Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America

Archives related to: Prentiss, Elisabeth Severance Allen, 1865-1944

titleRecords of the Director's Office: Frederic Allen Whiting, 1913-1930
repositoryThe Cleveland Museum of Art
descriptionThe 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].
extent22.6 cubic feet, 72 boxes
formatsAdministrative Records Writings Correspondence Notes
accessAt the end of the restricted period, the records will still be subject to the review of the archivist before access is granted.
record linkhttp://library.clevelandart.org/museum_archives/finding_aids/whiting/index.php
record sourcehttp://library.clevelandart.org/museum_archives/finding_aids/
updated03/16/2023 10:30:04
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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 11:30:11
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titleDuveen Brothers Records, 1876-1981, bulk 1909-1964
repositoryThe Metropolitan Museum of Art
descriptionThe records provide an detailed view of the Duveen Brothers business activities in London, Paris, and New York. Although the archive extends from 1876-1981, the bulk of the material dates from Joseph Duveen's tenure as president of the firm, 1909-1939, and the period from 1939 to 1964 when Edward Fowles directed the firm (with Armand Lowengard until 1943). The mass of documents, such as cables and letters, invoices, and ledger and stock books, give a day-by-day account of art dealing, business strategy, and the individuals involved

NOTE Series I (ca. 112 linear feet) contains the firm's business records. Stock books indicate where objects were sent for repair, to whom objects were sent on approbation along with the date of sale and the price realized. Invoices include receipts, sales invoices sent to clients, lists of cablegrams and shipment of stock from each branch of the business

Series II (ca. 155 linear feet) consists of papers and correspondence which broadly cover the interaction between the Duveen Brothers firm and its clients, business associates, and the public. The correspondence describes art collecting trends among museums and individuals, the availability and purchase of art, art research and authentication, and the firm's general business practices. Eleven boxes of correspondence with Bernard Berenson detail his business relationship with the firm. Also included are records of lawsuits, correspondence between branches (some written in code), correspondence with museums, papers regarding galleries, Edward Fowles' papers, papers concerning exhibitions and loans, and papers regarding major art collectors and consultants. Some records of Kleinberger Galleries (apparently the papers of Harry G. Sperling, president) form a subseries within this series, and contain correspondence

Series III (c. 127 linear feet) includes some photographs, indices, negatives, and x-rays. This series represents the Duveen Brother's stock of images. Indices are available for the majority of the negatives in cold storage

("X Book" (Berenson transaction) is the only unique Duveen document not transferred to the GRI. It has not yet been photocopied. The "X Book" details, for a limited number (about 250) of Italian paintings in which Berenson had a financial interest, precise dates of purchase and sale, primarily in the years 1910-27. There is no index.) AAM

LOCATION
Watson Library Reference

CALL NUMBER
Microfilm Cabinet
extentCa. 394 linear ft. 584 boxes, glass negative cabinets, and 18 flat file folders. 422 microfilm reels : positive ; 35mm
formatsMicrofilm
accessMicrofilm of the archive is available for use by qualified researchers. The originals are held at the Getty Institute in CA.
record sourcehttp://library.metmuseum.org/record=b1334527~S1
finding aidUnpublished finding aid available in the repository (the Getty Research Library): folder level control. Online finding aid, Watson Online, Metropololitan Art Museum.
acquisition informationThe Metropolitan Museum of Art donated the Duveen archive to the Getty Research Library in 1996. Edward Fowles had donated the archive to the Metropolitan in 1968
updated11/12/2014 11:30:11
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titleDuveen Brothers Records, 1876-1981, bulk 1909-1964
repositoryThe Getty Research Institute
descriptionThe records provide an detailed view of the Duveen Brothers business activities in London, Paris, and New York. Although the archive extends from 1876-1981, the bulk of the material dates from Joseph Duveen's tenure as president of the firm, 1909-1939, and the period from 1939 to 1964 when Edward Fowles directed the firm (with Armand Lowengard until 1943). The mass of documents, such as cables and letters, invoices, and ledger and stock books, give a day-by-day account of art dealing, business strategy, and the individuals involved

NOTE Series I (ca. 112 linear feet) contains the firm's business records. Stock books indicate where objects were sent for repair, to whom objects were sent on approbation along with the date of sale and the price realized. Invoices include receipts, sales invoices sent to clients, lists of cablegrams and shipment of stock from each branch of the business

Series II (ca. 155 linear feet) consists of papers and correspondence which broadly cover the interaction between the Duveen Brothers firm and its clients, business associates, and the public. The correspondence describes art collecting trends among museums and individuals, the availability and purchase of art, art research and authentication, and the firm's general business practices. Eleven boxes of correspondence with Bernard Berenson detail his business relationship with the firm. Also included are records of lawsuits, correspondence between branches (some written in code), correspondence with museums, papers regarding galleries, Edward Fowles' papers, papers concerning exhibitions and loans, and papers regarding major art collectors and consultants. Some records of Kleinberger Galleries (apparently the papers of Harry G. Sperling, president) form a subseries within this series, and contain correspondence

Series III (c. 127 linear feet) includes some photographs, indices, negatives, and x-rays. This series represents the Duveen Brother's stock of images. Indices are available for the majority of the negatives in cold storage

("X Book" (Berenson transaction) is the only unique Duveen document not transferred to the GRI. It has not yet been photocopied. The "X Book" details, for a limited number (about 250) of Italian paintings in which Berenson had a financial interest, precise dates of purchase and sale, primarily in the years 1910-27. There is no index.) AAM

LOCATION
Watson Library Reference

CALL NUMBER
Microfilm Cabinet
extentCa. 394 linear ft. 584 boxes, glass negative cabinets, and 18 flat file folders. 422 microfilm reels : positive ; 35mm
formatsPhotographs X rays Correspondence Financial Records Inventories
accessMicrofilm of the archive is available for use by qualified researchers. The archive is restricted because of extreme fragility
record linkhttp://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa960015
record sourcehttps://primo.getty.edu/permalink/f/19q6gmb/GETTY_ALMA21124730440001551
finding aidUnpublished finding aid available in the repository and on the repository's Web site: folder level control. See the following web page digitization information: http://www.getty.edu/research/institute/development_partnerships/2011_kress.html
acquisition informationEdward Fowles donated the Duveen Brothers records to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1968. The Metropolitan gave the records to the Getty Research Library in 1996.
updated07/28/2023 16:33:44
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titleDuveen Brothers records, 1910-1933.
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionA United States Circuit Court Bill of Indictment: The United States of America vs. Benjamin Duveen, Henry J. Duveen, Joel J. Duveen, Joseph J. Duveen, and Louis J. Duveen, 1910; a "supplemental protest" to the Commisssioner of Internal Revenue from Joseph Duveen, May 5, 1927; a statement before the Commissioner of Internal Revenue "in the matter of the income taxes for the fiscal years ended May 31, 1923 to 1931, of Duveen Brothers, Inc."; and an article about Joseph Duveen.

Bio / His Notes:
Art dealers; New York, N.Y.
extent4 items (on 1 partial microfilm reel). reel 2803
formatsMicrofilm
accessPatrons must use microfilm copy.
record linkn/a
record sourcehttps://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/duveen-brothers-records-7611
acquisition informationProvenance unknown. Loc. of Assoc. Material: Records of Duveen Bros: also located at: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
updated06/08/2023 16:42:13
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titlePhotograph albums of Glenallen
repositoryMichael Schwartz Library, Cleveland State University
descriptionThis collection of 116 professional photographs spotlights the unique interior and exterior features of this historic estate. The digitized images are from a rare twin-volume book of hand-mounted photographs by photographer, Clifford Norton, recently acquired by Special Collections at Cleveland State University Library.

About Glenallen
Glenallen, the estate of Elisabeth Severance Allen Prentiss, was located at the northeast corner of Mayfield and Taylor Road in Cleveland Heights, across from John Severance’s (1863-1936) estate, Longwood, and next to Ben-Brae, the estate of Julia Severance Milliken.

Glenallen was designed in the English manorial style in 1914 by Charles Schweinfurth for Elisabeth Severance and her husband Dudley P. Allen (1852-1915). Elisabeth Severance was remarried in 1917 to Francis Fleury Prentiss (1859-1937).

Glenallen, situated on 45 acres of land, was known for its landscape. It was featured in The Complete Garden by Albert Taylor. The grounds had several unique features, such as a Japanese Garden with a goldfish pond and a Korean Pavilion shipped directly from Korea. The interior of the estate featured inlaid oak floors, marble fireplaces, fine art, and a carved mahogany woodwork.

After the death of Mrs. Prentiss in 1944, the estate was demolished in 1945 by the Broadway Wrecking Company. The land was purchased by Gabriel Feigenbaum, Leighton A. Rosenthal, & Gabriel Leeb, who sought to develop it into “Prentiss Park,” 100 hundred homes selling for $15,000. Although a few homes were built, the land was primarily used as the site for the Jewish Community Center (1960) and is currently the home of Lutheran East High School and Bluestone condominiums.

extent116 items
formatsPhotograph Album Photographs Digital Collection
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://www.clevelandmemory.org/glenallen/
finding aidImages have been digitized and are available on the repository's Web site.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:11
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titleSeverance family papers, series II, 1826-1989.
repositoryWestern Reserve Historical Society
descriptionConsists of historical and biographical data on various family members; diaries and travel journals, especially of Julia Severance Millikin and her mother, Emily Allen Severance; correspondence, especially between Julia and her mother,

Emily Severance; wills, genealogical notes, deeds, notices of events, and newspaper clippings. Among the correspondence are numerous letters from Julia's friends from Wells College.

The collection also includes a certificate appointing John Walworth collector for the district of Erie, 1806, and a journal kept by Dudley Allen detailing early medical practice in the area.

There is also material on author Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) and his voyage around the world, which included Solon and Emily Severance, and became the basis of hs novel "The Innocents Abroad".

Historical Note:
The Severance family was a prominent Cleveland, Ohio family known for its philanthropic activities. Solon Severance, a Cleveland banker, was the son of Solomon Severance and Mary Helen Long, and a brother of Louis Severance.

He was also a descendent of John Walworth, an early settler of Cleveland who was a civil engineer and was appointed in 1806 as the Custom Collector for the District of Erie. Solon's wife, Emily Allen, was the daughter of Dr. Dudley Allen, and the sister of prominent surgeon Dudley P. Allen. Solon and Emily's daughter, Julia Severance Millikin, was the wife of Benjamin Millikin, a noted Cleveland opthalmologist.

Julia's children included Helen Millikin Nash and Severance, Marianne, Dudley, and Louise Millikin.

Has supplement:
Severance family. Severance family photographs

Location
WRHS Archives Library

Collection
Manuscripts

Call NumberMS. 4558
extent4 linear ft.
formatsFinancial Records Legal Papers Correspondence Diaries Journals
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://ipac.wrhs.org:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?forcelogout=true&profile=wrhsl&lang=eng#focus
finding aidRegister available in the library. Includes family pedigree charts.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:11
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titleSeverance family photographs, 1846-1950 [graphic].
repositoryWestern Reserve Historical Society
descriptionConsist of individual and group portraits of Severance family members; allied families including the Allen, Hadden, Long, Millikin, Nash, Prentiss, Robbins, and Tryon families; and unrelated individuals, including Jacob D. Cox, Charles Gleason, and Rutherford B. Hayes. Also included are views of various family residences and trips.

Historical Note:
Members of the Severance family were prominent bankers and industrialists in Cleveland, Ohio. The Severance family was also known for its philanthropic activities.

Solon Severance, a Cleveland banker, was the son of Solomon Severance and Mary Helen Long, and a brother of Louis Severance. He was also a descendent of John Walworth, an early settler of Cleveland who was a civil engineer and was appointed in 1806 as the Custom Collector for the District of Erie.

Solon's wife, Emily Allen, was the daughter of Dr. Dudley Allen, and the sister of prominent surgeon Dudley P. Allen. Solon and Emily's daughter, Julia Severance Millikin, was the wife of Benjamin Millikin, a noted Cleveland ophthalmologist. Julia's children included Helen Millikin Nash and Severance, Marianne, Dudley, and Louise Millikin.

Supplement to:
Severance family. Severance family papers,
Severance family. Severance family papers, series II,

Location
WRHS Archives Library

Collection
Photograph Collections

Call Number
PG. 440
extent2.2 linear ft.
formatsPhotographs
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://ipac.wrhs.org:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?forcelogout=true&profile=wrhsl&lang=eng#focus
updated11/12/2014 11:30:11
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titleSaint Luke's Foundation records, 1904-1997.
repositoryWestern Reserve Historical Society
descriptionConsists of the institutional records of Saint Luke's Hospital, MetroHealth Saint Luke's Medical Center, Saint Luke's Medical Center, and the Saint Luke's Hospital Association, including historical records, correspondence, contracts and agreements, minutes, financial statements, wills, newspaper clippings, publications, transcripts, reports, and surveys.
extent16.41 linear ft.
formatsBusiness Papers Administrative Records Financial Records Legal Papers Correspondence
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://ipac.wrhs.org:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?forcelogout=true&profile=wrhsl&lang=eng#focus
finding aidRegister available in the library.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:11
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titleMargaret Bourke-White photographs, ca. 1928 [graphic].
repositoryWestern Reserve Historical Society
descriptionConsists of 16 views of the buildings and grounds of Glenallen, the estate of Dr. Dudley Allen and later Francis F. Prentiss, at 3505 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The photographs are mounted on thin board stock and are signed by Bourke-White.
extent16 photographs
formatsPhotographs
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://ipac.wrhs.org:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?forcelogout=true&profile=wrhsl&lang=eng#focus
finding aidRegister available in the library.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:11
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titleSaint Luke's hospital photographs, 1894-1997 [graphic].
repositoryWestern Reserve Historical Society
descriptionThis collection consists of prints, glass lantern slides, offset prints, photolithography, negatives, postcards, and 35 mm. transparency slides.

Notes:
This collection is of value to researchers seeking illustrative materials on the history of Cleveland, Ohio, in general, and the history of Saint Luke's Hospital and Cleveland General Hospital in particular.

This collection will also be valuable to researchers studying the history of women, health care, hospitals, hospital funding raising, and nursing education in Cleveland, Ohio, and those interested in the hospital's facilities in Woodland Avenue, Carnegie Avenue, and Shaker Boulevard. Researchers looking for images of Saint Luke's Hospital satellite facilities, including the medical center in Solon, Ohio, and images that document over a century of changes in patient care, surgical facilities, nursing education, and hospital construction will find this collection helpful.

Researchers interested in the evolution of the fields of radiology, cardiology, particularly open heart surgery, nursing education, public health nursing, and hospital pharmacies will find the images in this collection particularly valuable. Those studying labor history will find images related to an employee strike that took place at the hospital in the 1960s.

Images of Frances Fleury Prentiss (1858-1937) and Elisabeth Severance Allen Prentiss (1865-1944), hospital benefactors, are contained in this group. This collection also includes images of Caroline Kirkpatrick, the first principal of the School of Nursing; Melissa Whittler, an early principal of the School of Nursing, Hazel Avis Goff, an early Director of Nursing at the hospital, E. Laura Lohman, who served as both Director of Nursing at the hospital and Principal at the School of Nursing, and Dr. George Crile, one of the founders of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

The researcher should also consult MS. 4786 Saint Luke's Foundation Records and MS.4875 Saint Luke's Hospital Records.

Organized into four series: I. Historical, II. Saint Luke's Hospital, Shaker Boulevard, III. Slides and Transparencies, IV. Negatives

extent17.61 linear ft.
formatsPhotographs
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://ipac.wrhs.org:8080/ipac20/ipac.jsp?forcelogout=true&profile=wrhsl&lang=eng#focus
finding aidRegister available in the library.
updated11/12/2014 11:30:11
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titleFrench & Company records, 1911-1998 (bulk 1950-1969)
repositoryThe Getty Research Institute
descriptionThe collection contains the assorted business records of French & Company that were still in the possession of Spencer A. Samuels & Company in 1999.

These records include investment reports and other financial papers; business correspondence, including board minutes; and correspondence regarding professional appraisals and sales, with some photographs of art works. Several of the sales files relate to tapestries.

A portion of this archive is comprised of reports and publicity photographs that document the firm’s reorganization in the context of a changing clientele and art market.

One videotape documents the opening of French & Company on Madison Ave., New York City. Architectural drawings appear to be for renovations for clients, and for French & Company offices and galleries.

Nine folders of papers regarding J. Paul Getty and the J. Paul Getty Museum include copies of letters from Spencer Samuels to Getty concerning the appraisal of his art collection, and other correspondence between Mr. Getty (and J.P. Getty Museum employees) and Mr. Samuels, as well as newspaper clippings about the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Six folders hold papers regarding sales to other clients. A small number of files are from Spencer A. Samuels & Company, the firm Samuels founded after selling French & Company. Monographs have been separated from the archive to the repository’s library. The bulk of the firm’s paper records were lost in a flood.

Biographical or Historical Notes:
French & Company was co-founded by Mitchell Samuels in 1907. His son, Spencer Samuels, took over as president in the 1950s, then sold the firm to City Investing in 1959. When City Investing sold the company to Martin Zimet in 1968, much of the remaining stock of decorative art was sold at auction that year.

The firm continued under the same name after the 1950s but with a changing inventory and clientele.
extent6 linear ft. (17 boxes, 3 flat file folders) + ADDS (1 box) 1 videocassette (VHS Dub) : sd. Original.
formatsFinancial Records Correspondence Photographs Clippings Electronic Resource
accessOpen for use by qualified researchers; contact repository for information regarding access.
record linkhttp://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa990051
record sourcehttp://primo.getty.edu/GRI:GETTY_ALMA21136188750001551
finding aidhttp://archives.getty.edu:8082/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=utf8a&idno=US::CMalG::990051
acquisition informationCollection acquired in 1999 from Spencer A. Samuels Company, New York. Additional portions received in 2002, 2003.
updated07/28/2023 16:33:44
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titleFrench & Company photographs, 1915-1998 (bulk 1950-1969)
repositoryThe Getty Research Institute
descriptionThe collection contains the assorted photographs and negatives of French & Company that were still in the possession of Spencer A. Samuels & Company in 1999.

The collection comprises photographs of works of art, primarily paintings and drawings, that were sold by or passed through French & Company, for the most part between 1950 and 1969.

Location:
STORAGE - PHOTO STUDY COLLECTION - CONTACT REFERENCE
Call Number:
99.P.4


Related collection:
French & Company photographic archive, 1920-1968, accessioned as a separate collection, Accn. no. 71.P.1.

Stock sheets and ledgers of French & Company, 1909-1968, accessioned as a separate collection, Accn. no. 840027.

French & Company Records, 1911-1998 (bulk 1950-1969), accessioned as a separate collection, Accn. no. 990051.
extent21 linear feet
formatsPhotographs
accessUnprocessed collection; contact repository for information regarding access.
record linkn/a
record sourcehttps://primo.getty.edu/permalink/f/19q6gmb/GETTY_ALMA21128696300001551
updated07/28/2023 16:33:44
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