Biographical material, correspondence, writings, sketches, teaching files, files on organizations to which Keller belonged, printed material, photographs, and a video on Keller.
REELS 7-8: Files kept by Keller on art organizations, including Artists' League of America, Section of Fine Arts of the Public Buildings Administration, United American Artists, Workshop of Graphic Art, and Young American Artists Association. Files contain letters received, newsletters, bulletins, and business records.
REEL 5141: Résumé; passports; correspondence, including letters from family, friends Rockwell Kent, Ad Reinhardt, Harry Sternberg, Charles White, others, and galleries, letters regarding Keller's studio in Rome; writings and notes; sketches by Keller for a book by Henry Kraus, In a City was a Garden; exhibition catalogs and announcements, guest lists and a guest book; Keller's political cartoons from the Daily World, and other reproductions of Keller's work; notes about Keller's teaching at the Workshop School of Commercial Art, New York City; photographs and slides of Keller and his work; a videorecording, "Charles Keller at Home," filmed in conjunction with an exhibition at the Mid-Hudson Arts and Science Center, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1980; clippings; and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and illustrator; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Material on reels 7-8 lent for microfilming 1969 by Ted Davis who occupied Keller's studio after Keller. Materials on reel 5141 donated 1978-1984 by Charles Keller.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of Martyl Langsdorf, professionally known by just her first name, Martyl, date from 1918 to 1977 and measure 2.6 linear feet. Included within the collection is correspondence; subject files; biographical data; writings and notes; sketches; photographs; exhibition catalogs and announcements; guest books; price lists; receipts; reproductions; clippings; and printed materials.
Sketches, 1936-1975, made in the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Japan. In addition there is a 1929 newspaper clipping.
Biographical data; letters, 1936-1937, to her mother Aimee Schweig from Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, Joe Jones and Grant Wood; files of letters from Carl Holty, Horst W. Janson and Lancelot Law Whyte; a file on Charles Hawthorne containing his painting notes and a photo; subject files on the ACA Gallery, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Art Institute of Chicago, Feingarten Gallery, Kovlar Gallery, Oriental Institute, the Renaissance Society, and the Unitarian Church of Evanston, Illinois, containing correspondence and financial material; writings and notes; sketches of Langsdorf by friends; exhibition catalogs and announcements; guest books; price lists; receipts for sales and rentals of her paintings; printed material on the St. Genevieve School of art; and photographs, ca. 1935-1970, of Langsdorf, her family, her paintings, exhibition installations, Langsdorf at work on a mural for the Unitarian Church of Evanston, Illinois, and artists Thomas Hart Benton, Arnold Blanch, Adolf Dehn, Doris Lee, Boardman Robinson, Sequieros, and others, and a photograph by Fritz Henle, 1940, of a picnic at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.
Correspondence with Edward Rowan of the Public Buidlings Administration, Section of Fine Arts, and contracts, 1940-1944, concerning Langsdorf's watercolors for the Carville, La. Marine Hospital, murals for post offices in Russell, Kansas and St. Genevieve, Missouri, and for the Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, D.C., and for related exhibitions; a photocopy of a letter from collector Joseph Hirshhorn, Jan. 18, 1943, regarding his purchases of Langsdorf's work; general correspondence, 1958-1972; price lists; and printed material, 1937-1976, including press releases, archaelogical newsletters, exhibition announcements and clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Martyl (1917-2013) was a painter in Chicago, Illinois. Full name is Martyl Schweig Langsdorf.
Provenance:
Material on reels 2992-2994 donated 1977 by Martyl S. Langsdorf. Material on reel 1364 lent for microfilming 1977 by Langsdorf. Unmicrofilmed material is a combination of the unfilmed portion of the 1977 gift and the 1990 transferred material from General Services Administration. The GSA received the material originally from Martyl Langsdorf for their files on New Deal art.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
New York N.Y. -- Buildings, structures, etc., Photographs
Date:
1840-1967
bulk 1900-1960
Summary:
The papers of New York City art critic, writer, and lecturer Forbes Watson date from 1840-1967 with the bulk of materials dating from 1900-1960 and measure 13.92 linear feet. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, business records relating to the Arts Publishing Corporation, records documenting Watson's work for the Public Works of Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture, reference files, an exhibition file from the Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition, writings and notes, ten scrapbooks and loose pages, printed materials, and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of New York City art critic, writer, and lecturer Forbes Watson date from 1840-1967 with the bulk of materials dating from 1900-1960 and measure 13.92 linear feet. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, business records relating to the Arts Publishing Corporation, records documenting Watson's work for the Public Works of Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture, reference files, an exhibition file from the Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition, writings and notes, ten scrapbooks and loose pages, printed materials, and photographs.
Biographical material includes Watson's Harvard diploma, documents concerning his service with the Red Cross in World War II, biographical accounts, and obituaries.
Correspondence is primarily with colleagues and includes scattered letters from Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Ira Glackens, Allen Tucker, and Max Weber. Other letters are from artists, art historians, and museum curators. A notebook contains shorthand drafts of letters from Watson.
Business records include personal business records consisting of various tax and stock records. The Arts Publishing Corporation records concern Watson's tenure as editor of The Arts magazine and contains a contract, correspondence, financial records, stockholders reports, press releases, a scrapbook, and issues of The Arts. Also included are business records pertaining to the Art in Federal Buildings, Inc..
The U.S. Treasury Department file is the largest series and documents Watson's federal employment as technical director, chief advisor, and consultant for Treasury Department's public art programs - the Public Works of Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture. The files contain correspondence, financial reports, prospectuses, exhibition files, typescripts, clippings, exhibition catalogs, miscellaneous printed material, and photographs, and a scrapbook. The files contain a record of Watson's and other federal administrators' interactions with many artists during the Depression Era. Correspondence is primarily between Watson and Edward Bruce, Olin Dows, Henry and Elinor Morgenthau, and Edward B. Rowan. Found are scattered letters from artists including Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Paul Manship, and William Zorach, among many others. There are exhibition files for "Art for Bonds," "Army at War," and "War Against Japan." There are also photographs of U. S. Treasury Department events including a radio broadcast by John Dewey, Robert La Follette, Jr., and Sumner Welles.
Documents from the Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition at the National Academy of Design contains a prospectus, an exhibition catalog and artists' statements.
Artist/Patron files contain reference material concerning painters, sculptors, photographers, dancers, composers, authors, art collectors, art dealers, and museum administrators. Files may include writings, notes, artworks, exhibition catalogs and other printed materials. Of particular note are photographs, which include portrait photographs of artists and of artists in their studios. Notable photographers include Ansel Adams, Arnold Genthe, Man Ray, photographs of New York City by Charles Sheeler and a photo of Henri Matisse by A. E. Gallatin. Files for Nan Watson, Symeon Shimin, and Glenn O. Coleman contain artworks. A file for Constantin Brancusi contains legal documents concerning U. S. Customs vs. Brancusi.
Art and Architecture files consist of reference material including photographs and notes concerning miscellaneous unattributed art works, American architecture, and furnishings.
Notes and writings consist of miscellaneous notes and typescripts of lectures and published articles, and notebooks.
Nine scrapbooks and loose scrapbook pages contain clippings of articles written by Watson, lists, and exhibition announcements and catalogs. Additional printed material includes clippings, copies of the Hue and Cry newspaper, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, calendars of events, brochures for the Art Students League, book catalogs, published books, and miscellaneous printed material.
Photographs are of Forbes Watson; family members including his wife, painter Nan Watson; and members of the Art Students League including Peggy Bacon, Minna Citron, Stewart Klonis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Reginald Marsh. There are also photographs of juries for the Carnegie Institute International Exhibitions that include colleagues Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Gifford Beal, Guy Pene DuBois, Leon Kroll, Henri Matisse, Homer Saint-Gaudens, and Maurice Sterne.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1902-1960 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1913-1960 (Box 1; 33 folders)
Series 3: Business Records, 1920-1944 (Box 1-3, 14, 22; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 4: U. S. Treasury Department File, 1926-1945 (Box 3-6, 14, 17, 22, OV 21; 3.4 linear feet)
Series 5: File for Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition "Paintings of the Year," 1946 (Box 6; 5 folders)
Series 6: Artist/Patron Files, 1840-1967 (Box 6-9, 15, OV 21; 2.8 linear feet)
Series 7: Art and Architecture File, 1929-1930 (Box 9; 35 folders)
Series 8: Notes and Writings, 1875-1950 (Box 9-10, 22; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1904-1951 (Box 9, 11, 14, BV 18, BV 19, BV 20; 1.8 linear feet)
Series 10: Printed Material, 1900-1961 (Box 10, 12-13, 16-17, 22; 1.5 linear feet)
Series 11: Photographs, 1900-1950 (Box 13, 22; .4 linear feet)
All material is arranged chronologically, with the exception of the Artist/Patron Files which are arranged alphabetically.
Biographical Note:
Forbes Watson (1879-1960) worked primarily in New York City and Washington, D.C. as an art critic, writer, lecturer, and consultant to the U. S. Treasury Department's Public Works of Art Project and Section of Painting and Sculpture (Section of Fine Arts).
Forbes Watson was born on November 27, 1879 in Boston, the son of stockbroker John Watson and his wife Mary. Watson grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, attending the Phillips Academy in Andover, and graduating from Harvard University in 1902. After a brief period of freelance writing, he was hired by The New York Evening Post as an art critic in 1911 and worked there until 1917. In 1910, he married Agnes, professionally known as painter Nan Watson.
During World War I, Watson served with an American volunteer ambulance unit with the French army, later working with the American Red Cross in Paris. After the war, he moved back to New York City and worked as art critic for The World, from the early 1920s until 1931 and as editor of The Arts magazine from 1923-1933. Watson also lectured at the Art Students League, and at various universities and arts organizations.
In 1933, Watson moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as technical director of the U. S. Treasury Department's short-lived Public Works of Art Project. In October 1934, Watson was employed as Chief Adviser to the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (later renamed the Section of Fine Arts) and later as Consultant to the Secretary's Office of the Treasury. During World War II, he organized various traveling exhibitions including "Art for Bonds" that promoted the sale of war bonds. Watson retired in 1946 and lived in Gaylordsville, Connecticut.
Watson was the author of numerous essays and reviews, and several books including American Painting Today and Winslow Homer, a biography of the noted American artist. With Edward Bruce, he produced a pictorial volume Art in Federal Buildings, Vol. I: Mural Designs. At his death he was working on his autobiography.
Forbes Watson died on May 31, 1960 in New Milford, Connecticut.
Provenance:
The Forbes Watson papers were donated by Watson's widow, Nan Watson, in 1961. An additional folder of material was donated in 2018 by the Museum of Modern Art via Michelle Elligott, Chief of Archives, Library and Research.
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.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
3.3 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 1 reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1925-1977
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; an autobiography; resumes; writings and notes; sketchbook; 2 scrapbooks; inventory of paintings; bank statements and records of stock market transactions; photographs; and printed material.
REEL LA 2: Clippings and exhibition catalogs, ca. 1941-1946.
UNMICROFILMED: A brief autobiography; resumes; personal and business correspondence; unpublished writings and notes including a report on Deutsch's murals done for the Public Buildings Administration Section of Fine Arts at the U.S. Post Office Terminal in Los Angeles, California, ca. 1940; a sketchbook, 1934; 2 scrapbooks; a handwritten inventory of paintings; bank statements and records of stock market transactions; 500 photos of Deutsch, his wife, his paintings and other subjects, including some taken by Will Cormellsa, Arnold Genthe, and a Resettlement Administration photo by Arthur Rothstein; exhibition catalogs and announcements; clippings; and printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Los Angeles, California.
Provenance:
Material on reel LA 2 lent for microfilming 1964 by Betty Hoag. Unmicrofmiled material donated 1980 by the estate of Boris Deutsch.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm.
An exhibition of two hundred American water colors selected by John Marin, Charles Burchfield, Buk Ulreich, and Eliot O'Hara for the Carville, Louisiana, Marine Hospital : from a national competition held by the Section of Fine Arts, Federal Works Agency, Public Buildings Administration / [foreword David E. Finley]
United States. Public Buildings Administration. Section of Fine Arts Search this
Extent:
6 Linear feet ((on 13 microfilm reels))
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1934-1943
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence with artists, architects, members of Congress and other individuals, government agencies, and various organizations; interoffice communications concerning the activities of the Section, art programs of the federal government, and related matters. Materials relate to the Public Works of Art Project and Treasury Relief Art Project as well as the Section, government art in time of war, and legislation.
Biographical / Historical:
Bruce was director of the Public Works of Art Project until June 1934 when it became defunct. He was appointed director of the Treasury Dept. Section of Painting and Sculpture in October 1934, and served until his death, including its change of name to Section of Fine Arts in 1938, and its transfer to the Public Buildings Administration of the Federal Works Agency in July 1939, where it remained until it was shut down in June, 1943.
Provenance:
The materials microfilmed are a selected series from the National Archives record group 121 and have been microfilmed in their entirety. AAA also has microfilmed records of the PWAP (reels DC1-13 and DC112-115), which include Bruce's files (reel DC8 in particular).
United States. Public Buildings Administration. Section of Fine Arts Search this
Extent:
8 Linear feet ((on 6 microfilm reels))
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1934-1943
Scope and Contents:
Textual records of the Section of Fine Arts, and its predecessor organizations in the Dept. of the Treasury. Included are correspondence, memoranda, reports, processed administrative orders, press releases and clippings, and photographs, all concerning the administration and activities of the Section and various art programs of the Federal government. Also included is some correspondence (marked "Personal") of Edward Rowan with various other individuals and organizations concerned with the Section and its activities (reel DC43). A few scattered documents bear dates later than 1943.
Arrangement:
General records of the Section: arranged alphabetically by subject or name of correspondent.
Provenance:
The materials microfilmed are 2 selected series from the National Archives record group 121 and have been microfilmed in their entirety.
Selected textual records from the Public Buildings Administration Section of Fine Arts (1939-1943) and its two predecessor organizations in the Dept. of the Treasury, the Section of Painting and Sculpture (1934-1938) and Section of Fine Arts (1938-1939). The two series filmed include General Records of the Section (8 ft., reels DC38-43), containing correspondence, memoranda, reports, press releases, clippings, and photographs; and Correspondence of Edward Bruce (6 ft., reels DC116-128) concerning the various federal aid art programs. Each series has been described separately.
Biographical / Historical:
The Section of Fine Arts was initially established in 1934 under the Treasury Department as the Section of Painting and Sculpture, changing its name in 1938. In 1939, it was transferred (retaining its name) from the Treasury Dept. to the Public Buildings Administration of the newly created Federal Works Agency, until it was abolished in 1943. Its function was to decorate new federal buildings, but unlike the other New Deal art agencies, it was not a relief project and it awarded contracts through a juried system of competition. Edward Rowan was head of the Section from its beginning to late 1937 and during most of 1943. Edward Bruce was in charge during the intervening years. Forbes Watson served as editor of the Bulletin of the Section of Painting and Sculpture.
Provenance:
Microfilmed 1966 from National Archives record group 121, records of the Public Buildings Service. Additional records of the Section are preserved at the National Archives. AAA has filmed and described separately, selected related records of the Treasury Relief Art Project (reels DC14-38) and the Public Works of Art Project (DC1-13 and DC112-115). Researchers may also wish to consult Edward Bruce's personal papers and those of Edward Rowan and Forbes Watson.
Series which were not filmed include: correspondence and reference file of Forbes Watson, 1935-1941; correspondence with artists, 1939-1942; correspondence of Alexander Abels, 1937; annual reports, 1935-42; miscellaneous reports, 1935-1939; bulletins of the Section, 1935-1941; announcements of competitions, 1935-1941; proposals to expend funds for murals and sculpture, 1935-1941;
case files concerning embellishments of federal buildings, 1934-1943; technical questionaires; letters received and other records concerning completed murals and works of sculpture and their artists; biographical data file concerning artists, 1938; records concerning exhibitions, 1939-1942; records concerning the decoration of New York World's Fair buildings, 1937-1941;
records concerning the Marian Anderson mural project, 1939-1943; records concerning National Art Week, 1940-1941; records concerning national defense and war art projects, 1941-1942;
correspondence with and about artists in the civilian conservation corps camps, 1934-1937; file concerning the allocation of and receipt for works of art produced in civilian conservation corps camps, 1934-1937; location record of art works, 1933-1943; and card record by artist of completed works of art.
Painting and sculpture designed for federal buildings : exhibition, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., November 2 through November 21, 1939
Author:
United States Public Buildings Administration Section of Fine Arts Search this
Addresses in honor of American artists who have decorated federal buildings : extension of remarks of Elbert D. Thomas of Utah in the Senate of the United States, Monday, April 29, 1940 : radio program over N. B. C. network, April 25, 1940
Exhibition of two hundred American water colors : selected from a national competition held by the Section of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C. : September 16-30, 1941
Title:
American watercolors
American water colors
Author:
United States Public Buildings Administration Section of Fine Arts Search this
