Archives Directory for the History of Collecting in America
Archives related to: Menil, John de
| title | Artist file: Menil, John de; miscellaneous uncataloged material. | repository | The Museum of Modern Art |
| description | Pamphlet file 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 MENIL, JOHN DE |
| extent | 1 folder |
| formats | Ephemera |
| access | Subject files--QNS |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991011008139707141 |
| updated | 03/16/2023 10:29:50 |
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| title | Subject file: Menil Collection (Houston, Tex.): miscellaneous uncataloged material. | repository | The Museum of Modern Art |
| description | Pamphlet File The folder may include announcements, clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, and other ephemeral material. Location MoMA Queens Subject Files Call Number MENIL COLLECTION (HOUSTON, TEX.) |
| extent | 1 folder |
| formats | Ephemera |
| access | Subject files--QNS |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991010249889707141 |
| updated | 11/29/2022 15:49:50 |
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| title | James Johnson Sweeney correspondence, 1961-1967 | repository | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
| description | The correspondence files of James Johnson Sweeney contain the Director's communications with Trustees (including John de Menil), artists, art critics and journalists, collectors, art gallery owners, and museum and university professionals. Mostly dealing with possible acquisitions and exhibitions for the MFA,H, the correspondence includes requests for consultations on the value and identification of art works and arrangements for Sweeney's participation as curator or judge for exhibitions and competitions held outside the MFA,H. The papers include correspondence with artists (such as Ida Kohlmeyer, Dorothy Hood, and Laszlo Moskovits) who encouraged Sweeney to visit their studios and wrote to him about the evolution and meaning of their work. The papers illustrate Sweeney's wide circle of contacts in the international art scene and demonstrate his commitment to the broadening of the public's exposure to and understanding of twentieth-century art. A substantial portion of Sweeney's correspondence concerns ongoing research into the image of the Black in art, a project sponsored jointly by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and John and Dominique de Menil. Ranging in date from June 1963 to April 1964, this correspondence reflects a widespread and intensive effort to locate all relevant material (from any period, in any medium) in both European and American collections. Within the papers the project is termed "Exploration of Negro Subject Matter in the Fine Arts" and "de Menil Negro Art Project"; ultimately it provided the material for the publication, begun in 1976, of the Menil Foundation's multi-volume work, The Black Image in Western Art. Biographical and Historical Notes Art museum director, educator, and patron of the arts, James Johnson Sweeney was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 30, 1900 and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, and at the Sorbonne. He was Director of the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art (1945-1946) and subsequently Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1952-1960) prior to the commencement of his tenure as Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, in 1961. A determined advocate of modern art, Sweeney organized major exhibitions and authored books, essays, reviews, and articles which fostered greater interest in twentieth-century art among the American public. He died on April 14, 1986. |
| extent | 11 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | https://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=112614 |
| record source | http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/ |
| finding aid | Unpublished finding aid available in repository. |
| acquisition information | http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/ |
| updated | 08/25/2017 16:04:26 |
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| title | Oral history interview with Alvin S. Romansky, 1979 September 17 | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | An interview of Alvin S. Romansky conducted by Sandra Curtis Levy for the Archives of American Art. Romansky speaks of his history as a painter, ceramist and collector; the art scene in Houston as he knew it; his political and law activities; artists and collectors who were his friends and associates; the Contemporary Arts Association; his European experiences; his personal philosophies; and the future of museums. He recalls the Blaffer family, Alexander Calder, Nina Cullinan, John and Dominique de Menil; William Hayter and Buck Schiwetz. |
| extent | Sound recording: 6 sound cassettes Transcript: 234 p. (on 1 microfilm reel ) |
| 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-alvin-s-romansky-11762 |
| acquisition information | Part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958. |
| updated | 06/08/2023 16:42:18 |
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| title | Philippe de Montebello reader files, 1969-1973 | repository | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
| description | The Reader Files of Philippe de Montebello contain carbon copies of the Director's daily outgoing correspondence and largely concern administrative affairs, proposed exhibitions, possible accessions, his current research, and travel arrangements. The papers illustrate the Director's activities as a museum administrator and art collector, and include frequent corrrespondence with art dealers concerning pieces the Director had earmarked for the MFA,H collection. Frequent correspondents include Andrew S. Ciechanowiecki, Director of Heim Gallery, London; Klaus Herding of the Staatliche Museen, Berlin; Colin T. Eisler; Addison Franklin Page; Annemarie Pope of the Smithsonian Institution Travelling Exhibition Service; Thomas Pearsall Field Hoving; John and Dominique de Menil; Miss Ima Hogg; Josep Grau-Garriga; Pierre Rosenberg; Peter Selz; Walter Hopps; and Houston architect S. I. Morris. Biographical and Historical Notes Philippe de Montebello was raised in Southern France and educated at Harvard and New York University. He became Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in September 1969, formerly having been Associate Curator of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Under his direction the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston expanded its collections, placing emphasis on the acquisition of antiquities and masterpieces of European painting and drawing. De Montebello remained Director until December 1973. |
| extent | 1.5 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Administrative Records Exhibition Files |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | https://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=112623 |
| record source | http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/ |
| finding aid | Unpublished finding aid in repository: each month's correspondence is accompanied, in most cases, by an index of correspondents. |
| acquisition information | Found In:Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.Office of the Director. Records, 1924-[ongoing] (CStRLIN)TxHA90-A0 |
| updated | 08/25/2017 16:05:04 |
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| title | James Johnson Sweeney subject files, 1961-1968 | repository | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
| description | The Subject Files illustrate Sweeney's active role as a juror and guest curator for international exhibitions held outside the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, specifically, the 1961 Bienal de Sao Paulo (Brazil) and the 1963 Irish Exhibition of Living Art (Dublin). A prominent subject is the 1967 exhibition ROSC, The Poetry of Vision (Dublin), for which Sweeney served as chairman of a jury completed by Willem Sandberg and Jean Leymarie. The papers include correspondence with his fellow jurors as well as with artists (Alberto Burri, Pierre Soulages, Pierre Alechinsky, and Joan Miro) who contributed to the exhibition. In addition the papers document Sweeney's role as guest curator for the 1962 exhibition of sculptures and mobiles by Alexander Calder held at the Tate Gallery in London. There are numerous letters from Calder which include sketches, his suggestions as to which works were to be included in the Tate exhibition and how they were to be shown, and discussion of new works in progress. The Subject Files also contain materials related to the Tamarind Lithography Workshop (Los Angeles), including correspondence between Sweeney and Director June Wayne; copies of correspondence between Wayne and Jean Dubuffet concerning the latter's much-publicized refusal of a Tamarind award in August 1965; and copies of minutes of the annual meeting of Tamarind's Board of Directors (1961-1967). The files also document Sweeney's collaboration with Houston architect Howard Barnstone on the book The Galveston That Was, published by MacMillan in 1964. Papers include correspondence with Barnstone and with photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson and Ezra Stoller; manuscript versions of all three chapters; correspondence with potential publishers; and reviews of the book. Biographical and Historical Notes Art museum director, educator, and patron of the arts, James Johnson Sweeney was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 30, 1900 and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, and the Sorbonne. He was Director of the Department of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art (1945-46) and subsequently Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum(1952-1960), prior to the commencement of his tenure as Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in 1961. A determined advocate of modern art, Sweeney organized major exhibitions and authored books, essays, reviews, and articles which fostered greater interest in twentieth-century art among the American public. He died on April 14, 1986. |
| extent | 4.25 linear ft. |
| formats | Subject Files Correspondence Writings Printed Materials Notes |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | https://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=112622 |
| record source | https://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=112622 |
| updated | 08/25/2017 16:06:18 |
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| title | Eloise Spaeth papers, 1937-1983. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Scrapbooks, correspondence, exhibition files, photographs, and printed materials. REEL D181: Scrapbooks containing correspondence, clippings, reviews, and photographs relating to the Dayton Art Institute and to the Religious Art Exhibition held there in 1944. REEL 63: Correspondence concerning a Spaeth Foundation commission to Jacques Lipchitz for a bronze bust of John F. Kennedy. Correspondents include Lipchitz, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. REEL 1201: Correspondence concerning the Spaeth Foundation Religious Art Information Center; a Foundation prospectus; letters from Thomas Merton concerning his book on sacred art; correspondence dealing with the Annual Liturgical Congress Architectural Competition, an exhibition of architectural students' work, the Woodstock Center for Religion and Worship, and other aspects of art and religion. REEL 1817 and scanned: Photograph of Alexander Brook taken by Peter A. Juley and Son. UNMICROFILMED: Letters from Alexander Brook, Alexander Calder, William Congdon, Andre Girard, Edward Hopper, Walt Kuhn, Grant Wood, and others; correspondence concerning the American Federation of Arts, the Archives of American Art, Guild Hall, the Spaeth Foundation, UNESCO, and other art organizations; exhibition files of the AFA containing correspondence, printed material, and photographs; files on the "Films on Art" project developed by Otto Spaeth; correspondence and a scrapbook of Otto Spaeth concerning the Liturgical Arts Society; a scrapbook on the Spaeth's art collection; printed material and photographs used in AMERICAN ART MUSEUMS; photographs of paintings by John Singleton Copley, and other works of art and exhibition installations; Correspondence with Daniel Longwell, Harris K. Prior, and Thomas Brown Rudd regarding activities of the American Federation of Arts; Correspondence and clippings, 1963-1966, regarding the Lipchitz bust of JFK; letters, 1981-1983, from critic John Russell, and art collectors, Gertrude Schweitzer, Robert Osborn and Jean de Menil; and an exhibition catalog on Rico Lebrun, 1950; An illustrated letter to Spaeth from Walt Kuhn. Biographical and Historical Notes Art collector, writer, art patron; New York, N.Y.; d. 1998. She and husband Otto Spaeth founded the Spaeth Foundation. |
| extent | 2.9 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 3 reels) reels D181,1201 and 63 |
| formats | Correspondence Scrapbooks Exhibition Files Photographs Clippings |
| access | Microfilmed material must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed portion requires an appointment. |
| record source | http://www.siris.si.edu/ |
| acquisition information | Material on reels 63 and 1201 lent for microfilming 1971 and 1977 by Eloise Spaeth. Unmicrofilmed material donated 1966-1988 by Spaeth. Material on reel D181 lent for filming 1965 and subsequently donated in 1977. Location of Original: Reels 63 and 1201: Originals returned to lender, Eloise Spaeth, after microfilming |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:58 |
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| title | Correspondence from Edward F. Fry, 1961. | repository | Pennsylvania University |
| description | Found In: Edward F. Fry Papers. Folder 406 |
| extent | see repository |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:58 |
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| title | The Dorothy C. Miller Papers, ca. 1930-ca. 1980's, bulk ca. 1942-1969 | repository | The Museum of Modern Art |
| description | The processed Dorothy C. Miller Papers include correspondence, photographs, research notes and ephemera. Biographical/historical note MoMA curator (1935-1969) and honorary trustee (1984-), art advisor, editor. Related collections Related Collections: Dorothy C. Miller Papers, Archives of American Art; Holger C. Cahill Papers, New York Public Library. Note Forms part of: Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.). Archives. Records. Location MoMA Museum Archives Call Number mmym MA |
| extent | 15 linear feet |
| formats | Correspondence Notes Photographs Clippings Ephemera |
| access | The Papers may be seen by appointment at 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/dcmillerf.html |
| record source | https://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991009761939707141 |
| finding aid | Finding aid in repository, see http://arcade.nyarc.org/record=b588227~S8 |
| acquisition information | Transferred from Miller's NY office at One MacDougal Alley, gift of Dorothy C. Miller, 1986. |
| updated | 11/29/2022 15:49:50 |
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| title | Lee H. B. Malone correspondence and miscellaneous subjects, Bernard J Reis, 1949-1960. | repository | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
| description | The Correspondence and Miscellaneous Subjects files include a body of materials related to the annual convention of the American Federation of Arts which was held in Houston in 1957 (April 3-6) under the joint sponsorship of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Contemporary Arts Museum. The convention was largely organized by Malone and John de Menil. Correspondents include Daniel Longwell, then President of the American Federation of Arts; Robert David Straus; Stanley Marcus; Harris Masterson; and Jermayne McAgy. Speakers and panelists present were Meyer Schapiro; James Johnson Sweeney, subsequently Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from 1961 to 1967; Stuart Davis; William C. Seitz; Marcel Duchamp; Jimmy Ernst; and Vincent Price. Transcripts of speeches and panel discussions are included, as well as printed ephemera such as the program booklet for the convention and AFA newsletters. The files also contain materials related to the 1956 meeting of the Houston Fine Arts Forum (March 9-11) which explored "American Heritage and the Southwest". Correspondents include Alice Winchester, then editor of the periodical "Antiques"; Ralph E. Carpenter, Jr.; Marshall B Davidson; Henry Needham Flynt; Maxim Karolik; John Palmer Leeper; and Paul Horgan. The papers contain texts of the talks given at the sessions. Also featured is Director Malone's 1959 report entitled "Looking Ahead for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston"; his 1957 accessions plan, with priority lists of works to be acquired for the permanent collection; lists of objects approved for deaccessioning in 1957; and extensive correspondence with galleries and dealers concerning possible accessions. A small amount of Malone's miscellaneous correspondence is also present. Notes All photographs were removed and placed in the Archives Photograph Collection. Magazine items were removed and placed in Archives Oversize Storage. Biographical and Historical Notes Lee H. B. Malone (1913-1989) served as the first full-time Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from May 1953 to June 1959. Malone was raised in Europe and educated at Yale University. His years were characterized by the expansion of the Museum's permanent collection and the growth of its facilities, which came to include the monumental Cullinan Hall designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1958. |
| extent | 1.5 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Subject Files |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | https://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=45468 |
| record source | https://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=45468 |
| finding aid | Unpublished finding aid available in repository. |
| updated | 08/25/2017 16:07:35 |
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| title | Nina J. Cullinan papers, 1953-1981 | repository | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
| description | The Nina J. Cullinan Papers, 1953-1981, include correspondence, papers and newsclippings relating to her gift to build Cullinan Hall, various letters and invoices related to her various gifts to the museum, endowment fund reports and copies of related MFA,H minutes and committee meetings. Among correspondents are Frank Coates, president of the MFA,H, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Miss Cullinan's business advisor, James Durbin, sculptor Bill McVey, MFA,H trustees Ted Swigart, Ima Hogg, Si Morris, Hugo Neuhaus, John de Menil, and MFA,H directors James Johnson Sweeney and Lee Malone. Biographical and Historical Notes Nina J. Cullinan was one of five children of Joseph Stephen Cullinan, who founded Texaco. He contributed 3,300 for the purchase of an additional acre of land from the Hermann Estate, which was added to their gift of 1-3/4 acre for the site of the MFA,H. In 1953, Nina Cullinan pledged $250,000 for the MFA,H to build an addition to the museum, stipulating that the architect be of international reputation. Her additional gifts in 1957 and 1958 brought the total gift up to $625,000. As a result, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the museum wing known as Cullinan Hall, which opened on October 11, 1958, when Lee Malone was the museum director. The addition nearly doubled the size of the museum, and included abut 8,000 square feet of exhibition space. Mies van der Rohe designed the first installation for the exhibit, "The Human Image." The gift for the new hall was to honor her parents, Joseph Stephen and Lucie Halm Cullinan, Nina Cullinan also established a $100,000 endowment for its maintenance. She later received an unusual honor from the Society of Texas Architects for improving the quality of life by sponsoring the construction. Miss Cullinan served on the MFA,H Board of Trustees for Approximately 50 years, beginning in May 1933, and was elected a lifetime trustee in 1982. She also served on the Contemporary Arts Association Board of Directors and was a moving force behind its establishment in 1948. Cullinan is remembered as a modest philanthropist who shunned descriptions of herself as a patroness of the arts and a benefactress. Miss Cullinan was also a founding patron of the Society for the Performing Arts, a founding director of the Houston Ballet Foundation, and a benefactor to the Houston Symphony. She served on the National Parks Advisory Committee and gave land for Mary Considine Cullinan Park on Polk Street in memory of her paternal grandmother. She also served on the boards of the Child Guidance Center, the Houston Mental Health Society, the Fine Arts Advisory Council of the University of Texas, and the American Federation of Art. Born in Washington, Pennsylvania, she died in Houston on February 22, 1983. |
| extent | .25 linear ft. |
| formats | Correspondence Clippings Financial Records Reports Administrative Records |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record link | https://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=35950 |
| record source | https://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=35950 |
| finding aid | Unpublished finding aid available in repository. |
| updated | 08/25/2017 16:08:13 |
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| title | Jean tinguely sculptures, exhibition files, 1964-1965. | repository | Museum of Fine Arts, Houston |
| description | This subseries documents the exhibition "Jean Tinguely Sculptures" (April 3-May 16, 1965), a retrospective selection including eleven mechanical sculptures purchased for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston by benefactors Jean and Dominique de Menil. The works were purchased as a group at the request of James Johnson Sweeney, then Director of the Museum, from Alexander Iolas Gallery in Paris. Twenty-one drawings by Tinguely were loaned to Houston for inclusion in this exhibition. The papers include Sweeney's correspondence with gallery owner Alexander Iolas, artist Tinguely, and Simone Swan of Withers Swan Public Relations; conservation reports; press releases; and the Registrar's annotated copy of the exhibition catalogue. Original photographs may be subject to photographers' copyright. Reproduction for editorial or non-editorial use is regulated by the Photographic Services Department, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. All photographic materials have been removed from the papers and are stored in the Archives Photograph Collection. |
| extent | 0.25 linear ft. of processed records plus. 0.25 linear ft. of photographic materials. |
| formats | Exhibition Files Photographs Photographs Reports Administrative Records |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | https://hirsch.mfah.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=112595 |
| finding aid | Unpublished finding aid available in repository. |
| acquisition information | Found In: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Office of the Registrar. Exhibition files, 1924-[ongoing] (CStRLIN)TxHA88-A4 |
| updated | 08/25/2017 16:08:36 |
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| title | American Federation of Arts records, 1956-1957. | repository | Archives of American Art |
| description | Letters from Preston Bolton, John de Menil, Ann Drevet, Lee Malone, and others, regarding the planning of the American Federation of Arts Convention held in Houston, Texas in 1957; convention committee minutes, 1956; and American Federation of Arts newsletters. |
| extent | 250 items (on partial microfilm reel) |
| formats | Correspondence |
| access | Contact repository for restrictions and policies. |
| record source | http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/ |
| updated | 11/12/2014 11:29:58 |
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