Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Askew, R. Kirk (Ralph Kirk), 1903-1974
| title | R. Kirk Askew papers, 1942-1958 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Correspondence with artists, 1943-1945 as owner of Durlacher Bros. art gallery, New York, N.Y. Artists include Cady Wells, Walter Stuempfig, Walter Quirt, Edward Melcarth, Kurt Seligmann, Leonid Berman, Hyman Bloom, Peter Blume, Carlyle Brown, James W. Fosburgh, Stephen Greene, and Walter Stein. Also included on microfilm are exhibition catalogs, 1928-1967 (sent to NCFA/PG library in 1975). Biographical/Historical Note Gallery director. Owned Durlacher Brothers from 1937 through ca. 1969. |
| extent | ca. 1000 items (on 3 microfilm reels). reels N69-107, N69-108 and 148 |
| formats | Correspondence Exhibition Catalogs |
| access | Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact the Archives of American Art Reference Services for more information. Microfilm reels N69-107, N69-108 and 148 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. |
| record link | https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.asker.pdf |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/r-kirk-askew-papers-8435 |
| acquisition information | Donated 1969-1971 by R. Kirk Askew. |
| updated | 06/08/2023 16:42:21 |
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| title | Durlacher Bros. Records, 1919-1973. | repository | The Getty Research Institute |
| description | These 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. |
| extent | 16 linear ft. (41 boxes) |
| formats | Correspondence Financial Records Photographs Clippings Scrapbooks |
| access | Open for use by qualified researchers. |
| record link | http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa950003 |
| record source | https://primo.getty.edu/permalink/f/19q6gmb/GETTY_ALMA21117656920001551 |
| finding aid | Finding aid available in the repository; folder-level control. Inventory available via the repository's Web site. |
| acquisition information | After 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. |
| updated | 07/28/2023 16:33:44 |
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| title | George Dix papers, 1946-1992. | repository | Yale University Library |
| description | The George Dix Papers contain correspondence, exhibition catalogs, photographs, notes and other papers that document the work of George Dix. The Papers have been arranged into two series, Series I, Durlacher Bros. Files and Series II, Artists Files. The papers span the years 1946-1992. Series I, Durlacher Bros. Files , contains general files detailing the workings of the gallery, including correspondence, subject files, and photographs. The correspondence consists of letters by George Dix, R. Kirk Askew, Princeton University Dept. of Art and Archaeology, and others. The letters from R. Kirk Askew concern Dix's partnership with Durlacher Bros. The subject files contain exhibition catalogs and other papers. The photographs consist of works by painters, divided into works for sale, works sold, and other categories. Series II, Artists Files , contains the subject files George Dix kept on artists he represented on behalf of Durlacher Bros., or in the case Edward Lear and Joseph Wright of Derby, artists for whom special exhibitions were mounted by Durlacher Bros. or Dix's own gallery. The correspondence in this series is mostly between Durlacher Bros. and Dix, as well as some third party letters. However, there are many letters to and from Askew, and these have been noted in the box and folder list. The subject files include financial statements, biographical information, exhibition catalogs, often containing price lists, lists of works for exhibitions, pricing and insurance purposes, newspaper clippings, and photographs of the artists and their works. Biographical Note: In 1948, already established as an art dealer, George Dix began his partnership with R. Kirk Askew at the New York gallery of Durlacher Bros., where he handled the British painters represented by the gallery. After 124 years of business, Durlacher Bros. closed in 1967. Dix, having worked for many years with contemporary artists, made plans to open a gallery in his own name, concentrating on old master drawings and paintings. Location: BEINECKE (Non-Circulating) Call Number: GEN MSS 403 |
| extent | 3.5 linear ft. (8 boxes) |
| formats | Artist Files Business Records Correspondence Subject Files Photographs |
| access | This collection is open for research. Restricted Fragile materials in box 8 and cold storage may only be consulted with permission of the appropriate curator. Preservation photocopies and copy prints for reference use have been substituted in the main files. One original color slide of a painting by James Grunbaum (Box 2, folder 36) and one color transparency of a painting by Rory McEwen (Box 3, folder 113) came with the papers. Copy prints have been made and the originals stored separately. |
| record link | http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.dix |
| record source | http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.dix |
| finding aid | Online and in repository |
| acquisition information | Gift of George Dix (Yale class of 1934), 1997. |
| updated | 11/29/2017 14:11:41 |
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| title | Paul J. Sachs Papers, 1903-2005. | repository | Harvard Art Museum Archives |
| description | These papers of Fogg Art Museum associate director Paul J. Sachs document his administration of the museum, his teaching career at Harvard, and related professional activities. The papers consist primarily of correspondence and also include photographs, printed material, clippings, architectural drawings, reports, financial records, letters of introduction, insurance records, maps, funding appeals, minutes, memoranda, exhibition brochures, page proofs and press releases. |
| extent | 99 files boxes + oversize materials |
| formats | Correspondence Photographs Printed Materials Drawings Ephemera |
| access | Unrestricted. |
| record link | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUAM:art00010 |
| record source | http://discovery.lib.harvard.edu//?itemid=%7clibrary%2fm%2faleph%7c011763842 |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:14 |
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| title | Papers of John Coolidge and Agnes Mongan, 1909-2006. | repository | Harvard Art Museum Archives |
| description | These papers of Fogg Art Museum directors John Coolidge and Agnes Mongan document their administration of the museum and related professional activities. Most of Coolidge's papers were created during his administration, from 1948 to 1968; most of Mongan's papers are from her tenure as acting director and then director (1968 to 1971). The papers consist primarily of correspondence, including Coolidge's correspondence with art dealers, and also include photographs, memoranda, reports, meeting minutes, blueprints, printed material, letters of recommendation, page proofs, financial documents, sketches and grant proposals. Bio/History: John Phillips Coolidge was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in December 1913, on either the 15th or 16th; his parents disagreed about the exact date of his birth. His father, Julian Lowell Coolidge, was a professor of mathematics at Harvard and the first master of Lowell House, and his mother, Theresa Reynolds, was a linguist. One of his uncles, Archibald Cary Coolidge, was a history professor at Harvard and also the first director of the Harvard University Library. Coolidge had one brother and four sisters. Following family tradition, he studied at Harvard as an undergraduate and received a B.A. in 1935. He married Mary Elizabeth "Polly" Welch the same year; they would have one child, Mary-Elizabeth "Penny" Coolidge Warren. Following graduation, Coolidge moved to New York to study architecture at Columbia University, but after a year of study decided he did not have the requisite talent to succeed as an architect and instead took up the study of art and architectural history. In 1936 he enrolled in graduate school at New York University, where he studied under German émigré scholars Erwin Panofsky, Karl Lehmann, Richard Krautheimer and Walter Friedlaender. He also taught at Vassar College from 1937 to 1939. Coolidge received an A.M. in 1939 and published a book based on his research for the degree in 1942: Mill and Mansion: A Study of Architecture and Society in Lowell, Massachusetts, 1820-1865. The book is still widely considered a classic social and economic history of American architecture and urbanism. Coolidge was also one of the co-founders in 1940 of the Society of Architectural Historians and served on the society's board of directors and as its first vice-president. SEE finding aid for further biographical and Historical Notes. Related Material There are additional papers of both John Coolidge and Agnes Mongan in the Harvard Art Museum Archives and the Harvard University Archives. |
| extent | 152 file boxes + oversize materials |
| formats | Administrative Records Correspondence Photographs Ephemera Printed Materials |
| access | Access to most of the papers is unrestricted. Access to files containing information on personnel matters, student academic records and other materials deemed confidential is restricted. These restrictions are noted at the file level. |
| record link | http://oasis.lib.harvard.edu/oasis/deliver/deepLink?_collection=oasis&uniqueId=art00017 |
| record source | http://hollis.harvard.edu/?itemid=|library/m/aleph|012061363 |
| finding aid | Online and in repository |
| acquisition information | These papers were left at the Fogg Art Museum by former director and professor John Coolidge and by former director, curator and professor Agnes Mongan. |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:30:14 |
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| title | Peter Blume papers, 1870-2001 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Correspondence; art work; notes and writings; photographs; sound recordings; files; and printed material document Blume's career as a Surrealist painter and his later work in sculpture, as well as his close friendships with several literary figures. Included are correspondence with galleries, museums, artists, writers, friends, and family members including his wife "Ebie"; gallery files; photographs of Blume, his wife, John Cheever, Arthur Miller, and others, of Blume's work, and exhibition photographs; writings by Blume on art and artists; journal of a Pacific cruise, 1954?; notes on Arshile Gorky's death; theses on Blume; transcript of an interview; casting bills from Italy; scrapbook; sound recordings of conversations with Blume, 1972, 1976; a reference file of photographs of works of art; numerous drawings, preliminary drawings and "doodles"; complete inventory of work at Dintenfass Gallery and Dintenfass files; price lists of works; list of oil paintings; notes, photographs and information on Hart Crane; manuscript of a biography of Blume by Frank Trapp with a foreword by Malcolm Cowley; minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1973-1976; exhibition catalogs; posters; books; and clippings. Correspondents include Kirk Askew, Charles Buckley, Kenneth Burke, Malcolm Cowley, Charles Daniel, Peter and Katinka De Vries, John Hershey, Arthur Millier, and others. Also included are letters to Mrs. Blume. Bio / His Notes: Painter; Sherman, Conn. Died 1992. |
| extent | 6.4 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Works of Art Writings Photographs Printed Materials |
| access | Unmicrofilmed; use requires an appointment and is limited to AAA's Washington, D.C. storage facility. |
| record link | https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.blumpete.pdf |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/peter-blume-papers-6407 |
| acquisition information | The Peter Blume papers were donated by in 1993 by Grace Blume, Peter Blume's widow. Additional papers were donated by Catherine Weiss, Jamie Vance, and Leigh Butler in 2010. |
| updated | 06/08/2023 16:42:21 |
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| title | Oral history interview with Charles Alan, 1970 Aug. 20-25. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Charles Alan conducted 1970 Aug. 20-25, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Alan speaks of studying scene and stage design; attending Yale School of Drama; doing illustrations for various publications; traveling and studying in Europe; working as a set designer for MGM and Warner Brothers; his experiences working at the Downtown Gallery; his thoughts and recollections about Edith Halpert; leaving Downtown Gallery and starting his own gallery; his opinions on the future of small galleries in New York; museum purchases; Edith Halpert’s art collection; selling his gallery to Felix Landau; and various thoughts concerning the art world. He recalls Norman Bell Geddes, Edith Halpert, Stuart Davis, Julien Levy, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Kirk Askew, Raymond Breinin, Ben Shahn, George Washburn, Edward Root, Joe Hirshhorn, John Marin, John Marin Jr., Lawrence Allen, Georgia O’Keeffe, William Harnett, Julian Levi, Jack Levine, Karl Zerbe, Bruce Conner, Richard Baker, Paul Sachs, and many others. |
| extent | Sound recording: 2 sound tape reels ; 5 in. Transcript: 37 p. |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript Online Transcript |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | https://www.aaa.si.edu/download_pdf_transcript/ajax?record_id=edanmdm-AAADCD_oh_212203 |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-charles-alan-11699 |
| acquisition information | Part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958. |
| updated | 06/09/2023 15:39:52 |
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| title | Stephen Greene papers, 1945-1969. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Painter; New York. Died Nov. 18, 1999, at age 82. Studied at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League and with Philip Guston. Taught at Princeton Univ., Tyler School of Art of Temple Univ., and the Art Students League. Students included Frank Stella. Spent four years at the American Academy in Rome. Letters, including those received from R. Kirk Askew, Perry Rathbone, Joseph Pulitzer, and Lillian Hellman; material concerning exhibitions such as catalogs, notices, and lists of collections; photographs and slides; articles and addresses by Greene. |
| extent | 125 items (on partial microfilm reel). |
| formats | Microfilm Ephemera |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm |
| record link | n/a |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/stephen-greene-papers-8265 |
| acquisition information | Originals returned to lender, Stephen Greene, after microfilming./ Lent for microfilming 1970 by Stephen Greene. |
| updated | 06/08/2023 16:42:22 |
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| title | Hyman Bloom papers, 1936-1980 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Letters from Dorothy Canning Miller, R. Kirk Askew (of Durlacher Bros.), Henry Allen Moe, Ala Story and others; financial and business records; printed material, including an exhibition catalog, announcements for an exhibit at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a 1949 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship; a typescript of an article by Hyman Swetzoff about Bloom, "Hyman Bloom: The Attainment of a State of Being"; and 152 pencil drawings by Bloom's students, including works by Lynn Banker, Anabel Handy, David Hayes, C. Heijn, Valerie Jayne, Peter W. Kent, Patricia Quinn, John Rooney, John Updike, A.J. Yiannias, E. Zimmerman and others. ADDITION: Correspondence, ca. 1943-1980, including some relating to an urban renewal project and rent control matters effecting Bloom's residence; tax documents; list of paintings with prices; certificate of fellowship in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Boston (1960); Boston Fenway Art Community Proposal and completed questionnaire; and printed material. Biographical/Historical Note: Painter; Cambridge, Mass. Born near Riga, Latvia in April 1913. Immigrated to Boston in 1920 and began painting and drawing classes, taught by Harold Zimmerman at a settlement house. Worked for the WPA in the early 1930s. |
| extent | 1.4 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. |
| record link | n/a |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/hyman-bloom-papers-6745 |
| acquisition information | Donated 1981 and 1994 by Bloom. |
| updated | 06/08/2023 16:42:14 |
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