Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Zeri, Federico
| title | John Walsh’s records, 1973-1985, undated | repository | The Getty Research Institute |
| description | Records consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, agenda, notes, lists, press releases, printed materials, proceedings, resolutions, proposals, photographs, contracts, a plat, and clippings, dating 1973-1985, that comprise the administrative correspondence and memoranda of J. Paul Getty Museum Director John Walsh and general office files created and maintained in the office of the Museum Director under the leadership of Stephen Garrett, Stephen Rountree, and John Walsh. Biographical or Historical Notes: John Walsh, Jr. was a graduate of Yale University, received his Ph.D. in1971 from Columbia University and aslo studied at the University of Leyden in the Netherlands. Walsh worked as Curator in the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was Professor of Art History at Columbia Univeristy at Barnard College, and was the Russell W. Baker Curator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. His specialty was 17th century Dutch painting. Walsh came to the Getty at the invitation of Harold Williams and became Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum on October 1, 1983. After being employed by J. Paul Getty to oversee construction of the new Villa Museum in Malibu, British architect Stephen Garrett was appointed Deputy Director of the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1973. Although Getty himself kept the title of Director, he never left his home in England to see the new museum, which opened to the public in 1974, effectively making Garrett the on-site director (with the oversignt/assistance of Norris Bramlett). Getty did keep track of every expense and purchase made by the museum, and staff regularly journeyed to Sutton Place, his home outside London, to consult on museum matters. Following Getty’s death in 1976, Bramlett was briefly Acting Director, until Garrett assumed the full job duties and title of Museum Director in 1977. Dr. W.R. Valentiner was Director and Curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum from 1953 to March 1, 1955, though he served on the Board of Trustees until 1958. Dr. Paul Wescher became the next Curator of the Museum in April/May 1954 and served until 1959. Wescher never used the title Director, only that of Curator, and it seems likely, though the record is not specific, that J. Paul Getty himself took on the title of Director. Following Wescher’s resignation, Norris Bramlett (a Museum Trustee member and Getty Oil accountant who, from his offices in downtown Los Angeles and frequent visits to England, regularly acted as a moderator between J. Paul Getty and the Museum) suggested to Getty that the Museum did not need a full-time Curator and proposed simply hiring someone with an art history background who knew the collection, could answer questions, and intelligently discuss the collection and art in general. He proposed that the current Museum Secretary, Mrs. Marian Anne Jones to fulfill this role and suggested that Dr. Wescher or another former staff member could be asked for assistance whenever a new guidebook or bulletin was required [memo from NB to JPG, April 9, 1959]. Wescher, himself, also notes [in a letter on April 25, 1959] that the position of curator had been eliminated, leaving Jones in charge. In mid-May 1960, however, having recieved permission from Getty, she begins signing herself Acting Curator - after January 26, 1961 she signs herself Curator. Jones submited her resignation on February 6, 1965, effective May 31, 1965, and urged that Burton F. Fredericksen be appointed her successor. Fredericksen served as Museum Curator from 1965 to 1971 (prior to the hiring of Gillian Wilson as Curator of Decorative Arts), as Chief Museum Curator from 1972 to October 1973 (prior to the hiring of Stephen Garrett as Deputy Director in 1973), and as Curator of Paintings from October 1973 to1984. The J. Paul Getty Museum originally opened in 1954 with two rooms and relatively little publicity. By August 1955 the Museum had 6 gallery areas: I. the Courtyard containing Greek and Roman sculpture; II. The Hallway, containing antique sculpture including Greek, Roman, and Egyptian; III. the Roman Room, containing sculpture, a mosiac floor, and some glass and silver objects of Roman and Frankish origin; IV. the Theater Gallery, containing European painting from the16th to 18th centuries - especially Italian and Dutch works; V. the Louis XV gallery, containing French 18th century furniture and tapestries; and VI. the Louis XVI Room, also containing French 18th century furniture. In 1956 plans were begun to construct a new antiquities gallery which was completed and opened to the public in mid-December 1957. In September 1960 the galleries underwent a minor face lift. The numbers of visitors increased, and though Getty stopped most purchasing in and around 1958, the museum continued to slowly expand into other parts of the Ranch House until, in the late 1960’s, Getty chose to build the Villa Museum. Unbeknownst to the museum staff, Getty had bequeathed almost his entire estate to the museum. Though the funds were tied up until 1983, as the estate was settled, Garrett and the rest of the Museum staff tried to prepare for their unexpected windfall. When it became clear that the money would soon arrive, Harold M. Williams was hired as President of the J. Paul Getty Trust in 1981. Upon Garrett’s resignation in late 1982, Stephen Rountree, Deputy Director for Administration, assumed the position of Interim Director until John Walsh began his duties as Museum Director in the summer of 1983. Cite as: [Cite the item and series (as appropriate)], Director John Walsh’s records, 1973-1985, undated, Director’s Office, J. Paul Getty Museum., Institutional Records and Archives, Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Finding aid no. IA10009. |
| extent | 6.82 linear feet (17 boxes and 1 flat file) |
| formats | Business Records Clippings Correspondence Legal Papers Photographs |
| access | Open after Review (subj. to LEGAL COUNSEL). The records described in this finding aid are available for research but must be reviewed by Institutional Archives staff and the Office of General Counsel before access is granted. The J. Paul Getty Trust reserves the right to restrict access to any records held by the Institutional Archives. |
| record link | http://library.getty.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=697079 |
| record source | http://library.getty.edu/vwebv/searchBasic |
| finding aid | Finding aid available in the repository: folder level control. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:55 |
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| title | Federico Zeri Foundation | repository | Federico Zeri Foundation |
| description | In a will dated 29 th September 1998, Federico Zeri bequeathed to the University of Bologna his house in Mentana, the estate of 10 hectares, 3 farmhouses, the collection of Roman epigraphs, the art library (almost 90,000 works including art books and auction catalogues) and the photograph library (290,100 photographs). The photograph library consists of 290,100 photographs arranged by the scholar in approximately 10,000 folders which in turn were housed in more than 1,000 containers. For some sectors, such as Italian painting from its origins to the sixteenth century, still lifes and battles, the huge range of photographs cover almost all topics. On the back of most reproductions are hand-written notes allowing us to reconstruct changes of ownership, variations in attribution and the essential bibliography. Over the years Zeri collected complete photography campaigns and saved from dispersion entire photograph archives belonging to scholars, museums, collectors, auction houses and antiquarians. The photograph foundations of antiquarians include the Mont archives of New York, Sestieri of Rome, Longari of Milan, and Pospisil and Semenzato of Venice. Particularly significant are the foundations of Evelin Sandberg Vavalà, Antonio Muñoz, Umberto Gnoli and Guglielmo Matthiae. The only documentation of a number of works that are now dispersed, destroyed or lost is preserved in the photographs of his archive. |
| extent | see repository for more details |
| formats | Photographs Artifacts Printed Materials |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions, policies, and collection depth. |
| record source | http://www.fondazionezeri.unibo.it/default.htm |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:54 |
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| title | Administration records, 1950-1986, undated | repository | The Getty Research Institute |
| description | Records consist of correspondence, memoranda, newsletters, notes, by-laws, reports, press releases, agendas, financial documents, minutes, schedules and calendars, manuals, directories, statistics, telegrams, press clippings, photographs and other materials dating 1950 to 1986 and undated. These documents issue from the offices of a succession of museum curators, including W.R. Valentiner, Paul Wescher, Anne Jones, Burton B. Fredericksen, and Gillian Wilson, as well as from the offices of Trustee Norris Bramlett and J. Paul Getty himself. Other records also originated in the Security and Personnel departments of the museum. Subjects are varied, but include financial matters, personnel, art acquisition, remodeling and expansion of the museum, security, visitor policies and statistics, visiting scholars, museum publications and reference queries. Arrangement: These records are organized into 7 series: Series I. Museum correspondence, 1953-1972 ; Series II. Norris Bramlett’s records, 1950-1983, undated ; Series III. J. Paul Getty correspondence files, 1952-1975 ; Series IV. Reports and Statistics, 1954-1977 ; Series V. Burton Fredericksen weekly appointment calendars, 1968-1974 ; Series VI. Procedures manuals, ca 1960s-1975 ; Series VII. Personnel, 1975-1986 Biographical or Historical Notes: Dr. W.R. Valentiner was the first director and curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum from 1953 to March 1, 1955, though he served on the Board of Trustees until his death in 1958. Dr. Paul Wescher became the next curator of the museum in April/May 1954 and served until 1959. Wescher never used the title "Director," only that of "Curator," and it seems likely, though the record is not specific, that J. Paul Getty himself took on the title of "Director." Following Wescher’s resignation, Norris Bramlett (a museum trustee and Getty Oil accountant who regularly acted as a moderator between J. Paul Getty and the museum) suggested to Getty that the museum did not need a full-time curator and proposed simply hiring someone with an art history background who knew the collection and proposed that the current museum secretary, Mrs. Anne Marian Jones could fulfill this role [memo from NB to JPG, April 9, 1959]. Jones submitted her resignation on February 6, 1965, effective May 31, 1965, and urged that Burton F. Fredericksen be appointed her successor. Fredericksen served as museum curator from 1965 to 1971 (prior to the hiring of Gillian Wilson as curator of decorative arts), as chief museum curator from 1972 to October 1973 (prior to the hiring of Stephen Garrett as deputy director in 1973), and as curator of paintings from October 1973 to 1984. The J. Paul Getty Museum and the J. Paul Getty Trust date to 1953, when J. Paul Getty established the museum as a California charitable trust to house his growing art collections. The museum originally opened in 1954 with two rooms and relatively little publicity, but by August 1955 it had 6 gallery areas. In 1956 plans were begun to construct a new antiquities gallery, which was opened to the public in mid-December 1957 and in September 1960 the galleries underwent a minor remodel. The numbers of visitors increased, and though Getty stopped most purchasing in and around 1958, the museum continued to slowly expand into other parts of the Ranch House until, in the late 1960’s, he chose to build the Villa Museum. |
| extent | 13.14 linear feet (31.5 boxes) |
| formats | Administrative Records |
| access | Open after Review (subj. to LEGAL COUNSEL). The records described in this finding aid are available for research but must be reviewed by Institutional Archives staff and the Office of General Counsel before access is granted. The J. Paul Getty Trust reserves the right to restrict access to any records held by the Institutional Archives. |
| record link | http://library.getty.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=696629 |
| record source | http://library.getty.edu/vwebv/searchBasic |
| finding aid | Finding aid available in the repository: folder level control. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:02 |
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