Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Heller, Ben, 1925-
| title | Oral history interview with Ben Heller, 1973 Jan. 8 |
| repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Ben Heller conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art. Heller speaks of his youth and education in New York; his early interest in music and literature; starting his painting and sculpture collection; the relationship between artists and collectors; art movements and the impact of collectors on them; art as a financial investment; the changes in his collecting interests; becoming a dealer, and some of the problems involved; the lack of financial support for art institutions; traveling exhibitions of his collection. |
| extent | 1 sound tape reel ; 5 in. (54 p. transcript). |
| formats | Sound Recording Transcript |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | n/a |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-ben-heller-11728 |
| acquisition information | Part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:28 |
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| title | Archives pamphlet file: Heller, Ben :miscellaneous uncataloged material. |
| repository | The Museum of Modern Art |
| description | Pamphlet file The folder may include clippings, correspondence, memoranda, press releases, brochures, announcements, reviews, invitations, obituaries and other ephemeral material relevant to the Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) and its history. Location MoMA Manhattan Archives Pamphlet File Call Number Heller, Ben |
| extent | 1 folder |
| formats | Ephemera |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991011778729707141 |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:30 |
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| title | James Brooks and Charlotte Park papers, 1909-2010, bulk 1930-2010 |
| repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Personal and business correspondence; photographs; transcripts of taped interviews; writings on art; sketches; and printed materials. REEL N69-132: Financial correspondence with the Samuel M. Kootz Gallery; personal letters to Brooks and his wife Charlotte from George Biddle, Sam Hunter, Peppino Mangravite, James Waddell, William Littlefield, Worden Day, Wilfred Zogbaum, Julian Levi, Saul Steinberg, from collector, Ben Heller, and editors, George Plimpton and Stanley Kunitz. Also includes transcripts of interviews regarding his development as an artist, his commercial success, federal art programs during the depression, experiences with Jackson Pollock and Thomas H. Benton, and classes with Kimon Nicolaides and Boardman Robinson; clippings; photographs; catalogs; and an address book. REELS 292-293: Brief essays on painting; a notebook summarizing work on "Flight," a Federal Art Project mural; photographs, including one of Brooks standing in front of his WPA Woodside Library mural (also microfilmed on reel 1817 fr. 224-225, and scanned, with AAA's Photographs of Artists Collection II); catalogs; clippings; and correspondence, primarily with teaching institutions, museums, and galleries often regarding lectures, juries, exhibitions, and sales. Correspondents include John Baur, James Johnson Sweeney, Josef Albers, Grace Borgenicht Brandt, and an occasional letter from Thomas Hart Benton. Olin Dows and Edward B. Rowan discuss murals done by Brooks for the Treasury Department and Biddle corresponds with Brooks about his service as a War Department artist. UNMICROFILMED: Personal correspondence with Sandy (Alexander) Calder, Eurico Donate, Juilan Levi, Pierre Soulages, and others; business correspondence with Harvy H. Arnason, Trudie Grace, Grace Hartigan,Martha Jackson, Samuel Kootz, and others; income tax forms, insurance policies, and receipts; a sketchbook; 25 photographs of works of art; 31 sketches; exhibition catalogs and announcements; magazine articles and clippings on mural painting and Jackson Pollock. Bio / His Notes: Painter; East Hampton, N.Y. Died 1992. Brooks studied under Kimon Nicolaides and Boardman Robinson. He served as an artist in the War Dept. and during the Depression he painted murals for federal art programs. He was a proponent of Abstract Expressionism, and was a friend of Jackson Pollock. |
| extent | 3.4 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 3 reels) reels N69-132 and 292-293 |
| formats | Microfilm Correspondence Business Papers Personal Papers Writings |
| access | Microfilmed material must be consulted on microfilm copy. Use of unilmed material requires an appointment and is limited to Washington, D.C. storage facility. |
| record link | https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.broojame.pdf |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/james-brooks-and-charlotte-park-papers-8955 |
| acquisition information | Donated 1979-1983 by Brooks. Reel N69-132 originally microfilmed in 1969. Portions that were donated have been previously microfilmed on reel N69-132. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:34 |
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| title | René d'Harnoncourt Papers, 1929-1969, 1940-1968 (bulk). |
| repository | The Museum of Modern Art |
| description | The papers document the major part of René d'Harnoncourt's life, covering in particular his years with The Museum of Modern Art, 1944-1968, and including also some records of his years in Mexico, and of his subsequent pre-MoMA career in the United States. René d'Harnoncourt's Papers document, first and foremost, his career at The Museum of Modern Art, starting when he joined the Museum in 1944, and continuing through his years as Director from 1949 to his retirement in 1968. From the beginning, even before his official appointment as Director, it is apparent from the records that d'Harnoncourt was the right man to lead MoMA at this time. His overall accomplishment was to bring a level of order to an organization that after the resignation of Alfred Barr as Director, could have become mired in internal friction. d'Harnoncourt's correspondence both with the Museums trustees, and with its staff, reveal the gentle, good-humored, but decisive way in which he kept an equilibrium between all elements of the Museum community. In addition, he established a close working relationship with Alfred Barr, for whose knowledge of modern art and scholarship he had enormous respect. Among d'Harnoncourt's other major accomplishments at the Museum were the establishment of the International Council in the early 1950s - a task for which both his European background and his involvement with Latin America made him ideally suited - and his leadership of the 30th Anniversary fundraising campaign, culminating in the renovation and opening of the new Museum in 1964. The installation by d'Harnoncourt of important exhibitions both in the Museum in New York and abroad, was, of course, another major accomplishment, especially as the installations had to be combined with his day-to-day work as Director of the Museum. In addition to the correspondence which comprises the greater part of d'Harnoncourt's papers, the collection also contains many of the superb drawings which he used in preparation for the exhibitions he installed. Particularly outstanding are drawings for the Arts of the South Seas exhibition shown at MoMA in 1946. René d'Harnoncourt's love for primitive art and his ability to use this love in the creation of what could be called blockbuster exhibitions is first shown in the records of the Mexican Arts exhibition with which he toured the United States in 1930-32. This was followed in 1939 and 1941 with the Indian Arts exhibitions, and later, in 1954 with Ancient Arts of the Andes. In 1957 d'Harnoncourt founded, with his friend and mentor, Nelson Rockefeller, the Museum of Primitive Art, of which he became Vice President and Rockefeller, President. The papers contain exhibition material - drawings, floor plans, wall captions - for many of d'Harnoncourt's other installations, culminating with his last exhibition, the very successful Sculpture of Picasso, shown at MoMA at the end of 1967. Together, the correspondence and the exhibition material in the papers present a full picture of René d'Harnoncourt's life and accomplishments. Biographical Note: Director of MoMA, 1949-1968. |
| extent | 59.25 linear feet |
| formats | Business Papers Personal Papers Correspondence Exhibition Files Ephemera |
| access | The records are open for research and contain few restricted materials. |
| record link | http://www.moma.org/research/archives/EAD/dHarnoncourtf.html |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991009762119707141 |
| finding aid | Folder list available in the repository. |
| acquisition information | Series I-IX accessioned into the Archives via internal transfer from the Directors Office. Series X donated to the Archives by Sarah d'Harnoncourt. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:34 |
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| title | Collectors Records, 1929-1987 |
| repository | The Museum of Modern Art |
| description | The processed Collectors Records are contained in ten 5" document boxes (4 linear feet) and include correspondence; lists of private collections; notes about collections (frequently in Barr's handwriting); press clippings; photographs; and exhibition announcements, invitations, and brochures. The records date from 1929 through 1987; the majority of the material dates from the 1950s and 60s. The bulk of the Collectors Records consists of correspondence between Museum staff and collectors. The principle staff correspondent is Barr, but the Record Group also includes material from Dorothy C. Miller (Curator, 1943-1967; Senior Curator, 1968-1969), and Betsy Jones (Executive Secretary 1952-1962; Executive Secretary and Assistant Curator, 1963-1966; Associate Curator and Executive Secretary of Collections, 1967-1969). Correspondence with the collectors participating in the Visits to Private Collections series and lists of the collections visited are also included. Historical Note During his tenure as Director of Museum Collections, Alfred H. Barr, Jr., and his staff maintained files on private collectors and collections (ca. 1947 through ca. 1967). This documentation reflects the Museum's interest in private collections from which it could potentially borrow, purchase, or receive gifts or bequests to enhance the Museum's collection. A Committee on the Museum Collections, established by the Board of Trustees in May 1944, consisted of approximately ten members, all of whom were collectors and/or Museum staff members. The founding members of the Committee were: Alfred H. Barr, Jr., William A. M. Burden, Stephen C. Clark, A. Conger Goodyear, Mrs. Simon Guggenheim, Bartlett H. Hayes, Jr., Mrs. Sam A. Lewisohn, Miss Agnes Rindge, James Thrall Soby (Chairman), James Johnson Sweeney (Vice Chairman), Edward M. M. Warburg, and Mrs. George Henry Warren, Jr. The Committee, which replaced the Acquisitions Committee, advised the Board of Trustees on which works to acquire, by gift or purchase, for the Museum's collection. Several members gave works of their own and/or financial contributions for purchases. Documentation on the collections of nearly all of the Committee Members can be found in this Record Group. An annual series, Visits to Private Collections, was organized by the Department of Membership as a special privilege for Contributing Members. Members were invited to spend three afternoons a year touring the private homes and collections of select collectors, who were frequently members of the Committee on the Museum Collections. This series was suggested by a Membership Committee member in 1939, and the program lasted through 1966. Documentation for this program can also be found throughout the Record Group. After Barr's retirement in 1967, the Committee on the Museum Collections was divided into five separate committees, each one focusing on a curatorial department: Painting and Sculpture; Prints and Illustrated Books; Photography; Architecture and Design; and Film. These five committees exist to the present day. Related Collections at MoMA and Elsewhere For related collections see also, The Museum of Modern Art Archives, Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Papers, Series 1. Personal Correspondence; the James Thrall Soby Papers, Series III: Museum Matters; the Dorothy C. Miller Papers, Series III: Museum Matters; the Public Information Scrapbooks; catalogues of private collections and PASITMOMA in the Library; Object Files in the Department of Painting and Sculpture; and lenders records in the Department of the Registrar. Preferred Citation Collectors Records, [folder]. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York. |
| extent | 4 linear feet |
| formats | Clippings Correspondence Ephemera Photographs Administrative Records |
| access | The records are open for research and contain no restricted materials. |
| record link | http://www.moma.org/research/archives/EAD/CollectorsRecordsf.html |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991007920159707141 |
| finding aid | In the repository and on the Web site. |
| acquisition information | The Collectors Records were compiled and maintained by Barr and his staff until his retirement in 1967, when they were brought under the aegis of the Department of Painting and Sculpture. They became part of the Museum Archives holdings in 1998 and were processed in June 1998. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:34 |
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| title | Frank O'Hara Papers in the Museum of Modern Art Archives, 1956-1966 |
| repository | The Museum of Modern Art |
| description | Includes schedules, correspondence for and checklists of exhibitions on which Frank O'Hara worked, and Museum activities in which he was interested: project proposals and cost estimates; information re: lenders and contributors; proposed schedules for exhibitions; articles and clippings with reference to O'Hara; museum administrative matters; staff meeting minutes and notices; exhibition catalogs; and a book and photographs. Items date from ca. 1956 through 1968. Correspondents include Michael Barjansky, Robert Bollt, Bernard Brodsky, Wilson Burdett, Walter Burns, Jean Cassou, Enrico Crispolti, Rene d'Harnoncourt, Arthur Drexler, Jean Dubuffet, James C. Dunn, Robert Giron, Jane Gollin, Peggy Guggenheim, Ben Heller, Felrath Hines, Joseph Hirshhorn, Werner Hofmann, Sam Hunter, Elaine Johnson, Dietrich Mahlow, Porter McCray, Patrick B. McGinnis, Dr. O. Meyer, Dorothy C. Miller, Grace L. McCann Morley, George Montgomery, Stefan Munsing, Renee S. Neu, Roy R. Neuberger, Isamu Noguchi, Richard Palmer, Virginia Pearson, Lee Krasner Pollock, Arturo Profili, Waldo Rasmussen, Gerhart Rindauer, Bryan Robertson, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Robert Rosenblum, Arnold Rudlinger, Godfrey Sanitini, Meyer Schapiro, Mrs. Gable Senior, Tom Slick, David Smith, Gordon M. Smith, Francisco Matarasso Sobrino, G. R. Swenson, Vittorio Viale, Monroe Wheeler, E. de Wilde, William Wright. In arranging these Papers, original order (an alphabetical arrangement by exhibition) was maintained. Biographical Note O'Hara (1926-1966) was an art critic, poet, playwright and a member of the staff of the Museum of Modern Art 1951-1953, 1955-1966. In 1953 he resigned from the Museum to devote himself to writing. From 1955 until 1966 he organized circulating exhibitions of the Museum and in 1960 was appointed Assistant Curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture Exhibitions. In 1956 he took a leave of absence from the Museum to accept a one-semester fellowship at the Poet's Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He died when struck by a car on Fire Island on July 25, 1966. O'Hara was responsible for selecting the United States representations at the IV Sao Paulo Bienal and the IV International Art Exhibition of Japan in 1957 and Documenta II in Kassel, Germany in 1959. He organized a Jackson Pollock retrospective that toured Europe in 1958. That same year, for the United States representation at the XXIX Biennale in Venice he chose works by Seymour Lipton and Mark Tobey, winner of the International Jury's Award. He also organized the Robert Motherwell and Reuben Nakian exhibitions that became part of the United States Representation at the VI Sao Paulo Bienal in 1961. In 1960 O'Hara directed The New Spanish Painting and Sculpture which was shown at the Museum before travelling to nine cities in the United States and Canada. At the time of his death two exhibitions of sculpture by David Smith and an exhibition of paintings by the Surrealists Rene Magritte and Yves Tanguy were circulating nationally. O'Hara served in the navy, attended Harvard University (A.B. 1950) and the University of Michigan (M.A. 1951) where he received the Avery Hopwood Award for Poetry. He was considered an important poet and the author of published volumes: A City Winter and Other Poems (1952), Meditations in an Emergency (1956), Second Avenue (1960), Odes (1960) and Lunch Poems (1964). He served as an editorial associate of Art News and his art critiques appeared in Folder and Evergreen Review. He is the author of Jackson Pollock (New York: Braziler; 1959) and New Spanish Painting and Sculpture (New York: Museum of Modern Art; 1960). He also wrote one act plays, five of which have been performed. Related Collections O'Hara material can be found in the papers of the International Council Exhibitions [ICE] and those of Dorothy C. Miller, both in the Museum Archives. |
| extent | 27 filing units in four 5" document boxes. |
| formats | Correspondence Exhibition Files Business Papers Ephemera |
| access | The Papers may be seen by appointment of The Museum of Modern Art Archives, 11 West 53rd Street, New York, New York, 10019, (212) 708-9436. Access to the papers by qualified researchers is unrestricted, with the exception of certain material in Series III. |
| record link | http://www.moma.org/research/archives/EAD/FrankOHaraf.html |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991009762049707141 |
| finding aid | Finding aid in the repository. |
| acquisition information | Papers were organized by Elizabeth Tweedy [Streibert], Frank O'Hara's secretary at time of his death on July 25, 1966 [see file folder #20]. At that time, O'Hara was Assistant Curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture Exhibitions. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:34 |
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| title | Artist file: miscellaneous uncataloged material. |
| repository | The Museum of Modern Art |
| description | The folder may include announcements, clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, small exhibition catalogs, and other ephemeral material. Location MoMA Queens Artist Files Call Number HELLER, BEN |
| extent | 1 folder |
| formats | Ephemera |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991010762299707141 |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:39 |
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