Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Ivins, William Mills, 1881-1961
| title | William Mills Ivins papers, 1878-1964. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | The papers, 1878-1964 (20.6 linear feet) of museum curator, director, and art scholar William Mills Ivins (1881-1961) consist of personal and professional correspondence, writings, notes, photographs, and Ivins family papers. Ivins was Curator of Prints, 1916-1946, Assistant Director, 1933-1938, and Acting Director, 1938-1940 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection contains professional and personal correspondence with art historians, art dealers, museum curators, print and book collectors, and artists concerning the history of print making, book design and illustration, print collectors and collecting, exhibitions, and museum administration. Correspondence files appear to be complete, and correspondence is of substantive content. Also found are Ivins' published and unpublished writings and lectures, and notes. Of particular interest are the letters from Bernard Berenson, Paul J. Sachs, and Theodore Sizer, each of whom corresponded with Ivins freqently over extended periods about both personal and professional and matters. Ivins' family papers include family correspondence, genealogies, and photographs. The papers of Ivin's wife, illustrator Florence Wyman Ivins (1881-1948), and the correspondence of several other relatives, can be found here augmented by family photographs. Co-Creator: Ames, Winslow Arensberg, Walter, 1878-1954 Arms, John Taylor, 1887-1953 Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959 Boas, George, 1891- Burroughs, Bryson, 1869-1934 Carrington, Fitz Roy, 1869-1954 Cockerell, Sydney Carlyle, Sir, 1867-1962 Constable, W. G. (William George), 1887- Dodgson, Campbell, 1867-1948 Frankfurter, Felix, 1882-1965 Friedländer, Max J., 1867-1958 Greene, Belle da Costa, 1883-1950 Holmes, Margaret Ivins, 1882-1954 Ivins, Barbara Ivins, Emma Yard, 1857-1940 Ivins, Florence Wyman, 1881-1948 Ivins, Katherine Ivins, William Mills, 1851-1915 Käsebier, Gertrude, 1852-1934 photographer. Lay, Charles Downing, 1877-1956 Rogers, Bruce, 1870-1957 Ruzicka, Rudolph, 1883- Sachs, Paul J. (Paul Joseph), 1878-1965 Sarton, George, 1884-1956 Simonson, Lee, 1888- Sizer, Theodore, 1892-1967 Webster, Herman A. (Herman Armour), 1878-1970 Wind, Edgar, 1900- Winter, Carl, 1906 Jan. 10- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) Century Association (New York, N.Y.) Grolier Club Pierpont Morgan Library |
| extent | 20.6 linear feet |
| formats | Correspondence Ephemera Notes Photographs Writings |
| access | Use of unmicrofilmed material in the holdings of the Archives of American Art requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C., facility. |
| record link | https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.ivinwill.pdf |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/william-mills-ivins-papers-8805 |
| finding aid | Online and in repository. |
| acquisition information | The William Mills Ivins, Jr., papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by his daughter, Barbara Ivins, in several installments between 1977 and 1983. |
| updated | 06/09/2023 15:39:53 |
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| title | Ivins family papers, 1885-1961, bulk (1900-1946) (MssCol 1535) | repository | New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division |
| description | Collection consists of correspondence, writings, notes, and legal and financial records of William Ivins, Sr.; correspondence, writings, notes, and diaries of William Ivins, Jr.; correspondence of other family members; family personal miscellany; photographs and graphic materials; and printed matter. Correspondence, 1886-1915, of William Ivins, Sr. concerns his activities in New York and South America, and includes letters related to his unsuccessful 1905 mayoral campaign in New York City, his work for the Brazilian government from 1886 to 1893, and his business ventures abroad. His writings are on subjects such as the history of diplomacy, philosophy and theory of the law, and South American and New York politics. Papers of William Ivins, Jr. mainly contain his articles, lectures, notes, and diaries on the subjects of art, mathematics and museum administration. Other Ivins family correspondence, ca. 1910-1960, is comprised of letters of Emma Yard Ivins, wife of William Ivins, Sr., and Katherine Ivins, their daughter, and concerns the career of William Ivins, Jr. as well as political and suffrage issues. Also, songbooks and lyric sheets, photographs, art work by family members, and printed matter. Biographical and Historical Notes William Mills Ivins, Sr. (1851-1915) was a lawyer and municipal reformer in New York City. He held several city offices, served as counsel for Brazil in a boundary dispute with Argentina, was a founder of the Reform Club, and wrote about municipal problems and the history and theory of the law. William Mills Ivins, Jr. (1881-1961) was the first curator of prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from 1917 to 1946, associate director of the museum from 1933 to 1938, and acting director from 1938 to 1940. He was the author of many articles and books on prints, printmaking and the book arts. |
| extent | 13.1 linear feet (22 boxes) |
| formats | Correspondence Writings Notes Legal Papers Financial Records |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/archivalcollections/pdf/ivinsfamily.pdf |
| record source | http://catalog.nypl.org/record=b11868629~S1 |
| finding aid | Collection guide available in repository and on internet: http://catnyp.nypl.org/search?/.b3195158/.b3195158/1,1,1,B/l856~b3195158&FF=&1,0,,1,0 |
| acquisition information | Received from Barbara Ivins April 19, 1982 |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:56 |
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| title | William Mills Ivins letters to Theodore Sizer, 1926-1960. | repository | Yale University Library |
| description | 119 letters to Theodore Sizer (a few addressed also to Mrs. Sizer). Accompanied by a group of letters by Sizer, with obituaries, clippings, etc. about Ivins. Biographical and Historical Notes: William Mills Ivins, graduate of Harvard and Columbia Law School, Curator of Prints and Acting Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, recipient of an honorary degree from Yale in 1946, author of How Prints Look, The Arts of the Book, and Prints and Visual Communication. Theodore Sizer was curator at the Cleveland Museum of Art from 1922 to 1927, lecturer at Case Western Reserve College from 1924 to 1927, professor of art history at Yale University from 1927 until 1947, and director of the Yale University Art Gallery from 1929 to 1947. Location: BEINECKE (Non-Circulating) Call Number: GEN MSS 22 |
| extent | 0.2 linear ft. (1 box) |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://orbis.library.yale.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Gift of Theodore Sizer, 1961. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:56 |
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| title | Correspondence with Edward Larocque Tinker, 1926. | repository | University of Pennsylvania |
| description | Archival/Manuscript Material Contained in: Pennell Family Papers, ca. 1882-1951. Folder 251. Notes: Comprises letters from William Mills Ivins, Olivia Paine, and Edward Robinson, plus loan agreements and lists of objects loaned by Tinker for the memorial exhibition of Joseph Pennell’s artwork. Other Contributors: Ivins, William Mills, 1881-1961. Paine, Olivia. Robinson, Edward. Location: Rare Book & Ms Library Manuscripts Call Number: Ms. Coll. 50 |
| extent | 9 items (10 leaves). |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:56 |
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| title | Correspondence to Van Wyck Brooks, 1951-1961. | repository | University of Pennsylvania |
| description | Description: Mixed Material Contained in: Van Wyck Brooks Papers. Folders 1430-1433. Location: Rare Book & Ms Library Manuscripts Call Number: Ms. Coll. 650 |
| extent | 43 items (43 leaves) |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:56 |
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| title | Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1913-1946. | repository | University of Pennsylvania |
| description | Archival/Manuscript Material Contained in: Carl Zigrosser Papers, ca. 1891-1971. Folder 631. Summary: Over the years the Grolier Club displayed several print exhibitions. Carl Zigrosser helped William Ivins with a show of woodcuts in 1914, and spoke in connection with a show of prints by John Taylor Arms. Several letters from Edwin Bechtel and a draft of Zigrosser’s talk relate to the latter event. LC Subject(s): Arms, John Taylor, 1887-1953. Other Contributors: Ivins, William Mills, 1881-1961. Bechtel, Edwin DeTurck. |
| extent | 18 items (21 leaves). |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | In general, the Carl Zigrosser Papers may be examined by qualified researchers in the reading room of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania. Photocopying of Zigrosser materials is at the discretion of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The receipt of photocopies does not grant publication rights without the written permission of the University of Pennsylvania and the literary executors of the authors in question. |
| record source | http://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu/ |
| finding aid | Available in electronic form and in repository. |
| acquisition information | Gift June 1972 |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:57 |
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| title | Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1921-1961,n.d. | repository | University of Pennsylvania |
| description | Archival/Manuscript Material Contained in: Carl Zigrosser Papers, ca. 1891-1971. Folder 774. Summary: William Ivins, Curator of Prints at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Carl Zigrosser had a long and friendly relationship. Ivins could be sharp in his reactions, an odd mix of emotion and intellect that made him difficult to get along with. Zigrosser’s own sincere mildness and perceptiveness seems to have brought-out Ivins’ sweeter nature. Ivin’s reviewed Zigrosser’s writing for him, and Zigrosser helped Ivins with early exhibitions at the Grolier Club. Their correspondence continues through their careers, with compliments on one another’s exhibitions and publications. Several letters touch on Ivins’ retirement, his depression and alienation from the print world, and lamentations about old age and his slipping abilities. Drafts of letters from Zigrosser record attempts to lure Ivins back to productive work. Following Ivins’ death, there is a group of letters from Theodore Sizer, who was arranging to publish some of Ivins’ letters. There is also a group of letters from Barbara Ivins, William Ivins’ daughter. Included are several pages of copied-out entries from Zigrosser’s diaries, all the entries concern William Ivins. There are also some articles by Ivins in the file. Other Contributors: Ivins, Barbara. Sizer, Theodore, 1892-1967. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). Dept. of Prints. Location: Rare Book & Ms Library Manuscripts Call Number: Ms. Coll. 6 |
| extent | 43 items (68 leaves and 1 pamphlet). |
| formats | Correspondence Ephemera |
| access | In general, the Carl Zigrosser Papers may be examined by qualified researchers in the reading room of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania. Photocopying of Zigrosser materials is at the discretion of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The receipt of photocopies does not grant publication rights without the written permission of the University of Pennsylvania and the literary executors of the authors in question. |
| record source | http://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu/ |
| finding aid | Available in electronic form and in repository. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:03 |
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