Winthrop, Grenville Lindall, 1864-1943 Search this
Extent:
3.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketches
Etchings
Photographs
Date:
1862-1967
bulk 1920-1967
Summary:
The papers of New York art dealer, critic, and author Martin Birnbaum measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1862-1967, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920-1967. The papers document Birnbaum's association with the firm of Scott & Fowles, the lives and activities of his friends and colleagues, and his literary work, through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, business records, printed material, a scrapbook, scattered artwork, and photographs of Birnbaum, friends and colleagues, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York art dealer, critic, and author Martin Birnbaum measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1862-1967, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920-1967. The papers document Birnbaum's association with the firm of Scott & Fowles, the lives and activities of his friends and colleagues, and his literary work, through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, business records, printed material, a scrapbook, scattered artwork, and photographs of Birnbaum, friends and colleagues, and artwork.
Correspondence, primarily letters received by Birnbaum in New York, and throughout Europe from 1917-1960s, reflects Birnbaum's association with Scott & Fowles, particularly Stevenson Scott, and includes many details about the lives and activities of his correspondents, among them: artists Edward Bruce, Cecilia Beaux, Beniamino Bufano, Stephen C. Clark, Louise Dillingham, William Hunt Diedrich, Luis Fernandez, Herbert Haseltine, Jan Hoowij, Malvina Hoffman, Leonebel Jacobs, Lenard Kester, Lois Mailou Jones, Paul Manship, Gari Melchers, Maxfield Parrish, Charles S. Ricketts, William Rothenstein, John Singer Sargent, Janet Scudder, Carl Sprinchorn, Maurice Sterne, Albert Sterner, Carl N. Wertz, and Stanley Wilson. Also found is correspondence with art collectors and patrons including Mabel Choate, Edmund Davis, Reginald Davis, Henry P. McIlhenny, James Parmalee, Edith Wetmore, and Grenville Windall Linthrop, and museums including the Fogg Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then curator Gisela Marie Augusta Richter, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Correspondence with scholars, writers, and publishers including George Coedes, Edmund Dulac, Joseph Francis Charles Rock, Upton Sinclair and others, documents aspects of Birnbaum's literary and scholarly work.
Writings include drafts of The Last Romantic, including Upton Sinclair's revision, and some of Birnbaum's early published and unpublished writings, as well as notes on Aubrey Beardsley.
Business records include financial records such as bills, receipts, canceled checks and statements for sales of artwork, and scattered legal records.
A small amount of printed material primarily consists of programs for musical events which evidence Birnbaum's early success as a violinist, as well as scattered news clippings, 2 exhibition catalogs, and announcements for the publications of Angkor and the Mandarin Road and The Last Romantic. Additional printed material about Birnbaum can be found in the dismantled scrapbook, 1960-1961.
Artwork includes 2 etchings and a sketch by Birnbaum, bookplates by various artists, circa 10 sketches by other and unidentified artists, and 3 cards with original artwork.
Photographs include snapshots and portraits of Birnbaum and artists and friends, among them: Robert Chanler, Charles Despiau, Norman Douglas, Luis Fernandez, Herbert Haseltine, Augustus John, Paul Manship, Gari Melchers, Elie Nadelman, Albert Sterner, Stevenson Scott, and Grenville Lindall Winthrop. Also found is a photo of Birnbaum with Edward Bruce, Alfred Potterton, Leon Stein, and Maurice Sterne, circa 1915-1916, and photographs proposed for use in The Last Romantic, travel snapshots, and photos of artwork.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1890-1950s (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 4-5)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1862-1967 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1890-circa 1960 (0.45 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 4: Business Records, 1918-1967 (0.15 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1895-circa 1960 (0.15 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 6: Scrapbook, 1960-1961 (1 folder; Box 3)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1890-circa 1960 (0.15 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1900-circa 1960s (0.3 linear feet; Box 3)
Biographical / Historical:
New York art dealer, critic, and author Martin Birmbaum (1878-1970) was the manager of the American branch of the Berlin Photographic Company in New York City from 1910–1916, and a longtime partner in the art firm Scott & Fowles. He spent the later part of his career building the Grenville Lindall Winthrop Collection, now at the Fogg Museum.
Birnbaum immigrated to the United States from Hungary as a child. He was an accomplished violinist who studied at City College of New York, and graduated with a law degree from Columbia University in 1901, but developed a life-long interest in art during visits to Europe. As manager of the Berlin Photographic Company he had great success in staging art exhibitions at the company's New York galleries, which led him to a junior partnership in the Fifth Avenue firm of art dealers, Scott & Fowles. Birnbaum traveled widely and built relationships with many of the prominent artists and art collectors of his day and, in addition to the Grenville Lindall Winthrop collection, was influential in developing other important art collections including those of Edward Davis, Reginald Davis, and Henry P. McIlhenny.
Birnbaum wrote widely about his experiences and encounters in the world of wealthy socialites, literary salons, artists, art patrons, and collectors in publications such as Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (Berlin Photographic Co., 1911), Oscar Wilde: Fragments and Memories (J.F. Drake, Incorporated, 1914) , Vanishing Eden:Wanderings in the Tropics (New York: William E. Rudge's Sons, 1942), Angkor and the Mandarin Road (Vantage Press, 1952), and The Last Romantic (Twayne Publishers, 1961). He died in 1970 at the age of 92.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels N698, N698A-N698B) including correspondence, bookplates, sketches, newspaper clippings, and a list of books containing ornamental drawings and illustrations. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Material on reels N698, N698A-N698B were lent for microfilming by Martin Birnbaum in 1967. The rest of the collection was donated in an anonymous gift in 1970 and by Martin Birnbaum's great-nephew, Jerome Ziegler, in 1975.
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:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
This small collection of scattered papers of American writer John Weatherwax (1900-1984) dates from 1928 to 1988 (bulk 1931-1933), and measures 0.4 liner feet. The papers document Weatherwax's relationship with Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. In 1931, John Weatherwax approached Rivera to illustrate his English translation of the Mayan story of creation, the Popol Vuh. Rivera agreed and produced twenty-four watercolor illustrations for the text. The papers contain Weatherwax's translation, "Seven Times the Color of Fire", as well as manuscript versions of two short stories he wrote about Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo entitled "The Queen of Montogomery Street" and "Diego". Also found within the collection are correspondence, manuscripts and notes, printed materials, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
This small collection of scattered papers of American writer John Weatherwax (1900-1984) dates from 1928 to 1988 (bulk 1931-1933), and measures 0.4 liner feet. The papers document Weatherwax's relationship with Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. In 1931, John Weatherwax approached Rivera to illustrate his English translation of the Mayan story of creation, the Popol Vuh. Rivera agreed and produced twenty-four watercolor illustrations for the text. The papers contain Weatherwax's translation, "Seven Times the Color of Fire", as well as manuscript versions of stories he wrote about Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, including one entitled "The Queen of Montgomery Street". Also found are several draft manuscripts of stories concerning Diego Rivera, which include "Diego", "Diego, Galka and Toby", the latter about art dealer Galka Scheyer's visit to Diego Rivera's studio in San Francisco containing references to the Blue Rider exhibition she organized in the early 1930s of the work of the artists collective, the "Blue Four" (Dar Blaue Vier).
Also found within the collection is scattered correspondence, including letters from painter, printmaker, and muralist Emmy Lou Packard concerning Diego and Frida, two telegrams from American novelist Upton Sinclair to John Weatherwax, and a letter from the Russian filmmaker, Sergei Eisenstein, to Rivera introducing Weatherwax. Additional manuscripts and notes, printed materials, and photographs are also found within the papers.
Arrangement:
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1928-1988 (Box 1, 5 folders)
Series 2: Manuscripts and Notes, circa 1930-1971 (Box 1, 14 folders)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1931-1987 (Box 1, 4 folders)
Series 4: Photographs, circa 1930s, 1974 (Box 1, 3 folders)
Biographical Note:
American writer John Weatherwax (1900-1984) was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and attended the University of Washington in Seattle for two years before going to Harvard College in 1921. His studies focused on English literature, business, mythology, and world literature. Weatherwax wrote a number of children's stories and, in 1934, co-authored with his sister and brother-in-law Gerald Strang, The Coming of the Animals, a series of California Native American stories.
Weatherwax met Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and painter Frida Kahlo in San Francisco when the couple stayed with sculptor Ralph Stackpole in his studio on Montgomery Street. Rivera was there to work on a commission to paint a mural for the San Francisco Stock Exchange. At the time Weatherwax was working on an English translation of the ancient Mayan codex, Popol Vuh, and asked Rivera if he would provide illustrations for the manuscript. Although the translation was never published, Rivera agreed and produced twenty-four watercolor illustrations for the text.
Weatherwax revealed his admiration for Diego and Frida by writing a manuscript entitled "The Queen of Montgomery Street" , a clever short story about Frida's and Diego's experiences in San Francisco. Probably written as a gift to the Rivera's, the central figures of "The Queen of Montgomery Street" where Diego as King and Frida as Queen. He also wrote a story entitled "Diego".
Provenance:
Seema Weatherwax donated her husband's papers to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution in 1988.
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.
Topic:
Artists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Mural painting and decoration, Mexican -- Influence Search this
Mural painting and decoration, American -- Foreign influences Search this
Collection includes over 200 replies (160 of which comprise the book) to Mrs. Moore's letter requesting a quotation or a bit of poetry important to the recipient; a copy of her book, "Famous Personalities and Their Philosophies," and materials relating to the speeches both Mrs. Moore and her daughter gave about this collection of letters, such as notes, clippings, etc.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents a book written by Mildred Moore entitled Famous Personalities and Their Philosophies, published in 1940 by the Bookwalter Ball Greathouse Printing Co., Indianapolis. The collection encompasses over 200 replies (160 of which are included in the book) to Mrs. Moore's letter requesting a quotation or a bit of poetry important to them. Also included are a copy of her book, Famous personalities and Their Philosophies, and materials relating to the speeches both Mrs. Moore and her daughter gave about this collection of letters.
2
Series 1 of the collection, the letters received in response to Mrs. Moore's inquiry, has been classified by occupation of the respondent and then arranged alphabetically by name within that classification. Apparently selected at random, the people she contacted were drawn from a wide variety of occupations and interests and include actors, athletes, community leaders, physicians, politicians, royalty, and many others. They are as diverse in background as Babe Ruth and the Prince of Wales, Huey Long and Winston Churchill. Most of the responses are signed by the individuals to whom Mrs. Moore's letter was addressed. Some of these have value as autographs, for example, Helen Keller, Marie of Roumania, and Adolph Hitler.
Series 2 is the book itself, arranged alphabetically with a page devoted to each personality. On each page are brief comments by Mrs. Moore about the person, and his or her favorite quotation and its source. When a second page has been devoted to an individual it is a reproduction of the handwritten response to Mrs. Moore's request (16 out of 160 entries). Sources of the quotations range through the centuries from Confucius to several people alive at the time of the book's publication (1940), but most frequently quoted are the Bible and the works of Shakespeare.
The material in series 3 is devoted largely to notes of Mary Lou White (Mrs. Moore's daughter) relating to the many speeches she made to women's clubs, fraternal organizations, and similar groups concerning her mother's collection, her publicity and that of her mother. There are also a few references to Elizabeth Wenger, who, according to Mary Lou White's notes, was repeating Mildred Moore's endeavor with respect to a later generation.
Series 4 contains replies to a letter requesting a favorite quotation sent to residents of Fort Wayne by Mrs. Moore. Most of these are dated 1932 1933. They have been arranged alphabetically by respondent.
The correspondents include Babe Ruth, the Prince of Wales, Winston Churchill, Huey Long, Helen Keller, Marie of Romania, and Adolf Hitler, and others, such as those listed below.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into four series.
Series 1: Responses to Mildred Moore's letter to famous personalities
Series 2: Publication developed from responses to letter to famous people (book)
Series 3: Development of speeches by Mary Lou White (notes)
Series 4: Responses to letters to prominent Fort Wayne area residents
Biographical / Historical:
Mildred Moore, the pen name for Mildred Galloway, later Mrs. Forest L. Moore, was born on a farm outside Cromwell, Indiana. She read constantly as a child and often wrote verse to express her feelings. Prior to November 13, 1930, when she began writing a column called "This, That And The Other" for the Cromwell Advance, a Fort Wayne newspaper, and one in Waterloo, Indiana, she had worked for several years as a secretary and bookkeeper for the Fort Wayne YMCA.
In 1931, having become interested in what motivated people and in their philosophies, Mildred Moore began to write to famous people seemingly selected at random requesting a quotation or a bit of verse that had been important to them and the development of their philosophy. The resultant book, Famous Personalities and Their Philosophies, includes 160 responses to over 200 letters to people with some claim to fame during the 1930s. Interestingly, the rate of response and acquiescence was very high with few refusals. A few indicated no favorite verse or quotation.
Mildred Moore made speeches about her collection of letters to several hundred groups in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois. Her daughter, Mary Lou White (Mrs. Charles F. White), also spoke to numerous groups about the letters after her mother's death.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Charles F. White, 1991, April 26.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Probable copyright restrictions on some material in this collection.
