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Archives related to: Lewisohn, Sam A. (Sam Adolph), 1884-

titleEdward Bruce papers, 1902-1960 (bulk 1932-1942).
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionBio / His Notes:
Painter, businessman, and art director; Washington, D.C. Bruce directed the Public Works of Art Project, Dec. 1933 - June 1934. Chief of the Section of Painting and Sculpture (later the Section of Fine Arts), a program in the Treasury Department and later reorganized under the Public Buildings Administration of the Federal Works Agency, established to administer the decoration of public buildings.

Summary:
The Edward Bruce papers measure 8.5 linear feet and date from 1902 to 1960, with the bulk of the material dating from 1932 to 1942. The collection documents Bruce's work as an artist and art administrator, primarily during the period of his tenure as director of the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts. The collection includes extensive correspondence to and from many notable artists and government officials, as well as biographical material, writings, financial material, printed material, scrapbooks, and photographs.
Biographical material includes birth records and many awards and certificates. Correspondence contains hundreds of letters to and from family and friends, including art critic Leo Stein and artist Maurice Sterne, in addition to correspondence with art organizations, museums, galleries and artists such as George Biddle, Adrian Dornbush and Olin Dows. Bruce's career as director of the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts is documented in business correspondence that records his relationships with colleagues at the Section and other government officials, and his role on various committees, including the Commission of Fine Arts. Extensive correspondence with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt concerning public art projects can also be found here.
Writings include diaries and notebooks containing notes, addresses, lists for Section of Fine Arts projects, and dated entries on Bruce's government and political work. Also found are numerous written speeches that Bruce gave at public events on the importance of art, public art projects, and political issues. Financial material consists of a small number of personal financial records. Printed material documents Edward Bruce's career as an artist through news clippings, magazine articles, and exhibition catalogs. Brochures, bulletins from the Section of Fine Arts, published speeches and various miscellaneous publications provide additional documentation of other art and government affairs. Scrapbooks in this collection include significant news clippings, letters, photographs, and other printed material, which highlight Bruce's career.
Photographs include both personal photographs and photographs of Bruce's artwork. Personal photographs include portraits of Bruce, and are also of friends of the Bruces and many special events, including an NBC radio broadcast and an exhibition attended by Eleanor Roosevelt. Other items include photographs taken by Bruce during his travels, and while living in Anticoli Carrado, Italy.
extent8.5 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 12 reels) reels D82-D92 and 1817
formatsCorrespondence Financial Papers Photographs Scrapbooks
accessUse require an appointment.
record linkhttps://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.brucedwa.pdf
record sourcehttps://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/edward-bruce-papers-7264
finding aidReels D82-D92: Microfilm inventory available at AAA offices.
acquisition informationPapers on reels D82-D92 and 1817 donted by Mrs. Edward Bruce in 1962. Unmicrofilmed materials donated 1979 by Maria Ealand, the Bruce's niece. The photograph on reel 1817 was received with the papers but microfilmed in 1980 as part of AAA's Photographs of Artists-Collection II.
updated02/14/2025 10:07:31
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titleCollectors Records, 1929-1987
repositoryThe Museum of Modern Art
descriptionThe 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.
extent4 linear feet Ten 5" document boxes
formatsClippings Correspondence Ephemera Photographs Administrative Records
accessThe records are open for research and contain no restricted materials.
record linkhttp://www.moma.org/research/archives/EAD/CollectorsRecordsf.html
record sourcehttps://library.nyarc.org/permalink/01NYA_INST/ai54l4/alma991007920159707141
finding aidIn the repository and on the Web site.
acquisition informationThe 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.
updated02/14/2025 10:07:31
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titleEdward Bruce papers, 1902-1960 (bulk 1932-1942).
repositoryArchives of American Art
descriptionThe Edward Bruce papers measure 8.5 linear feet and date from 1902 to 1960, with the bulk of the material dating from 1932 to 1942.

The collection documents Bruce's work as an artist and art administrator, primarily during the period of his tenure as director of the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts. The collection includes extensive correspondence to and from many notable artists and government officials, as well as biographical material, writings, financial material, printed material, scrapbooks, and photographs.

Biographical material includes birth records and many awards and certificates. Correspondence contains hundreds of letters to and from family and friends, including art critic Leo Stein and artist Maurice Sterne, in addition to correspondence with art organizations, museums, galleries and artists such as George Biddle, Adrian Dornbush and Olin Dows. Bruce's career as director of the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts is documented in business correspondence that records his relationships with colleagues at the Section and other government officials, and his role on various committees, including the Commission of Fine Arts. Extensive correspondence with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt concerning public art projects can also be found here.

Writings include diaries and notebooks containing notes, addresses, lists for Section of Fine Arts projects, and dated entries on Bruce's government and political work. Also found are numerous written speeches that Bruce gave at public events on the importance of art, public art projects, and political issues. Financial material consists of a small number of personal financial records. Printed material documents Edward Bruce's career as an artist through news clippings, magazine articles, and exhibition catalogs.

Brochures, bulletins from the Section of Fine Arts, published speeches and various miscellaneous publications provide additional documentation of other art and government affairs. Scrapbooks in this collection include significant news clippings, letters, photographs, and other printed material, which highlight Bruce's career.

Photographs include both personal photographs and photographs of Bruce's artwork. Personal photographs include portraits of Bruce, and are also of friends of the Bruces and many special events, including an NBC radio broadcast and an exhibition attended by Eleanor Roosevelt. Other items include photographs taken by Bruce during his travels, and while living in Anticoli Carrado, Italy.

Bio / His Notes:
Painter, businessman, and art director; Washington, D.C. Bruce directed the Public Works of Art Project, Dec. 1933 - June 1934. Chief of the Section of Painting and Sculpture (later the Section of Fine Arts), a program in the Treasury Department and later reorganized under the Public Buildings Administration of the Federal Works Agency, established to administer the decoration of public buildings.
extent8.5 linear ft. (partially microfilmed on 12 reels) reels D82-D92 and 1817
formatsCorrespondence Financial Records Diaries Photographs Clippings
accessReels D82-D92: Microfilm inventory available at AAA offices.
record linkhttps://sirismm.si.edu/EADpdfs/AAA.brucedwa.pdf
record sourcehttps://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/edward-bruce-papers-7264
finding aidReels D82-D92: Microfilm inventory available at AAA offices.
acquisition informationPapers on reels D82-D92 and 1817 donted by Mrs. Edward Bruce in 1962. Unmicrofilmed materials donated 1979 by Maria Ealand, the Bruce's niece. The photograph on reel 1817 was received with the papers but microfilmed in 1980 as part of AAA's Photographs of Artists-Collection II.
updated02/14/2025 10:07:35
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titleLeague for Industrial Democracy. Pamphlets, 1922-1978
repositoryCornell University Libraries
description134 pamphlets in this collection from the League for Industrial Democracy.
extent1 linear ft.
formatsEphemera
accessAccess to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials. This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.
record sourcehttp://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/
finding aidFinding aid available in repository and through interlibrary loan, folder level control. Arranged alphabetically by author.
updated02/14/2025 10:07:35
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titleFranklin D. Roosevelt President's Personal File
repositoryFranklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library
descriptionFile Lewisohn, Sam A.

See repository for further information.

formats
accessContact repository for restrictions and policies.
record sourcehttp://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu:8000/findaid.cgi?db=1&text=Lewisohn
acquisition informationForms part of: Franklin D. Roosevelt Papers as President of the United States.
updated02/14/2025 10:07:39
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titleIsador Lubin Papers, 1917-1971.
repositoryFranklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library
descriptionBox 62 Folder/File Lewisohn, Sam A. -

Correspondence, speeches, lectures, articles, and printed materials, 1924-1971, documenting his governmental, professional, academic, business, and political interests.

Subjects include atomic energy, automation, cost of living, displaced persons, housing, reconversion, Israel, Jewish affairs, labor and unions, American Statistical Association, Brandeis University, Council on Foreign Relations, Decca Records, Democratic Party politics, Brookings Institution, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, National Committee on Segregation in the Nation's Capital, National Planning Association, Puerto Rico, and the United Nations.

There is also fragmented personal correspondence, 1917-1933, including some with or about Thorstein Veblen.

Correspondence and statistical material from his work as Administrative Assistant to President Roosevelt, 1941-1946, concerning munitions, Allied reparations, and economic conditions in Europe. Correspondence, speeches, printed and processed materials from his work as New York State Industrial Commissioner, 1955-1958. Correspondence, statements, and speeches relating to W. Averell Harriman's bid for the Presidency, 1956. Correspondence, printed and processed material relating to the work of James S. Lanigan as administrative assistant to Mutual Security Administrator W. Averell Harriman, 1950-1952.
extent93 linear ft.
formatsCorrespondence Writings Printed Materials Business Papers Personal Papers
accessRestricted in part.
record sourcehttp://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu:8000/findbrow.cgi?Submit=Submit+Query&collection=Lubin%2C+Isador
finding aidSeries description and folder list.
updated02/14/2025 10:07:39
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titlePapers of Alexander Sachs, 1874-1973.
repositoryFranklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library
descriptionSEE: Box 41 Folder/File Lewisohn, Sam

Correspondence, financial papers, reports, studies, memoranda, minutes, printed material, extracts, charts, tables, statistics, ledgers, speeches, and court testimony, relating to Sachs's work as an economist, businessman, and consultant. Subjects (ca. 1930-ca. 1949) include agriculture, banking, building, commodities, currency, depression, labor, minerals, oil, politics, public finance, railroads, recovery, stock markets, and taxation.

Sachs's economic and financial investment clients include American Telephone and Telegraph Company, Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad Company, Lehman Corporation, New York Telephone Company, Pacific Lighting Gas Supply Company, Philadelphia Electric Company, R.C.A., Standard Oil Company, Union Pacific Railroad Company, and United Gas Pipe Line Company.

Correspondents include U.S. depts. of Defense, Justice, and State, Federal Reserve Board, National Industrial Conference, National Policy Committee, National Recovery Administration, Office of Strategic Services, Petroleum Industry War Council, and President's Power Pool Conference.

Biographical Note
Economist, officer and director of Lehman Corporation, independent economic adviser and financial consultant, and government adviser.
extent168 linear ft.
formatsCorrespondence Financial Records Business Papers Ephemera Legal Papers
accessAccess partially restricted.
record sourcehttp://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu:8000/findbrow.cgi?Submit=Submit+Query&collection=Sachs%2C+Alexander
finding aidFinding aid in the repository.
acquisition informationDonated by Charlotte Cramer Sachs (Mrs. Alexander Sachs), 1985.
updated02/14/2025 10:07:39
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titleM. Knoedler & Co. records, approximately 1848-1971
repositoryThe Getty Research Institute
descriptionThe records of M. Knoedler & Co. document the business of the prominent American art dealer from the mid-19th century to 1971, when the Knoedler Gallery was acquired by Armand Hammer. The archive traces the development of the once provincial American art market into one of the world's leading art centers and the formation of the private art collections that would ultimately establish many of the nation's leading art museums, such as the Frick Collection and the National Gallery of Art.

It brings to the foreground the business side of dealing as artworks shuttled back and forth among Knoedler, fellow dealers, and collectors, documenting developments in art connoisseurship, shifting tastes, the changing role of art in American society, and the essential role of private collectors in the formation of public American art collections.

The records provide insight into broader economic, social and cultural histories and the nation's evolving sense of place in the world. The Knoedler Gallery became one of the main suppliers of old master and post-Impressionist paintings in the United States. Financial records of the firm provide crucial provenance information on the large number of artworks in American museums that were sold by the gallery. The archive includes stock books, sales books and commission books; correspondence with collectors, artists, art dealers and other associates; photographs of the artworks sold by the gallery; records from the firm's offices in London, Paris and other cities; exhibition files; framing and restoration records, and records of the firm's Print Department.

Selected portions of the archive have been digitized and made available online. Connect to selected digitized portions of the archive.

Arranged in 14 series:
Series I. Stock books;
Series II. Sales books;
Series III. Commission books;
Series IV. Inventory cards;
Series V. Receiving and shipping records;
Series VI. Correspondence;
Series VII. Photographs;
Series VIII. Exhibition files;
Series IX. American Department records;
Series X. Framing and restoration records;
Series XI. Print Department records;
Series XII. Other financial records;
Series XIII. Library cards, scrapbooks, and research materials;
Series XIV. Knoedler family papers


Biographical/Historical Note:
M. Knoedler & Co. was a successor to the New York branch of Goupil & Co., an extremely dynamic print-publishing house founded in Paris in 1827. Goupil's branches in London, Berlin, Brussels, and The Hague, as well as New York, expanded the firm's market in the sale of reproductive prints.

The firm's office in New York was established in 1848. In 1857, Michael Knoedler, an employee of Goupil and a manager for the firm, bought out the interests in the firm's New York branch, conducted the business under his own name, and diversified its activities to include the sale of paintings. Roland Knoedler, Michael's son, took over the firm in 1878 and with Charles Carstairs opened galleries in Paris and London.

In 1928, the management of the firm passed to Roland's nephew Charles Henschel, Carman Messmore, Charles Carstairs and Carstairs' son Carroll. In 1956 Henschel died, and E. Coe Kerr and Roland Balaÿ, Michael Knoedler's grandson, took over. In 1971 the firm was sold to businessman and collector Armand Hammer. The gallery closed in November 2011.

extent3042.6 linear feet (5550 boxes, 17 flat file folders).
formatsAuction Catalogs Business Records Correspondence Financial Records Ephemera
accessOpen for use by qualified researchers, with the following exceptions. Boxes 77, 262-264, 1308-1512, 1969-1974, 3592-3723 are restricted due to fragility. Box 4468 is restricted until 2075.
record linkhttp://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2012m54
record sourcehttps://primo.getty.edu/permalink/f/19q6gmb/GETTY_ALMA21129976460001551
contact informationContact gallery's archivist
finding aidAt the Getty Research Institute and over their website.
acquisition informationAcquired in 2012.
updated02/14/2025 10:07:44
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