Includes slides of the Art Asia Gallery, travel, sketches, a childhood photo album, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and other subjects.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Collection Citation:
Miye Matsukata papers, circa 1900-1982, bulk 1964-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of artist, collector, librarian, and scholar Kate Steinitz measure 4.3 linear feet and date from circa 1910 to 2002. The collection documents Steinitz's life and career in Germany and the United States through biographical material; correspondence; writings, including manuscripts and travel diaries; exhibition files; personal business records; printed material; travel scrapbooks; artwork; and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of artist, collector, librarian, and scholar Kate Steinitz measure 4.3 linear feet and date from circa 1910 to 2002. The collection documents Steinitz's life and career in Germany and the United States through biographical material; correspondence; writings, including manuscripts and travel diaries; exhibition files; personal business records; printed material; travel scrapbooks; artwork; and photographs.
Biographical material consists of life and travel documents, various membership cards, news clippings, and memorial cards. Also included are letters of recommendation, a resume, and an award from the president of Germany.
Correspondence is with friends, family, colleagues, and various organizations. Artists represented include Carrie van Biema, El Lissitzky, Piet Mondrian, and others. Correspondence with arts organizations include San Francisco Museum of Art, Berlinische Galerie, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, and others.
Published writings by Steinitz include articles, books, and book reviews. Unpublished writings include two travel diaries and an illustrated journal, an autobiographical essay with a sketch of the Traumann family tree, manuscripts, lectures, poems, and notes. Writings by others include a guest register with sketches and comments by visitors, a memorial speech, biographical essays, and miscellaneous notes.
Steinitz's professional activities during her career as a librarian and curator of the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana are documented through published articles and books, informal reports, correspondence, scrapbooks, sketches, and photographs.
Files pertaining to exhibitions of Steinitz's artwork and collection are documented through three exhibition catalogs, correspondence, inventories, photographs, and printed ephemera. Materials related to the Schwitters-Steinitz Collection, which was compiled by Steinitz and is available at the National Gallery of Art Library in Washington, D.C., include a finding aid and photocopies documenting the exhibition Collaborative Works by Kate Steinitz and Kurt Schwitters from the Schwitters-Steinitz Collection (1994).
Personal business records include an appraisal of Steinitz's art and book collection. Documents pertaining to Steinitz's publishing activities include sales agreements and legal services rendered for the book Kurt Schwitters: A Portrait from Life (1968) written by Steinitz and contracts with Whitman Publishing Company for a children's book by Tom Seidmann-Freud.
Printed material consists of published illustrations and stationary by Steinitz; clippings about Steinitz, Kurt Schwitters, and others; reproductions of artwork; and miscellaneous invitations and announcements. Also found are three children's books written and illustrated by Tom Seidmann-Freud and a book of poems with an illustrated book jacket by Joachin Ringelnatz.
Steinitz's personal and professional trips to Europe are documented through six travel scrapbooks which include sketches, photographs, notes, and printed ephemera such as postcards, receipts, and maps.
Artwork by Steinitz consists of travel sketches and a mock-up sketch for the book Manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci: Their History, With a Description of the Manuscript Editions in Facsimile (1948). Artwork by others includes miscellaneous sketches, prints, and paintings. Of note are greeting cards with prints by Werner Graeff and a collage by Otto Nebel.
Photographs and negatives consist of portraits and snapshots of Steinitz as well as family, friends, and artists. Photographs by Steinitz include a self-portrait and images of artists, artwork, and Bauhaus architecture. Photographs of Steinitz's apartments in Los Angeles include images of a Man Ray table that was given to Jake Zeitlin. Artists represented include Piet Mondrian, Naum Gabo, Kurt Schwitters, Hannah Höch, El Lissitzky, Marc Chagall, George Grosz, and others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1915-1976 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1922-1998 (Boxes 1-2; 0.9 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1921-2002 (Box 2; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 4: Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana, 1948-1989 (Boxes 2-3; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1939-2001 (Box 3; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1938-1993 (Box 3; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1913-2002 (Boxes 3-5; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 8: Travel Scrapbooks, 1966-1974 (Box 4; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 9: Artwork, circa 1928-1974 ( Boxes 4-5; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 10: Photographic Material, circa 1910-1979 (Boxes 4-5; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Kate Steinitz (1889-1975) was an artist, collector, librarian, and scholar who worked in Berlin and Hanover, Germany and Los Angeles, California. Steinitz was born in Beuthen, Silesia, Germany, (now Poland) to Arnold and Magdelena Traumann; the family relocated to Berlin in 1899. From 1908 to 1911, Steinitz studied drawing and painting under Käthe Kollwitz and Lovis Corinth and attended lectures by art historian, Heinrich Wölfflin. While visiting Paris with her mother in 1912, Steinitz continued her studies at the Sorbonne and Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
Steinitz married physician, Ernst Steinitz in 1913. The couple had three daughters including Ilse, Lotti, and Beate. In 1917, the family moved to Hanover, Germany. Over the next 17 years, the Steinitz household served as a salon for visiting artists including Naum Gabo, Hannah Höch, El Lissitzky, and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Visitors' notes and drawings from this era are documented in Steinitz's guestbook, Zu Gast bei Kate Steinitz, published by Galerie Gmurzynska in 1977.
Steinitz was most active as a fine artist while living in Hanover. Her paintings under glass were first exhibited in 1921 at Herbert von Garvens' gallery. Steinitz had her first solo exhibition in 1922 at the Gurlitt Gallery in Berlin. In 1926, her work was included in the International Exhibition of Modern Art at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.
Steinitz also collected art and her collection included artworks by El Lissitzky, Kurt Schwitters, László Moholy-Nagy, Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Auguste Rodin, Otto Nebel, Franz Marc, and others. In 1925, she collaborated with German artist Kurt Schwitters and Dutch artist Theo van Doesburg on Die Scheuche Märchen, a typographic children's book published by Aposs and Merz Verlag. Steinitz and Schwitters also collaborated on Der Zusammenstoss, an opera libretto. Steinitz compiled an archival collection documenting Schwitters' life and career which was later acquired by the National Gallery of Art Library in Washington, D.C. in 1976.
As a journalist, Steinitz wrote about art and lifestyle topics for newspapers and magazines in Hanover and Berlin. Growing Nazi influences caused the family to leave Germany for New York City in 1936. As Chairman of the Art Committee of Friendship House, a cultural organization for refugees, Steinitz organized the New Americans (1939-1940) exhibition of paintings, drawings, and sculpture by European refugees at the World's Fair in New York.
After finalizing her U.S. citizenship in 1944, Steinitz relocated to Los Angeles where she resided for the remainder of her life. From 1945 to 1961, she served as a librarian for Elmer Belt's Leonardo da Vinci library. When Belt donated the library to the University of California, Los Angeles in 1961, Steinitz was named honorary curator of the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana. In 1969, Steinitz's literary contributions on Leonardo da Vinci earned her an invitation to deliver the lecture for the IX Lettura Vinciana in Venice, Italy.
The biographical information included here draws upon the following sources: Wilson Library Bulletin, Vol. 45 (1970) and Kate Steinitz: Art into Life into Art, exhibition catalog, Severin Wunderman Museum (1994).
Related Materials:
Kate Steinitz compiled a collection of archival materials about German artist and writer Kurt Schwitters and donated the materials to the National Gallery of Art Library located in Washington, D.C.
Kate Traumann Steinitz papers are also located at UCLA Library Special Collections.
Provenance:
The Kate Steinitz papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 1999 by Ilse Berg, daughter of Kate Steinitz.
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.
The bulk of the collection, artwork includes sketches, sketchbooks, drawings, and paintings on paper. Candido worked with different mediums including pencil, ink, crayon, paint, and marker. Many of the sketchbooks are annotated and focus on various studies including "Architectural Drawings" and "Existence Series." The materials document and describe Candido's artistic process and contain Candido's ruminations about art and friendship. Often depicted are human forms, self-portraits, portraits of Nancy Meehan, interiors of rooms, the view from Candido's Manhattan apartment, and human heads. Also included are travel sketchbooks of Japan and other countries created in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The travel sketches depict Japanese water and rocks and some of Candido's studies of the human head. Also included are handmade holiday cards from 1968 and 1969.
Collection Restrictions:
The 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 donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
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:
Anthony Candido papers, 1950-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of printmaker and landscape painter Benson Bond Moore date from 1902 to 1995 and measure 5.7 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical material, letters, scattered personal business records, notes and writings, twelve scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs. The papers also contain extensive artwork in the form of drawings and sketches, etchings, lithographs, and a few oil paintings.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of printmaker and landscape painter Benson Bond Moore date from 1902 to 1995 and measure 5.7 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical material, letters, scattered personal business records, notes and writings, twelve scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs. The papers also contain extensive artwork in the form of drawings and sketches, etchings, lithographs, and a few oil paintings.
Biographical material includes genealogical notes, biographical accounts, a baptismal record, marriage license, driver's license, membership cards, an award medal and ribbons, a death certificate, and address books.
Letters are incoming only from friends and colleagues, including Christmas cards from Clifford K. Berryman, Paul Bransom, James Russell Lowe, Rowland Lyon, and Francis Bowes Sayre. There is also a photocopy of a letter from Lou Henry Hoover.
Personal business records include a copy of a patent for Moore's design for an artist's kit, a deed for Moore's father's gallery, priced labels for art work in various media, lists of art work, price lists, records of art work sold, bank account records, miscellaneous receipts, and a ledger concerning Moore's works left in trust after his death.
Notes and writings consist of nine poems by Moore, lists of titles of art work sold, lists of art work by others, and a funeral registry book listing mourners' names. The most notable item in this series is a log book of The Ramblers containing a typescript describing the history of this early 20th century art club.
Art work comprises the most significant series in the collection. It includes 1040 drawings, 43 watercolor sketches, 526 etchings, 187 lithographs, 8 paintings and 5 relief sculptures. Subjects depicted are primarily wildlife and nature, landscapes, seascapes, and scenes of towns and notable buildings primarily in and around Washington, D.C. There are scattered portrait drawings and etchings by Moore of fellow artists Herbert F. Clark, Robert G. Cornett, August H. O. Rolle, and Charles Seaton. There are also 5 bas-relief sculptures.
Twelve scrapbooks contain prints by Moore, letters, printed materials, and photographs of Moore and his artwork. Scrapbook 10 contains a photograph of a Landscape Club banquet at the Cosmos Club.
Printed material consists of clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, a prospectus from the Society of Animal Artists, book Animals of American History illustrated by Paul Bransom, miscellaneous booklets and brochures concerning art-related topics, travel brochures for New York State, and reproductions of art works.
Photographs are of Benson Bond Moore, his family, residence, colleagues including members of The Ramblers painting outdoors, and of art work. There are also travel photographs of locations in the United States.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1908-1974 (Box 1; 6 folders)
Series 2: Letters, 1912-1993 (Box 1; 40 folders)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1924-1994 (Box 1-2; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 4: Notes and Writings, 1902-1974 (Box 2; 8 folders)
Series 5: Art Work, 1904-1991 (Box 2-4, 6, OV 8; 2.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1919-1973 (Box 4, 7; 0.9 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1916-1995 (Box 5-6, OV 8; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, 1924-1971 (Box 5-7, OV 8; 0.7 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Benson Bond Moore (1882-1974) of Washington, D.C. and Sarasota, Florida, was a printmaker, landscape painter, art teacher, and picture restorer.
Benson Bond Moore was born on August 13, 1882 in Washington, D.C., the first child of Caroline and John Benson Moore. From an early age, Moore assisted his father in his picture restoring business. In 1902, he was employed by the Maurice Joyce Photo-Engraving Co., and soon afterwards produced a series of technical drawings for Alexander Graham Bell.
Moore studied at the Corcoran School of Art, and, in 1914, he joined The Ramblers (later the Washington Landscape Club), a group of artists who went on painting and drawing expeditions in the environs of Washington, D.C. Moore taught etching at the private Hill School of Art and was an active member of many regional art associations. He was also a founding member of the Miniature Painters, Sculptors and Gravers Society. Following the death of his wife Florence (Flossie) in the early 1950s, Moore moved to Sarasota, Florida.
Benson Bond Moore died on October 30, 1974 in Sarasota, Florida.
Separated Material:
Printmaking tools, lithographic plates, and a 24 x 30 inch display board exhibiting specimen prints and plates and a pocket barometer were transferred to the National Museum of American History, Department of Information Technology and Society.
Provenance:
The Benson Bond Moore papers were donated by Barbara Nikla and John J. Lyons in 1996, as representatives of the estate of the artist's sister-in-law, Mary Jane Moore. Additional material was donated 1997 from the estate by other relatives, Martha Sigmon and her sister Georgia King.
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:
Landscape painting -- 20th century -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
Eero Saarinen. Eero Saarinen illustrated note to Florence Knoll Bassett, 1935 or 1936. Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Eero Saarinen. Eero Saarinen illustrated diagram to Florence Knoll Bassett, 1935 or 1936. Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Eero Saarinen. Eero Saarinen travel sketches to Florence Knoll Bassett, 1935 or 1936. Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Lockwood De Forest. Sketchbook of travel in the Middle East and Europe, 1878. Lockwood de Forest papers, 1858-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
William Penhallow Henderson. William Penhallow Henderson diary, 1902. William Penhallow Henderson papers, 1876-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Lockwood De Forest. Lockwood de Forest travel sketchbook, between 1880 and 1881. Lockwood de Forest papers, 1858-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Decoration and ornament, Architectural Search this
