Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Carlen Galleries, Inc.
| title | Carlen Galleries, Inc. records, 1775-1997 (bulk 1940-1986) | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Correspondence, business records, subject files, a scrapbook, printed matter, photographs, and selections from Robert Carlen's library document the operation and activities of Carlen Galleries, Inc. and its founder Robert Carlen. REELS 4166-4175 (PT. 1, GIFT) : Correspondence, 1937-1986, with artists, dealers, curators, and collectors, mainly about sales and purchases; correspondence files concerning sales of art work by Maurice Prendergast and Käthe Kollwitz; artist files, 1944-1976, regarding Albert Davies, Edward Hicks, and Horace Pippin containing letters, financial records, and printed matter; subject files, 1933-1977, on black artists, Raymond Feuillate, the French Moderns, and letters to Mrs. Almon Kidder concerning Raphaelle Peale; and business records, 1906-1977, including loan forms, records of Carlen Galleries exhibitions, miscellaneous art work information, photographs, inventories, advertising, a guest book, a scrapbook, clippings, conservation reports, and financial records. REEL 4175, fr. 01-283 (PT.2, LOAN): Letters , 1941-1986, from and about Horace Pippin, about Edward Hicks, and gallery business; business records, 1937-1946, consisting of account books and receipts; printed matter, 1937-1947, including exhibition announcements, catalogs, and clippings; a scrapbook, 1937-1947, about Horace Pippin; and photographs, 1944, of works of art and portrait of Allan Freelon. (Note: some of the Horace Pippin and Edward Hicks material microfilmed in 1988 with Pt. 2 was lent again in 2002 for microfilming, and is duplicated in Pt. 4, although there was a significant amount rearranged in the interim.) REEL 5745 ( PT. 3; GIFT; 0.2 ft.): Letters, 1962-ca. 1980, from Charles M. Mount about John Singer Sargent; business records, 1979, consisting of a sales receipt and list of paintings to be appraised; and photographs, ca. 1940, ca. 1950, of Robert Carlen, and Carlen with Mr. and Mrs. Horace Pippin. REELS 5746-5748 (PART 4; LOAN; ACCESS RESTRICTED) : Correspondence, 1943-1997, concerning purchase and sale of art and antiquities, Carlen Galleries exhibitions, loans, and reference requests; a small amount of personal correspondence with the Carlen's daughters and friends; business records, 1941-1989, including appraisals, receipts, and contract for Carlen's participation in the University Hospital Antiques Show; subject files, 1937-1997, about Edward Hicks, Anatol Jal, the Captain James Lawrence goblet, Horace Pippin, and Antoine Roux, containing correspondence, printed matter, and photographs; and five notebooks, 1928-1994, about Horace Pippin (3 vols.), Edward Hicks, and Robert Carlen and the gallery, containing correspondence, printed matter, financial records, and photogaphs. UNMICROFILMED: Selections from the library of Carlen Galleries, Inc., 1835-1992, including catalogs, pamphlets, and periodicals. A small number of folders include notes, photographs, and photocopies of archival material. (The filing order and subject designations were supplied by the donor.) |
| extent | 10.4 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 14 reels) reels 4166-4175 and 5745 reels 5746-5748 (access restricted) |
| formats | Correspondence Financial Records Scrapbooks Photographs Interview |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. (Selections from Carlen's library have not been microfilmed; use requires an appointment.) REELS 5746-5748: ACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission required until Feb. 2007. |
| record link | https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.carlgall.pdf |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/carlen-galleries-inc-records-9611 |
| finding aid | Electronic finding aid available at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/findingaids/carlgall.htm |
| acquisition information | Papers on reels 4166-4175 were donated 1986 by Robert Carlen. Material on reel 4175, frames 1-283 (second series) mainly relating to Horace Pippin were loaned by Carlen 1988. In 2002, Carlen's daughter, Nancy Carlen, donated 2 feet of records, and loaned 3 feet for microfilming (the loan portion partially duplicates the 1988 loan, but material was significantly reorganized in the intervening years). |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:27 |
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| title | Downtown Gallery records, 1824-1974, bulk 1926-1969 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Correspondence, artists files, notebooks, business records, writings, miscellaneous records, printed matter, and photographs. Some of Halpert's personal papers are intermingled with the gallery records. REELS 5488-5545: Correspondence, 1926-1974, about gallery business and routine administrative affairs, as well as personal letters from relatives and friends. Among the correspondents are collectors Edgar and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Maxim Karolik, William H. Lane, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Beram K. Saklatwalla, Robert Tannahill, and Electra Havemeyer Webb; dealers Robert Carlen, Felix Landau Gallery, Boris Mirski Gallery, and Isabel Carleton Wilde; and many curators, museum directors, and other colleagues. REELS 5545-5558: Artist Files, 1917-1970, consist mainly of correspondence with Halpert and the Downtown Gallery and may include biographical notes, writings, press releases, original artwork, exhibition information, and printed matter. Included are: Rainey Bennett, Raymond Breinin, Morris Broderson, Paul Burlin, Ralston Crawford, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Isami Doi, William Dole, Arthur G. Dove, David Fredenthal, Samuel Halpert, George Overbury ("Pop") Hart, Marsden Hartley, Bernard Karfiol, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, Wesley Lea, Jack Levine, Edmund Lewandowski, John Marin, Reuben Nakian, Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Chesley Osborn, Jules Pascin, Abbott Pattison, Abraham Rattner, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, Mitchell Siporin, Niles Spencer, Edward Stasack, John H. Storrs, Reuben Tam, Yu-ho Tseng, Max Weber, William Zorach, and Karl Zerbe. REELS 5558-5603: Notebooks, 1935-1969, referred to as "American Folk Art Gallery Notebooks," "Artists Notebooks," and "Publicity Notebooks" contain photographs, catalog descriptions, notes, and printed matter compiled by gallery staff for reference purposes. "American Folk Art Notebooks" include: oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, lithographs, fraktur, paintings on velvet, embroideries, paintings on glass, tinsels, Shaker furniture, and sculpture. "Publicity Notebooks" include: group shows at Downtown Gallery and other locations, American Print Makers exhibitions, American folk art exhibitions at Downtown Gallery and other locations; and, miscellaneous publicity. "Artists Notebooks" include: Rainey Bennett, Raymond Breinin, Morris Broderson, Alexander Brook, Paul Burlin, Nicolai Cikovsky, Glenn O. Coleman, Ralston Crawford, Stuart Davis, Charles Demuth, Isami Doi, Arthur G. Dove, David Fredenthal, O. Louis Guglielmi, Samuel Halpert, William M. Harnett, George Overbury ("Pop") Hart, Marsden Hartley, Bernard Karfiol, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, Wesley Lea, Julian E. Levi, Jack Levine, John Marin, George L. K. Morris, Reuben Nakian, Georgia O'Keeffe, Robert Chesley Osborn, Jules Pascin, Abbott Pattison, Horace Pippin, Joseph Pollet, Abraham Rattner, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, Mitchell Siporin, Niles Spencer, Edward Stasack, William Steig, Joseph Stella, Alfred Stieglitz, John H. Storrs, Reuben Tam, Yu-ho Tseng, Dorothy Varian, Carl Walters, Max Weber, Jack Zajac, Karl Zerbe, Marguerite Zorach, and William Zorach. REELS 5603-5636: Business Records, 1925-1974, consist of exhibition, stock, sales, transit, and insurance records; lists of artwork and clients, legal documents, minutes, research files, and architectural plans. REELS 5636-5638: Writings, 1917-1968, by Edith Gregor Halpert, include articles on American folk art, speeches, short stories, school notebooks, and "Daily Thoughtlets" compiled at age 17; also, writings by others on art topics. REELS 5638-5639: Miscellaneous, ca. 1835-1970, contains biographical material, and works of art by Edith Gregor Halpert and other artists. Artifacts are wooden weather vane molds with supporting documentation, and awards presented to Halpert. Audiovisual materials are motion picture film for a Westinghouse Broadcasting Corp. produced television series, "America: The Artist's Eye," 1961-1963; film of Charles and Musya Sheeler at home, and Charles Sheeler at work in his studio, ca. 1950; and a sound recording of a 1962 talk about collecting by Maxim Karolik. REELS 5640-5647: Printed Matter, 1984-1969, includes exhibition catalogs, announcements, invitations, press releases, and miscellaneous items produced by Downtown Gallery. Other printed matter consists of news clippings about Halpert, Downtown Gallery, the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, and clipping files on art-related topics. Also, newsletters, press releases, and publications of arts organizations, and reproductions of works of art. A selection of 25 vols. from Halpert's personal library has been retained. REELS 5647-5654: Photographs, ca. 1880s-1960s, of Edith Gregor Halpert, Samuel Halpert, family and friends, her dog and Newtown, Conn. house. Portraits of artists include: Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, Louis Guglielmi, George Overbury ("Pop") Hart, Marsden Hartley, Bernard Karfiol, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, Julian E. Levi, Jack Levine, John Marin, George L. K. Morris, Georgia O'Keeffe, Abbott Pattison, Horace Pippin, Abraham Rattner, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, William Steig, Alfred Stieglitz, Yu-ho Tseng, Max Weber, and William Zorach. Also, works of art, exhibitions, Downtown Gallery, and an award presented to Halpert. Among the photographers represented are: Ansel Adams, Doris Bry, George Karfiol, Carl Kelin, Otto Maya, Arnold Newman, Man Ray, Kay Bell Reynal, Charles Sheeler, Adrian Siegel, Edward Steichen, Alfred Stieglitz, Sochi Sunami, Alredo Valente, Carl Van Vechten, and Max Yavno. I. Correspondence, 1926-1974. II. Artist Files, 1917-1970. III. Notebooks, 1835-1970. IV. Business Records, 1925-1974. V. Writings, 1917-1968. VI. Miscellaneous, ca. 1835-1970. VII. Printed Matter, 1824-1969. VIII. Photographs, ca. 1880s-1960s. Correspondence arranged chronologically; Artist Files arranged alphabetically. Other series are organized into numerous subseries, usually by record type or category, and the arrangement of each is indicated in the series descriptions detailed in the finding aid. |
| extent | 109 linear ft. (on 167 microfilm reels) reels 5488-5654 |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. NOTICE TO RESEARCHERS: 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 60 years after the date of the sales transaction. |
| record link | https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.downgall.pdf |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/downtown-gallery-records-6293 |
| finding aid | "A Finding Aid to the Records of the Downtown Gallery" by Catherine Stover Gaines and Lisa Lynch, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., is available. Electronic versions available at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/findingaids/downgall.htm and http://www.aaa.si.edu/findmicrodig/downgall/downgall.html |
| acquisition information | The bulk of the records were originally received as a loan in 1957 and 1967 from Edith Gregor Halpert, and microfilmed on reels ND1-ND71. Additions were received incrementally, between 1972 and 1978 from Nathaly Baum, niece of and executor of Halpert's estate, and microfilmed incrementally as well on various reels. In 1998, with funds provided by the Luce Foundation, the collection was reprocessed by Catherine Stover Gaines into one coherent arrangement, and remicrofilmed 1999-2000, totalling 167 reels of film. Most, but not all, of the documents from the early loaned material were subsequently donated. |
| updated | 10/03/2025 11:58:55 |
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| title | Oral history interview with Robert Carlen, 1985 June 28-July 16 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Robert Carlen conducted 1985 June 28-July 16, by Catherine Stover, for the Archives of American Art. Carlen speaks of his early life including his studies at the Graphic Sketch Club and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; opening his gallery in 1937; the early years of the gallery; paintings he discovered over the years; collectors he worked with, including Albert Barnes and Meyer and Vivian Potamkin; other dealers; refugee artists; and the Philadelphia art scene. |
| extent | 67 Pages, Transcript; Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 50 min |
| access | Transcript available online. Contact repository for access and restrictions. |
| record link | https://www.aaa.si.edu/download_pdf_transcript/ajax?record_id=edanmdm-AAADCD_oh_212085 |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-robert-carlen-11447 |
| finding aid | Finding aid available online and at repository. |
| updated | 10/03/2025 11:58:55 |
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