Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Arensberg, Louise S. (Louise Stevens), 1879-1953
| title | Walter and Louise Arensberg papers, 1912-1982, bulk 1917-1982 |
| repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Correspondence, 1917-1982, with Marcel Duchamp, 1917-1968 (some is in French), Beatrice Wood, 1952-1982 (some illustrated), Charles Sheeler, 1953-1955, and others. A few of the letters include photographs, poetry and printed material. Also included in the papers are a list of art in the Arensberg collection, 1951, compiled for a tax return; poetry and essays by the psychiatrist E. E. Southard; and notes and scripts for skits and pantomimes by Guillaume Apollinaire. |
| extent | 558 items (on 2 microfilm reels). |
| formats | Correspondence Inventories |
| access | Patrons must use microfilm copy. |
| record link | n/a |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/walter-and-louise-arensberg-papers-5962 |
| acquisition information | Lent for microfilming 1985 by the Francis Bacon Library and Foundation, Claremont, Calif. Most, or perhaps all, of the microfilmed material was subsequently physically transferred from the Francis Bacon Foundation to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1996 and formally given to the Museum in 2001 by the Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery, which had received it as part of a larger gift from the Francis Bacon Foundation in 1995. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:47 |
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| title | Oral history interview with Katharine Kuh, 1982 Mar. 18-1983 Mar. 24. |
| repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Katharine Kuh conducted by Avis Berman for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project. TAPE 1: Kuh speaks of her invalid childhood in Chicago, the development of her interest in art, classes in art history at Vassar College, and her career as curator of modern art at the Art Institute of Chicago. She recalls in particular the "Sanity in Art" movement against modern art in Chicago. Kuh describes her relationship with Mark Rothko and Rothko's relationships with Mark Tobey, Clyfford Still, Kate Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, Milton Avery, Stanley Kunitz, and Hans Hofmann. TAPE 2: Kuh discusses her parents, the family silk business, travelling in Europe as a child, life in Chicago, the effects of polio and other illnesses on her interests, and her student years at Vassar College. She remembers visiting Bernard Berenson in Italy with her family and again with Daniel Catton Rich, with whom she worked very closely at the Art Institute of Chicago. She speaks of the Katharine Kuh Gallery, which she started in the mid-1930s and its place in the vanguard of the Chicago art scene. TAPE 3: Kuh remembers the effects of the stock market crash on her personal situation, her marriage to businessman George Kuh, distaste for life in the suburbs, and her divorce. She discusses the Katharine Kuh Gallery and the actions taken against her business by members of the reactionary "Sanity in Art" movement (including a very funny anecdote concerning Carlos Merida). She speaks of the classes in modern art that she taught at her gallery and of some of the artists she exhibited there, including the photographers Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Weston. TAPE 4: Kuh remembers the McCarthy era and the political conservatism in Chicago, including her testimony on behalf of Bill Zimmerman, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs. She criticizes blockbuster exhibitions and the changes in the role of a museum curator. She reminisces about building the collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and the art education program she ran there, and recalls Stuart Davis, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Gyorgy Kepes, and Ivan Albright. TAPE 5: Kuh remembers Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Duchamp, as well as the collectors Walter Paepcke and Walter and Louise Arensberg (whose collection she surveyed in their home for an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago). TAPE 6: Kuh focuses on her memories of Mark Rothko, recalling when they met, their friendship, his manner of working, his feelings about his work, and his worries towards the end of his life. She talks about Clyfford Still, Barnett Newman, and Mark Tobey. Some parts of this tape repeat what she said earlier. TAPES 7 and 8: Kuh continues discussing Rothko, particularly his Houston chapel murals and the retrospective exhibition at MOMA in 1961. She remembers visiting Rothko's studio and describes his working methods. She relates Rothko's views on other artists, including Milton Avery, Clyfford Still, Turner, Robert Motherwell, and Adolf Gottlieb; parts repeat things said before. Kuh also discusses Rothko's wife and daughter. TAPE 9: Kuh recounts building the collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and speaks of the museum staff, trustees, and donors. She remembers Alfred Barr at MOMA. TAPE 10: Kuh continues speaking about the Art Institute of Chicago, describing the circumstances of her resignation and subsequent move to New York. She talks of knowing Peggy Guggenheim, Max Ernst, and Fernand Leger. TAPE 11: Kuh describes her work as a consultant to college museums and her writings. She discusses the field of art criticism and her career as art editor at Saturday Review. She recalls Clyfford Still's retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his death. TAPE 12: Kuh describes her work as a collector for the First National Bank of Chicago. TAPE 13: Kuh recounts more about her work at Saturday Review and her resignation. She goes into great detail about her travels in Alaska and British Columbia surveying Northwest Indian art for a government report. She speaks again about the McCarthy era. TAPE 14: Kuh speaks again about the Katharine Kuh Gallery and the artists she exhibited there, including Josef Albers (and his Black Mountain College), Alexander Archipenko, Stuart Davis, Paul Klee, Alexander Calder, and Man Ray. TAPE 15: Kuh continues her discussion of artists she exhibited at the Katharine Kuh Gallery, including Mark Tobey, Paul Klee, and Isamu Noguchi. TAPE 16: Kuh continues talking about artists she exhibited at the Katharine Kuh Gallery, including David Smith, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Eliot Porter, Rufino Tamayo, and Jack Tworkov. |
| extent | Sound recording: 16 cassettes : analog. Transcript: 313 p. (on partial microfilm reel) reel 4937 |
| formats | Interview Transcript Sound Recording |
| access | Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy. Authorization to publish more than 500 words requires written permission. Contact AAA Reference staff for information. |
| record link | n/a |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-katharine-kuh-12186 |
| acquisition information | This interview was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation. Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Ben-Zion, Bernard Braddon, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Louis Kaufman, Jack Kufeld, Stanley Kunitz, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Rebecca Reis, Maurice Roth, Sidney Schectman, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Hedda Sterne, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:47 |
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| title | Katharine Kuh papers, 1875-1994, bulk, 1930-1994. |
| repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | The papers of art historian, dealer, critic, and curator Katharine Kuh measure 12.1 linear feet and date from 1875-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930-1994. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues; personal business records; artwork by various artists; a travel journal; writings by Kuh and others; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs of Kuh and others; and audio recordings of Kuh's lectures and of Daniel Catton Rich reading poetry. Biographical material consists of copies of Kuh's birth certificate, resumés, passports, award certificates, honorary diplomas, and address books listing information about several prominent artists and colleagues. Four linear feet of correspondence offers excellent documentation of Kuh's interest in art history, her travels, her career at the Art Institute of Chicago, her work as a corporate art advisor, and as an author. There are letters from her mother Olga Woolf, friends, and colleagues. There is extensive correspondence with various staff members of the Art Institute of Chicago, the First National Bank of Chicago, and The Saturday Review. Also of interest are letters from artists and collectors, several of whom became life-long friends including Walter and Louise Arensberg, Cosmo Campoli, Serge Chermayeff, Richard Cox, Worden Day, Claire Falkenstein, Fred Friendly, Leon Golub, Joseph Goto, David Hare, Denise Brown Hare, Jean Hélion, Ray Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Len Lye, Wallace Putnam, Kurt Seligmann, Shelby Shackelford, Hedda Sterne, and Clyfford Still. Many letters are illustrated with original artwork in various media. There are also scattered letters from various artists and other prominent individuals including Josef Albers, George Biddle, Marcel Breuer, Joseph Cornell, Stuart Davis, Edwin Dickinson, Joseph Hirshhorn, Daniel Catton Rich, and Dorothea Tanning. Personal business records include a list of artwork, Olga Woolf's will, inventories of Kuh's personal art collection, miscellaneous contracts and deeds of gift, receipts for the sale of artwork, files concerning business-related travel, and miscellaneous receipts. Artwork in the collection represents a wide range of artist friends and media, such as drawings, watercolors, paintings, collages, and prints. Included are works by various artists including lithographs by David Hare and a watercolor set, Technics and Creativity, designed and autographed by Jasper Johns for the Museum of Modern Art, 1970. Notes and writings include annotated engagement calendars, travel journals for Germany, a guest book for the Kuh Memorial gathering, and many writings and notes by Kuh for lectures and articles concerning art history topics. Of interest are minutes/notes from meetings for art festivals, conferences, and the "Conversations with Artists Program (1961). Also found are writings by others about Kuh and other art history topics. Six scrapbooks contain clippings that document the height of Kuh's career as a gallery director and museum curator. Scrapbook 6 contains clippings about Fernand Léger, the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1953. Additional printed material includes clippings about Kuh and her interests, a comprehensive collection of clippings of Kuh's articles for The Saturday Review, exhibition announcements and catalogs, calendars of events, programs, brochures, books including Poems by Kuh as a child, and reproductions of artwork. Of particular interest are the early and exhibition catalogs from the Katharine Kuh Gallery, and rare catalogs for artists including Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Stanley William Hayter, Hans Hofmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Franz Kline, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Pablo Picasso. Photographs provide important documentation of the life and career of Katharine Kuh and are of Kuh, family members, friends, colleagues, events, residences, and artwork. Several of the photographs of Kuh were taken by Will Barnet and Marcel Breuer and there is a notable pair of photo booth portraits of Kuh and a young Ansel Adams. There are also group photographs showing Angelica Archipenko with Kuh; designer Klaus Grabe; painters José Chavez Morado and Pablo O'Higgins in San Miguel, Mexico; Kuh at the Venice Biennale with friends and colleagues including Peggy Guggenheim, Frances Perkins, Daniel Catton Rich, and Harry Winston; and "The Pre-Depressionists" including Lorser Feitelson, Robert Inverarity, Helen Lundeberg, Arthur Millier, Myron Chester Nutting, and Muriel Tyler Nutting. Photographs of exhibition installations and openings include views of the Katharine Kuh Gallery; Fernand Léger, Man Ray, and László Moholy-Nagy at the Art Institute of Chicago; and Philip Guston, Jimmy Ernst, Seymour H. Knox, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. There are also photographs depicting three men posing as Léger's "Three Musicians" and the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the Art Institute of Chicago. There is a photograph by Peter Pollack of an elk skull used as a model by Georgia O'Keeffe. Additional photographs of friends and colleagues include Ivan Albright, Alfred Barr, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Willem De Kooning, Edwin Dickinson, Marcel Duchamp, Claire Falkenstein, Alberto Giacometti, poet Robert Graves with Len Lye, Philip Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Carlos Mérida, José Orozco, Hasan Ozbekhan, Pablo Picasso, Carl Sandberg, Ben Shahn, Otto Spaeth, Hedda Sterne, Adlai Stevenson, Clyfford Still, Mark Tobey, and composer Victor Young. Photographs of artwork include totem poles in Alaska; work by various artists including Claire Falkenstein, Paul Klee, and Hedda Sterne; and work donated to the Guggenheim Museum. Four audio recordings on cassette are of Katharine Kuh's lectures, including one about assembling corporate collections, and of Daniel Catton Rich reading his own poetry. There is also a recording of the Second Annual Dialogue between Broadcasters and Museum Educators. Bio / His Notes: Katharine Kuh (1904-1994) was an art consultant, curator, and critic working in Chicago and New York City. Additional forms: Portions of this collection are available on 35mm microfilm reels 265, 267, 2225-2227, and 2288 at Archives of American Art offices, and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the collection as described in this finding aid may not reflect the order of the collection on microfilm. Cite as: Katharine Kuh papers, 1875-1994, bulk 1930-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. |
| extent | 12.1 linear ft |
| formats | Business Papers Personal Papers Correspondence Clippings Works of Art |
| access | Use of original papers requires an appointment. Entire collection (excluding art work from Art Institute of Chicago): Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires permission; obtain additional information from AAA Reference staff. |
| record link | https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.kuhkath.pdf |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/katharine-kuh-papers-9951 |
| finding aid | online and in repository |
| acquisition information | Donated 1971-1994 by Katharine Kuh and the Katharine Kuh estate. In addition, 147 works of art determined to have been made expressly for Kuh, or dedicated to her, were donated 1995 by the Art Institute of Chicago, which had received them from the Kuh estate along with other works of art in Kuh's collection. Loc. of Assoc. Material: Additional Katharine Kuh papers also located at: Yale University. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:47 |
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| title | Beatrice Wood collection from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art registrarial files, [ca. 1916]-1967. |
| repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Miscellaneous Wood documents found in the registrarial files, including a letter, 1967 June 27, from wood to Ala Story; a photograph of Wood, ca. 1916, with a note on the verso, "Beatrice Wood before meeting Marcel"; a photo of Wood signed, "Affectionaement, Beatrice Wood, Paris, 1928"; a photograph entitled, "Breatrice Wood in Catus Garden, Ojai, Calif. 1957"; and a typescript of Wood's manuscript "Reflections of a Wonderful Day with Marcel Duchamp and Louise Arensberg." Bio and His Note Ceramist; Ojai, Calif., b. 1893. Beatrice Wood was born in San Francisco in 1893 and was taken to New York a few years thereafter. A prominent ceramist, her career spanned most of the 20th century. After education and a brief theatrical career in France, she settled in New York City where she became intimate with the Dadaists, notably her mentor, Marcel Duchamp. She also became close to the collectors Walter and Louise Arensberg, whom she followed to California when they moved to Hollywood in the late 1930s. |
| extent | 5 items. |
| formats | Ephemera Correspondence Photographs Notes |
| access | Unmicrofilmed: use requires an appointment and is limited to AAA's Washington, D.C. office. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Donated 2000 by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, via Robert Henning, director of curatorial services. The items were included in the museum's registrarial files. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:47 |
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| title | Jack and Rhea Case papers, 1917-1979. |
| repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Correspondence, photographs, greeting cards, clippings, and a untranscribed interview documenting the Case's friendship with Beatrice Wood. REEL 1854: 49 valentines and other greeting cards from Wood, illustrated with her drawings and collages; 3 caricature sketches by Wood of Marcel Duchamp, Constantin Brancusi, David Siqueiros and Galka Scheyer as part of the Louise and Walter Arensberg "circle"; 61 photographs of Wood, her drawings and ceramics; and 4 clippings. REEL 1646: Correspondence with Wood. Many of Wood's letters are illustrated. Three photographs of Wood are also included. UNMICROFILMED: An untranscribed conversation between Rhea Case and Beatrice Wood, June 19, 1979. Wood mentions Henri Roche, Marcel Duchamp, Walter Arensberg, and others. Bio / His Notes: Friends of artist Beatrice Wood. Wood is a ceramist; Ojai, California. |
| extent | 271 items (partially microfilmed on 2 reels) |
| formats | Microfilm Correspondence Photographs Ephemera Clippings |
| access | UNMICROFILMED: An untranscribed conversation between Rhea Case and Beatrice Wood, June 19, 1979. Wood mentions Henri Roche, Marcel Duchamp, Walter Arensberg, and others. 35mm microfilm reels 1646 and 1854 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. |
| record link | n/a |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/jack-and-rhea-case-papers-7348 |
| acquisition information | All except tape: Originals returned to Rhea Case after microfilming. Microfilmed material lent 1979-1980 by Rhea Case. Case donated the taped conversation in 1979. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:47 |
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| title | Charles Sheeler papers, circa 1840s-1966, bulk 1923-1965 |
| repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Correspondence, sketches, fabric samples, photographs, exhibition materials, writings, an autobiography, and printed material. REELS NSH 1-NSH 3: A notebook containing copies of letters sent, poetry, proverbs, and a paper Sheeler delivered at the Museum of Modern Art; his unpublished 100-page autobiography; two albums of clippings about Sheeler (albums are titled "Photograph Albums"); a typescript of an article on Sheeler by George Craven; letters from Ansel Adams, Nancy Newhall, William Carlos Williams, and others; ca. 50 photographs taken by Musya Sheeler; and printed materials. REELS 1811-1812: Correspondence with Williams, George Waters, and Beaumont Newhall; letters from Agnes Meyer, Ansel Adams, and Edward Steichen; writings; a watercolor sketch for "American Interior 1934"; a silkscreen; an inscribed Peggy Bacon drawing; Metropolitan Museum of Art publications containing Sheeler's photographs; photographs of him with Edward Weston, of his Shaker furniture collection, and a photo by Minor White; exhibition catalogs; books; and printed material. Included among the photographs are a tintype of Sheeler as a young boy, ca. 1886, a few ambrotypes and a daguerreotype of an unidentified woman, ca. 1850-1860. UNMICROFILMED: Samples of Sheeler's fabric designs; awards, including medals, a silver plate and an award certificate; and drawings. Bio / His Notes: Painter, lithographer, photographer; Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y. |
| extent | 5.0 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 5 reels) reels NSH 1-NSH 3, and 1811-1812 |
| formats | Microfilm Diaries Exhibition Catalogs Photographs Writings |
| access | Use of unmicrofilmed material requires an appointment. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. |
| record link | https://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.sheechar.pdf |
| record source | https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/charles-sheeler-papers-9401 |
| acquisition information | Charles Sheeler's wife Musya initially loaned the papers to the Archives of American Art for microfilming in 1958, 1965, and 1966. In June, 1966, she donated most of the earlier loaned materials. In 1964, Sheeler's friend Howard Lipman donated three photographs of Sheeler with Edward Steichen and John Marin. The third accrual was transferred to the Archives by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery Library in June 1979.Material on reels NSH 1-NSH 3 was lent for microfilming 1958- 1966 by the Sheelers; portions were subsequently given to the National Collection of Fine Arts (now National Museum of American Art) by them, and transferred to AAA in 1979 with the material on reels 1811-1812. Watercolor study on reel 1811 (fr. 972-973), "American Interior 1934" transferred to NMAA Prints and Drawings Department. Location of Original: Portions of NSH 1-NSH 3: Originals returned to lenders after microfilming. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:47 |
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| title | Arensberg archives, 1905-1957. |
| repository | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| description | Art collectors Walter and Louise Arensberg amassed a seminal collection of Modern and pre-Columbian art between 1913 and 1950, when they presented it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Arensberg Archives contain correspondence, ephemera, clippings, writings, personal and art collection records, and photographs documenting the couple's art collecting activities as well as their friendship with many important artists, writers and scholars, including Marcel Duchamp, Charles Sheeler, Walter Pach, Beatrice Wood, and Elmer Ernest Southard. The collection also includes some material related to Walter Arensberg's study of Francis Bacon and the founding of his research institute, the Francis Bacon Foundation. |
| extent | 33 cubic feet |
| formats | Microfilm Correspondence Photographs Clippings |
| access | The collection is open for research. The "Fragile restricted papers" may only be consulted with permission of the Archivist. Preservation photocopies for reference use have been substituted in the main files. |
| record link | http://www.philamuseum.org/resources/archives/findingaids/ead.asp?c=WLA |
| record source | http://www.philamuseum.org/archives/ |
| finding aid | Online Finding Aid |
| acquisition information | The collection was acquired in three major parts: Francis Bacon Foundation (1950) simultaneously with the Arensberg Art Collection (1953-1954), Francis Bacon Foundation (1972) and Francis Bacon Foundation (1995). |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:47 |
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| title | George Kubler Records of the Arensberg Collection Catalog [1954] |
| repository | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| description | In preparing a catalog of the pre-Columbian sculpture in the Louise and Walter Arensberg art collection, the Philadelphia Museum of Art called upon the expertise of Yale art historian George Kubler to classify and annotate each object. This collection consists of the annotated photographs of each of the 197 objects illustrated in the catalog, which was published in 1954. Based on certain markings, these were the photographs used by the printer. A second "Miscellaneous" series of photographs, some with annotations, primarily document other objects in the Arensberg collection that did not appear in the catalog. Some are unidentified |
| extent | 1 linear foot |
| formats | Photographs |
| access | The collection is open for research |
| record link | http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/ead.php?c=KUB&p=ai |
| record source | http://www.philamuseum.org/archives/findingaids.html |
| finding aid | Available online |
| acquisition information | This body of material originally was included in the Arensberg Archives, which was formally given to the Museum in 2001. During the processing of those records in 2002, the Kubler catalog material was separated |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:48 |
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| title | Alexina and Marcel Duchamp Papers, ca. 1886-1990, n.d. |
| repository | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| description | The Alexina and Marcel Duchamp Papers are comprised of some personal papers of Marcel Duchamp as well as published material documenting the artist and his work that were compiled and organized by his widow, Alexina Duchamp. The collection is comprised of approximately 800 personal photographs; a small portion of Duchamp's correspondence; his lecture notes and transcripts; vital records; transcripts of several interviews with Duchamp; and published material concerning the artist. |
| extent | 30 cubic feet |
| formats | Photographs Correspondence Legal Papers Writings Interviews |
| access | The collection is open for research. The "Fragile restricted papers" may only be consulted with permission of the Archivist. Preservation photocopies and copy prints for reference use have been substituted in the main files. David Sylvester's typescript for the article "Bicycle Parts" can only be consulted with permission of the author's estate. |
| record link | http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/ead.php?c=MDP&p=ai |
| record source | http://www.philamuseum.org/archives/findingaids.html |
| finding aid | Available online |
| acquisition information | Gift of Jacqueline, Paul and Peter Matisse in memory of their mother Alexina Duchamp, 1998 |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:48 |
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| title | Fiske Kimball Records, 1908-1955, n.d. (bulk 1925-1954) |
| repository | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| description | From 1925 to 1955, Fiske Kimball (1888-1955) served as director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, steering the institution from what he described as "a minor provincial position to become one of the leading museums of America." The Fiske Kimball Records document Kimball's efforts in achieving this transformation in collaboration with the Museum's officers, staff, and the Fairmount Park Commission, and with the assistance of private benefactors and City funding. Comprised primarily of correspondence, these records also include ephemera, clippings, notes, legal documents, reports, minutes, press releases, publications, floor plans, installation drawings, and photographs, mostly of objects, rooms and architectural elements offered for purchase. Kimball's correspondents include preeminent leaders of art museums, universities, auction houses and professional affiliations, as well as government representatives, private collectors, scholars, and artists. Kimball's often successful courting of potential donors of objects and contributors of funds is well represented, as well as his efforts to secure labor funded by the Works Progress Administration. In addition to the refinement and expansion of the Museum's holdings, the development of various departments and offices is also documented, and to a lesser extent other related facilities. |
| extent | 94.5 linear feet |
| formats | Correspondence Clippings Ephemera Legal Papers Photographs |
| access | The collection is open for research. Certain fragile material may only be consulted with permission of the Archivist. |
| record link | http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/ead.php?c=FKR&p=hn |
| record source | http://www.philamuseum.org/archives/findingaids.html |
| finding aid | Available online |
| acquisition information | Bequeathed by Fiske Kimball, 1955. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:48 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Fiske Kimball Papers, 1874-1957, n.d. |
| repository | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| description | The Fiske Kimball Papers document the myriad interests and tireless professional pursuits of architect, scholar and museum director Fiske Kimball (1888-1955). The papers include professional and personal correspondence; architectural drawings; manuscript, typescript, and printed versions of articles, books, and reviews; photographs, including some personal snapshots and portraits of Kimball and his family; and research and reference material, particularly notes and clippings. |
| extent | 101 linear feet |
| formats | Correspondence Writings Architectural Drawings Photographs |
| access | The collection is open for research |
| record link | http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/ead.php?c=FKP&p=cs |
| record source | http://www.philamuseum.org/archives/findingaids.html |
| finding aid | Available o nline |
| acquisition information | Bequeathed by Fiske Kimball, 1955; later accruals in 1977 and 1984. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:48 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Marcel Duchamp Research Collection, 1933-2003, n.d. |
| repository | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| description | The Marcel Duchamp Research Collection is comprised of ephemera, photographs, clippings, writings and correspondence related to the artist Marcel Duchamp, his life, work, and legacy which was collected and compiled by the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art. |
| extent | 9 cubic feet |
| formats | Ephemera Photographs Clippings Writings Correspondence |
| access | The collection is open for research. The "Unpublished Writings" subseries and the "Restricted Fragile Papers" series may only be consulted with permission of the Archivist. In the case of fragile documents, preservation photocopies and copy prints have been substituted in the main files for reference use. |
| record link | http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/ead.php?c=MDR&p=ifr |
| record source | http://www.philamuseum.org/archives/findingaids.html |
| finding aid | Available online |
| acquisition information | Much of the material, such as published and unpublished articles, were generated or acquired as part of the ongoing activities of the Department of Modern and Contemporary. Other material, such as the Frederick Kiesler series and the John Schiff subseries, were acquired by the Museum through purchase or gift. A few original Duchamp letters were sent to the Museum by donors aware of the Museum's interest in building a comprehensive Duchamp archives. Accrual in 2003. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:48 |
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| title | Marcel Duchamp Exhibition Records, 1967-1993, n.d. |
| repository | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| description | The Marcel Duchamp Exhibition Records contain material created and collected by the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art (formerly the Twentieth Century Art Department), Philadelphia Museum of Art during the course of organizing and/or participating in exhibitions about the artist Marcel Duchamp. |
| extent | 18 cubic feet |
| formats | Correspondence Exhibition Files Clippings Photographs Ephemera |
| access | The collection is open for research. Insurance information, condition reports, and loan records, along with associated correspondence, are restricted; excerpts may be made available at the discretion of the Archivist. Because of their condition, documents in the "Restricted Fragile Papers" may only be consulted with permission of the Archivist; preservation photocopies and copy prints for reference use have been substituted in the main files. |
| record link | http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/ead.php?c=MDE&p=ai |
| record source | http://www.philamuseum.org/archives/findingaids.html |
| finding aid | Available online |
| acquisition information | Transferred from the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Archives, July 2001. Accrual in 2003. |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:48 |
| .................................................................... | |
| title | Anne d'Harnoncourt Records, 1973-2008, n.d. |
| repository | Philadelphia Museum of Art |
| description | The Anne d'Harnoncourt Records correspond to the quarter of a century that Anne d'Harnoncourt (1943-2008) served as the George D. Widener Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), assuming the additional responsibilities of Chief Executive Officer in 1997. During her tenure, d'Harnoncourt led the Museum through milestones that transformed its collections, exhibitions, curatorial and educational missions, and physical environment. The records she compiled during that time provide the framework for those transformations and underscore the attention to detail, encyclopedic intellect and interests, community commitment and contagious enthusiasm for the arts that characterized d'Harnoncourt's styles of leadership and life. D'Harnoncourt maintained most of her files in large groups of alphabetically arranged names and subjects. Her exhibition records, however, were kept separate, implying an affinity for a subject she learned well during her earlier curatorial years. Other topics for which she held on to her records for extended time periods were the artist Marcel Duchamp, the Museum's Board of Trustees, and a few major projects concerning PMA and other institutions. Documentation consists primarily of correspondence, notes, press clippings, ephemera, reference materials, reports and draft writings. Photographs, phone logs, appointment calendars, floor plans and other drawings are also included. |
| extent | 206 linear feet |
| formats | Correspondence Clippings Writings Reports Legal Papers |
| access | The collection is open for research as follows. Records created before 1997 are open, with exceptions noted at the subseries or folder level. Folders containing some items requiring further restriction are noted as "permanently restricted in part" or "restricted in part." Access to the latter is at the discretion of the archivist. All press clippings, photographs, and transcripts of remarks and lectures are open for research. Records created after 1996 will be subject to a 15-year closure calculated on the last year of designated date spans. Accordingly, 1997-1999 records will become available Jan. 1, 2015; 2000-2003 on Jan. 1, 2019; and 2004-2008 on Jan. 1, 2024. |
| record link | http://www.philamuseum.org/pma_archives/ead.php?c=ADH&p=ifr |
| record source | http://www.philamuseum.org/archives/findingaids.html |
| finding aid | Available online |
| updated | 02/14/2025 10:07:48 |
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