Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Bartlett, Clay, 1907-1955
| title | Artist file: Bartlett, Clay , 1907-1955 | repository | National Portrait Gallery Library |
| description | Folder(s) may include exhibition announcements, newspaper and/or magazine clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, illustrations, resumes, artist's statements, exhibition catalogs. |
| extent | 1+ folders (check with repository) |
| formats | Ephemera |
| access | Folder(s) do not circulate. Folder(s) available for use only at the holding library |
| record source | http://www.sil.si.edu/DigitalCollections/Art-Design/artandartistfiles/ |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:55 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Macbeth Gallery records, 1838-1968 (bulk 1892-1953). | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | The records provide almost complete coverage of the gallery's operations from its inception in 1892 to its closing in 1953. Through extensive correspondence files, financial and inventory records, printed material, scrapbooks, reference and research material, and photographs of artists and works of art, the records document all aspects of the gallery's activities, charting William Macbeth's initial intention to lease his store "for the permanent exhibition and sale of American pictures" through over sixty years of success as a major New York firm devoted to American art. The collection measures 132.2 linear feet and dates from 1838 to 1968 with the bulk of the material dating from 1892 to 1953. Correspondence files form the bulk of the collection and records the day-to-day transactions of the gallery with artists, dealers, curators, and collectors. The correspondence found here documents all aspects of the gallery's activities including relationships with artists, arrangements for loans, consignments, and sales; the development of public and private collections; and the involvement of the gallery owners in the art community. In addition to general correspondence there is a group of correspondence that pertains directly to requests for gallery publications and a series of letterpress books containing five years of copies of the gallery's outgoing letters. The financial and shipping records provide a detailed record of the gallery's financial transactions through a variety of ledgers and account books. These records provide insight into art buying and collecting tendencies throughout the first half of the twentieth century. They also record the effect of fluctuations in the economy including the Depression of the 1930s. Records in this series can be used more effectively in conjunction with the card files in Series 3: Inventory Records. The information found here supports that found in Series 2: Financial and Shipping Records and consists of card files recording stock disposition and a series of stock books. The card files are an invaluable tool for tracking the artwork that passed through Macbeth's hands. Includes printed material published by Macbeth Gallery in addition to exhibition catalogs from other galleries and organizations, art publications, and loose magazine articles and news clippings. Publications represented are the Macbeth Gallery publications Art Notes and Biographical Notes in addition to a set of bound volumes, comprising an almost complete run of the pre-Civil War American art journal The Crayon. The scrapbooks are the collection's main source of Macbeth Gallery exhibition catalogs and related news clippings. They provide comprehensive coverage of the gallery's history and include material on day-to-day events at the gallery as well as important occasions such as the 1908 exhibition of "The Eight" and the gallery's fortieth, fiftieth and sixtieth anniversaries, news of the art world in general and some photographs. Due to their fragile nature, scrapbooks can be consulted only on microfilm. The reference files consist of reference and research files relating to American artists and containing material gathered over time by the Macbeths and Robert G. McIntyre. Several references are made in the gallery's outgoing correspondence to the fact that the gallery was compiling a summmary of ownership of paintings by the best known American artists. Documentation related to this endeavor can be found here in a folder of collection lists of artwork in private and public collections. Named artist files contain important information regarding the provenance of paintings, including some by Gilbert Stuart and Winslow Homer. Other material found here includes photographs of artwork, biographical information on the artists listed, scattered correspondence, clippings, notes, and copies of reference material from printed sources. Miscellaneous material contains transcripts of several lectures and essays written by Robert Macbeth, and an essay on Winslow Homer which he wrote for Living American Art. Also found here is a folder containing notes for a lecture on Israeli art by Robert G. McIntyre; an original drawing and a print by Robert W. Weir; and a transcript allegedly of excerpts from the journal of Marsden Hartley apparently transcribed by an unknown member of the Macbeth Gallery staff. The remaining materials found here are miscellaneous business records of Robert G. McIntyre. The photographs include a rich collection of images of many of the artists whose work was handled by the Macbeth Gallery, as well as photos of the gallery and the artwork. A substantial number of the photographs are original silver gelatin and platinum prints; there are also several daguerrotypes and an original photo postcard. Many of the photographs are autographed and some are addressed to the gallery. The artist most heavily represented in the photograph files is Winslow Homer. The photographs of artists have been digitally scanned and may be viewed on the AAA Digital Collections Database. I. Correspondence, 1838-1968. II. Financial and Shipping Records, 1892-1956. III. Inventory Records, 1892-ca. 1957. IV. Printed Material, 1838-1963. V. Scrapbooks, 1892-1952. VI. Reference Files, 1839-1959. VII. Miscellaneous Files, 1912-1956. VIII. Photographs, ca. 1880-1968. |
| extent | Total: 132.2 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 194 reels) reels NMc1-NMc81, 439-441, 2820-2823 & 3091-3092 reels 2564-2667 & 3094 |
| formats | Correspondence Financial Records Inventories Scrapbooks Clippings |
| access | Use requires an appointment. Scrapbooks: Fragile; 14 of the 20 originals closed; researchers must use microfilm reels NMc1 - NMc4 for access. |
| record link | http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/macbeth-gallery-records-9703 |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| finding aid | Reels NMc 1-NMc 81, 2564-2667, 2820-2823, & 3094: Finding Aid available at AAA offices. Electronic finding aid available at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/findingaids/macbgal.htm |
| acquisition information | Material on reels NMc 1-NMc 81, 2564-2667, 2820-2823, 3094 & unmicrofilmed portions donated in several installments, 1955-1966, by Robert G. McIntyre and estate. McIntyre was the last owner of the Macbeth Gallery and nephew of William Macbeth. Material on reels 3091-3092 donated 1974 by Phoebe C. and William Macbeth II, grandchildren of William Macbeth. All former accessions were merged and reprocessed in 2004; the arrangement of the collection does not match the microfilmed materials. |
| updated | 10/14/2016 14:14:38 |
| .................................................................... | |