Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Archives related to: Hofer, Philip, 1898-1984

titleDrawing Society lectures, 1961-1962.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionLectures delivered by curator Jacob Bean, curator and collector Philip Hofer, and painter and printmaker Gabor Peterdi, as part of a series sponsored by the Drawing Society held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Bio / His Notes:
Art society; New York, N.Y.
extent3 sound tapes ; 7 in. (71 p. transcripts)
formatsSound Recording Transcript
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationDonated by the Drawing Society.
updated03/16/2023 10:30:02
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titleDan Fellows Platt papers, 1914-1963
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionCorrespondence and publications reflecting the collecting activities of Platt. Correspondents include Bernard Berenson, Philip Hofer, Frank J. Mather, Richard Offner, John Singer Sargent, and others.

Bio / His Notes:
Art collector and author; Englewood, N.J.
extent209 items (on partial microfilm reel) reel D316
formatsMicrofilm Correspondence
accessPatrons must use microfilm copy.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationLent for microfilming 1967 by Platt's widow.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:05
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titleCastano Galleries records, 1907-1983.
repositoryArchives of American Art
description20 feet, chiefly gallery records and some personal papers of gallery owner, Giovanni (John) Castano, including correspondence, legal material, subject files, notes, writings, financial material, photographs, a scrapbook, and printed material.

Included are biographical information about Castano, business correspondence with dealers, museums, clients, collectors, artists, art historians, and others, and some personal correspondence, including a letter from Rome, 1876, from an unidentified writer to an unidentified woman containing a detailed description of a painting in the Barberini, and correspondence related to Castano's work as a scenic artist, 1924-1931. Subject files contain mainly correspondence and lists of work, and relate to Italian Renaissance exhibition, 1938, the Heeramaneck Collection of Persian and Indian Art, a Boldini exhibition, Arthur C. Goodwin, 1945-1952, and a Mancini-Sargent exhibition, 1951.

Financial material includes records of expenses and income; account books; employees' weekly wage book; records of purchases and sales of art work, including part of a bill for a painting by Diaz paid by Knoedler and Co., 1890; appraisals done for individuals, estates and institutions, including the Gorham Corporation, Harvard University murals, the Mrs. T. Morris Murray estate, furnishings of William M. Paxton's studio, ca. 1941, and paintings by Edmund Tarbell, and others; consignments; priced auction catalogs of the Henry F. Sears estate, the Mary A.H. Traiser estate, and miscellaneous price lists.

Also included are a card file on paintings; lists of paintings; inventories; client cards; address and appointment books; mailing lists; gallery journals, 1936-1927; descriptions and notes on paintings and authentications; biographies of artists; writings by and about Castano; and notes by Churchill Wyman on Philip Hale's anatomy lectures.

Photographs are of Castano, his work, artists at work, and various works of art. Original art work consists of sketches for a logo designed by Suzanne Chapman. Included in the exhibition related material is a catalog for Castano's posthumous exhibition.

Also included is a scrapbook containing announcements, clippings on the gallery and Castano, exhibition catalogs, and biographical material compiled by Castano's longtime secretary.

Among the correspondents are: Philip Beam, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Gibson Danes, Franz Denghasusen, Lloyd Goodrich (Whitney Museum of American Art), Isabella Grandin, Lilian W. Hale, Philip Hofer (Fogg Art Museum), Perry T. Rathbone (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston), Edgar P. Richardson (Detroit Institute of Arts), Paul J. Sachs (Fogg), and Lionello Venturi.
extent30 microfilm reels. reels 4827-4856
formatsCorrespondence Notes Financial Records Photographs Scrapbooks
accessPatrons must use microfilm copy.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationLent for microfilming by Elvira Castano Palmerio, Castano's daughter, 1988.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:05
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titleDurlacher Bros. Records, 1919-1973.
repositoryThe Getty Research Institute
descriptionThese are the records of the Durlacher Brothers' New York branch which was managed, then later owned, by R. Kirk Askew, ca. 1923-ca. 1969.

Included are stockbooks, correspondence, financial records, photographs, exhibition records, Askew's appointment books, an index card file, and newspaper clippings about the gallery. Two boxes of papers (1 lin. ft.) comprise personal letters addressed to Askew and his wife Constance, mostly from family members, and some personal financial items. So far as is known, George Durlacher destroyed the records of the original London firm when he sold the business to Askew in 1937.

Approximately 275 letters, 1920-1938, between R. Kirk Askew (in carbon copies) and the London branch of Durlacher (most with George Durlacher and Adam Paff) detail sales and the movement of stock. Lengthy correspondence with other dealers and curators includes letters to and from Jere Abbott, Tomás Harris, Philip Hofer, and Edward James. Other correspondents include Winslow Ames, A. Everett "Chick" Austin, Vitale Bloch, Eugene Berman, Kurt Hirschland, Perry Rathbone. Two files concern building the collection of the Wm. Rockhill Nelson Museum.

One folder contains about 40 letters from F.M. Perkins, dated 1919-1923, addressed to Bernard d'Hendecourt at Durlacher Brothers in London, regarding paintings and collections. Correspondence about the Pavel Tchelitchew estate (.5 lin.ft.) contains letters from Pavel's sister and the lawyer for the estate, along with copies of Askew's letters. Photographs document sold drawings (ca. 3 linear ft.), mostly Old Masters, and the work of Pavel Tchelitchew (linear ft.).

Biographical/Historical Note:
Henry Durlacher founded the Durlacher Brothers firm of art dealers in London in 1843, and was later joined by his brother George. The firm dealt principally with porcelain and majolica, eventually adding furniture, tapestries, decorative objects, and paintings to their stock.

The brothers Durlacher built a clientele that included such significant collectors as Sir Richard Wallace and J. Pierpont Morgan. R. Kirk Askew joined the firm in the 1920s to manage the newly established New York City branch, which quickly became the more influential of the two branches. George Durlacher, the oldest surviving partner of the originally constituted firm, retired in 1938. Askew became the owner of Durlacher Bros. in 1937 and ran the business from New York until ca. 1969.

R. Kirk Askew (1903-1974) represented a new generation of scholarly dealers. He trained in art history at Harvard. While there he was a student of Arthur McComb, who in 1929 organized the first exhibition of Italian baroque art in the United States.

Askew sold important Old Master drawings and paintings to American museums and collectors between the 1920s and 1960s. The New York branch contributed to such significant collections as the Sachs collection, the Widener collection, the Frick, the Fogg, and the Cleveland Museum, among others. After World War II, however, the gallery increasingly exhibited and handled the work of modern and contemporary artists, including that of Peter Blume, Walter Stuempfig, Florine Stettheimer, and the estate of Pavel Tchelitchew.

Askew and his wife Constance (neé Atwood and the former wife of Arthur McComb) formed part of the New York art scene; friends and colleagues included Julien Levy, Lincoln Kirstein, Peter Blume, Pavel Tchelitchew and Charles Henri Ford, and other artists and dealers. While Levy served in the U.S. Army during World War II, Askew also managed the Julien Levy gallery.

Arrangement note:
The records are arranged in 8 series:
Series I. Correspondence and appointment books, 1919-1973;
Series II. Financial, 1921-1971;
Series III. Stock books, 1923-1969;
Series IV. Assorted office files, 1923-1964;
Series V. Photographs;
Series VI. Tchelitchew Estate, 1942-1973;
Series VII. Scrapbooks, 1934-1953;
Series VIII. Kirk and Constance Askew personal files, 1929-ca.1967

Other Archival Locations:
R. Kirk Askew papers; Also located at; Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

extent16 linear ft. (41 boxes)
formatsCorrespondence Financial Records Photographs Clippings Scrapbooks
accessOpen for use by qualified researchers.
record linkhttp://archives2.getty.edu:8082/xtf/view?docId=ead/950003/950003.xml;query=;brand=default
record sourcehttp://primo.getty.edu/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=GRI&search_scope=default_scope&docId=dedupmrg1031946629&fn=permalink
finding aidFinding aid available in the repository; folder-level control. Inventory available via the repository's Web site.
acquisition informationAfter R. Kirk Askew died in 1974, the remaining records of his firm stayed in the hands of his widow until she died in the 1980s. The records then passed to her daughters (including the art historian Pamela Askew), from whom the Getty Research Library acquired this archive in 1995.
updated11/29/2017 13:55:05
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titleRobert S. Pirie papers, 1956-2005.
repositoryGrolier Club
descriptionThe original inventory includes: correspondence relating to book and antique collecting of Robert S. Pirie; most of the letters are addressed to Pirie from fellow collectors, bibliophiles, and rare book and antique dealers. Correspondents include but are not limited to: F.B. Adams, Marie Angel, John Carter, John F. Fleming, E.P. Goldschmidt (London), Hamill & Barker (Chicago), Rupert Hart-Davis, John Hayward, B.E. Jurel-Jenson, Maggs Brothers (London), A.N.L. Munby, Michael Papantonio (Seven Gables Bookshop), Charles S. Ryskamp, John Sparrow, and J.L. Vellekoop of E.P. Goldscmidt. There is a collection of over 100 ALS and TLS from Philip Hofer of the Department of Graphic Art at Harvard University and 24 ALS from Sir Geoffrey Keynes concering preparation of the 4th edition of his Bibliography of Dr. John Donne (1973).

Of the almost 200 ALS, TLS and telegrams from the firm of Bernard Quaritch in London, the majority are signed by P. N. Poole-Wilson. Supplementary inventory includes: appraisals and descriptions of furniture and objets d'art and some books; a number of the appraisals were made by Paul Magriel. There is substantial material concerning the exhibition John Donne at the Grolier Club in 1972 that was organized by RSP and included many items from his collection. Also: files of personal correspondence for the years 1980-1089 and the complete files documenting the creation of his publication for the Roxburghe Club, an edition of his. original manuscript of Robert Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia, printed by the Stinehour Press in 2002 for distribution to members. The complete file of papers relating to his role as an executor of the estate of antiquarian bookseller John Fleming is also included, as are papers relating to his sponsorship of a publications program with the Grolier Poetry Bookshoop (Laura Solano) in Cambridge Massachusetts.

Bio/History:
Robert S. Pirie graduated from Harvard College and Harvard University Law School. As an undergraduate, he was attracted to bibliographical work in Elizabethan authors and began to collect actively while on service with the United States Army in the late 1950s. In 1963 portions of his collection were exhibited at the Grolier Club (a New York City bibliophile organization) where he was an active member. In 1972 Pirie compiled for the Grolier Club John Donne, 1572-1631: a catalogue of the anniversary exhbition of first and early editions. Many of the items in this exhibition were from his own collection, and he was acknowledged by Donne bibliographer Sir Geoffrey Keynes as a premier collector of original editions of Donne.

During the 1960s and early 1970s Pirie was associated with law firms in Boston; he later practiced in New York City and then served in turn as Co-Chairman and CEO of Rothschild North America; Senior Managing Director of Bear, Stearns ? and Vice-Chairman of Investment Banking at SG Cowen Securities Corporation. He is now associated with the French bank Societé Generale.
extent25 linear ft.
formatsCorrespondence Photographs Negatives Inventories Estate Papers
accessCollection is restricted.
record sourcehttp://www.grolierclub.org/Library.htm
finding aidUnpublished finding aid available in repository
updated11/12/2014 11:30:05
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titleOral history interview with Eleanor M. Garvey, 1997 Feb. 28 - June 13.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionAn interview of Eleanor M. Garvey conducted by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art in Garvey's office, Houghton Library, Harvard University, 1997 Feb. 28, May 2, May 23, and June 13.

FEB. 28, 1997 SESSION: Garvey discusses her childhood in Worcester, Mass.; majoring in art history at Wellesley College under Serape der Nersessian, Alexander Campbell, Agnes Abbott, and Kenneth Conant; study of education at Clark University, with drawing classes at the art school of the Worcester Art Museum; and the extremely useful experience working at the Museum under Charles Sawyer and Louisa Dresser.

MAY 2, 1997 SESSION: Working as an art librarian and museum curator at Wellesley College (1947-1952), and art history professors John McAndrew, Sidney Freedberg, James O'Gorman; moving on to the Newark Museum (1952-1953) and its collections and administration under Katherine Coffey.

MAY 23, 1997 SESSION: Joining the Dept. of Printing and Graphic Arts of the Houghton Library in 1953 beginning as secretary to curator Philip Hofer; Hofer's work on illustrated books; the development of the Houghton Library from the so-called "Treasure Room" of the main Harvard Library under the direction of George Parker Winship; Garvey's close relationship with William Bentinck-Smith, a Houghton patron and an authority on type design; the status of women professionals at Harvard.

JUNE 13, 1997 SESSION: Continued discussion of Houghton patron William Bentinck-Smith; publications and exhibitions while at Houghton, including: "The Artist and the Book, 1860-1960" (1961), "The Turn of a Century, 1885-1970" (1970), "Henry Hobson Richardson and His Office: Selected Drawings" (1974), and "Artists of the Book in Boston, 1890-1910" (1988), as well as her current project producing a catalog of 18th century Venetian illustrated books and her involvement in seminars on artists' books.

Bio / His Notes:
Curator, writer; Cambridge, Mass.
extentsound cassettes (3 1/2 hr.) : analog.
formatsInterview Sound Recording
accessUntranscribed; use requires an appointment.
record sourcehttp://www.siris.si.edu/
acquisition informationThis interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:05
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titleCorrespondence to Van Wyck Brooks, [between 1938 and 1963].
repositoryUniversity of Pennsylvania
descriptionDescription: Mixed Material

Contained in: Van Wyck Brooks Papers. Folder 1322

Location:
Rare Book & Ms Library Manuscripts
Call Number:
Ms. Coll. 650
extent2 items (2 leaves)
formatsCorrespondence
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu
updated11/12/2014 11:30:05
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titleCorrespondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1940-1956.
repositoryUniversity of Pennsylvania
descriptionArchival/Manuscript Material

Contained in:
Carl Zigrosser Papers, ca. 1891-1971. Folder 719.

Biography/History:
Philip Hofer was Curator of Prints at Harvard College Library.

Other Contributors:
Harvard College Library. Dept. of Printing and Graphic Arts.

Location:
Rare Book & Ms Library Manuscripts
Call Number:
Ms. Coll. 6
extent7 items (7 leaves).
formatsCorrespondence
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://www.franklin.library.upenn.edu
updated11/12/2014 11:30:05
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titleSyllabus for N.Y.U. Fine Arts 270, "Spanish Painting from Goya to Miro," 1945
repositoryThe Getty Research Institute
descriptionSyllabus for his teaching, with related correspondence between Philip Hofer and Walter W.S. Cook.

Additional Authors or Names:
Cook, Walter William Spencer, 1888-1962.
Hofer, Philip, 1898-

Location:
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS - CONTACT REFERENCE

Call Number:
850134

Holdings at This Location:
1 box
extent20 p.
formatsTypescript
access Open for use by qualified researchers.
record linkhttp://hdl.handle.net/10020/cat76895
record sourcehttp://library.getty.edu/vwebv/searchBasic
updated11/12/2014 11:30:05
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titleThe Fototeca Berenson (Villa I Tatti Photo Archives)
repositoryBiblioteca Berenson, Villa I Tatti
descriptionThe collection contains about 300,000 photographs, many of them collected by Berenson himself from the 1880s until the time of his death in 1959. Many have notes on the back in his handwriting. Many show works of art before restoration, and others show images since destroyed.

An important section, "Homeless paintings", contains photographs of works whose current location is unknown. The photographs are almost exclusively black and white in a variety of photographic media, such as albumen, gelatine, or carbon.

About 3000 large-format photographs are stored separately. In addition, there is a considerable amount of documentary material in the form of clippings, notes and printed reproductions.

The photographs are arranged according to Berenson's original scheme, by school: Florence, Siena, Central Italy, Northern Italy, Lombardy, Venice, Southern Italy. Within each school they are arranged by artist, then by topography, followed by homeless. Paintings and drawings are arranged separately.

The main focus of the collection is on Italian painting and drawing from the mid-thirteenth to the mid-sixteenth centuries. This part of the collection continues to be developed through the acquisition of new materials and through photographic campaigns. Later periods are also represented but in smaller scale, without systematic updating.

There is also material on medieval painting, arranged topographically; manuscript illumination, arranged according to present location; archeology; Byzantine art and architecture, arranged both by artist and by location; and non-Italian art, arranged by country. Finally a section of 8000 photographs is devoted to the art of the Far East, India and Islam.

In addition to the original Berenson nucleus, collections of prints, glass plates, negatives and transparencies have entered the Fototeca.

These include the collections of Emilio Marcucci (nineteenth-century projects for the completion of various Florentine monuments), George Kaftal (representations of saints in Italian painting of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries), Henry Clifford (painting thirtheenth to seventeenth centuries), Giorgio Castelfranco (Italian art thirteenth to twentieth centuries), Giannino Marchig (restoration), Frederick Hartt (Michelangelo, Giulio Romano), Giuseppe Marchini (Italian art and stained glass), and Craig H. Smyth (Renaissance painting and drawing).

There is a small collection of micropublications and microfiche (162,386 frames): L=index photographique de l'art en France (95,648); Sotheby's Pictorial Archive - Old Master Paintings (45,472); Christie's Pictorial Archive Italian School (9,898); Christie's Pictorial Archive - New York 1977-95 Old Master Paintings & Drawings (11,368). The microfilm of the Bartsch Corpus comprises about 42,000 frames.

Notes
Most photographers not identified.

extent300,000 + photographs
formatsPhotographs Reproductions Microfilm Artist Files
accessContact Ilaria Della Monica the archivist at the Berenson Library for restrictions and appointments.
record linkhttp://via.lib.harvard.edu/via/deliver/advancedsearch?_collection=via
record sourcehttp://itatti.harvard.edu/
finding aidCurrently, there is no catalog of the photographs at Villa I Tatti. In some cases, Artist Files, can be found school (i.e. Venetian, Lombard, Northern Italy, Central Italy, etc. . .) and some are cataloged in Harvard's online catalog, HOLLIS.
acquisition informationOriginally formed by Bernard Berenson the Library continues to add to the file.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:10
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