Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Bahr, A. W.
| title | The A.W. Bahr Papers, 1919-1957 | repository | Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives |
| description | This collection contains manuscript drafts and notes for Bahr's memoir, written by Bahr himself and C.R. Cammell, who was also the editor of 'The Connoisseur' magazine. Other papers include correspondence with collectors of Chinese art or other figures in the art world, such as Lord Kitchener, the King and Queen of Sweden, Walter Muir Whitehill, Kenjiro Matsumoto and Senator Theodore Francis Green, among others. The bulk of the collection contains approximately 300 photographs of different Chinese art objects, from jade figurines to pottery to paintings. Most of these photographs are unidentified, but some of them include marginalia that indicate that they were of Bahr's own art objects for publication in books or articles. Photographs which are identified point to art objects also belonging to Bahr. The photographs have been organized based on the object type in the photograph, such as painting, statue or figurine. Biographical Note 1877 - Born in Shanghai to German father and Chinese mother Circa 1880s - Educated at St. Xavier's School in Shanghai Circa 1894 - Work as a clerk at a wholesale and retail coal merchant's office, left solely in charge during the first Sino-Japanese war, encouraged by backers to start his own business 1898 - Goes into business with shipping friend, started the Central Trading Company 1900 - Marries Miss Helen Marion Southey (daughter of Mr. T.S. Southey, in Hong Kong. Working at firm of Hopkins Dunn and Company. Begins construction on his first house, Fairview, outside the settlement on North Honan Road Extension, first son born in 1900. 1901 - Recipient of Victoria Medal for his role as a gunner during the Boxer Rebellion (had joined the Shanghai Volunteers) 1908 - Shanghai Exhibition of Chinese Art, which he helped to organize and which he loaned many pieces from his own collection. Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society. Publishes a catalogue of the exhibit in 1911, "Old Chinese Porcelains and Works of Art in China: Being Description and Illustrations of Articles selected from an Exhibition held in Shanghai, November 1908" 1909 - Begins his association with Lord Kitchener; travels with him through China 1910 - Leaves permanent residence in China, moves to London, England 1911 - Catalogue of an Exhibition of Early Chinese Paintings from the Collection of A.W. Bahr, published by the Fine Art Society 1915 - Applies to Foreign Office in London to go to America. (Involved in the art business; the war had stopped all such activities in London) 1927 - Private printing of the catalogue, "Archaic Chinese Jades collected in China by A.W. Bahr, now in Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, described by Berthold Laufer" 1938 - "Early Chinese Paintings from the A.W. Bahr Collection" by Osvald Siren, published by the Chiswick Press 1946 - Leaves England, with his wife, daughter Edna, two sons and their wives and two granddaughters for Canada 1947 - Metropolitan Museum of Art purchases Chinese paintings from Bahr, collection of archaic jades exhibited in the Royal Ontario Museum. The Met also publishes a portfolio of the painting, 'Ching Ming Shang Ho, Spring Festival on the River' which Bahr had donated to the museum 1948 - The Met exhibits Bahr's Chinese paintings. Several Chinese art objects on loan to the Art Association of Montreal and exhibited in the new Far East gallery 1949 - Tang figurine, paint cakes and Han pottery vase on display at the Royal Ontario Museum of Archaeology 1950 - Donates Chinese ceramics to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts 1951 - Begins writing his memoir[?] 1952 - Last visit to London 1954 - Gets typed draft of memoir. Living in Ridgefield, CT, working with C.R. Cammell 1959 - Dies |
| extent | 1.25 linear ft. |
| formats | Manuscript Notes Correspondence Photographs |
| access | Access is by appointment only, Monday through Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please contact the Archives to make an appointment. |
| record source | http://www.asia.si.edu/archives/finding_aids/bahr.htm |
| finding aid | In repository and on repository's Web site [http://www.asia.si.edu/archives/finding_aids/bahr.htm]. |
| acquisition information | Penelope Jane Bahr and Helen Margaret Stewart (née Bahr) donated their grandfather's papers to the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives on November 12th, 2001. |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:30:00 |
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| title | Records of the Director's Office: Frederic Allen Whiting, 1913-1930 | repository | The Cleveland Museum of Art |
| description | The records of the Director's Office are the primary source for understanding the decisions made and actions taken at the highest level of the museum's administration. In addition, the records constitute one of the most valuable, unified resources for researching the early history of the museum and its art collection; initial construction and expansion of the museum building; changes in the museum's administrative hierarchy; personalities and activities of individual staff members; artistic and social movements of the first half of the twentieth century; and the museum's relationship with civic, cultural, and educational institutions throughout the country and the world. The records from Frederic Allen Whiting's tenure as director are divided into four main series: I. Numbered Administrative Correspondence, II. Unnumbered Administrative Correspondence, III. Biographical Materials, and IV. Index to Numbered Administrative Correspondence. Citation: The Cleveland Museum of Art Archives, Records of the Director's Office: Frederic Allen Whiting, date and short description of document [e.g., letter from Whiting to Kent, 6 June 1916]. |
| extent | 22.6 cubic feet, 72 boxes |
| formats | Administrative Records Writings Correspondence Notes |
| access | At the end of the restricted period, the records will still be subject to the review of the archivist before access is granted. |
| record link | http://library.clevelandart.org/museum_archives/finding_aids/whiting/index.php |
| record source | http://library.clevelandart.org/museum_archives/finding_aids/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:11 |
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| title | The Bahr collection of early Chinese paintings, pottery and bronzes [electronic resource]. | repository | Frick Art Reference Library and Brooklyn Museum |
| description | New York : The Gallery, 1911. Catalog of an exhibition held Nov. 9-Dec. 9, 1911. |
| extent | 1 online resource ([16] p.) ; 23 cm. |
| formats | Electronic Resource Exhibition Catalogs |
| access | No restrictions on access copy. Unrestricted online access |
| record link | http://www.nyarc.org/digital_projects/gilded_age/ND2081_5_M76.pdf#view=Fit |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991002337239707141 |
| acquisition information | Documenting the Gilded Age exhibition checklists and pamphlets digital project at Frick Art Reference Library and Brooklyn Museum |
| updated | 11/29/2022 15:49:51 |
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| title | Exhibition of early Chinese pottery of the Han T'ang, Sung, Yuan and Ming dynasties from the collection of Mr. A.W. Bahr [electronic resource] : [exhibition] March second to fourteenth, 1914. | repository | Frick Art Reference Library and Brooklyn Museum |
| description | Digitized catalog of a 1914 exhibition of early Chinese pottery of the Han T'ang, Sung, Yuan and Ming dynasties from the collection of Mr. A.W. Bahr (Montross Gallery, March second to fourteenth, 1914). |
| extent | 1 online resource ([19] p.) : ill. ; 20 cm. |
| formats | Electronic Resource Exhibition Catalogs |
| access | No restrictions on access copy. Unrestricted online access |
| record link | http://www.nyarc.org/digital_projects/gilded_age/NK4165_B15.pdf#view=Fit |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991002336969707141 |
| acquisition information | Documenting the Gilded Age exhibition checklists and pamphlets digital project at Frick Art Reference Library and Brooklyn Museum |
| updated | 11/29/2022 15:49:51 |
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