National Museum of Women in the Arts (U.S.) Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Wilhelmina Holladay, 2005 Aug. 17-2005 Sept. 23. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Wilhelmina Holladay conducted 2005 Aug. 17-Sept. 23, by Krystyna Wasserman, for the Archives of American Art, at Holladay's home, in Washington, D.C.
Wallace designing and building a home for them in McLean, Va., and raising their children there; working at the gift shop at the National Gallery of Art, and as part of the board of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, her first experiences with a career in the art world; beginning her renowned collection of work by women artists while living in McLean, including the work of Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Angelica Kauffman; meeting with Nancy Hanks and having her first discussions about the possibility of a museum devoted to women artists; developing a plan and an advisory committee for the museum, and purchasing a space on New York Avenue, now the headquarters of the National Museum for Women in the Arts; the great success of the museum's opening exhibition in 1987, after years of renovation; the importance of the state committees and international committees as an outreach of the museum; the importance of a sharp focus in developing her collection;
her favorite exhibitions at the museum, including exhibitions on Grandma Moses, Berthe Morisot, Georgia O'Keeffe, Frida Kahlo, Emily Carr, and Julie Taymor ("Grandma Moses in the 21st Century," March 15 to June 10, 2001; "Berthe Morisot: An Impressionist and her Circle," January 14, 2005 - May 8, 2005; "Places of Their Own: Emily Carr, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Frida Kahlo," February 8 to May 12, 2002; "Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire," November 16, 2000, to February 4, 2001); educational programs she has developed within the museum; and her hopes for the museum's future. She recalls Howard Ludington, Marion Campbell, Jen Zien Huang, Ian Woodner, Ted Sorenson, Joel Macy, Hester Beall Provensen, Harry Lunn, Louise Nevelson, Cynthia Helms, Mike Ainslie, Roma Crocker, Helga Carter, Claire Getty, Elizabeth Campbell, Eleanor Tuft, Linda Nochlin, Gwen John, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Wilhelmina Holladay (1922- ) is the founder of the National Museum of Women in the Arts from Washington, D.C. Krystyna Wasserman (1938- ) is the director of the Library and Research Center at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Jan Thompson, 1983 September 6-November 16. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Jan Thompson conducted 1983 September 6-1983 November 16, by Sue Ann Kendall, for the Archives of American Art's Northwest Oral History Project at the artist's home in Seattle, Washington.
Thompson speaks of her association with Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, Kenneth Callahan and others; women in Northwest art; her lack of interest in figurative painting; and abstract expressionism and pop art. She recalls John Cage.
Biographical / Historical:
Jan Newstrom Thompson is an arts patron from Seattle, Washington.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 11 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Northwest Oral History Project, begun in 1982 to document the Northwest artistic community through interviews with painters, sculptors, craftsmen, educators, curators, and others, in Oregon, Washington and Montana.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art patrons -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
The Frederick Stuart Church letters and art work date from circa 1892-circa 1923 and measure 0.5 linear feet. The collection includes illustrated letters, all but three of which are written to Emma Louise Klots, regarding Church's daily activities and his paintings, as well as artwork by Church including etchings and reproductions of Church's paintings, some of which are printed as photogravures.
Scope and Contents:
The Frederick Stuart Church letters and art work date from circa 1892-circa 1923 and measure 0.5 linear feet. The collection includes illustrated letters, all but three of which are written to Emma Louise Klots, regarding Church's daily activities and his paintings, as well as artwork by Church including etchings and reproductions of Church's paintings, some of which are printed as photogravures.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as two series:
Series 1: Letters, circa 1892-circa 1923 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Artwork and Reproductions, circa 1892-circa 1923 (Box 2; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Frederick Stuart Church (1842-1924) was a painter, etcher, and illustrator in New York, New York, who specialized in animals. Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Church studied in New York City at the National Academy of Design and joined the Art Students League. By the 1870s he had a reputation as a gifted illustrator and worked for many magazines including various Harper's publications. He was most well known for his depictions of animals, and his paintings were purchased by leading art collectors of the day, including Charles Lang Freer, Henry Clay Frick, and Potter Palmer. Emma Louise Klots was a patron of Church.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Frederick Stuart Church collection, circa 1885-1905, a small collection of letters from Church to various people.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in 1990 by Thomas Rothwell, whose mother was Emma Louise Klots's niece.
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.
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:
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Etchers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Animal painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
This small collection of papers (168 items) of socialite, art collector and patron Flora Whitney Miller document Miller's life-long friendship with surrealist artist Kay Sage measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1915 to circa 1982. Found within the papers are 79 letters written to Miller by Sage; four letters written to Miller after Sage's suicide about Sage, and one reply letter; typescripts of 63 poems written by Sage, one handwritten poem by Sage, two Sage exhibition catalogs, and 18 snapshot photographs of Sage, Miller, and their friends. Documentation of Miller's career is not found within the papers.
Scope and Content Note:
This small collection of papers (168 items) of socialite, art collector and patron Flora Whitney Miller document Miller's life-long friendship with surrealist artist Kay Sage measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1915 to circa 1982. Found within the papers are 79 letters written to Miller from Sage; four letters written to Miller about Sage after Sage's suicide, and one reply letter; typescripts of 63 poems written by Sage; one handwritten poem by Sage; two Sage exhibition catalogs; and 18 snapshot photographs of Sage, Miller, and their friends. Documentation of Miller's career is not found within the papers.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection, the collection has been arranged as one series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Flora Whitney Papers Regarding Kay Sage, 1915-1982 (Box 1; 9 folders)
Biographical Note:
Flora Whitney Miller (1897-1986) was born into two prominent New York families as the daughter of Gertrude Vanderbilt and Harry Payne Whitney. She attended the Brearley School in New York and Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, where she met and became close life-long friends with the artist Kay Sage. In 1916 Flora made her debut and, shortly after became engaged to Quentin Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt. Before they married, Quentin died tragically in 1918 when his plane was shot down in Germany. While attending Columbia University, she met Roderick Tower and married him in 1920. She gave birth to a daughter Pamela in 1921 and a son Whitney in 1923, and was divorced from Tower in France in 1925. In 1927 she married G. Macculloch Miller and had another two children, Flora in 1928 and Leverett in 1931.
Flora Whitney Miller grew up in New York and worked closely with her mother Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, meeting and befriending many artists, dealers, and art patrons. She helped her mother plan the founding of the Whitney Museum of Art and served on the museum's board, serving as President after her mother's death in 1941 until 1966, and as Chairman from 1966 through 1974. Miller died on July 18, 1986.
Related Material:
Also available at the Archives of American Art are the Kay Sage papers, which have been digitized and are available via the Archives of American Art's website, as well as China Eggs, Kay Sage's unpublished memoirs covering the period circa 1910 to 1935, available on microfilm reel 685. The Archives also holds the papers of Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Miller's mother, which provide information about Miller's role in the founding and running of the Whitney Museum of Art.
Provenance:
The Flora Whitney Miller papers regarding Kay Sage were donated by Miller's daughter, Flora Miller Biddle, in 1990.
Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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.
