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Archives related to: Ludgin, Earle, 1898-1981

titleEarle and Mary Ludgin papers, 1930-1983.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionCorrespondence; financial records; writings; photographs; sketches; inventories of art works; and printed materials.

REELS 1703-1704: Correspondence, 1948-1974, between Earle Ludgin and artist Forrest Bess, and 2 letters from Betty Parsons Gallery to Bess. Some letters contain clippings and photographs of Bess and of his work. [These letters also appear on microfilm reel 3458].

REELS 3821-3824: Correspondence, 1934-1979, with artists, musicians, writers, and other individuals involved in the arts, including ca. 1,200 letters received and carbon copies of letters sent. Ivan Albright, Leonard Baskin, Forrest Bess, Maurizio Bonora, Richard Bowman, Judith Brown, Copeland Burg, Alexander Calder, Pablo Casals, Marvin Cone, Peter Dews, Edwin Dickinson, Peter Fink, Dorothy Hood, Edward Hopper, Lincoln Kirstein, Norman Laliberte, Kirk Newman, Seiji Ozawa, Dan Palumbo, Alton Pickens, Abraham and Esther Rattner, Daniel Catton Rich, Kurt and Arlette Seligmann, Ben Shahn, Margaret Tomkins, Alice Valenstein, and Max Weber are correspondents.

Business correspondence and records, 1930-1981, regarding the Ludgin art collection consists of ca. 1,000 items, and includes documentation on the purchase, outgoing loan, insurance, shipment, etc. of art works. Also included are 3 inventories of the art collection, undated, 1951, and 1981.
Also included are typescript "With Both Eyes Open" by Earle Ludgin as a catalog introduction for the exhibition, THE LUDGIN COLLECTION OF CONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1954; 6 photographs of an exhibition opening, sent to Ludgin by Kurt Seligmann, 1949; a photograph of Copeland Burg; a photograph of Kurt Seligmann and Father Bruckberger; 2 contact sheets containing photographs of Earle Ludgin by Peter Fink; 12 photographs of art installations at Earle Ludgin and Co. offices and at the Corcoran Gallery of Art;

color photographs of pages from Ivan Albright's sketchbook of flesh wounds (sketchbook is owned by the Art Institute of Chicago); and 38 photographs, ca. 370 slides, and a few negatives of art work in the Ludgin collection; printed materials, 1941-1979, including news releases, newpaper clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements (ca. 50 items); 11 rough pencil sketches on Earle Ludgin memo paper, some of which appear to be art installation plans; and a half-tone plate of RECLINING FIGURE by Henry Moore.
extent2.2 linear ft. (on 6 microfilm reels) reels 1703-1704, reels 3458, reels 3821-3824.
formatsMicrofilm Correspondence Financial Records Photographs Writings
accessPatrons must use microfilm copy.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationMaterial on reels 1703-1704 (also filmed on reel 3458) donated 1979 by Earle Ludgin; material on reels 3821-3824 donated 1985 by Donald Ludgin, son of Mary and Earle Ludgin.
updated11/27/2013 10:52:37
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titleAbraham Rattner and Esther Gentle papers, 1891-1986.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionPapers of artist Abraham Rattner consist of correspondence, photographs, diaries, notebooks, financial material, writings, art work, and printed material. A small amount of papers of Rattner's first wife, Bettina Bedwell, his second wife, artist Esther Gentle, and his stepson, Allen Leepa, are also found. The papers reflect Rattner's life and career as an artist during the rise of Modernism.

The biographical files contain documents such as Rattner's birth certificate, travel visas, his senior yearbook from 1912 which shows some of his early art work, and some of his awards. His birth certificate is of particular interest since it shows Rattner's birth date to be 1893 instead of the recognized 1895.

The correspondence offers great insight into the thoughts of many American and European artists and writers during the 1930s and 1940s. Rattner, a prolific writer, expressed many of his own thoughts and concerns through his letters, many of which are included in this collection. The vast amount of correspondence include letters from notable figures such as George Biddle, Kay Boyle, Paul Burlin, Norman Carton, Robert Coates, Stuart Davis, Adolph Dehn, Richard de Rochemont, John Dos Passos, Xavier Gonzales, John Howard Griffin, Ramon Guthrie, Robert Gwathmey, Weeks Hall, Stanley W. Hayter, Jean Helion, Hilaire Hiler, Joseph Hirsch, Stefan Hirsch, Carl Holty, Louis Kronberg, Rico Lebrun, Jacques Lipchitz, Earle Ludgin, Thalia Wescott Malcolm, Henry Miller, Joan Miro, Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt, Channing Peake, Henry Varnum Poor, Felix Ruvolo, Jack Gage Stark, Frank C. Watkins, and Allen Weller, among others.

Rattner was engaged in a wide range of special art projects, and he kept detailed files on these projects. The projects spanned from 1940 through 1973 and included endeavors such as illustrations for Life magazine, stained-glass designs, mosaic and tapestry projects, as well as special paintings such as Victory--Jerusalem the Golden and The Gallows of Baghdad. Rattner's papers also detail the history of a fresco painted by Paul Gauguin entitled Joan d'Arcwhich Rattner purchased in France in 1925.
The gallery files contain correspondence, receipts, and notes regarding the galleries which represented Rattner. Those galleries included the Rosenberg Gallery, the Downtown Gallery, and the Kennedy Gallery. A small series of exhibition files contain material about exhibitions held outside of Rattner's representative galleries.

Rattner also kept many household files and personal financial records. Household files contain insurance records, warranties and rental agreements, while the financial records contain returned checks and bank statements. Some bank statements from Esther Gentle Reproductions are also included. The household files and financial records are not filmed.
Photographs, 1891-1970s, are of Rattner, his studios, exhibition installations, family, friends, travels, Bettina Bedwell, Esther Gentle, and works of art. Among the friends pictured are Henry Miller, Joan Miro, Richard de Rochemont, Weeks Hall, John Dos Passos, and Kay Boyle. Photos of his road trip with Henry Miller are also included.
Original works of art by Rattner represent a cross-section of his career, and include sketches, a sketchbook, watercolor studies, and color studies. A separate series, Works of art by others includes art work by Max Weber, Henry Miller, Ken Buryd, and unidentifed art work.

Bettina Bedwell papers, 1932-1947 (0.4 ft.) consist of a diary, passport, writings, sketches, correspondence and a death certificate. Esther Gentle papers, 1921-1984 (1.3 ft.) biographical documents, correspondence, notes, art work, and papers related to her business, Esther Gentle Reproductions. Allen Leepa papers, 1852-1969 (0.2 ft.) include writings, correspondence, legal documents, and a vitae, 1969.

REELS D205A-D205B (loan): 21 notebooks containing letters, notes on painting, articles on art and other writings, 1944-1962.


Bio / His Notes:
Painter, mosaicist, and stained glass artist; Paris, France and New York, N.Y.; b. 1893; d. 1978 Studied art and architecture at George Washington University, the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia.

In 1917, he enlisted in the U.S. Army camouflage section. Married first wife, Bettina Bedwell, in 1924. Was a member of the Minotaure group, along with Picasso, Miro, Giacometti, Le Corbusier, Braque, Dali, and Reverdy. Rattner and his wife fled Europe in 1939 following the Nazi invasion of France. He married second wife Esther Gentle (1900-1992) in 1949. Rattner died of heart failure on February 14, 1978.
extentca. 27 linear ft. (on 24 microfilm reels; portions unfilmed) reels 5258-5279; D205A-D205B
formatsCorrespondence Photographs Diaries Financial Records Notebooks
accessMicrofilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed portion requires an appointment.
record sourcehttp://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/findingaids/rattabra.htm
finding aidIn repository and an electronic finding aid available at http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/findingaids/rattabra.htm
acquisition informationThe collections was donated incrementally by Abraham Rattner 1972-1983, by Esther Gentle, 1986-1987, and by Gene Allen, Rattner's nephew, 1992 (44 works of art). Portions of the donated material had previously been lent for microflming in 1965 (reels D203 and D205C-D205D); these papers were integrated with the donated papers and refilmed on reels 5258-5279 in 1998. The portion of the 1965 loan which was not donated, 21 notebooks, is available only on reels D205A-D205B. A group of letters from Rattner to his sister, Jennie Allen, on reel 1212, lent for microfilming, is cataloged separately.
updated03/16/2023 10:29:56
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