Saint-Saens and Pillet-Will and suggests posthumous publication; feels flattered by Pach's review. 4 pp., in French.
From Eugène Leroy, Paris, France, March 27, 1911: is happy to have been of service; the Association Philotechnique enjoys meeting foreigners who appreciate its teachings and will take home pleasant memories of France. Note on calling card, in French.
From Auguste Rodin, Paris, France, June 1, 1911: is willing to meet with Pach to discuss Fujikawa's book on Ogihara. 2 pp., in French.
From E. D. Smyth, Côtes-du-Nord, France, August 31, 1911: will answer Pach's letter; apologizes for being fussy about the Stendahl etc." Picture postcard (Etables, Côtes-du-Nord, Les Grottoes.")
From E.D. Smyth, Côtes-du-Nord, France, September 5, 1911: is leaving soon for Saint-Malo; will return Pach's "Tuscan book" and send 2 others; recounts events of the summer; describes some hotel guests and the cottage where her family is staying; wants to see Daumier originals. 14 pp.
From Ruth A. Wilmot, Brooklyn, N.Y., October 7, 1911: is glad their misunderstanding is straightened out; someone on the boat unintentionally insulted her companion; homesick for Paris; working again; finds New York "invigorating." 5 pp.
From Joe Garvey, Alpine, N.J., November 21, 1911: is back From honeymoon; wants to go to Europe but first must sell property. 4 pp.
From Herman Reimers, Christiana, Norway, November 24, 1911: thanks Pach for the gift of an etching; will not be moving to Paris after all; was appointed director of political affairs at the ministry. 4 pp., in French.
From Tete, New York, N.Y., December 14, 1911: Christmas greetings; misses him; family news; has been in contact with Pach's parents. 4 pp., with sketches of busts on the envelope.
From Margherita Innocenti, Pensione Innocenti, Florence, Italy, December 22, 1911: thanks Pach for kind words about her and for recommending the pensione; 4 American women are there now. 3 pp., in Italian.
From Margherita Innocenti, Pensione Innocenti, Florence, Italy, February 9, 1912: -- Ladies -- . Will be happy to have friends of Pach stay at the pensione. 1 p., in Italian.
From E.D. Smyth, Florence, Italy, February 21, 1912: describes guests at Pensione Innocenti; met young Italian artist, Gino "Sensano or Sanseno [Severini]," who knows Stella and other mutual friends; recounts visits with Signorina A.B. and Mr. Loeser; returning by sea due to Helen's illness; will not see Pach again this trip. 6 pp.
From Louis Lombard, [place unknown], April 15, 1912: note of dedication, 1 p. + 2 pp. enclosure (copy of "Chants d'Amour," a poem by Henry Marx), in French.
From E.D. Smyth, [place unknown], Ireland, April 27, 1912: "Have made half my notes From the cahier" and will send them to H.M. soon. Postal card.
From Eugène, Paris, France, [postmarked] April 26, 1912: will come on Sunday at 9:00; is happy that Pach was not expelled because now he can work in peace for a few more days. 1 p., in French.
From Arthur Burdett Frost, Davos, Switzerland, May 5, 1912: has eye problems that doctors cannot treat; Jack is recovering; plans to spend summer in the Black Forest and return to Davos for the winter; Pach writes well; finds it "refeshing to read really honest stuff"; is working on a book of caricatures. 8 pp.
From Fujikawa, Paris, France, June 4, 1912: saw Mr. Molissa and is interested in his work; Pach should express Fujikawa's thanks to Molissa; is going to Florence where he hopes to see Pach; requests photographs of any new work Pach completes. 3 pp. + 5 enclosures (brief thank you notes From M. Lernait, Tererco?, L. Lombard, Louis Varday, and Romanet), in French.
From Georges Speirer, Paris, France, June 6, 1912: heard From friends that Pach is in Florence. 2 pp., in French.
From [signature illegible (L.L.?)], Levallois, France, July 1, 1912: hopes Pach will spend the winter in Paris; is glad Pach is pleased with his paintings of Arezzo. 4 pp., in French.
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, July 19, 1912: thanks Pach for his letters; will send photographs taken at his country house; friends agree with Pach's assessment of Milan. 6 pp., in French.
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, July [30?], 1912: is not surprised that Pach received a discouraging letter From Floury, who has requested another translator; Faure wants Pach to do the job. 4 pp., in French.
From Egisto Fabbri, Paris, France, November 28, 1912: declines Pach's invitation, due to illness. 1 p.
From G.A. Bourdelle, [place unknown], December 4, 1912: the Toussaint sculpture can be installed with or without a socle; declined to participate in the New York exhibition before realizing Pach was the organizer; keep the photograph of Toussaint's work. 3 pp., in French.
From [unknown], Gambier, Ohio, [postmarked] December 4, 1912: empty envelope with no return address.
From Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Paris, France, December 6, 1912: Two sculptures, -- Woman Kneeling -- and -- Large Torso -- , and 2 drawings are being sent to Pach for his exhibition. 1 p., in French.
From Robert Henri, New York, N.Y., January 3, 1913: discusses photographs of Besnard's work; reminisces about discovering decorations by Besnard at the College of Pharmacie; compliments Pach's Winslow Homer article; "there is a growing state of expectancy about the 'armory' exhibition, and there is little doubt but that it will make a great stir, and do a great deal of good in a great variety of directions"; news of George Bellows, Guy Pène du Bois, Boss, Kent, Coleman, Sprinchorn, Sloan, Van Sloun, and Bohnen. 4 pp.
From Odilon Redon, [place unknown], France, January 6, 1913: he is flattered by Pach's article, which he believes will enhance his reputation in America; Pach should try to visit soon, as they plan to go south in a few days. 2 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Paris, France, January 16, 1913: agrees with Pach that each generation of artists draws inspiration From undeveloped ideas found in the work of preceding generations; no French architectural style has emerged since the 18th century, confirming the idea that eras without defined aspirations produce no monuments; current politics and intellectual freedom presage hope for the 20th century; as Pach demonstrated, painting was the dominant 19th-century aesthetic, thus developments in other arts will come From painting; a new architecture is needed for modern life; in a time when money reigns supreme, artists should practice simplicity; machines are now a powerful presence in all of life. 4 pp., in French.
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, [postmarked] January 24, 1913: his cousin has just finished a painting that Pach should see; invites Pach to dinner. 1 p., in French.
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, February 11, 1913: if he goes to England, he will contact Mr. Fry; wants to introduce a painter friend to the Steins; Pach is a rare friend and intellectual equal. 2 pp., in French.
From Jacqueline d'Argent, Chinon, France, March 1, 1913: has fond memories of their interesting conversations; present acquaintances are not intellectual and gossip too much; applied for a medical assignment in Algeria but is unsure about moving. 2 pp., in French.
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, March 13, 1913: asks Pach to decide the price of the bronze; congratulations on the success of the exhibition. 3 pp., in French.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] April 5, 1913: borrowed works are being returned to Europe; Roman Bronze Co. could make a good cast of Brancusi's -- Mlle. Pogany -- owned by Belle Greene; "looking forward to a genuine recreation in Boston as to art interest"; doubts Chicago's appreciation, Mr. Eddy notwithstanding. 2 pp.
From Ary Le Bland, Paris, France, April 5, 1913: a copy of -- La Vie -- , featuring the information Pach provided about Redon, is being sent; asks Pach to write about art trends in America for -- La Vie -- and publicize the magazine. Postal card, in French.
From Jacques Villon, Paris, France, April 13, 1913: congratulates and thanks Pach for promoting the acceptance of modern art; extends appreciation to Davies and Kuhn. 3 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, [place unknown], France, April 18, 1913: received Pach's letter and check; the Duchamp brothers are embarrassed by their success and do not talk about it; wishes Gleizes were having his share of it; asks how the other artists fared; a commission agency requested cubist paintings for America; worried that cubism is becoming a commodity; the 4 copies of -- Noa, Noa -- he purchased at a good price have been shipped. 2 pp., in French.
From M. Lernait [Lemaitre?], Saigon, Indochina, May 25, 1913: thanks Pach for writing and for his friendship; the countryside near Saigon is beautiful; he misses Paris. 4 pp., in French.
From Jacques Villon, Versailles, France, June 19, 1913: thanks Pach for selling another painting; Salon d'Automne opens later than usual this year; Torrey called on him, Marcel, and Picabia; Raymond is going on vacation soon; sends regards to Davies and Kuhn. 4 pp., in French.
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Boston, Mass., June 25, 1913: is recovering From surgery; thanks Pach for sending postcards and showing interest in him. 3 pp.
From Jean Le Roy, Paris, France, [postmarked] July 1, 1913: comments on the success of Pach's exhibition; has a temporary job; finished college; might travel to Guinea; discusses his poetry published in -- Les Bandeaux d'Oro -- ; met de Verhaeren, whom he admires. 4 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, July 2, [1913?]: heard all about the American exhibition From his brothers; thanks Pach for "enthusiastically defending their work"; still awaiting payment; will spend August in England; Torrey called on them. 3 pp., in French.
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Boston, Mass., [postmarked] July 11, 1913: is recovering From his "hospital experience"; recounts trouble with studio lease; asks Pach to notify him of suitable space available in New York. 4 pp.
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, August 1, 1913: Pach is a kindred spirit; Pach's competence and ability to elicit appreciation for modern painting made the show a success. 2 pp., in French.
From F. Wentscher, [place unknown], Hungary, August 24, 1913: is painting out of doors; won't return to Paris until November. Postal card, with original illustration of horse-drawn carriage, in German.
From Jacqueline d'Argent, Blida, Algeria, September 8, 1913: is now practicing medicine in Blida; describes the scenery and local people; congratulates Pach on his marriage. 6 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, September 25, 1913: just received Pach's article and will comment on it in the next letter; thanks Pach for promoting his and friends' work; will see the Steins soon and try to learn more of the rumored American reaction against their ideas; the Salon d'Automne opening is delayed until November; Pach's mention of the Delaunay affair confirms rumors of discord; asks Pach to determine if and when unsold paintings and sculpture were returned. 2 pp., in French.
From Clifton A. Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., December 22, 1913: museum's schedule cannot accommodate Pach's exhibition; describes upcoming January show; the museum hopes to acquire a Davies painting; "the exhibition in Chicago (The International) did not strike me with overwhelming force, but I have enough respect for the opinions of Mr. Davies and yourself to admit that the fault may have been my own"; congratulations on engagement to Miss Frohberg. 7 pp. + 1 p. postscript from -- Hila Drake Wheeler -- wishing Pach and Miss Frohberg happiness.
From G. Villon, Paris, France, [1914]: congratulations on the birth of Pach's son; heard From her husband who is in the army; asks Pach's opinion of some drawings; is working with blind children in a hospital. 4 pp., in French.
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, January 26, 1914: asks Pach to determine whether the owner of -- Muse Endormie -- wants the piece in marble; a reduced price is possible, but he must know soon; met Mrs. Stieglitz; asks Pach's advice about showing his marbles in New York. 4 pp., in French.
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, February 19, 1914: received the check; distressed to be participating in a show that may prove harmful to Pach's cause; asks Pach not to be hurt by his unwitting mistake. 4 pp., in French.
From Walter Arensberg, Boston, Mass., March 1, 1914: "The exhibition was tremendously fresh and fine"; compliments Pach's work. 1 p.
From Jean Le Roy, Paris, France, [postmarked] March 4, 1914: congratulations on Pach's marriage; encourages him to continue painting; news of Lombard and Clapp. 2 pp., in French.
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Saint-Malo, France, June 12, 1914: thanks Pach for reproducing his work in -- Century -- magazine; is returning home sooner than planned; Renoir's new work is "way ahead of his former landscapes." 3 pp.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Courbevoie, France, June 26, 1914: is impatient for news of a proposed project; Mrs. A. Roosevelt will be in touch with Pach; her work has shown progress; during the past year, modern art has begun to attract interest and generate discussion among some previously unreceptive people. 2 pp., in French.
From Odilon Redon, Bièvres, France, July 10, 1914: if Pach organizes another exhibition, he wants to participate. 3 pp., in French.
From Joseph Stella, Venice, Italy, July 20, 1914: discusses his travels in Europe; Greece reminded him of Davies's pictures; no reply From the futurists in Milan; recounts a meeting with Walkowitz in Patrai, Greece. 5 pp.
From Alexandre Mercereau, Paris, France, [postmarked] July 30, 1914: can secure work by interesting artists for exhibition; inquires whether foreign works and jewelry are acceptable; he organized an international exhibition of cubism with an accompanying symposium in Prague; offers to lecture in the United States if Pach can find a way to pay for the trip; is sending information about an organization he founded; wants to establish an American branch; needs an American editor for his books; Brancusi's participation is essential. 4 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Paris, France, August 7, 1914: just received registered letter and invitations; continuing with exhibit plans is impossible, as all of their friends are mobilized; work of Gleizes, Villon, and Metzinger being exhibited in Berlin probably will be lost; a negative reply From Chapell ended long-held hopes; wholehearted thanks due to Pach for countless efforts and true friendship; the French are ready to die for peace and freedom; confident of the future, despite anxiety over friends now in danger. 4 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, August 26, 1914: war conditions make collaboration impossible; is serving as a paramedic; no bad news concerning anyone Pach knows. 2 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, September 11, 1914: will consult with friends about planning an exhibition in the United States; Gleizes is at Toul; Villon is with the British army at Rouen. 2 pp., in French.
From Albert Pinkham Ryder, New York, N.Y., September 13, 1914: is looking forward to having the Pachs and Mr. Wheeler visit his studio. 2 pp.
From Michael Stein, Agay, France, October 19, 1914: requests details about the exhibition Pach is organizing; Pach should tell Matisse "he must now look to America for a market for his art for some time to come"; "it is about time he [Matisse] were ranked among the accepted classics and bought freely." 3 pp.
From Jean Le Roy, Brest, France, [postmarked] November 10, 1914: plans to enlist soon; is worried about Kohler at the front. 4 pp., in French.
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], France, November 23, 1914: comments on the war and his painting; congratulates Pach on his New York exhibition. 1 p., in French.
From Piet van der Laan, Zutphen, the Netherlands, January 24 and February 8, 1915: Congratulations on the birth of Raymond; cannot visit Pach in Paris because of the war. 4 pp. + 3 pp. enclosure (copy of a poem by Dante), in Italian.
From Raoul Dufy, Le Havre, France, January 29, 1915: sent 2 copies of his Bestiarie; wants Pach to choose a drawing, watercolor, or Bestiarie as a gift of thanks; heard From Derain, Apollinaire, and Gleizes, all in the army; de la Fresnaye was wounded; asks if Basler, Brummer, and Kahnweiler are art dealers now that they have settled in New York; considers Basler an honest man. 4 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Acheux, France, February 26, 1915: still in Saint-Germain where his wife continues her work at the military hospital; Villon spent the entire winter in the trenches but bears it well; glad Quinn bought Cat and Parrot; thinks Quinn should have the final versions in wood rather than cast reproductions and instructs Pach to discuss it with him; received Marcel's articles and reproductions; understands the change that has affected Pach's desire for new means of artistic expression. 2 pp., in French.
From Raoul Dufy, Le Havre, France, March 3, 1915: lists the 4 paintings he is sending; accepts and reiterates the payment schedule; Pach should select a painting for himself; will send some paintings on silk; promises to write about decorative art in his next letter. 4 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, March 12, [1915?]: received the Matisse catalog and remembers the goldfish painting; Villon is in good health and good spirits; is optimistic about prospects for peace by summer; after a family vacation in Rouen, he finished glass and other projects; Raymond is happy in Saint-Germain, where his wife is a hospital nurse; does Pach know if Delaunay is in America; wants to visit Brancusi; has no news of Picasso, Braque, or Derain. 4 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, April 2, [1915?]: is preparing for an exhibition; describes arrangements for sending Raymond's works to Pottier; 2 paintings, a drawing, and papers are being sent to Pach; reports on the work and conditions of Raymond, Rifemont-Dessaisner, and Villon; has decided to leave France and go to New York; wants to know when he should come and if securing employment as a librarian will be difficult; does not want his family to know of these plans for a while; includes price list for paintings. 3 pp., in French.
From Jacques Villon, Acheux, France, April 13, 1915: glad to learn that his paintings and engravings have sold; is looking forward to returning to normal life and working with greater intensity; being welcomed in New York should boost his self-confidence and provide some peace of mind regarding financial security; the matter of Dr. Stum's paintings cannot be settled until the war ends; is sending Pach engravings and drawings; a shipment of sketches made during the war can be published as documentaries; after being away From home for 8 months, he envies Pach's happy family life; emerging spring contrasts sharply with human evil. 3 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, April 27, [1915?]: is displeased by the reply received; understands that Pach misses Paris and the artist's life he led there; he is increasingly dissatisfied and the point is to leave Paris rather than to go to New York; asks help in finding a library job in New York so he will not have to depend on selling paintings; does not want his family to know yet. 7 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, May 21, 1915: has decided to depart on June 5, despite family and sentimental reasons for rescheduling; spoke to Raymond about Arensberg's magazine; Mme. Picon probably has articles by Mercereau, Gleizes may have articles, and other friends could contribute poems and prose; has decided on a job for the duration of his stay in America, but it will prevent him From painting. 3 pp., in French
From Theodore Duret, Paris, France, May 22, 1915: hopes Pach's efforts at promoting the latest in modern art, especially Van Gogh and Lautrec, have been successful; has written a comprehensive book on Van Gogh, which is to be published when the war ends; asks if the Van Gogh painting he loaned to the exhibition has been sold. 4 pp., in French
From Alice Derain, Paris, France, May 28, 1915: thanks Pach for sending a check and for handling her affairs; the paintings From Mme. Lebas were not shipped because Derain is not satisfied with them and decided not to sell; some landscapes may be available soon because Derain has spare time and can try to work; a recent portrait of the couturier Monsieur Poiret may be his best painting yet. 2 pp., in French
From Georges Rouault, Versailles, France, [postmarked] June 1, 1915: (1) Discusses works in progress that may be suitable for the exhibition Pach is organizing; the shipment will also include a ceramic plaque for Quinn; Quinn persists in asking about Rouault's military status; 6 times already he has been disqualified due to a weak heart; academies, medals, and awards are not about art; nature and other artists are more inspiring than unimaginative teachers. (2) Pach should keep a Rouault piece unless he prefers to select one when in France; his simplified ceramics are real faiences; his paintings are lighter and more fluid; his show after the war will include German types and landscape and religious paintings. (3) Perhaps Quinn will be interested in the paintings shipped; within the year, a larger selection of ceramics will be available for Quinn, but at the moment his focus is on painting. 4 pp. (3 separate notes), in French
From Jean Le Roy, [place unknown], France, June 12, 1915: describes his flower-decorated trench and the surrounding countryside; started a magazine called Les Imberbes with an editor and typographer friend; intends to send poems to Pach's American publication. 5 pp. + 1 p. enclosure (poem, "Printemps"), in French
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Boston, Mass., July 7, 1915: thanks Pach for Dufy's book; "tell Monsieur Dufy when you write him I felt more pleased than if I got a gold medal"; he and Charlie will leave soon for Maine. 4 pp
From Marcel Duchamp, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] July 28, 1915: inquires whether Pach received the palette he sent; spent the evening with Quinn, Gregg, and Kuhn; Gregg was likable and Kuhn fascinating; thinks Quinn could be supportive; Quinn was anxious to know if cubism has been killed by the war; once his English improves, he wants to convince Quinn to discard his ideas about the politics of art. 2 pp., in French
From Alice Derain, Paris, France, August 7, 1915: sends receipt for payment in full; her husband is in the service; Braque was seriously wounded; Doucet died; Picasso is in Paris; her husband hopes to meet Pach. 2 pp., in French
From Raoul Dufy, Paris, France, September 18, 1915: has received a payment toward Quinn's account; Quinn has purchased additional works; credits many sales to his association with Pach; is able to paint while in the military; after the war, he hopes the French can become better acquainted with American painters; is pleased to hear that Prendergast liked his gift; wants to see photographs of Prendergast's work; requests catalogs with reproductions of American furniture. 4 pp., in French
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, [place unknown], October 17, 1915: feels renewed interest in his work; continues his research; observations about the war; Villon has suffered and was awarded a Military Cross; requests news of Pach and mutual friends; Pach should determine Quinn's intentions. 3 pp., in French
From Henri Matisse, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, November 20 and 29, 1915: is delighted by the prospect of an exhibition of French art; will do what he can to help obtain the Seurat painting for exhibition; thanks Pach for selecting his work for the exhibition at Bourgeois and agrees to send additional pieces; lists etchings sent to Miss Bryant via Pottier; the photographs showed great improvement in Pach's portraits; advises a warmer palette; will offer additional frank comments after seeing new pictures; is working hard and just finished an important painting, which already has been sold; is still recovering From bronchitis. 12 pp., in French
From Louis Lombard, [place unknown], France, December 28, 1915: best wishes for the coming year. Postal card, in French
From Theodore Duret, Paris, France, December 29, 1915: read a favorable review of the Van Gogh exhibition; asks if Pach was able to sell Duret's Van Gogh still life; his book about Van Gogh will be printed after the war. 4 pp., in French
From Mary Socard, Paris, France, December 31, 1915: greetings and good wishes; believes the war will be followed by much misery and great changes. 2 pp., in French
From Jean Le Roy, [place unknown], France, [postmarked] [?,?] 1916: his commanding officer knows Picasso, Marie Laurencin, and Derain; Lafitte was killed; wants news of Pach; thank the magazine Others if his poem "Spring" is accepted. 5 pp., in French
From Georges Rouault, [place unknown], France, [undated] [1916?]: received the catalog and Pach's review with the reproduction of his painting; his grandchild is sick; they are going to the seashore; is working on an exhibit; thanks Pach for helping sell a painting; though in poor health, he may have to join the army; suggests an album of reproductions. 10 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, Paris, France, January 5, [1916]: he is assigned to the central atelier for camouflage; works with other artists, not all of whom share his outlook; has many ideas for new work; no news From Marcel or Picabia. 4 pp., in French
From Georges Rouault, [place unknown], France, [postmarked] January 22, 1916: personally delivered the paintings to Pottier for shipment; worries that the large works will not have the style and the color of the small ones; wants to have his exhibition ready before going to Italy; has not seen Villon recently. 2 pp., in French
From Piet van der Laan, Zutphen, the Netherlands, February 7, 1916: thanks Pach for the "ex-libris"; he is busy translating a lengthy book on medieval Italy; discusses Dante. 4 pp
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], February 10, 1916: speculates that an art form may develop From the war. 1 p., in French
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, New York, N.Y., March 23, 1916: confirms 5 titles for inclusion in the exhibition catalog; has a good photograph for Pach's book. 2 pp
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, April 2, 1916: remembers Pach as one of his best students; one of the many reasons for their friendship is Pach's love for France; quotes Descartes; compares the French ideal of liberty with the German interpretation; comments on French and German science. 4 pp., in French
From Ruth Wilmot, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] April 9, 1916: compliments Pach on the lectures he presented to her group; encloses payment. 2 pp
From Henri Matisse, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, April 28, 1916: extends best wishes for the success of the exhibition; asks Pach not to reveal the extremely reduced price of the painting Arensberg bought; asks if Max Weber has a large gallery; wants to obtain sound recordings of typical exotic chants. 4 pp., in French
From Mme. Victor Le Roy, Paris, France, May 30, 1916: belatedly acknowledges receipt of Jean's poems; [UNK] husband, Victor, died near Verdun; Jean may come home on leave. 1 p., in French
From Jean Le Roy, [place unknown], [postmarked] June 2, 1916: thanks Pach for forwarding his poems to American publications; believes poets are well treated in the United States; uncle Victor died in the war; Carreau was wounded. 4 pp., in French
From Raoul Dufy, Paris, France, June 3, 1916: thanks Pach for writing an article defending the ideas of modern French art, which had come under attack by a young American critic; wants to know if there are opponents of French modern art in New York; exhibitions are returning to Paris; Quinn purchased -- The Yellow Hat -- ; is sending a thank-you gift and an etching. 1 p., in French
From Emil Gay, Watkins Glen, N.Y., June 12, 1916: enjoyed Pach's lectures. 6 pp
From E.D. Smyth, [place unknown], England, June 16, 1916: news of a mutual friend killed in the war; discusses Jean Le Roy. 4 pp
From Camille Redon, Cannes, France, [July 1916?]: Redon is recuperating in Cannes; asks for the return of their pictures, when feasible. 2 pp., in French
From Camille Redon, [place unknown], July 4, 1916: Redon is gravely ill with pulmonary congestion; the doctors are concerned. 1 p., in French
From Jacques Villon, Puteaux, France, [postmarked] July 12, 1916: Miss Bryant's purchase boosted his morale and was welcome financially; Marcel is delighted with America; speculates that Marcel may eventually settle in America. 3 pp., in French
From Camille Redon, Bièvres, France, August 6, 1916: Redon was buried several days ago; a gallery in the Petit Palais will be devoted to him and there will be an exhibition at the Beaux-Arts in the spring; reflects on the solitude and anonymity of many great artists during their lifetimes. 4 pp., in French
From Georges Rouault, Paris, France, [postmarked] August 14, 1916: Pach should return all paintings and drawings when he can; thanks Pach for his help; his wife and infant daughter are unwell; bought a new house; will be able to work when the family leaves Paris; received the item Pach sent him From Quinn much sooner than anticipated. 2 pp., in French
From Souza Cardoso, [place unknown], Portugal, [postmarked] September 25, 1916: comments on the picture shown on the card. Picture postcard (photograph of a woman and child in costume), in French
From Henri Matisse, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, October 14, 1916: the information Pach sent about Bourgeois raises hopes for a good exhibition at his gallery; in reply to the question about a frame for the portrait of Arensberg, insists that modern paintings do not need frames, especially gold ones that contain a picture by stopping its extension; will look at Pach's paintings any time; Mrs. Havemeyer parted with the Ingres as a condition for another purchase; From photographs, gives his opinion of the authenticity and condition of 12 paintings. 11 pp., in French
From Henri Matisse, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, November 6, 1916: sends description and opinion of a picture he omitted From a previous letter; art is selling well in Paris. 4 pp., in French
From Paul Signac, Saint-Tropez, France, November 18, 1916: illness prevents him from complying with Pach's request to select works for exhibition; suggests sources From which to borrow Seurat paintings. 3 pp., in French
From Florence Bing, New York, N.Y., [undated (1917)]: condolences on the death of Pach's mother. 1 p
From Albert Gabriel, [place unknown], [undated (1917)]: "Accept my sincere sympathy." Note on calling card
From Leigh Hunt, [place unknown], [undated (1917)]: "Heartfelt sympathy." Note on calling card
From Professor Adolph Werner, [place unknown], [undated (1917)]: "Condolence." Note on calling card
From Ruth Wilmot, [place unknown], [undated (1917)]: condolences on the death of Pach's mother. 2 pp
From Mme. Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Compiègne, France, [postmarked] January 6, 1917: her husband is hospitalized with multiple ailments, including typhoid; condolences on the death of Pach's mother. 2 pp., in French
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, January 19, 1917: thanks for check From Quinn; is pleased that he was satisfied with the sculptures, despite difficulty in assembly; plans to visit the United States after the war. 3 pp., in French
From Gino Severini, Paris, France, February 7, 1917: has written a preface explaining the ideas of the avant-garde; wants Pach to oversee the translation; asks that the three fragile pastels be framed inexpensively by Stieglitz. 2 pp., in French
From Childe Hassam, New York, N.Y., March 30, 1917: thanks Pach for help in determining latest possible date to submit work for exhibition. Note on the reverse of printed announcement of a show of Hassam's etchings and drawings at Frederick Keppel & Co., November 16- December 2
From Gino Severini, Paris, France, April 28, 1917: expresses appreciation for the success of his exhibition; his paintings should be returned at a more favorable time; a longer version of his preface on modern art will appear in -- Le Mercure de France -- ; asks to be remembered to his friends and for news of sales and reviews of his show. 4 pp., in French
From [signature illegible], New York, NY., May 14, 1917
From [signature illegible], New York, NY., May 16, 1917
From Charles Sheeler, Philadelphia, PA., May 17, [1917?]
From Charles Cooper, New York, NY., May 19, 1917
From [signature illegible], [Vienna, Austria?], July 22, 1917
From Alexandre Mercereau, [place unknown (at the front)], July 26, 1917: is sending Pach a selection of his writings, which he hopes can be published in the United States; is anxious for a good translation; believes the book he just wrote is his best and is willing to offer it to an American publisher before it appears in France. 4 pp., in French
From Gino Severini, Paris, France, September 6, 1917: discusses work in progress; offers congratulations on the first Independents show; praises Pach's selfless efforts; authorizes use of any remaining works for other exhibitions; thanks Pach for arranging sales and sending reviews. 4 pp., in French
From [signature illegible], [place unknown], October 26, 1917
From Louis Lombard, [place unknown], France, October 26, 1917: reminisces about good times together; has less desire to write poetry now; is learning German and Italian. 2 pp., in French
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, November 3, 1917: describes superb Renoirs seen in the Rue de la Boetie; hopes Pach's remarkable efforts on behalf of modern art will be fruitful; notes qualities needed for portrait and landscape painting. 4 pp., in French
From Louis Lombard, Ingolstadt, Germany, [postmarked] November 26, 1917: boredom and solitude are his routine; thanks Pach for gifts of books and tobacco; sends holiday greetings. Postal card, in French
From Camille Redon, Paris, France, December 8, 1917: if it remains unsold, Pach should keep the Redon painting until the war is over; American troops are arriving; she follows the exhibitions; likes Matisse; Mr. Quinn is behind in his payments. 4 pp., in French
From Arthur Burdett Frost, Madison, N.J., January 5, 1918: thanks Pach for condolences upon the death of his son; wants Pach to look at his son's work and consider writing an article. 4 pp
From Georges Rouault, Versailles, France, [postmarked] January 15, 1918: discusses titles of 2 pieces; general terms are more suitable titles for his subjects; Matisse was ridiculed by many because for a year he numbered all canvases; Rouault's albums will be numbered rather than titled; suggests framing and matting techniques for the double-sided piece; his new paintings won't need glass; he has always been lonely, but now is isolated as well; has a new daughter. 4 pp., in French
From Arthur Burdett Frost, [place unknown], February 1, 1918: thanks Pach for his interest in his son Arthur; offers a photograph of Arthur to illustrate Pach's forthcoming article. 4 pp
From Arthur Burdett Frost, [place unknown], [between February 1 and March 12, 1918]: thanks Pach for the manuscript; plans to send additional photographs of Arthur. 4 pp
From Arthur Burdett Frost, [place unknown], [between February 1 and March 12, 1918]: returning Pach's manuscript; requests a copy. 2 pp
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, February 20, 1918: letter of gratitude for Pach's friendship and efforts on behalf of modern art; discusses idealism, imagination, art, and the search for truth. 3 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 12, 1918: is sending copies of his last 3 books; thinks -- The Holy Face -- is his most important book; it is about war in general and includes personal experiences From the present war. 4 pp., in French
From Mme. Le Roy, Paris, France., May 19, 1918: Jean died while a prisoner of war. 3 pp., in French
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Cannes, France, May 20, 1918: is sending Quinn a drawing and photograph that relate to his rooster sculpture and show the original architectural setting for the piece; will send the script of a comedy written with a friend for performance at a military hospital, which Pach may translate and publish in America; glad that the rift between Pach and Marcel is mended; recently saw Matisse hard at work; Villon is in the army and has no time for work. 4 pp., in French
From Gaby Duchamp, [place unknown], France, May 23, 1918: thanks Pach for arranging sales to Quinn; her husband is well, doing research, and will resume his art when the war ends; Raymond is in the hospital in Cannes; there were interesting Matisse and Picasso exhibitions in Paris. 2 pp., in French
From French Army, [place unknown], July [?], 1918: confirms the death of Jean Le Roy on April 26; sends details of the battle, as Pach requested, and text of citation. 4 pp., in French
From Mme. Le Roy, Paris, France, August 19, 1918: thanks Pach for the touching gesture of dedicating his University of California course to Jean's memory; sends a copy of the citation Jean received the day he died. 3 pp., in French
From J. Van Gogh Bonger, Far Rockaway, N.Y., August 20, 1918: sons wrote of good times with Pach in Berkeley; they were in Honolulu and now should be in Japan; first volume of the "Letters" has been translated; discusses her brother's friendship with Redon. 4 pp
From Camille Redon, Bièvres, France, September 23, 1918: thanks Pach for lecturing on Redon and his work; has a full set of engravings and lithographs; litho stones were erased, but copper plates are at the museum in Amsterdam; plans to sell prints after the war and will offer Pach some he lacks; comments on arrival of American forces, with whom her son-in-law is an officer. 4 pp., in French
From Morton Livingston Schamberg, Philadelphia, Pa., September 30, 1918: belated thanks for the two Indian tiles; he and Sheeler readily agreed who should have which tile. 2 pp
From Frederic C. Torrey, San Francisco, Calif., October 8, 1918: is glad Pach is in California; anticipating the end of the war; tell Mme. Van Gogh he regrets not meeting her. 4 pp
From Mme. Duchamp-Villon, Paris, France, October 11, 1918: Raymond died of uremia; she plans to return to work at the front; will send Raymond's design for a chess set; wonders if Quinn purchased the rooster drawing. 2 pp., in French
From Vincent Van Gogh Bonger, Kobe, Japan, October 27, 1918: "Best regards From Vincent." Picture postcard ("Joie de Vivre")
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], October 30, 1918: thanks Pach for sincere appreciation of The Holy Face; the book received mixed reviews; if there is an English edition, Pach should be the translator; agrees to contribute to the magazine; suggests an article on "America in the War"; the final volume of History of Art will not be published until after the war due to paper shortages; maybe Pach can obtain appropriate paper. 2 pp., in French
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, November 12, 1918: finally met with Pach's friend for a discussion of Pach's aesthetic preferences and the relationship between philosophy and art; read about Pach's University of California lectures; Paris is celebrating the end of the war. 7 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, Paris, France, November 13, 1918: Raymond died following a second operation; is determined not to leave Raymond's work unfinished. 2 pp., in French
From Marcel Duchamp, Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 15, [1918?]: as a close friend and admirer of Raymond, Pach must be grieving his death; although provincial, Buenos Aires is calm and conducive to work; brought notes for the glass and plans to continue drawings for it; Argentines are aware of cubism but do not understand it; is planning an exhibition for Buenos Aires in May or June; asks Pach to help H.M. Barzun, who will be contacting him about the show; outlines his schedule for the coming year; anticipates readjusting to peacetime. 3 pp., in French
From Jean Le Roy, [place unknown], [postmarked] December 15, 1918: thanks Pach for bringing his pamphlet to Arensberg's attention; discusses his interest in rhythm in poetry. 4 pp., in French
From Frederic C. Torrey, San Francisco, Calif., December 19, 1918: holiday greetings; compliments Pach's writing, specifically his latest article in the Dial; discusses the Dana prize awarded in Philadelphia to McComas. 5 pp
From the Butlers, New York, NY., [postmarked] December 23, 1918: Christmas card, "Victory Christmas"
From Mabel Torrance, New York, N.Y., January 12, 1919: just learned the classes will be discontinued. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], January 21, 1919: thanks Pach for efforts with American publishers on his behalf; before the war only Germany had a culture large enough to take immediate interest in his kind of intellectual endeavors; awaiting instructions From Johnson concerning the articles he is writing; comments on diplomats of the Entente and political matters; compliments -- Modern School -- ; is sending a brochure about a restored castle his brother is attempting to sell. 4 pp., in French
From Frederic C. Torrey, San Francisco, Calif., February 3, 1919: nude is on the way to Arensberg a day late; his wife will be very happy to sell Un Descendant; "I want the Russian experiment to be given a fair chance"; comments on "Russian 'refugees"'; thanks Pach for assistance in the "Arensberg matter." 7 pp
From Frederic C. Torrey, San Francisco, Calif., February 7, 1919: received Arensberg's check; painting was shipped late, with a lesser valuation, due to changes in regulations; discusses new tax bill. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], May 4, 1919: notes the poor reception of his book in France and the United States; discusses his current work; opinions of world politics. 4 pp., in French
From Maurice Socard, [place unknown], May 12, 1919: much disagreement about the terms of the peace treaty; feels that Germany must serve a term in purgatory. 3 pp., in French [filmed with the wrong envelope]
From Marcel Duchamp, Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 6, 1919: regrets having abandoned plans for an exhibition there; Buenos Aires is ready for new art. 2 pp., in French
From Xavier Martinez, Piedmont, Calif., June 16, 1919: received Courbet, Society of Independent Artists, and Redon catalogs; congratulates Pach. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Ismael Smith, New York, N.Y., June 25, 1919: Margarita Cordoba From Cuba, representing the Independents, is sending a picture of la Mazantinita, a famous Spanish ballerina. 1 p., in Spanish, +8 pp. enclosure (11 designs for bookplates)
From Jacques Villon, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, June 26, 1919: thanks Pach for check, letter, and catalog; writes of his work plans for the coming year, when he expects to make up for lost time; comments favorably on Pach's painting; notes activities of his friends, including Gleizes, Picabia, and Marcel. 2 pp., in French
From Marion L. Chamberlain, Santa Barbara, Calif., August 10, 1919: she and Miss Phillips enjoyed Pach's lectures at the Berkeley Summer School; they purchased 2 Renoir lithographs From Mr. Torrey. 4 pp
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, [postmarked] September 3, 1919: his friends and their lives seem little changed since the war; other than the work of his brother and Picabia, he sees little of artistic interest; will be in New York in December; saw Yvonne Duchamp-Villon. 3 pp., in French
From Sybil Kent Kane, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] November 26, 1919: thanks Pach for etchings of "my beloved Chapel." 1 p
From Pietro Brunelleschi, Florence, Italy, [postmarked] December 5, 1919: accepts Pach's invitation for the following day. Note on business card, in Italian
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 11, 1920: economic conditions preclude publication of his fourth volume at this time; saw Redon a month before he died, when he spoke of indifference to the opinions of others and concern with expressing himself; discusses the masterpieces in his personal collection, among them Redon, Delacroix, Daumier, and Van Gogh. 8 pp., in French
From Edgar L. Hewett, Archaeological Institute of America, San Diego, Calif., February 2, 1920: met with Sloan and Henri to make arrangements for the "Indian art exhibition"; thanks Pach for encouragement with the exhibition plan; compliments Pach's article in the Dial. 1 p
From Xavier Martinez, Piedmont, Calif., March 12, 1920: thanks for the Dial and the invitation; compliments Pach's article on American Indian art; thinks Pach writes just as well as he paints; is enthusiastic about plans for an American Indian exhibition. 2 pp., in Spanish, + enclosure (sketch of American Indian head)
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 20, 1920: is happy about what Pach tells him of Delacroix; he owns 3 works by Delacroix and considers him one of the greatest painters; paper shortages have delayed publication of volume 4; asks if Pach is willing to undertake more translation work; someone else has offered, but Pach is preferred; -- The Dance on Fire and Water -- is being sent for Pach's opinion; the book best condenses Faure's ideas on the aesthetic interpretation of history; like Pach, he organizes exhibits around topics. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 23, 1920: Pach must let him know right away if he can do the translation; discusses publishers' contracts; Faure will furnish all photographs for illustration at prewar prices; Pach's other Faure translations have drawn high praise. 2 pp., in French
From J. Metzinger, [place unknown], May 15, 1920: thanks Pach for the check and efforts on his behalf in New York; Pach should keep an unsold painting and dispose of the others as he wishes; people no longer laugh at cubism, but they don't yet understand it; despite war and the hard times that followed, cubism survives; offers his help if Pach wants to exhibit there. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, May 23, 1920: discusses the details of his 4-volume -- History of Art -- now being published; a copy of volume 1 is being sent to Pach. 2 pp., in French
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.M., June 9, 1920: began painting the week after arriving in Santa Fe; a Corpus Christi procession provided subject matter; had work accepted for the "Metropolitan Anniversary Ex."; comments on "Art and Craftsmanship" article in the Dial. 2 pp., illustrated with a drawing of Sloan in his studio
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, June 20, 1920: discusses the publication of his book, especially the quality and cost of illustrations for the English edition; judging any work of art requires distance in time and space. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], July 3, 1920: discusses costs for engraved plates and cheaper electrotype plates; asks Pach to select photographs of Peruvian and Mexican monuments, Mexican sculpture, and an American Indian decorated tent or other appropriate images for use in Mediaeval Art; this second volume will contain new illustrations of the art of India and Gothic art. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, July 11, 1920: thanks Pach for writing an article about him; comments favorably on Pach's paintings; is considering adding a section on modernist painting, which would mention Pach, to the third edition of -- History of Modern Art -- . 2 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, Puteaux, France, July 25, 1920: he recently read the notes found among Raymond's papers, but the haphazard and often obscure ideas would reveal nothing new to Pach; is sending pictures of the horse, some showing the prewar plaster version and others the beginning of the final verson; Raymond's experience in the cavalry made him an expert horseman, and many sketches of horses made during the war show he continued to think of the sculpture he had started; is also sending photographs of sketches, a bust of Professor Gosset, plans for a chess set, and other works; some of Raymond's notes pertain to the design of a surgical center; is certain that Raymond would have continued the research that led him From literal representation to mechanical aspects; thanks Pach for preserving the memory and work of the late artist. 5 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], August 1, 1920: is sending Pach several photographs and 2 drawings; gives installation instructions for Raymond Duchamp-Villon's last sculpture, Dr. Gosset, with sketches of front and side views of the piece [large portions illegible]. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, August 13, 1920: discusses illustrations for his book; Marcel Duchamp will not be included; mentions other artists he has omitted or included and the relative value assigned to each, perhaps mistakenly; discusses those classified as impressionists and neoimpressionists; mentions new directions in art, among them scientific ones. 8 pp., in French
From L.L. Kane, Long Lake, N.Y., August 26, 1920: Pach's pictures are "quite safe at 47th St. until your return"; he especially appreciates Mme. Derain, which hangs with 2 Copley portraits in the breakfast room. 4 pp
September 12, 1920: note indicating Samuel Ramos is with the Comision Mexicana de Cooperacion Intelectual
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, September 28, 1920: provides correct spellings for works of art, as requested; will send proof sheets of printed photographs with placement instructions; still waiting for the promised photographs of American Indian art. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 10, 1920: discusses in detail the illustrations for his book, their placement and captions; an article about cinema in the -- Freeman -- expresses ideas very close to his own; reflects on current politics. 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 26, 1920: thanks Pach for the photographs; hopes instructions regarding illustrations and page-setting were received; requests a signed copy of the contract with -- Harpers -- ; is still thinking about writing an article for the -- Freeman -- ; is enclosing an advertising circular designed for his book and suggests something similar for the American edition. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 22, 1920: the photograph of Herculeum arrived; his editors are pleased; volume 4 will be ready in a few days and a copy will be sent to Pach; the American edition contains stupid mistakes; plans to write an article for the Freeman; will send Pach his article on cinema. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 17, 1921: describes his visit to London, emphasizing the British Museum; likes little of British art; considers Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso, and Derain in the forefront of modern art; he appreciates Pach's opinions on art, even when in disagreement; because Pach is younger, his views are an excellent indicator of current taste. 4 pp., in French
From Piet van der Laan, Utrecht, the Netherlands, January 21, 1921: thanks for the bookplate Pach designed; compliments his article in the Freeman; is attempting to sell paintings by a young Dutch artist friend. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, February 3, 1921: hopes to rewrite volume 1, as he is unhappy with it; Spanish translation is delayed due to paper shortages; his brother's chateau is to be sold; wrote an article on Charlot. 3 pp., in French
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, New York, N.Y., February 28, 1921: thanks Pach for introducing him and Charlie to Mr. and Mrs. Brummer; their work will be exhibited at Brummer's March 15-April 1; read Pach's article on Matisse; will try to see the exhibition. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 1, 1921: discusses changes to the title of his 4-volume -- History of Art -- ; volume 1 is being shipped to Pach soon; believes French academics slander France. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 4, 1921: Is still trying to find a place for the Pachs to stay; his own apartment will not be available until August; discusses the title of his book and asks Pach to write the introduction; the article on Charlot was not published. 2 pp., in French
From Clara La Follette, -- Freeman -- , New York, N.Y., [postmarked] March 7, 1921: sends letter received by the -- Freeman -- that she thinks will amuse Pach. 1 p., + 2 pp. enclosure (letter rubber stamped February 23, 1921 [date of receipt?] to Mr. Huebsch From Alfred Stieglitz, New York, N.Y. [of an exhibition review by Pach published in the -- Freeman -- ]: "Mr. Pach undoubtedly did his best--but I fear that the real significance of the work was beyond him.--I regret it")
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 14, 1921: will send proofs of Napoleon; desires advice From Pach concerning whether it should be translated; thinks the subject will be of interest in America. 2 pp., in French
From Camille Redon, Paris, France, [postmarked] August 1, 1921: thanks Pach for translating an article about Redon; offers a Redon work to Mrs. Pach. 1 p., in French
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 15, 1921: 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 16, 1921: has sent Pach his article on Charlot, which will be published soon by -- L'Esprit Nouveau -- ; discusses his work, including an article on cinema and -- Napoleon -- ; inquires about payment and translation rights for articles appearing in the -- Freeman -- . 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 16, 1921: the translation of his Charlot article must mention it is excerpted from -- L'Esprit Nouveau -- ; the French are boycotting American films, especially Charlie Chaplin's; compliments Pach's translations; -- History of Art -- has been an unexpected success; Napoleon promises to do well and is being serialized in -- Grande Revue -- ; he and Pach will divide the profits; may have found a convenient place for the Pachs to stay. 2 pp., in French
From [Mme.] Duchamp-Villon, Paris, France, April 20, 1921: offers to help Pach find lodging when he visits; asks if Quinn has received the sculpture. 1 p., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, June 29, 1921: unable to find a place for Pach to stay; -- History of Art -- is selling well; reprints and new volumes will require translation; asks if Pach could bring his daughter a statuette of Charlot to put on their car, as is now the fad. 2 pp., in French
From Jean Le Roy, Nièvre, France, [postmarked] December 29, 1914: wants Pach's opinion of his poems; is in the army; heard Pach is organizing an exhibition; asks for news of the Duchamp brothers. 4 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, January 19, 1915: advises patience until the world of art returns; a weak heart disqualified Marcel From military duty; congratulates Pach on the exhibition; is invited to San Francisco but doubts cubist works will be accepted; discusses prices of his medallions. 2 pp., in French.
From Camille Redon, Paris, France, [postmarked] August 1, 1921: thanks Pach for translating an article about Redon; offers a Redon work to Mrs. Pach. 1 p., in French
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 15, 1921: 4 pp., in French
From Clara La Follette, Freeman, New York, N.Y., August 16, 1921: opinions of French government; comments on Faure's article on the cinema; urges Pach to send the article he mentioned; is looking for a studio. 4 pp
From Henri Matisse, Nice, France, September 7, 1921: agrees to Pach's terms concerning the Redon paintings, but there is no one available who is capable of separating the torn papers of -- Radiant Flower -- ; after 3 weeks of laziness, he is painting again and it is like starting over at the beginning. 2 pp., in French
From [Mme.] Duchamp-Villon, Puteaux, France, September 18, 1921: [Illegible]. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, September 29, 1921: 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, October 27, 1921: thanks Pach for checks received; discusses advantages and disadvantages of using a picture for promoting his works; his daughter is most disappointed that there are no more Charlot statuettes; asks Pach to sell lottery tickets for charity. 4 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, November 9, 1921: thanks Pach for catalog; photograph of "St. Francis at Brooklyn" reminds him of "the naive art of all the eccentric regions of Europe." 4 pp
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], France, November 9, 1921: is glad to have met Mrs. Pach; Matisse engraving is not yet ready due to printing problems. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 13, 1921: discusses the details of his contract with -- Harpers -- , which he considers unjust; his father-in-law died; reports on the sick painter friend for whom the benefit raffle was held. 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 28, 1921: if the misunderstanding concerning the -- Harpers -- contract is not corrected, it will be a disaster; their artist friend needs further surgery; hopes Pach can sell more tickets for the raffle, which will precede an exhibit in February or March; lists artists--among them Bonnard, Dufy, Matisse, Signac, and Braque--who have donated works for the raffle; regrets that his last book devoted so little space to Derain. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 19, 1921: thanks Pach for help in clearing up a misunderstanding with his American publisher; discusses his 4-volume work, including opinions of the layouts and illustrations of each; Pach should decide whether to attribute a painting to de Pietro or Sassetta; plans to write about Derain; an exhibition, organized for an artist friend in need, includes a lottery with contributions From Matisse, Derain, and Picasso; will send Pach 250 lottery tickets; announces the upcoming marriage of François, a talented decorator, and asks if work could be found for him in New York or if his projects could be reproduced in an American publication. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], December 23, 1921: received a letter From Briggs and praises the loyalty and honesty of American publishers; thanks Pach for perseverance in bringing to publication, in English translation, -- History of Art -- ; lottery tickets are being sent, many going to Mrs. Whitney; asks if Pach could help to interest American publisher Nelson in the collections of an expanding French publishing firm looking for capital; is sending -- Mediaeval Art -- and François' furnishing projects. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 31, 1921: considers volume 1 "our" -- History of Art -- out of gratitude for Pach's excellent translation; discusses the illustrations and general appearance of the book; -- Mediaeval Art -- and lottery tickets will be sent soon; has 2 paintings he wants Pach to sell in the United States, a Venetian school Crucifixion and a version of Gros's -- Murat a la Bataille d'Aboukir -- ; describes the paintings, discusses prices and Pach's commission. 3 pp., in French
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast. New York, N.Y., January 26, 1922: Discusses quality of reproductions for Shadowland; wants to assist, should Pach decide to write an article; compliments Pach's writing. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 30, 1922: Americans have won 8 of the lottery prizes (most of them with Mrs. Whitney's tickets) consisting of 6 etchings and 2 paintings; what to do with the artworks is a problem in view of customs requirements. 2 pp., in French
From Camille Redon, Paris, France, April 7, 1922: mailed 2 etchings and 30 proofs made of each of Redon's copper engravings; the plates went to the Print Museum; thanks Pach for the beautiful etching and photographs he sent. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 10, 1922: received the -- Freeman -- article; just completed a response to the review of his book, which he prefers to send to the -- Dial -- rather than the -- Freeman -- ; wrote a new introduction to Greek Art for future editions; hopes Pach has sold paintings; thinks one of the paintings could pass as a fake for customs purposes. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris. France, April 11, 1922: the attribution of his Baron Gros is certain, but its condition is not perfect; discusses articles being translated by Pach; discusses the French language in Canada; he and Pach agree on important points; Pach is unfair to Bonnard, who eventually will be regarded as a minor master; Derain is a great painter who overshadows Matisse. 2 pp., in French, labeled "second letter" (enclosed with letter of April 10, 1922)
From Pedro HenrÃquez Ureña, Universidad Nacional de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, May 31, 1922: discusses Pach's remuneration and class schedule for the summer session. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, June 17, 1922: regrets not being able to meet Pach in Mexico and wishes Rivera had invited him, too; will try to delay French publication of his article so the -- Dial -- can print it first; another piece on the aesthetics of machinism has already been published in France; finished a long chapter of -- The Spirit of the Forms -- and wants Harper's to consider it completed; after going to Vichy for his health, he will take a vacation; wants to know all about Pach's archaeological discovery in Mexico. 2 pp., in French
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.M., [postmarked] August 4, 1922: has a car for summer travels; the Henris are there; has been painting. 2 pp., illustrated with drawing of a car on a winding mountain road ("Climbing the Bahada [no exaggeration!]")
From L.L. Kane, Long Lake, N.Y., August 12, 1922: wants to read Pach's article in the Freeman; admires his ability to present lectures in other languages; describes his Adirondack camp. 2 pp
From Henri Matisse, Nice, France, September 2, 1922: mailed copies of all the engravings he made during the summer; asks Pach's advice on lowering the price of Redon's pastels; he is now back at work in Nice after 2 months in Paris. 2 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, Soissons, France, September 6, 1922: the estimate for publishing was higher than anticipated; asks Pach to intercede; inquires about Pach's trip to Mexico; news of various friends; discusses summer plans. 2 pp., in French
From Sybil Kent Kane, Long Lake, N.Y., September 7, 1922: thanks Pach for sending the picture of a jug; her book is about the life of Blessed Margaret Mary. 4 pp
To Professor D. Ramon Mena From Walter Pach, Mexico City, Mexico, October 4, 1922: the mosaic mask discovered by Professor Aguierre and displayed in the National Museum is an object of great interest; it presents important problems to American antiquities experts and to those studying aesthetics; an important detail is the way in which material is handled; discusses fundamental difference in the work of the imitator and the mosaic mask; the technical question and expressive question are inseparable; appreciates the compliment of being asked his opinion. 3 pp., in Spanish
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, October 22, 1922: received payment for photographs and book royalties; discusses Rivera's talent, disagreeing with Pach's view of his originality; Rivera has remarried; shares Pach's admiration for Mexican art; now that his article has appeared in the -- Dial -- , he has nothing further to publish in America other than History of Art; since Pach is now devoting more time to painting and etching, he will need to find Faure a new translator; asks Pach if chapters From The Spirit of the Forms and essays on great literary figures could appear in American publications; discusses some of his theories of art and the structural aspect of his own writings. 6 pp., in French
From Jean Charlot, [place unknown], Mexico, November 5, 1922: Pach's article appeared in -- Mexico Moderno -- ; Orozco will be exhibiting watercolors; the fresco Accion del Artes is almost finished; is becoming interested in religious painting. 4 pp., in French
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, December 7, 1922: thanks Pach for his valuable friendship; the Mexican Independents, now formally organized, are invited to show with the Society of Independents in New York; Orozco, Charlot, Revueltas, Figueiros, Leal, Alba, Cahero, Bolanos, Ugarte, Cano, Nahui, Ate, Rivera, and children will represent Mexico; discusses space needs and suggests possible hanging arrangements; needs to find a way to pay for transportation; please convey their appreciation to the Society; Pach should tell Miss Porter that although there was a mix-up in communications, Rivera is still interested in the small exposition. 4 pp., in Spanish
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], France, December 21, 1922: [Illegible]. 8 pp., in French
to Magda Pach From Gaby [Mme. Jacques Villon?], [place unknown], December 27, 1922: wishes the Pach family would visit them for several months; Villon is working hard, as always; except for a vacation in Brittany, they rarely go anywhere; engravings are time consuming but right now sell better than paintings; asks about Pach's stay in Mexico. 2 pp., in French
From Carlo Lemba, Florence, Italy., [?,?] 1923: thanks Pach for remembering him and for the very beautiful Rembrandt; requests a catalog or photograph. Picture postcard ("Firenze--Palazzo Vecchia--Il Cortile"), in Italian
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 21, 1923: thanks Pach for his translation; discusses modifications to be made in the first volume; details plans for future publications; lists illustrations for the last chapter of History of Art. 10 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 4, 1923: at last, publication of -- Mediaeval Art -- has been announced; the definitive edition of his work is currently in progress; discusses new prefaces for all 5 volumes; rewrote the last chapter of volume 4, which does not mention Bonnard but expands discussion of Matisse, Picasso, and Derain, whom he considers the greatest contemporary painter. 2 pp., in French
From Jean Charlot, [place unknown], Mexico, [postmarked] March 31, 1923: was happy to receive Pach's illustrated article about Seurat; the enclosed flier rebuts another slanderous article about the exhibit; the catalog reproduction of the painting Pach started in Mexico was recognized by everyone; Diego called it more Mexican than their own contributions; Diego finished his first panel for the ministry frescoes; Diego's brother-in-law executed a successful encaustic mural in Guadalajara; Diego sends thanks to Pach, but cannot write because he works From 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.--without eating--which is hard on his aides who must do likewise. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 24, 1923: an American definitive edition is under consideration; will send Pach copies of work by Spain's best artist since Goya; still thinks Derain is the best painter; Matisse's exhibition lacks humanity; discusses European political problems. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, May 10, 1923: is now writing a book about the mechanism regulating the life cycles of societies; did not see all the exhibits because he is now drawn more to social psychology, which helps him understand painting; life takes precedence over painting; his article was misunderstood in America and France by supporters and opponents alike; painting, no longer the dominant art form as it was in the previous century, is being overtaken by cinema; assures Pach of his friendship and trust; understands that his ideas provoke resistance even among the best of friends. 6 pp., in French
From Suzanne La Follette, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] June 23, 1923: thanks Pach for article; sends proofs of first article; was advised not to go to Germany; will visit England, France, and Italy. 4 pp
From J. Van Gogh Bonger, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 27, 1923: read that the Pachs were cited as among the best of the Independents; the pictures are back, and she is glad they were exhibited in the United States; is anxious to publish Van Gogh's letters in English; opinions of Meier-Graefe's book; opinions of recent articles in the -- Times -- and the -- Freeman -- ; "What I never forgive Meyer-Greafe [ sic] is his suggestion that Theo, after his marriage could not provide for Vincent any longer"; is sending a Van Gogh drawing to Pach in appreciation for his help. 3 pp
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, July 3, 1923: introduces Covarrubias; on behalf of the group, thanks Pach and the Independents in New York; Pach's Mexican street scene showed intimate and strong character; hopes for even better representation next year; describes current projects of several Mexican artists; Covarrubias has photographs of murals in progress. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Lewis Mumford, Brooklyn, N.Y., July 5, 1923: congratulates Pach on Modern Art; "it is far and away the best piece of criticism we've had in America, to my knowledge." 1 p
From Alfred Stieglitz, Lake George, N.Y., July 21, 1923: he and O'Keeffe are enjoying Pach's translation of Faure; Stieglitz has read it in the original; O'Keeffe doesn't know French. 1 p
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], October 8, 1923: if Harper's cannot locate the photograph Faure sent of a Picasso painting, Pach should select a substitute; requests assistance in coilecting a fee owed by a publisher; complains about the usual reluctance of museums to accept paintings; suggests that Boston or the Barnes Foundation might be interested in the Gros, Delacroix, and Venetian school paintings he wants to sell; -- History of Art -- will be translated into Spanish and possibly German; hopes for more contacts with the United States. 2 pp., in French
From J. Van Gogh Bonger, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, October 18, 1923: could not find anyone to deliver the drawing to Pach, so she mailed it; is working on an exhibition to be held in London; Zigrosser visited. 1 p., negative photostat
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 1, 1923: has mailed the photographs Pach requested; believes he has told Pach of all the proposals received From America and still awaits answers relating to some; Waldo Frank visited; found Miss La Follette most congenial; the package of photographs also contains a small drawing as a memento of their collaboration. 2 pp., in French
From Ariella Brunelleschi, Florence, Italy, [postmarked] December 12, 1923: her entire family sends thanks; best wishes for a good trip. Picture postcard ("Firenze--Galleria Uffizi La Nativita de Gesu dett.--Van Der Goes Ugo"), in Italian
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], January 24, 1924: approves of the way in which Pach used his Renoir to illustrate an article; still trying to sell the Gros painting abroad; the Venetian painting was shipped today, and he awaits Pach's impression of it; Faure is convinced the landscape, most likely of Toledo, and at least one figure were painted by El Greco in his youth; awaits photographs of Pach's paintings and etchings; is delighted to learn of Pach's lecture series in Kansas, which includes one on Faure's fourth volume. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], January 31, 1924: praises solidity, intelligent composition, and exceptional synthetic quality of Pach's portrait of his son; the portrait of Pach's wife is less successful; praises the harmony in Pach's mythological painting but its composition is less than perfect; Pach shows great progress; is sending a photograph of a first-class Corot that is for sale; discusses the price and how they would share the profit. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, February 6, 1924: read Pach's article in -- Harper's -- "with interest, with zest and with envy." 4 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], March 11, 1924: the news contained in Pach's cable frees him From current financial worries; he is sending the painting immediately and warns Pach about mislabeling on the back of the picture; insists that Pach take a substantial commission; though it makes him sad to part with the painting, he now can provide a secure future for his family. 2 pp., in French
From Suzanne La Follette, Plymouth, England, March 11, 1924: the voyage has been "rough and dull." 2 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], March 19, 1924: received the fourth volume in translation and finds the illustrations much better than those in the first 3 volumes; expresses gratitute to Pach; is sending a gift of a Rodin etching; just saw Derain and is certain the artist is evolving, despite his somewhat disoriented state; Matisse's last exhibit was disappointing and lacked human qualities. 2 pp., in French
From Arthur Burdett Frost, Pasadena, Calif., March 30, 1924: thanks Pach for his exhibition idea; cannot participate because he has no suitable work available; "I used to be very careless about my original drawings"; Jack moved to California for health reasons; Jack paints desert landscapes that sell well. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 1, 1924: the Gros painting has been in transit for 3 weeks; deplores the exchange rate and discusses Pach's commission; is pleased that Pach will be the translator for -- The Gods -- and hopes he will do -- The Spirit of the Forms -- , even though this work will take him away From painting; wants to see Pach's pamphlet on Seurat, whom he likes more and more; Faure has added to his collection paintings by Corot, Courbet, Delacroix, Bonnington, and others he discovered in the attic of a secondhand shop; Miss La Follette visited; asks Pach to inquire about the fate of his Shakespeare essay. 4 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], France, April 6, 1924: agrees wholeheartedly to the proposed exchange; thanks Pach for a check; wants him to accept, as a gift, any Villon painting still in Pach's hands; will follow Pach's instructions concerning the book; is painting but cannot find himself in that medium; his next engraving will be a Rousseau. 2 pp., in French
From E.H. Anderson, Director, New York Public Library, New York, N.Y., April 9, 1924: acknowledges gift of etchings. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, May 2, 1924: sends a check for Pach's commission on the sale of the Murat painting; is glad Pach liked his gift of a Rodin etching; discusses changes to volume 3 and wonders why a particular reproduction was omitted From the American edition; -- The Spirit of the Forms -- is still under revision, and he has been busy writing -- Cervantes -- ; like Pach, he admires Matisse's lithographs but feels uneasy about the virtuoso element apparent in his annual painting exhibits; Despiau's portraits are more and more admirable; met Braque, whose work now interests him more; since Braque has renounced cubism, only Picasso remains; Picasso's last noncubist exhibit was curious and somewhat disturbing. 2 pp., in French
From Leigh Mitchell Hodges, Doylestown, Pa., May 4, 1924: sends sonnet inspired by a Pach etching. 1 p. + enclosure ("Sonnet--To Walter Pach's etching of Miss M-----")
From Julius Meier-Graefe, Berlin, Germany, July 22, 1924: Pach is the first American to attempt and succeed at serious examination of art From Corot to the present; is sending a copy of volume 3 of -- Modern Art -- , which discusses some of the same issues addressed in Pach's book; believes cubism, expressionism, and impressionism to be manifestations of decadence; in his book, Pach failed to cite German contributions. 3 pp., in German
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, July 31, 1924: hopes to see Pach in Dordogne during August; the article on illustrious men he has known will need to be twice as long, so Pach should make arrangements; discusses a remarkable book about sport by his Frenchified Brazilian friend Braga and suggests a translation would be of interest to Americans; Braga wrote the most intelligent articles ever published about Faure in French and plans a history of world literature that would mirror -- History of Art -- . 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 2, 1924: Pach should tell Wells that Faure accepts the 5,000-word limitation; the article consists of a series of portraits of famous men and concludes with a sincere tribute to America. 1 p., in French
From Julius Meier-Graefe, Schlaghtensee, Germany, [postmarked] August 5, 1924: advises Pach not to judge the paintings of [von Marees?] on the basis of his early Dresden period, but look at the Munich work. Postal card, in German
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, August 11, 1924: read -- Masters of Modern Art -- ; "I wish I could give you the support you ask for. And I have found yr. book informing, stimulating, provoking and sincere. But I cannot even begin to see what you do in cubism"; advises Pach to choose writing over painting, as it is impossible to do both. 8 pp
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 24, 1924: regrets that Pach did not visit him; plans to go to Italy in September but hopes to see Pach in Paris afterward; hesitates to accept a long lecture tour in America. 2 pp., in French
From James Oppenheim, New York, N.Y., August 24, 1924: Gertrude is seriously ill; Oppenheim's son has faith in his work; Oppenheim's book was reviewed; is delighted with the book on Matisse. 2 pp
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, September 13, 1924: expresses his opinion of modern art and artists; "I did not mean what the Ku-Kluxers or Coolidgeites mean when they speak of the latest phenomena in painting as Bolshevik. But in a prophetic, devastatingly deep way that's what they are. And they may serve a kindred purpose, namely to bury the dead form. But they are undertakers, grave-diggers, and at best manure makers only. Artists they are not and Picasso not at all;" Pach "overestimates" Delacroix's ability as an artist. 4 pp
From John Gould Fletcher, London, England, October 7, 1924: thanks Pach for the book on Duchamp-Villon; compliments the "excellent" introduction; agrees that "Duchamp-Villon was the true descendant of the stonecutters of Chartres"; Faure's -- History of Art -- is "remarkable"; he is trying to publish a rebuttal to the concluding chapter; the -- Freeman -- failed. 3 pp
From Arthur Burdett Frost, Pasadena, Calif., October 26, 1924: thanks for the brushes, which he will share with Jack; requests recommendations for directing Jack's art reading; Frost now reads mainly on palentology and natural history; if his eyesight permitted, he would paint his concept of earliest man; recalls a terrible summer spent in Rhode Island; contrasts California with the East; recalls the Dresden Gallery; Butler's stay in New York was a "dreadful experience." 5 pp
From Jacques Villon, Paris, France, October 27, 1924: just received Pach's book on painting and thinks his ideas about evolution of painting are admirable; has not yet seen the Salon d'Automne; sales were good, and even those opposed to abstract painting smiled. 3 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 1, 1924: has shipped a magnificent painting; is surprised that it is possible to sell paintings in America since the Paris art market is at a standstill; the last good show was the Renoir exhibit at Rosenberg's; books are not selling, and he could not find a publisher for his latest work; publishing houses are closing; prewar politicians and prewar methods are responsible for the disaster; the general economy and his personal situation are grim; melancholy family news. 4 pp., in French
From Henri Matisse, Nice, France, November 18 and December 5, 1924: his son, Pierre, is moving to New York; Pierre wants to work at a gallery specializing in modern art; he and the Steins agree this is a good plan; asks Pach to advise and assist Pierre, and he will request the same of Brummer; Michael Stein suggests Pach meet Pierre at the ship. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 1, 1924: is housebound after a small accident, and catching up with work; both the -- Dial -- and -- Harper's -- sent checks; comments on current exhibitions and sales; Pach is his closest American friend; wants to establish closer ties in the United States; France now depends upon American patronage; Mrs. Dillard is sending a Corot to Pach; she might be helpful to Brummer; sometimes she has Renoirs and Derains at reasonable prices. 2 pp., in French
From Xavier Martinez, Piedmont, Calif., December 3, 1924: compliments -- Masters of Modern Art -- and Pach's translation of Faure; disagrees with Faure's chapters on Greece and Mexico; Pach understands the art of Mexico; encloses 2 drawings of Indian madonnas. 1 p., partly in Spanish
From Lewis Mumford, Brooklyn, N.Y., December 15, 1924: thanks Pach for grasping the essence of his book; agrees with Duchamp-Villon's views on architecture. 2 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], January 9, 1925: commiserates with Pach over his rejection by -- Harper's -- ; comments on subjects that appeal to editors of popular magazines; Pach should continue trying to sell the Corot; the owner also has paintings by Renoir and Derain and a Seurat drawing; inquires about the status of translations now at -- Harper's -- ; comments on the superiority of American cinema. 3 pp., in French
From Pedro HenrÃquez Ureña, La Plata, Argentina, January 13, 1925: hopes Pach will be interested in the work of his friend, Emilio Pettoniti, an advanced Argentine painter; asks where Pettoniti might exhibit in New York. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, January 13, 1925: requests photographs of the work Pach accomplished in France; wants news of Elie Faure; mentions several commissions he is now working on; comments on Charlot; has waited more than a year for word from Aleman; is considering going abroad when through with the Chapingo chapel. 3 pp., in Spanish
to Elie Faure From William H. Briggs, [place unknown], March 3, 1925: not financially feasible to bring out the definitive edition of -- History of Art -- for at least 3 years; wants -- The Spirit of the Forms -- to be volume 5; agrees to publish an English edition of -- The Spirit of the Forms -- and -- The Dance on Fire and Water -- ; -- The Constructors -- , -- The Holy Face -- , and future books are not to be offered to other publishers. 3 pp
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, March 13, 1925: would send photographs of his work but in Mexico it takes too long to get prints; Pach's book fully deserves Faure's praise; Rivera finds Pach's paintings appealing; is grateful for the high esteem with which Pach wrote of his work; work on Chapingo chapel continues; despite serious financial problems, Charlot is constantly progressing; asks Pach's opinions and advice about a Spanish edition of his book; Ravenna Mosaic requested a sample piece of -- The Antilles -- . 7 pp., in Spanish
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 28, 1925: is hurt not to have heard From Pach; Mr. Briggs wrote about translation and publication plans; wants Pach to translate -- The Spirit of the Forms -- ; thanks for getting his autobiography published in the -- Dial -- ; his friend, Mrs. Fougeirol, and daughter, will call on Pach; hopes Pach and Brummer can assist Mrs. Dillard with the sale of her Corot; the Gaugnat sale is unaffordable; Mrs. Dillard also has Renoirs to sell. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], March 29, 1925: is happy that Briggs wants to do the album and will talk to Crès about sales; thanks to Madame B. for the Corot; his version of Delacroix's journal will be published; compliments Pach's painting; asks Pach to speak to Harper's about not using the number of his last volume of -- History of Art -- so the public will buy it without having the earlier volumes. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, May 9, 1925: tells of his voyage to Marrakech; saw Fletcher; Pach will receive the Gaugnat sale catalog; Madame Gaugnat died 6 months after her husband, leaving their son harassed by dealers; a small Renoir may be available; asks Pach to intervene on his behalf with Harper's regarding income tax withholding; discusses Delacroix and impressionist exhibits; discusses the realism of Delacroix's Moroccan paintings. 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], May 17, 1925: condolences on the death of Pach's father; is surprised by what Pach told him of the Corot; discusses a French landscape exhibit at the Petit Palais containing too many paintings; Corot reigns. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], May 20, 1925: invites Pach to visit him in Dordogne during the summer; describes a Corot that should go to an American museum. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], May 30, 1925: gives instructions for translation revisions; bought 2 magnificent Derains; suggests that consignments be sent to Mrs. Payne Whitney; -- History of Art -- received mixed reviews. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], June 5, 1925: galleys are still incomplete as there are problems with illustrations and captions; his Baron Gros painting is at the French exhibit in Prague; will send a photograph later; asks Pach to help sell the Gros picture and a Daumier. 3 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], August 11, 1925: asks if volume 3 has been published; thinks volume 4 is his best; hopes that the new prefaces added to each volume will make Pach like the whole work better; Rosenberg met with Mrs. Whitney; discusses the quality of reproductions in his book on Derain; describes John Lane's indirect attack on his chapter about English art; was not charmed by Blake; Constable is the only English painter he likes; look for his Shakespeare article in the -- Dial -- . 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, September 7, 1925: bought a house at Dordogne; volume 4 is still incomplete; lists photographs he will send soon; this may be a good time to sell his 2 paintings; discusses the sales commission; mentions favorable points of the Gros painting; the other painting may be harder to sell; is considering selling a Daumier and a Delacroix to help pay for his new house. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], September 9, 1925: promises to send the photographs for his book; even the best translation cannot be completely faithful to the original; discusses specific changes to be made; discusses a chapter on Europe being added to volume 4. 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], September 21, 1925: is sending 5 photographs; 1 is for -- Harper's -- to include in volume 4, and the remainder are of works he hopes can be sold in the United States; needs money for his new house. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], September 26, 1925: is still waiting for a contract with Criterion; the painting consigned to Ehrich has not sold; maybe Pach could sell it or suggest another dealer; Pach should send instructions to Ehrich; -- Harper's -- will publish -- The Spirit of the Forms -- as volume 5; wants Pach to be the translator but will understand if he declines. 4 pp., in French
From F.P. Keppel, New York, N.Y., October 21, 1925: has received Pach's letter with proofs and suggestions. 1 p
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], October 22, 1925: has received volume 3 and congratulated Mr. Briggs; still thinks the plates should have been produced in France; bills for photographs remain unpaid; thanks Pach for his energy and perseverance; Spanish and German editions are planned; Knopf will publish an English edition of Napoleon; came close to selling the Daumier; comments on the condition of Marat by Gros; inquires about Pach's painting and the possibility of an exhibition in Paris. 4 pp., in French
From Jean Charlot, [place unknown], October 27, 1925: his present work is totally different From the 12 paintings being sent; Pach is one of the few friends abroad who might be interested; Pach should keep one for himself and try to sell the rest; is sending 4 photographs of recent work; he and Diego want to see reproductions of Pach's latest paintings; inventory of works being sent; had problems with his exhibition in Los Angeles. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 21, 1925: there will be a delay in sending photographs; thanks Pach for introducing Miss La Follette; -- Harper's -- paid more than expected; Briggs reproached him for choosing Knopf to publish Napoleon. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 27, 1925: thanks Pach for introducing Speyer; congratulates Pach on his new job; likes Pach's engravings; wants Pach to translate The Spirit of the Forms; is sending another manuscript for which he hopes Pach can help find a publisher; he owns the picture incorrectly captioned in his last book and it is for sale. 4 pp., in French
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., January 7, 1926: she has written about her husband; is happy to be of service to Pach; can furnish more information. 1 p. + 3 pp. enclosure, (manuscripts by Susan M. Eakins of biographical notes on Thomas Eakins, including excerpts From letters to his father written while studying in France; list of paintings completed between 1870 and 1876; teaching methods; notes From Charles Bregler's transcript of Eakins's comments to students)
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 19, 1926: Mrs. Dillard sold his English painting to Mr. Speyer; introductions made by Pach facilitated the transaction; no one is to know Faure was the owner; since he cannot pay the duty if the piece at Ehrich is returned to France, Pach should keep it or put it in storage until later; asks if the Metropolitan might be interested in Mrs. Dillard's large Corot; content with Montaigne; still reworking -- The Spirit of the Forms; -- Soutine has become more important; believes Derain shows progress; Matisse's astonishing virtuosity continues to increase; saw admirable work by Picasso; Braque is a beautiful but monotonous painter; considers Charlie Chaplin the great man of America. 4 pp., in French
From Harold O. Voorhis, Secretary, New York University, New York, N.Y., February 23, 1926: confirms Pach's appointment as assistant professor of fine arts. 1 p
From Harold O. Voorhis, Secretary, New York University, New York, N.Y., March 5, 1926: received Pach's acceptance of faculty appointment. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 24, 1926: has seen Pach's friends; is looking forward to Pach's visit in the summer; he and his wife are caring for an African-Arab baby; The Spirit of the Forms is almost finished; gives instructions about selling the unfortunate Spanish painting; is sending a drawing as a gift; Mrs. Dillard needs a list of dealers and their specialties. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 22, 1926: is pleased to learn the Delacroix drawing was well received; believes Delacroix is becoming greater by the day; is not eager for further lecture tours; his latest book was ignored; foreigners understand him better than the French; regrets that Pach will not be able to visit him in Dordogne; discusses price of the crucifixion painting. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, June 8, 1926: goals for studying art of the past are aesthetic or humanistic; it is a "triumph" that Pach's "anti-Rotarian protest" was published in -- Harper's -- Magazine; "glad to hear yr. painting is taking on, altho' I deplore yr. giving to it the time you should dedicate to writing"; urges him to write about the Gardner collection. 12 pp
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 10, 1926: the entire family is at Dordogne and sorry Pach cannot join them; discusses exchange rate; Briggs trusts Pach to translate -- The Spirit of the Forms -- , which will be volume 5 of -- History of Art -- ; asks Pach to consider undertaking the job. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, August 19, 1926: wishes there had been an opportunity for them to visit and have a serious talk during Pach's recent lecture tour; "I fear you will never take the place yr. gifts as a writer could lead you to if you cannot detach yr. self fr. painting itself. It is a pity. For critics are ever so much rarer." 4 pp
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, October 4, 1926: the package Lupe sent to the Pachs was lost when the boat capsized; wants copies of the magazine -- L'Amour de l'Art -- ; Derain's work is better; shares Pach's opinion of Picasso; wants to see Matisse's work; Faure will try to include more Rivera reproductions in the new edition; asks Pach to check on the status of Rudolf Tesch's project for Carnegie Corp.; requests the Charlot exhibition catalog. 4 pp., in Spanish
To Mrs. Pach From Lupe de Rivera, [place unknown], October 6, 1926: thanks for the baby sweater; her daughter, Guadalupe, called Pico, was tiny and ill at birth but now thrives. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], November 3, 1926: Mrs. Dillard has a Fragonard worthy of a museum or a fine collection; asks about hotel rates in New York City. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 12, 1926: is grateful that Pach will be translating -- The Spirit of the Forms; -- Pach should persuade Mr. Briggs to expedite the publisher's contract; saw Seurat's exhibition of more than 200 luminous drawings and a Bonnard show of rich and subtle still-lifes; 2 paintings by Matisse were highlights in an otherwise indifferent Salon d'Automne; Miss La Follette and her brother visited; the Baron Gros painting, which Mme. Dillard will handle, is a masterwork that the Metropolitan Museum [of Art] could be proud of; still believes in Soutine; would like to meet Barnes though a ruse might be needed. 4 pp., in French
From Suzanne La Follette, Choisy, France, November 19, 1926: visited Elie Faure and hopes to see him again; a review of her book will appear in -- Saturday Review -- . 6 pp
From Pedro Henriquez Ureña, Miramar, Argentina, January [?], 1927: Valovaciones cannot pay for contributions or translations; Pach should publish a translation of his book in the magazine so that Argentines will be familiar with him and his ideas. 2 pp
From Suzanne La Follette, [place unknown], January 9, 1927: the publisher is not promoting her book well; thinks Lewis Mumford is "gifted." 3 pp
From Suzanne La Follette, Paris, France, January 13, 1927: asks about resorts on the Mediterranean; Chester wrote enthusiastically of his travels in Italy. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, February 22, 1927: has had no reply From Mexico; "Art and Morals," which appeared in the Dial, should be retranslated; -- History of Art -- is being translated into Czech and possibly Japanese; artistic life in Paris is boring; Matisse is definitely the most tolerated; Soutine is not doing much; Pach should try to sell the Gros painting for Mrs. Dillard. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 8, 1927: a safe-deposit box was transferred, with difficulty, from Pach's name to his; saw a beautiful Renoir exhibition; prices are high and only Delacroix and Corot are affordable now; Derain should protect himself From dealers. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Fabriano, Italy, May 10, 1927: review of his book missed its "contribution... to a criticism that is based on a question of design"; invites Pach to consider this issue in a review. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], June 8, 1927: Delacroix is becoming popular; at the sale of the Bureau collection ordinary Daumier watercolors brought high prices and wonderful Corot drawings sold cheaply; is unhappy with the captions for the plates in his last edition; witnessed Lindbergh's landing. 4 pp., in French
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, June 24, 1927: announces his recent marriage; describes a Redon watercolor that Pach might sell to the Bings; Mrs. Bing expressed interest in the Brancusi bust now stored at Brummer, King, and Parker. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Stockholm, Sweden, July 25, 1927: Pach's review showed "intelligent and friendly comprehension"; "my Three Essays is an ironied and veiled attempt to demonstrate that there is a big part of the job that any well trained mediocrity can achieve"; "great artists like Antonello are not prophets but fulfillers of prophecy." 2 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, October 3, 1927: spent his vacation traveling in Provence; has abandoned a project that attracted amateur attention; intends to study Chagall; -- History of Art -- will be translated into Japanese. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, London, England, October 7, 1927: -- Harper's -- will ask Pach to write about the Gardner collection; urges him to accept the offer. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], December 19, 1927: Gagnon has reappeared; Faure purchased a Barye painting at a junk shop; agrees to write a preface to Pach's book. 4 pp., in French
From Leo Stein, Paris, France, February 7, 1928: Read Pach's review of his book in the -- Architectural Record -- ; "when you realize your incompetence for a job because of ignorance you had better keep out, because that very ignorance will prevent you From realizing how big a fool you are making of yourself." 1 p
From Elie Faure, [place unknown],1 April 22, 1928: Had a heart attack; is now working on a book about folk psychology; will lecture in Germany; museums prefer a perfect modern canvas to a masterpiece with slight damage; asks if Pach has tried to find a buyer for Christ; though his books sell, Faure has not prospered; describes several paintings in his collection; he may inherit Mme. Thelaphite's paintings; Mrs. Dillard has a Ribera for sale. 4 pp., in French
From [ signature illegible (Canaan L. Morris?)], Hartford, Conn., May 4, 1928: compliments Pach's lecture of the previous evening; critiques its structure. 2 pp
From Harold O. Voorhis, Secretary, New York University, New York, N.Y., June 15, 1928: confirms Pach's appointment as assistant professor of fine arts. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 11, 1928: is glad to be away From Paris; is very happy about the French translation of Ananias [large portions illegible]. 2 pp
From Jose Clemente Orozco, New York, N.Y., September 1, 1928: -- Form -- magazine deserves attention; offers to write to the editor on Pach's behalf; as Pach suggested, he met with Kraushaar, who didn't seem to like the revolutionary drawings but showed interest in the Art Center Exhibit paintings; speculates that Kraushaar found the Mexican pieces too strange; asks Pach to arrange another meeting; recommends GarcÃa Maroto's article in -- Contemporaries -- about Rivera and his disgusting commercialism. 4 pp., in Spanish
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, September 22, 1928: received Ananias, but cannot read it without a translator [large portions illegible]. 2 pp., in French
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., October 10, 1928: received his letter and book; "whether it is the desire to purchase or not, I am always pleased to show my husband's pictures"; wishes to keep the Rush pictures and studies in Philadelphia. 3 pp
From Arthur B. Springarn, New York, N.Y., November 1, 1928: thanks Pach for dedicating the book to him; best wishes for the volume's success. 1 p
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 14, 1928: five hundred dollars is a satisfactory amount for the manuscript. 1 p
From Lee Simonson, Editor, Creative Art, New York, N.Y., December 18, 1928: thanks Pach for making changes to his Rivera article; his review of Pach's book is "extremely hard-hitting"; offers opportunity for rebuttal in the next issue; "let us keep the thing above personalities"; Alfred Stieglitz and Leo Stein support Simonson's views. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., January 8, 1929: will send chapters for revision; payment can be handled however Pach prefers. 2 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 11, 1929: has not finished reading Pach's book because he is unusually busy; his wife is ill; had to put aside projects to complete a book on the Italian Renaissance; with the exception of Sargent, "official" American painters are not known in France; impressionism and its aftermath have not produced any positive result; would like to see Pach's paintings, not just photographs of them; compliments Pach's etchings; a new edition of his work is in preparation; there may be a Serb translation. 4 pp., in French
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., January 15, 1929: requests a month's extension for their translation work. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., February 14, 1929: chapter I and the introduction are being sent today. 1 p
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., March 18, 1929: describes working methods; explains problems in translating Faure's writing. 2 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 1, 1929: when Pach visits they will look at art and go to Dordogne; discussed Pach's book with his publisher; recommends not using American examples other than Sargent and possibly Alexander and Frieseke in the French edition; will find an apartment for Pach; Miss Mary Morris has not yet called on him; requests books on the psychology of Americans. 2 pp., in French
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., May 12, 1929: translation work proceeds slowly; Van Wyck is in the hospital; she doesn't want it publicized. 2 pp
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., May 26, 1929: Van Wyck's health has not improved. 2 pp
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., July 10, 1929: thanks Pach for his patience; Van Wyck is now in a private sanitarium; she continues to work on the translation. 1 p
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport Conn., August 28, 1929: is sending next chapter soon; Van Wyck's condition has not changed. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 28, 1929: his short review of Pach's book has been accepted for publication in the Dial. 2 pp., in French
From Eleanor S. Brooks, [place unknown], August 30, 1929: another chapter is ready. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, September 13, 1929: went to Basque country with Soutine; had a good rest and thought about the psychology book he is writing; -- The Italian Renaissance -- appears to be a success; is anxious to see Pach's painting and hear about his time in Paris; hopes to interest Pach in Soutine; when working, Soutine hides like a dog gnawing a bone. 2 pp., in French
From Lewis Mumford, Long Island City, N.Y., October 23, 1929: recounts summer travels; is starting a book about the arts in America since 1870; asks for news of Van Wyck Brooks's condition and how Eleanor is coping; he worries about Eleanor's reaction to the proposal that he edit the Emerson book. 2 pp
From Harold M. Tovell, Toronto, Canada, October 25, 1929: "I do think that as a result of patience and education plus your lectures here, that the tide is turning in favor of our Toronto friends"; inquires about Marcel Duchamp; "the house here would be rather bare if it weren't for the Duchamp family. I hope you will tell him how greatly we prize their works." 4 pp
From Jacques Villon, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, November 23, 1929: Verne wrote on behalf of the Committee of the National Museums accepting Raymond's sculptures; sends text of the Committee's flattering letter; thanks Pach for his continued support of Raymond. 4 pp., in French
From Childe Hassam, New York, N.Y., November 30, 1929: n -- Art in America -- , Pach confuses Horatio and Henry Oliver; Marie Sterner "has gotten together some of the worst things I have ever seen"; "verily art in America is run by old women! but most of them wear trousers." 2 pp
From Leo Stein, Paris, France, December 1, 1929: wants Pach to know the facts regarding his alleged endorsement of Clivette; "I supposed that Hellman was a gentleman and did not suspect a plant." 1 p
From Art Young, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] December 5, 1929: holiday greetings; news of James Opp [ sic], Springarn, Suzanne La Follette, and Glintenkamp; is working on a book and exhibition. 1 p. + 4 pp. enclosure (printed circular, undated, advertising books by Art Young, -- On My Way -- and -- Trees at Night -- , with excerpts from reviews and order form)
From Leo Stein, Paris, France 4218 265-267 [postmarked] January 8, 1930: "There is no artist that I value highly whom you do not also value but... you value many whom I don't"; diagram illustrates Stein's explanation of how their artistic tastes differ. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, March 12, 1930: Joubib's [?] awful reputation should be a comfort to Pach's friend who was so badly treated; plans to seek legal advice about suing De la Faille. 2 pp., in French
From Lewis Mumford, Long Island City, N.Y., March 12, 1930: is pleased with his lectures at Dartmouth College; his next book will be "a modern philosophy of life"; compliments Suzanne La Follette's book; he has an article in the first issue of the New Freeman; comments on policies and politics of the "Modern Museum." 4 pp
From Harold M. Tovell, [place unknown], May 16, 1930: "This is about the most perfect thing I have seen for a long time. A truly great work." Picture postcard ("Leonardo da Vinci Bronzlovas. Reiterfigur aus Bronze. Figure a cheval en bronze")
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., July 10, 1930: received Pach's picture postcard of a Millet portrait; the "exhibition of Homer, Ryder, and Eakins at the Modern Museum seems to have pleased universally." 1 p
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, August 22, 1930: "I would rather not see the entire output of a master," even Delacroix; after finishing "the lists of Italian Painters" he will revise Drawings of Florentine Painters; then he plans a book on "The Decline and Revival of Form in the Figure Arts." 8 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., September 25, 1930: continues to enjoy the postcards Pach sent, especially the Millet; has found the painting he wants; there will be an exhibition in New York City in December; her good friend Charles Bregler, a pupil of Eakins's, has restored several of the pictures. 2 pp
From Al [Bing?], New York, N.Y., October 19, 1930: "Museum accepts pictures." Telegram
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., October 21, 1930: received Barye copy and photos of Millet picture; details of upcoming Eakins show in New York City are uncertain; Charles Bregler has discovered retouching on some pictures; they will be cleaned before the exhibition; some may be placed behind glass to prevent future overpainting done in "ignorance"; enclosed sketch describes a study Eakins did while a student in Paris; wonders where other pieces from that period are, since he did many and returned with few. 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., October 23, 1930: through oversight, Pach's watercolors were not presented at the October meeting; "I forsee no trouble in their reception. The modern style has not the bitter enemies it used to have." 1 p
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., November 9, 1930: saw a good exhibition of modern French art at Harriman Gallery and a "gem" at Knoedler; is enthusiastic about Villon's colors; subsequent visits to Brummer's confirmed that her collection is superior; Mr. Kraushaar likes Pach's work and promised to see more; "you are right when you say I cannot expect to compete with the hawks of picture dealers"; comments on Ananias; economic conditions depress Mr. Guggenheimer and may prevent them From traveling. 3 pp
From B. Stein, New York, N.Y., November 17, 1930: thanks Pach for his book; saw Villon's "smashing" show; Gretchen purchased The (Rose) Haulers; financial conditions in the United States are "depressing"; is sorry Pach is "impatient" with writing, as he is gifted; is glad Pach is enjoying painting in Paris; describes ideas about modern furniture, which she wants to buy. 5 pp
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., December 1, 1930: "sympathetic" to Pach's "natural gratification at the Metropolitan's action;" Kraushaar will look at Pach's work in her apartment; mentions art seen at Reinhardt's and Brummer's galleries; received a letter From Villon. 2 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., December 12, 1930: Miss Pendleton took the painting Pach wants and will arrange delivery to him; Miss Pendleton would be a good subject to paint; holiday greetings. 1 p
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., December 17, 1930: saw Pach's drawings at Kraushaar's; saw work by Houdon at Anderson Galleries; Pach would enjoy Proust's remarks on music and art. 2 pp
From Allen Tucker, New York, N.Y., January 2, 1931: opinions of Corot-Daumier show at the Modern; Tucker had an exhibition. 4 pp
From Leo Stein, Paris, France, [postmarked] January 19, 1931: discusses "analytic" and "non analytic" approaches to a "nonverifiable subject"; "don't regard this letter as an argument. I never argue about art, but simply attempt to explain an attitude." 5 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., January 25, 1931: thanks Pach for bringing Eakins's work to the attention of the Louvre; Charles Linford is a possible choice; "I would prefer to present a picture, rather than sell, so we will not worry about prices"; Riccardo Bertelli's new gallery on 56th is exhibiting Thomas Eakins and Samuel Murray; there is an Eakins show at Babcock Galleries; the national economic situation is too bad to expect painting sales; articles on Eakins mistakenly "report that the little seated figure of Thomas Eakins was his favorite attitude while painting"; pictures shown at Babcock were cleaned by Charles Bregler; glazing was recommended for protection From air pollution; Pach's choice of frame for his Eakins painting is "fine." 4 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., February 19, 1931: sends photographs of paintings available for presentation to the Louvre; her choice of the Hamilton portrait is supported by Samuel Murray, Mr. Cranmer, and David Wilson Jordan; the Barker and Wallace portraits are possibilities; her sister-in-law offers the portrait of Susan Eakins' father; sends photographs of Thomas Eakins dating From student days in Paris; she has not seen the Eakins exhibition in New York. 2 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., February 21, 1931: Bertelli sold John McClure Hamilton, not understanding that it might go to the Louvre; the Barker and Wallace portraits will not be sold. 1 p
From Morris Kantor, New York, N.Y., March 16, 1931: is busy making frames; saw Pach's exhibition at Kraushaar's; "Paris did you a lot of good because your work has changed.... It has more freedom and a better painting quality"; sympathizes with "Baylie's" misfortune; Kraushaar will give "Baylie" a show; Sloan arranged for him to teach at the League. 3 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., March 17, 1931: "The Museum is much beholden to you however the David matter turns out"; the decision reached at yesterday's meeting will be announced after the painting is unpacked; compliments Pach's show at Kraushaar's; comments on the installation and specific pieces; "as to the Eakins matter I should be honored to cooperate." 2 pp
From A.S. Baylinson, New York, N.Y., March 19, 1931: complimentary comments on Pach's show at Kraushaar's; is moving to a new, fireproof studio at 54 West 74th Street; "I will have the group work there with me evenings as before, and before long we shall forget the fire"; will teach at the Art Students League in the coming year. 2 pp
From Childe Hassam, New York, N.Y., March 27, 1931: Pach's exhibition, which Hassam viewed twice, includes "the best things I have seen of yours"; spoke with John Sloan and Miss Kraushaar at the gallery; describes his etching of Helen Wells and promises to send a photograph of it. 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., March 28, 1931: the painting arrived and is "even grander than I had imagined.... It will be one of the masterpieces here"; has been in contact with Mrs. Eakins; thanks Pach for his "beneficent labors." 3 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., March 28, 1931: Burroughs and Brummer were consulted in the search for photographs of Eakins paintings; lists sizes of paintings under consideration; J. Carroll Beckwith might interest the Louvre. 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, New York, N.Y., March 31, 1931: "David Bought Hooray." Telegram + 1 p. enclosure (April 1, 1931 From Morgan & Cie., Paris, France: debit notice for collect telegram received From New York the previous day)
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., April 14, 1931: Museum is pleased with the David painting; thanks Pach for his role in the transaction; "waiting for the Eakins matter to crystallize"; wants the Pennsylvania Museum to offer Clara or The Bohemian; the Louvre should have an example of Eakins' "very best"; will propose the idea to Kimball. 2 pp
From Arthur B. Springarn, New York, N.Y., April 21, 1931: is "profoundly impressed" by Pach's exhibition; his work shows a new "lack of inhibition"; "I resent the conspiracy of silence of the critics tho' I suppose that is the price you pay for being the author of Ananias"; gives recommendations for Raymond's schooling. 6 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., May 3, 1931: "The Penn. Mus. Eakins project takes shape gradually"; Clara may be "suitable"; the "exchange" proposed is complicated and requires "committee actions"; maybe they could give Clara to the Louvre; Kimball will "come round." 3 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., May 11, 1931: sends copy of a letter From Fiske Kimball and a reproduction of Clara; upon seeing the painting again "my previous judgement was amply confirmed." 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (May 8, 1931, to Bryson Burroughs From Fiske Kimball, Director, Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pa.: "I shall recommend to my Board that a gift be made to the Louvre"; instructs Burroughs to ask Guiffrey whether the Louvre will accept Clara; discusses framing and Eakins's ideas on the subject)
From Jean Guiffrey, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, June 2, 1931: thanks for the Eakins painting; when informed of the gift, his colleagues will be grateful. 1 p., in French
From Henri Verne, Director, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, June 18, 1931: thanks Pach for his role as intermediary in the Louvre's acquisition of a Thomas Eakins painting. 1 p., in French
From Bryson Burroughs, [place illegible], France, June 24, 1931: Is arriving in Paris in July; wants to see David-Weill collection; "it is a great comfort the way the Eakins matter turned out and I am really glad to be out of its final arrangement"; is going to Milan to see the -- Très Belles Heures -- . 2 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., June 27, 1931: Is pleased with the choice of painting for the Louvre; thanks Pach for his efforts. 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, aboard SS De Grasse, July 19, 1931: Guiffrey "is delighted about the Eakins and well appreciative of your efforts in regard to it"; Metropolitan Museum of Art may participate in the French exhibition in London next year; "a new era of liberalism and cooperation is about due with the passing of so many ancient trustees"; describes the excellent condition of the -- Très Belles Heures -- . 3 pp
From Caroline Pratt, Chilmark, Mass., August 14, 1931: Discusses Raymond's academic progress and challenges; gives recommendations for the future. 5 pp
From Elie Faure, Peking, China, October 7, 1931: Received a warm welcome in the United States; the end of his trip and the end of his life are darkened by catastrophe. Picture postcard ("Great Wall of China"), in French
From Beatrice [?], New York, N.Y., October 10, 1931: " Simone is ours." Telegram
From Elie Faure, Angkor, Cambodia, November 14, 1931: Expresses love for America and Americans; thinks the hope of the world is in the United States and also between the Urals and Vistula. Picture postcard ("Ruines D'Angkor"), in French
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., November 15, 1931: Etta Cone bought a Pach painting and is "enthusiastic" about Duchamp-Villon; "saw the Mouillots at Brummer's and I must confess to being very disappointed"; she "positively rejoice[s]" in her own piece by Duchamp-Villon; many praise Pach's work in her collection; art prices are down; news of various friends, especially musicians. 4 pp
From Jean Crotti, Paris, France, November 18, 1931: "I have always declined to write prefaces for contemporaries (the cases of Villon and Duchamp-Villon being exceptions which I intend shall remain exceptions); it is a job for a professional critic, and not for a man who is himself engaged in painting." 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., November 24, 1931: Gift of 2 etchings by Pach was received by the Museum. 2 pp
From Elie Faure, Colombo, Ceylon, November 25, 1931: Everyone says his wife and daughter were courageous and that helps him tolerate the loneliness; is anxious to see the Corot book, especially the reproductions; will continue writing for -- Petit Parisien -- ; now believes one must write for the masses. 2 pp., in French
From Henri Verne, Director, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, December 22, 1931: Thanks Pach for his gift of an engraving of New York. 1 p., in French
From Al Bing, New York, N.Y., December 23, 1931: Socrates by David and the Havemeyer collection are now hanging at the Metropolitan; Whitney Museum, Frick Gallery, and the Modern Gallery will all be open when Pach returns; Coffin, "a man of great ability and sterling character," has been elected Museum president; is interested in the Bonaparte exhibition; asks Pach to help sell his Renoir. 12 pp
From Albert Morance, La Chef des Services Commerciause et Techniques, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, January 11, 1932: Is returning to Pach the contract concerning his engraving. 1 p. + 2 pp. printed form (Louvre Print Department acquisition form for The Telephone and Telegraph Building, New York, and rules for transfer of works to the Print Department), in French
From Leo Stein, Paris, France, [postmarked] January 12, 1932: Discusses "two questions that always arise in respect to art... (1) What qualities does one note in a work of art. (2) What value has that which one sees." 6 pp
From Allen Tucker, New York, N.Y., January 18, 1932: Pach's stay in Morocco seems to have been beneficial; 1931 was a difficult year; hopeful for the future; "the Whitney has shaken the whole thing up and American shows past and present and I daresay future are everywhere"; "Rivera having a grand time in a pas de deux with Mrs. Rockefeller at the Museum of 'Foreign' Art." 3 pp
From Henri Verne, Director, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, January 26, 1932: Thanks Pach for his role in the Louvre's acquisition of the Eakins painting; it arrived in good shape and was readily accepted; is still considering the Barye castings. 1 p., in French
From Leo Hartman, Harper's Magazine, New York, N.Y., February 1, 1932: The artists mentioned in Pach's article are too obscure for Harper's readers. 1 p
From Al Bing, New York, N.Y., February 7, 1932: Thanks Pach for helping him find a potential buyer for his Renoir; discusses the Furdson and Havemeyer collections at the Metropolitan; family news; is anxious for Pach's return. 7 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., February 8, 1932: "The Depression is not to be underestimated" and could change the social order; discusses colleges for Raymond; Life of Emerson and a volume of his essays reprinted From the Freeman will be out soon; the Prendergasts live nearby; "Charlie P. is surely a true primitive old master to whom only Vasari could do justice in the way of antecedents"; "I kept thinking as I read your book, what new books must logically follow From your mind"; suggests Pach write histories of art criticism and American art. 10 pp
From Henri Verne, Director, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, March 5, 1932: Because Barye's -- Apollon -- is a fragile plaster, the curator cannot risk making castings. 1 p., in French
From Childe Hassam, New York, N.Y., March 8, 1932: Has a print of Helen Wells for Pach; the Metropolitan Museum filmed him at work and play in East Hampton last summer; the Boston Museum commissioned a similar film of Benson. 3 pp
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., March 25, 1932: Sent another payment for City of Mexico to Pach's bank; several people have shown interest in Simone; she and the Steins purchased work From Baylinson's Kraushaar show. 3 pp
From Allen Tucker, New York, N.Y., April 10, 1932: Congratulates Pach on his show and catalog; compliments the Morse exhibition at the Metropolitan; "the Whitney gallery has shaken up the attention of people to the present Americans." 2 pp
From D.T. Sieveking, Director, Antikensammlungen, Munich, Germany, April 27, 1932: Returns the completed questionnaire. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (questionnaire about Greek figure known as -- Naked Girl with Cap -- ), in German
From John Sloan, New York, N.Y., April 30, 1932: Recounts the politics of the League's presidential election that he lost; Schnakenberg will be an "inactive president"; when the Board turned down Geo. Grosz, Sloan resigned; Jonas Lie threatened to resign if Pach lectures there; Sloan will teach at Archipenko's school next season; Dolly is a manager for the touring Exhibition of Indian Tribal Arts; Baylinson supported Sloan in the "fight"; financial details of the Sixteenth Annual Independent Exhibition. 2 pp
From Charles Bourgeat, Galerie Dru, Paris, France., May 7, 1932: Received payment for Pach's exhibition there; cannot locate the Sisley and Pissarro photographs Pach sent; their aim to show fine and beautiful painting was accomplished with Pach's exhibition; difficult times account for compliments and no sales. 2 pp., in French
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., May 10, 1932: Her opinion of photography remains "good, but not art, and deadly after a certain length of time." 1 p
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., May 22, 1932: Hopes Pach's article, "Owning Pictures," will be published; the museum's rehung galleries present interesting new comparisons; asks his opinion of the Art Students League controversy; saw Baylinson at the Independent show; purchased a Baylinson drawing From Kraushaar. 3 pp
From the -- Atlantic Monthly -- , Boston, Mass., May 31, 1932: Pach's article is of limited interest to Atlantic Monthly readers. 1 p
From M.L. Allen, -- Harper's -- Magazine, New York, N.Y., June 2, 1932: Pach's article, "American Art in the Louvre," is not appropriate for a general audience. 1 p
From Gino Severini, Fribourg, Switzerland, June 16, 1932: His schedule will not permit another meeting before Pach's departure; the art market will improve; is interested in the prospect of a show at Brummer's; "decoration work" for Weyhe may end in September; thanks Pach for his help. 2 pp., in French
From P. Dubaut, Paris, France, July 19, 1932: Thanks Pach for sending clippings; the gallery behaved professionally but was not overly kind; was generally pleased with the show; is happy to know Pach. 2 pp., in French
From Alfred Vance Churchill, Rockport, Mass., July 25, 1932: Pach was the first to write of the Smith College Museum as "one of the choicest and best directed collections of art in America"; has received many commendations and is putting together extracts "for certain personal uses"; requests additional thoughts From Pach on the collection. 3 pp
From Alfred Vance Churchill, Rockport, Mass., July 25, 1932: Is trying to arrange a lecture for Pach at Smith College and perhaps at Mount Holyoke College; Jere Abbott will succeed him as museum director; thinks his retirement was forced on the trustees by Paul J. Sachs. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France., January 7, 1933: France is declining; sends family news; Paul Morand gave his book a favorable review; inquires whether Pach has found work; there are fewer exhibits in Paris; good paintings are now seen only at the big sales such as Strauss. 2 pp., in French
From Marjorie Carpenter, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, January 9, 1933: Confirms lecture date at McMaster University. Telegram
From Gertrude Wolf, Executive Secretary, New York University, New York, N.Y., January 9, 1933: Requests syllabus for last 2 lectures of Pach's course and the examination questions. 1 p
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., [postmarked] January 19, 1933: Informs Pach of prices of two Eakins portraits; many Eakins paintings were damaged by restorers; others are in "splendid condition" due to the efforts of Charles Bregler; comments on Mrs. Whitney's plans to aid painters. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 9, 1933: A Courbet, which Faure believes is his most beautiful, is for sale; indicates price, size, and citation of a reproduction; inquires about the financial crisis in the United States; comments on economic problems, political events, and inertia of the French people; is writing a preface for Rosenberg's Renoir exhibit; asks about Pach's painting and printmaking; requests news of Rivera about whom he wrote an article; Harper's sent money and will reprint The Spirit of the Forms. 4 pp., in French
From Clifton A. Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., February 2, 1934: Discusses fellow board members of the Indianapolis Art Association and acquisitions; "modernization" was the response to declining school enrollment; 9 instructors, including Wheeler, were fired; describes life on the top of La Conte Mountain, Tenn., where he painted the previous fall; has mural and portrait commissions, "so long as I can make a living I don't care if I don't teach." 8 pp
From E.D. Smyth, Tangier, Morocco, September 19, 1934: Thanks Pach for sending a painting of Helen; is staying in Helen's house; Gertrude Stein's book about Alice Toklas is "an overwhelmingly cheeky work" that failed to mention Pach; news of mutual friends; reminiscences of visits with the Pachs; James McBey, a Scottish painter and etcher, has settled nearby. 3 pp
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, October 17, 1934: Feels animosity toward Barr, whom he calls narrow-minded; will handle in his own way any resulting confrontation or unpleasantness; told Arensberg, owner of -- Un Descendant -- , not to lend to Barr; asks Pach to find an excuse for refusing Barr; Barr shall reap what he has sown; American collectors are now speculators; sends order forms for his new book. 5 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 4, 1934: The owners of the Courbet are impatient; asks if it has arrived in New York; suggests that a collector, Barnes, or the Metropolitan Museum of Art may be interested; his book is being ignored in France; if Pach has money, now is a good time to buy art; tells of works that are selling at reduced prices. 2 pp., in French
From Simonne Maubert, Paris, France, December 22, 1934: Miss Stein wrote with good news of Pach; posed for Miss Stein during the autumn and hopes for similar work next year. 2 pp. + picture postcard ("Palais de Fontainebleau, La Cour Ovale et le Baptistère"), in French
From A. Frohberg and Johanna, Dresden, Germany, December 31, 1934: Thanks Pach for letter and for holiday greetings; the news of Pach's selection for an important commission brings them great joy; news of a family friend who has made progress and overcome obstacles. 2 pp., in German
From Karl Lilienfield, New York, N.Y., May 13, 1935: Confirms the commission Pach will receive if he sells paintings for Alexander M. Bing. 1 p., in German
From Henri Focillon, New Haven, Conn., May 21, 1935: Thanks Pach for sending the fine article he wrote on -- La Patelliere -- , which he saw in Bucharest; when visiting the Politzers, he failed to recognize Pach's name, thus missing the opportunity to express his admiration and respect. 2 pp., in French
From Father [Frohberg] and Johanna, Dresden, Germany, July 2, 1935: Birthday greetings. Picture postcard ("Herzlichen Gluckwunsch zum Geburtstage"), in German
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, September 13, 1935: Opposes exhibitions such as the current one at the Petit Palais; is revising his work on drawings of Florentine painters; "foulness piled over Michelangelo by a lot of German animals, the worst of whom is a biped named Panofsky." 12 pp
From Clifton A. Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., October 20, 1935: Pach should notify the director of the John Herron Art Institute of his schedule and lecture fees; is teaching at a high school; the art school is now "purely Yale, Beaux Arts competition, and American Academy in Rome." 2 pp
From Edna Strasser, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, October 26, 1935: Called on friends of Pach, the Brinkman family of Haarlem; saw the portrait Pach painted of their brother in 1906. 3 pp
From Arthur Strasser, Seville, Spain, November 18, 1935: Recounts visit with Brinkmans in Haarlem; is impressed by the Prado, Rubens, and El Greco; at Pach's suggestion, they have attended several performances of gypsy music and dancing. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], November 29, 1935: Is enchanted by and praises the most successful part of Pach's triptych; discusses the economy and prospects for work in France; continues to be pessimistic about painting in France; architecture is what is needed now and cinema may become more important than painting; mentions a Flemish exhibition; congratulates Pach on his portrait of a young man, possibly Raymond; the critics who denounced what Faure wrote on the agony of painting now admit he was right. 4 pp., in French
From A. Frohberg and Johanna, Dresden, Germany, March 2, 1936: Belated birthday greetings; tell Magda everything has been done for Zittau [?]. Picture postcard (untitled), in German
From Gerda Stein, New York, N.Y., March 10, 1936: Thanks Pach for his friendship; "accept this simple expression of my appreciation for what you have given me and the earnest hope that it will bring you an answer to some of the problems that perplex you." 4 pp
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, Ontario, Canada, August 4, 1936: Read his review in the -- Nation -- and wants to see the exhibition; the watercolor of Magda acquired by the Brooklyn Museum is one of Pach's best. 1 p
From Bernard Berenson, Grusbach, Czechoslovakia, August 26, 1936: "You are one of the last surviving acquaintances who, in the study of art, have not gone over to irrelevant promiscuity"; discusses attribution of Goldman's Madonna; has begun writing "The Decline and Recovery of Form"; spent 6 weeks in Yugoslavia studying Roman remains and Byzantine frescoes. 4 pp
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, November 30, 1936: Read his article in the -- Virginia Quarterly -- ; he liked the photograph of Pach's fresco more than the article; tell Van Wyck Brooks he is welcome to visit when next in Florence; spent 5 weeks in Paris. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 28, 1936: Eight months ago Lizou married a man who died of cancer a few days later; his books are not selling well; History of Art is unavailable and financing cannot be found for a new edition; saw an exhibit of Bonnard and Vuillard; considers mural work the only important current painting; recounts a visit to Spain; Rivera was wounded in Mexico; Rivera's recent silence may be the result of Faure's article. 4 pp., in French
From Herbert Eustis Winlock, Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., February 13, 1937: Winthrop will not loan his collection. 1 p
From Allen Tucker, Castine, Maine, May 30, 1937: "I wonder if Museums and concerts haven't stopped rather than helped our creative efforts"; is glad to be back in America; wrote to Moe; "the foundation likes to bet on the unknown instead of helping anyone who has shown they HAVE ability and have done the work"; congratulates Pach on continuing to paint despite other responsibilities; sorry to hear Sloan is unwell. 1 p
From Ernestine Ludolf, Florence, Italy, June 22, 1937: Pach is "a good and faithful friend"; his kind words about Egisto are like "a flower of remembrance on his grave"; wants to give him a small painting by Egisto, showing a corner of the Montmartre studio where he and Pach first met. 6 pp
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, Paris, France, September 13, 1937: Attended a conference in Paris; visited the Fountain of the Innocents; made a thorough tour of the exhibition with Villon. 3 pp
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, September 28, 1937: Would like to see his painting -- Sad Young Man on a Train -- join related paintings in California and believes Arensberg would agree; requests a photograph of the painting to reproduce in an album he is compiling. 2 pp., in French
From Allen Tucker, New York, N.Y., November 1, 1937: Thanks Pach for the Delacroix book; congratulations on "another great contribution to civilization"; completed a "pretty good summer's work" before his illness. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 18, 1937: Thanks Pach for the book on Delacroix; the introduction is "wholly satisfying." 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, New York, N.Y., November 23, 1937: Reads some of Delacroix each day; "I'm beginning to understand your feeling about him." Picture postcard ("Self Portrait by Francesco Goya. Frontispiece to Los Caprichos. Madrid, circa 1803")
From L. (Mme. Elie) Faure, Paris, France, November 30, 1937: Thanks Pach for writing to her; wants to carry out her husband's wishes to make his work publicly accessible; sends a list of Faure's unpublished articles; discusses financial matters relating to the Harper's contract. 4 pp., in French
From Royal Cortissoz, New York, N.Y., January 2, 1938: Thanks Pach for his book on Delacroix, "the work of an artist and man of letters." 3 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 2, 1938: "I'm glad to stand by that statement." Picture postcard ("Mountain landscape. Chinese, Ming Period, 15th century, after a design attributed to Ma Yiian (flourished 1190-1221)")
From Henry Watson Kent, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., November 3, 1938: Thanks Pach for the "kind letter about the Morgan exhibition." 1 p. (frame 589) and envelope
From Henry Watson Kent, New York, N.Y., November 8, 1938: Thanks Pach for the inscribed copy of his book; is proud to be associated with the book and to have Pach say kind things about him. 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 9 and 11, 1938: Read -- Queer Thing, Painting -- ; "I had better begin now by telling my few objections, in order to hand you later my full bouquet"; "you exaggerate the Villon connection"; "you exaggerate the ignorance of Italian art on the part of our forbears"; "you praise some collectors too highly," especially Morgan and John Quinn; "your memory of Yeats is suspect"; Pach has created a "permanent record and source-book" full of "wisdom." 14 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 15, 1938: Grants permission to quote From his previous letter; Pach's book is "tremendously important." 2 pp
From Kenneth Hayes Miller, New York, N.Y., November 15, 1938: Congratulations on -- Queer Thing, Painting -- ; the book has "permanent value." 1 p
From Louis Lombard, [place unknown], France, November 23, 1938: Thanks Pach for his letters; describes the horrors of life as a soldier; he reads Whitman to maintain good spirits. 4 pp., in French
From Henry Watson Kent, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., December 9, 1938: Advises Pach to distribute new cards to schools. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (suggested text for announcement of Pach's availability as a lecturer)
From W.S. Rusk, Wells College, Aurora-on-Cayuga, N.Y., December 21, 1938: "Thank you for the conference the other day in which we discussed the artist and the art critic." 1 p
From G. Masolle, Evian, France, December 31, 1938: Thanks Pach for the extract From his book, which she translated immediately; it showed perfect understanding of Jean's character; -- The Prisoners of the World -- is impossible to find; Jean Cocteau has not published Jean's first essays or poems. 2 pp., in French
From Simonne Maubert, Paris, France, April 5, 1939: Thanks Pach for sending his book; she was happy to recognize herself in one of the chapters; her English is improving and one day she may be able to read the entire book. 4 pp., in French.
To Magdalene Pach From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., July 8, 1939: Is looking forward to the Pachs' visit. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., December 29, 1939: The book is a "glorious achievement... by far your best book"; it "brought back all my gratitude to you for all that you have taught me about art." 4 pp
From Daniel Gregory Mason, New York, N.Y., March 15, 1940: Thanks Pach for the "great pleasure and stimulus" of Ingres; "one grows to feel something of the affection, respect, and admiration for Ingres that you show the way to." 1 p
From Don F. Dickson, Director, Dickson Mound Museum, Lewistown, Ill., March 28, 1940: Sends photographs of pipes that Pach found interesting. 1 p. + enclosures (4 photographs of ceremonial pipes: "Front view of a human effigy tobacco pipe From the Great Temple Mound in Oklahoma, Ceremonial type"; "Front view. Ceremonial type"; "Side view. Ceremonial type"; and "Back view of human effigy tobacco pipe From the Great Temple Mound in Oklahoma, Ceremonial type")
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, March 30, 1940: Was interested in the Ohio mound builders in his youth; "my writing days are over I fear, for one thing I feel afraid I have nothing to say that would not sound commonplace"; "too much absorbed" in what is going on in this part of the world." 8 pp
From Ernestine Ludolf, Florence, Italy, April 18, 1940: Ingres is "splendid"; sympathizes with the "difficulties" Pach encountered when organizing the World's Fair art exhibition. 6 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Boothbay Harbor, Maine, September 2, 1940: Pach has found "the only paragraph in the whole book (which after a dozen rewritings) left me unsatisfied." Postal card
From G. Masolle, Evian, France, October 14, 1940: Is happy that Jean's memoirs are in Pach's hands; awaits English victory; the French are suffering, but she is confident the country will survive. 2 pp., in French
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., April 9, 1941: "We missed you at the John Sloan dinner"; he won't write any more about expatriates. 3 pp
From Alfred Vance Churchill, Northampton, Mass., April 21, 1941: Congratulations on Ingres; recalls Pach's help in acquiring important paintings for the Smith College Museum of Art. 3 pp
From Art Young, New York, N.Y., May 9, 1941: Congratulations on -- Masterpieces of Art -- . 1 p., illustrated with drawing of a stooped man walking with a cane
From Hugo Robus, New York, N.Y., June 13, 1941: Was pleased by Pach's letter praising his marble at the Museum of Modern Art; Alfred Barr was "delighted" by Pach's comments; there is also a Robus bronze at the Museum of Modern Art; "I never dated my work and so the actual year of production is a pretty hazy matter." 2 pp
From Ruth A. Wilmot, Oak Bluffs, Mass., [postmarked] August 2, 1941: She and Donald are enjoying their vacation. Picture postcard ("Yacht Club and Harbor, Edgartown, Mass.")
From Kenneth Hayes Miller, New York, N.Y., August 7, 1941: Comments on paintings From the Louvre shown at the M[etropolitan] M[useum of Art]; he doesn't enjoy the country as Pach seems to. 2 pp
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, August 30, 1941: "I believe the entire Mississippi basin to its utmost reaches was flooded with Aztec influences"; requests photograph of a piece Pach mentioned seeing in Columbus, Ohio; "French art will rise again"; recalls his first acquaintance with Poussin's work. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., September 4, 1941: "I am reacting against this whole conception of 'mankind' as 'rabble' "; his new book will expound on this. 2 pp
From Charles Cunningham, Assistant Curator of Paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., September 11, 1941: Requests additional information about Pach's Delacroix painting; shares information on works in the collection of George Reinhardt, Winterthur, and the Metropolitan. 2 pp
From Charles Cunningham, Assistant Curator of Paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., October 15, 1941: Sends summary of information compiled when cataloging the Museum's version of Delacroix's -- Christ on the Sea of Genesareth -- . 1 p. + 4 pp. enclosure (notes on 6 versions of the painting)
From William Mills Ivins, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] January 27, 1942: Thanks for his "warm approval of the Bulletin article." 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Norwalk, Conn., [postmarked] February 3, 1942: Thanks for sending the brochure about Quidor. Picture postcard ("The Dance of Death. The Ploughman Woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger. German, 1497-1543")
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., [postmarked] February 19, 1942: Thanks for the Quidor catalog; saw the show yesterday; "he's really a discovery." Picture postcard ("Saint George and the Dragon. Woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder. German, 1472-1553")
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., [postmarked] February 27, 1942: "What you say about the book makes me regret all the more that it has to be postponed." Picture postcard ("Rembrandt, Dutch, 1606-1669. Portrait of the Artist"), with annotation by Pach: "Book on American Art proposed to the American Philosophical Society."
From Fred M. Stein and Arthur Strasser, New York, N.Y., March 21, 1942: In "recognition of what you have meant to the [Schilling] Fund... [we] take great pleasure in sending you the enclosed." 2 pp
From M.M. Pochapin, Music Appreciation Record Corporation, New York, N.Y., May 6, 1942: Please sign and return a copy of the agreement. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (May 6, 1942, From M.M. Pochapin, New York, N.Y. Pach has been selected a Judge for the "Art Appreciation Movement. In this capacity you are to pass on the true value of paintings submitted.").
to Magdalene Pach From M.M. Pochapin, Managing Director, Art Appreciation Movement, New York, N.Y., May 13, 1942: Requests that she read the organization's pamphlet about the Art Appreciation Movement and complete the "lengthy Qualification Form"; "great artists will make their paintings available at these small Public Service prices." 2 pp
From M.I. Block, Art Appreciation Movement, New York, N.Y., May 27, 1942: Receipt for 5 oil paintings consigned. 1 p
From Reginald Poland, Director, Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, Calif., 5 June 25, 1942: "We realize increasingly that, in the Caravaggio, we have a magnificent work of art"; "we have just acquired a glorious Titian Madonna, painted about 1514-- very strongly Giorgionesque." 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., [postmarked] July 8, 1942: "What happens to them [artists] when they are 'above' politics? Don't they in the end lead themselves to the politics that destroy them?" Postal card + clipping ("Guest Artists," Time)
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., July 15, 1942: "I won't agree with you about artists and politics"; "a certain breadth of interests and sympathy does not drain one's energy." 2 pp
From Raymond B. Humphrey, Brown, Crosby & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., July 17, 1942: Discusses insurance and storage arrangements for Pach's property while he is in Mexico. 2 pp
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., July 17, 1942: Agrees to publish his article on Ingres. 1 p
From Raymond B. Humphrey, Brown, Crosby & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., July 20, 1942: Sends "lost policy releases" and policy numbers. 1 p
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., August 4, 1942: Pach's article on Ingres will appear in the October issue. 1 p
From Gilbert R. Gabriel, Schneider-Gabriel Galleries, Inc., New York, N.Y., August 10, 1942: "Your article on the Ingres is a masterpiece"; discusses the price of a painting of Trinity Church. 2 pp. + enclosures (12 business cards and 4 handwriten notes containing names, addresses, and telephone numbers of Mexican acquaintances)
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., August 19, 1942: Pach's piece on Ingres will be the lead article; accepts his proposal for an article on the "Mexican primitive Bustos." 1 p
From Raymond B. Humphrey, Brown, Crosby & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., September 3, 1942: Discusses overpayment of insurance premium. 1 p. + 4 enclosures (3 invoices and inventory of artwork in storage). [postmarked September 3, 1942] From John Strasser, New York, N.Y. 4218 703-705 September 4, 1942: Discusses "early Hispano-Mexican" Madonna; "Rosenberg has an attractive show." 3 pp
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.Mex., September 8, 1942: Is home From the hospital; his exhibition was in Chicago, Denver, and Santa Fe, and will go to Albuquerque next and then Fort Worth; received "enthusiastic notices"; sold 2 pieces. 2 pp
From Jacob M. Heimann, Beverly Hills, Calif., September 14, 1942: "I greatly appreciate the idea of making an exhibition in Mexico"; inquires about lighting and dimensions of the galleries; "the lack of interest and the ignorance as far as art is concerned here, is unbelievable." 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (lists of numbers)
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., September 18, 1942: "Considering risk expenses at present offer seven and half percent for next three years." 1 p
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., September 21, 1942: Expenses will be high; recommends he establish a relationship with Mizracchi [ sic] before arriving in New York; show him some "really valuable" paintings as well as "less expensive works on the sale of which we may really count"; suggests a selection of "object d'art" From A la Vieille Russie; November is the best time for an exhibition in Mexico. 3 pp
From John Strasser, New York, N.Y., September 25, 1942: Pyramid of the Sun, as it appears in the photograph, is "dazzling"; discusses his search for a job. 2 pp
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., September 29, 1942: Proposed exhibition may receive the cooperation of the president of Mexico and the king of Rumania; "we must and shall have a first class show"; mentions several works he intends to include. 1 p
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., October 5, 1942: The editor of Cuadernos must insert a notice stating the article was written for publication in Art in America and appears simultaneously in translation. 1 p
From M.M. Pochapin, President, Art Movement, Inc., New York, N.Y., October 8, 1942: Is deciding whether to continue the Art Movement; Marsh resigned; "my enthusiasm has never waned"; Sloan remains involved; plans to market paintings through department stores; work by Walter and Magda Pach is being shown in Philadelphia and Atlanta. 2 pp
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], October 13, 1942: He and the editors extend thanks and enclose payment. 1 p., in Spanish
From Adrian Bourcart, [place unknown], Mexico, October 21, 1942: Had the pleasure of attending Pach's lectures on art; requests clarification of true art versus false art and live art versus dead art. 4 pp., in French
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., October 22, 1942: "I was delighted with your article on Bustos"; "unless the article appears in Art in America prior to publication elsewhere, we cannot print it." 2 pp
From John Strasser, New York, N.Y., November 13, 1942: Comments on Mexico painted by Velasco. 2 pp
From Marjorie D. Mathias, College Art Association of America, New York, N.Y., November 14, 1942: The State University at Bowling Green, Ohio, has inquired about engaging Pach for a lecture. 1 p
From Henry Allen Moe, Committee for Inter-American Artistic and Intellectual Relations, New York, N.Y., November 16, 1942: "We want our grantees to be able to do what they ought to do and live as they ought to live"; Pach should let them know his anticipated expenses and how much time he needs in Mexico. 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 18, 1942: With the help of Eleanor and Kenyon, he has managed to read some of the Cuadernos Americanos Pach sent; "I like immensely its tone and elevated feeling"; "I envy your meetings with Diego Rivera, who has always seemed to me a very great painter"; is "shocked" that Lionello Venturi and William G. Constable don't share his opinion of Rivera; a "complicated family problem" keeps them From traveling; is working on -- The Age of Washington Irving -- . 4 pp
From Stephen Duggan, Director, Institute of International Education, New York, N.Y., November 30, 1942: Is glad that Pach's lectures were well received; hopes Pach can remain in Mexico. 1 p
From Alfonso Reyes, Colegio de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, December 3, 1942: He is honored by Van Wyck Brooks's words and wants to correspond with him. 1 p., in Spanish
From Stephen Duggan, Director, Institute of International Education, New York, N.Y., December 7, 1942: Is "delighted to learn that Pach will receive a grant through Mr. Moe and 'his Committee.' " 1 p
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., December 8, 1942: "Just returned From Johns Hopkins Hospital." Telegram
From Henry Allen Moe, New York, N.Y., December 11, 1942: "Your letter received but no word From the university." Telegram
From A.S. Baylinson, New York, N.Y., December 18, 1942: He and Constant were rejected by the jury of the "so called Victory exhibition"; reports the death of Michael Rosenthal. 2 pp
From George Constant, New York, N.Y., December 20, 1942: Is glad that Pach, a "fine painter," now has time to paint; the Artists for Victory exhibition at the Metropolitan is "lousy." 2 pp
From Henry Allen Moe, Committee for Inter-American Artistic and Intellectual Relations, New York, N.Y., December 21, 1942: Confirms that Pach is to receive a grant; a final report is due upon return. 1 p. + 2 enclosures (1 sheet of figures titled "Mex--New York" and copy of 1 p. letter to Rodulfo Brito Foucher, Rector, National University of Mexico, From Henry Allen Moe, New York, N.Y., announcing grant to the University for Pach's lectures)
From Pedro HenrÃquez Ureña, Buenos Aires, Argentina 4218 764-765 December 22, 1942: Sent photographs of the work of Attilio Rossi; Argentine critic, Julio Rinaldini, will send books. 1 p
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., December 29, 1942: Asks Pach to write an article on new acquisitions by Mr. Poland's Museum; wants Pach lecture in San Diego; when a new catalog of the permanent collection is published, "we are sure the work will be entrusted to you." 2 pp
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., December 29, 1942: Robert Montenegro's book impressed him; hopes Montenegro will write on Estrada for Art in America; requests Pach's help in arranging it. 1 p
From Harry Miller Lydenberg, [place unknown], Mexico, December 29, 1942: Discusses origin of the phrase "biblia a-biblia." 1 p
From Marcel Duchamp, New York, N.Y., January 3, 1943: Fearing visa problems, he has decided not to go to Mexico; made several "suitcases"; the opening at Peggy's gallery was a big success; plans a surrealist show with Schiaparelli and Breton; Reynolds, just arrived in Madrid, requested that Pach extend greetings to Frida and Diego. 2 pp., in French
From Arthur Strasser, New York, N.Y., January 7, 1943: Congratulations on receiving a grant; "it is not to the Schilling Fund but to you personally, Walter, that our gift to the Metropolitan was the beginning of the belated recognition of Flannagan's genius"; Fred Stein would appreciate suggestions for the Schilling Fund award. 2 pp
From John Rewald, Weyhe Gallery, New York, N.Y., January 13, 1943: Is glad Pach liked his article on Bonnard; will send Pach a copy of his new book on Seurat. 2 pp., with postscript From Laura Canade: New York Public Library has purchased Pach's Self-Portrait
From John Strasser, New York, N.Y., January 16, 1943: "People who might have enjoyed the 'Victory' show 25 or 30 years back now unanimously dislike that accumulation of junk"; "read of your and Rivera's project for spreading Flannagan's reputation." 3 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, New York, N.Y., January 17, 1943: Saw Jacques Villon's "grand portrait" of Pach at the "Modern Museum." Picture postcard ("Illuminated initial From a South Italian ms. Valerius Maximus written about 1450")
From M.L. Stafford, American Consul, American Embassy, Mexico, January 22, 1943: Pach's registration of American citizenship was approved. 1 p
From Harry Miller Lydenberg, Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin, [place unknown], Mexico, January 23, 1943: Is sending a check in appreciation of the time and interest Pach contributed to their exhibition; wants to publish Pach's tribute to Bustos. 1 p
From Stephen Duggan, Director, Institute of International Education, New York, N.Y., February 3, 1943: Pach's observation about Mexican education interested him; he is "well informed concerning the anti-American attitude" in Mexico. 1 p
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., February 15, 1943: Thanks Pach for arranging to have Fernando Gambo write an article on Estrada; Pach's writings have stimulated interest in Mexican art; his review will not be published due to "paper restrictions." 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, New York, N.Y., March 9, 1943: Has "rediscovered" New York by living in the city temporarily; "I am especially happy to have got to know some of the new young writers"; wants more news of Diego Rivera. 3 pp
From Georges Wildenstein, Director, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, [filmed twice] New York, N.Y., March 26, 1943: Wants to publish Pach's article; hopes he will agree to some minor changes. 1 p., in French
From Lyman Bryson, Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion, New York, N.Y., March 26, 1943: Requests comments on a paper by Professor William Scott, Randolph-Macon Women's College. 1 p. + 2 pp. enclosure ("Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion, Reply to Questionnaire of December 7, 1942 by Walter Pach")
From Paul J. Sachs, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., April 8, 1943: Grenville L. Winthrop collection has been bequeathed to the Fogg Museum; wartime conditions have caused universities to curtail their art departments; "it is extremely important that able and understanding North Americans, such as yourself... should be our cultural ambassadors in Latin America"; suggests summer programs in the United States where Pach might teach; tells Pach to add his name to the speakers list maintained by the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. 2 pp
From William N. Eisendrath Jr., Chairman, Exhibition Committee, Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., April 26, 1943: Requests assistance in selecting works for a Rivera retrospective planned for February 1944. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (list of works by Rivera, "suggested by Mrs. Goodspeed, April 26, 1943," with notes by Walter Pach)
From Annette B. Cottrell, Director, Speakers Service Section, Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, Washington, D.C., April 28, 1943: Thanks Pach for his "interest in inter-American affairs and desire to collaborate with the work of this office as a speaker." 1 p
From Robert Chester Smith, Director, Hispanic Foundation, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1943: Considers Pach "an historic figure, one of the first to call attention to the development of Mexican art"; this is not the right time for Pach's proposed publications and translations. 1 p
From Harry Miller Lydenberg, [place unknown], Mexico, May 8, 1943: Pach's "review of the Low study on the place of the Museum in our world today" is "admirable"; politically or economically motivated explanations of art will "fail"; he is less "pessimistic" than Pach on the role of public funding; public libraries are a good example. 2 pp
From Annette B. Cottrell, Director, Speakers Service Section, Coordinater of Inter-American Affairs, Washington, D.C., May 25, 1943: Pach will be included among the organization's available speakers. 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., May 28, 1943: El Hijo Prodigo and Cuadernos are "typographically delightful"; wishes he knew Spanish; would like to be able to contribute articles to Mexican periodicals; John Sloan is reported to be "very frail." 4 pp
From William N. Eisendrath Jr., Chairman, Exhibition Committee, Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., June 4, 1943: Need to figure costs for Rivera exhibition before continuing negotiations for loans; Pach must supply further information. 1 p. + 2 pp. enclosure ("List of Rivera Paintings," June 3, 1943)
From Elias Lieberman, Associate Superintendent, Board of Education of the City of New York, Brooklyn, N.Y., June 7, 1943: Pach will be granted a "substitute license" to teach Spanish in the New York public schools. 1 p
From Raymond B. Humphrey, Director, Brown, Crosby & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., June 18, 1943: Instructions for renewing war damage and fire insurance policies. 1 p
From James A. Porter, Washington, D.C., June 19, 1943: Thanks Pach for the "remarkable" introduction and subtitle suggestions for his book. 1 p.
to Maurice Block, Curator, Henry E. Huntington Art Gallery, San Marino, Calif., From Marjorie S. (Mrs. A.R.) Waybur, Kingsley Art Club, Sacramento, Calif.,June 20, 1943: Inquires about Pach's availability to lecture. 2 pp
From Ignacio Marquina, National Institute of Archaeology and History, Mexico City, Mexico., June 26, 1943: Gives Pach permission to export the 5 archaeological objects specified on the list attached. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (copy of form completed by Pach), in Spanish
From Frederick Lewis Allen, -- Harper's -- Magazine, New York, N.Y., August 27, 1943: Rejects 2 articles, "The Negro's Place" and "Your Ancestors of the Soil." 2 pp
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.Mex., August 31, 1943: Is recovering From surgery; feeling better, but still unable to travel. 1 p
From Charles A. Thompson, Department of State, Washington, D.C., September 7, 1943: Dr. Moe will contact Pach about writing a book, in Spanish, about "art resources of the United States." 1 p
From Ernst E. Clad, New York, N.Y., September 9, 1943: Outlines Pach's finances; advises specific investments. 3 pp. + 1 p. enclosure (copy of September 9, 1943 letter From Walter Pach to H.C. Wainwright & Co. authorizing sale of stocks)
From Laurence Duggan, Adviser on Political Relations, Department of State, Washington, D.C., September 17, 1943: Cannot assist with funding or promise to purchase his book; Dr. Moe is attempting to finance the project; "I think the preparation of the book would be a far more useful contribution to inter-American understanding than your acting as an unofficial Mexican cultural representative in the United States." 1 p
From Charles A. Thompson, Department of State, Washington, D.C. October 4, 1943: Is returning "Ancestors of the Soil"; "Mr. d'Harnoncourt expresses great interest." 1 p
To Springmeier Shipping Co from J.O. Ellis, New York, N.Y., October 14, 1943: Notification of claim for items missing From shipment of Pach's possessions. 2 pp
From Houston Peterson, Head, Division of Social Philosophy, Cooper Union, New York, N.Y., October 15, 1943: Pach is "definitely on our list of favored speakers" for the second semester. 1 p. + enclosure (brochure for "Cooper Union Forum, first half 1943-1944")
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.Mex., December 30, 1943: Went out to his old house, "Sinagua," which reminds him of Dolly; still recuperating From surgery; needs to clean up his Chelsea studio; it is unlikely he can get to New York; read Pach's article on the "Eight"; the name was invented by an Evening Sun writer; "the 'chosen' of Robert Henri we were, not at all a mutual admiration group as I recall the time." 3 pp
From Art Young, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] December 30, 1943: New Year's greetings. Picture postcard ("28th Issue--Art Young's Annual Hello")
From Donald Carlisle Greason, Deerfield, Mass., April 8, 1944: The enclosed letter was sent in a "weak moment"; "is it not time you took up the mightier sword again; or have your ideas changed?" 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (letter, April 6, 1944, to Hugo Gellert and Gentlemen of the [Exhibition and Competition] Committee, Artists for Victory, Inc., From Donald Carlisle Greason, Deerfield, Mass.: declines invitation to participate in the Artists for Victory exhibition; "I shyly deplore this undignified business of artists thumbing rides of the troop trains, of Patriotism for Publicity--and prizes!"; "did not Pach write the obituary of this [prizes] in his Ananias?")
From Henry Watson Kent, New York, N.Y., November 30, 1944: Hopes his notes on Pach's manuscript will be of use and interest. 1 p. + 7 pp. enclosure (notes, comments, and suggestions relating to Pach's manuscript)
From Ernst E. Clad, New York, N.Y., December 11, 1944: Information about Pach's 1944 taxes. 1 p. + enclosures (completed "Form for Computing Capital Gains and Losses," 1 p., and printed instructions, 5 pp.)
From George Ferdinand Of, [place unknown] Read both of Pach's articles and is returning one; "you must take me to see that charming Miss Roger's paintings."
From George Ferdinand Of, [place unknown], December 28, 1944: Read both of Pach's articles and is returning one; "you must take me to see that charming Miss Roger's paintings." Picture postcard ("'Chapeau de Faille' by Rubens")
From Donald Carlisle Greason, Deerfield, Mass., February 9, 1945: "I thought my annual letter of 'regrets' to the 'Artists for Defeat' might amuse you"; quotes remarks by Sinclair Lewis made when declining the Pulitzer Prize. 1 p
From Rufus E. Clement, Atlanta University, Atlanta, Ga., April 11, 1945: Sends photographs taken at the "art show"; mentions recent reviews of their exhibition. 1 p. + 2 photographs (Pach viewing the exhibition, and Pach speaking in the gallery)
From Viking Press, New York, N.Y., April 30, 1945: Royalty statement for Masters of Modern Art. 1 p
From Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, N.Y., June 30, 1945: Royalty statement for Ingres and -- Queer Thing, Painting -- . 1 p
From Jacques Lipchitz, Paris, France, July 31, 1945: [Illegible due to show-through]. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, November 29, 1945: May continue work begun several years earlier on "Aesthetics and History"; working on "Decline and Recovery in the Figure Arts"; when in "hiding" he kept a diary, which he may publish. 2 pp
From Fred M. Stein and Arthur Strasser, Trustees of the Schilling Fund, New York, N.Y., February 8, 1946: Thank Pach for his work on behalf of the Schilling Fund; offer him a salary to continue as an adviser. 1 p., with annotation by Pach (on reverse), February 10, 1946, draft letter of acceptance, 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., June 23, 1946: Eleanor's leg had to be amputated; they will move to an apartment in New York in October. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., August 26, 1946: "Eleanor's condition has taken a serious turn for the worse, and I fear it is only a question now of a very few weeks." 1 p
From Jacques Lipchitz, Paris, France, November 19, 1946: New York trip was postponed; describes a wonderful exhibit at Delacroix's studio; occasionally sees Jacques Villon, who has a painting in the Salon d'Automne. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, January 10, 1947: Pach's son and daughter-in-law visited him; publishers are not interested in his diary; Aesthetics and History will have to go to a university press. 2 pp
From Irma L. Richter, New York, N.Y., March 27, 1947: Is returning Pach's copy of ABC on Painting by Severini; "I wonder whether you have tried to follow his advice regarding technique." 1 p
From James Daugherty, Westport, Conn. [postmarked, March April 22, 1947]: Saw Pach's exhibition at Laurel Gallery; "your work has grown simpler and broader and more unified." 1 p
From Octavio G. Barreda, [place unknown], Mexico, October 9, 1947: Thought of Pach when visiting galleries in Italy and Paris; Paris, Rome, and Florence seem to have recovered From the war, but it wasn't the same without the old faces; in both art and literature it is the end of an era; young artists and writers do not know their message; family news; will visit New York and Havana. 4 pp., in Spanish
From Kurt Wolff, Pantheon Books, New York, N.Y., November 5, 1947: Asks Pach to accept all changes made by the editor. 1 p
From Kurt Wolff, Pantheon Books, New York, N.Y., December 4, 1947: Needs to clarify certain points; Pach must bear the cost of retyping. 1 p
From Kurt Wolff, Pantheon Books, New York, N.Y., January 29, 1948: The final pages of his manuscript must be condensed. 1 p.
To Kurt Wolff From Walter Pach, New York, N.Y., January 30, 1948: They never discussed, nor did he authorize, changes to the final pages of his book. 1 p
From Henry Watson Kent, New York, N.Y., February 21, 1948: Remarks on Pach's complimentary statement about him. 1 p
From Margarita Nelkin, Paris, France, September 1, 1948: Has heard From Pach through letters to Mlle. Burchardt; thanks Pach for supporting Spanish Republicans; is going to Rome for the Congres Interparlementaire and then to Brussels and Amsterdam to give a conference on Mexican art; in November she will leave for Mexico. 1 p., in French
From George Ferdinand Of, New York, N.Y., September 5, 1948: Thanks Pach for bringing pictures of his collection and explaining it personally; Pach has "persuaded" him to paint again. 3 pp
From Francis Hackett, Bethel, Conn., November 8, 1948: Pach is one of the "Old Guard"; his book, -- American Rainbow -- , will include "a lot in it about John Quinn"; his wife recently published a volume on Swedenborg. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Cornwell, Conn., December 2, 1948: Thanks for the inscribed copy of his "enchanting" new book; glad Pach met Francis Hackett. 3 pp
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., February 1, 1949: Royalty statement. 1 p
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., July 1, 1949: Royalty statement. 1 p
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., August 1, 1949: Royalty statement for The Art Museum in America. 1 p
From Anne Chase (Mrs. Arthur White) Sullivan, Glen Head, N.Y., November 3, 1949: Pach's lecture was "just right as a preliminary to the exhibition"; her father would have approved. 2 pp
From Mary Socard, Paris, France, December 13, 1949: Pach's young friend is making good progress learning French; discusses the student's appreciation of art and philosophy. 4 pp., in French
From Jimmy Stern, New York, N.Y., December 23, 1949: Even with "favorable 'press'," his book has not sold well; is "discouraged"; appreciated Pach's note. 1 p
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., February 1, 1950: Royalty statement. 1 p
From François Puaux, Acting Consul General of France, New York, N.Y., March 7, 1950: Congratulates Pach on being awarded the cross of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor "for the services you have always rendered to the French cause." 1 p
to John Collier From Walter Pach, New York, N.Y., March 11, 1950: Hopes Professor Collier will want the thoughts expressed in Pach's manuscript "given to a wider audience." 1 p., annotated with reply, May 30, 1950: "This has been good reading for me!"
From Meyer Schapiro, Columbia University, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] March 27, 1950: "Comments on the first draft of W. P., Renoir." 3 pp
to Meyer Schapiro From Walter Pach, New York, N.Y., March 27, 1950: Responses to "Comments on the first draft of W.P., Renoir." 4 pp. draft + 4 pp. final copy
From Charles E. Slatkin, Art Book Guild of America, Inc., New York, N.Y., March 28, 1950: Invites Pach to become a member of the Art Book Guild's Advisory Board. 1 p
From Charles E. Slatkin, Art Book Guild of America, Inc., New York, N.Y., April 17, 1950: Acknowledges Pach's acceptance of appointment to the Advisory Board. 1 p
From Atlantic Monthly Company, Boston, Mass., April 20, 1950: "Assignment of Copyright" to Atlantic Monthly Corporation of Pach's article, "Art Must Be Modern." 1 p
From W.G. Constable, Department of Paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., May 30, 1950: Thanks Pach for assistance in securing the Portrait of Madame Villchelis for the museum; agrees that attribution to Gros is most likely; reports the death of Ned Holmes. 2 pp
From Mary Socard, Paris, France, June 20, 1950: The young student has left; he would have benefited From a longer stay but at least had an introduction to European culture; sympathizes with Pach's disappointment over having his prologue replaced by an analysis of painting construction. 3 pp., in French
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., August 1, 1950: Royalty statement for -- The Art Museum in America -- . 2 pp
From Nanny (Mrs. Sigmund) Pollitzer, New York, N.Y., November 8, 1950: Sorry to learn of Magda's illness. 2 pp
From Nanny (Mrs. Sigmund) Pollitzer, New York, N.Y., November 11, 1950: Extends her sympathy; will try to attend the service. 2 pp
From Eufrosia A.W. Tucker, New York, N.Y., November 11, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 2 pp
From Sarah d'Harnoncourt, New York, N.Y., November 13, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 1 p
From Edith R. Abbot, New York, N.Y., November 13, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 2 pp
From Fanny and Ralph Ellison, New York, N.Y., November 14, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 1 p
From Robert L. Duffus, Westport, Conn., November 15, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 1 p
From Roland Balay, New York, N.Y., November 20, 1950: Offers condolences on the death of Mrs. Pach. 1 p., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, September 23, 1951: Congratulates Pach on his recent marriage. 2 pp
From Mutual Benefit Health and Accident Association, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] November 23, 1951: "Official Receipt for Premium Due." Postal card
From [signature illegible], Athens, Greece, December 24, 1951: Carouzos will select photographs of the subjects that interest Pach; wants to see photographs of Pach's latest paintings. 4 pp
From Jacques Lipchitz, New York, N.Y., January 12, 1952: Pach is right that endings offer new beginnings; predicts that Pach will resume work soon. 1 p., in French
From Rufino Tamayo, [place unknown], Mexico, January 22, 1952: Appreciates Pach's stimulating critique; expects to spend the next year on a mural for the Palace of Fine Arts; congratulates Pach on his marriage. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Bernard Berenson, Ischia, Italy, May 29, 1952: "My indignation over distorted, abstract, non-representational art is that it can lead nowhere." 2 pp
From U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service, New York, N.Y., August 8, 1952: "Adjustment of tax liability" and audit for calendar year 1950. 1 p. + enclosures (1 p. "Statement of Income Tax Due," and 4 pp. report)
From Bernard Berenson, [place illegible], September 23, 1952: Agrees with most of Pach's letter to the New York Times; "feeling for art is of the few and understanding for even fewer." 2 pp
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, March 17, 1954: Comments on Pach's "poem to Greek art"; is working on a new edition of Italian Paintings; sends an article he wrote on Picasso. 2 pp
From George Ferdinand Of, Rome, Italy. Is in Rome; heading for Naples, [undated (prior to April 18, 1954)]: Picture postcard ("Roma-Foro Romano, veduto del Campidoglio")
From George Ferdinand Of, Padua, Italy, April 18, 1954: Saw Giottos; visited Ravenna, Naples, and Pompeii. Picture postcard ("Padova-Monumento al Generale Gattamelata")
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, April 25, 1954: He still does not accept the Metropolitan Museum's Madonna as an Antonello; "I remain an optimist" that culture will once again become "genial, creative and human." 2 pp
From Hendrik Willem van Loon, Riverside, Conn., [1955]: He is much better; they have a house near the water where friends are welcome. 1 p., in Dutch
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, April 21, 1955: "I agree with all you write about the present state of art appreciation"; read the book about Sloan by Van Wyck Brooks; not impressed by Sloan's work; wonders how much Pach influenced Brooks. 2 pp
From William Mills Ivins, Woodbury, Conn., July 17, 1955: Was disappointed to have missed a visit by Pach and Brooks; is living a solitary and quiet life. 2 pp
From Jacques Lipchitz, Beach Haven, N.J., August 7, 1955: After reading Pach's article, he wants to read the book; he no longer appreciates Maillol's sculpture; discusses Renoir's strong judgments of other artists; although Epstein has reached a dead end in Paris, he is a good artist. 3 pp., in French
From Jacques Lipchitz, Beach Haven, N.J., August 15, 1955: Thanks Pach for sending Epstein's book; considers Epstein a good portrait painter but not such a good sculptor; discusses his theory that Jews need to assert their identity. 1 p., in French
From Alfred Russell, Paris, France, September 27, 1955: Thanks Pach for the award; the modern Italian painters he once admired no longer interest him; he finds the sculptors a "revelation"; his exhibition drew "brutal and barbaric insults"; Paris is "the pivot of the universe." 2 pp
From Hendrik Willem van Loon, Riverside, Conn., October 17, [1955?]: "My sincere congratulations upon having finished these miles of paint." 1 p., with illustrated envelope (sailboats) + illustrated card (landscape with windmills)
From Carl Sandburg, Flat Rock, N.C., March 27, 1956: "Values" Pach's letter and plans to affix it to his copy of Faure's History of Art. 1 p
From Germain Seligman, New York, N.Y., April 15, 1957: Ingres's -- Study for the Iliad -- is in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Toronto. 1 p. + enclosures (2 pp. description of -- Study for the Iliad -- [Apotheosis of Homer], photograph of -- Study for the Iliad -- , and 2 pp. [photocopies] From Exposition Ingres catalog, 1921)
From Martin Baldwin, Director, Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 16, 1957: The gallery is conducting further research on Study for the Iliad; will share information when it becomes available. 1 p
From Lewis Mumford, Paris, France, April 27, 1957: Has reviewed his correspondence since 1920; Pach's letters are "real treasures" to be saved for historians; being in Paris made him recall Pach's "friendliness and hospitality in 1932"; has rediscovered Ingres now that his taste is mature. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Bridgewater, Conn., January 4, 1958: Will study Howells' letters at the Harvard library; recommends novels by Howells. 2 pp
From Hans Christian, Rome, Italy, April 7, 1958: Is visiting Raymond and Ruth in Rome. Picture postcard ("Roma--Arco di Constantino"), in German
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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:
Walter Pach papers, 1857-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the initial digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Gladys K. Delmas Foundation. Funding for the processing of the addition to the Walter Pach papers and digitization of the fully re-processed 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.
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:
Mel Casas papers, 1963-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing and digitization of this collection received Federal support from the Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center. Additional funding for the digitization of the papers was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.
The papers of California conceptual artist and sculptor David Ireland measure 24.8 linear feet and 8.39 GB and date from circa 1910s to circa 2009, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960 to 2005. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, notes and notebooks, installation projects and exhibition files, teaching files, travel files, personal business records, printed and digital material and commercial recordings, photographic materials, artwork, and video and sound recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of California conceptual artist and sculptor David Ireland measure 24.8 linear feet and 8.39 GB and date from circa 1910s to circa 2009, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960 to 2005. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, notes and notebooks, installation projects and exhibition files, teaching files, travel files, personal business records, printed and digital material and commercial sound recordings, photographic materials, artwork, and video and sound recordings.
Biographical material includes awards and certificates, address books and appointment books, artist's statements, resumes, chronologies, student university materials, passports, and sound and video recordings of interviews with Ireland. Correspondence is with friends, peers, universities, galleries, and museums, including Jeffrey Grobart, Eleanor Coppola, Margie Lee, Marie-Louise Lienhard, Paul Marion, and Alta Tingle, among others. Notes and notebooks contain incoming phone messages, notes to self, regarding projects and ideas, as well as various other notes and plans.
Installation projects and exhibition files constitute the bulk of the collection and document David Ireland's extensive projects and exhibitions around the world. Files are found for his Capp Street house project and Pacific Enterprises project in San Francisco; Boott Mills project in Lowell, Massachusetts; IKEA Emeryville Public Art Project in Emeryville, California; and several Washington State Arts Commission and Western Washington University projects. Other exhibition and installation locations found within the files include the American Academy in Rome; Yerba Buena Arts Center in California; Perth Institute of Contemporary Art in Australia; Helmhaus in Zurich, Switzerland; Arts Club of Chicago; SFMOMA; New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York; Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, among many others. The files contain a wide variety of materials, including sound and video recordings in various formats.
Teaching files document David Ireland's many roles as visiting artist, artist-in-residence, instructor, and conference and symposium panelist at the California College of Arts and Crafts, San Francisco Art Institute, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and Stanford University Department of Art, among others. Travel files document Ireland's trips abroad, both independent of and as a result of installation and project obligations.
Personal business records are comprised of financial materials and documentation relating to Ireland's two early South African import and safari businesses as well grants and project proposals, various loan agreements, representation through Gallery Paule Anglim, property sales and tax documentation, inventory materials, and various other business materials. Also found within the collection are printed material and four commercial sound recordings. Photographs are of the artist, friends and family, Ireland's Oakland studio, and works of art. There is artwork by Ireland, including sketches, drawings, and prints, and a few pieces of artwork by other artists. In addition to sound and video recordings arranged in other series, there is one video recording and six sound cassettes that are either unidentified or have no additional context within the collection.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 11 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1950-circa 2009 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1937-circa 2008 (4 linear feet; Boxes 2-6)
Series 3: Notes and Notebooks, circa 1965-circa 2008 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 6-7)
Series 4: Installation Projects and Exhibition Files, circa 1960s-circa 2009 (11.6 linear feet; Boxes 7-18, OV26, OV27, 7.84 GB; ER01-ER15)
Series 5: Teaching Files, 1977-1998 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 18-19)
Series 6: Travel Files, circa 1950s-circa 1994 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 19-20)
Series 7: Personal Business Records, circa 1965-circa 2008 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 20-21)
Series 8: Printed Material and Commercial Recordings, 1932-circa 2009 (2.3 linear feet; Boxes 21-23, 0.553 GB; ER16)
Series 9: Photographic Materials, circa 1910s-circa 2005 (1 linear foot; Boxes 23-24)
Series 10: Artwork, circa 1965-circa 2003 (0.2 linear feet; Box 24)
Series 11: Video and Sound Recordings, circa 1965-circa 1990s (0.4 linear feet; Box 25)
Biographical / Historical:
David Ireland (1930-2009) was a conceptual artist and sculptor who worked in San Francisco, California.
Ireland was born in Bellingham, Washington and attended Western Washington University. In 1953, he received a degree in industrial design and printmaking from the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts) in Oakland. He then served two years in the U. S. Army in Missouri, returning to live and work in Bellingham. For several years, Bellingham served as his launch point for extensive travels in Europe and Africa.
In the late 1950s, Ireland founded Hunter Africa, an artifacts import business. He moved the business to San Francisco in 1965 and also began a second business leading safaris in Africa. He married Bellingham native Joanne Westford and had two children, Ian Ireland and Shaughn Niland; they divorced in 1970.
Ireland attended the San Francisco Art Institute and received a graduate degree in 1974. There, he met other Bay Area artists involved in the conceptual movement there, including Tom Marioni, Paul Kos, Howard Fried, and Terry Fox.
Much of Ireland's artwork of the 1980s and 1990s centered on the transformation of his home at 500 Capp Street in San Francisco, where he dramatically physically and conceptually transformed the interior and exterior structure into a mix of architectural sculpture and environmental art piece. He bought a second home in 1979 to transform, and, in the 1980s, completed a renovation of the main building at the Headlands Center for Arts in Sausalito with artist Mark Thompson.
David Ireland's work has been presented in more than forty solo exhibitions at venues that included the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.; The Museum of Modern Art and the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. He created major public projects and private commissions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington, D. C., and other cities. His work is included in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Oakland Museum of California, and University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, among others.
Provenance:
The David Ireland papers were donated in 2010 by the David Ireland Estate through Jock Reynolds, Special Trustee, The David Ireland Revocable Trust.
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. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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 -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Conceptual artists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
The records of the Doll & Richards gallery of Boston measure 87.5 linear feet and date from 1863 to 1978, with the bulk of the material dating from 1902-1960s. Extensive financial and sales records, inventory records, and correspondence and letter books provide a detailed account of the business operations and sales of the gallery. Also found are notes and research files on artists and paintings, business and legal records, exhibition catalogs, six exhibition scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs. Significant correspondents include John Chetcuti, Robert Freiman, Lloyd Goodrich, Tod Lindenmuth, Macbeth Galleries, William Meyerowitz, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Stanley Woodward, and Andrew Wyeth, among many others.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of the Doll & Richards gallery of Boston measure 87.5 linear feet and date from 1863 to 1978, with the bulk of the material dating from 1902-1960s. Extensive financial and sales records, inventory records, and correspondence and letter books provide a detailed account of the business operations and sales of the gallery. Also found are notes and research files on artists and paintings, business and legal records, exhibition catalogs, six exhibition scrapbooks, printed materials, and photographs. The bulk of the collection dates from 1902 when the gallery was incorporated and new books were begun. According to gallery employee Wendell Zoehler, many records from the 19th century were discarded and periodically, especially when the gallery moved, other records were discarded.
Incoming and outgoing correspondence documents sales, consignments, appraisals, exhibitions, and inquiries by artists and others to Doll & Richards for over a century. Significant correspondents include artists John Chetcuti, Robert Freiman, Tod Lindenmuth, William Meyerowitz, Dwight Shepler, Elizabeth O'Neill Verner, Stanley Woodward, Andrew Wyeth, and others. Additional correspondents include Lloyd Goodrich from Whitney Museum of American Art, Azeez Khayat Gallery, Macbeth Galleries, Kleemann Galleries, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. There is one letter from George Inness (1866). Outgoing correspondence is limited to 46 volumes of letterpress copybooks dating from 1930-1967.
Notes and research files primarily consist of compiled information about artists in which Doll & Richards dealt. These include card files related to the provenance of paintings by Winslow Homer and William Stanley Haseltine, and a book about Winslow Homer with notations by Zoehler about the sale of paintings .
Administrative and business records of general daily operations include an address book, meeting minutes, miscellaneous lists and notes, and a large card file of contacts with clients, consignors, artists, and businesses. A detailed description of the gallery's operations by Zoehler is also found here. Legal records include contracts, agreements, certificates of stock, certificates of copyrights, and photocopies of founding documents.
Although there are limited records prior to 1902, the financial records provide comprehensive detail of the gallery's financial transactions from the turn of the century through the early 1970s. Volumes of financial ledgers provide details of artwork bought, sold, and consigned; order forms for sales, framing, restoration, and shipping; gallery expenditures and salaries; records of client purchases; and other affairs. Many of the financial records are indexed and cross-referenced, offering researchers complex but rich documentation. The financial records should be consulted with the numerous inventory records that provide detailed information about the stock of art work held at the gallery. Inventory records also include documentation about the frames held by the gallery from the mid-1880s-1950. The gallery used sometimes complex codes to index and cross reference sales and stock. When known, these codes have been outlined in the more detailed series desciptions below, or filed within the appropriate boxes.
The history of Doll & Richards' exhibitions from the 1880s-1968 are documented in six disassembled bound volumes that contained exhibition catalogs and announcements. There are also additional loose catalogs and announcements. Additional printed materials include newspaper clippings related to exhibitions and the gallery and seven scrapbooks related to Doll & Richards' exhibitions from 1909-1943.
The bulk of the black and white photographs in the collection are of works of art by artists that Doll & Richards exhibited. There are only a handful of photographs of other subject matter, but include images of the gallery spaces at 2 Park Street, 71 Newbury, and 138 Newberry; and of artists.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1863-1972, bulk 1930s-1972 (Boxes 1-14; 14 linear feet)
Series 2: Notes and Research Files, 1880s-1978, bulk 1930s-1960s (Boxes 15-16, 78; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Business Records, circa 1866-1978, bulk 1910s-1960s (Boxes 16-18; 1.9 linear feet)
Series 4: Legal Records, 1863-1906, 1941-1962 (Boxes 18, 78; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Financial Records, 1871-1973, bulk 1902-1969 (Boxes 18-69, 79, BV81-112; 55 linear feet)
Series 6: Inventory Records, 1881-1969, bulk 1900s-1940s (Boxes 69-70, BV113-128; 2.3 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Materials, circa 1880s-1968, bulk 1890s-1960s (Boxes 70-75; 4.9 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1880s-1960s (Boxes 75-78; 2 linear feet)
Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1908-1968, bulk 1908-1943 (Boxes 77, 80; 1.1 linear feet)
The records have been arranged according to the original order maintained by the gallery. Bound volumes containing exhibition catalogs glued to the internal spines have been disbound for preservation and proper housing.
Historical Note:
The Doll & Richards gallery originated in Boston in 1866 as an art gallery and framing shop owned by Charles E. Hendrickson, E. Adam Doll, and Joseph Dudley Richards. The gallery was a well-known Boston establishment for over 100 years that represented William Stanley Haseltine, Winslow Homer, William Morris Hunt, and Andrew Wyeth, among many other notable American painters, sculptors, and printmakers.
In 1870 Hendrickson retired and the gallery became Doll & Richards. After the untimely death of Doll in 1880, Richards purchased Doll's interest in the firm, retaining the gallery's well-known name. Under Richards' direction, the gallery prospered. Richards promoted the works of painter Winslow Homer, developing a market for his watercolors in Boston. He incorporated the gallery in 1902 and served as the treasurer and financier until his death in 1922 at 80 years old. The gallery then reorganized; Arthur McKean, who joined in 1911, became manager, and J.L. (Joe) Richards became treasurer. Fergus Turner, who joined the firm as a salesman in 1885 and became president in 1902, retained his role as president until 1938.
Over the century the gallery showcased contempory American artists, including William Morris Hunt, Dodge McKnight, William Stanley Haseltine, Laura Coombs Hills, Eliot O'Hara, Joseph Lindon Smith, Stanley Woodward, and Andrew Wyeth. The gallery also consigned paintings, prints, and objects from other major art galleries including Azeez Khayat Gallery, Kennedy Galleries, M. Knoedler and Co., Macbeth Gallery, Victor D. Spark, and Victor Waddington Galleries (Dublin, Ireland). According to long-time employee Wendell Zoehler (employed from 1929-1966), Doll & Richards' primary clientele came from the Social Register. In the summer months when wealthy Bostonians typically vacationed outside of the city, Doll & Richards remained open for tourists, many of whom became regular seasonal customers of the gallery.
The gallery experienced financial difficulties in the 1930s, leading to bankruptcy. Doll & Richards was purchased by McKean and incorporated in Maine in 1941. McKean sold Doll & Richards in 1962 to Maurice Goldberg; at this time none of the remaining family or staff were connected with the gallery. In 1973, the gallery was sold to Jeanne and Paul Sylva and closed.
Although the gallery always remained in the vicinity of Boston Common, it relocated numerous times over the years. In 1871 the gallery moved from 28 Summer Street to 145 Tremont Street. In 1878, the gallery remodeled and occupied the entire two-story building at 2 Park Street, renting out the second floor, known as the Hawthorne Room, for lectures. After thirty years on Park Street, Doll & Richards relocated to Newbury Street in 1908, beginning a succession of moves down Newbury Street approximately every twenty years, finally to 172 Newbury Street in 1962.
Related Material:
Among the other resources relating to the Doll & Richards gallery in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Wendell Zoehler conducted by Robert Brown on April 14 and April 27, 1978.
Separated Material:
A daguerroteype of Gaetano Cardinal Bedini received with the records was transferred to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery on May 24, 2004.
Provenance:
The Doll & Richards records were donated to the Archives of American Art in numerous accessions between 1973 and 1979 by Jeanne and Paul Sylva, who purchased the gallery in 1973, and by former employee Wendell Zoehler.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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.
The records of the Downtown Gallery date from 1824 to 1974 (bulk 1926-1969) and measure 109.56 linear feet. The records present a comprehensive portrait of a significant commercial gallery that operated as a successful business for more than forty years, representing major contemporary American artists and engendering appreciation for early American folk art. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection dating circa 1970 of a single financial/legal document.
Scope and Content Note:
The Downtown Gallery records constitute 109.56 linear feet on 167 reels of microfilm. The records are dated 1824 to 1974 with bulk dates from 1926 to 1969. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection dating circa 1970 of a single financial/legal document.
The Downtown Gallery was established in 1926 as Our Gallery and operated under the name Downtown Gallery from 1927 until 1973. Nineteenth-century material consists of items acquired by Edith Gregor Halpert for research purposes or to document works of art in the gallery's inventory. The few records postdating the closing of the gallery relate to the estate of Edith Gregor Halpert.
The extensive records of the Downtown Gallery present a comprehensive portrait of a significant commercial gallery that operated as a successful business for more than forty years, representing major contemporary American artists and engendering appreciation for early American folk art. Edith Halpert, the gallery's founder and director, was an influential force in the American art world for a large part of the twentieth century.
Personal papers are intermingled with the business records of the Downtown Gallery. Many of the artists represented by the gallery were Halpert's personal friends, and over the years she developed social relationships and friendships with many clients. These relationships are reflected by the contents of the records, especially the correspondence, some of which is purely personal. In addition, there are a small number of letters from relatives, photographs of Halpert's family, home and friends, and limited information about her country house and personal finances.
The Downtown Gallery records consist largely of correspondence with collectors, including Edgar and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Preston Harrison, Mr. and Mrs. Maxim Karolik, William H. Lane, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Beram K. Saklatwalla, Robert Tannahill, and Electra Havemeyer Webb; with dealers, including robert Carlen, Landau Gallery, Leicester Galleries, Mirski Gallery, and Isabel Carleton Wilde; and with large numbers of curators and museum directors, including many affiliated with university museums. In addition, there is correspondence concerning routine gallery business and administrative affairs.
Artist files and an extensive series of notebooks (American Folk Art Gallery notebooks, artist notebooks, and publicity notebooks) compiled by gallery staff contain a wide variety of material and are a rich source of information about individual artists and the Downtown Gallery's exhibition history.
Business records include exhibition records, stock records, sales records, transit records, financial records, lists of artwork and clients, legal documents, minutes, insurance records, research files, and architectural plans.
Writings by Edith Gregor Halpert consist of articles on American folk art, speeches, and short stories; also included are her school notebooks and "Daily Thoughtlets" compiled at age seventeen. All writings by other authors are on art subjects, and most are texts or introductions for exhibition catalogs.
Among the miscellaneous records are biographical material on Edith Gregor Halpert and Samuel Halpert, works of art by Edith Gregor Halpert and other artists, artifacts, and audiovisual materials. The artifacts include wooden weather vane molds and supporting documentation as well as awards presented to Halpert. Audiovisual materials are 16-mm motion picture films of the Westinghouse Broadcasting Corporation television series, America: The Artist's Eye, produced between 1961 and 1963 in association with Jensen Productions. An additional 16-mm motion picture film includes "tails out" footage of Charles Sheeler at home and at work, circa 1950. A copy of the program about Sheeler, along with the "tails out" material, is also on videocassette. In addition, there is a sound recording of a talk on collecting given by Halpert's client, folk art collector Maxim Karolik, in 1962.
Printed matter consists of items produced by the Downtown Gallery, including exhibition catalogs, checklists, invitations, announcements, and press releases. There are also news clippings about Halpert, the Downtown Gallery, and the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection; other art-related clippings are arranged topically. Miscellaneous printed matter not produced by the Downtown Gallery includes newsletters, press releases, publications of art organizations, and reproductions of artwork. A selection of twenty-five volumes from the personal library of Edith Gregor Halpert has been retained.
The photographs series includes images of people: Edith Gregor Halpert, family, friends, also many images of her dog, Adam, and views of her country home in Newtown, Connecticut. Other photographs of people include portraits of artists, most of whom were affiliated with the Downtown Gallery. There are also photographs of works of art (with a large number of black-and-white negatives, 35-mm color slides, and glass plate negatives) and of exhibitions, of the exterior and interior of the Downtown Gallery, and of an award presented to Halpert.
See Appendix B for a chronological list of Downtown Gallery exhibitions.
Arrangement:
It is not certain how well arranged the files were while still the property of the gallery, though Halpert's background as an efficiency expert and her talents as an organizer suggest that the gallery's records were well maintained. It is clear, however, that much of the original order has been lost; Halpert is known to have removed files, including many records concerning the Harnett-Peto controversy.
Correspondence (Series 1) is arranged chronologically, and Artist Files (Series 2) is arranged alphabetically. The remaining series are organized into subseries that reflect either a function or specific record type, and the arrangement of each is explained in the detailed series descriptions. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
The Downtown Gallery records are arranged into eight series:
Series 1: Correspondence, 1926-1974, undated (Boxes 1-22; 22 linear ft.; Reels 5488-5545)
Series 2: Artist Files, A - Z, 1917-1970, undated (Boxes 23-27; 5 linear ft.; Reels 5545-5558)
Series 3: Notebooks, 1835, 1874, circa 1880-1969, undated (Boxes 28-59; 32.5 linear ft.; Reels 5558-5603)
Series 4: Business Records, 1925-1974, undated (Boxes 60-94, OV 95, OV 96, OV 97; 34.5 linear ft.; Reels 5603-5636)
Series 5: Writings, 1917-1968, undated (Box 98; 1 linear ft.; Reels 5636-5638)
Series 6: Miscellaneous Material, circa 1835, 1883, 1913-1970, undated (Boxes 99-101, 103, OV 102, OV 104, FC 120-124; 3.25 linear ft.; Reels 5638-5639)
Series 7: Printed Matter, 1824-1865, 1920-1969, undated (Boxes 105-108; 4 linear ft.; Reels 5640-5647)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1880-1960s, undated (Boxes 109-118, OV 119, MGP 4; 8.75 linear ft.; Reels 5647-5654)
Historical Note:
As a very young woman, Edith Gregor Halpert (1900-1970) attended art school sporadically while pursuing a business career that began in advertising and included work as a personnel manager and efficiency expert. She continued her business career after marrying artist Samuel Halpert (1884-1930) in 1918 and eventually became a highly paid executive with an investment firm. Well-invested bonuses provided the capital for Halpert to open her own business.
In November 1926, Halpert and business partner Berthe (Bea) Kroll Goldsmith opened Our Gallery at 113 West 13th Street for the purpose of promoting a group of progressive American artists, many of whom were friends of Edith and Samuel Halpert. The following year, at the suggestion of William Zorach, the gallery changed its name to Downtown Gallery--emphasizing its Greenwich Village location, unique for the time--and the name survived despite relocation to midtown Manhattan (to 43 East 51st Street in 1940, to 32 East 51st Street in 1945, and to the Ritz Tower Concourse at 465 Park Avenue in 1965).
The Downtown Gallery specialized in contemporary American art. An early gallery brochure states: "The Downtown Gallery has no prejudice for any one school. Its selection is driven by quality--by what is enduring--not by what is in vogue." Some of the artists affiliated with the Downtown Gallery from its early years were Stuart Davis, "Pop" Hart, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Charles Sheeler, Max Weber, and William and Marguerite Zorach. In its original location, the gallery served as a place where artists (many of whom lived and worked in the neighborhood), collectors, and others interested in American art met in the evenings for coffee, conversation, and sometimes lectures or other formal programs. Holger Cahill (1887-1960) entered into a partnership with Halpert and Goldsmith in 1929 when they founded the American Folk Art Gallery, the first ever of its kind; the American Folk Art Gallery opened on the second floor of the Downtown Gallery in 1931. Folk art was an important feature of the gallery throughout its history, though the name American Folk Art Gallery does not appear to have been used consistently. Because the profit margin was high and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller bought avidly for her growing collection, folk art revenues subsidized contemporary art exhibitions and helped the gallery survive the Depression. The Daylight Gallery, also run by Halpert and Goldsmith, opened in 1930 in a separate structure behind the main gallery, and continued until the Downtown Gallery moved to East 51st Street in 1940. Its purpose was to exhibit painting and sculpture to best advantage in a gallery designed to diffuse light perfectly and to demonstrate how works of art may be used as architectural embellishments in a modern building. Other subsidiary galleries operated by the Downtown Gallery were the John Marin Room, opened in 1950 and run by John Marin, Jr., and the Ground-Floor Room, 1951, "dedicated to the adventurous, less experienced collector willing to gamble on his taste and ours."
From the beginning, Halpert endeavored to hold prices at reasonable levels; she employed aggressive marketing and advertising techniques learned from her career in business and banking, offering extended payment plans without interest to buyers of modest means. She recognized the value of placing representative works by Downtown Gallery artists in important art museums and public collections, even if a price reduction was necessary to achieve this goal.
After purchasing Goldsmith's share of the business in 1935, Halpert, needing to earn a profit, reorganized the gallery as a more overtly commercial venture. The roster of artists was reduced to twelve. Those eliminated tended to be younger artists, most of whom were supported by WPA work. Eventually, the roster expanded; new additions were usually artists not based in New York, whom Halpert learned of through her work as an adviser to the WPA Federal Art Project. Halpert had long courted Alfred Stieglitz's artists, and in the years following his death in 1946 a number of them affiliated with the Downtown Gallery. Another change was that the Downtown Gallery no longer represented only living American artists; the gallery began handling a number of estates, most notably that of Arthur Dove. In 1953, the roster of Downtown Gallery artists shifted dramatically when Halpert entered into an agreement with Charles Alan. Alan had been hired in 1945 with the understanding that he was being trained to run the Downtown Gallery upon Halpert's retirement five years in the future. Eight years later, it became apparent that Halpert was not going to retire; without consulting the artists, she transferred representation of all artists who had joined the Downtown Gallery since 1936 to the newly established Alan Gallery.
Exhibitions at the Downtown Gallery included both solo exhibitions and group shows usually built around a theme; most lasted about a month. Annual exhibitions (sometimes titled anniversary exhibitions) opened the exhibition season each fall and showcased the gallery's artists. The Downtown Gallery's Christmas show, a long-standing event that encouraged purchases of original art for holiday gift giving, was eagerly anticipated as it featured fine artwork at very reasonable prices. Between 1927 and 1935, the Downtown Gallery was the site of the American Print Makers Society annual exhibitions. During its forty-seven years in operation, the Downtown Gallery organized many important, influential exhibitions. American Ancestors (1931) presented American folk art as the precursor to and direct influence on the contemporary art featured by the Downtown Gallery. The title was used for a number of subsequent exhibitions and became a synonym for folk art. American Folk Art Sculpture: Index of American Design, Federal Art Project (1937) featured drawings by WPA artists recording objects that documented America's material culture and artistic heritage. Along with the Index of American Design drawings, the exhibition included a number of the original sculptures from the Downtown Gallery's inventory and borrowed from folk art collector Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.
William Harnett: "Nature-Vivre" (1939) reintroduced the nineteenth-century artist whose trompe l'oeil paintings had been collected by Halpert over a period of years expressly for this purpose. Between 1947 and 1949, a controversy ensued over paintings--some of which had been sold by the Downtown Gallery--with the signature of William Harnett but discovered by San Francisco Chronicle art critic Alfred Frankenstein to be the work of Harnett's student, John Peto. Halpert had purchased the questionable pieces in good faith, completely unaware of the added signatures, and she defended her attributions, despite evidence to the contrary. Frankenstein publicized his discovery widely; while neither Halpert nor the Downtown Gallery were named directly, their identity was apparent to his well-informed readers. The situation was further inflamed when additional articles by Frankenstein failed to include new evidence favorable to Halpert and the Downtown Gallery.
Another major exhibition was American Negro Art, 19th and 20th Centuries (1941-1942), the first show of its kind held at a commercial gallery. Held at the Downtown Gallery, the exhibition was sponsored by a committee of prominent citizens including Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Archibald MacLeish, A. Philip Randolph, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Among its aims were to raise money for the Negro Art Fund, to promote museum acquisitions of work by black artists, and to encourage galleries to represent the living participants. In addition to providing its facilities, the Downtown Gallery donated all sales commissions to the Negro Art Fund and added Jacob Lawrence to its roster of artists.
Edith Gregor Halpert played important roles in a number of exhibitions and major art projects that were not connected with the Downtown Gallery. She served as organizer and director of the First Municipal Exhibition of American Art, Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1929. Beginning in 1932, Halpert was extensively involved with Radio City Music Hall arts projects. She conceived, organized, and handled publicity for the First Municipal Art Exhibition (also known as the Forum Exhibition) sponsored by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and held at Radio City Music Hall in 1934. As an adviser to the WPA Federal Art Project, Halpert spent the summer of 1936 in Washington, D.C., developing its Exhibition and Allocation Program, which registered works of art arriving from regional project centers and selected pieces for traveling exhibitions that circulated throughout the country. In 1937, she formed the Bureau for Architectural Sculpture and Murals, a central clearinghouse from which architects could review and select work by artists and sculptors experienced in working in architectural settings. Halpert served as curator of the art section of the American National Exhibition, sponsored by the United States Information Agency and the U.S. Department of Commerce; she traveled to the Soviet Union with the exhibition, installed the show, and gave daily gallery talks in Russian. In 1952, to promote art history, Halpert established the Edith Gregor Halpert Foundation. Its activities included assisting universities to fund scholarships for the study of contemporary American art and championing the rights of artists to control the sale and reproduction of their work. For her "outstanding contribution to American art," Halpert received the Art in America Award in 1959. She also received a USIA Citation for Distinguished Service in 1960, and the University of Connecticut awarded her its First Annual International Silver Prize for "distinguished contribution to the arts" in 1968.
In addition to being an art dealer, Edith Gregor Halpert was also a collector of contemporary American art and American folk art. For many years, Halpert and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., discussed a gift of a substantial number of paintings to form the nucleus of a new wing to be called the Gallery of 20th-Century American Art. After numerous disagreements and misunderstandings by both parties, the plan was abandoned. While negotiations were still in progress, the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection was exhibited in two installments, 1960 and 1962, at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. During the following two years, portions of her collection traveled to Santa Barbara, Honolulu, and San Francisco. Other exhibitions, drawn completely from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, include American Modernism: The First Wave, Painting from 1903-1933, presented at Brandeis University Museum of Art, 1963; Six Decades of American Art, shown at Leicester Galleries, London, 1965; Image to Abstraction, held at Amon Carter Museum, 1967; and Edith Halpert and the Downtown Gallery, exhibited at the University of Connecticut, 1968. The Edith Gregor Halpert Collection was eventually sold at auction by Sotheby Parke-Bernet, 1973.
Dr. Dianne's Tepfer's dissertation (1989) on Edith Gregor Halpert was an invaluable resource in arranging and describing the records of Downtown Gallery; her chronology was consulted often in constructing this Historical Note.
1900 -- born Edith Gregoryevna Fivoosiovitch to Gregor and Frances Lucom Fivoosiovitch, Odessa, Russia
1906 -- arrived in New York City with recently widowed mother and older sister; family name changed to Fivisovitch
1916 -- employed as a comptometer operator at Bloomingdale's department store; studied drawing with Leon Kroll and Ivan Olinsky at the National Academy of Design; further shortened name to Fein
1916-1917 -- attended life drawing and anatomy classes taught by George Bridgeman at the Art Students' League; employed in foreign and advertising offices, R. H. Macy department store
1917 -- met artist Samuel Halpert at John Weichsel's People's Art Guild
1917-1918 -- employed as advertising manager, Stern Brothers department store
1918-1919 -- employed as systematizer (efficiency expert), investment firm of Cohen, Goldman
1918 -- married Samuel Halpert
1919-1920 -- employed as systematizer, investment firm of Fishman & Co.; attended writing courses, Columbia University
1921-1925 -- employed as personnel manager, systematizer, and head of correspondence at investment banking firm of S. W. Strauss & Co.; eventually appointed to the board of directors
1924 -- first exposed to folk art at the home of sculptor Elie Nadelman
1925 -- visited Paris with Samuel Halpert (June-September)
1926 -- visited Ogunquit, Maine, with Samuel and was further exposed to antiques and folk art; other summer guests included artists Stefan Hirsch, Bernard Karfiol, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Robert Laurent, Katherine Schmidt, Niles Spencer, and Marguerite and William Zorach; opened Our Gallery, devoted to modern American art, at 113 West 13th Street with business partner Berthe Kroll Goldsmith
1927 -- separated from Samuel, who moved to Detroit to teach at the Society for Arts and Crafts; changed name of Our Gallery to Downtown Gallery, at the suggestion of William Zorach
1928 -- Abby Aldrich Rockefeller first visited the Downtown Gallery; published George O. "Pop" Hart: 24 Selections from His Work by Holger Cahill, first of a projected series of ten Downtown Gallery monographs
1929 -- initiated divorce proceedings in Detroit; founded the American Folk Art Gallery, the first of its kind, with business; partners Berthe Kroll Goldsmith and Holger Cahill; served as organizer and director of the First Municipal Exhibition of American Art, Atlantic City
1930 -- divorce granted; present at the death of Samuel Halpert; opened the Daylight Gallery in a separate structure behind the Downtown Gallery specially designed to display works of art under optimal conditions; published Max Weber by Holger Cahill, second (and last) of the Downtown Gallery monographs
1931 -- opened the American Folk Art Gallery on second floor of the Downtown Gallery
1932 -- purchased house in Newtown, Connecticut; became extensively involved with Radio City Music Hall arts projects
1934 -- conceived, organized, and handled publicity for the First Municipal Art Exhibition, also called the Forum Exhibition, sponsored by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and held at Radio City Music Hall
1935 -- bought Goldsmith's share of the business and, as sole owner, reorganized the gallery
1936 -- served as adviser to WPA Federal Art Project, charged with developing the Exhibition and Allocation Program
1937 -- formed Bureau for Architectural Sculpture and Murals
1939 -- organized Nature-Vivre; exhibition of paintings by the rediscovered William Harnett, rekindling interest in trompe l'oeil painting
1940 -- Downtown Gallery moved to 43 East 51st Street; cataloged and installed the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Collection of American Folk Art at Williamsburg, Virginia
1941 -- American Negro Art, 19th and 20th Centuries
1945 -- Downtown Gallery moved to 32 East 51st Street; hired Charles Alan as assistant director
1946 -- Downtown Gallery began representing former Alfred Stieglitz artists Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Georgia O'Keeffe
1947-1949 -- embroiled in controversy over paintings with the signature of William Harnett but discovered to be the work of Harnett's student John Peto
1950 -- opened the John Marin Room, operated by John Marin, Jr.
1951 -- opened the Ground-Floor Room, for works by new artists
1952 -- established the Edith Gregor Halpert Foundation
1953 -- transferred representation of newer Downtown Gallery artists to the Alan Gallery
1954 -- published The ABCs for Collectors of Contemporary Art by John I. H. Baur
1959 -- traveled to Moscow as curator of the art section, "American National Exhibition," and gave daily gallery talks in Russian; received Art in America Award
1960 -- exhibited selections from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; awarded USIA Citation for Distinguished Service and the Merit Award Emblem
1962 -- second exhibition of the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; began discussions, ultimately abandoned, for the transfer and installation of a large gift of paintings from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection to a special wing of the Corcoran Gallery of Art
1963 -- American Modernism: The First Wave, Painting from 1903-1933, an exhibition based entirely on the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, Brandeis University Museum of Art
1965 -- Downtown Gallery moved to smaller quarters, Ritz Tower Concourse, 465 Park Avenue; open by appointment only; Six Decades of American Art, from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, Leicester Galleries, London
1967 -- Image to Abstraction, an exhibition based entirely on the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
1968 -- the Downtown Gallery ceased to be the exclusive representative of Abraham Rattner, Ben Shahn, Georgia O'Keffe, and Max Weber, and the estates of Stuart Davis, and Marguerite and William Zorach were withdrawn from the gallery; Edith Halpert and the Downtown Gallery exhibition at the Museum of Art, the University of Connecticut; awarded the First Annual International Silver Prize medal for "distinguished contribution to the arts," University of Connecticut
1970 -- died, New York City
1970-1973 -- the Downtown Gallery continued limited operation under the direction of niece, Nathaly Baum
1972-1978 -- the Downtown Gallery records donated to the Archives of American Art by Nathaly Baum, executor of the Edith Gregor Halpert estate
1973 -- Sotheby Parke-Bernet auction sale of the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection
1997-1999 -- arrangement, description, and microfilming of Downtown Gallery records and publication of this finding aid funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, Inc.
Appendix B: Chronological List of Downtown Gallery Exhibitions:
Below is a chronological listing of Downtown Gallery exhibitions, culled from catalogs and checklists, invitations and announcements, press releases, newspaper reviews, advertisements, lists compiled by gallery staff, and The Archives of American Art Collection of Exhibition Catalogs (1979). Exhibition titles indicated on the announcement or used in a published review sometimes differ from the title of the corresponding exhibition catalog or printed checklist. Catalogs or announcements for most shows will be found with the printed matter produced by the Downtown Gallery (Series 7.1), in the publicity notebooks (Series 3.3.), and/or with artist files (Series 2). Microfilm reel and frame number(s) are noted in parentheses for catalogs or exhibition announcements recorded in The Archives of American Art Collection of Exhibition Catalogs that are not among the Downtown Gallery records.
Undated -- Jan. 24-Feb. 12: American Landscapes: Paintings and Water Colors Mar. 3-28 [1964?]: Abraham Rattner: New Paintings, 1961-1963 June: Art for 13,000,000 Sept. 17-27: Abraham Rattner: Stained Glass Window Designed for the De Waters Art Center, Flint, Michigan
1926 -- Nov. [6-?}: Opening Exhibition: Small Works by Leading American Contemporary Artists Dec. [4-?]: The Christmas Exhibition, $10-50
1927 -- Jan. 8-Feb. 4: American Marines Jan. 8-Feb. 4: Print Room Selection Nov. 26-Dec. 9: Frank Osborn: Sculpture Lamps Nov. 26-Dec. 9: Stuart Davis May [10-?]: Portfolio Selection, $5-25 Dec. 10-31: American Print Makers Exhibition Nov. 3-23: "Pop" Hart: One-Man Show Oct. 13-Nov. 3: Ogunquit Exhibition: Summer Work by 12 Ogunquit Residents Mar. 1-19: George C. Ault: Water Colors and Drawings Feb. [5-?]: George Overbury "Pop" Hart Apr. [11-?]: Spring Exhibitions: Pictures Suggestive of the Season Mar. 21-Apr. 9: Walt Kuhn Lighographs: `New Trapeze Ladies'
1928 -- Feb. 14-Mar. 4: Walt Kuhn: Recent Works Jan. 24-Feb. 12: 75 Years of American Landscapes Mar. 6-25: Samuel Halpert: Recent Work Dec. 10-31: American Print Makers 2nd Annual Exhibition Jan. 3-22: Joseph Pollett: Recent Paintings and Watercolors Oct. 7-28: Paris by Americans Oct. 29-Nov. 17: Max Weber: New Lithographs, $10-50 Nov. 19-Dec. 8: George C. Ault: Paintings, $30-300 Apr. 23-May 13: May Flowers May 19-June 13: Art for Everybody, $10-50 Mar. 26-Apr. 15: Ernest Fiene: Lithographs Apr. 2-22: Marguerite Zorach: Paintings and Drawings
1929 -- Nov. [19-?]: Glenn Coleman: Temperas June 3-14: Oils, Sculpture, Water Colors, Monotypes, Drawings, Pottery May [14-?]: Joseph Pollet: Watercolors May [14-?]: Lithographs by A. Walkowitz Mar. 26-Apr. 14: José Orozco: Paintings of New York City Apr. 23-May 14: Walt Kuhn: Loan Paintings Feb. 12-Mar. 23: Stefan Hirsch: Paintings Mar. 4-Apr. 14: Duncan Ferguson: Sculpture Jan. 21-Feb. 10: Drawings by 8 American Artists (Hart, Karfiol, Kuhn, Pascin, Walkowitz, Weber, M. Zorach, and W. Zorach) Jan. 2-20: Ann Goldthwaite: Recent Work Dec. 10-31: American Print Makers 3rd Annual Exhibition Oct. 29-Nov. 17: Joseph Pollet: Recent Paintings Oct. 7-28: Americans Abroad (Davis, Fiene, Ganso, Hart, Hirsch, Pascin, and Wilenchick)
1930 -- Oct. [25-?]: Reuben Nakian: Sculpture Nov. 18-Dec. 16: Glenn Coleman: Paintings Sept. 30-Oct. 25: Summer Landscapes, 1930: Paintings by American Contemporary Artists Summer: Important Painting and Sculpture by Leading American Artists in the Daylight Gallery May 26-July 1: Small Painting, Sculpture, and Drawings by Leading American Contemporary Artists, $100 or Less Apr. 19-May 10: Daylight Gallery Opening Exhibition Oct. [25-?]: Julia Kelly: Painting Apr. [8-?]: Ben Shahn: Paintings and Drawings Mar. 11-30: Wood Gaylor: Paintings Feb. [11-?]: Marguerite Zorach: Recent Paintings of New England and New York Jan. 28-Feb. 15: 33 Moderns: The Downtown Gallery Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture, Watercolors, Drawings, and Prints by 33 American Contemporary Artists [at the Grand Central Galleries] Jan. [25-?]: Stuart Davis: Recent Paintings Dec. 8-31: American Print Makers 4th Annual Exhibition Jan. [2-?]: Abraham Walkowitz: Heads and Flowers May [10-?]: "Pop" Hart: Paintings from Africa and Europe
1931 -- Jan. 3-25: Jules Pascin Memorial Exhibition Jan. [27-?]: William Zorach: New Sculpture Feb. [14-?]: Joseph Pollett: Paintings Feb. 2-16: Isabella Howland: Paintings Dec. 14-31: American Ancestors: Masterpieces by Little Known and Anonymous American Painters, 1790-1890 Mar. 16-30: 7 Masters of Water Color (Demuth, Dickinson, Hart, Marin, Sheeler, Walkowitz, Zorach) Apr. [29-?]: Peggy Bacon: Caricature Portraits Mar. 31-Apr. 9: Stuart Davis: Recent Paintings Nov. [18-?]: Charles Sheeler: Recent Paintings May 12-31: Flowers: Paintings in Oil and Water Color by American Contemporary Artists Oct. 5-25: `Artists' Models,' Figure Paintings by Leading Contemporary American Artists June 2-22: Paintings, Water Colors, Drawings, Sculpture by Leading Contemporary American Artists Oct. 28-Nov. 17: Karl Knaths: Paintings Dec. 7-31: American Print Makers 5th Annual Exhibition
1932 -- May 31-June 30: Paintings and Sculpture by Outstanding American Artists Dec. 28-Jan. 14: William Zorach: Spirit of the Dance in Original Plaster Dec.: Christmas Exhibition: Drawings, Paintings, Sculpture, $10-100 Feb. 20-Mar. 3: Peggy Bacon: Recent Paintings (N433: 515) Jan. 5-18: American Modern Art [arranged by the Downtown Gallery at Knoedler & Co., Inc., Chicago] Oct. 4-22: Prelude to the Season: New Paintings and Sculpture by American Contemporaries Dec. 9-31: Carl Walters: Sculpture and Pottery in Ceramic Jan. 5-24: Alexander Brook: Recent Paintings Jan. [24-?]: Paintings by Contemporary American Painters Feb. 23-Mar. 7: Wood Gaylor: Recent Paintings Oct. 4-22: Bernard Sanders: Graphics Dec. 5-31: American Print Makers 6th Annual Exhibition Feb. [24-?]: Winter in Maine: Recent Watercolors by William Zorach Mar. 22-Apr. 3: Joseph Pollet: Recent Paintings Nov. 18-Dec. 9: Stefan Hirsch: Recent Work--New York and Mexico Apr. 5-17: The Passion of Sacco-Vanzetti: Gouaches by Ben Shahn Apr. 19-May 15: Pictures of New England by a New Englander: Recent Paintings of Dogtown, Cape Ann, Mass., by Marsden Hartley [errata slip stapled to cover of the copy filmed on Br10: 660-663 indicates the dates were changed to Apr. 26-May 15, 1932] May 17-29: 3 Painters: Baum, Botkin, Schultz Oct. 25-Nov. 13: Dorothy Varian: Recent Paintings
1933 -- Jan. 17-Feb. 4: Bernard Karfiol: Paintings and Drawings Mar. 21-Apr. 8: Major Works by Distinguished American Artists Feb. [28-?]: Watercolors by Stuart Davis Feb. 27-Mar. 18: Reuben Nakian: Sculpture Portraits of 10 Artists Feb. 7-25: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Recent Paintings Oct. 3-14: American Ancestors, 2nd Exhibition: Masterpieces by Little Known and Anonymous American Artists: 1720-1870 May 23-June 30: Paintings and Sculpture: Recent Works by Leading American Contemporaries, at $100 May 2-20: Ben Shahn: The Tom Mooney Case Apr. 11-29: Nicolai Cikovsky: Recent Paintings Nov. 14-Dec. 14: Drawings and Rare Prints by "Pop" Hart Dec. 5-31: American Print Makers 7th Annual Exhibition Oct. 24-Nov. 11: Painting and Sculpture by Leading Contemporaries
1934 -- Jan. 23-Feb. 10: Alexander Brook: Recent Paintings Feb. 13-Mar. 3: Babe Ruth by Reuben Nakian Jan. 3-20: Ernest Fiene: Painter of the American Scene Dec. 13-31: Practical Manifestations in American Art Apr. 3-21: Katherine Schmidt: Paintings Apr. 25-May 12: Stuart Davis: Recent Paintings Dec. [3-?]: Group Show Mar. 13-31: Recent Paintings by Joseph Pollet Oct. 1-14: Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation Collection of Paintings and Sculpture Oct. 23-Nov. 3: Marguerite Zorach: Paintings and Drawings May 15-June 15: Paintings and Sculpture: Selected Works by Leading American Contemporaries, Extraordinary Values at $100 Dec. 3-29: American Print Makers 8th Annual Exhibition Feb. 20-Mar. 3: Recent Work by Peggy Bacon Nov. 20-Dec. 8: Peggy Bacon: `Off with Their Heads,' Caricature Portraits of 38 Contemporary American Celebrities Nov. 6-17: American Drawings: Recent Work by Charles Sheeler, John Marin, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Charles Locke, Stuart Davis, Alexander Brook
1935 -- May 1-18: Nakian: The New Deal in Portraiture Apr. 13-28: Reuben Nakian: Portrait Heads of the Present Administration May 21-June 14: Paintings and Sculpture by Leading American Artists Dec.: Carl Walters: Ceramic Sculpture and Pottery Mar. 12-30: Exhibition of 14 Paintings by 14 American Contemporaries Feb. 20-Mar. 9: Nicolai Cikovsky: Recent Paintings Apr. 10-27: Watercolor and Pastels by 14 American Artists Dec. 2-28: American Print Makers 9th Annual Exhibition Nov.: Ernest Fiene: Paintings Nov. [5-?]: American Folk Art: Recently Acquired Paintings and Sculpture Jan. 16-Feb. 2: Charles Burchfield and Charles Sheeler Dec. 11-28: Anne Goldthwaite: Murals of the South Jan. 16-Feb. 9: Bernard Karfiol: Watercolors and Drawings Oct. 22-Nov. 9: Opening Exhibition: Important Recent Painting and Sculpture May 21-June 14: $100 Exhibition: Extraordinary Values for Discriminating Collectors
1936 -- Oct. [28-?]: Tenth Anniversary Exhibition: American Art, 1800-1936 Dec. 13-24: American Print Makers 10th Anniversary Annual Exhibition (N428:304-305) Dec.: Christmas Gift Show Dec.: Ceramics by Carl Walters Feb. [25-?]: Watercolors by William Zorach Mar. 17-Apr. 4: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Paintings May [5-?]: Joseph Pollet: Paintings May 26-June 12: Paintings and Sculpture: Recent Work by Leading American Contemporaries, Extraordinary Values at $100 Apr. 14-May 2: Portraits by 6 Contemporary and Early American Artists Jan. 30-Feb. 15: American Birds in Sculpture, 1785-1935 Jan. 6-25: Alexander Brooke: Paintings Dec. 2-31: Vital Statistics
1937 -- Dec. 7-31: Christmas Exhibition: Fine Works of Art as Original Gifts through June 25: Paintings and Sculpture, 1800-1937 Oct. 5-23: Paintings by 12 Younger Artists Oct. 19-Nov. 6: Fall Exhibition May 18-June 5: Joseph Steig: Watercolors May 5-29: Major Examples by Major Artists Apr. 13-May 1: Children in American Folk Art, 1725-1865: Children's Art, Their Portraits, and Their Toys Apr. [10-?]: Contemporary Americans Sept. 28-Oct. 9: American Folk Art Sculpture: Index of Design, WPA Federal Art Project Sept.: Drawings by the Index of American Design Oct. 20-Nov. 10: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Art from the Downtown Gallery of New York, Sponsored by the Atlanta Georgian and Sunday American at the High Museum of Art Mar. 9-27: The 1920s: Oils, Sculpture, Watercolors, and Drawings by 18 American Contemporaries Mar. 30-Apr. 10: Younger Artists Nov.: Dorothy Varian: Paintings Feb. 9-27: American Dogs: Recent Portraits in Oil of Champion Dogs by Fenelle and Paintings and Sculpture Portraying Dogs of the Period 1820-1860 from the American Folk Art Gallery Jan. [15-?]: David Fredenthal Feb.: Group Show
1938 -- Oct. 4-22: Americans at Home: 32 Painters and Sculptors Sept. 4-22: Folk Art Apr. [27-?]: David Fredenthal: Paintings May 25-June 17: Art for the Summer House, $15-100 Apr. 5-23: Preston Dickinson, 1891-1930: 13 Pastels Dec. 6-30: Christmas Exhibition Mar. 16-Apr. 2: Paintings by Americans: New Paintings by Karfiol, Kuniyoshi, Sheeler, and Recent Oils by Marin and O'Keeffe Nov. [15-?]: Louis Guglielmi: Paintings Feb. 15-Mar. 5: 50 American Watercolors and Pastels, 1800-1938 Dec. 6-30: Carl Walters: Ceramic Sculpture Jan. 18-Feb. 15: American Genre Paintings, 1785-1887 Nov. 2-20: John Stenvall: Paintings Jan. 5-22: Isabella Howland: 25 Sculpture Heads Jan. 25-Feb. 11: Nicolai Cikovsky: Paintings Nov. 1-12: American Ancestors: Masterpieces in American Folk Art, 1720-1860 Nov. [2-?]: Georgia O'Keeffe: Paintings
1939 -- Oct. 3-14: Paintings on Velvet, 1800-1840 Feb. [14-?]: Nathaniel Kaz: Sculpture Nov. 7-25: Contemporary American Genre: 27 Painters and Sculptors Mar. [7-?]: Katherine Schmidt: Paintings May [8-?]: Group Show Jan. 24-Feb. 11: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Paintings Dec. 6-30: Carl Walters: Ceramic Sculpture Jan. [24-?]: Jack Levine: Paintings Mar. 28-Apr. 15: William Steig: Sculpture June 7-30: American Art, Past and Present Apr. 18-May 16: William Harnett: `Nature-Vivre' Oct. [17-?]: John Marin: 20 Drawings Jan. 4-21: Important New Paintings by American Artists: Cikovsky, Karfiol, Marin,, O'Keeffe, Sheeler, and Varian Dec. 6-30: Christmas Exhibition: Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture, $100 or Less May [16-?]: Raymond Breinin: Paintings
1940 -- Jan. [3-?]: Mitchell Siporin: Paintings Jan. [23-?]: Rainey Bennett: Paintings Dec. 2-21: Charles Sheeler: `Power,' 6 Original Paintings Commissioned for Reproduction in the December 1940 Issue of Fortune(N433:550 551) Mar. [25-?]: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Lithographs Mar. [25-?]: Group Show: Paintings Feb. [20-?]: Julien Levi: Paintings Mar. [18-?]: Gallery Group Dec. [9-?]: Christmas Exhibition Oct. 17-Nov. 16: Opening Exhibition [43 East 51st Street] May 13-24: Artist's Fund Exhibition Apr. 23-May 11: Review of the Season: Paintings by Leading American Artists
1941 -- Dec. 9-Jan. 3, 1942: American Negro Art: 19th and 20th Centuries Sept. 16-Oct. 11: American Folk Sculpture: Weather Vanes in Metal and Wood: 18th and 19th Centuries [?]-June 27: Summer Exhibition and William Harnett May 6-30: What Is Wrong with This Picture? Nov. 13-Dec. 6: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Recent Paintings (Br10: 699-700) Nov. 11-Dec. 6: Bernard Karfiol Oct. 21-25: American Folk Art Sale Oct. 7-Nov. 1: New Examples by Leading American Artists Apr. 8-26: Spring: New Paintings by Outstanding Americans Feb. 25-Mar. 22: Masterpieces in American Folk Art Jan. 7-Feb. 1: The Painter Looks at Music Feb. 4-21: 13 American Paintings
1942 -- Oct. 13-31: Paintings, Cartoons, Photographs of the St. Louis Post Office Murals by Mitchell Siporin and Edward Millman Dec. 22-Jan. 9, 1943: Inter-American Folk Arts, 1700-1900: Paintings and Sculpture by Little Known and Anonymous Artists of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, U.S.A. Jan. 7-24: Watercolors and Drawings by Leading American Artists Feb. 3-28: Julian Levi Mar. 3-28: Battles & Symbols of the U.S.A.: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by American Folk Artists Apr. 7-May 2: Spring Exhibition: New Paintings and Newly Discovered Paintings by William M. Harnett Apr. 7-May 2: American Folk Art May 5-29: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Retrospective Loan Exhibition, 1921-1941 (Br10: 703-705) June 10-26: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings by Leading American Artists Sept. 22-Oct. 10: Opening Exhibition: New Paintings and Sculpture
1943 -- Jan. 12-30: Breinin: Recent Paintings (D55: 77) Mar. 2-27: William Zorach: Selected Sculpture (D57: 632-634) Mar. 31-Apr. 24: Spring Exhibition and American Folk Art June 8-25: Summer Exhibition: American Art Oct. 5-30: 18th Annual Exhibition: American Art Oct. 27-Nov. 20: Recent Paintings in Encaustic by Karl Zerbe Nov. 23-Dec. 11: Demuth, Dickinson, "Pop" Hart, Pascin
1944 -- Nov. 14-Dec. 2: Ben Shahn: Paintings in Tempera (Br10: 707-708) Feb. 1-12: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture Apr. 11-May 6: Spring: New Important Paintings & Sculpture by Leading Americans Feb. 15-Mar. 11: Horace Pippin May 31-June 30: Summer Exhibition May 9-27: William Zorach Oct. 3-28: 19th Annual Exhibition: American Art Sept. 13-30: American Folk Art from the Collection of Mrs. Isabel C. Wilde
1945 -- Jan. 3-20: Suba: First One-Man Exhibition of Paintings Mar. 6-31: Julian Levi Feb. 13-Mar. 3: George L. K. Morris: Paintings, 1944 and 1945, and Sculpture, 1934-1945 (Br10: 712-714) May 1-26: 19th Annual Spring Exhibition Apr. 3-28: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: New Paintings and Drawings Oct. 15-Nov. 3: Loan Exhibition Oct. 15-Nov. 3: 20th Anniversary [opening of new quarters on East 51st Street] Dec. 4-29: Christmas Exhibition Nov. 6-Dec. 1: 20th Annual Exhibition: American Art Dec. 4-29: Jacob Lawrence: John Brown, A Series of 22 Paintings in Gouache
1946 -- Dec. 3-31: Christmas Exhibition Sept. 4-21: Masterpieces in American Folk Art: Recently Discovered Examples Sept. 24-Oct. 19: 21st Annual Exhibition: New Paintings by Leading American Artists June: New Important Paintings by Leading Americans July 2-Aug. 30: Summer Exhibition: Recent Paintings and Sculpture... Combined with a Selection of Important American Folk Art Mar. 26-Apr. 13: Paul Burlin May 7-25: 6 Artists Out of Uniform: New Post-War Paintings by 6 Important Americans Jan. 29-Feb. 16: Stuart Davis Retrospective Exhibition: Gouaches, Watercolors, Drawings, 1912-1941 (N126: 369-370)
1947 -- Apr. 1-26: Spring 1947 Apr. 29-May 17: Boston/New York: First Exchange Exhibition [Boston portion at Downtown Gallery and New York portion at Boris Mirski Gallery, Boston] Feb. 4-Mar. 1: Important New Drawings Mar. 4-29: William Zorach Jan. 7-25: Arthur Dove Nov. 11-29: Niles Spencer Dec. 2-27: Christmas Exhibition Sept. 23-Oct. 18: 22nd Annual Exhibition Sept. 3-20: 20th-Century American Watercolors Aug. 12-29: Exhibition of American Folk Art: Recent Acquisitions June 10-Aug. 8: American Art, 1800-1947 and American Folk Art May 20-June 7: National Parks: A Fortune Portfolio
1948 -- Sept. 28-Oct. 23: 23rd Annual Exhibition Sept. 8-28: The American Family: Folk Paintings, 1750-1850 Aug. 10-Sept. 2: Marin - New York (N126: 407-408) June 29-Aug. 6: Art for the 8,060,000 May 10-20: Mexican Folk Art Apr. 13-May 1: William Harnett Centennial Exhibition Mar. 22-Apr. 3: American Art: A Multiple Exhibition Arranged by the Association of Dealers in American Art [Downtown Gallery participating] Jan. 20-Feb. 7: Paintings by Stuart Davis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jack Levine, John Marin, Ben Shahn Dec. 7-31: Christmas 1948 Nov. 16-Dec. 14: Jacques Maroger: Recent Paintings (N126: 411-412) undated: American Art... 20th Century Image to Abstraction [Amon Carter Museum; entire exhibition drawn from the collections of Edith Gregor Halpert and the Downtown Gallery] Dec. 7-31: William Zorach
1949 -- Nov. 15-Dec. 3: Reuben Tam Dec. 6-24: Christmas Exhibition May 10-28: Mexican Folk Art July 6-29: Art and/or Money Sept. 7-24: Important Paintings and Sculpture by Little Known and Unknown Artists of the 18th and 19th Century Oct. 3-22: 24th Annual Exhibition Mar. 15-Apr. 2: Paul Burlin Apr. 5-23: The Artist Speaks Apr. 25-10: 26 Teenage Artists Presented by Seventeen Magazine May 3-21: Arthur G. Dove: Watercolors, 1929-1946 (N126: 424) Sept. 7-24: American Folk Art
1950 -- Apr. 25-May 13: In 1950... Jan. 23-28: Creative Art for Commerce Dec. 5-23: Christmas Exhibition Oct. 24-Nov. 11: Jacob Lawrence (D56: 298-300) May 16-June 2: A Museum Collection: American Folk Sculpture Apr. 4-22: Yasuo Kuniyoshi Sept. 26-Oct. 21: 25th Annual Exhibition: New Paintings and Sculpture June: Art for 13,000,000 Jan. 31-Feb. 18: Ralston Crawford Dec. 27-Jan. 27, 1951: John Marin Mar. 14-Apr. 1: In 1940... Feb. 21-Mar. 11: Aquamedia
1951 -- Dec. 11-29: Christmas Exhibition May 1-19: Newcomers: Paintings by Artists from 15 States Nov. 20-Dec. 8: O. Louis Guglielmi Apr. 3-28: Spring 1951 Oct. 2-27: 26th Annual Exhibition: New Paintings and Sculpture by Leading American Artists July 10-Aug. 17: Summer Exhibition: American Art Sept. 5-22: Contemporary American Drawings June 12-29: Masterpieces in American Folk Art Mar. 13-31: Charles Sheeler: Paintings, 1949-1951 Feb. 20-Mar. 1: William Zorach: Sculpture, 1947-1951
1952 -- Oct. 28-Nov. 15: Niles Spencer Oct. 14-Nov. 15: The Ground-Floor Room 2nd Annual Exhibition Dec. 9-27: Stuart Davis and Yasuo Kuniyoshi Mar. 11-29: Ben Shahn: Paintings (D56: 1075-1076) Mar. 4-20: Recent Arrivals Jan. 2-26: John Marin: Oils and Watercolors June 3-27: Art for the 67% May 12-29: Lithographs, Woodcuts, Theorems, Serigraphs, and Other Prints by Leading American Artists Apr. 22-May 10: Arthur G. Dove Apr. 1-19: Spring '52 Oct. 1-25: 27th Annual Exhibition Nov. 18-Dec. 16: Shop for Art Early at the Downtown Gallery Sept. 9-27: American Amateur Art of 100 Years Ago July 1-Aug. 1: Pertaining to Summer: An Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Leading American Artists
1953 -- Jan. 7-Feb. 14: Performance: A New Series of Paintings in Tempera by Jacob Lawrence Feb. 17-Mar. 7: Celebrating the Tercentenary of New York, MDCLIII - MCMLIII: Paintings of New York by Leading American Artists Apr. 21-May 9: David Aronson May 12-29: 8 Younger Artists Mar. 10-28: Paul Burlin Mar. 31-Apr. 18: Reuben Tam Nov. 17-Dec. 7: Art in the Office Dec. 8-31: Art Gems for Christmas Sept. 22-Oct. 17: 28th Annual Exhibition: Recent Paintings and Sculpture Oct. 20-Nov. 14: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Ink Paintings
1954 -- Sept. 14-Oct. 2: Artists of Chicago May 25-June 25: Summer 1954 Nov. 9-20: Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture: A Benefit Exhibition by Its Faculty and Visiting Artists for the Scholarship Fund Oct. 5-30: 29th Annual Exhibition: New Paintings and Sculpture Nov. 23-Dec. 24: Christmas Exhibition Apr. 6-May 1: Dove and Demuth: Watercolor Retrospective May 4-22: American Folk Art: Painting and Sculpture Feb. 2-27: International Exhibition: American, Belgian, British, Canadian, French, Italian, Mexican Painters under 40 Mar. 2-31: Stuart Davis: Recent Paintings
1955 -- Mar. 20-Apr. 23: Georgia O'Keeffe May 24-June 11: Gallery Purchases: Contemporary Art Apr. 26-May 21: Spring 1955 Sept. 13-Oct. 1: Painters of Los Angeles June 14-30: Gallery Purchases: American Folk Art Nov. 1-26: Arthur Dove: Collages Oct. 4-29: 30th Annual Exhibition Dec. 28-Jan. 21, 1956: William Zorach: A Selection, 1914-1955
1956 -- May 1-26: Bernard Karfiol: The Figure (N126L529-531) May 29-June 29: Spring 1956 Sept. 5-29: Americans in Europe Oct. 9-Nov. 3: 31st Annual Exhibition Nov. 6-Dec. 1: Stuart Davis: Exhibition of Recent Paintings, 1954-1956 Dec. 4-22: 31st Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery Jan. 31-Feb. 25: The Recurrent Image Apr. 3-28: Charles Sheeler: Selections from the Collection of the William H. Lane Foundation Feb. 28-Mar. 24: Arthur Dove: Paintings
1957 -- Dec. 31-Jan. 25, 1958: 32nd Annual Exhibition [?]-May 4: Spring Exhibition Dec. 9-21: Art Our Children Live With: A Loan Exhibition of American Art Jan. 8-Feb. 7: Max Weber Feb. 12-Mar. 2: New Acquisitions: Wm. M. Harnett (1848-1892) Feb. 12-Mar. 2: American Folk Art: Paintings and Sculpture Mar. 2-30: New Mexico as Painted by Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Sloan May 7-31: Important Drawings by Leading American Artists June 4-28: Summer 1957 Oct. 7-Nov. 2: Group Show Nov. 5-27: Last Judgments by Abraham Rattner (D203: 76) Nov. 25-Dec. 7: 32nd Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery
1958 -- Sept. 30-Oct. 11: Arthur Dove: Watercolors June 9-27: 100 Church Street, `Portrait of a Building' by 10 American Artists May 20-June 7: Charles Demuth Apr. 29-May 10: Spring 1958 Mar. 5-Apr. 19: Charles Sheeler Jan. 28-Feb. 21: C. S. Price Dec. 8-27: 33rd Annual Christmas Exhibition Nov. 11-Dec. 6: Max Weber: The Figure in Retrospect, 1906-1958 Oct. 14-Nov. 8: 33rd Annual Exhibition
1959 -- Dec. 8-24: Ben Shahn: Silk-Screen Prints Dec. 29-Jan. 23, 1960: New Acquisitions Oct. 20-Nov. 14: 34th Annual Exhibition Nov. 17-Dec. 5: 34th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery Sept. 22-Oct. 17: The Dial and the Dial Collection: A Special Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture & Graphics by 30 American Artists Apr. 29-June 2: Spring 1959 Apr. 7-25: Robert Osborn Mar. 3-28: Ben Shahn Jan. 6-31: New Acquisitions: American Folk Art Painting and Sculpture
1960 -- Feb. 23-Mar. 19: Gallery Group Mar. 22-Apr. 9: Jack Zajac Mar. 11-[?]: Signs & Symbols, U.S.A., 1760-1960 Jan. 21-Feb. 20: 7 Artists in Hawaii Dec. 5-24: Robert Osborn: Paintings and Drawings from `The Vulgarians' Nov. 8-Dec. 3: Abraham Rattner Dec. 5-24: 35th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery through June 30: Summer 1960 Oct. 11-Nov. 5: 35th Annual Exhibition Apr. 19-may 7: Tseng Yu-Ho May 10-June 4: Stuart Davis
1961 -- June 13-30: Selections 1961 May 16-June 9: Spring 1961 Dec. 4-23: 36th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery Sept. 12-Oct. 7: New Acquisitions Feb. 15-Mar. 11: Aquamedia in American Art Jan. 25-Feb. 11: Yasuo Kuniyoshi Apr. 11-May 2: Gallery Group Mar. 15-Apr. 8: Alfred Duca Jan. 9-Feb. 6: New Acquisitions
1962 -- Nov. 3-28: Robert Osborn Dec. 3-22: 37th Annual Christmas at Downtown Gallery May 22-June 15: 36th Annual Spring Exhibition: The Figure Apr. 24-May 19: Stuart Davis Oct. 16-Nov. 10: 37th Anniversary Exhibition Sept. 25-Oct. 13: American Roots: Folk Art in Painting and Sculpture Feb. 27-Mar. 17: Robert Osborn: Clowns and Non-Clowns Jan. 9-27: Tseng Yu-Ho: 18 Dsui Paintings Mar. 27-Apr. 21: Abstract Painting in America, 1903-1923 Mar. 10-31: Max Weber Memorial Exhibition
1963 -- Mar. 12-Apr. 16: Signs & Symbols * U.S.A., 1780-1960 May 7-[?]: Max Weber Dec. 2-21: 38th Annual Christmas at Downtown Gallery June 11-July 3: Summer 1963 Apr. 9-May 3: Spring 1963 Jan. 8-Feb. 2: John Marin Oct. 1-26: 38th Anniversary Exhibition Oct. 29-Nov. 16: Ben Shahn: Retrospective Exhibition, Paintings and Drawings, 1901-1958 Oct. 29-Nov. 16: Homage to e. e. cummings Oct. 29-Nov. 16: Gallery Group Aug. 6-Sept. 15: Loan Exhibition from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection [Santa Barbara Museum of Art] Nov. 7-Dec. 8: Loan Exhibition from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection [Honolulu Academy of Arts] Sept. 9-14: Visual Art by Performing Artists Dec. 3-Jan. 7, 1964: American Signs and Symbols
1964 -- Sept. 9-Oct. 3: 20th Century American Drawings Oct. 6-31: 39th Anniversary Exhibition Dec. 1-24: 39th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery Jan. 11-Feb. 9: Loan Exhibition from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection [California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco] Jan. 28-Feb. 21: George L. K. Morris Mar. 3-28: Supplement to the Rattner Exhibition May 12-June 5: New York City: Paintings, 1913-1963, by American Artists
1965 -- Jan. 5-23: Charles Sheeler and Yasuo Kuniyoshi Nov. 30-Dec. 18: Warner Brothers Co. Mural by Willard Cummings and Emilio A. Serio Mar. 23-Apr. 17: John Storrs Sept. 8-Oct. 2: A Gallery Survey of American Art [inaugural show, Ritz Tower Concourse, 465 Park Avenue] Nov. 3-20: Edward Stasack Nov. 30-Dec. 18: 40th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery
1966 -- Nov. 5-Dec. 12: Morris Broderson Oct. 18-Nov. 12: 41st Anniversary Exhibition: Contemporary American Art Mar. 1-26: Balthus: New Paintings, 1963-1966 May 3-27: Charles Sheeler Sept. 20-Oct. 8: "Popular Art" in America, 18-19th Century
1967 -- Apr. 18-May 13: John Storrs Mar. 15-Apr. 8: Arthur Dove Nov. 7-25: O. Louis Guglielmi Sept. 26-Oct. 21: 42nd Anniversary Exhibition Feb. 14-Mar. 11: George L. K. Morris Jan. 10-Feb. 14: William Zorach: The Last Decade Dec.: Gallery Group
Berman, Avis. Pioneers in American Museums: Edith Halpert. Museum News 54, no. 2 (November/December 1975): 34-37, 61-64.
Bragazzi, Olive. The Story Behind the Rediscovery of William Harnett and John Peto by Edith Halpert and Alfred Frankenstein. American Art Journal 15, no. 3 (Spring 1984): 51-65.
Tepfer, Diane. Edith Gregor Halpert and the Downtown Gallery/Downtown, 1926-1940: A Study in American Art Patronage. Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1989.
Edith Gregor Halpert, interview by Harlan Phillips, 1962-1963. Oral History Program, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Edith Gregor Halpert, interview by Harlan Phillips, January 20, 1965. New Deal and the Arts Project, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Edith Gregor Halpert, lecture delivered at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, October 19, 1959, on the 1959 American National Art Exhibition in Moscow. Tape-recorded by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, and transcribed by the the Downtown Gallery staff.
In addition, the Archives of American Art has among its collections personal papers and oral history interviews of artists and collectors associated with the Downtown Gallery. Researchers are advised to conduct a name search in the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS).
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (ND-1- ND-71), the mojority of which was subsequently donated. Loaned materials not donated at a later date remain with the lender and are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
Provenance:
Between 1957 and 1967, the Downtown Gallery loaned portions of its records to the Archives of American Art for microfilming. Because the microfilming was done in increments, the material was not always filmed in logical sequence, and overlapping and duplication of records occurred. Since files loaned for microfilming were, for the most part, still working records used to conduct ongoing gallery business, their contents changed and shifted over time. After Edith Halpert's death in 1970, the records of the Downtown Gallery were received by the Archives of American Art, 1972-1978, as a gift from her niece and executor, Nathaly Baum. In addition to the previously microfilmed material, the gift includes correspondence, inventories and sales records, financial records, photographs, and printed matter, as well as artifacts.One additional document received 2016 by Karen Freeman, daughter of Arthur H. Freeman, who did business at L.D. Landau and Co. Freeman represented halpert as an insurance agent.
Restrictions:
The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.
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.
Topic:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
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.
The papers of painter Ernest Briggs measure 2.4 linear feet and date from circa 1900-2013, bulk 1940-1983. The collection documents the life and career of this second generation abstract expressionist through biographical material; correspondence with artists and critics; writings and five diaries that chronicle the changing art world from 1950s-1970s; personal business records; printed material; and a significant amount of photographic material documenting the artist and his work.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Ernest Briggs measure 2.4 linear feet and date from circa 1900-2013, bulk 1940-1983. The collection documents the life and career of this second generation abstract expressionist through biographical material; correspondence with artists and critics; writings and five diaries that chronicle the changing art world from 1950s-1970s; personal business records; printed material; and a significant amount of photographic material documenting the artist and his work. Papers dating from after Briggs's death were created and kept by Anne Arnold.
Notable correspondents include Hubert Crehan, Mary McChesney, Dorothy Miller, Clyfford Still, and Howard Wise. One outgoing letter to Clement Greenberg offers Briggs's criticism of Art and Culture.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1942-1984 (1 folder; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1950s-2001 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, 1960-19854 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 4: Diaries, 1976-1984 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 5: Personal Business Records, 19460s-2000s (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1949-2013 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1-2, OV 4)
Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1900-1990, bulk 1940-1984 (0.8 linear feet; Box 2-3, OV 5)
Biographical / Historical:
Ernest Briggs (1923-1984) was a second generation abstract expressionist painter working in New York City and Maine. He was born in San Diego, California and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After returning home, Briggs studied at the California College of Fine Art in San Francisco from 1947-1951 under Clyfford Still, Ad Reinhardt, David Park, and Mark Rothko. He moved to New York in 1953 and began exhibiting at the Stable Gallery. In 1956 Briggs was included in the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition, 12 Americans curated by Dorothy Miller. Briggs taught at Pratt Institute from 1961-1984. He was married to the sculptor Anne Arnold.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Ernest Briggs conducted by Barbara Shikler in 1982 and the papers of sculptor, Anne Arnold, Briggs' wife.
Provenance:
Ernest Briggs donated papers in 1980 with the bulk of the collection donated in 2015 by the Anne Arnold Estate, via Robert Brooks and Janice Kasper, executors.
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.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
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:
Dorothy C. Miller papers, 1853-2013, bulk 1920-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
The papers of painter Henry Botkin measure 3 linear feet, date from circa 1927-1982, and illustrate his career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed and photographic material, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The Henry Botkin papers measure 3 linear feet and date from circa 1927-1982. Biographical materials include multiple interviews with Botkin, one of which is for the Today Show, membership cards for the Audubon Artists and Artists Equity Association, and Botkin's resume. Correspondence is with George Gershwin, Syracuse University, and others. Writings include autobiographical writings, lectures and speeches by Botkin, artwork reviews of Botkin's art, and miscellaneous writings by others. Personal business records consist of materials regarding various professional organizations, materials on Judy Cimaglia, materials on Botkin's daughter Toinette (Botkin) Laurent, and other business records. Printed material includes exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, and picture postcards. Photographic material consists of photographs of Botkin, his wife Rhoda Lehman, friends and family, and various exhibitions. Artwork includes pieces by Botkin and others.
Arrangement:
This collection consists of seven series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1945-1972 (.1 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1928-1979 (.2 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1936-1977 (.3 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1927-1977 (.6 Linear feet: Boxes 1-2)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1927-1982 (.8 Linear feet: Box 2)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1928-1977 (.9 Linear feet: Boxes 3-5)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1965-1967 (.1 Linear feet: Box 5)
Biographical / Historical:
Henry Botkin (1896-1983) was a painter who worked primarily in New York. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts and trained at both the Massachusetts School of Art and the Art Students League before moving to New York City. While in New York, Botkin worked as an illustrator for Harper's, The Saturday Evening Post, and Century magazine. In the early 1920s he moved to Paris to begin exploring Impressionism as a painting style. Botkin is known for painting the theater, still lifes, and landscapes. He is also known for his paintings of Black people in the South Carolina low country which have faced criticism about their lack of social realism. Botkin returned to New York in 1930, married his wife Rhoda Lehman, and in 1934 became an art agent to his cousin art collector George Gershwin and others.
In the late 1930s, Botkin switched to the abstract painting style in oils, and took an active role in bringing the style to public attention. He became part of the Artist's Equity Association, The American Abstract Artists Group 256 in Provincetown, and the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors where he served as president from 1957-1961.
In 1955, Botkin put together the first exhibition of American abstract art at the Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, Japan and organized the sale of five hundred and forty paintings at the Whitney Museum in New York in 1959. Botkin participated in various public events and programs and taught privately in New York, California, and Provincetown, Massachusetts. In the early 1950s Botkin began working with collages which became his main art form until his death. Botkin died in 1983 at the age of eigthy-seven in New York City.
Related Materials:
Henry Botkin papers also held at Syracuse University.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels D388, N69-67, N69-68, N69-91, N70-25, N70-68, 2895-2897, and 4314) including biographical material, letters, notes, writings, business records, artworks, scrapbook pages, printed material, and photographs, from 1969-1982. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Papers were lent for microfilming from 1969 to 1982 by Henry Botkin, his son Glenn Botkin, and his assistant Rene Barilleaux.
Restrictions:
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 born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Scrapbooks
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Henry Botkin papers, circa 1927-1982, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The papers of African American painter and educator Jacob Lawrence and his wife, artist Gwendolyn Knight measure 25.35 linear feet and 0.001 GB date from 1914 to 2008, with one item from 1816 and the bulk of the material dating from 1973 to 2001. The collection includes biographical material; correspondence including condolence letters to Gwendolyn Knight after Jacob Lawrence's death; writings by Jacob Lawrence and others; printed and digital material; photographs; personal business records; artwork; records from the Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project; materials related to the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation; professional files; and material related to awards and honors received by Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of African American painter and educator Jacob Lawrence and his wife, artist Gwendolyn Knight measure 25.35 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1914 to 2008, with one item from 1816 and the bulk of the material dating from 1973 to 2001. The collection includes biographical material; correspondence including condolence letters to Gwendolyn Knight after Jacob Lawrence's death; writings by Jacob Lawrence and others; printed and digital material; photographs; personal business records; artwork; records from the Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project; materials related to the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation; professional files; and material related to awards and honors received by Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight.
Biographical material includes appointment and address books; education and personal identification certificates and documents; awards, certificates, curriculum vitae, and chronologies; biographical material related to other individuals, including identification documents and memorial programs; and transcripts of interviews with Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight.
The correspondence series includes extensive personal and professional correspondence with family, friends, artists, admirers (including students in a number of elementary and middle schools), university students, government agencies, art schools, galleries, museums, publishing houses, and others. Included in this series are condolence letters received by Gwendolyn Knight after Jacob Lawrence's death in 2000.
Writings include published and unpublished writings by and about Jacob Lawrence, as well as writings by others. These writings include speeches, notes, essays, articles, lists, and short stories. Also included is a visitor comment book from the Los Angeles County Museum exhibition of Jacob Lawrence's Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass series.
Printed material includes books; brochures; business cards; clippings; exhibition and event announcements, invitations, catalogs, and programs; magazines; newsletters; posters; post cards; and press releases. Books in this collection may include illustrations by Jacob Lawrence or have personal inscriptions from the author to Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight.
Photographs include photographs of Jacob Lawrence artwork, photographs and reproductions of Gwendolyn Knight artwork, and photographs of Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight, and other individuals. Also included in this series are photographs and reproductions of work by others.
Personal business records include a ledger; consignment, financial, and shipping records related to the Terry Dintenfass Gallery; contracts and agreements; and estate documents.
Artwork includes sketches by Jacob Lawrence, a blank sketchbook inscribed by Jacob Lawrence to Gwendolyn Knight, and artwork by other artists.
Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project Records include materials generated by the Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonné Project, a non-profit created with the goal of producing a catalogue raisonné (and later, a digital archive) of Jacob Lawrence's work. These records include address books and phone logs; copies of Jacob Lawrence's CV; founding documents, bylaws, and meeting minutes; correspondence; writings, including draft pages of the catalogue raisonné; business records, including employment files, contracts, invoices, insurance, and tax information; printed and digital material; and photographs and artwork.
The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation and Related Material series includes founding documents and foundation bylaws, correspondence, financial documents, reports, and proposals. Found within this series are materials related to the Lawrence Center for the Visual Arts, a subsidiary foundation of the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation.
Professional files include material related to projects and exhibitions, teaching files and inclusion in curricula, files regarding possible fake Jacob Lawrence works, and gallery files.
The honors series is divided into two subseries: awards and certificates, and government honors. Awards and certificates includes honorary degrees, arts prizes, and any other honors awarded to Jacob Lawrence or Gwendolyn Knight. Government honors include resolutions, proclamations, and keys to cities. Also included in this series are correspondence related to awards and honorary degrees, commencement programs, plaques, and medals.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 11 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1914-2005 (Boxes 1, 11, 26, OV 10; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1943, 1952-2005 (Boxes 1-5, 12-14, 26; 7.7 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1954-1959, 1973-2005, undated (Boxes 5-6, 14-15; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1816, 1926, 1937, 1945-2008 (Boxes 6-9, 15-17, 26, OV 30, OV 31; 6.8 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographs, circa 1970-1997, undated (Boxes 9, 17, OV 10; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1962-2005 (Boxes 9, 17; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, 1984, 1990-1994, undated (Boxes 9, 18, 26; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 8: Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonne Project Records, 1982-2002 (Boxes 18-23, Box 26; 5.1 linear feet, ER01; 0.001 GB)
Series 9: Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation and Related Material, 1997-2005 (Box 23; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 10: Professional Files, 1964-2004 (Boxes 23-24; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 11: Honors, 1948, 1966-2005 (Boxes 24-25, 27-29, OV 30; 2.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Modernist painter and educator Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) was born in 1917 as Jacob Armstead Lawrence in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He began his art studies at the Utopia Children's Center in New York City's Harlem district where he studied under the painter Charles Alston. Lawrence dropped out of high school at the age of sixteen to continue his art instruction with Alston, this time at the Harlem Art Workshop, where he met several artists associated with the Harlem Renaissance including the sculptor Augusta Savage.
Gwendolyn Knight (1913-2005) was born in Barbados and moved to New York City with her adoptive parents when she was seven. She attended New York's Wadleigh High School and later Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she studied fine arts with Lois Mailou Jones and James Porter. Forced to leave her studies at Howard because of the Depression, Knight returned to Harlem and continued her artistic pursuits in Augusta Savage's workshop. In 1935, Knight joined the Harlem Mural Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) working under Selma Day and Charles Alston. Lawrence and Knight met in Savage's workshop and married in the summer of 1941.
During the Depression, Lawrence also joined the WPA Federal Arts Project in Harlem. Finding WPA murals overwhelming, Lawrence concentrated on traditional painting instead. He produced his first major works in the late 1930s, most notably the Toussaint L'Ouverture series, images that document the life of the revolutionary hero and Haiti's struggle for independence. Other significant works include visual narratives of the lives of abolitionists Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. In 1940, Lawrence received the prestigious Julius Rosenwald Fellowship, which made it possible for him to purchase his first art studio on 125th Street in the heart of Harlem. He soon portrayed Harlem street life in paintings that became commentaries on the role of African Americans in United States society with highly developed themes of resistance and social opposition. That same year, Lawrence began his most celebrated series, The Migration of the American Negro, multiple tempera panels depicting the exodus of African American sharecroppers in the south to northern industrial cities in search of better employment and social opportunities. Edith Halpert exhibited the works in their entirety at her Downtown Gallery in 1941, establishing Lawrence as the first African American artist to exhibit in a top New York gallery. The following year, New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC each bought half of the sixty panels in the series, helping to further Lawrence's career within the larger world of American art.
In the summer of 1946, the artist Joseph Albers invited Lawrence to teach at North Carolina's Black Mountain College. It was the first in a series of teaching positions in prestigious art schools including Pratt Institute (1956-1971), Brandeis University (1965), The New School (1966), the Art Students League (1967), and others. During the 1950s and 1960s, Lawrence's work continued to focus on racism and political activism but in the late 1960s shifted to themes of racial harmony.
Both Lawrence and Knight continued independent careers in art. Knight pursued her art studies at the New School in New York and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. In the mid-1960s, she collaborated with other female artists to form the Studio Gallery in New York City. Knight's main body of work consists of portraits and still-lifes that incorporate expressions of African sculpture, Impressionism, dance, and theater. Focusing on gesture, her art is described as light and airy with a minimum of lines allowing empty space to define the work. In 1970, Lawrence traveled to Seattle to teach as a visiting artist at the University of Washington. He was hired on a permanent basis the following year and remained on staff until his retirement in 1986.
Jacob Lawrence died June 9, 2000, in Seattle, Washington at the age of 83. Gwendolyn Knight continued to paint and exhibit her work around the country until her death on February 18, 2005 in Seattle, Washington at the age of 92.
Related Material:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are an oral history interview with Jacob Lawrence conducted by Carroll Greene (1968 October 26), interviews conducted by Avis Berman (1982 July 20-August 4), and an oral history interview with Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight conducted by Paul Karlstrom (1998 November 18). The Archives of American Art also holds a collection of Jacob Lawrence papers, available on microfilm only, reels D286 and 4571-4573. Originals reside at Syracuse University Library, Special Collections.
Provenance:
The Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in five accretions between 1979 and 1997. Additional papers were donated in 2012 by the Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation via Barbara Earl Thomas, representative.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers, 1816, 1914-2008, bulk 1973-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the 2007 processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Funding for the 2018 processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
