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The papers of art historian and writer Peter Howard Selz measure 31.5 linear feet and 0.696 GB and date from 1929 to 2018, with the bulk of the materials from 1950 to 2005. The papers document Selz's long career via correspondence, writings, professional files, project files, membership and association records, artists' research files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed and digital materials, and nine scrapbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian and writer Peter Howard Selz measure 31.5 linear feet and 0.696 GB and date from 1929 to 2018, with the bulk of the materials from 1950 to 2005. The papers document Selz's long career via correspondence, writings, professional files, project files, membership and association records, artists' research files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed and digital materials, and scrapbooks.
Correspondence is with colleagues, artists, museums, and galleries concerning a wide variety of topics, including exhibitions and publications. The bulk of the correspondence consists of alphabetical files (two linear feet) that includes correspondence with artists. Notable correspondents include Pol Bury, Alexander Calder, Gordon Onslow Ford, Alberto Giacometti, Morris Graves, Philip Guston, Dimitri Hadzi, Jacques Lipchitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Jean Tinguely, and others. Eight additional files of chronological correspondence is with curators, arts organizations, and publishers. Additional correspondence is found in the professional files, project files, membership files, artists' research files, and exhibition files.
The bulk of the writings series is comprised of files related to Selz's books and includes typescript drafts and galleys, printed and digital material, correspondence, and publishing contracts. Files are found for Art in Our Times, Art of Engagement, Beyond the Mainstream, and Theories of Modern Art. Other writings consist of drafts of articles, essays, notes, and lectures by Selz. Also included are writings by others, including materials related to Paul Karlstrom's biography of Selz.
Professional files document curatorial and teaching positions at the Chicago Institute of Design, Pomona College, University of California, Berkeley, and the Museum of Modern Art. The series includes contracts, recommendations, syllabi, and correspondence.
Project files document Selz's professional work on specific art projects, panels, and symposiums. There is extensive documentation of Selz's work as project director of Christo's Running Fence, as well as other environmental art work projects by Christo, the Berkeley Art Project, Disney Art Project, "Funk Art" symposium, and the "Art and Politics in the 20th Century" symposium. Project files contain a wide variety of materials, such as correspondence, printed material, financial records, reports, photographs, and other documents. There are 2 tape reels, 1 VHS, and 1 sound cassette.
Membership and association records document Selz's involvement with or membership in various art councils, trustee boards, such as the College Art Association, Art in Chicago Advisory Committee, Bay Area Rapid Transit (B.A.R.T.) Art Council, and the San Francisco Crafts and Folk Art Museum Advisory Board, among others. Materials include meeting minutes, bulletins, correspondence, and memoranda.
Artists' Research Files consist of a wide variety of research materials Selz compiled about artists for lectures, writings, projects, exhibitions, etc. Files vary and may include original and photocopied correspondence, photographic material, resumes, printed and digital material, and writings. There is also 1 sound cassette. Files are found for Bedri Baykam, Max Beckmann, Fletcher Benton, Ciel Bergman, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Bruce Conner, Jean Dubuffet, Lyonel Feininger, Leon Golub, Dimitri Hadzi, Rico Lebrun, Harold Paris, Irving Petlin, among many others.
Exhibition files include catalogs, reviews, clippings, writings, correspondence, and other material documenting exhibitions organized by Selz. Limited materials are found for the MOMA Art Nouveau exhibition. More extensive documentation is found for Seven Decades of Modern Art, 1895-1965, The Joint Show (1967), The American Presidency in Political Cartoons (1976), American Modern Art Between the Two World Wars (1979), German Realism in the Twenties: Artist As Social Critic (1980), Twelve Artists from the German Democratic Republic (1989), a Richard Lindner Retrospective (1996), Spaces of Nature (1999), Color and Fire: Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950-2000 (2000), and a Nathan Oliviera Retrospective (2002), among others. Some of the materials are in digital format.
Personal business records are related to the Mark Rothko estate and Kate Rothko's legal case against Marlborough Gallery, Inc. Also included in this series are Peter Selz's school transcripts, bequests, royalty statements, house designs, and other material.
Printed materials include clippings, prints of articles written by Peter Selz, exhibition announcements and invitations, and photocopies of artwork images.
There are nine disbound scrapbooks dating from the 1940s up through 2012 containing clippings, exhibition announcements, and photographs of art events, Selz, and artists. This series also includes materials from the 2018 addition that may have previously been compiled in binders.
This collection is arranged as 10 series. When possible the original order of Peter Selz was maintained. However, multiple accessions were merged and integrated.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1942-2013 (2.3 linear feet; Box 1-3, Box 37)
Series 2: Writings, 1942- circa 2014 (8.3 linear feet; Box 3-10, OV 32, Box 37, 0.035 GB; ER01, ER12)
Series 3: Professional Files, 1949-2012 (1 linear feet; Box 11, Box 37)
Series 4: Project Files, 1962-2015 (2.8 linear feet; Box 12-14, OV 33, Box 37)
Series 5: Membership and Association Records, 1958-2014 (1.1 linear feet; Box 14-15, Box 37)
Series 6: Artists' Research Files, 1955-2014 (7.9 linear feet; Box 15-22, OV 34-35, 0.520 GB; ER02-ER08)
Series 7: Exhibition Files, 1959-2014 (5.2 linear feet; Box 23-27, Box 38, 0.093 GB; ER09-ER11)
Series 8: Personal Business Records, 1929-2014 (1.2 linear feet; Box 28-29, OV 36, Box 38)
Series 9: Printed Material, 1957-2014 (0.3 linear feet; Box 29, Box 38)
Series 10: Scrapbooks, 1947-2018 (1.4 linear feet, Box 29-31, Box 38)
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Howard Selz (1919-2019) was a pioneering historian of modern art, professor, and writer who taught at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1965-1988 and founded and directed the Berkeley Art Museum from 1965-1973.
Selz was born in 1919 in Munich, Germany to Eugene Selz and Edith Drey Selz. In 1936, the family fled Nazi Germany and immigrated to the United States. Selz attended Columbia University from 1937 to 1938 and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. During World War II, Selz served in the U.S. Army in the Office of Strategic Services. He married writer Thalia Cheronis in 1948 but they later divorced in 1965; he married several times afterwards.
After the war, Selz attended and taught at the University of Chicago where he received a Ph. D. in German Expressionism. He spent a year in Paris, 1949-1950, at the Sorbonne and École du Louvre on a Fulbright grant. He received a second Fulbright grant in 1953 to study at the Royal Museums of Art and History in Belgium. From 1953-1955, Selz also taught at the Chicago Institute of Design.
In 1955 Peter Selz accepted a position to chair the art history department at Pomona College in Claremont and relocated to California for a few years. He also became director of the college's art gallery.
In 1958 Selz moved to New York City to become curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art and was there through the transformative mid-1960s. While at MOMA, he organized several significant exhibitions of modern art, including the 1960 Jean Tinguely "Homage to New York," a sculpture that destroyed itself (and started a fire) in the sculpture garden of the museum; New Images of Man (1959), the Art Nouveau show (1960), and the Art of Assemblage (1961). He also launched important retrospectives, including the first Rodin retrospective in the United States and a comprehensive exhibition of Alberto Giacometti's work in 1965.
In 1965, Peter Selz returned to California to become the founding director of the Berkeley Art Museum at the University of California, Berkeley, a position he held until 1973. He organized exhibitions of Funk, film, and ceramicists like Peter Voulkos and Robert Arneson. Peter Selz later became project director for Christo's "Running Fence", the 24.5-mile long fabric fence over the Marin County hills in 1976. He also served concurrently as a professor of art history at UC until retiring in 1988.
Peter Selz was a member of the College Art Association's board of directors for two terms, 1958-1964 and 1966-1971. Selz is a prolific writer, and the author or co-author of numerous books, exhibition catalogs, and articles. Notable books include German Expressionist Painting (1957), Art in a Turbulent Era (1965), Art in Our Times (1981), and Sam Francis (1975).
In 1988 Peter Selz was named emeritus professor at University of California, Berkeley. In 1993 he was on the acquisitions committee of the Museums of Fine Arts, San Francisco. In 2012, Selz curated The Painted Word exhibition. Selz died in 2019 in Albany, California.
The Archives of American Art also holds oral history interviews of Peter Selz conducted by Paul J. Karlstrom on July 28, 1982, October 12, 1982, and November 3, 1999.
The Peter Howard Selz papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Peter Selz in multiple installments from 1976 through 2014. Additional papers were donated in 2018 by Gabrielle Selz, Peter Selz's daughter.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
The Peter Howard Selz papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
The records of the Downtown Gallery date from 1824 to 1974 (bulk 1926-1969) and measure 109.56 linear feet. The records present a comprehensive portrait of a significant commercial gallery that operated as a successful business for more than forty years, representing major contemporary American artists and engendering appreciation for early American folk art. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection dating circa 1970 of a single financial/legal document.
Scope and Content Note:
The Downtown Gallery records constitute 109.56 linear feet on 167 reels of microfilm. The records are dated 1824 to 1974 with bulk dates from 1926 to 1969. There is an unprocessed addition to this collection dating circa 1970 of a single financial/legal document.
The Downtown Gallery was established in 1926 as Our Gallery and operated under the name Downtown Gallery from 1927 until 1973. Nineteenth-century material consists of items acquired by Edith Gregor Halpert for research purposes or to document works of art in the gallery's inventory. The few records postdating the closing of the gallery relate to the estate of Edith Gregor Halpert.
The extensive records of the Downtown Gallery present a comprehensive portrait of a significant commercial gallery that operated as a successful business for more than forty years, representing major contemporary American artists and engendering appreciation for early American folk art. Edith Halpert, the gallery's founder and director, was an influential force in the American art world for a large part of the twentieth century.
Personal papers are intermingled with the business records of the Downtown Gallery. Many of the artists represented by the gallery were Halpert's personal friends, and over the years she developed social relationships and friendships with many clients. These relationships are reflected by the contents of the records, especially the correspondence, some of which is purely personal. In addition, there are a small number of letters from relatives, photographs of Halpert's family, home and friends, and limited information about her country house and personal finances.
The Downtown Gallery records consist largely of correspondence with collectors, including Edgar and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, Preston Harrison, Mr. and Mrs. Maxim Karolik, William H. Lane, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Beram K. Saklatwalla, Robert Tannahill, and Electra Havemeyer Webb; with dealers, including robert Carlen, Landau Gallery, Leicester Galleries, Mirski Gallery, and Isabel Carleton Wilde; and with large numbers of curators and museum directors, including many affiliated with university museums. In addition, there is correspondence concerning routine gallery business and administrative affairs.
Artist files and an extensive series of notebooks (American Folk Art Gallery notebooks, artist notebooks, and publicity notebooks) compiled by gallery staff contain a wide variety of material and are a rich source of information about individual artists and the Downtown Gallery's exhibition history.
Business records include exhibition records, stock records, sales records, transit records, financial records, lists of artwork and clients, legal documents, minutes, insurance records, research files, and architectural plans.
Writings by Edith Gregor Halpert consist of articles on American folk art, speeches, and short stories; also included are her school notebooks and "Daily Thoughtlets" compiled at age seventeen. All writings by other authors are on art subjects, and most are texts or introductions for exhibition catalogs.
Among the miscellaneous records are biographical material on Edith Gregor Halpert and Samuel Halpert, works of art by Edith Gregor Halpert and other artists, artifacts, and audiovisual materials. The artifacts include wooden weather vane molds and supporting documentation as well as awards presented to Halpert. Audiovisual materials are 16-mm motion picture films of the Westinghouse Broadcasting Corporation television series, America: The Artist's Eye, produced between 1961 and 1963 in association with Jensen Productions. An additional 16-mm motion picture film includes "tails out" footage of Charles Sheeler at home and at work, circa 1950. A copy of the program about Sheeler, along with the "tails out" material, is also on videocassette. In addition, there is a sound recording of a talk on collecting given by Halpert's client, folk art collector Maxim Karolik, in 1962.
Printed matter consists of items produced by the Downtown Gallery, including exhibition catalogs, checklists, invitations, announcements, and press releases. There are also news clippings about Halpert, the Downtown Gallery, and the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection; other art-related clippings are arranged topically. Miscellaneous printed matter not produced by the Downtown Gallery includes newsletters, press releases, publications of art organizations, and reproductions of artwork. A selection of twenty-five volumes from the personal library of Edith Gregor Halpert has been retained.
The photographs series includes images of people: Edith Gregor Halpert, family, friends, also many images of her dog, Adam, and views of her country home in Newtown, Connecticut. Other photographs of people include portraits of artists, most of whom were affiliated with the Downtown Gallery. There are also photographs of works of art (with a large number of black-and-white negatives, 35-mm color slides, and glass plate negatives) and of exhibitions, of the exterior and interior of the Downtown Gallery, and of an award presented to Halpert.
See Appendix B for a chronological list of Downtown Gallery exhibitions.
It is not certain how well arranged the files were while still the property of the gallery, though Halpert's background as an efficiency expert and her talents as an organizer suggest that the gallery's records were well maintained. It is clear, however, that much of the original order has been lost; Halpert is known to have removed files, including many records concerning the Harnett-Peto controversy.
Correspondence (Series 1) is arranged chronologically, and Artist Files (Series 2) is arranged alphabetically. The remaining series are organized into subseries that reflect either a function or specific record type, and the arrangement of each is explained in the detailed series descriptions. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
The Downtown Gallery records are arranged into eight series:
Series 1: Correspondence, 1926-1974, undated (Boxes 1-22; 22 linear ft.; Reels 5488-5545)
Series 2: Artist Files, A - Z, 1917-1970, undated (Boxes 23-27; 5 linear ft.; Reels 5545-5558)
Series 3: Notebooks, 1835, 1874, circa 1880-1969, undated (Boxes 28-59; 32.5 linear ft.; Reels 5558-5603)
Series 4: Business Records, 1925-1974, undated (Boxes 60-94, OV 95, OV 96, OV 97; 34.5 linear ft.; Reels 5603-5636)
Series 5: Writings, 1917-1968, undated (Box 98; 1 linear ft.; Reels 5636-5638)
Series 6: Miscellaneous Material, circa 1835, 1883, 1913-1970, undated (Boxes 99-101, 103, OV 102, OV 104, FC 120-124; 3.25 linear ft.; Reels 5638-5639)
Series 7: Printed Matter, 1824-1865, 1920-1969, undated (Boxes 105-108; 4 linear ft.; Reels 5640-5647)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1880-1960s, undated (Boxes 109-118, OV 119, MGP 4; 8.75 linear ft.; Reels 5647-5654)
As a very young woman, Edith Gregor Halpert (1900-1970) attended art school sporadically while pursuing a business career that began in advertising and included work as a personnel manager and efficiency expert. She continued her business career after marrying artist Samuel Halpert (1884-1930) in 1918 and eventually became a highly paid executive with an investment firm. Well-invested bonuses provided the capital for Halpert to open her own business.
In November 1926, Halpert and business partner Berthe (Bea) Kroll Goldsmith opened Our Gallery at 113 West 13th Street for the purpose of promoting a group of progressive American artists, many of whom were friends of Edith and Samuel Halpert. The following year, at the suggestion of William Zorach, the gallery changed its name to Downtown Gallery--emphasizing its Greenwich Village location, unique for the time--and the name survived despite relocation to midtown Manhattan (to 43 East 51st Street in 1940, to 32 East 51st Street in 1945, and to the Ritz Tower Concourse at 465 Park Avenue in 1965).
The Downtown Gallery specialized in contemporary American art. An early gallery brochure states: "The Downtown Gallery has no prejudice for any one school. Its selection is driven by quality--by what is enduring--not by what is in vogue." Some of the artists affiliated with the Downtown Gallery from its early years were Stuart Davis, "Pop" Hart, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Charles Sheeler, Max Weber, and William and Marguerite Zorach. In its original location, the gallery served as a place where artists (many of whom lived and worked in the neighborhood), collectors, and others interested in American art met in the evenings for coffee, conversation, and sometimes lectures or other formal programs. Holger Cahill (1887-1960) entered into a partnership with Halpert and Goldsmith in 1929 when they founded the American Folk Art Gallery, the first ever of its kind; the American Folk Art Gallery opened on the second floor of the Downtown Gallery in 1931. Folk art was an important feature of the gallery throughout its history, though the name American Folk Art Gallery does not appear to have been used consistently. Because the profit margin was high and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller bought avidly for her growing collection, folk art revenues subsidized contemporary art exhibitions and helped the gallery survive the Depression. The Daylight Gallery, also run by Halpert and Goldsmith, opened in 1930 in a separate structure behind the main gallery, and continued until the Downtown Gallery moved to East 51st Street in 1940. Its purpose was to exhibit painting and sculpture to best advantage in a gallery designed to diffuse light perfectly and to demonstrate how works of art may be used as architectural embellishments in a modern building. Other subsidiary galleries operated by the Downtown Gallery were the John Marin Room, opened in 1950 and run by John Marin, Jr., and the Ground-Floor Room, 1951, "dedicated to the adventurous, less experienced collector willing to gamble on his taste and ours."
From the beginning, Halpert endeavored to hold prices at reasonable levels; she employed aggressive marketing and advertising techniques learned from her career in business and banking, offering extended payment plans without interest to buyers of modest means. She recognized the value of placing representative works by Downtown Gallery artists in important art museums and public collections, even if a price reduction was necessary to achieve this goal.
After purchasing Goldsmith's share of the business in 1935, Halpert, needing to earn a profit, reorganized the gallery as a more overtly commercial venture. The roster of artists was reduced to twelve. Those eliminated tended to be younger artists, most of whom were supported by WPA work. Eventually, the roster expanded; new additions were usually artists not based in New York, whom Halpert learned of through her work as an adviser to the WPA Federal Art Project. Halpert had long courted Alfred Stieglitz's artists, and in the years following his death in 1946 a number of them affiliated with the Downtown Gallery. Another change was that the Downtown Gallery no longer represented only living American artists; the gallery began handling a number of estates, most notably that of Arthur Dove. In 1953, the roster of Downtown Gallery artists shifted dramatically when Halpert entered into an agreement with Charles Alan. Alan had been hired in 1945 with the understanding that he was being trained to run the Downtown Gallery upon Halpert's retirement five years in the future. Eight years later, it became apparent that Halpert was not going to retire; without consulting the artists, she transferred representation of all artists who had joined the Downtown Gallery since 1936 to the newly established Alan Gallery.
Exhibitions at the Downtown Gallery included both solo exhibitions and group shows usually built around a theme; most lasted about a month. Annual exhibitions (sometimes titled anniversary exhibitions) opened the exhibition season each fall and showcased the gallery's artists. The Downtown Gallery's Christmas show, a long-standing event that encouraged purchases of original art for holiday gift giving, was eagerly anticipated as it featured fine artwork at very reasonable prices. Between 1927 and 1935, the Downtown Gallery was the site of the American Print Makers Society annual exhibitions. During its forty-seven years in operation, the Downtown Gallery organized many important, influential exhibitions. American Ancestors (1931) presented American folk art as the precursor to and direct influence on the contemporary art featured by the Downtown Gallery. The title was used for a number of subsequent exhibitions and became a synonym for folk art. American Folk Art Sculpture: Index of American Design, Federal Art Project (1937) featured drawings by WPA artists recording objects that documented America's material culture and artistic heritage. Along with the Index of American Design drawings, the exhibition included a number of the original sculptures from the Downtown Gallery's inventory and borrowed from folk art collector Abby Aldrich Rockefeller.
William Harnett: "Nature-Vivre" (1939) reintroduced the nineteenth-century artist whose trompe l'oeil paintings had been collected by Halpert over a period of years expressly for this purpose. Between 1947 and 1949, a controversy ensued over paintings--some of which had been sold by the Downtown Gallery--with the signature of William Harnett but discovered by San Francisco Chronicle art critic Alfred Frankenstein to be the work of Harnett's student, John Peto. Halpert had purchased the questionable pieces in good faith, completely unaware of the added signatures, and she defended her attributions, despite evidence to the contrary. Frankenstein publicized his discovery widely; while neither Halpert nor the Downtown Gallery were named directly, their identity was apparent to his well-informed readers. The situation was further inflamed when additional articles by Frankenstein failed to include new evidence favorable to Halpert and the Downtown Gallery.
Another major exhibition was American Negro Art, 19th and 20th Centuries (1941-1942), the first show of its kind held at a commercial gallery. Held at the Downtown Gallery, the exhibition was sponsored by a committee of prominent citizens including Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, Archibald MacLeish, A. Philip Randolph, and Eleanor Roosevelt. Among its aims were to raise money for the Negro Art Fund, to promote museum acquisitions of work by black artists, and to encourage galleries to represent the living participants. In addition to providing its facilities, the Downtown Gallery donated all sales commissions to the Negro Art Fund and added Jacob Lawrence to its roster of artists.
Edith Gregor Halpert played important roles in a number of exhibitions and major art projects that were not connected with the Downtown Gallery. She served as organizer and director of the First Municipal Exhibition of American Art, Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1929. Beginning in 1932, Halpert was extensively involved with Radio City Music Hall arts projects. She conceived, organized, and handled publicity for the First Municipal Art Exhibition (also known as the Forum Exhibition) sponsored by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and held at Radio City Music Hall in 1934. As an adviser to the WPA Federal Art Project, Halpert spent the summer of 1936 in Washington, D.C., developing its Exhibition and Allocation Program, which registered works of art arriving from regional project centers and selected pieces for traveling exhibitions that circulated throughout the country. In 1937, she formed the Bureau for Architectural Sculpture and Murals, a central clearinghouse from which architects could review and select work by artists and sculptors experienced in working in architectural settings. Halpert served as curator of the art section of the American National Exhibition, sponsored by the United States Information Agency and the U.S. Department of Commerce; she traveled to the Soviet Union with the exhibition, installed the show, and gave daily gallery talks in Russian. In 1952, to promote art history, Halpert established the Edith Gregor Halpert Foundation. Its activities included assisting universities to fund scholarships for the study of contemporary American art and championing the rights of artists to control the sale and reproduction of their work. For her "outstanding contribution to American art," Halpert received the Art in America Award in 1959. She also received a USIA Citation for Distinguished Service in 1960, and the University of Connecticut awarded her its First Annual International Silver Prize for "distinguished contribution to the arts" in 1968.
In addition to being an art dealer, Edith Gregor Halpert was also a collector of contemporary American art and American folk art. For many years, Halpert and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., discussed a gift of a substantial number of paintings to form the nucleus of a new wing to be called the Gallery of 20th-Century American Art. After numerous disagreements and misunderstandings by both parties, the plan was abandoned. While negotiations were still in progress, the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection was exhibited in two installments, 1960 and 1962, at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. During the following two years, portions of her collection traveled to Santa Barbara, Honolulu, and San Francisco. Other exhibitions, drawn completely from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, include American Modernism: The First Wave, Painting from 1903-1933, presented at Brandeis University Museum of Art, 1963; Six Decades of American Art, shown at Leicester Galleries, London, 1965; Image to Abstraction, held at Amon Carter Museum, 1967; and Edith Halpert and the Downtown Gallery, exhibited at the University of Connecticut, 1968. The Edith Gregor Halpert Collection was eventually sold at auction by Sotheby Parke-Bernet, 1973.
Dr. Dianne's Tepfer's dissertation (1989) on Edith Gregor Halpert was an invaluable resource in arranging and describing the records of Downtown Gallery; her chronology was consulted often in constructing this Historical Note.
1900 -- born Edith Gregoryevna Fivoosiovitch to Gregor and Frances Lucom Fivoosiovitch, Odessa, Russia
1906 -- arrived in New York City with recently widowed mother and older sister; family name changed to Fivisovitch
1916 -- employed as a comptometer operator at Bloomingdale's department store; studied drawing with Leon Kroll and Ivan Olinsky at the National Academy of Design; further shortened name to Fein
1916-1917 -- attended life drawing and anatomy classes taught by George Bridgeman at the Art Students' League; employed in foreign and advertising offices, R. H. Macy department store
1917 -- met artist Samuel Halpert at John Weichsel's People's Art Guild
1917-1918 -- employed as advertising manager, Stern Brothers department store
1918-1919 -- employed as systematizer (efficiency expert), investment firm of Cohen, Goldman
1918 -- married Samuel Halpert
1919-1920 -- employed as systematizer, investment firm of Fishman & Co.; attended writing courses, Columbia University
1921-1925 -- employed as personnel manager, systematizer, and head of correspondence at investment banking firm of S. W. Strauss & Co.; eventually appointed to the board of directors
1924 -- first exposed to folk art at the home of sculptor Elie Nadelman
1925 -- visited Paris with Samuel Halpert (June-September)
1926 -- visited Ogunquit, Maine, with Samuel and was further exposed to antiques and folk art; other summer guests included artists Stefan Hirsch, Bernard Karfiol, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Robert Laurent, Katherine Schmidt, Niles Spencer, and Marguerite and William Zorach; opened Our Gallery, devoted to modern American art, at 113 West 13th Street with business partner Berthe Kroll Goldsmith
1927 -- separated from Samuel, who moved to Detroit to teach at the Society for Arts and Crafts; changed name of Our Gallery to Downtown Gallery, at the suggestion of William Zorach
1928 -- Abby Aldrich Rockefeller first visited the Downtown Gallery; published George O. "Pop" Hart: 24 Selections from His Work by Holger Cahill, first of a projected series of ten Downtown Gallery monographs
1929 -- initiated divorce proceedings in Detroit; founded the American Folk Art Gallery, the first of its kind, with business; partners Berthe Kroll Goldsmith and Holger Cahill; served as organizer and director of the First Municipal Exhibition of American Art, Atlantic City
1930 -- divorce granted; present at the death of Samuel Halpert; opened the Daylight Gallery in a separate structure behind the Downtown Gallery specially designed to display works of art under optimal conditions; published Max Weber by Holger Cahill, second (and last) of the Downtown Gallery monographs
1931 -- opened the American Folk Art Gallery on second floor of the Downtown Gallery
1932 -- purchased house in Newtown, Connecticut; became extensively involved with Radio City Music Hall arts projects
1934 -- conceived, organized, and handled publicity for the First Municipal Art Exhibition, also called the Forum Exhibition, sponsored by Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and held at Radio City Music Hall
1935 -- bought Goldsmith's share of the business and, as sole owner, reorganized the gallery
1936 -- served as adviser to WPA Federal Art Project, charged with developing the Exhibition and Allocation Program
1937 -- formed Bureau for Architectural Sculpture and Murals
1939 -- organized Nature-Vivre; exhibition of paintings by the rediscovered William Harnett, rekindling interest in trompe l'oeil painting
1940 -- Downtown Gallery moved to 43 East 51st Street; cataloged and installed the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Collection of American Folk Art at Williamsburg, Virginia
1941 -- American Negro Art, 19th and 20th Centuries
1945 -- Downtown Gallery moved to 32 East 51st Street; hired Charles Alan as assistant director
1946 -- Downtown Gallery began representing former Alfred Stieglitz artists Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, John Marin, and Georgia O'Keeffe
1947-1949 -- embroiled in controversy over paintings with the signature of William Harnett but discovered to be the work of Harnett's student John Peto
1950 -- opened the John Marin Room, operated by John Marin, Jr.
1951 -- opened the Ground-Floor Room, for works by new artists
1952 -- established the Edith Gregor Halpert Foundation
1953 -- transferred representation of newer Downtown Gallery artists to the Alan Gallery
1954 -- published The ABCs for Collectors of Contemporary Art by John I. H. Baur
1959 -- traveled to Moscow as curator of the art section, "American National Exhibition," and gave daily gallery talks in Russian; received Art in America Award
1960 -- exhibited selections from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; awarded USIA Citation for Distinguished Service and the Merit Award Emblem
1962 -- second exhibition of the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection at the Corcoran Gallery of Art; began discussions, ultimately abandoned, for the transfer and installation of a large gift of paintings from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection to a special wing of the Corcoran Gallery of Art
1963 -- American Modernism: The First Wave, Painting from 1903-1933, an exhibition based entirely on the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, Brandeis University Museum of Art
1965 -- Downtown Gallery moved to smaller quarters, Ritz Tower Concourse, 465 Park Avenue; open by appointment only; Six Decades of American Art, from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, Leicester Galleries, London
1967 -- Image to Abstraction, an exhibition based entirely on the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
1968 -- the Downtown Gallery ceased to be the exclusive representative of Abraham Rattner, Ben Shahn, Georgia O'Keffe, and Max Weber, and the estates of Stuart Davis, and Marguerite and William Zorach were withdrawn from the gallery; Edith Halpert and the Downtown Gallery exhibition at the Museum of Art, the University of Connecticut; awarded the First Annual International Silver Prize medal for "distinguished contribution to the arts," University of Connecticut
1970 -- died, New York City
1970-1973 -- the Downtown Gallery continued limited operation under the direction of niece, Nathaly Baum
1972-1978 -- the Downtown Gallery records donated to the Archives of American Art by Nathaly Baum, executor of the Edith Gregor Halpert estate
1973 -- Sotheby Parke-Bernet auction sale of the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection
1997-1999 -- arrangement, description, and microfilming of Downtown Gallery records and publication of this finding aid funded by a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, Inc.
Appendix B: Chronological List of Downtown Gallery Exhibitions:
Below is a chronological listing of Downtown Gallery exhibitions, culled from catalogs and checklists, invitations and announcements, press releases, newspaper reviews, advertisements, lists compiled by gallery staff, and The Archives of American Art Collection of Exhibition Catalogs (1979). Exhibition titles indicated on the announcement or used in a published review sometimes differ from the title of the corresponding exhibition catalog or printed checklist. Catalogs or announcements for most shows will be found with the printed matter produced by the Downtown Gallery (Series 7.1), in the publicity notebooks (Series 3.3.), and/or with artist files (Series 2). Microfilm reel and frame number(s) are noted in parentheses for catalogs or exhibition announcements recorded in The Archives of American Art Collection of Exhibition Catalogs that are not among the Downtown Gallery records.
Undated -- Jan. 24-Feb. 12: American Landscapes: Paintings and Water Colors Mar. 3-28 [1964?]: Abraham Rattner: New Paintings, 1961-1963 June: Art for 13,000,000 Sept. 17-27: Abraham Rattner: Stained Glass Window Designed for the De Waters Art Center, Flint, Michigan
1926 -- Nov. [6-?}: Opening Exhibition: Small Works by Leading American Contemporary Artists Dec. [4-?]: The Christmas Exhibition, $10-50
1927 -- Jan. 8-Feb. 4: American Marines Jan. 8-Feb. 4: Print Room Selection Nov. 26-Dec. 9: Frank Osborn: Sculpture Lamps Nov. 26-Dec. 9: Stuart Davis May [10-?]: Portfolio Selection, $5-25 Dec. 10-31: American Print Makers Exhibition Nov. 3-23: "Pop" Hart: One-Man Show Oct. 13-Nov. 3: Ogunquit Exhibition: Summer Work by 12 Ogunquit Residents Mar. 1-19: George C. Ault: Water Colors and Drawings Feb. [5-?]: George Overbury "Pop" Hart Apr. [11-?]: Spring Exhibitions: Pictures Suggestive of the Season Mar. 21-Apr. 9: Walt Kuhn Lighographs: `New Trapeze Ladies'
1928 -- Feb. 14-Mar. 4: Walt Kuhn: Recent Works Jan. 24-Feb. 12: 75 Years of American Landscapes Mar. 6-25: Samuel Halpert: Recent Work Dec. 10-31: American Print Makers 2nd Annual Exhibition Jan. 3-22: Joseph Pollett: Recent Paintings and Watercolors Oct. 7-28: Paris by Americans Oct. 29-Nov. 17: Max Weber: New Lithographs, $10-50 Nov. 19-Dec. 8: George C. Ault: Paintings, $30-300 Apr. 23-May 13: May Flowers May 19-June 13: Art for Everybody, $10-50 Mar. 26-Apr. 15: Ernest Fiene: Lithographs Apr. 2-22: Marguerite Zorach: Paintings and Drawings
1929 -- Nov. [19-?]: Glenn Coleman: Temperas June 3-14: Oils, Sculpture, Water Colors, Monotypes, Drawings, Pottery May [14-?]: Joseph Pollet: Watercolors May [14-?]: Lithographs by A. Walkowitz Mar. 26-Apr. 14: José Orozco: Paintings of New York City Apr. 23-May 14: Walt Kuhn: Loan Paintings Feb. 12-Mar. 23: Stefan Hirsch: Paintings Mar. 4-Apr. 14: Duncan Ferguson: Sculpture Jan. 21-Feb. 10: Drawings by 8 American Artists (Hart, Karfiol, Kuhn, Pascin, Walkowitz, Weber, M. Zorach, and W. Zorach) Jan. 2-20: Ann Goldthwaite: Recent Work Dec. 10-31: American Print Makers 3rd Annual Exhibition Oct. 29-Nov. 17: Joseph Pollet: Recent Paintings Oct. 7-28: Americans Abroad (Davis, Fiene, Ganso, Hart, Hirsch, Pascin, and Wilenchick)
1930 -- Oct. [25-?]: Reuben Nakian: Sculpture Nov. 18-Dec. 16: Glenn Coleman: Paintings Sept. 30-Oct. 25: Summer Landscapes, 1930: Paintings by American Contemporary Artists Summer: Important Painting and Sculpture by Leading American Artists in the Daylight Gallery May 26-July 1: Small Painting, Sculpture, and Drawings by Leading American Contemporary Artists, $100 or Less Apr. 19-May 10: Daylight Gallery Opening Exhibition Oct. [25-?]: Julia Kelly: Painting Apr. [8-?]: Ben Shahn: Paintings and Drawings Mar. 11-30: Wood Gaylor: Paintings Feb. [11-?]: Marguerite Zorach: Recent Paintings of New England and New York Jan. 28-Feb. 15: 33 Moderns: The Downtown Gallery Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture, Watercolors, Drawings, and Prints by 33 American Contemporary Artists [at the Grand Central Galleries] Jan. [25-?]: Stuart Davis: Recent Paintings Dec. 8-31: American Print Makers 4th Annual Exhibition Jan. [2-?]: Abraham Walkowitz: Heads and Flowers May [10-?]: "Pop" Hart: Paintings from Africa and Europe
1931 -- Jan. 3-25: Jules Pascin Memorial Exhibition Jan. [27-?]: William Zorach: New Sculpture Feb. [14-?]: Joseph Pollett: Paintings Feb. 2-16: Isabella Howland: Paintings Dec. 14-31: American Ancestors: Masterpieces by Little Known and Anonymous American Painters, 1790-1890 Mar. 16-30: 7 Masters of Water Color (Demuth, Dickinson, Hart, Marin, Sheeler, Walkowitz, Zorach) Apr. [29-?]: Peggy Bacon: Caricature Portraits Mar. 31-Apr. 9: Stuart Davis: Recent Paintings Nov. [18-?]: Charles Sheeler: Recent Paintings May 12-31: Flowers: Paintings in Oil and Water Color by American Contemporary Artists Oct. 5-25: `Artists' Models,' Figure Paintings by Leading Contemporary American Artists June 2-22: Paintings, Water Colors, Drawings, Sculpture by Leading Contemporary American Artists Oct. 28-Nov. 17: Karl Knaths: Paintings Dec. 7-31: American Print Makers 5th Annual Exhibition
1932 -- May 31-June 30: Paintings and Sculpture by Outstanding American Artists Dec. 28-Jan. 14: William Zorach: Spirit of the Dance in Original Plaster Dec.: Christmas Exhibition: Drawings, Paintings, Sculpture, $10-100 Feb. 20-Mar. 3: Peggy Bacon: Recent Paintings (N433: 515) Jan. 5-18: American Modern Art [arranged by the Downtown Gallery at Knoedler & Co., Inc., Chicago] Oct. 4-22: Prelude to the Season: New Paintings and Sculpture by American Contemporaries Dec. 9-31: Carl Walters: Sculpture and Pottery in Ceramic Jan. 5-24: Alexander Brook: Recent Paintings Jan. [24-?]: Paintings by Contemporary American Painters Feb. 23-Mar. 7: Wood Gaylor: Recent Paintings Oct. 4-22: Bernard Sanders: Graphics Dec. 5-31: American Print Makers 6th Annual Exhibition Feb. [24-?]: Winter in Maine: Recent Watercolors by William Zorach Mar. 22-Apr. 3: Joseph Pollet: Recent Paintings Nov. 18-Dec. 9: Stefan Hirsch: Recent Work--New York and Mexico Apr. 5-17: The Passion of Sacco-Vanzetti: Gouaches by Ben Shahn Apr. 19-May 15: Pictures of New England by a New Englander: Recent Paintings of Dogtown, Cape Ann, Mass., by Marsden Hartley [errata slip stapled to cover of the copy filmed on Br10: 660-663 indicates the dates were changed to Apr. 26-May 15, 1932] May 17-29: 3 Painters: Baum, Botkin, Schultz Oct. 25-Nov. 13: Dorothy Varian: Recent Paintings
1933 -- Jan. 17-Feb. 4: Bernard Karfiol: Paintings and Drawings Mar. 21-Apr. 8: Major Works by Distinguished American Artists Feb. [28-?]: Watercolors by Stuart Davis Feb. 27-Mar. 18: Reuben Nakian: Sculpture Portraits of 10 Artists Feb. 7-25: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Recent Paintings Oct. 3-14: American Ancestors, 2nd Exhibition: Masterpieces by Little Known and Anonymous American Artists: 1720-1870 May 23-June 30: Paintings and Sculpture: Recent Works by Leading American Contemporaries, at $100 May 2-20: Ben Shahn: The Tom Mooney Case Apr. 11-29: Nicolai Cikovsky: Recent Paintings Nov. 14-Dec. 14: Drawings and Rare Prints by "Pop" Hart Dec. 5-31: American Print Makers 7th Annual Exhibition Oct. 24-Nov. 11: Painting and Sculpture by Leading Contemporaries
1934 -- Jan. 23-Feb. 10: Alexander Brook: Recent Paintings Feb. 13-Mar. 3: Babe Ruth by Reuben Nakian Jan. 3-20: Ernest Fiene: Painter of the American Scene Dec. 13-31: Practical Manifestations in American Art Apr. 3-21: Katherine Schmidt: Paintings Apr. 25-May 12: Stuart Davis: Recent Paintings Dec. [3-?]: Group Show Mar. 13-31: Recent Paintings by Joseph Pollet Oct. 1-14: Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation Collection of Paintings and Sculpture Oct. 23-Nov. 3: Marguerite Zorach: Paintings and Drawings May 15-June 15: Paintings and Sculpture: Selected Works by Leading American Contemporaries, Extraordinary Values at $100 Dec. 3-29: American Print Makers 8th Annual Exhibition Feb. 20-Mar. 3: Recent Work by Peggy Bacon Nov. 20-Dec. 8: Peggy Bacon: `Off with Their Heads,' Caricature Portraits of 38 Contemporary American Celebrities Nov. 6-17: American Drawings: Recent Work by Charles Sheeler, John Marin, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Charles Locke, Stuart Davis, Alexander Brook
1935 -- May 1-18: Nakian: The New Deal in Portraiture Apr. 13-28: Reuben Nakian: Portrait Heads of the Present Administration May 21-June 14: Paintings and Sculpture by Leading American Artists Dec.: Carl Walters: Ceramic Sculpture and Pottery Mar. 12-30: Exhibition of 14 Paintings by 14 American Contemporaries Feb. 20-Mar. 9: Nicolai Cikovsky: Recent Paintings Apr. 10-27: Watercolor and Pastels by 14 American Artists Dec. 2-28: American Print Makers 9th Annual Exhibition Nov.: Ernest Fiene: Paintings Nov. [5-?]: American Folk Art: Recently Acquired Paintings and Sculpture Jan. 16-Feb. 2: Charles Burchfield and Charles Sheeler Dec. 11-28: Anne Goldthwaite: Murals of the South Jan. 16-Feb. 9: Bernard Karfiol: Watercolors and Drawings Oct. 22-Nov. 9: Opening Exhibition: Important Recent Painting and Sculpture May 21-June 14: $100 Exhibition: Extraordinary Values for Discriminating Collectors
1936 -- Oct. [28-?]: Tenth Anniversary Exhibition: American Art, 1800-1936 Dec. 13-24: American Print Makers 10th Anniversary Annual Exhibition (N428:304-305) Dec.: Christmas Gift Show Dec.: Ceramics by Carl Walters Feb. [25-?]: Watercolors by William Zorach Mar. 17-Apr. 4: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Paintings May [5-?]: Joseph Pollet: Paintings May 26-June 12: Paintings and Sculpture: Recent Work by Leading American Contemporaries, Extraordinary Values at $100 Apr. 14-May 2: Portraits by 6 Contemporary and Early American Artists Jan. 30-Feb. 15: American Birds in Sculpture, 1785-1935 Jan. 6-25: Alexander Brooke: Paintings Dec. 2-31: Vital Statistics
1937 -- Dec. 7-31: Christmas Exhibition: Fine Works of Art as Original Gifts through June 25: Paintings and Sculpture, 1800-1937 Oct. 5-23: Paintings by 12 Younger Artists Oct. 19-Nov. 6: Fall Exhibition May 18-June 5: Joseph Steig: Watercolors May 5-29: Major Examples by Major Artists Apr. 13-May 1: Children in American Folk Art, 1725-1865: Children's Art, Their Portraits, and Their Toys Apr. [10-?]: Contemporary Americans Sept. 28-Oct. 9: American Folk Art Sculpture: Index of Design, WPA Federal Art Project Sept.: Drawings by the Index of American Design Oct. 20-Nov. 10: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Art from the Downtown Gallery of New York, Sponsored by the Atlanta Georgian and Sunday American at the High Museum of Art Mar. 9-27: The 1920s: Oils, Sculpture, Watercolors, and Drawings by 18 American Contemporaries Mar. 30-Apr. 10: Younger Artists Nov.: Dorothy Varian: Paintings Feb. 9-27: American Dogs: Recent Portraits in Oil of Champion Dogs by Fenelle and Paintings and Sculpture Portraying Dogs of the Period 1820-1860 from the American Folk Art Gallery Jan. [15-?]: David Fredenthal Feb.: Group Show
1938 -- Oct. 4-22: Americans at Home: 32 Painters and Sculptors Sept. 4-22: Folk Art Apr. [27-?]: David Fredenthal: Paintings May 25-June 17: Art for the Summer House, $15-100 Apr. 5-23: Preston Dickinson, 1891-1930: 13 Pastels Dec. 6-30: Christmas Exhibition Mar. 16-Apr. 2: Paintings by Americans: New Paintings by Karfiol, Kuniyoshi, Sheeler, and Recent Oils by Marin and O'Keeffe Nov. [15-?]: Louis Guglielmi: Paintings Feb. 15-Mar. 5: 50 American Watercolors and Pastels, 1800-1938 Dec. 6-30: Carl Walters: Ceramic Sculpture Jan. 18-Feb. 15: American Genre Paintings, 1785-1887 Nov. 2-20: John Stenvall: Paintings Jan. 5-22: Isabella Howland: 25 Sculpture Heads Jan. 25-Feb. 11: Nicolai Cikovsky: Paintings Nov. 1-12: American Ancestors: Masterpieces in American Folk Art, 1720-1860 Nov. [2-?]: Georgia O'Keeffe: Paintings
1939 -- Oct. 3-14: Paintings on Velvet, 1800-1840 Feb. [14-?]: Nathaniel Kaz: Sculpture Nov. 7-25: Contemporary American Genre: 27 Painters and Sculptors Mar. [7-?]: Katherine Schmidt: Paintings May [8-?]: Group Show Jan. 24-Feb. 11: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Paintings Dec. 6-30: Carl Walters: Ceramic Sculpture Jan. [24-?]: Jack Levine: Paintings Mar. 28-Apr. 15: William Steig: Sculpture June 7-30: American Art, Past and Present Apr. 18-May 16: William Harnett: `Nature-Vivre' Oct. [17-?]: John Marin: 20 Drawings Jan. 4-21: Important New Paintings by American Artists: Cikovsky, Karfiol, Marin,, O'Keeffe, Sheeler, and Varian Dec. 6-30: Christmas Exhibition: Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture, $100 or Less May [16-?]: Raymond Breinin: Paintings
1940 -- Jan. [3-?]: Mitchell Siporin: Paintings Jan. [23-?]: Rainey Bennett: Paintings Dec. 2-21: Charles Sheeler: `Power,' 6 Original Paintings Commissioned for Reproduction in the December 1940 Issue of Fortune(N433:550 551) Mar. [25-?]: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Lithographs Mar. [25-?]: Group Show: Paintings Feb. [20-?]: Julien Levi: Paintings Mar. [18-?]: Gallery Group Dec. [9-?]: Christmas Exhibition Oct. 17-Nov. 16: Opening Exhibition [43 East 51st Street] May 13-24: Artist's Fund Exhibition Apr. 23-May 11: Review of the Season: Paintings by Leading American Artists
1941 -- Dec. 9-Jan. 3, 1942: American Negro Art: 19th and 20th Centuries Sept. 16-Oct. 11: American Folk Sculpture: Weather Vanes in Metal and Wood: 18th and 19th Centuries [?]-June 27: Summer Exhibition and William Harnett May 6-30: What Is Wrong with This Picture? Nov. 13-Dec. 6: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Recent Paintings (Br10: 699-700) Nov. 11-Dec. 6: Bernard Karfiol Oct. 21-25: American Folk Art Sale Oct. 7-Nov. 1: New Examples by Leading American Artists Apr. 8-26: Spring: New Paintings by Outstanding Americans Feb. 25-Mar. 22: Masterpieces in American Folk Art Jan. 7-Feb. 1: The Painter Looks at Music Feb. 4-21: 13 American Paintings
1942 -- Oct. 13-31: Paintings, Cartoons, Photographs of the St. Louis Post Office Murals by Mitchell Siporin and Edward Millman Dec. 22-Jan. 9, 1943: Inter-American Folk Arts, 1700-1900: Paintings and Sculpture by Little Known and Anonymous Artists of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Peru, U.S.A. Jan. 7-24: Watercolors and Drawings by Leading American Artists Feb. 3-28: Julian Levi Mar. 3-28: Battles & Symbols of the U.S.A.: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture by American Folk Artists Apr. 7-May 2: Spring Exhibition: New Paintings and Newly Discovered Paintings by William M. Harnett Apr. 7-May 2: American Folk Art May 5-29: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Retrospective Loan Exhibition, 1921-1941 (Br10: 703-705) June 10-26: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings by Leading American Artists Sept. 22-Oct. 10: Opening Exhibition: New Paintings and Sculpture
1943 -- Jan. 12-30: Breinin: Recent Paintings (D55: 77) Mar. 2-27: William Zorach: Selected Sculpture (D57: 632-634) Mar. 31-Apr. 24: Spring Exhibition and American Folk Art June 8-25: Summer Exhibition: American Art Oct. 5-30: 18th Annual Exhibition: American Art Oct. 27-Nov. 20: Recent Paintings in Encaustic by Karl Zerbe Nov. 23-Dec. 11: Demuth, Dickinson, "Pop" Hart, Pascin
1944 -- Nov. 14-Dec. 2: Ben Shahn: Paintings in Tempera (Br10: 707-708) Feb. 1-12: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture Apr. 11-May 6: Spring: New Important Paintings & Sculpture by Leading Americans Feb. 15-Mar. 11: Horace Pippin May 31-June 30: Summer Exhibition May 9-27: William Zorach Oct. 3-28: 19th Annual Exhibition: American Art Sept. 13-30: American Folk Art from the Collection of Mrs. Isabel C. Wilde
1945 -- Jan. 3-20: Suba: First One-Man Exhibition of Paintings Mar. 6-31: Julian Levi Feb. 13-Mar. 3: George L. K. Morris: Paintings, 1944 and 1945, and Sculpture, 1934-1945 (Br10: 712-714) May 1-26: 19th Annual Spring Exhibition Apr. 3-28: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: New Paintings and Drawings Oct. 15-Nov. 3: Loan Exhibition Oct. 15-Nov. 3: 20th Anniversary [opening of new quarters on East 51st Street] Dec. 4-29: Christmas Exhibition Nov. 6-Dec. 1: 20th Annual Exhibition: American Art Dec. 4-29: Jacob Lawrence: John Brown, A Series of 22 Paintings in Gouache
1946 -- Dec. 3-31: Christmas Exhibition Sept. 4-21: Masterpieces in American Folk Art: Recently Discovered Examples Sept. 24-Oct. 19: 21st Annual Exhibition: New Paintings by Leading American Artists June: New Important Paintings by Leading Americans July 2-Aug. 30: Summer Exhibition: Recent Paintings and Sculpture... Combined with a Selection of Important American Folk Art Mar. 26-Apr. 13: Paul Burlin May 7-25: 6 Artists Out of Uniform: New Post-War Paintings by 6 Important Americans Jan. 29-Feb. 16: Stuart Davis Retrospective Exhibition: Gouaches, Watercolors, Drawings, 1912-1941 (N126: 369-370)
1947 -- Apr. 1-26: Spring 1947 Apr. 29-May 17: Boston/New York: First Exchange Exhibition [Boston portion at Downtown Gallery and New York portion at Boris Mirski Gallery, Boston] Feb. 4-Mar. 1: Important New Drawings Mar. 4-29: William Zorach Jan. 7-25: Arthur Dove Nov. 11-29: Niles Spencer Dec. 2-27: Christmas Exhibition Sept. 23-Oct. 18: 22nd Annual Exhibition Sept. 3-20: 20th-Century American Watercolors Aug. 12-29: Exhibition of American Folk Art: Recent Acquisitions June 10-Aug. 8: American Art, 1800-1947 and American Folk Art May 20-June 7: National Parks: A Fortune Portfolio
1948 -- Sept. 28-Oct. 23: 23rd Annual Exhibition Sept. 8-28: The American Family: Folk Paintings, 1750-1850 Aug. 10-Sept. 2: Marin - New York (N126: 407-408) June 29-Aug. 6: Art for the 8,060,000 May 10-20: Mexican Folk Art Apr. 13-May 1: William Harnett Centennial Exhibition Mar. 22-Apr. 3: American Art: A Multiple Exhibition Arranged by the Association of Dealers in American Art [Downtown Gallery participating] Jan. 20-Feb. 7: Paintings by Stuart Davis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jack Levine, John Marin, Ben Shahn Dec. 7-31: Christmas 1948 Nov. 16-Dec. 14: Jacques Maroger: Recent Paintings (N126: 411-412) undated: American Art... 20th Century Image to Abstraction [Amon Carter Museum; entire exhibition drawn from the collections of Edith Gregor Halpert and the Downtown Gallery] Dec. 7-31: William Zorach
1949 -- Nov. 15-Dec. 3: Reuben Tam Dec. 6-24: Christmas Exhibition May 10-28: Mexican Folk Art July 6-29: Art and/or Money Sept. 7-24: Important Paintings and Sculpture by Little Known and Unknown Artists of the 18th and 19th Century Oct. 3-22: 24th Annual Exhibition Mar. 15-Apr. 2: Paul Burlin Apr. 5-23: The Artist Speaks Apr. 25-10: 26 Teenage Artists Presented by Seventeen Magazine May 3-21: Arthur G. Dove: Watercolors, 1929-1946 (N126: 424) Sept. 7-24: American Folk Art
1950 -- Apr. 25-May 13: In 1950... Jan. 23-28: Creative Art for Commerce Dec. 5-23: Christmas Exhibition Oct. 24-Nov. 11: Jacob Lawrence (D56: 298-300) May 16-June 2: A Museum Collection: American Folk Sculpture Apr. 4-22: Yasuo Kuniyoshi Sept. 26-Oct. 21: 25th Annual Exhibition: New Paintings and Sculpture June: Art for 13,000,000 Jan. 31-Feb. 18: Ralston Crawford Dec. 27-Jan. 27, 1951: John Marin Mar. 14-Apr. 1: In 1940... Feb. 21-Mar. 11: Aquamedia
1951 -- Dec. 11-29: Christmas Exhibition May 1-19: Newcomers: Paintings by Artists from 15 States Nov. 20-Dec. 8: O. Louis Guglielmi Apr. 3-28: Spring 1951 Oct. 2-27: 26th Annual Exhibition: New Paintings and Sculpture by Leading American Artists July 10-Aug. 17: Summer Exhibition: American Art Sept. 5-22: Contemporary American Drawings June 12-29: Masterpieces in American Folk Art Mar. 13-31: Charles Sheeler: Paintings, 1949-1951 Feb. 20-Mar. 1: William Zorach: Sculpture, 1947-1951
1952 -- Oct. 28-Nov. 15: Niles Spencer Oct. 14-Nov. 15: The Ground-Floor Room 2nd Annual Exhibition Dec. 9-27: Stuart Davis and Yasuo Kuniyoshi Mar. 11-29: Ben Shahn: Paintings (D56: 1075-1076) Mar. 4-20: Recent Arrivals Jan. 2-26: John Marin: Oils and Watercolors June 3-27: Art for the 67% May 12-29: Lithographs, Woodcuts, Theorems, Serigraphs, and Other Prints by Leading American Artists Apr. 22-May 10: Arthur G. Dove Apr. 1-19: Spring '52 Oct. 1-25: 27th Annual Exhibition Nov. 18-Dec. 16: Shop for Art Early at the Downtown Gallery Sept. 9-27: American Amateur Art of 100 Years Ago July 1-Aug. 1: Pertaining to Summer: An Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Leading American Artists
1953 -- Jan. 7-Feb. 14: Performance: A New Series of Paintings in Tempera by Jacob Lawrence Feb. 17-Mar. 7: Celebrating the Tercentenary of New York, MDCLIII - MCMLIII: Paintings of New York by Leading American Artists Apr. 21-May 9: David Aronson May 12-29: 8 Younger Artists Mar. 10-28: Paul Burlin Mar. 31-Apr. 18: Reuben Tam Nov. 17-Dec. 7: Art in the Office Dec. 8-31: Art Gems for Christmas Sept. 22-Oct. 17: 28th Annual Exhibition: Recent Paintings and Sculpture Oct. 20-Nov. 14: Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Ink Paintings
1954 -- Sept. 14-Oct. 2: Artists of Chicago May 25-June 25: Summer 1954 Nov. 9-20: Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture: A Benefit Exhibition by Its Faculty and Visiting Artists for the Scholarship Fund Oct. 5-30: 29th Annual Exhibition: New Paintings and Sculpture Nov. 23-Dec. 24: Christmas Exhibition Apr. 6-May 1: Dove and Demuth: Watercolor Retrospective May 4-22: American Folk Art: Painting and Sculpture Feb. 2-27: International Exhibition: American, Belgian, British, Canadian, French, Italian, Mexican Painters under 40 Mar. 2-31: Stuart Davis: Recent Paintings
1955 -- Mar. 20-Apr. 23: Georgia O'Keeffe May 24-June 11: Gallery Purchases: Contemporary Art Apr. 26-May 21: Spring 1955 Sept. 13-Oct. 1: Painters of Los Angeles June 14-30: Gallery Purchases: American Folk Art Nov. 1-26: Arthur Dove: Collages Oct. 4-29: 30th Annual Exhibition Dec. 28-Jan. 21, 1956: William Zorach: A Selection, 1914-1955
1956 -- May 1-26: Bernard Karfiol: The Figure (N126L529-531) May 29-June 29: Spring 1956 Sept. 5-29: Americans in Europe Oct. 9-Nov. 3: 31st Annual Exhibition Nov. 6-Dec. 1: Stuart Davis: Exhibition of Recent Paintings, 1954-1956 Dec. 4-22: 31st Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery Jan. 31-Feb. 25: The Recurrent Image Apr. 3-28: Charles Sheeler: Selections from the Collection of the William H. Lane Foundation Feb. 28-Mar. 24: Arthur Dove: Paintings
1957 -- Dec. 31-Jan. 25, 1958: 32nd Annual Exhibition [?]-May 4: Spring Exhibition Dec. 9-21: Art Our Children Live With: A Loan Exhibition of American Art Jan. 8-Feb. 7: Max Weber Feb. 12-Mar. 2: New Acquisitions: Wm. M. Harnett (1848-1892) Feb. 12-Mar. 2: American Folk Art: Paintings and Sculpture Mar. 2-30: New Mexico as Painted by Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, John Marin, Georgia O'Keeffe, John Sloan May 7-31: Important Drawings by Leading American Artists June 4-28: Summer 1957 Oct. 7-Nov. 2: Group Show Nov. 5-27: Last Judgments by Abraham Rattner (D203: 76) Nov. 25-Dec. 7: 32nd Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery
1958 -- Sept. 30-Oct. 11: Arthur Dove: Watercolors June 9-27: 100 Church Street, `Portrait of a Building' by 10 American Artists May 20-June 7: Charles Demuth Apr. 29-May 10: Spring 1958 Mar. 5-Apr. 19: Charles Sheeler Jan. 28-Feb. 21: C. S. Price Dec. 8-27: 33rd Annual Christmas Exhibition Nov. 11-Dec. 6: Max Weber: The Figure in Retrospect, 1906-1958 Oct. 14-Nov. 8: 33rd Annual Exhibition
1959 -- Dec. 8-24: Ben Shahn: Silk-Screen Prints Dec. 29-Jan. 23, 1960: New Acquisitions Oct. 20-Nov. 14: 34th Annual Exhibition Nov. 17-Dec. 5: 34th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery Sept. 22-Oct. 17: The Dial and the Dial Collection: A Special Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Sculpture & Graphics by 30 American Artists Apr. 29-June 2: Spring 1959 Apr. 7-25: Robert Osborn Mar. 3-28: Ben Shahn Jan. 6-31: New Acquisitions: American Folk Art Painting and Sculpture
1960 -- Feb. 23-Mar. 19: Gallery Group Mar. 22-Apr. 9: Jack Zajac Mar. 11-[?]: Signs & Symbols, U.S.A., 1760-1960 Jan. 21-Feb. 20: 7 Artists in Hawaii Dec. 5-24: Robert Osborn: Paintings and Drawings from `The Vulgarians' Nov. 8-Dec. 3: Abraham Rattner Dec. 5-24: 35th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery through June 30: Summer 1960 Oct. 11-Nov. 5: 35th Annual Exhibition Apr. 19-may 7: Tseng Yu-Ho May 10-June 4: Stuart Davis
1961 -- June 13-30: Selections 1961 May 16-June 9: Spring 1961 Dec. 4-23: 36th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery Sept. 12-Oct. 7: New Acquisitions Feb. 15-Mar. 11: Aquamedia in American Art Jan. 25-Feb. 11: Yasuo Kuniyoshi Apr. 11-May 2: Gallery Group Mar. 15-Apr. 8: Alfred Duca Jan. 9-Feb. 6: New Acquisitions
1962 -- Nov. 3-28: Robert Osborn Dec. 3-22: 37th Annual Christmas at Downtown Gallery May 22-June 15: 36th Annual Spring Exhibition: The Figure Apr. 24-May 19: Stuart Davis Oct. 16-Nov. 10: 37th Anniversary Exhibition Sept. 25-Oct. 13: American Roots: Folk Art in Painting and Sculpture Feb. 27-Mar. 17: Robert Osborn: Clowns and Non-Clowns Jan. 9-27: Tseng Yu-Ho: 18 Dsui Paintings Mar. 27-Apr. 21: Abstract Painting in America, 1903-1923 Mar. 10-31: Max Weber Memorial Exhibition
1963 -- Mar. 12-Apr. 16: Signs & Symbols * U.S.A., 1780-1960 May 7-[?]: Max Weber Dec. 2-21: 38th Annual Christmas at Downtown Gallery June 11-July 3: Summer 1963 Apr. 9-May 3: Spring 1963 Jan. 8-Feb. 2: John Marin Oct. 1-26: 38th Anniversary Exhibition Oct. 29-Nov. 16: Ben Shahn: Retrospective Exhibition, Paintings and Drawings, 1901-1958 Oct. 29-Nov. 16: Homage to e. e. cummings Oct. 29-Nov. 16: Gallery Group Aug. 6-Sept. 15: Loan Exhibition from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection [Santa Barbara Museum of Art] Nov. 7-Dec. 8: Loan Exhibition from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection [Honolulu Academy of Arts] Sept. 9-14: Visual Art by Performing Artists Dec. 3-Jan. 7, 1964: American Signs and Symbols
1964 -- Sept. 9-Oct. 3: 20th Century American Drawings Oct. 6-31: 39th Anniversary Exhibition Dec. 1-24: 39th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery Jan. 11-Feb. 9: Loan Exhibition from the Edith Gregor Halpert Collection [California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco] Jan. 28-Feb. 21: George L. K. Morris Mar. 3-28: Supplement to the Rattner Exhibition May 12-June 5: New York City: Paintings, 1913-1963, by American Artists
1965 -- Jan. 5-23: Charles Sheeler and Yasuo Kuniyoshi Nov. 30-Dec. 18: Warner Brothers Co. Mural by Willard Cummings and Emilio A. Serio Mar. 23-Apr. 17: John Storrs Sept. 8-Oct. 2: A Gallery Survey of American Art [inaugural show, Ritz Tower Concourse, 465 Park Avenue] Nov. 3-20: Edward Stasack Nov. 30-Dec. 18: 40th Annual Christmas at the Downtown Gallery
1966 -- Nov. 5-Dec. 12: Morris Broderson Oct. 18-Nov. 12: 41st Anniversary Exhibition: Contemporary American Art Mar. 1-26: Balthus: New Paintings, 1963-1966 May 3-27: Charles Sheeler Sept. 20-Oct. 8: "Popular Art" in America, 18-19th Century
1967 -- Apr. 18-May 13: John Storrs Mar. 15-Apr. 8: Arthur Dove Nov. 7-25: O. Louis Guglielmi Sept. 26-Oct. 21: 42nd Anniversary Exhibition Feb. 14-Mar. 11: George L. K. Morris Jan. 10-Feb. 14: William Zorach: The Last Decade Dec.: Gallery Group
Berman, Avis. Pioneers in American Museums: Edith Halpert. Museum News 54, no. 2 (November/December 1975): 34-37, 61-64.
Bragazzi, Olive. The Story Behind the Rediscovery of William Harnett and John Peto by Edith Halpert and Alfred Frankenstein. American Art Journal 15, no. 3 (Spring 1984): 51-65.
Tepfer, Diane. Edith Gregor Halpert and the Downtown Gallery/Downtown, 1926-1940: A Study in American Art Patronage. Ph.D. diss., University of Michigan, 1989.
Edith Gregor Halpert, interview by Harlan Phillips, 1962-1963. Oral History Program, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Edith Gregor Halpert, interview by Harlan Phillips, January 20, 1965. New Deal and the Arts Project, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Edith Gregor Halpert, lecture delivered at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, October 19, 1959, on the 1959 American National Art Exhibition in Moscow. Tape-recorded by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, and transcribed by the the Downtown Gallery staff.
In addition, the Archives of American Art has among its collections personal papers and oral history interviews of artists and collectors associated with the Downtown Gallery. Researchers are advised to conduct a name search in the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS).
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (ND-1- ND-71), the mojority of which was subsequently donated. Loaned materials not donated at a later date remain with the lender and are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
Between 1957 and 1967, the Downtown Gallery loaned portions of its records to the Archives of American Art for microfilming. Because the microfilming was done in increments, the material was not always filmed in logical sequence, and overlapping and duplication of records occurred. Since files loaned for microfilming were, for the most part, still working records used to conduct ongoing gallery business, their contents changed and shifted over time. After Edith Halpert's death in 1970, the records of the Downtown Gallery were received by the Archives of American Art, 1972-1978, as a gift from her niece and executor, Nathaly Baum. In addition to the previously microfilmed material, the gift includes correspondence, inventories and sales records, financial records, photographs, and printed matter, as well as artifacts.One additional document received 2016 by Karen Freeman, daughter of Arthur H. Freeman, who did business at L.D. Landau and Co. Freeman represented halpert as an insurance agent.
The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.
The Downtown Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Prior to publishing information regarding sales transactions, researchers are responsible for obtaining written permission from both artist and purchaser involved. If it cannot be established after a reasonable search whether an artist or purchaser is living, it can be assumed that the information may be published sixty years after the date of sale.
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Downtown Gallery records, 1824-1974, bulk 1926-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Funding for the processing, microfilming and digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Search this
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (Calif.) Search this
5 Film reels
5 Cubic feet (11 boxes)
Motion pictures (visual works)
Brooklyn Bridge (New York, N.Y.)
Collection documents the engineering firm of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas through reports prepared for a variety of clients.
Scope and Contents:
These records contain reports (some containing photographs and full size drawings folded) from the New York engineering firm of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas. Included are typewritten and printed reports for a variety of clients. The bulk of the reports relate to power and transportation. The collection includes five 16mm motion picture films, relating to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).
The collection is arranged into three series.
Series 1: Background Materials, 1960-2003
Series 2: Reports, 1906-1918
Series 3: Moving Image, 1960 and undated
Biographical / Historical:
On January 1, 1885, William Barclay Parsons (1859-1932) and his younger brother Henry de Berkeley Parsons founded a consulting engineering firm in New York City. The brothers combined their talents as civil and mechanical engineers to create a firm that would making a lasting mark on designing and constructing infrastructure. Among the firm's most notable projects were the original IRT line of the New York City Subway, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit System (BART), the Cape Cod Canal, and the charting the course of a railway in China from Hankow (Wuhan) to Canton (Guangzhou). The firm also designed and built large water supply systems, railroads, hydro-electric dams, refrigeration warehouses, marine terminals, and conducted survey work. Through the years, the firm diversified its engineering competence and knowledge by adding partners: Eugene A. Klapp (b. 1867), chief engineer and bridge specialist; Henry M. Brinckerhoff (b. 1868), a traction engineer; Walter J. Douglas (b. 1872), structural engineer and bridge specialist; and Maurice Quade (1900-1966), structural engineer. The firm had several name changes and became known as Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas with both domestic and foreign offices. Today the company operates in the fields of strategic consulting, planning, engineering, construction management, infrastructure and community planning. Parsons Brinckerhoff was acquired by WSP Global in 2014.
Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas Notes, December 1960.
Bobrick, Benson. Parsons Brinckerhoff The First 100 Years. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1985.
Petroski, Henry. "William Barclay Parsons," American Scientist, Volume 96, No. 4, July-August 2008, pp. 280-283.
Materials in the Archives Center
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Series: Streetcars and Subways (AC0060)
Materials at Other Organizations
New York Public Library
William Barclay Parsons papers, 1880-1939
Collection consists of correspondence, lecture notes, and materials used in preparation of Parsons's book, Engineers and Engineering in the Renaissance, published in 1939. Correspondence, 1881-1900, relates to his student days at the Columbia University School of Mines, appointments to various railroads, and activity as Columbia trustee. Notes on lectures about mining at Columbia, 1880-1881, are illustrated with drawings and plates. Materials used in the preparation of Parsons's book include final typescript, proofs, illustrations, maps, notebooks, and other source materials.
Correspondence including letters from Grover Cleveland, Gilbert Parker, and printed monographs and magazine articles. Mr. Parsons' diaries of Panama Canal years and World War I have been catalogued as book manuscripts.
The initial collection was donated in 1967, presumably by the firm of Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas, to the Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, National Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History).
Collection is open for research.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The Fletcher and Horace Henderson Collection contains original scores and band books, loose sheet music, both original and published, from both Fletcher and Horace's libraries, playlists, lyrics, photographs, personal papers and correspondences, newspaper clippings, jazz publications, an oral history manuscript of an interview with Horace, audio tapes, and other personal memorabilia documenting the lives and careers of the two brothers as pianists, band leaders, and arrangers. The majority of the material dates from the mid 1920s to the early 1980s.
Series 1: Fletcher and Horace Henderson's Music ca. 1930s - 1980s Boxes 1-68.
Original band books and scores, lyrics, playlists, loose music, and published music either arranged or used by Fletcher or Horace Henderson during their careers as pianists, band leaders, and arrangers. The series is organized into six subseries: Subseries 1A: Horace's Band Books, Subseries 1B: Loose Music, Subseries 1C: Original Scores, Subseries 1D: Lyrics, Suberies 1E: Playlists, and Suberies 1F: Published Music.
Suberies 1A, ca. 1940s -1980s, boxes 1-21. Horace Henderson Band Books. Each Band Book stands on its own, and is identified by the musician who used it or the location where the music was performed. Some performers include Gail Brochman, Eddie Calhoun, and George Reed. Many of the band books were used for performances at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago.
Subseries 1B, ca. 1930s - 1980s, boxes 22-58. Music in boxes 22-54 comes from Horace Henderson's band library, and boxes 55-58 from Fletcher Henderson's band library. The music consists of full scores, piano scores, and parts arranged or used by Horace or Fletcher Henderson. Arranged alphabetically by title; FS - Full Score, PS - Piano Score, and P - Parts. * Indicates an overlap between loose music, and music known to have been performed at the Trianon Ballroom in Chicago. **Indicates an overlap between Horace and Fletcher's Libraries. The music is arranged alphabetically by music title.
Subseries 1C, ca. 1930s - 1940s, boxes 59-60. Original scores arranged by Fletcher Henderson, many for Benny Goodman and other bandleaders, including AHoneysuckle Rose@, AKing Porter's Stomp@, and AStealin' Apples@. There is also a complete band book written and arranged by Fletcher. Arranged alphabetically by title.
Subseries 1D, ca. 1940s - 1980s, box 61. Original lyrics used in performances by Horace Henderson's bands. Arranged alphabetically by title where identified.
Subseries 1E, ca. 1940s - 1980s, boxes 62-63. Playlists compiled in preparation for performances by Horace Henderson's orchestras, listing titles played at various performances. Un-arranged.
Subseries 1F, ca. 1920s-1980s, boxes 64-68. Published sheet music and books for piano/vocal parts. Includes art music, method books, popular music, fake books, and music book covers. Folders are arranged by type of publication, and the music is arranged alphabetically by title within each folder.
Series 2: Photographs, ca. 1920s - 1980s Boxes 69-70.
Photographs documenting the lives of both Fletcher and Horace Henderson's personal lives and careers. Photographs are arranged by category including Fletcher Henderson Candids with Friends, Horace Henderson Candids, Performance Marquees, and both brothers with their orchestra. Some unique pictures include portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Henderson (Fletcher and Horace's parents), candids of Fletcher with Benny Goodman, and Horace with Lena Horne.
Series 3: Personal Papers and Correspondences, ca. 1920s - 1980s Boxes 71-78. Programs and broadsides, newspaper articles, letters, essays, publications, and other personal documents tracing the lives of Horace and Fletcher, as well as some personal items of their parents. The series is divided into six subseries: Subseries 3A: Programs and Broadsides, Subseries 3B: Newspaper Articles and Clippings, Subseries 3C: Personal Papers and Correspondences, Subseries 3D: Miscellaneous Publishings, Subseries 3E: Transcript of an Oral History Interview, and Subseries 3F: Henderson Family Scrapbook.
Subseries 3A, ca 1930s - 1980s Boxes 71-72. Contains broadsides and ad clippings promoting both Horace and Fletcher's performances, along with programs for various jazz festivals. There are also three sets of Las Vegas Programs, advertising the weekly happenings during the years Horace was performing there, mainly at the Riviera Hotel and Casino (1959-1961). These include; Ken's Spotlight Las Vegas, Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine, On The Go, and other miscellaneous circulations. Arranged by category (Fletcher's broadsides, Horace's broadsides, Programs), and by date within each set of publications or programs.
Subseries 3B, ca. 1950s - 1980s, Boxes 73 & 78. Contains newspapers, articles, and clippings, ranging from 1951 to 1986, documenting the lives of Fletcher, Horace, and some of their contemporaries (ie: Duke Ellington) through the eyes of the media. Arranged by categories; reference to Fletcher, Horace, or Miscellaneous. Box 73 contains the oversized articles.
Subseries 3C, ca. 1920s-1980s, Box 74. Contains letters, contracts, and other personal documents of Fletcher, Horace, and their parents. Also contains a copied photo collection of Horace, a manuscript of AHorace Henderson Presents his Interpretation of Jazz@, and an essay (author unknown) about Fletcher's influence on jazz.
Subseries 3D, ca. 1960s - 1980s, Box 75. Contains miscellaneous publishings collected from the various locations Horace lived and worked. Includes weekly circulations from Denver and the surrounding area where Horace lived from the mid sixties until his death, along with various music magazines that he subscribed to (ADownbeat@, AInternational Musician@). Arranged by date within each category.
Subseries 3E, ca. 1975, box 76. Contains the original transcript of the Oral History Interview of Horace Henderson, for the Smithsonian Institution, performed by Tom MacCluskey on April 9-12, 1975.
Subseries 3F, box 77. Contains a Henderson Family Scrapbook which includes photographs of Fletcher's and Horace's father and mother, and various newspaper clippings commending the careers of Mr. Henderson, Horace, and Fletcher. The scrapbook's original order has been maintained.
Series 4: Audio Tape Recordings ca.1970s - 1980s Boxes 79-80.
Contains a collection of recordings of live performances of Horace's orchestra in various Denver area locations such as the Esquire Supper Club and the Petroleum Club. Also includes a sample tape, a brief Atest@ recording by Horace and Angel, a radio tribute to Horace, and a few miscellaneous mix tapes. The tapes are arranged by date when available. Box 79 contains the original copies, and box 80 contains the duplicates.
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Horace and Fletcher Henderson's Music
Series 2: Photographs
Series 3: Personal Papers
Series 4: Horace Henderson Audio Tapes
Biographical / Historical:
Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. (a.k.a. Smack) was born on December 18, 1897 in Cuthbert, Georgia. He was born into a middle class black family, and as a child studied European art music with his mother, a piano teacher. His sister later became the head of the music department at the Tuskeegee Institute in Alabama, and his younger brother, Horace, would eventually follow in his footsteps as a jazz musician, arranger, and band leader. Horace W. Henderson (a.k.a. Little Smack) was born on November 22, 1904. He also studied piano with his mother and sister, and like his brother, began formal music training as a teenager. Fletcher Henderson attended Atlanta University where he earned a degree in chemistry and math in 1919.
In 1920, Fletcher Henderson moved to New York City to find a job as a chemist. Because employment in this field was hard to come by, especially for African Americans, he began working as a song demonstrator for the Pace Hardy Music Company. Shortly after Fletcher Henderson's arrival Harry Pace founded Pace Phonograph Corporation to produce records on the Black Swan label in 1921. Fletcher joined Pace's music team and was responsible for contracting and leading a jazz bands to accompany the label's singers.
In 1924, Fletcher's orchestra, under the direction of Don Redman, began to perform at Club Alabam (sic) on New York City's Broadway Avenue. That same year he and the band was offered a job performing at the Roseland Ballroom, where the band remained for ten years and gained national fame. His band was no different than the hundreds of dance bands, springing up across the country in response to the growing demand for social dance music, such as Count Basie's Orchestra, King Oliver and his Dixie Syncopators, and McKinney's Cotton Pickers. Don Redman left the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in 1927 to direct McKinney's Cotton Pickers. However the music collaboration of Redman and Henderson had by then established what would become the "standard" big band arrangement for several decades, specifically the dynamic interplay between the brass and reed sections of the orchestra that included interspersed solos made famous by such esteemed soloists of the band as Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins. Some of the band's most notable recordings made between 1924 and 1925 include Copenhagen and Sugarfoot Stomp.
By this time Horace Henderson had formed his own college jazz band in 1924, The Wilberforce Collegians, after transferring from Atlanta University to Wilberforce University to pursue a music degree. His older brother sent him arrangements and piano parts used by the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra for performances by the Collegians. Later that year Horace Henderson left the university to travel and perform with his band in New York City. His newly formed band included such notable musicians as Benny Carter and Ben Webster. While in New York he also began playing as a guest musician in his brother's band and learning from such legends of jazz as Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Louis Armstrong, and Don Redman that were working for the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. During a Smithsonian Institution sponsored oral history interview with Tom MacCluskey, Horace recalled late night jam sessions at Hawkins' (Hawk) apartment where they would play through pieces from "Fletch's" library and analyze each individual's performance. We would "stop and discuss what had transpired during that session, you know, that particular tune. And man, that was a lesson...It was a session that was actually to help everybody, so that they would try things out and take another tune, and use these particular little points that Hawk would tell 'em.'"
Until the 1930s, the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra was the principal model for big jazz bands. However, his management of the band and its finances led to frequent band break-ups. In 1934, severe financial problems forced Fletcher to sell some of his best arrangements to Benny Goodman. Horace Henderson and others suggested Goodman's rapid rise in popularity among swing bands for white audiences was largely due to Fletcher Henderson's innovative band arrangements. Fletcher Henderson continued to lead bands until 1939 when he joined Goodman's orchestra as a full time staff arranger. In 1941 he returned to band leading and arranging, but suffered a severe stroke in 1950. Fletcher was partially paralyzed from the stroke, and died on December 29, 1952.
Horace, also, formed many bands throughout the 1930s and 40s, and became a sideman for leaders such as Don Redman (1931-33) and, most notably, his brother. He was a pianist and arranger for Fletch's band intermittently between 1931 and 1947. During this time, Horace spent a lot of time in Chicago with Fletcher's band at the Grand Terrace, and formed his own band at Swingland. Horace also worked as a freelance arranger for Benny Goodman, Charlie Barnet, and Earl Hines3. From November 1942 through August 1943, Horace was the leader of the 732nd Military Police Band in Joliet, Illinois. The position was first offered to Louis Armstrong, who turned it down and recommended Horace for the position. After leaving the army, he played with Fletcher's band for two years. Horace began writing for Charlie Barnet in 1944, where he first came across Lena Horne. During a job at the Paramount, Charlie had Called Horace to say that his vocalist had laryngitis, and he needed a new singer. Horace went to the Apollo in Harlem in search of some talent, and they sent him to the Regent where he could find Lena Horne. She joined Charlie's show the next day, and from there went on to fame. Horace joined her for an extended tour as a pianist and arranger, and later worked with Billie Holiday3.
Horace moved to Denver with his wife, Angel, in the late 1960s. The Horace Henderson Combo performed at many nightclubs and resorts in the Denver area, including Estes Park, the Broadmoor Hotel, and the Petroleum Club. He began playing the organ in 1970 because the clubs didn't want to pay for four or five piece bands, and with an organ to replace the piano, a bass player was no longer necessary3. Horace continued to lead bands in the Denver area until his death on August 29, 1988.
Although both brothers had a major impact on the future of jazz, Horace is often thought of merely as a shadow to his more celebrated brother. Fletcher Henderson's career as a pianist, bandleader, and arranger is one of the most important in jazz history. Bands of leaders such as Count Basie, Charlie Barnet, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman all played arrangements, which were either written or influenced by Fletcher Henderson. Fletcher constantly surrounded himself with the most talented musicians of his era, and patterned the basic formula, which were imitated throughout the big band era.
However, at least thirty of Fletcher's arrangements, many for Benny Goodman, are accredited as Horace's work. His arrangement Hot and Anxious was based on the traditional riff that later became the basis for Glenn Miller's In the Mood. Christopher Columbus is the most notable example of Horace's potent piano style, which is often noted to be stronger than his brother's. Although the brothers had differences, Horace insists that they did not involve music. Fletcher's style and success had a huge influence on Horace's career, and he was incredibly grateful for all his brother taught him. In an interview in April of 1975, he was quoted as saying, "I idolize his way of thinking because he was successful. You don't fight success, you join it." 3
1. Biographical information derived from The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, edited by Barry Kernfeld (New York: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1988).
2. The Pace Phonograph corporation was the first African-American-owned recording company in the United States. Historical information derived from The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Black Music; Biographical Dictionary of Afro-American and African Musicians, by Eileen Southern (USA: Greenwood Press, 1982).
3. Interview with Horace Henderson, April 2-12, 1975, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.
The Fletcher and Horace Henderson collection was acquired by the museum in December of 2001, donated by Barbara and Barry Lewis.
Collection is open for research.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
The papers of American sculptor Stephen Antonakos measure 24.2 linear feet and 1.73 GB and date from 1932-2014, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960-2014. The collection documents Antonakos's pioneering work in neon, through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, project files, exhibition files, printed and digital material, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of American sculptor Stephen Antonakos measure 24.2 linear feet and 1.73 GB and date from 1932-2014, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960-2014. The collection documents Antonakos's pioneering work in neon, through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, project files, exhibition files, printed and digital material, and photographs.
Biographical material comprises biographical statements and resumes, transcripts of 5 interviews, copies of obituaries, and other records relating to Antonakos's memorial service in 2013.
Correspondence is primarily professional, with scattered personal correspondence, and provides suppemental documentation of all aspects of the artist's career, including gifts, sales, loans, and consignments to galleries and museums such as Fischbach Gallery; John Weber Gallery; Lori Bookstein Fine Art; Galleria Bonomo, Bari; Art Front Gallery, Tokyo; Galerie Bonnier, Stockholm; Galerie Bernier, Athens; Kalfayan Gallery, Athens; Galerie Citronne, Poros; Konrad Fischer Gallery, Berlin; Daniel Marzona Gallery, Berlin; The American Academy of Arts and Letters; The Metropolitan Museum of Art; The Museum of Modern Art; the Onassis Cultural Center; the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University; the Smith College Museum of Art; the Dallas Museum of Art; the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens; the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki; and the Benaki Museum, Piraeus.
Writings and notes provide artist statements on all aspects of Antonakos's work, as well as teaching notes from the 1960s.
Project files are a rich source of information on Antonakos's work in neon, particularly for the large-scale permanent Public Works including Hampshire College, Amherst; the Tacoma Dome; Pershing Square, Los Angeles; the Atlanta Hartsfied Airport; the 59th Street Transfer Station, New York City; Faret Tachikawa, Japan; the Stadtsparkasse, Cologne; the Reading Power Plant, Tel Aviv; the San Antonio Public Library; the University of Dijon; the Attiko Metro, Athens; the Mitchell
International Airport, Milwaukee; and the Airport of Puglia, Bari. All aspects of the artist's work, from conception on paper through execution and reception by the public, are documented here in correspondence, artist statements and proposals, contracts, insurance records, original drawings, plans and blueprints, printed and digital material, and photographs. Ideas and proposals for projects not executed are also documented in this series, and comprise the same types of material.
Antonakos's conceptual Packages are documented in lists, letters of transmittal, and photographs. The series also holds the contents of a Package given to the Archives of American Art in 1975 and opened, as requested, after his death: a 35mm microfilm of a sketchbook kept by Antonakos from 1974-1975, with sketches and notes about his neon projects.
Antonakos's artistic development can be traced chronologically in the exhibition files from some of his earliest work with neon in combination with found objects, to the use of neon alone. Exhibition files document the artist's progression from placing neon on a base or wall and at the corners and ceilings of rooms, to placing tubes at the edges of panels in order to generate a colored glow around them; furthermore, they document the evolution from his early boxes, contained spaces, and indoor and outdoor rooms, to his meditation spaces and chapels. Also in evidence in this series is the artist's prolific output of drawings, which were shown in numerous exhibitions. Exhibition files include documentation from circa 100 solo shows and from his over 250 group shows, at venues including Allentown Art Museum, the Benaki Museum, The Drawing Room, Galleriaforma, Genoa, Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center, Athens, John Weber Gallery, La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, Lori Bookstein Fine Art, the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, Rose Art Museum, and the Savannah College of Art and Design. Many of the files include Antonakos's original drawings and plans.
Printed material comprises announcements and catalogs for Antonakos's solo and group exhibitions, posters of the same, press and publicity clippings, and 10 publications about or including Antonakos and his work.
There are 7 photographs of Antonakos, including portraits by George Kokkinos and photos with others including Sebastian Adler, the artist's daughter Evangelina Mary Spector Antonakos, Naomi Spector Antonakos, Ronald Bladen, and Richard Koshalek. Also found are photos of artwork by category, and digital photographs of sample images.
The collection includes 1 reel of microfilm (35mm).
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1970s-2014 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1964-2014 (3.25 linear feet; Boxes 1-4, 24)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1966-2012 (0.3 linear feet; Box 4, 0.932 GB; ER01)
Series 4: Project Files, 1965-2014 (8.6 linear feet; Boxes 4-11, 24, OVs 25-40, 0.275 GB; ER02-ER04)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1960-2014 (8.95 linear feet; Boxes 11-19, 24, OVs 40-45, 0.094 GB; ER05)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1959-2013 (3.3 linear feet; Boxes 19-23, OVs 46-47)
Series 7: Photographs, 1932-2013 (0.5 linear feet; Box 23, 0.431 GB; ER06)
Biographical / Historical:
American sculptor Stephen Antonakos (1926-2013) was a pioneer in the use of neon as an artistic medium from the early 1960s onward. Born in Agios Nikolaos in southern Greece, he immigrated to the US with his family at the age of four and lived in New York City thereafter.
After serving in WWII he established his first studio in the 1950s in New York City's fur district, a fertile neighborhood for the found objects and found materials of his early large Assemblages, Constructions, and "Sewlages" (sewn fabric collages) through that decade, when he worked also as a commercial artist. Seeing the neon signs in these Manhattan streets night after night released his intuition of the medium's untapped flexibility. He called neon "a paradise" he wished to "control" in his own new way, with abstract geometric forms in space.
Concentric neon circles and squares appeared first, notably in the transitional White Light (1962). Mostly black, it incorporated a cut-up Thonet chair and a box-form of found rabbit fur. In the same year, he moved on to his central engagement with neon in architectural space with his Hanging Neon, whose colored tubes jut diagonally into the viewers' space from a box suspended from the ceiling. He continued this key dynamic boldly in many large mid-1960s installations: Orange Vertical Neon, Red Neon from Wall to Floor, and Red Neon from Wall to Wall. There are small-scale models from the period for many more. All fulfill the artist's definition of his work as "real things in real spaces."
His 1962-63 Pillows and Pillow Drawings, exhibited first at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, are distinguished by the intense engagement of the hand: cutting, adding, sewing, stuffing, drawing, layering, and combining materials in ways that clearly predict his constant practice with drawings and collages through the following decades. The subsequent role of works on paper in forming Antonakos's development cannot be over-emphasized; he drew almost every day. The physicality of these compositions and of the cuts and tears and layering in his collages through the years, make them not images, but objects. The same holds for the many Travel Collages produced from the late 1970s through 2001.
Throughout the 1970s, medium-scale two- and three-dimensional variations of his geometric vocabulary were strategically positioned on white walls in formal dialogue with their sites' ceilings, floors, inside corners, and outside corners. Known as the Direct Neons, these works were exhibited extensively in galleries and museums across Europe and the US. As ever, new work was conceived for each venue's particular sites.
A very large group of Project Drawings from the late 1960s through the early 1970s charts Antonakos's thinking through the Direct Neons and on into installations of greater scale, his Walls and Rooms.
First shown in Athens, the Walls investigated both bold and subtle variations of almost "syntactical" relationships between the neon forms "drawn" on the colored surfaces. Two 1973 Rooms allowed simultaneous formal engagement with interior and exterior architectural spaces. In both, making the entire interior a single unit fulfilled Antonakos's hope of including the viewer within the space of the art. San Francisco Room was exhibited inside the Museum of Art. The Room, placed outdoors in downtown Grand Rapids, offered more viewing options from greater distances, rooftops and, very importantly, with exposure to the daily 24-hour cycle of natural light. 1974, Outdoor Neons for the Fort Worth Art Museum upped the ante further with enormously greater scale and geometric diversity. This was nourishment for Antonakos's central concerns uniting light, form, and time throughout his future Public Works.
The mid-1970s saw a definitive change in the drawings. They became completely abstract, without reference to anything outside the work itself. Often made in series, they explored complete and incomplete linear forms in relation to the proportions of the sheets.
All through the 1970s Antonakos produced his conceptual Packages. Filled, sealed, and sent to individuals or groups of friends, they were meant either never to be opened, to be opened on a specific date, or to be opened after the death of the artist. There were approximately thirty projects. An important set sent in 1974 and 1975 to Richard Artschwager, Daniel Buren, Sol LeWitt, and Robert Ryman to be filled by them was opened twenty-five years later as the central event during the major exhibition Time Boxes 2000 at the Brandeis's Rose Art Museum. Less concerned with their contents than with our consciousness through time of not knowing, they relate to such concepts as "incomplete circle" -- knowing what/that we do not know/see. The Greek art historian Savvas Michael has written: "The material of the Packages is time."
From the late 1970s, for over thirty years, there was an active practice of Public Works in neon. More than fifty were constructed and installed in indoor and outdoor sites in airports, rail stations, university campuses, banks, and downtown areas in cities across the US, Europe, and Japan. They range from the spare 15' incomplete square on the facade of the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art to the almost 500' treatment of the chimney complex of the Reading Power Plant in Tel Aviv. Antonakos began each project by considering the formal qualities of the site day and night and its use by the public. He considered working for the public a special responsibility.
Moving into the 1980s, Antonakos placed neon forms on painted unstretched canvases and on the faces of large geometric forms on walls and floors. This period also saw the crucial introduction of neon placed behind the edges of wall Panels, so that only the colored glows are seen. These Panels developed into one of his major practices to the end -- their single or segmented geometric surfaces variously monochrome, painterly, or gold or silver-leafed. They have been extensively exhibited in Europe and the US. In 2009 the public-scaled neon Panel The Road to Mistra was commissioned for the Onassis Cultural Center in New York. In response to this work, the New York art historian Irving Sandler wrote, "Essentially a classicist in the Constructivist tradition, he has revealed the poetry of neon."
Antonakos started to design his Chapels and Meditation spaces with neon in the late 1980s and continued through the rest of his life. Their roots lie in his lifelong commitment to Greek Orthodoxy and in the evolution of his activation of geometric space. They include his 1993 Chapel of the Saints in a fortress in Rhodes, which he described in a letter to Elias Kollias as being, at that point, "the masterwork of my life." The full-scale iron Chapel of the Heavenly Ladder was exhibited in the XLVII Venice Biennale and is permanently installed now in Thessaloniki. In 2003, the Greek art critic Alexandra Koroxenides wrote of Antonakos's "capacity to create surroundings of meditation and spirituality." Many Chapels have been created for important temporary exhibitions here and in Greece, and small precise models exist for more of them.
Through the 1980s and to the end, the drawings on various papers and vellums developed in many directions, some full of white space, some filled to the hilt with intensely colored forms -- sometimes singly and often in series. In the mid-1990s Antonakos began using the multicolored pencil, in dense overall hatchings and later in open spatial "clouds." One drawing of 72 dense square units is like an installation as it plays out rhythmically across the four walls of the gallery. The various ideas of the drawings intersect with those of his collages, reflecting always the active hand. Colored or bare, cut, torn, layered, pleated, or crumpled, they maintain their objecthood within the frame.
All these themes and techniques climaxed in his major Artist's Book, Alphavitos, later in the 1980s. Its many material and printing innovations are structured around the cumulative appearance of hand-made papers with letters of the Greek Alphabet recurring intermittently until the last bears the complete alphabet. The composition of complete and incomplete circles and squares on the front and back covers are in silver on the unique volume and in leather relief on the edition. The book incorporates endless ideas of form, color, scale, proportion and, of course, time, as the pages are turned. Related white wood, silver, and marble Reliefs grew out of the making of the book, as did new graphic variations of some of the plates.
In 2011 he began a new series of Gold works. Small sculptures shaped with "incomplete" areas sit on bases, and framed works in gold-leafed Mylar and Tyvek hang in frames. As with the drawings, some have cut edges or various forms cut out of them or are crumpled. They are made in varying sizes, singly and in powerful series, and all have many different "faces" as they intersect with the course of natural light over the day. In Greece, they are seen as echoes of Byzantium.
In 2011, Antonakos took on a climactic project in the ruins of an old oil factory in Elefsina, Greece -- a part of the 40 year history of their Festival of Aeschylus. In thirty-four locations throughout the continuous indoor and outdoor site of 17,000 square meters, he placed spare linear neon forms, accumulations, columns, and Panels, hoping, he said, that the visitors might sense "some of the
things that I have found in my life and art." It can be seen in the photographs of Panos Kokkinias and on the artist's website.
Antonakos had over 100 solo exhibitions and over 250 group shows. His work has been the subject of numerous books and catalogues including the key 1999 monograph Antonakos by Irving Sandler. The major catalogue for the 2007-2008 Retrospective organized by the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation at the Benaki Museum in Athens includes essays by Martin Filler, Eleftherios Iconomou, Katerina Koskina, Daniel Marzona, and Brian O'Doherty. His work is in the collections of the major museums of New York, Athens, and Thessaloniki, and in many other museums in the US and Europe. In 2011 he received the Lifetime Achievement Awards from the National Academy of Art and the Greek America Foundation.
Since 1963 his studio has been located in Soho.
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Stephen Antonakos dated 1975, May 9.
The collection was donated in 1975 and 1981 by Stephen Antonakos, and in 2014 by Naomi Spector Antonakos.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Use of archival born-digital records with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
The Stephen Antonakos papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
The John Outterbridge papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
John Outterbridge papers, 1953-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Access to original artifacts by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to Smithsonian Gardens: email@example.com
Records of the Field Offices for the State of Georgia, Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872
This collection is comprised of digital surrogates previously available on the 90 rolls of microfilm described in the NARA publication M1903. These digital surrogates reproduced the records of the Georgia staff offices and subordinate field offices of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, 1865–1872. These records consist of bound volumes and unbound records, containing materials that include letters and endorsements sent and received, monthly reports, registers of patients, orders and circulars issued and received, and other records relating to freedmen's complaints and contracts.
These records consist of volumes and unbound records. The volumes reproduced in this publication were originally arranged by type of record and thereunder by volume number. No numbers were assigned to series consisting of single volumes. Years later, all volumes were arbitrarily assigned numbers by the Adjutant General's Office (AGO) of the War Department after the records came into its custody. In this publication, AGO numbers are shown in parentheses to aid in identifying the volumes. The National Archives assigned the volume numbers that are not in parentheses. In some volumes, particularly in indexes and alphabetical headings of registers, there are blank numbered pages that have not been filmed.
The volumes consist of letters and endorsements sent and received, press copies of letters sent, registers of letters received, letters and orders received, special orders and circulars issued, registers of complaints, and monthly reports forwarded to the Assistant Commissioner. The unbound documents consist of letters and orders received, unregistered letters and narrative reports received, special orders and circulars issued, general orders and circulars received, monthly reports, and records relating to complaints, labor contracts, patients, and court papers.
[The following is reproduced from the original NARA descriptive pamphlet for M1903.]
HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established in the War Department by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865 (13 Stat. 507). The life of the Bureau was extended twice by acts of July 16, 1866 (14 Stat. 173), and July 6, 1868 (15 Stat. 83). The Bureau was responsible for the supervision and management of all matters relating to refugees and freedmen, and of lands abandoned or seized during the Civil War. In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson appointed Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard as Commissioner
of the Bureau, and Howard served in that position until June 30, 1872, when activities of the Bureau were terminated in accordance with an act of June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366). While a major part of the Bureau's early activities involved the supervision of abandoned and confiscated property, its mission was to provide relief and help freedmen become self–sufficient. Bureau officials issued rations and clothing, operated hospitals and refugee camps, and supervised labor contracts. In addition, the Bureau managed apprenticeship disputes and complaints, assisted benevolent societies in the establishment of schools, helped freedmen in legalizing marriages entered into during slavery, and provided transportation to refugees and freedmen who were attempting to reunite with their families or relocate to other parts of the country. The Bureau also helped black soldiers, sailors, and their heirs collect bounty claims, pensions, and back pay.
The act of March 3, 1865, authorized the appointment of Assistant Commissioners to aid the Commissioner in supervising the work of the Bureau in the former Confederate states, the border states, and the District of Columbia. While the work performed by Assistant Commissioners in each state was similar, the organizational structure of staff officers varied from state to state. At various times, the staff could consist of a superintendent of education, an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a disbursing officer, a chief medical officer, a chief quartermaster, and a commissary of subsistence. Subordinate to these officers were the assistant superintendents, or subassistant commissioners as they later became known, who commanded the subdistricts.
The Assistant Commissioner corresponded extensively with both his superior in the Washington Bureau headquarters and his subordinate officers in the subdistricts. He prepared reports that he sent to the Commissioner concerning Bureau activities in areas under his jurisdiction, based upon reports submitted to him by the subassistant commissioners and other subordinate staff officers. He also received letters from freedmen, local white citizens, state officials, and other non–Bureau personnel. These letters varied in nature from complaints to applications for jobs in the Bureau. Because the assistant adjutant general handled much of the mail for the Assistant Commissioner's office, letters were often addressed to him instead of to the Assistant Commissioner. In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard in July 1865, the Assistant Commissioners were instructed to designate one officer in each state to serve as "General Superintendents of Schools." These officials were to "take cognizance of all that is being done to educate refugees and freedmen, secure proper protection to schools and teachers, promote method and efficiency, correspond with the benevolent agencies which are supplying his field, and aid the Assistant Commissioner in making his required reports." In October 1865, a degree of centralized control was established over Bureau educational activities in the states when Rev. John W. Alvord was appointed Inspector of Finances and Schools. In January 1867, Alvord was divested of his financial responsibilities, and he was appointed General Superintendent of Education.
An act of Congress, approved July 25, 1868 (15 Stat. 193), ordered that the Commissioner of the Bureau "shall, on the first day of January next, cause the said bureau to be withdrawn from the several States within which said bureau has acted and its operation shall be discontinued." Consequently, in early 1869, with the exception of the superintendents of education and the claims agents, the Assistant Commissioners and their subordinate officers were withdrawn from the states.
For the next year and a half the Bureau continued to pursue its education work and to process claims. In the summer of 1870, the superintendents of education were withdrawn from the states, and the headquarters staff was greatly reduced. From that time until the Bureau was abolished by an act of Congress approved June 10, 1872 (17 Stat. 366), effective June 30, 1872, the Bureau's functions related almost exclusively to the disposition of claims. The Bureau's records and remaining functions were then transferred to the Freedmen's Branch in the office of the Adjutant General. The records of this branch are among the Bureau's files.
Constrained by limited resources, Southern opposition, and the politics of Reconstruction, the Bureau faced an enormous challenge in its efforts to assist the freedmen and refugees. Its relief efforts, without question, saved thousands of southerners from starvation. Its attempts to assist freedmen to become self–sufficient, to provide public education, administer justice, and, to a lesser degree, to provide land, all worked with varying degrees of success to lessen the difficulties during the transition from slavery to freedom. One of the Bureau's greatest legacies is the body of records it created and received during the course of its operations. These records are arguably some of the most important documents available for the study of the Federal Government's policies, efforts to reconstruct the South, and Southern social history and genealogy.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU IN GEORGIA
Bvt. Maj. Gen. Rufus Saxton, who had directed the "Port Royal Experiment," was appointed Assistant Commissioner for South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Saxton established his headquarters at Beaufort, SC, in June 1865, and assigned Gen. Edward A. Wild the responsibility for Bureau affairs in part of Georgia. In September 1865, after Wild was relieved from duty, the office of Assistant Commissioner for Georgia was established, and Brig. Gen. Davis Tillson was appointed as Acting Assistant Commissioner, with exclusive control of all matters concerning the Bureau in Georgia. Tillson reported to General Saxton in South Carolina until December 1865, when he was ordered to report thereafter directly to Commissioner Howard at Washington. Generally, the records pertaining to Georgia and Florida that were created during this early period are included among those of the Assistant Commissioner of South Carolina.
The organization of the Bureau in Georgia was similar to that of the Bureau headquarters in Washington. The Assistant Commissioner's staff included an assistant adjutant general, an assistant inspector general, a chief quartermaster and disbursing officer, and a superintendent of education. Three officers served as Assistant Commissioner in Georgia between 1865 and 1869 and located the Bureau offices in four different cities during that period. General Tillson first established his headquarters at Augusta in September 1865, but moved it to Savannah in October 1866. Col. Caleb C. Sibley succeeded Tillson as Assistant Commissioner in January 1867, and 2 months later he moved the headquarters from Savannah to Macon. It remained there until July 1867, when the office was transferred to Atlanta. In October 1868, Maj. John R. Lewis replaced Sibley as Assistant Commissioner. Lewis served until the office was discontinued in May 1869. From January to May 1869, Major Lewis combined the duties of Assistant Commissioner, with those of superintendent of education. After the office of the Assistant Commissioner was discontinued, Lewis continued to serve as superintendent of education until May 1870.
The major subordinate field offices for the Bureau in Georgia, for example, included those with headquarters at Albany, Americus, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and Savannah. Under the direct supervision of the subassistant commissioners were the civilian and military agents. Occasionally, the Bureau retained military officers in a civilian capacity after the termination of their military service. For a list of selected Georgia subordinate field office personnel and their dates of service, see the Appendix.
The major activities of the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia generally resembled those conducted in other states. The Bureau issued rations and provided medical relief to both freedmen and white refugees, supervised labor contracts between planters and freedmen, administered justice, and worked with benevolent societies in the establishment of schools.
When General Davis Tillson took over as Assistant Commissioner for the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia in September 1865, many of the major cities and towns in the state were troubled with overcrowding, disease, and poverty. In the cities of Macon, Atlanta, Augusta, and Savannah, freedmen and refugees were living in some of the most crowded and deplorable conditions, and many were in dire need of food and clothing, shelter, and medical attention.1 Convinced, however, that Federal Government relief should be temporary and solely for the needy, General Tillson issued an order on October 3, 1865, prohibiting the distribution of rations to freedmen and refugees who were able–bodied but refused work. To discourage idleness and dependency, Tillson further ordered that only those persons who were able to provide for themselves would be allowed to remain in the towns and cities. Those who desired to stay, said Tillson, "must be compelled, if necessary, to go to the country and accept places of labor found by themselves, or for them, by officers or agents of the Bureau."2
Tillson's orders were strictly enforced. One month after his pronouncement, rations issued in Savannah had been reduced from 120,000 to 60,000 per month. For the month of June of 1866, the number of rations issued for the entire State of Georgia totaled less than 20,000. However, in spite of the Bureau's "Self–Help" policy, limited resources, and the belief that local governments should play a greater role in providing relief for the destitute, the Georgia Bureau issued some 847,669 rations from June 1865 to September 1866. Although the Bureau's actions prevented wholesale starvation and untold suffering, the agency's rations–relief efforts were far less extensive than what Bureau officials had done during the same period in Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Tillson's successors, Assistant Commissioners Caleb C. Sibley (January 1867–October 1868) and John R. Lewis (October 1868–May 1869) continued to follow the policy of providing limited rations relief. During their tenures, rations were issued only in emergencies and for the most part to hospitals and asylums.3
The Georgia Bureau's policy of temporary relief for the needy also guided its approach in providing medical care and assistance for the destitute. Like its ration program, the Bureau viewed its responsibility as one of providing temporary medical relief, primarily in cases of extreme emergencies. The Bureau believed that the ultimate responsibility for providing medical care to those in need lay with Georgia civil authorities. J. W. Lawton, who served as surgeon–in–chief under General Tillson, saw the use of dispensaries as the best means of administering medical relief and the most effective approach to encourage civil officials to take on some of the cost for operating them. Lawton and his successor at various times maintained dispensaries at Albany, Americus, Brunswick, Columbus, Darien, Newton, St. Catherine's Island, St. Marys, and Stone Mountain. The Bureau's medical department also opened hospitals with the idea of eventually turning them over to state and local authorities. The Bureau maintained hospitals at Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and Savannah. At the height of its medical operations (1866–67), however, the agency employed just 13 physicians. Nonetheless, with its limited and over burdened medical staff, the Bureau treated more than 5,000 freedmen for various aliments and vaccinated some 20,000 freedmen and refugees against smallpox from September 1, 1865, through September 20, 1866. By September 1867, the number of freedmen treated by the Bureau nearly tripled. At the end of June 1868, close to 17,000 freed men, women, and children received treatment. Despite the Bureau's efforts to treat the weak, sick, and infirm, the mortality rate among freedmen remained high. By late 1868, most of the Bureau's medical activities ceased, and care for the destitute was turned over to local authorities.4
In Georgia, as in other states under the Bureau's jurisdiction, the regulation of written labor contracts between planters and freedmen was of paramount concern. General Tillson's order of October 3, 1865 (Circular Number 2), which restricted the issuing of rations only to those in need, also instructed his subordinates to "Make Immediate and Vigorous Efforts" to secure work for unemployed freedmen "where fair compensation and kind treatment will be secured to them." Upon arrival at his post in early September 1865, Tillson found the labor system in Georgia in disarray. Able–bodied freedmen were being paid from $2 to $7 per month. Many were of the notion that the Federal Government was planning to distribute land to them at Christmas or New Year's, and thus large numbers of freedmen were refusing to sign labor contracts. Planters, on the other hand, were convinced that the Bureau was the "Champion" of the freedmen and totally insensitive to their concerns about freedmen and their unwillingness to labor, and were thus making little effort to prepare for the planting season.5
On December 22, 1865, in an effort to remove "False and Mistaken Impressions" held by the both planters and freedmen, Tillson issued wage guidelines that both parties were expected to follow. Under the new rules, freedmen had the right to choose their own employers, but those freedmen who refused to sign contracts after January 10, 1866, "where employers offer good wages and kind treatment," had to accept contracts that the Bureau made for them. In upper and middle Georgia, where the land was poor and unsuited for raising large quantities of crops, Tillson instructed his officers to secure contracts paying men $12 – $13 per month, and $8 – $10 dollars per month for women. Freedmen were to provide for their own clothing and medicines. In other parts of the state and along the coast and southwestern Georgia, where "Good Crops" could be raised, men were to be paid $15 per month, including board and lodging, and women $10 per month. In areas where planters preferred to pay a share of the crop, the order required payment of "from one–third the gross to one half the net proceeds."6
Realizing that not all planters would comply with his new wage guidelines, Tillson instructed his subordinates to call on the military to enforce his orders whenever necessary. He was aware in spite of his orders, many of the contracts being signed, even some approved by his own agents, were substandard and not in compliance with his wage schedule. He made clear to both his agents and the planters that such contracts would not be recognized. To emphasize the importance of his commitment to fair contracts and compensation for freedmen, Tillson offered transportation to freedmen to such areas as southwest Georgia and the Mississippi Valley where wages were higher. In a November 1866 report to Commissioner Howard, Tillson indicated that he had issued 381 orders for transportation for some 2,947 men and 1,013 children.7
Safeguarding rights and securing justice for freedmen was a major area of concern for the Freedmen's Bureau. Following the Civil War, several Southern states enacted a series of laws commonly known as "Black Codes," which restricted the rights and legal status of freedmen. Freedmen were often given harsh sentences for petty crimes and in some instances were unable to get their cases heard in state courts. In a circular issued by Commissioner Howard on May 30, 1865 (Circular Number 5), Assistant Commissioners were directed to "adjudicate, either themselves or through officers of their appointment, all difficulties arising between negroes themselves, or between negroes and whites or Indians." In response to Howard's circular, General Tillson issued an order on November 15, 1865 (Circular Number 4), instructing his officers to hear and make determinations in cases involving freedmen in which the disputed sum did not exceed $50, or the punishment did not exceed $50 or 30 days' imprisonment. Agents were also told that they could "try offences committed by or against freedmen, provided the sentence imposed does not exceed one hundred and fifty dollars or imprisonment for hard labor for sixty days." Tillson further ordered that "It is preferred that all cases of any importance . . . whenever under the laws there of [the State of Georgia], or by agreement of the parties . . . [where] the testimony of Freedmen can be admitted . . . the Agent will turn them over to the civil authorities for trial." To carry out Tillson's orders, agents were to establish three member tribunals (known as freedmen's courts) consisting of a Bureau official and two citizens, one chosen by each party involved in the case.8
However, when the Georgia State Legislature passed an act conferring civil rights on "Persons of Color," approved March 17, 1866, Tillson advised his officers on April 6 (Circular Number 4) that they were no longer required to comply with Commissioner Howard's orders of May 30, 1865. While Tillson told his agents that they were to continue to follow instructions issued by him on November 6, 1865 (Circular Number 4), "all cases exceeding their jurisdiction, unless otherwise specially directed by the Department Commander, [were to] be turned over to the civil authorities of the State for adjudication." Despite the Bureau's efforts to secure justice and civil rights for freedmen in Georgia, blacks continued to complain to the agency about some of the "Most Fiendish and Diabolical Outrages" suffered by them at the hands of gangs known as "Regulators," "Jayhawkers," and the "Black–Horse Cavalry." Perpetrators of crimes against freedmen were often not apprehended or prosecuted by civil authorities. At various times, because of increased hostilities toward freedmen and the failure of civil authorities to take action in their cases, Bureau officials in Georgia were compelled to reassert their authority.9
Bureau educational activity began in Georgia in October 1865, when G. L. Eberhart was appointed as superintendent of schools (later education). In August 1867, Edward A. Ware succeeded Eberhart. In January 1869, Assistant Commissioner Maj. John R. Lewis assumed the duties of superintendent of education. Lewis served in both capacities until May 1869, when the office of Assistant Commissioner was discontinued, and remained as superintendent education until May 1870. The records of the two offices were not combined. Ware, who had been acting as assistant superintendent, remained in Georgia as acting superintendent until August 1870, when all Bureau officers except the claims agents were withdrawn from the state.
Congress's failure to provide an appropriation for the Freedmen's Bureau during it first year of operation, impacted significantly on the agency's ability to provide adequate assistance for freedmen education. With limited financial resources, the Bureau provided help when it could, and worked vigorously to encourage freedmen and Northern benevolent societies to take on the primary responsibility for providing support for black schools. G. L. Eberhart and his successors were of the opinion that "colored people who are unwilling to help educate their children do not deserve to have schools." To encourage freedmen to participate in this self–support effort, Eberhart urged them to establish educational associations. With assistance from local Bureau agents, educational associations were established in the subdistricts of Thomasville, Bainbridge, Albany, Georgetown, Cuthbert, and Americus. In early 1866, the "Pay Your Own Way" policy led to the founding of the Georgia Educational Association (initially organized as the Georgia Equal Rights Association). The Educational Association worked closely with the Bureau and Northern aid societies and became the model "to encourage the people [freedmen] to organized effort in supporting their own schools & managing their own affairs." By the end of 1866, freedmen owned 57 schoolhouses and provided support for 96 of the 127 schools in the state. By the spring of 1867, freedmen contributions sustained some 104 schools and teachers and more than 3,000 students. During the same period, the Bureau maintained some 44 schools and 50 teachers and close to 3,100 pupils. Northern aid societies provided support for 84 schools, 78 teachers, and over 7,000 students. Freedmen also defrayed the expenses for 45 schools under the control of the Bureau and the aid societies.10
With the passage of the Army Appropriations Act on July 13, 1866 (14 Stat. 90), the Bureau received its first appropriation and was able to provide greater assistance in its effort to support freedmen education. In addition to providing some $21,000 for state superintendents' salaries, the Act made available $500,000 more for the rent and repair of school buildings. In the same month, Congress overrode President Andrew Johnson's veto and extended the life of the Bureau for 2 years. In this new legislation (14 Stat. 173), the Bureau was allowed to "Seize, Hold, Use, Lease, or Sell" Confederate property for the purpose of educating freedmen. The act also required the Bureau to work closely with benevolent groups and to lease buildings to those associations that supplied teachers. By early July 1869, the Bureau had expended nearly $105,000 for the construction and repair of school buildings that provided accommodations for 4,690 students. The Bureau spent an additional $10,471 for the repair of buildings that provided part–time space for more than 3,500 pupils. By the time the Bureau withdrew from Georgia in 1870, the agency had contributed funds for the building of some 50 schools in the state.11
1 Mildred Thompson, "The Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia in 1865–66: An Instrument of Reconstruction," The Georgia Historical Quarterly V, No. 1 (March 1921): 42 – 43.
2 House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., Serial Vol. 1256, p. 58.
3 House Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, p. 57; Thompson, "The Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia in 1865–66: An Instrument of Reconstruction," pp. 42 – 43. For a detailed discussion of the Georgia Freedmen's Bureau's efforts in regards to relief, see Paul A. Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865–1870 (Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1997), especially pp. 80 – 98.
4 Paul Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865–1870, pp. 98 – 104; See also Todd L. Savitt, "Politics in Medicine: The Georgia Freedmen's Bureau and the Organization of Health Care, 1865–1866," Civil War History XXVIII, No. 1 (March 1982): pp. 45 – 64.
5 "Statement in brief, of the operations of the Freedmen's Bureau in Georgia, since September last, the date of his assignment to duty," Davis Tillson, Bvt. Maj. Gen., Annual Reports of the Assistant Commissioners, GA, August 7, 1866, Records of the Office of the Commissioner, 1866–69, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, Record Group (RG) 105, National Archives Building, Washington, DC.
6 Paul A. Cimbala, "The Talisman Power:" Davis Tillson, The Freedmen's Bureau, and Free Labor in Reconstruction Georgia, 1865–68," Civil War History XXVIII, No. 2 (June 1982): 160.
7 Ibid, 160 – 164.
8 House Ex. Doc. 70, 39th Cong., 1st Sess. Serial Vol. 1256, pp. 61 – 62.
9 Senate Ex. Doc. 6, 39th Cong., 2nd Sess., Serial Vol. 1276, pp. 54 – 56.
10 Paul A. Cimbala, Under the Guardianship of the Nation: The Freedmen's Bureau and the Reconstruction of Georgia, 1865–1870, pp. 105 – 110.
11 Ibid., pp. 116 – 118.
Freedmen's Bureau Personnel in Georgia:
This list provides the names and dates of service of known Freedmen's Bureau personnel at selected subordinate field offices in Georgia. Additional information regarding persons assigned to various field offices might be found among the Bureau's Washington headquarters station books and rosters of military officers and civilians on duty in the states and other appointment–related records.
Feb. 1866–Oct. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner F. A. H. Gaebel (Headquarters at Cuthbert)
Oct. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner O. H. Howard (Headquarters at Albany)
Mar.–Oct. 1867 -- Agent O. H. Howard
Oct. 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent C. C. Hicks
Dec. 1867 -- Agent William Pierce
Jan.–Nov. 1868 -- Agent Charles Rauschenberg
July 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Assistant Subassistant Commissioner George Wagner
Apr. 1867–Apr. 1868 -- Agent J. W. Robinson
Apr.–Nov. 1868 -- Agent A. C. Morrill
Oct.–Dec. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Curkendall
Jan.–Feb. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner D. C. Poole
Feb.–June 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner George R. Walbridge
June 1866–May 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner John Leonard
May 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Fred Mosebach
July–Aug. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. F. H. Cooke
Aug.–Nov. 1865 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. E. Bryand
Nov. 1865–Apr. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner George R. Campbell
Apr.–Sept. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner William Shields
Sept. 1866–Feb. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner W. L. White
Feb.–July 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner William F. Martins
July 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. S. Ehlers
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner H. Catley
Jan.–May 1869 -- Assistant Superintendent of Education E. B. Bingham
June 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent W. L. Clark
Jan.–May 1869 -- Assistant Superintendent of Education W. L. Clark
July 1866–Sept. 1868 -- Agent Joseph McWhorter
Oct. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent William Moffitt
June–Nov. 1867 -- Agent William Genth
July 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Crabtree
Mar.–May 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. S. Ehlers
May 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Douglas Risley
Jan.–May 1869 -- Assistant Superintendent of Education Douglas Risley
May 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent S. North
May–Oct. 1868 -- Agent A. Pokorny
Feb. 1866–May 1867 -- Agent E. S. Jackson
May–June 1867 -- Agent C. W. Beal
June–Sept. 1867 -- Agent K. Tyner
Sept. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent J. W. Barney
July 1867 -- Agent Edward Belcher (also at Dawson)
Apr. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent C. B. Blacher
June–Nov. 1867 -- Agent T. J. Herbert
Apr. 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner Fred Mosebach
May–Dec.1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Wagner
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner John Leonard
Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Harry Haskell
May 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent C. W. Chapman
Jan.–Mar. 1869 -- Assistant Superintendent of Education Harry L. Haskell
Apr. 1867–Apr. 1868 -- Agent William B. Moore
May–Nov. 1868 -- Agent John H. Sullivan (also at Greensboro)
Apr. 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent W. J. Bryan
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent W. J. Bryan (also at Marietta)
Feb. 1866–Oct. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner F. A. H. Gaebel
June 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent Charles Rauschenberg
Jan.–Mar. 1868 -- Agent C. C. Hicks
Mar.–May 1868 -- Agent James A. Shiels
May–Dec. 1868 -- Agent George Ballou
July 1866–Jan. 1867 -- Agent M. P. Archer
June 1867–Apr. 1868 -- Agent Ralph L. Finney
Apr.–Nov. 1868 -- Agent P. I. O'Rourke
June 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Agent Thomas Pease
Mar.–Apr. 1867 -- Agent Charles Rauschenbert
July 1867 -- Agent Edward Belcher (also at Carrollton)
Aug.–Sept. 1867 -- Agent Edward Belcher (also at Forsyth)
Dec. 1867 -- Agent William Pierce (also at Albany)
Dec. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent William Pierce (also at Smithville)
Sept.–Oct. 1868 -- Agent Andrew Clark
Jan. 1867 -- Agent A. M. McIver
June–Dec. 1867 -- Agent J. D. Rogers (also at Milledgeville)
Sept.–Nov. 1867 -- Agent M. R. Archer
Aug.–Sept. 1867 -- Agent Edward Belcher (also at Dawson)
June–Nov. 1867 -- Agent William Genth (also at Blakely)
Nov. 1867–June 1868 -- Agent William Genth
Sept. 1867–Jan. 1868 and Oct.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Daniel Losey
May–Nov. 1868 -- Agent John H. Sullivan (also at Crawfordsville)
July 1866–Feb. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. S. Ehlers
July 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner John Leonard
Jan.–Nov. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Wagner
Jan.–Sept. 1866 -- Agent J. Clarke Swayze
Sept. 1866–Mar. 1867 -- Agent James J. Boynton
July–Dec. 1867 -- Agent Lewis Wheelock
Mar.–Apr. 1868 -- Agent Chas Sawyer
June–Dec. 1868 -- Agent A. Leers
Apr. 1867–Feb. 1868 -- Agent E. A. Polloch
Mar.–Sept. 1868 -- Agent L. Lieberman
Jan. 1867 -- Agebt A. M. McIver (also at Dorchester)
Feb.–Apr. 1867 -- Agent A. M. McIver (also at Riceboro)
May 1867–Nov. 1868 -- Agent Charles Holcombe
Aug.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent H. de P. Young
Apr.–Aug. 1867 -- Agent William C. Carson
1865–67 -- Agent Wiley Goodman
June 1867–Nov. 1868 -- Agent I. G. A. Waldrop
May 1867–Mar. 1868 -- Agent D. J. Curtis
Oct. 1866–Apr. 1867 -- Agent B. C. Ferrell
May 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent W. E. Wiggins
Jan.–Apr. 1868 -- Agent Israel Towns
Apr.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Harry L. Haskell
Aug. 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent T. J. Robinson
Nov. 1867–Oct. 1868 -- Agent Joseph McWhortor
Dec. 1865–Jan. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Louis Lambert
Jan.–Apr. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner E. G. Locke
Apr.1866–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner N. Sellers Hill
Jan.–May 1869 -- Assist. Superintendent of Education John A. Rockwell
Jan. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent George M. Nolan
Dec. 1866–Jan. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner O. B. Gray
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent W. J. Bryan (also at Cumming)
Jan. 1866–July 1868 -- Agent H. M. Layless
Aug. 1868 -- Agent H. de P. Young
Dec. 1865–May 1867 -- Agent Thomas White
June–Dec. 1867 -- Agent J. D. Rogers (also at Eatonton)
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent M. R. Bell
Jan. 1866–Apr.1867 -- Agent John W. Arnold
Jan. 1867–Sept. 1868 -- Agent William F. Martin
Apr. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent Andrew B. Clark
Sept. 1867–Jan. 1868 -- Agent Daniel Losey (also at Fort Valley)
Jan.–Sept. 1868 -- Agent Daniel Losey
Oct.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Daniel Losey (Fort Valley)
Apr. 1867–June 1868 -- Agent Alvin B. Clark
June–July 1868 -- Agent O. N. Lyon
Feb.–Apr. 1867 -- Agent A. M. McIver
Aug. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Agent William Royal
ST. SIMON'S ISLAND
1865 -- Agent William F. Eaton
1867 -- Agent Thomas Harris
May–Nov. 1868 -- Agent James R. Smith
Oct. 1865–Feb. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Col. H. F. Sickles
Feb.–Mar. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. Hall
Mar.–June 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner George Crabtree
June–Oct. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. Kearny Smith
Oct.–Dec. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner F. J. Foster
Feb. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. Murray Hoag
Oct. 1870–July 1872 -- Subassistant Commissioner J. W. Brinkerhoff (Claims Agent)
Dec. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent William Pierce
June–Aug. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner and Agent H. F. Mills
Aug.–Dec. 1867 -- Subassistant Commissioner and Agent H. F. Mills (Agent)
Nov. 1865–Mar. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Capt. C. C. Richardson
Apr.–Dec. 1866 -- Subassistant Commissioner Capt. Joseph O'Neil
Feb. 1867–Dec. 1868 -- Subassistant Commissioner Capt. W. F. White
Apr. 1867–June 1868 -- Agent Thomas Holden
July–Nov. 1868 -- Agent R. C. Authery
Dec. 1865–Mar. 1867 -- Agent Calvin Johnson
Dec. 1865–May 1866 -- Agent A. A. Buck
June 1866–Dec. 1867 -- Agent William Martins
Jan.–Dec. 1868 -- Agent Max Marbach
Sept. 1867–Aug. 1868 -- Agent D. A. Newson
See also Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection
Acquired from FamilySearch International in 2015.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: firstname.lastname@example.org.
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
This series consists of the business and personal correspondence of Edith Gregor Halpert and the Downtown Gallery. For the most part, this series is general business correspondence concerning routine activities of the Downtown Gallery, including the American Folk Art Gallery and the Daylight Gallery, both operated by the Downtown Gallery on the same premises. Included are correspondence with clients, employees, other galleries, and colleagues concerning sales, loans, purchases, appraisals, and so forth; arrangements for shipping, framing, photography, reproduction permissions, and insurance; and gallery housekeeping and improvements, ordering of supplies, and other administrative concerns.
Also included is personal correspondence of Edith Gregor Halpert. There are letters and greeting cards from nieces, nephews, and other relatives; correspondence with longtime friends, including some who were art collectors, museum curators, or museum directors; and correspondence concerning upkeep and improvement of her Newtown, Connecticut, country home and entertaining there.
See Appendix A for a list of selected correspondents from Series 1
Letters (with enclosures) are arranged chronologically, with those of the same date alphabetized by name of correspondent; undated material is arranged alphabetically, followed by unidentified correspondents and letters bearing illegible signatures.
Box numbers provided in the Container Listing are approximate.
Appendix A: List of Selected Correspondents in Series 1:
Names and titles indicated in this list are those that appear on the letters. Where appropriate, terms have been standardized and cross-referencing provided. Because filing is not always consistent, researchers are advised to check both the name of an individual and the institution that he or she represented.
Abate Associates, Inc., 1956
Abbot and Land, 1965
Abbot, B. Vincent, 1944
Abbot, Bernice, 1957
Abbot, John E., 1945, 1948
Abbot Laboratories, 1950, 1952
ABC Employment Agency, 1951
Richard Abel and Co., Inc., 1968
Abendroth, Robert W., 1966-1967
Abercrombie and Fitch Co., 1962
Abilene Museum of Fine Arts, undated, 1949, 1954
Abingdon Square Painters, 1965
Abraham and Straus, 1930, 1960, 1965-1966, 1968
Abraham, Mae C., 1965
Abrahamsen, Mrs. David, 1962
Abramowitz, M., 1958
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1958-1960, 1965-1966, 1968-1969
[incomplete; without signature], undated, 1953, 1961, 1967, 1968
The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.
The Downtown Gallery records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws. Prior to publishing information regarding sales transactions, researchers are responsible for obtaining written permission from both artist and purchaser involved. If it cannot be established after a reasonable search whether an artist or purchaser is living, it can be assumed that the information may be published sixty years after the date of sale.
Downtown Gallery records, 1824-1974, bulk 1926-1969. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Funding for the processing, microfilming and digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
This series contains family correspondence and extensive professional letters from noted artists and art world figures including critics, writers, collectors, museums and other art institutions. Scattered letters from Pach can also be found here.
See Appendix for partial chronological list of letters from Series 2.
This series is arranged as two subseries.
2.1: Family Correspondence, 1883-1980
2.2. General Correspondence, 1903-1969
Appendix: Partial Chronological List of Letters from Series 2:
From J.B. Young [?], October 5, 1900: New York, N.Y. Eric Dell recovered from consumption; Terry also had it and was treated at an English sanitarium; entertained several actors; made a brief trip to the country. 2 pp., illustrated with drawing, "an interpretation of how you will look when you next visit New York."
From Franji Vaatsvoort, September 18, 1903: Haarlem, the Netherlands. Severe storm; received Pach's postcards. Picture postcard (Frans Hals, "Cordelia Voogt Claesd., vrouw van Nicolaes van der Meer"
From Theodore Roosevelt, Washington, D.C., March 5, 1904: President's autograph. Card with engraving of the White House.
From Frank R. Wadsworth, Chicago, Ill., [postmarked] March 2, 1905: Intends to go to Spain; advises Pach to write about art; recommends the Madrid gallery; discusses Chicago's new orchestra hall and the death of Thomas; opinions about the jury system; is sending pictures to Philadelphia, the one eastern city likely to accept them. 6 pp. + enclosures (silhouettes of monkey, 3 birds, and cat by a 10-year-old child).
From Luis E. de la Rochas, Madrid, Spain, December 24, 1905: thanks Pach for photographs of works of art; inquires about the progress of Pach's own painting; will send a picture of his latest painting, as he is interested in Pach's opinion; sends regards to Mr. Chase. 3 pp., in Spanish, illustrated with drawing of a bearded man.
From Edith Bell, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] December 24, 1905: Christmas greetings; thanks Pach for showing her the Goya sketch. 2 pp.
To Claude Monet, Giverny, France, June 3, 1906: advises that knowing how to use color is most important and should become a matter of habit; lists his palette. 1 p., in French, typescript copy.
From Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, N.Y., February 13, 1907: printed form letter with payment for "The Memoria of Velasquez."
From Moriye Ogihara, Vitry-sur-Seine, France, [postmarked] April 24, 1907: mentions Kenzan picture Pach is interested in; thanks Pach for showing sketch to Henri, Ogihara's former teacher; lists some exhibitors in the Salon, with opinions of their work; thinks Rodin's work is great; he met Rodin at his studio. 4 pp. + 1 p. enclosure (note to Yamanaka & Co., New York, about Kenzan picture), in Japanese.
From Piet van der Laan, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, May 11, 1907: likes portrait of Pach by Chase with its strong "Rembrandtic" shadow; reminisces about Chase; hopes to marry Annie in August. 4 pp.
From Moriye Ogihara, Vitry-sur-Seine, France, [postmarked] September 10, 1907: wonders if and when Pach is returning to Paris. Postal card.
From Moriye Ogihara, Vitry-sur-Seine, France, [postmarked] September 12, 1907: urges Pach to visit after his stay in Italy. Picture postcard ("Reine d'Egypte en Isis--Bronze antique").
From [signature illegible], Director, The Royal House, Florence, Italy, October 5, 1907: the king grants permission to copy the Catherine de Medici portrait at the Pitti Palace. 1 p., in Italian.
From Claude Monet, Giverny, France, November 4, 1907: Monet will receive Pach this week on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon. 1 p., in French.
From Lelebuss, New York, N.Y., November 21, 1907: thanks Pach for birthday greetings; several friends are now married.
From Edith Bell, New York, N.Y., November 25, 1907: visited Henri and saw 40 canvases; describes Henri's new studio at 135 E. 40th St.; Lawson and Stevenson called at the studio while she was there; recalls Pach's description of visits to Monet and Ogihara; "it is my belief that Mr. Henri is afraid of George Bellows. He praises him so." 5 pp. + enclosure (photograph of a portrait by Edith Bell).
From Moriye Ogihara, Florence, Italy, December 25, 1907: Christmas greetings; discusses travels in Italy and art seen. 4 pp.
From Moriye Ogihara, Florence, Italy, December 26, 1907: has been to the Academy; praises Miss Frohberg. Picture postcard ("Firenze Lung' Arno Corsine").
To Alice Klauber from Walter Pach, Paris, France, January 3, 1908: he is looking at art; received a picture from her cousin; asks if she saw the article on Matisse he wrote for the Hearst paper. Picture postcard ("Frans Hals, La Bohemienne"), in Japanese, with English postscript.
From Moriye Ogihara, Arezzo, Italy, January 5, 1908: leaving for Assisi soon; stayed too long in Florence sightseeing with Magdalene. Picture postcard ("Arezzo, La Catte drale").
From Moriye Ogihara, Rome, Italy, [postmarked] January 14, 1908: staying at the same pensione as Frost. Picture postcard ("Torso di Belvedere di Dietro").
From Moriye Ogihara, Athens, Greece, January 22, 1908: discusses sightseeing in Greece and his trip through Italy; observations about Frost; "I appreciate Rodin very much since I have been in Italy"; offers to correct Pach's written Japanese.
From Gerda Stein, [place unknown], January 29, 1908: "Dearest love to Lena and best wishes for a very happy Birthday." Greeting card.
From Roger Marx, Editor, -- Gazette des Beaux-Arts -- , Paris, France, February 12, 1908: wants to publish a comprehensive study of the state of painting in the United States; must choose between original engravings and photographic reproductions for illustrations. 2 pp., in French.
From Moriye Ogihara, Cairo, Egypt, February 13, 1908: steamer has been delayed two days but he can continue to work. Picture postcard ("Ramesseum at Thebes").
From [Rais?], Paris, France, [postmarked] March 19, 1908: invites Pach to visit on Friday. 1 p., in French.
From William Merritt Chase, Florence, Italy, July 16, 1908: is leaving for Paris tomorrow; invites Pach to meet him at Caffe [sic] Du Paix that evening. 1 p.
From Olga [de?], Paris, France, December 24, 1908: has completed 3 portrait commissions; wants to see the Velasquez, which is said to be "splendid." Picture postcard ("Paris, Eglise Saint-Augustin"), in French.
From Piet van der Laan, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, February 6, 1909: is looking for a new teaching position; their infant son is now healthier. 3 pp.
From Annie van der Laan, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, March 13, 1909: thanks Pach for the brush and birthday greetings; invites him to the Netherlands; tells about their baby. 1 p., in Dutch.
From Piet van der Laan, Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, March 15, 1909: discusses Shaw's -- Candida -- and -- Man and Superman -- ; is studying Nietzsche. 2 pp.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., May 29, 1909: discusses Pach's essay about him. 1 p.
From Moriye Ogihara, Tokyo, Japan, May 30, 1909: "Devil came into my mind and I am suffering and suffering"; Saito visited with news of Pach and pictures to exhibit at the Taiheiyo Art Association. Sequence of 5 picture postcards (1, "Wisteria"; 2. "Peony Blossoms at Yotsame"; 3. [bridge--title in Japanese]; 4. "Iris"; 5. "Peony Blossoms at Yotsame").
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., June 1 [10?], 1909: wishes to reschedule studio visit by Pach and Mr. Of. 2 pp.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] July 9, 1909: interested in Gauguin and how he compares with Degas. 1 p.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., April 8, 1910: sends clipping about Matisse; recommends article about the Venus de Milo. 1 p.
From K. Tohary, Tokyo, Japan, May 11, 1910: Moriye Ogihara died in Tokyo, April 22, following an attack of vomiting blood; Tohary plans to publish a book about him; requests that Pach send Ogihara's letters and any recollections he wants to contribute. Rice paper scroll.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., May 14, 1910: "I found your article on Matisse the most enlightening I have read so far." 1 p.
From Albert Pinkham Ryder, New York, N.Y., May 26, 1910: thanks Pach for "kindly interest" in his work. 1 p. + enclosure (reprint of a poem, "The Voice of the Forest").
From Henri Rouart, La Queue en Brie, France, September 17, 1910: sorry he was unavailable to welcome Pach and his friends. 1 p., in French.
From [unknown], New York, N.Y., [postmarked] October 5, 1910: empty envelope with no return address. Sketch of head on reverse.
From Clifton A. Wheeler, Mooresville, Ind., October 12, 1910: describes fellow passengers aboard ship; gives details of getting paintings through customs; advises Pach to start preparing necessary documents for bringing home his property. 5 pp. + enclosures (4 small etchings: 2 portraits, 2 landscapes).
From Julian Alden Weir, New York, N.Y., November 25, 1910: discusses his interest in etching, especially drypoint. 4 pp.
From Morton Livingston Schamberg, Philadelphia, Pa., December 27, 1910: met Stieglitz and "was well satisfied with his attitude. He hasn't the intelligence of a Leo Stein but he is sincerely interested and is getting into a position where he could do one lots of good"; met Hartley; visited Henri's studio; Stieglitz and Henri think "I am too cock-sure of myself. If they only knew"; completed 20 to 25 pictures in the last year; sends photographs of some. 3 pp. + enclosures (7 photographs of Schamberg's work: 6 figures, 1 exhibition installation).
From Adolph Werner, New York, N.Y., December 21, 1910: is teaching less at the university now that he is the "President's lieutenant." 2 pp.
From Auguste Renoir, Cagnes, France, March 28, 1911: thanks Pach for allowing him to review the article before publication; wants the interview portion withheld because it seems critical of Saint-Saens and Pillet-Will and suggests posthumous publication; feels flattered by Pach's review. 4 pp., in French.
From EugÃ¨ne Leroy, Paris, France, March 27, 1911: is happy to have been of service; the Association Philotechnique enjoys meeting foreigners who appreciate its teachings and will take home pleasant memories of France. Note on calling card, in French.
From Auguste Rodin, Paris, France, June 1, 1911: is willing to meet with Pach to discuss Fujikawa's book on Ogihara. 2 pp., in French.
From E. D. Smyth, CÃ´tes-du-Nord, France, August 31, 1911: will answer Pach's letter; apologizes for being fussy about the Stendahl etc." Picture postcard (Etables, CÃ´tes-du-Nord, Les Grottoes.")
From E.D. Smyth, CÃ´tes-du-Nord, France, September 5, 1911: is leaving soon for Saint-Malo; will return Pach's "Tuscan book" and send 2 others; recounts events of the summer; describes some hotel guests and the cottage where her family is staying; wants to see Daumier originals. 14 pp.
From Ruth A. Wilmot, Brooklyn, N.Y., October 7, 1911: is glad their misunderstanding is straightened out; someone on the boat unintentionally insulted her companion; homesick for Paris; working again; finds New York "invigorating." 5 pp.
From Joe Garvey, Alpine, N.J., November 21, 1911: is back From honeymoon; wants to go to Europe but first must sell property. 4 pp.
From Herman Reimers, Christiana, Norway, November 24, 1911: thanks Pach for the gift of an etching; will not be moving to Paris after all; was appointed director of political affairs at the ministry. 4 pp., in French.
From Tete, New York, N.Y., December 14, 1911: Christmas greetings; misses him; family news; has been in contact with Pach's parents. 4 pp., with sketches of busts on the envelope.
From Margherita Innocenti, Pensione Innocenti, Florence, Italy, December 22, 1911: thanks Pach for kind words about her and for recommending the pensione; 4 American women are there now. 3 pp., in Italian.
From Margherita Innocenti, Pensione Innocenti, Florence, Italy, February 9, 1912: -- Ladies -- . Will be happy to have friends of Pach stay at the pensione. 1 p., in Italian.
From E.D. Smyth, Florence, Italy, February 21, 1912: describes guests at Pensione Innocenti; met young Italian artist, Gino "Sensano or Sanseno [Severini]," who knows Stella and other mutual friends; recounts visits with Signorina A.B. and Mr. Loeser; returning by sea due to Helen's illness; will not see Pach again this trip. 6 pp.
From Louis Lombard, [place unknown], April 15, 1912: note of dedication, 1 p. + 2 pp. enclosure (copy of "Chants d'Amour," a poem by Henry Marx), in French.
From E.D. Smyth, [place unknown], Ireland, April 27, 1912: "Have made half my notes From the cahier" and will send them to H.M. soon. Postal card.
From EugÃ¨ne, Paris, France, [postmarked] April 26, 1912: will come on Sunday at 9:00; is happy that Pach was not expelled because now he can work in peace for a few more days. 1 p., in French.
From Arthur Burdett Frost, Davos, Switzerland, May 5, 1912: has eye problems that doctors cannot treat; Jack is recovering; plans to spend summer in the Black Forest and return to Davos for the winter; Pach writes well; finds it "refeshing to read really honest stuff"; is working on a book of caricatures. 8 pp.
From Fujikawa, Paris, France, June 4, 1912: saw Mr. Molissa and is interested in his work; Pach should express Fujikawa's thanks to Molissa; is going to Florence where he hopes to see Pach; requests photographs of any new work Pach completes. 3 pp. + 5 enclosures (brief thank you notes From M. Lernait, Tererco?, L. Lombard, Louis Varday, and Romanet), in French.
From Georges Speirer, Paris, France, June 6, 1912: heard From friends that Pach is in Florence. 2 pp., in French.
From [signature illegible (L.L.?)], Levallois, France, July 1, 1912: hopes Pach will spend the winter in Paris; is glad Pach is pleased with his paintings of Arezzo. 4 pp., in French.
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, July 19, 1912: thanks Pach for his letters; will send photographs taken at his country house; friends agree with Pach's assessment of Milan. 6 pp., in French.
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, July [30?], 1912: is not surprised that Pach received a discouraging letter From Floury, who has requested another translator; Faure wants Pach to do the job. 4 pp., in French.
From Egisto Fabbri, Paris, France, November 28, 1912: declines Pach's invitation, due to illness. 1 p.
From G.A. Bourdelle, [place unknown], December 4, 1912: the Toussaint sculpture can be installed with or without a socle; declined to participate in the New York exhibition before realizing Pach was the organizer; keep the photograph of Toussaint's work. 3 pp., in French.
From [unknown], Gambier, Ohio, [postmarked] December 4, 1912: empty envelope with no return address.
From Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Paris, France, December 6, 1912: Two sculptures, -- Woman Kneeling -- and -- Large Torso -- , and 2 drawings are being sent to Pach for his exhibition. 1 p., in French.
From Robert Henri, New York, N.Y., January 3, 1913: discusses photographs of Besnard's work; reminisces about discovering decorations by Besnard at the College of Pharmacie; compliments Pach's Winslow Homer article; "there is a growing state of expectancy about the 'armory' exhibition, and there is little doubt but that it will make a great stir, and do a great deal of good in a great variety of directions"; news of George Bellows, Guy PÃ¨ne du Bois, Boss, Kent, Coleman, Sprinchorn, Sloan, Van Sloun, and Bohnen. 4 pp.
From Odilon Redon, [place unknown], France, January 6, 1913: he is flattered by Pach's article, which he believes will enhance his reputation in America; Pach should try to visit soon, as they plan to go south in a few days. 2 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Paris, France, January 16, 1913: agrees with Pach that each generation of artists draws inspiration From undeveloped ideas found in the work of preceding generations; no French architectural style has emerged since the 18th century, confirming the idea that eras without defined aspirations produce no monuments; current politics and intellectual freedom presage hope for the 20th century; as Pach demonstrated, painting was the dominant 19th-century aesthetic, thus developments in other arts will come From painting; a new architecture is needed for modern life; in a time when money reigns supreme, artists should practice simplicity; machines are now a powerful presence in all of life. 4 pp., in French.
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, [postmarked] January 24, 1913: his cousin has just finished a painting that Pach should see; invites Pach to dinner. 1 p., in French.
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, February 11, 1913: if he goes to England, he will contact Mr. Fry; wants to introduce a painter friend to the Steins; Pach is a rare friend and intellectual equal. 2 pp., in French.
From Jacqueline d'Argent, Chinon, France, March 1, 1913: has fond memories of their interesting conversations; present acquaintances are not intellectual and gossip too much; applied for a medical assignment in Algeria but is unsure about moving. 2 pp., in French.
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, March 13, 1913: asks Pach to decide the price of the bronze; congratulations on the success of the exhibition. 3 pp., in French.
From Arthur B. Davies, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] April 5, 1913: borrowed works are being returned to Europe; Roman Bronze Co. could make a good cast of Brancusi's -- Mlle. Pogany -- owned by Belle Greene; "looking forward to a genuine recreation in Boston as to art interest"; doubts Chicago's appreciation, Mr. Eddy notwithstanding. 2 pp.
From Ary Le Bland, Paris, France, April 5, 1913: a copy of -- La Vie -- , featuring the information Pach provided about Redon, is being sent; asks Pach to write about art trends in America for -- La Vie -- and publicize the magazine. Postal card, in French.
From Jacques Villon, Paris, France, April 13, 1913: congratulates and thanks Pach for promoting the acceptance of modern art; extends appreciation to Davies and Kuhn. 3 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, [place unknown], France, April 18, 1913: received Pach's letter and check; the Duchamp brothers are embarrassed by their success and do not talk about it; wishes Gleizes were having his share of it; asks how the other artists fared; a commission agency requested cubist paintings for America; worried that cubism is becoming a commodity; the 4 copies of -- Noa, Noa -- he purchased at a good price have been shipped. 2 pp., in French.
From M. Lernait [Lemaitre?], Saigon, Indochina, May 25, 1913: thanks Pach for writing and for his friendship; the countryside near Saigon is beautiful; he misses Paris. 4 pp., in French.
From Jacques Villon, Versailles, France, June 19, 1913: thanks Pach for selling another painting; Salon d'Automne opens later than usual this year; Torrey called on him, Marcel, and Picabia; Raymond is going on vacation soon; sends regards to Davies and Kuhn. 4 pp., in French.
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Boston, Mass., June 25, 1913: is recovering From surgery; thanks Pach for sending postcards and showing interest in him. 3 pp.
From Jean Le Roy, Paris, France, [postmarked] July 1, 1913: comments on the success of Pach's exhibition; has a temporary job; finished college; might travel to Guinea; discusses his poetry published in -- Les Bandeaux d'Oro -- ; met de Verhaeren, whom he admires. 4 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, July 2, [1913?]: heard all about the American exhibition From his brothers; thanks Pach for "enthusiastically defending their work"; still awaiting payment; will spend August in England; Torrey called on them. 3 pp., in French.
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Boston, Mass., [postmarked] July 11, 1913: is recovering From his "hospital experience"; recounts trouble with studio lease; asks Pach to notify him of suitable space available in New York. 4 pp.
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, August 1, 1913: Pach is a kindred spirit; Pach's competence and ability to elicit appreciation for modern painting made the show a success. 2 pp., in French.
From F. Wentscher, [place unknown], Hungary, August 24, 1913: is painting out of doors; won't return to Paris until November. Postal card, with original illustration of horse-drawn carriage, in German.
From Jacqueline d'Argent, Blida, Algeria, September 8, 1913: is now practicing medicine in Blida; describes the scenery and local people; congratulates Pach on his marriage. 6 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, September 25, 1913: just received Pach's article and will comment on it in the next letter; thanks Pach for promoting his and friends' work; will see the Steins soon and try to learn more of the rumored American reaction against their ideas; the Salon d'Automne opening is delayed until November; Pach's mention of the Delaunay affair confirms rumors of discord; asks Pach to determine if and when unsold paintings and sculpture were returned. 2 pp., in French.
From Clifton A. Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., December 22, 1913: museum's schedule cannot accommodate Pach's exhibition; describes upcoming January show; the museum hopes to acquire a Davies painting; "the exhibition in Chicago (The International) did not strike me with overwhelming force, but I have enough respect for the opinions of Mr. Davies and yourself to admit that the fault may have been my own"; congratulations on engagement to Miss Frohberg. 7 pp. + 1 p. postscript from -- Hila Drake Wheeler -- wishing Pach and Miss Frohberg happiness.
From G. Villon, Paris, France, : congratulations on the birth of Pach's son; heard From her husband who is in the army; asks Pach's opinion of some drawings; is working with blind children in a hospital. 4 pp., in French.
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, January 26, 1914: asks Pach to determine whether the owner of -- Muse Endormie -- wants the piece in marble; a reduced price is possible, but he must know soon; met Mrs. Stieglitz; asks Pach's advice about showing his marbles in New York. 4 pp., in French.
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, February 19, 1914: received the check; distressed to be participating in a show that may prove harmful to Pach's cause; asks Pach not to be hurt by his unwitting mistake. 4 pp., in French.
From Walter Arensberg, Boston, Mass., March 1, 1914: "The exhibition was tremendously fresh and fine"; compliments Pach's work. 1 p.
From Jean Le Roy, Paris, France, [postmarked] March 4, 1914: congratulations on Pach's marriage; encourages him to continue painting; news of Lombard and Clapp. 2 pp., in French.
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Saint-Malo, France, June 12, 1914: thanks Pach for reproducing his work in -- Century -- magazine; is returning home sooner than planned; Renoir's new work is "way ahead of his former landscapes." 3 pp.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Courbevoie, France, June 26, 1914: is impatient for news of a proposed project; Mrs. A. Roosevelt will be in touch with Pach; her work has shown progress; during the past year, modern art has begun to attract interest and generate discussion among some previously unreceptive people. 2 pp., in French.
From Odilon Redon, BiÃ¨vres, France, July 10, 1914: if Pach organizes another exhibition, he wants to participate. 3 pp., in French.
From Joseph Stella, Venice, Italy, July 20, 1914: discusses his travels in Europe; Greece reminded him of Davies's pictures; no reply From the futurists in Milan; recounts a meeting with Walkowitz in Patrai, Greece. 5 pp.
From Alexandre Mercereau, Paris, France, [postmarked] July 30, 1914: can secure work by interesting artists for exhibition; inquires whether foreign works and jewelry are acceptable; he organized an international exhibition of cubism with an accompanying symposium in Prague; offers to lecture in the United States if Pach can find a way to pay for the trip; is sending information about an organization he founded; wants to establish an American branch; needs an American editor for his books; Brancusi's participation is essential. 4 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Paris, France, August 7, 1914: just received registered letter and invitations; continuing with exhibit plans is impossible, as all of their friends are mobilized; work of Gleizes, Villon, and Metzinger being exhibited in Berlin probably will be lost; a negative reply From Chapell ended long-held hopes; wholehearted thanks due to Pach for countless efforts and true friendship; the French are ready to die for peace and freedom; confident of the future, despite anxiety over friends now in danger. 4 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, August 26, 1914: war conditions make collaboration impossible; is serving as a paramedic; no bad news concerning anyone Pach knows. 2 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, September 11, 1914: will consult with friends about planning an exhibition in the United States; Gleizes is at Toul; Villon is with the British army at Rouen. 2 pp., in French.
From Albert Pinkham Ryder, New York, N.Y., September 13, 1914: is looking forward to having the Pachs and Mr. Wheeler visit his studio. 2 pp.
From Michael Stein, Agay, France, October 19, 1914: requests details about the exhibition Pach is organizing; Pach should tell Matisse "he must now look to America for a market for his art for some time to come"; "it is about time he [Matisse] were ranked among the accepted classics and bought freely." 3 pp.
From Jean Le Roy, Brest, France, [postmarked] November 10, 1914: plans to enlist soon; is worried about Kohler at the front. 4 pp., in French.
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], France, November 23, 1914: comments on the war and his painting; congratulates Pach on his New York exhibition. 1 p., in French.
From Piet van der Laan, Zutphen, the Netherlands, January 24 and February 8, 1915: Congratulations on the birth of Raymond; cannot visit Pach in Paris because of the war. 4 pp. + 3 pp. enclosure (copy of a poem by Dante), in Italian.
From Raoul Dufy, Le Havre, France, January 29, 1915: sent 2 copies of his Bestiarie; wants Pach to choose a drawing, watercolor, or Bestiarie as a gift of thanks; heard From Derain, Apollinaire, and Gleizes, all in the army; de la Fresnaye was wounded; asks if Basler, Brummer, and Kahnweiler are art dealers now that they have settled in New York; considers Basler an honest man. 4 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Acheux, France, February 26, 1915: still in Saint-Germain where his wife continues her work at the military hospital; Villon spent the entire winter in the trenches but bears it well; glad Quinn bought Cat and Parrot; thinks Quinn should have the final versions in wood rather than cast reproductions and instructs Pach to discuss it with him; received Marcel's articles and reproductions; understands the change that has affected Pach's desire for new means of artistic expression. 2 pp., in French.
From Raoul Dufy, Le Havre, France, March 3, 1915: lists the 4 paintings he is sending; accepts and reiterates the payment schedule; Pach should select a painting for himself; will send some paintings on silk; promises to write about decorative art in his next letter. 4 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, March 12, [1915?]: received the Matisse catalog and remembers the goldfish painting; Villon is in good health and good spirits; is optimistic about prospects for peace by summer; after a family vacation in Rouen, he finished glass and other projects; Raymond is happy in Saint-Germain, where his wife is a hospital nurse; does Pach know if Delaunay is in America; wants to visit Brancusi; has no news of Picasso, Braque, or Derain. 4 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, April 2, [1915?]: is preparing for an exhibition; describes arrangements for sending Raymond's works to Pottier; 2 paintings, a drawing, and papers are being sent to Pach; reports on the work and conditions of Raymond, Rifemont-Dessaisner, and Villon; has decided to leave France and go to New York; wants to know when he should come and if securing employment as a librarian will be difficult; does not want his family to know of these plans for a while; includes price list for paintings. 3 pp., in French.
From Jacques Villon, Acheux, France, April 13, 1915: glad to learn that his paintings and engravings have sold; is looking forward to returning to normal life and working with greater intensity; being welcomed in New York should boost his self-confidence and provide some peace of mind regarding financial security; the matter of Dr. Stum's paintings cannot be settled until the war ends; is sending Pach engravings and drawings; a shipment of sketches made during the war can be published as documentaries; after being away From home for 8 months, he envies Pach's happy family life; emerging spring contrasts sharply with human evil. 3 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, April 27, [1915?]: is displeased by the reply received; understands that Pach misses Paris and the artist's life he led there; he is increasingly dissatisfied and the point is to leave Paris rather than to go to New York; asks help in finding a library job in New York so he will not have to depend on selling paintings; does not want his family to know yet. 7 pp., in French.
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, May 21, 1915: has decided to depart on June 5, despite family and sentimental reasons for rescheduling; spoke to Raymond about Arensberg's magazine; Mme. Picon probably has articles by Mercereau, Gleizes may have articles, and other friends could contribute poems and prose; has decided on a job for the duration of his stay in America, but it will prevent him From painting. 3 pp., in French
From Theodore Duret, Paris, France, May 22, 1915: hopes Pach's efforts at promoting the latest in modern art, especially Van Gogh and Lautrec, have been successful; has written a comprehensive book on Van Gogh, which is to be published when the war ends; asks if the Van Gogh painting he loaned to the exhibition has been sold. 4 pp., in French
From Alice Derain, Paris, France, May 28, 1915: thanks Pach for sending a check and for handling her affairs; the paintings From Mme. Lebas were not shipped because Derain is not satisfied with them and decided not to sell; some landscapes may be available soon because Derain has spare time and can try to work; a recent portrait of the couturier Monsieur Poiret may be his best painting yet. 2 pp., in French
From Georges Rouault, Versailles, France, [postmarked] June 1, 1915: (1) Discusses works in progress that may be suitable for the exhibition Pach is organizing; the shipment will also include a ceramic plaque for Quinn; Quinn persists in asking about Rouault's military status; 6 times already he has been disqualified due to a weak heart; academies, medals, and awards are not about art; nature and other artists are more inspiring than unimaginative teachers. (2) Pach should keep a Rouault piece unless he prefers to select one when in France; his simplified ceramics are real faiences; his paintings are lighter and more fluid; his show after the war will include German types and landscape and religious paintings. (3) Perhaps Quinn will be interested in the paintings shipped; within the year, a larger selection of ceramics will be available for Quinn, but at the moment his focus is on painting. 4 pp. (3 separate notes), in French
From Jean Le Roy, [place unknown], France, June 12, 1915: describes his flower-decorated trench and the surrounding countryside; started a magazine called Les Imberbes with an editor and typographer friend; intends to send poems to Pach's American publication. 5 pp. + 1 p. enclosure (poem, "Printemps"), in French
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Boston, Mass., July 7, 1915: thanks Pach for Dufy's book; "tell Monsieur Dufy when you write him I felt more pleased than if I got a gold medal"; he and Charlie will leave soon for Maine. 4 pp
From Marcel Duchamp, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] July 28, 1915: inquires whether Pach received the palette he sent; spent the evening with Quinn, Gregg, and Kuhn; Gregg was likable and Kuhn fascinating; thinks Quinn could be supportive; Quinn was anxious to know if cubism has been killed by the war; once his English improves, he wants to convince Quinn to discard his ideas about the politics of art. 2 pp., in French
From Alice Derain, Paris, France, August 7, 1915: sends receipt for payment in full; her husband is in the service; Braque was seriously wounded; Doucet died; Picasso is in Paris; her husband hopes to meet Pach. 2 pp., in French
From Raoul Dufy, Paris, France, September 18, 1915: has received a payment toward Quinn's account; Quinn has purchased additional works; credits many sales to his association with Pach; is able to paint while in the military; after the war, he hopes the French can become better acquainted with American painters; is pleased to hear that Prendergast liked his gift; wants to see photographs of Prendergast's work; requests catalogs with reproductions of American furniture. 4 pp., in French
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, [place unknown], October 17, 1915: feels renewed interest in his work; continues his research; observations about the war; Villon has suffered and was awarded a Military Cross; requests news of Pach and mutual friends; Pach should determine Quinn's intentions. 3 pp., in French
From Henri Matisse, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, November 20 and 29, 1915: is delighted by the prospect of an exhibition of French art; will do what he can to help obtain the Seurat painting for exhibition; thanks Pach for selecting his work for the exhibition at Bourgeois and agrees to send additional pieces; lists etchings sent to Miss Bryant via Pottier; the photographs showed great improvement in Pach's portraits; advises a warmer palette; will offer additional frank comments after seeing new pictures; is working hard and just finished an important painting, which already has been sold; is still recovering From bronchitis. 12 pp., in French
From Louis Lombard, [place unknown], France, December 28, 1915: best wishes for the coming year. Postal card, in French
From Theodore Duret, Paris, France, December 29, 1915: read a favorable review of the Van Gogh exhibition; asks if Pach was able to sell Duret's Van Gogh still life; his book about Van Gogh will be printed after the war. 4 pp., in French
From Mary Socard, Paris, France, December 31, 1915: greetings and good wishes; believes the war will be followed by much misery and great changes. 2 pp., in French
From Jean Le Roy, [place unknown], France, [postmarked] [?,?] 1916: his commanding officer knows Picasso, Marie Laurencin, and Derain; Lafitte was killed; wants news of Pach; thank the magazine Others if his poem "Spring" is accepted. 5 pp., in French
From Georges Rouault, [place unknown], France, [undated] [1916?]: received the catalog and Pach's review with the reproduction of his painting; his grandchild is sick; they are going to the seashore; is working on an exhibit; thanks Pach for helping sell a painting; though in poor health, he may have to join the army; suggests an album of reproductions. 10 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, Paris, France, January 5, : he is assigned to the central atelier for camouflage; works with other artists, not all of whom share his outlook; has many ideas for new work; no news From Marcel or Picabia. 4 pp., in French
From Georges Rouault, [place unknown], France, [postmarked] January 22, 1916: personally delivered the paintings to Pottier for shipment; worries that the large works will not have the style and the color of the small ones; wants to have his exhibition ready before going to Italy; has not seen Villon recently. 2 pp., in French
From Piet van der Laan, Zutphen, the Netherlands, February 7, 1916: thanks Pach for the "ex-libris"; he is busy translating a lengthy book on medieval Italy; discusses Dante. 4 pp
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], February 10, 1916: speculates that an art form may develop From the war. 1 p., in French
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, New York, N.Y., March 23, 1916: confirms 5 titles for inclusion in the exhibition catalog; has a good photograph for Pach's book. 2 pp
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, April 2, 1916: remembers Pach as one of his best students; one of the many reasons for their friendship is Pach's love for France; quotes Descartes; compares the French ideal of liberty with the German interpretation; comments on French and German science. 4 pp., in French
From Ruth Wilmot, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] April 9, 1916: compliments Pach on the lectures he presented to her group; encloses payment. 2 pp
From Henri Matisse, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, April 28, 1916: extends best wishes for the success of the exhibition; asks Pach not to reveal the extremely reduced price of the painting Arensberg bought; asks if Max Weber has a large gallery; wants to obtain sound recordings of typical exotic chants. 4 pp., in French
From Mme. Victor Le Roy, Paris, France, May 30, 1916: belatedly acknowledges receipt of Jean's poems; [UNK] husband, Victor, died near Verdun; Jean may come home on leave. 1 p., in French
From Jean Le Roy, [place unknown], [postmarked] June 2, 1916: thanks Pach for forwarding his poems to American publications; believes poets are well treated in the United States; uncle Victor died in the war; Carreau was wounded. 4 pp., in French
From Raoul Dufy, Paris, France, June 3, 1916: thanks Pach for writing an article defending the ideas of modern French art, which had come under attack by a young American critic; wants to know if there are opponents of French modern art in New York; exhibitions are returning to Paris; Quinn purchased -- The Yellow Hat -- ; is sending a thank-you gift and an etching. 1 p., in French
From Emil Gay, Watkins Glen, N.Y., June 12, 1916: enjoyed Pach's lectures. 6 pp
From E.D. Smyth, [place unknown], England, June 16, 1916: news of a mutual friend killed in the war; discusses Jean Le Roy. 4 pp
From Camille Redon, Cannes, France, [July 1916?]: Redon is recuperating in Cannes; asks for the return of their pictures, when feasible. 2 pp., in French
From Camille Redon, [place unknown], July 4, 1916: Redon is gravely ill with pulmonary congestion; the doctors are concerned. 1 p., in French
From Jacques Villon, Puteaux, France, [postmarked] July 12, 1916: Miss Bryant's purchase boosted his morale and was welcome financially; Marcel is delighted with America; speculates that Marcel may eventually settle in America. 3 pp., in French
From Camille Redon, BiÃ¨vres, France, August 6, 1916: Redon was buried several days ago; a gallery in the Petit Palais will be devoted to him and there will be an exhibition at the Beaux-Arts in the spring; reflects on the solitude and anonymity of many great artists during their lifetimes. 4 pp., in French
From Georges Rouault, Paris, France, [postmarked] August 14, 1916: Pach should return all paintings and drawings when he can; thanks Pach for his help; his wife and infant daughter are unwell; bought a new house; will be able to work when the family leaves Paris; received the item Pach sent him From Quinn much sooner than anticipated. 2 pp., in French
From Souza Cardoso, [place unknown], Portugal, [postmarked] September 25, 1916: comments on the picture shown on the card. Picture postcard (photograph of a woman and child in costume), in French
From Henri Matisse, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, October 14, 1916: the information Pach sent about Bourgeois raises hopes for a good exhibition at his gallery; in reply to the question about a frame for the portrait of Arensberg, insists that modern paintings do not need frames, especially gold ones that contain a picture by stopping its extension; will look at Pach's paintings any time; Mrs. Havemeyer parted with the Ingres as a condition for another purchase; From photographs, gives his opinion of the authenticity and condition of 12 paintings. 11 pp., in French
From Henri Matisse, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, November 6, 1916: sends description and opinion of a picture he omitted From a previous letter; art is selling well in Paris. 4 pp., in French
From Paul Signac, Saint-Tropez, France, November 18, 1916: illness prevents him from complying with Pach's request to select works for exhibition; suggests sources From which to borrow Seurat paintings. 3 pp., in French
From Florence Bing, New York, N.Y., [undated (1917)]: condolences on the death of Pach's mother. 1 p
From Albert Gabriel, [place unknown], [undated (1917)]: "Accept my sincere sympathy." Note on calling card
From Leigh Hunt, [place unknown], [undated (1917)]: "Heartfelt sympathy." Note on calling card
From Professor Adolph Werner, [place unknown], [undated (1917)]: "Condolence." Note on calling card
From Ruth Wilmot, [place unknown], [undated (1917)]: condolences on the death of Pach's mother. 2 pp
From Mme. Raymond Duchamp-Villon, CompiÃ¨gne, France, [postmarked] January 6, 1917: her husband is hospitalized with multiple ailments, including typhoid; condolences on the death of Pach's mother. 2 pp., in French
From Constantin Brancusi, Paris, France, January 19, 1917: thanks for check From Quinn; is pleased that he was satisfied with the sculptures, despite difficulty in assembly; plans to visit the United States after the war. 3 pp., in French
From Gino Severini, Paris, France, February 7, 1917: has written a preface explaining the ideas of the avant-garde; wants Pach to oversee the translation; asks that the three fragile pastels be framed inexpensively by Stieglitz. 2 pp., in French
From Childe Hassam, New York, N.Y., March 30, 1917: thanks Pach for help in determining latest possible date to submit work for exhibition. Note on the reverse of printed announcement of a show of Hassam's etchings and drawings at Frederick Keppel & Co., November 16- December 2
From Gino Severini, Paris, France, April 28, 1917: expresses appreciation for the success of his exhibition; his paintings should be returned at a more favorable time; a longer version of his preface on modern art will appear in -- Le Mercure de France -- ; asks to be remembered to his friends and for news of sales and reviews of his show. 4 pp., in French
From [signature illegible], New York, NY., May 14, 1917
From [signature illegible], New York, NY., May 16, 1917
From Charles Sheeler, Philadelphia, PA., May 17, [1917?]
From Charles Cooper, New York, NY., May 19, 1917
From [signature illegible], [Vienna, Austria?], July 22, 1917
From Alexandre Mercereau, [place unknown (at the front)], July 26, 1917: is sending Pach a selection of his writings, which he hopes can be published in the United States; is anxious for a good translation; believes the book he just wrote is his best and is willing to offer it to an American publisher before it appears in France. 4 pp., in French
From Gino Severini, Paris, France, September 6, 1917: discusses work in progress; offers congratulations on the first Independents show; praises Pach's selfless efforts; authorizes use of any remaining works for other exhibitions; thanks Pach for arranging sales and sending reviews. 4 pp., in French
From [signature illegible], [place unknown], October 26, 1917
From Louis Lombard, [place unknown], France, October 26, 1917: reminisces about good times together; has less desire to write poetry now; is learning German and Italian. 2 pp., in French
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, November 3, 1917: describes superb Renoirs seen in the Rue de la Boetie; hopes Pach's remarkable efforts on behalf of modern art will be fruitful; notes qualities needed for portrait and landscape painting. 4 pp., in French
From Louis Lombard, Ingolstadt, Germany, [postmarked] November 26, 1917: boredom and solitude are his routine; thanks Pach for gifts of books and tobacco; sends holiday greetings. Postal card, in French
From Camille Redon, Paris, France, December 8, 1917: if it remains unsold, Pach should keep the Redon painting until the war is over; American troops are arriving; she follows the exhibitions; likes Matisse; Mr. Quinn is behind in his payments. 4 pp., in French
From Arthur Burdett Frost, Madison, N.J., January 5, 1918: thanks Pach for condolences upon the death of his son; wants Pach to look at his son's work and consider writing an article. 4 pp
From Georges Rouault, Versailles, France, [postmarked] January 15, 1918: discusses titles of 2 pieces; general terms are more suitable titles for his subjects; Matisse was ridiculed by many because for a year he numbered all canvases; Rouault's albums will be numbered rather than titled; suggests framing and matting techniques for the double-sided piece; his new paintings won't need glass; he has always been lonely, but now is isolated as well; has a new daughter. 4 pp., in French
From Arthur Burdett Frost, [place unknown], February 1, 1918: thanks Pach for his interest in his son Arthur; offers a photograph of Arthur to illustrate Pach's forthcoming article. 4 pp
From Arthur Burdett Frost, [place unknown], [between February 1 and March 12, 1918]: thanks Pach for the manuscript; plans to send additional photographs of Arthur. 4 pp
From Arthur Burdett Frost, [place unknown], [between February 1 and March 12, 1918]: returning Pach's manuscript; requests a copy. 2 pp
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, February 20, 1918: letter of gratitude for Pach's friendship and efforts on behalf of modern art; discusses idealism, imagination, art, and the search for truth. 3 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 12, 1918: is sending copies of his last 3 books; thinks -- The Holy Face -- is his most important book; it is about war in general and includes personal experiences From the present war. 4 pp., in French
From Mme. Le Roy, Paris, France., May 19, 1918: Jean died while a prisoner of war. 3 pp., in French
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Cannes, France, May 20, 1918: is sending Quinn a drawing and photograph that relate to his rooster sculpture and show the original architectural setting for the piece; will send the script of a comedy written with a friend for performance at a military hospital, which Pach may translate and publish in America; glad that the rift between Pach and Marcel is mended; recently saw Matisse hard at work; Villon is in the army and has no time for work. 4 pp., in French
From Gaby Duchamp, [place unknown], France, May 23, 1918: thanks Pach for arranging sales to Quinn; her husband is well, doing research, and will resume his art when the war ends; Raymond is in the hospital in Cannes; there were interesting Matisse and Picasso exhibitions in Paris. 2 pp., in French
From French Army, [place unknown], July [?], 1918: confirms the death of Jean Le Roy on April 26; sends details of the battle, as Pach requested, and text of citation. 4 pp., in French
From Mme. Le Roy, Paris, France, August 19, 1918: thanks Pach for the touching gesture of dedicating his University of California course to Jean's memory; sends a copy of the citation Jean received the day he died. 3 pp., in French
From J. Van Gogh Bonger, Far Rockaway, N.Y., August 20, 1918: sons wrote of good times with Pach in Berkeley; they were in Honolulu and now should be in Japan; first volume of the "Letters" has been translated; discusses her brother's friendship with Redon. 4 pp
From Camille Redon, BiÃ¨vres, France, September 23, 1918: thanks Pach for lecturing on Redon and his work; has a full set of engravings and lithographs; litho stones were erased, but copper plates are at the museum in Amsterdam; plans to sell prints after the war and will offer Pach some he lacks; comments on arrival of American forces, with whom her son-in-law is an officer. 4 pp., in French
From Morton Livingston Schamberg, Philadelphia, Pa., September 30, 1918: belated thanks for the two Indian tiles; he and Sheeler readily agreed who should have which tile. 2 pp
From Frederic C. Torrey, San Francisco, Calif., October 8, 1918: is glad Pach is in California; anticipating the end of the war; tell Mme. Van Gogh he regrets not meeting her. 4 pp
From Mme. Duchamp-Villon, Paris, France, October 11, 1918: Raymond died of uremia; she plans to return to work at the front; will send Raymond's design for a chess set; wonders if Quinn purchased the rooster drawing. 2 pp., in French
From Vincent Van Gogh Bonger, Kobe, Japan, October 27, 1918: "Best regards From Vincent." Picture postcard ("Joie de Vivre")
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], October 30, 1918: thanks Pach for sincere appreciation of The Holy Face; the book received mixed reviews; if there is an English edition, Pach should be the translator; agrees to contribute to the magazine; suggests an article on "America in the War"; the final volume of History of Art will not be published until after the war due to paper shortages; maybe Pach can obtain appropriate paper. 2 pp., in French
From Maurice Socard, Paris, France, November 12, 1918: finally met with Pach's friend for a discussion of Pach's aesthetic preferences and the relationship between philosophy and art; read about Pach's University of California lectures; Paris is celebrating the end of the war. 7 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, Paris, France, November 13, 1918: Raymond died following a second operation; is determined not to leave Raymond's work unfinished. 2 pp., in French
From Marcel Duchamp, Buenos Aires, Argentina, November 15, [1918?]: as a close friend and admirer of Raymond, Pach must be grieving his death; although provincial, Buenos Aires is calm and conducive to work; brought notes for the glass and plans to continue drawings for it; Argentines are aware of cubism but do not understand it; is planning an exhibition for Buenos Aires in May or June; asks Pach to help H.M. Barzun, who will be contacting him about the show; outlines his schedule for the coming year; anticipates readjusting to peacetime. 3 pp., in French
From Jean Le Roy, [place unknown], [postmarked] December 15, 1918: thanks Pach for bringing his pamphlet to Arensberg's attention; discusses his interest in rhythm in poetry. 4 pp., in French
From Frederic C. Torrey, San Francisco, Calif., December 19, 1918: holiday greetings; compliments Pach's writing, specifically his latest article in the Dial; discusses the Dana prize awarded in Philadelphia to McComas. 5 pp
From the Butlers, New York, NY., [postmarked] December 23, 1918: Christmas card, "Victory Christmas"
From Mabel Torrance, New York, N.Y., January 12, 1919: just learned the classes will be discontinued. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], January 21, 1919: thanks Pach for efforts with American publishers on his behalf; before the war only Germany had a culture large enough to take immediate interest in his kind of intellectual endeavors; awaiting instructions From Johnson concerning the articles he is writing; comments on diplomats of the Entente and political matters; compliments -- Modern School -- ; is sending a brochure about a restored castle his brother is attempting to sell. 4 pp., in French
From Frederic C. Torrey, San Francisco, Calif., February 3, 1919: nude is on the way to Arensberg a day late; his wife will be very happy to sell Un Descendant; "I want the Russian experiment to be given a fair chance"; comments on "Russian 'refugees"'; thanks Pach for assistance in the "Arensberg matter." 7 pp
From Frederic C. Torrey, San Francisco, Calif., February 7, 1919: received Arensberg's check; painting was shipped late, with a lesser valuation, due to changes in regulations; discusses new tax bill. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], May 4, 1919: notes the poor reception of his book in France and the United States; discusses his current work; opinions of world politics. 4 pp., in French
From Maurice Socard, [place unknown], May 12, 1919: much disagreement about the terms of the peace treaty; feels that Germany must serve a term in purgatory. 3 pp., in French [filmed with the wrong envelope]
From Marcel Duchamp, Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 6, 1919: regrets having abandoned plans for an exhibition there; Buenos Aires is ready for new art. 2 pp., in French
From Xavier Martinez, Piedmont, Calif., June 16, 1919: received Courbet, Society of Independent Artists, and Redon catalogs; congratulates Pach. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Ismael Smith, New York, N.Y., June 25, 1919: Margarita Cordoba From Cuba, representing the Independents, is sending a picture of la Mazantinita, a famous Spanish ballerina. 1 p., in Spanish, +8 pp. enclosure (11 designs for bookplates)
From Jacques Villon, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, June 26, 1919: thanks Pach for check, letter, and catalog; writes of his work plans for the coming year, when he expects to make up for lost time; comments favorably on Pach's painting; notes activities of his friends, including Gleizes, Picabia, and Marcel. 2 pp., in French
From Marion L. Chamberlain, Santa Barbara, Calif., August 10, 1919: she and Miss Phillips enjoyed Pach's lectures at the Berkeley Summer School; they purchased 2 Renoir lithographs From Mr. Torrey. 4 pp
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, [postmarked] September 3, 1919: his friends and their lives seem little changed since the war; other than the work of his brother and Picabia, he sees little of artistic interest; will be in New York in December; saw Yvonne Duchamp-Villon. 3 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 11, 1920: economic conditions preclude publication of his fourth volume at this time; saw Redon a month before he died, when he spoke of indifference to the opinions of others and concern with expressing himself; discusses the masterpieces in his personal collection, among them Redon, Delacroix, Daumier, and Van Gogh. 8 pp., in French
From Edgar L. Hewett, Archaeological Institute of America, San Diego, Calif., February 2, 1920: met with Sloan and Henri to make arrangements for the "Indian art exhibition"; thanks Pach for encouragement with the exhibition plan; compliments Pach's article in the Dial. 1 p
From Xavier Martinez, Piedmont, Calif., March 12, 1920: thanks for the Dial and the invitation; compliments Pach's article on American Indian art; thinks Pach writes just as well as he paints; is enthusiastic about plans for an American Indian exhibition. 2 pp., in Spanish, + enclosure (sketch of American Indian head)
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 20, 1920: is happy about what Pach tells him of Delacroix; he owns 3 works by Delacroix and considers him one of the greatest painters; paper shortages have delayed publication of volume 4; asks if Pach is willing to undertake more translation work; someone else has offered, but Pach is preferred; -- The Dance on Fire and Water -- is being sent for Pach's opinion; the book best condenses Faure's ideas on the aesthetic interpretation of history; like Pach, he organizes exhibits around topics. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 23, 1920: Pach must let him know right away if he can do the translation; discusses publishers' contracts; Faure will furnish all photographs for illustration at prewar prices; Pach's other Faure translations have drawn high praise. 2 pp., in French
From J. Metzinger, [place unknown], May 15, 1920: thanks Pach for the check and efforts on his behalf in New York; Pach should keep an unsold painting and dispose of the others as he wishes; people no longer laugh at cubism, but they don't yet understand it; despite war and the hard times that followed, cubism survives; offers his help if Pach wants to exhibit there. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, May 23, 1920: discusses the details of his 4-volume -- History of Art -- now being published; a copy of volume 1 is being sent to Pach. 2 pp., in French
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.M., June 9, 1920: began painting the week after arriving in Santa Fe; a Corpus Christi procession provided subject matter; had work accepted for the "Metropolitan Anniversary Ex."; comments on "Art and Craftsmanship" article in the Dial. 2 pp., illustrated with a drawing of Sloan in his studio
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, June 20, 1920: discusses the publication of his book, especially the quality and cost of illustrations for the English edition; judging any work of art requires distance in time and space. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], July 3, 1920: discusses costs for engraved plates and cheaper electrotype plates; asks Pach to select photographs of Peruvian and Mexican monuments, Mexican sculpture, and an American Indian decorated tent or other appropriate images for use in Mediaeval Art; this second volume will contain new illustrations of the art of India and Gothic art. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, July 11, 1920: thanks Pach for writing an article about him; comments favorably on Pach's paintings; is considering adding a section on modernist painting, which would mention Pach, to the third edition of -- History of Modern Art -- . 2 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, Puteaux, France, July 25, 1920: he recently read the notes found among Raymond's papers, but the haphazard and often obscure ideas would reveal nothing new to Pach; is sending pictures of the horse, some showing the prewar plaster version and others the beginning of the final verson; Raymond's experience in the cavalry made him an expert horseman, and many sketches of horses made during the war show he continued to think of the sculpture he had started; is also sending photographs of sketches, a bust of Professor Gosset, plans for a chess set, and other works; some of Raymond's notes pertain to the design of a surgical center; is certain that Raymond would have continued the research that led him From literal representation to mechanical aspects; thanks Pach for preserving the memory and work of the late artist. 5 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], August 1, 1920: is sending Pach several photographs and 2 drawings; gives installation instructions for Raymond Duchamp-Villon's last sculpture, Dr. Gosset, with sketches of front and side views of the piece [large portions illegible]. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, August 13, 1920: discusses illustrations for his book; Marcel Duchamp will not be included; mentions other artists he has omitted or included and the relative value assigned to each, perhaps mistakenly; discusses those classified as impressionists and neoimpressionists; mentions new directions in art, among them scientific ones. 8 pp., in French
From L.L. Kane, Long Lake, N.Y., August 26, 1920: Pach's pictures are "quite safe at 47th St. until your return"; he especially appreciates Mme. Derain, which hangs with 2 Copley portraits in the breakfast room. 4 pp
September 12, 1920: note indicating Samuel Ramos is with the Comision Mexicana de Cooperacion Intelectual
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, September 28, 1920: provides correct spellings for works of art, as requested; will send proof sheets of printed photographs with placement instructions; still waiting for the promised photographs of American Indian art. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 10, 1920: discusses in detail the illustrations for his book, their placement and captions; an article about cinema in the -- Freeman -- expresses ideas very close to his own; reflects on current politics. 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 26, 1920: thanks Pach for the photographs; hopes instructions regarding illustrations and page-setting were received; requests a signed copy of the contract with -- Harpers -- ; is still thinking about writing an article for the -- Freeman -- ; is enclosing an advertising circular designed for his book and suggests something similar for the American edition. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 22, 1920: the photograph of Herculeum arrived; his editors are pleased; volume 4 will be ready in a few days and a copy will be sent to Pach; the American edition contains stupid mistakes; plans to write an article for the Freeman; will send Pach his article on cinema. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 17, 1921: describes his visit to London, emphasizing the British Museum; likes little of British art; considers Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso, and Derain in the forefront of modern art; he appreciates Pach's opinions on art, even when in disagreement; because Pach is younger, his views are an excellent indicator of current taste. 4 pp., in French
From Piet van der Laan, Utrecht, the Netherlands, January 21, 1921: thanks for the bookplate Pach designed; compliments his article in the Freeman; is attempting to sell paintings by a young Dutch artist friend. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, February 3, 1921: hopes to rewrite volume 1, as he is unhappy with it; Spanish translation is delayed due to paper shortages; his brother's chateau is to be sold; wrote an article on Charlot. 3 pp., in French
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast, New York, N.Y., February 28, 1921: thanks Pach for introducing him and Charlie to Mr. and Mrs. Brummer; their work will be exhibited at Brummer's March 15-April 1; read Pach's article on Matisse; will try to see the exhibition. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 1, 1921: discusses changes to the title of his 4-volume -- History of Art -- ; volume 1 is being shipped to Pach soon; believes French academics slander France. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 4, 1921: Is still trying to find a place for the Pachs to stay; his own apartment will not be available until August; discusses the title of his book and asks Pach to write the introduction; the article on Charlot was not published. 2 pp., in French
From Clara La Follette, -- Freeman -- , New York, N.Y., [postmarked] March 7, 1921: sends letter received by the -- Freeman -- that she thinks will amuse Pach. 1 p., + 2 pp. enclosure (letter rubber stamped February 23, 1921 [date of receipt?] to Mr. Huebsch From Alfred Stieglitz, New York, N.Y. [of an exhibition review by Pach published in the -- Freeman -- ]: "Mr. Pach undoubtedly did his best--but I fear that the real significance of the work was beyond him.--I regret it")
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 14, 1921: will send proofs of Napoleon; desires advice From Pach concerning whether it should be translated; thinks the subject will be of interest in America. 2 pp., in French
From Camille Redon, Paris, France, [postmarked] August 1, 1921: thanks Pach for translating an article about Redon; offers a Redon work to Mrs. Pach. 1 p., in French
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 15, 1921: 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 16, 1921: has sent Pach his article on Charlot, which will be published soon by -- L'Esprit Nouveau -- ; discusses his work, including an article on cinema and -- Napoleon -- ; inquires about payment and translation rights for articles appearing in the -- Freeman -- . 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 16, 1921: the translation of his Charlot article must mention it is excerpted from -- L'Esprit Nouveau -- ; the French are boycotting American films, especially Charlie Chaplin's; compliments Pach's translations; -- History of Art -- has been an unexpected success; Napoleon promises to do well and is being serialized in -- Grande Revue -- ; he and Pach will divide the profits; may have found a convenient place for the Pachs to stay. 2 pp., in French
From [Mme.] Duchamp-Villon, Paris, France, April 20, 1921: offers to help Pach find lodging when he visits; asks if Quinn has received the sculpture. 1 p., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, June 29, 1921: unable to find a place for Pach to stay; -- History of Art -- is selling well; reprints and new volumes will require translation; asks if Pach could bring his daughter a statuette of Charlot to put on their car, as is now the fad. 2 pp., in French
From Jean Le Roy, NiÃ¨vre, France, [postmarked] December 29, 1914: wants Pach's opinion of his poems; is in the army; heard Pach is organizing an exhibition; asks for news of the Duchamp brothers. 4 pp., in French.
From Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, January 19, 1915: advises patience until the world of art returns; a weak heart disqualified Marcel From military duty; congratulates Pach on the exhibition; is invited to San Francisco but doubts cubist works will be accepted; discusses prices of his medallions. 2 pp., in French.
From Camille Redon, Paris, France, [postmarked] August 1, 1921: thanks Pach for translating an article about Redon; offers a Redon work to Mrs. Pach. 1 p., in French
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 15, 1921: 4 pp., in French
From Clara La Follette, Freeman, New York, N.Y., August 16, 1921: opinions of French government; comments on Faure's article on the cinema; urges Pach to send the article he mentioned; is looking for a studio. 4 pp
From Henri Matisse, Nice, France, September 7, 1921: agrees to Pach's terms concerning the Redon paintings, but there is no one available who is capable of separating the torn papers of -- Radiant Flower -- ; after 3 weeks of laziness, he is painting again and it is like starting over at the beginning. 2 pp., in French
From [Mme.] Duchamp-Villon, Puteaux, France, September 18, 1921: [Illegible]. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, September 29, 1921: 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, October 27, 1921: thanks Pach for checks received; discusses advantages and disadvantages of using a picture for promoting his works; his daughter is most disappointed that there are no more Charlot statuettes; asks Pach to sell lottery tickets for charity. 4 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, November 9, 1921: thanks Pach for catalog; photograph of "St. Francis at Brooklyn" reminds him of "the naive art of all the eccentric regions of Europe." 4 pp
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], France, November 9, 1921: is glad to have met Mrs. Pach; Matisse engraving is not yet ready due to printing problems. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 13, 1921: discusses the details of his contract with -- Harpers -- , which he considers unjust; his father-in-law died; reports on the sick painter friend for whom the benefit raffle was held. 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 28, 1921: if the misunderstanding concerning the -- Harpers -- contract is not corrected, it will be a disaster; their artist friend needs further surgery; hopes Pach can sell more tickets for the raffle, which will precede an exhibit in February or March; lists artists--among them Bonnard, Dufy, Matisse, Signac, and Braque--who have donated works for the raffle; regrets that his last book devoted so little space to Derain. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 19, 1921: thanks Pach for help in clearing up a misunderstanding with his American publisher; discusses his 4-volume work, including opinions of the layouts and illustrations of each; Pach should decide whether to attribute a painting to de Pietro or Sassetta; plans to write about Derain; an exhibition, organized for an artist friend in need, includes a lottery with contributions From Matisse, Derain, and Picasso; will send Pach 250 lottery tickets; announces the upcoming marriage of FranÃ§ois, a talented decorator, and asks if work could be found for him in New York or if his projects could be reproduced in an American publication. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], December 23, 1921: received a letter From Briggs and praises the loyalty and honesty of American publishers; thanks Pach for perseverance in bringing to publication, in English translation, -- History of Art -- ; lottery tickets are being sent, many going to Mrs. Whitney; asks if Pach could help to interest American publisher Nelson in the collections of an expanding French publishing firm looking for capital; is sending -- Mediaeval Art -- and FranÃ§ois' furnishing projects. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 31, 1921: considers volume 1 "our" -- History of Art -- out of gratitude for Pach's excellent translation; discusses the illustrations and general appearance of the book; -- Mediaeval Art -- and lottery tickets will be sent soon; has 2 paintings he wants Pach to sell in the United States, a Venetian school Crucifixion and a version of Gros's -- Murat a la Bataille d'Aboukir -- ; describes the paintings, discusses prices and Pach's commission. 3 pp., in French
From Maurice Brazil Prendergast. New York, N.Y., January 26, 1922: Discusses quality of reproductions for Shadowland; wants to assist, should Pach decide to write an article; compliments Pach's writing. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 30, 1922: Americans have won 8 of the lottery prizes (most of them with Mrs. Whitney's tickets) consisting of 6 etchings and 2 paintings; what to do with the artworks is a problem in view of customs requirements. 2 pp., in French
From Camille Redon, Paris, France, April 7, 1922: mailed 2 etchings and 30 proofs made of each of Redon's copper engravings; the plates went to the Print Museum; thanks Pach for the beautiful etching and photographs he sent. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 10, 1922: received the -- Freeman -- article; just completed a response to the review of his book, which he prefers to send to the -- Dial -- rather than the -- Freeman -- ; wrote a new introduction to Greek Art for future editions; hopes Pach has sold paintings; thinks one of the paintings could pass as a fake for customs purposes. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris. France, April 11, 1922: the attribution of his Baron Gros is certain, but its condition is not perfect; discusses articles being translated by Pach; discusses the French language in Canada; he and Pach agree on important points; Pach is unfair to Bonnard, who eventually will be regarded as a minor master; Derain is a great painter who overshadows Matisse. 2 pp., in French, labeled "second letter" (enclosed with letter of April 10, 1922)
From Pedro HenrÃquez UreÃ±a, Universidad Nacional de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, May 31, 1922: discusses Pach's remuneration and class schedule for the summer session. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, June 17, 1922: regrets not being able to meet Pach in Mexico and wishes Rivera had invited him, too; will try to delay French publication of his article so the -- Dial -- can print it first; another piece on the aesthetics of machinism has already been published in France; finished a long chapter of -- The Spirit of the Forms -- and wants Harper's to consider it completed; after going to Vichy for his health, he will take a vacation; wants to know all about Pach's archaeological discovery in Mexico. 2 pp., in French
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.M., [postmarked] August 4, 1922: has a car for summer travels; the Henris are there; has been painting. 2 pp., illustrated with drawing of a car on a winding mountain road ("Climbing the Bahada [no exaggeration!]")
From L.L. Kane, Long Lake, N.Y., August 12, 1922: wants to read Pach's article in the Freeman; admires his ability to present lectures in other languages; describes his Adirondack camp. 2 pp
From Henri Matisse, Nice, France, September 2, 1922: mailed copies of all the engravings he made during the summer; asks Pach's advice on lowering the price of Redon's pastels; he is now back at work in Nice after 2 months in Paris. 2 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, Soissons, France, September 6, 1922: the estimate for publishing was higher than anticipated; asks Pach to intercede; inquires about Pach's trip to Mexico; news of various friends; discusses summer plans. 2 pp., in French
From Sybil Kent Kane, Long Lake, N.Y., September 7, 1922: thanks Pach for sending the picture of a jug; her book is about the life of Blessed Margaret Mary. 4 pp
To Professor D. Ramon Mena From Walter Pach, Mexico City, Mexico, October 4, 1922: the mosaic mask discovered by Professor Aguierre and displayed in the National Museum is an object of great interest; it presents important problems to American antiquities experts and to those studying aesthetics; an important detail is the way in which material is handled; discusses fundamental difference in the work of the imitator and the mosaic mask; the technical question and expressive question are inseparable; appreciates the compliment of being asked his opinion. 3 pp., in Spanish
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, October 22, 1922: received payment for photographs and book royalties; discusses Rivera's talent, disagreeing with Pach's view of his originality; Rivera has remarried; shares Pach's admiration for Mexican art; now that his article has appeared in the -- Dial -- , he has nothing further to publish in America other than History of Art; since Pach is now devoting more time to painting and etching, he will need to find Faure a new translator; asks Pach if chapters From The Spirit of the Forms and essays on great literary figures could appear in American publications; discusses some of his theories of art and the structural aspect of his own writings. 6 pp., in French
From Jean Charlot, [place unknown], Mexico, November 5, 1922: Pach's article appeared in -- Mexico Moderno -- ; Orozco will be exhibiting watercolors; the fresco Accion del Artes is almost finished; is becoming interested in religious painting. 4 pp., in French
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, December 7, 1922: thanks Pach for his valuable friendship; the Mexican Independents, now formally organized, are invited to show with the Society of Independents in New York; Orozco, Charlot, Revueltas, Figueiros, Leal, Alba, Cahero, Bolanos, Ugarte, Cano, Nahui, Ate, Rivera, and children will represent Mexico; discusses space needs and suggests possible hanging arrangements; needs to find a way to pay for transportation; please convey their appreciation to the Society; Pach should tell Miss Porter that although there was a mix-up in communications, Rivera is still interested in the small exposition. 4 pp., in Spanish
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], France, December 21, 1922: [Illegible]. 8 pp., in French
to Magda Pach From Gaby [Mme. Jacques Villon?], [place unknown], December 27, 1922: wishes the Pach family would visit them for several months; Villon is working hard, as always; except for a vacation in Brittany, they rarely go anywhere; engravings are time consuming but right now sell better than paintings; asks about Pach's stay in Mexico. 2 pp., in French
From Carlo Lemba, Florence, Italy., [?,?] 1923: thanks Pach for remembering him and for the very beautiful Rembrandt; requests a catalog or photograph. Picture postcard ("Firenze--Palazzo Vecchia--Il Cortile"), in Italian
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 21, 1923: thanks Pach for his translation; discusses modifications to be made in the first volume; details plans for future publications; lists illustrations for the last chapter of History of Art. 10 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 4, 1923: at last, publication of -- Mediaeval Art -- has been announced; the definitive edition of his work is currently in progress; discusses new prefaces for all 5 volumes; rewrote the last chapter of volume 4, which does not mention Bonnard but expands discussion of Matisse, Picasso, and Derain, whom he considers the greatest contemporary painter. 2 pp., in French
From Jean Charlot, [place unknown], Mexico, [postmarked] March 31, 1923: was happy to receive Pach's illustrated article about Seurat; the enclosed flier rebuts another slanderous article about the exhibit; the catalog reproduction of the painting Pach started in Mexico was recognized by everyone; Diego called it more Mexican than their own contributions; Diego finished his first panel for the ministry frescoes; Diego's brother-in-law executed a successful encaustic mural in Guadalajara; Diego sends thanks to Pach, but cannot write because he works From 8:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m.--without eating--which is hard on his aides who must do likewise. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 24, 1923: an American definitive edition is under consideration; will send Pach copies of work by Spain's best artist since Goya; still thinks Derain is the best painter; Matisse's exhibition lacks humanity; discusses European political problems. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, May 10, 1923: is now writing a book about the mechanism regulating the life cycles of societies; did not see all the exhibits because he is now drawn more to social psychology, which helps him understand painting; life takes precedence over painting; his article was misunderstood in America and France by supporters and opponents alike; painting, no longer the dominant art form as it was in the previous century, is being overtaken by cinema; assures Pach of his friendship and trust; understands that his ideas provoke resistance even among the best of friends. 6 pp., in French
From Suzanne La Follette, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] June 23, 1923: thanks Pach for article; sends proofs of first article; was advised not to go to Germany; will visit England, France, and Italy. 4 pp
From J. Van Gogh Bonger, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, June 27, 1923: read that the Pachs were cited as among the best of the Independents; the pictures are back, and she is glad they were exhibited in the United States; is anxious to publish Van Gogh's letters in English; opinions of Meier-Graefe's book; opinions of recent articles in the -- Times -- and the -- Freeman -- ; "What I never forgive Meyer-Greafe [ sic] is his suggestion that Theo, after his marriage could not provide for Vincent any longer"; is sending a Van Gogh drawing to Pach in appreciation for his help. 3 pp
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, July 3, 1923: introduces Covarrubias; on behalf of the group, thanks Pach and the Independents in New York; Pach's Mexican street scene showed intimate and strong character; hopes for even better representation next year; describes current projects of several Mexican artists; Covarrubias has photographs of murals in progress. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Lewis Mumford, Brooklyn, N.Y., July 5, 1923: congratulates Pach on Modern Art; "it is far and away the best piece of criticism we've had in America, to my knowledge." 1 p
From Alfred Stieglitz, Lake George, N.Y., July 21, 1923: he and O'Keeffe are enjoying Pach's translation of Faure; Stieglitz has read it in the original; O'Keeffe doesn't know French. 1 p
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], October 8, 1923: if Harper's cannot locate the photograph Faure sent of a Picasso painting, Pach should select a substitute; requests assistance in coilecting a fee owed by a publisher; complains about the usual reluctance of museums to accept paintings; suggests that Boston or the Barnes Foundation might be interested in the Gros, Delacroix, and Venetian school paintings he wants to sell; -- History of Art -- will be translated into Spanish and possibly German; hopes for more contacts with the United States. 2 pp., in French
From J. Van Gogh Bonger, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, October 18, 1923: could not find anyone to deliver the drawing to Pach, so she mailed it; is working on an exhibition to be held in London; Zigrosser visited. 1 p., negative photostat
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 1, 1923: has mailed the photographs Pach requested; believes he has told Pach of all the proposals received From America and still awaits answers relating to some; Waldo Frank visited; found Miss La Follette most congenial; the package of photographs also contains a small drawing as a memento of their collaboration. 2 pp., in French
From Ariella Brunelleschi, Florence, Italy, [postmarked] December 12, 1923: her entire family sends thanks; best wishes for a good trip. Picture postcard ("Firenze--Galleria Uffizi La Nativita de Gesu dett.--Van Der Goes Ugo"), in Italian
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], January 24, 1924: approves of the way in which Pach used his Renoir to illustrate an article; still trying to sell the Gros painting abroad; the Venetian painting was shipped today, and he awaits Pach's impression of it; Faure is convinced the landscape, most likely of Toledo, and at least one figure were painted by El Greco in his youth; awaits photographs of Pach's paintings and etchings; is delighted to learn of Pach's lecture series in Kansas, which includes one on Faure's fourth volume. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], January 31, 1924: praises solidity, intelligent composition, and exceptional synthetic quality of Pach's portrait of his son; the portrait of Pach's wife is less successful; praises the harmony in Pach's mythological painting but its composition is less than perfect; Pach shows great progress; is sending a photograph of a first-class Corot that is for sale; discusses the price and how they would share the profit. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, February 6, 1924: read Pach's article in -- Harper's -- "with interest, with zest and with envy." 4 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], March 11, 1924: the news contained in Pach's cable frees him From current financial worries; he is sending the painting immediately and warns Pach about mislabeling on the back of the picture; insists that Pach take a substantial commission; though it makes him sad to part with the painting, he now can provide a secure future for his family. 2 pp., in French
From Suzanne La Follette, Plymouth, England, March 11, 1924: the voyage has been "rough and dull." 2 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], March 19, 1924: received the fourth volume in translation and finds the illustrations much better than those in the first 3 volumes; expresses gratitute to Pach; is sending a gift of a Rodin etching; just saw Derain and is certain the artist is evolving, despite his somewhat disoriented state; Matisse's last exhibit was disappointing and lacked human qualities. 2 pp., in French
From Arthur Burdett Frost, Pasadena, Calif., March 30, 1924: thanks Pach for his exhibition idea; cannot participate because he has no suitable work available; "I used to be very careless about my original drawings"; Jack moved to California for health reasons; Jack paints desert landscapes that sell well. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 1, 1924: the Gros painting has been in transit for 3 weeks; deplores the exchange rate and discusses Pach's commission; is pleased that Pach will be the translator for -- The Gods -- and hopes he will do -- The Spirit of the Forms -- , even though this work will take him away From painting; wants to see Pach's pamphlet on Seurat, whom he likes more and more; Faure has added to his collection paintings by Corot, Courbet, Delacroix, Bonnington, and others he discovered in the attic of a secondhand shop; Miss La Follette visited; asks Pach to inquire about the fate of his Shakespeare essay. 4 pp., in French
From Jacques Villon, [place unknown], France, April 6, 1924: agrees wholeheartedly to the proposed exchange; thanks Pach for a check; wants him to accept, as a gift, any Villon painting still in Pach's hands; will follow Pach's instructions concerning the book; is painting but cannot find himself in that medium; his next engraving will be a Rousseau. 2 pp., in French
From E.H. Anderson, Director, New York Public Library, New York, N.Y., April 9, 1924: acknowledges gift of etchings. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, May 2, 1924: sends a check for Pach's commission on the sale of the Murat painting; is glad Pach liked his gift of a Rodin etching; discusses changes to volume 3 and wonders why a particular reproduction was omitted From the American edition; -- The Spirit of the Forms -- is still under revision, and he has been busy writing -- Cervantes -- ; like Pach, he admires Matisse's lithographs but feels uneasy about the virtuoso element apparent in his annual painting exhibits; Despiau's portraits are more and more admirable; met Braque, whose work now interests him more; since Braque has renounced cubism, only Picasso remains; Picasso's last noncubist exhibit was curious and somewhat disturbing. 2 pp., in French
From Leigh Mitchell Hodges, Doylestown, Pa., May 4, 1924: sends sonnet inspired by a Pach etching. 1 p. + enclosure ("Sonnet--To Walter Pach's etching of Miss M-----")
From Julius Meier-Graefe, Berlin, Germany, July 22, 1924: Pach is the first American to attempt and succeed at serious examination of art From Corot to the present; is sending a copy of volume 3 of -- Modern Art -- , which discusses some of the same issues addressed in Pach's book; believes cubism, expressionism, and impressionism to be manifestations of decadence; in his book, Pach failed to cite German contributions. 3 pp., in German
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, July 31, 1924: hopes to see Pach in Dordogne during August; the article on illustrious men he has known will need to be twice as long, so Pach should make arrangements; discusses a remarkable book about sport by his Frenchified Brazilian friend Braga and suggests a translation would be of interest to Americans; Braga wrote the most intelligent articles ever published about Faure in French and plans a history of world literature that would mirror -- History of Art -- . 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 2, 1924: Pach should tell Wells that Faure accepts the 5,000-word limitation; the article consists of a series of portraits of famous men and concludes with a sincere tribute to America. 1 p., in French
From Julius Meier-Graefe, Schlaghtensee, Germany, [postmarked] August 5, 1924: advises Pach not to judge the paintings of [von Marees?] on the basis of his early Dresden period, but look at the Munich work. Postal card, in German
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, August 11, 1924: read -- Masters of Modern Art -- ; "I wish I could give you the support you ask for. And I have found yr. book informing, stimulating, provoking and sincere. But I cannot even begin to see what you do in cubism"; advises Pach to choose writing over painting, as it is impossible to do both. 8 pp
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 24, 1924: regrets that Pach did not visit him; plans to go to Italy in September but hopes to see Pach in Paris afterward; hesitates to accept a long lecture tour in America. 2 pp., in French
From James Oppenheim, New York, N.Y., August 24, 1924: Gertrude is seriously ill; Oppenheim's son has faith in his work; Oppenheim's book was reviewed; is delighted with the book on Matisse. 2 pp
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, September 13, 1924: expresses his opinion of modern art and artists; "I did not mean what the Ku-Kluxers or Coolidgeites mean when they speak of the latest phenomena in painting as Bolshevik. But in a prophetic, devastatingly deep way that's what they are. And they may serve a kindred purpose, namely to bury the dead form. But they are undertakers, grave-diggers, and at best manure makers only. Artists they are not and Picasso not at all;" Pach "overestimates" Delacroix's ability as an artist. 4 pp
From John Gould Fletcher, London, England, October 7, 1924: thanks Pach for the book on Duchamp-Villon; compliments the "excellent" introduction; agrees that "Duchamp-Villon was the true descendant of the stonecutters of Chartres"; Faure's -- History of Art -- is "remarkable"; he is trying to publish a rebuttal to the concluding chapter; the -- Freeman -- failed. 3 pp
From Arthur Burdett Frost, Pasadena, Calif., October 26, 1924: thanks for the brushes, which he will share with Jack; requests recommendations for directing Jack's art reading; Frost now reads mainly on palentology and natural history; if his eyesight permitted, he would paint his concept of earliest man; recalls a terrible summer spent in Rhode Island; contrasts California with the East; recalls the Dresden Gallery; Butler's stay in New York was a "dreadful experience." 5 pp
From Jacques Villon, Paris, France, October 27, 1924: just received Pach's book on painting and thinks his ideas about evolution of painting are admirable; has not yet seen the Salon d'Automne; sales were good, and even those opposed to abstract painting smiled. 3 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 1, 1924: has shipped a magnificent painting; is surprised that it is possible to sell paintings in America since the Paris art market is at a standstill; the last good show was the Renoir exhibit at Rosenberg's; books are not selling, and he could not find a publisher for his latest work; publishing houses are closing; prewar politicians and prewar methods are responsible for the disaster; the general economy and his personal situation are grim; melancholy family news. 4 pp., in French
From Henri Matisse, Nice, France, November 18 and December 5, 1924: his son, Pierre, is moving to New York; Pierre wants to work at a gallery specializing in modern art; he and the Steins agree this is a good plan; asks Pach to advise and assist Pierre, and he will request the same of Brummer; Michael Stein suggests Pach meet Pierre at the ship. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 1, 1924: is housebound after a small accident, and catching up with work; both the -- Dial -- and -- Harper's -- sent checks; comments on current exhibitions and sales; Pach is his closest American friend; wants to establish closer ties in the United States; France now depends upon American patronage; Mrs. Dillard is sending a Corot to Pach; she might be helpful to Brummer; sometimes she has Renoirs and Derains at reasonable prices. 2 pp., in French
From Xavier Martinez, Piedmont, Calif., December 3, 1924: compliments -- Masters of Modern Art -- and Pach's translation of Faure; disagrees with Faure's chapters on Greece and Mexico; Pach understands the art of Mexico; encloses 2 drawings of Indian madonnas. 1 p., partly in Spanish
From Lewis Mumford, Brooklyn, N.Y., December 15, 1924: thanks Pach for grasping the essence of his book; agrees with Duchamp-Villon's views on architecture. 2 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], January 9, 1925: commiserates with Pach over his rejection by -- Harper's -- ; comments on subjects that appeal to editors of popular magazines; Pach should continue trying to sell the Corot; the owner also has paintings by Renoir and Derain and a Seurat drawing; inquires about the status of translations now at -- Harper's -- ; comments on the superiority of American cinema. 3 pp., in French
From Pedro HenrÃquez UreÃ±a, La Plata, Argentina, January 13, 1925: hopes Pach will be interested in the work of his friend, Emilio Pettoniti, an advanced Argentine painter; asks where Pettoniti might exhibit in New York. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, January 13, 1925: requests photographs of the work Pach accomplished in France; wants news of Elie Faure; mentions several commissions he is now working on; comments on Charlot; has waited more than a year for word from Aleman; is considering going abroad when through with the Chapingo chapel. 3 pp., in Spanish
to Elie Faure From William H. Briggs, [place unknown], March 3, 1925: not financially feasible to bring out the definitive edition of -- History of Art -- for at least 3 years; wants -- The Spirit of the Forms -- to be volume 5; agrees to publish an English edition of -- The Spirit of the Forms -- and -- The Dance on Fire and Water -- ; -- The Constructors -- , -- The Holy Face -- , and future books are not to be offered to other publishers. 3 pp
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, March 13, 1925: would send photographs of his work but in Mexico it takes too long to get prints; Pach's book fully deserves Faure's praise; Rivera finds Pach's paintings appealing; is grateful for the high esteem with which Pach wrote of his work; work on Chapingo chapel continues; despite serious financial problems, Charlot is constantly progressing; asks Pach's opinions and advice about a Spanish edition of his book; Ravenna Mosaic requested a sample piece of -- The Antilles -- . 7 pp., in Spanish
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 28, 1925: is hurt not to have heard From Pach; Mr. Briggs wrote about translation and publication plans; wants Pach to translate -- The Spirit of the Forms -- ; thanks for getting his autobiography published in the -- Dial -- ; his friend, Mrs. Fougeirol, and daughter, will call on Pach; hopes Pach and Brummer can assist Mrs. Dillard with the sale of her Corot; the Gaugnat sale is unaffordable; Mrs. Dillard also has Renoirs to sell. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], March 29, 1925: is happy that Briggs wants to do the album and will talk to CrÃ¨s about sales; thanks to Madame B. for the Corot; his version of Delacroix's journal will be published; compliments Pach's painting; asks Pach to speak to Harper's about not using the number of his last volume of -- History of Art -- so the public will buy it without having the earlier volumes. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, May 9, 1925: tells of his voyage to Marrakech; saw Fletcher; Pach will receive the Gaugnat sale catalog; Madame Gaugnat died 6 months after her husband, leaving their son harassed by dealers; a small Renoir may be available; asks Pach to intervene on his behalf with Harper's regarding income tax withholding; discusses Delacroix and impressionist exhibits; discusses the realism of Delacroix's Moroccan paintings. 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], May 17, 1925: condolences on the death of Pach's father; is surprised by what Pach told him of the Corot; discusses a French landscape exhibit at the Petit Palais containing too many paintings; Corot reigns. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], May 20, 1925: invites Pach to visit him in Dordogne during the summer; describes a Corot that should go to an American museum. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], May 30, 1925: gives instructions for translation revisions; bought 2 magnificent Derains; suggests that consignments be sent to Mrs. Payne Whitney; -- History of Art -- received mixed reviews. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], June 5, 1925: galleys are still incomplete as there are problems with illustrations and captions; his Baron Gros painting is at the French exhibit in Prague; will send a photograph later; asks Pach to help sell the Gros picture and a Daumier. 3 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], August 11, 1925: asks if volume 3 has been published; thinks volume 4 is his best; hopes that the new prefaces added to each volume will make Pach like the whole work better; Rosenberg met with Mrs. Whitney; discusses the quality of reproductions in his book on Derain; describes John Lane's indirect attack on his chapter about English art; was not charmed by Blake; Constable is the only English painter he likes; look for his Shakespeare article in the -- Dial -- . 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, September 7, 1925: bought a house at Dordogne; volume 4 is still incomplete; lists photographs he will send soon; this may be a good time to sell his 2 paintings; discusses the sales commission; mentions favorable points of the Gros painting; the other painting may be harder to sell; is considering selling a Daumier and a Delacroix to help pay for his new house. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], September 9, 1925: promises to send the photographs for his book; even the best translation cannot be completely faithful to the original; discusses specific changes to be made; discusses a chapter on Europe being added to volume 4. 6 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], September 21, 1925: is sending 5 photographs; 1 is for -- Harper's -- to include in volume 4, and the remainder are of works he hopes can be sold in the United States; needs money for his new house. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], September 26, 1925: is still waiting for a contract with Criterion; the painting consigned to Ehrich has not sold; maybe Pach could sell it or suggest another dealer; Pach should send instructions to Ehrich; -- Harper's -- will publish -- The Spirit of the Forms -- as volume 5; wants Pach to be the translator but will understand if he declines. 4 pp., in French
From F.P. Keppel, New York, N.Y., October 21, 1925: has received Pach's letter with proofs and suggestions. 1 p
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], October 22, 1925: has received volume 3 and congratulated Mr. Briggs; still thinks the plates should have been produced in France; bills for photographs remain unpaid; thanks Pach for his energy and perseverance; Spanish and German editions are planned; Knopf will publish an English edition of Napoleon; came close to selling the Daumier; comments on the condition of Marat by Gros; inquires about Pach's painting and the possibility of an exhibition in Paris. 4 pp., in French
From Jean Charlot, [place unknown], October 27, 1925: his present work is totally different From the 12 paintings being sent; Pach is one of the few friends abroad who might be interested; Pach should keep one for himself and try to sell the rest; is sending 4 photographs of recent work; he and Diego want to see reproductions of Pach's latest paintings; inventory of works being sent; had problems with his exhibition in Los Angeles. 4 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 21, 1925: there will be a delay in sending photographs; thanks Pach for introducing Miss La Follette; -- Harper's -- paid more than expected; Briggs reproached him for choosing Knopf to publish Napoleon. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 27, 1925: thanks Pach for introducing Speyer; congratulates Pach on his new job; likes Pach's engravings; wants Pach to translate The Spirit of the Forms; is sending another manuscript for which he hopes Pach can help find a publisher; he owns the picture incorrectly captioned in his last book and it is for sale. 4 pp., in French
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., January 7, 1926: she has written about her husband; is happy to be of service to Pach; can furnish more information. 1 p. + 3 pp. enclosure, (manuscripts by Susan M. Eakins of biographical notes on Thomas Eakins, including excerpts From letters to his father written while studying in France; list of paintings completed between 1870 and 1876; teaching methods; notes From Charles Bregler's transcript of Eakins's comments to students)
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 19, 1926: Mrs. Dillard sold his English painting to Mr. Speyer; introductions made by Pach facilitated the transaction; no one is to know Faure was the owner; since he cannot pay the duty if the piece at Ehrich is returned to France, Pach should keep it or put it in storage until later; asks if the Metropolitan might be interested in Mrs. Dillard's large Corot; content with Montaigne; still reworking -- The Spirit of the Forms; -- Soutine has become more important; believes Derain shows progress; Matisse's astonishing virtuosity continues to increase; saw admirable work by Picasso; Braque is a beautiful but monotonous painter; considers Charlie Chaplin the great man of America. 4 pp., in French
From Harold O. Voorhis, Secretary, New York University, New York, N.Y., February 23, 1926: confirms Pach's appointment as assistant professor of fine arts. 1 p
From Harold O. Voorhis, Secretary, New York University, New York, N.Y., March 5, 1926: received Pach's acceptance of faculty appointment. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 24, 1926: has seen Pach's friends; is looking forward to Pach's visit in the summer; he and his wife are caring for an African-Arab baby; The Spirit of the Forms is almost finished; gives instructions about selling the unfortunate Spanish painting; is sending a drawing as a gift; Mrs. Dillard needs a list of dealers and their specialties. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 22, 1926: is pleased to learn the Delacroix drawing was well received; believes Delacroix is becoming greater by the day; is not eager for further lecture tours; his latest book was ignored; foreigners understand him better than the French; regrets that Pach will not be able to visit him in Dordogne; discusses price of the crucifixion painting. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, June 8, 1926: goals for studying art of the past are aesthetic or humanistic; it is a "triumph" that Pach's "anti-Rotarian protest" was published in -- Harper's -- Magazine; "glad to hear yr. painting is taking on, altho' I deplore yr. giving to it the time you should dedicate to writing"; urges him to write about the Gardner collection. 12 pp
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 10, 1926: the entire family is at Dordogne and sorry Pach cannot join them; discusses exchange rate; Briggs trusts Pach to translate -- The Spirit of the Forms -- , which will be volume 5 of -- History of Art -- ; asks Pach to consider undertaking the job. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, August 19, 1926: wishes there had been an opportunity for them to visit and have a serious talk during Pach's recent lecture tour; "I fear you will never take the place yr. gifts as a writer could lead you to if you cannot detach yr. self fr. painting itself. It is a pity. For critics are ever so much rarer." 4 pp
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], Mexico, October 4, 1926: the package Lupe sent to the Pachs was lost when the boat capsized; wants copies of the magazine -- L'Amour de l'Art -- ; Derain's work is better; shares Pach's opinion of Picasso; wants to see Matisse's work; Faure will try to include more Rivera reproductions in the new edition; asks Pach to check on the status of Rudolf Tesch's project for Carnegie Corp.; requests the Charlot exhibition catalog. 4 pp., in Spanish
To Mrs. Pach From Lupe de Rivera, [place unknown], October 6, 1926: thanks for the baby sweater; her daughter, Guadalupe, called Pico, was tiny and ill at birth but now thrives. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], November 3, 1926: Mrs. Dillard has a Fragonard worthy of a museum or a fine collection; asks about hotel rates in New York City. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, November 12, 1926: is grateful that Pach will be translating -- The Spirit of the Forms; -- Pach should persuade Mr. Briggs to expedite the publisher's contract; saw Seurat's exhibition of more than 200 luminous drawings and a Bonnard show of rich and subtle still-lifes; 2 paintings by Matisse were highlights in an otherwise indifferent Salon d'Automne; Miss La Follette and her brother visited; the Baron Gros painting, which Mme. Dillard will handle, is a masterwork that the Metropolitan Museum [of Art] could be proud of; still believes in Soutine; would like to meet Barnes though a ruse might be needed. 4 pp., in French
From Suzanne La Follette, Choisy, France, November 19, 1926: visited Elie Faure and hopes to see him again; a review of her book will appear in -- Saturday Review -- . 6 pp
From Pedro Henriquez UreÃ±a, Miramar, Argentina, January [?], 1927: Valovaciones cannot pay for contributions or translations; Pach should publish a translation of his book in the magazine so that Argentines will be familiar with him and his ideas. 2 pp
From Suzanne La Follette, [place unknown], January 9, 1927: the publisher is not promoting her book well; thinks Lewis Mumford is "gifted." 3 pp
From Suzanne La Follette, Paris, France, January 13, 1927: asks about resorts on the Mediterranean; Chester wrote enthusiastically of his travels in Italy. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, February 22, 1927: has had no reply From Mexico; "Art and Morals," which appeared in the Dial, should be retranslated; -- History of Art -- is being translated into Czech and possibly Japanese; artistic life in Paris is boring; Matisse is definitely the most tolerated; Soutine is not doing much; Pach should try to sell the Gros painting for Mrs. Dillard. 2 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, March 8, 1927: a safe-deposit box was transferred, with difficulty, from Pach's name to his; saw a beautiful Renoir exhibition; prices are high and only Delacroix and Corot are affordable now; Derain should protect himself From dealers. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Fabriano, Italy, May 10, 1927: review of his book missed its "contribution... to a criticism that is based on a question of design"; invites Pach to consider this issue in a review. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], June 8, 1927: Delacroix is becoming popular; at the sale of the Bureau collection ordinary Daumier watercolors brought high prices and wonderful Corot drawings sold cheaply; is unhappy with the captions for the plates in his last edition; witnessed Lindbergh's landing. 4 pp., in French
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, June 24, 1927: announces his recent marriage; describes a Redon watercolor that Pach might sell to the Bings; Mrs. Bing expressed interest in the Brancusi bust now stored at Brummer, King, and Parker. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Stockholm, Sweden, July 25, 1927: Pach's review showed "intelligent and friendly comprehension"; "my Three Essays is an ironied and veiled attempt to demonstrate that there is a big part of the job that any well trained mediocrity can achieve"; "great artists like Antonello are not prophets but fulfillers of prophecy." 2 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, October 3, 1927: spent his vacation traveling in Provence; has abandoned a project that attracted amateur attention; intends to study Chagall; -- History of Art -- will be translated into Japanese. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, London, England, October 7, 1927: -- Harper's -- will ask Pach to write about the Gardner collection; urges him to accept the offer. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], December 19, 1927: Gagnon has reappeared; Faure purchased a Barye painting at a junk shop; agrees to write a preface to Pach's book. 4 pp., in French
From Leo Stein, Paris, France, February 7, 1928: Read Pach's review of his book in the -- Architectural Record -- ; "when you realize your incompetence for a job because of ignorance you had better keep out, because that very ignorance will prevent you From realizing how big a fool you are making of yourself." 1 p
From Elie Faure, [place unknown],1 April 22, 1928: Had a heart attack; is now working on a book about folk psychology; will lecture in Germany; museums prefer a perfect modern canvas to a masterpiece with slight damage; asks if Pach has tried to find a buyer for Christ; though his books sell, Faure has not prospered; describes several paintings in his collection; he may inherit Mme. Thelaphite's paintings; Mrs. Dillard has a Ribera for sale. 4 pp., in French
From [ signature illegible (Canaan L. Morris?)], Hartford, Conn., May 4, 1928: compliments Pach's lecture of the previous evening; critiques its structure. 2 pp
From Harold O. Voorhis, Secretary, New York University, New York, N.Y., June 15, 1928: confirms Pach's appointment as assistant professor of fine arts. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 11, 1928: is glad to be away From Paris; is very happy about the French translation of Ananias [large portions illegible]. 2 pp
From Jose Clemente Orozco, New York, N.Y., September 1, 1928: -- Form -- magazine deserves attention; offers to write to the editor on Pach's behalf; as Pach suggested, he met with Kraushaar, who didn't seem to like the revolutionary drawings but showed interest in the Art Center Exhibit paintings; speculates that Kraushaar found the Mexican pieces too strange; asks Pach to arrange another meeting; recommends GarcÃa Maroto's article in -- Contemporaries -- about Rivera and his disgusting commercialism. 4 pp., in Spanish
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, September 22, 1928: received Ananias, but cannot read it without a translator [large portions illegible]. 2 pp., in French
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., October 10, 1928: received his letter and book; "whether it is the desire to purchase or not, I am always pleased to show my husband's pictures"; wishes to keep the Rush pictures and studies in Philadelphia. 3 pp
From Arthur B. Springarn, New York, N.Y., November 1, 1928: thanks Pach for dedicating the book to him; best wishes for the volume's success. 1 p
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 14, 1928: five hundred dollars is a satisfactory amount for the manuscript. 1 p
From Lee Simonson, Editor, Creative Art, New York, N.Y., December 18, 1928: thanks Pach for making changes to his Rivera article; his review of Pach's book is "extremely hard-hitting"; offers opportunity for rebuttal in the next issue; "let us keep the thing above personalities"; Alfred Stieglitz and Leo Stein support Simonson's views. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., January 8, 1929: will send chapters for revision; payment can be handled however Pach prefers. 2 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, January 11, 1929: has not finished reading Pach's book because he is unusually busy; his wife is ill; had to put aside projects to complete a book on the Italian Renaissance; with the exception of Sargent, "official" American painters are not known in France; impressionism and its aftermath have not produced any positive result; would like to see Pach's paintings, not just photographs of them; compliments Pach's etchings; a new edition of his work is in preparation; there may be a Serb translation. 4 pp., in French
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., January 15, 1929: requests a month's extension for their translation work. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., February 14, 1929: chapter I and the introduction are being sent today. 1 p
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., March 18, 1929: describes working methods; explains problems in translating Faure's writing. 2 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, April 1, 1929: when Pach visits they will look at art and go to Dordogne; discussed Pach's book with his publisher; recommends not using American examples other than Sargent and possibly Alexander and Frieseke in the French edition; will find an apartment for Pach; Miss Mary Morris has not yet called on him; requests books on the psychology of Americans. 2 pp., in French
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., May 12, 1929: translation work proceeds slowly; Van Wyck is in the hospital; she doesn't want it publicized. 2 pp
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., May 26, 1929: Van Wyck's health has not improved. 2 pp
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport, Conn., July 10, 1929: thanks Pach for his patience; Van Wyck is now in a private sanitarium; she continues to work on the translation. 1 p
From Eleanor S. Brooks, Westport Conn., August 28, 1929: is sending next chapter soon; Van Wyck's condition has not changed. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, August 28, 1929: his short review of Pach's book has been accepted for publication in the Dial. 2 pp., in French
From Eleanor S. Brooks, [place unknown], August 30, 1929: another chapter is ready. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, September 13, 1929: went to Basque country with Soutine; had a good rest and thought about the psychology book he is writing; -- The Italian Renaissance -- appears to be a success; is anxious to see Pach's painting and hear about his time in Paris; hopes to interest Pach in Soutine; when working, Soutine hides like a dog gnawing a bone. 2 pp., in French
From Lewis Mumford, Long Island City, N.Y., October 23, 1929: recounts summer travels; is starting a book about the arts in America since 1870; asks for news of Van Wyck Brooks's condition and how Eleanor is coping; he worries about Eleanor's reaction to the proposal that he edit the Emerson book. 2 pp
From Harold M. Tovell, Toronto, Canada, October 25, 1929: "I do think that as a result of patience and education plus your lectures here, that the tide is turning in favor of our Toronto friends"; inquires about Marcel Duchamp; "the house here would be rather bare if it weren't for the Duchamp family. I hope you will tell him how greatly we prize their works." 4 pp
From Jacques Villon, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, November 23, 1929: Verne wrote on behalf of the Committee of the National Museums accepting Raymond's sculptures; sends text of the Committee's flattering letter; thanks Pach for his continued support of Raymond. 4 pp., in French
From Childe Hassam, New York, N.Y., November 30, 1929: n -- Art in America -- , Pach confuses Horatio and Henry Oliver; Marie Sterner "has gotten together some of the worst things I have ever seen"; "verily art in America is run by old women! but most of them wear trousers." 2 pp
From Leo Stein, Paris, France, December 1, 1929: wants Pach to know the facts regarding his alleged endorsement of Clivette; "I supposed that Hellman was a gentleman and did not suspect a plant." 1 p
From Art Young, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] December 5, 1929: holiday greetings; news of James Opp [ sic], Springarn, Suzanne La Follette, and Glintenkamp; is working on a book and exhibition. 1 p. + 4 pp. enclosure (printed circular, undated, advertising books by Art Young, -- On My Way -- and -- Trees at Night -- , with excerpts from reviews and order form)
From Leo Stein, Paris, France 4218 265-267 [postmarked] January 8, 1930: "There is no artist that I value highly whom you do not also value but... you value many whom I don't"; diagram illustrates Stein's explanation of how their artistic tastes differ. 3 pp
From Elie Faure, Dordogne, France, March 12, 1930: Joubib's [?] awful reputation should be a comfort to Pach's friend who was so badly treated; plans to seek legal advice about suing De la Faille. 2 pp., in French
From Lewis Mumford, Long Island City, N.Y., March 12, 1930: is pleased with his lectures at Dartmouth College; his next book will be "a modern philosophy of life"; compliments Suzanne La Follette's book; he has an article in the first issue of the New Freeman; comments on policies and politics of the "Modern Museum." 4 pp
From Harold M. Tovell, [place unknown], May 16, 1930: "This is about the most perfect thing I have seen for a long time. A truly great work." Picture postcard ("Leonardo da Vinci Bronzlovas. Reiterfigur aus Bronze. Figure a cheval en bronze")
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., July 10, 1930: received Pach's picture postcard of a Millet portrait; the "exhibition of Homer, Ryder, and Eakins at the Modern Museum seems to have pleased universally." 1 p
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, August 22, 1930: "I would rather not see the entire output of a master," even Delacroix; after finishing "the lists of Italian Painters" he will revise Drawings of Florentine Painters; then he plans a book on "The Decline and Revival of Form in the Figure Arts." 8 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., September 25, 1930: continues to enjoy the postcards Pach sent, especially the Millet; has found the painting he wants; there will be an exhibition in New York City in December; her good friend Charles Bregler, a pupil of Eakins's, has restored several of the pictures. 2 pp
From Al [Bing?], New York, N.Y., October 19, 1930: "Museum accepts pictures." Telegram
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., October 21, 1930: received Barye copy and photos of Millet picture; details of upcoming Eakins show in New York City are uncertain; Charles Bregler has discovered retouching on some pictures; they will be cleaned before the exhibition; some may be placed behind glass to prevent future overpainting done in "ignorance"; enclosed sketch describes a study Eakins did while a student in Paris; wonders where other pieces from that period are, since he did many and returned with few. 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., October 23, 1930: through oversight, Pach's watercolors were not presented at the October meeting; "I forsee no trouble in their reception. The modern style has not the bitter enemies it used to have." 1 p
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., November 9, 1930: saw a good exhibition of modern French art at Harriman Gallery and a "gem" at Knoedler; is enthusiastic about Villon's colors; subsequent visits to Brummer's confirmed that her collection is superior; Mr. Kraushaar likes Pach's work and promised to see more; "you are right when you say I cannot expect to compete with the hawks of picture dealers"; comments on Ananias; economic conditions depress Mr. Guggenheimer and may prevent them From traveling. 3 pp
From B. Stein, New York, N.Y., November 17, 1930: thanks Pach for his book; saw Villon's "smashing" show; Gretchen purchased The (Rose) Haulers; financial conditions in the United States are "depressing"; is sorry Pach is "impatient" with writing, as he is gifted; is glad Pach is enjoying painting in Paris; describes ideas about modern furniture, which she wants to buy. 5 pp
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., December 1, 1930: "sympathetic" to Pach's "natural gratification at the Metropolitan's action;" Kraushaar will look at Pach's work in her apartment; mentions art seen at Reinhardt's and Brummer's galleries; received a letter From Villon. 2 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., December 12, 1930: Miss Pendleton took the painting Pach wants and will arrange delivery to him; Miss Pendleton would be a good subject to paint; holiday greetings. 1 p
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., December 17, 1930: saw Pach's drawings at Kraushaar's; saw work by Houdon at Anderson Galleries; Pach would enjoy Proust's remarks on music and art. 2 pp
From Allen Tucker, New York, N.Y., January 2, 1931: opinions of Corot-Daumier show at the Modern; Tucker had an exhibition. 4 pp
From Leo Stein, Paris, France, [postmarked] January 19, 1931: discusses "analytic" and "non analytic" approaches to a "nonverifiable subject"; "don't regard this letter as an argument. I never argue about art, but simply attempt to explain an attitude." 5 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., January 25, 1931: thanks Pach for bringing Eakins's work to the attention of the Louvre; Charles Linford is a possible choice; "I would prefer to present a picture, rather than sell, so we will not worry about prices"; Riccardo Bertelli's new gallery on 56th is exhibiting Thomas Eakins and Samuel Murray; there is an Eakins show at Babcock Galleries; the national economic situation is too bad to expect painting sales; articles on Eakins mistakenly "report that the little seated figure of Thomas Eakins was his favorite attitude while painting"; pictures shown at Babcock were cleaned by Charles Bregler; glazing was recommended for protection From air pollution; Pach's choice of frame for his Eakins painting is "fine." 4 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., February 19, 1931: sends photographs of paintings available for presentation to the Louvre; her choice of the Hamilton portrait is supported by Samuel Murray, Mr. Cranmer, and David Wilson Jordan; the Barker and Wallace portraits are possibilities; her sister-in-law offers the portrait of Susan Eakins' father; sends photographs of Thomas Eakins dating From student days in Paris; she has not seen the Eakins exhibition in New York. 2 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., February 21, 1931: Bertelli sold John McClure Hamilton, not understanding that it might go to the Louvre; the Barker and Wallace portraits will not be sold. 1 p
From Morris Kantor, New York, N.Y., March 16, 1931: is busy making frames; saw Pach's exhibition at Kraushaar's; "Paris did you a lot of good because your work has changed.... It has more freedom and a better painting quality"; sympathizes with "Baylie's" misfortune; Kraushaar will give "Baylie" a show; Sloan arranged for him to teach at the League. 3 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., March 17, 1931: "The Museum is much beholden to you however the David matter turns out"; the decision reached at yesterday's meeting will be announced after the painting is unpacked; compliments Pach's show at Kraushaar's; comments on the installation and specific pieces; "as to the Eakins matter I should be honored to cooperate." 2 pp
From A.S. Baylinson, New York, N.Y., March 19, 1931: complimentary comments on Pach's show at Kraushaar's; is moving to a new, fireproof studio at 54 West 74th Street; "I will have the group work there with me evenings as before, and before long we shall forget the fire"; will teach at the Art Students League in the coming year. 2 pp
From Childe Hassam, New York, N.Y., March 27, 1931: Pach's exhibition, which Hassam viewed twice, includes "the best things I have seen of yours"; spoke with John Sloan and Miss Kraushaar at the gallery; describes his etching of Helen Wells and promises to send a photograph of it. 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., March 28, 1931: the painting arrived and is "even grander than I had imagined.... It will be one of the masterpieces here"; has been in contact with Mrs. Eakins; thanks Pach for his "beneficent labors." 3 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., March 28, 1931: Burroughs and Brummer were consulted in the search for photographs of Eakins paintings; lists sizes of paintings under consideration; J. Carroll Beckwith might interest the Louvre. 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, New York, N.Y., March 31, 1931: "David Bought Hooray." Telegram + 1 p. enclosure (April 1, 1931 From Morgan & Cie., Paris, France: debit notice for collect telegram received From New York the previous day)
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., April 14, 1931: Museum is pleased with the David painting; thanks Pach for his role in the transaction; "waiting for the Eakins matter to crystallize"; wants the Pennsylvania Museum to offer Clara or The Bohemian; the Louvre should have an example of Eakins' "very best"; will propose the idea to Kimball. 2 pp
From Arthur B. Springarn, New York, N.Y., April 21, 1931: is "profoundly impressed" by Pach's exhibition; his work shows a new "lack of inhibition"; "I resent the conspiracy of silence of the critics tho' I suppose that is the price you pay for being the author of Ananias"; gives recommendations for Raymond's schooling. 6 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., May 3, 1931: "The Penn. Mus. Eakins project takes shape gradually"; Clara may be "suitable"; the "exchange" proposed is complicated and requires "committee actions"; maybe they could give Clara to the Louvre; Kimball will "come round." 3 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., May 11, 1931: sends copy of a letter From Fiske Kimball and a reproduction of Clara; upon seeing the painting again "my previous judgement was amply confirmed." 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (May 8, 1931, to Bryson Burroughs From Fiske Kimball, Director, Pennsylvania Museum of Art, Philadelphia, Pa.: "I shall recommend to my Board that a gift be made to the Louvre"; instructs Burroughs to ask Guiffrey whether the Louvre will accept Clara; discusses framing and Eakins's ideas on the subject)
From Jean Guiffrey, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, June 2, 1931: thanks for the Eakins painting; when informed of the gift, his colleagues will be grateful. 1 p., in French
From Henri Verne, Director, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, June 18, 1931: thanks Pach for his role as intermediary in the Louvre's acquisition of a Thomas Eakins painting. 1 p., in French
From Bryson Burroughs, [place illegible], France, June 24, 1931: Is arriving in Paris in July; wants to see David-Weill collection; "it is a great comfort the way the Eakins matter turned out and I am really glad to be out of its final arrangement"; is going to Milan to see the -- TrÃ¨s Belles Heures -- . 2 pp
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., June 27, 1931: Is pleased with the choice of painting for the Louvre; thanks Pach for his efforts. 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, aboard SS De Grasse, July 19, 1931: Guiffrey "is delighted about the Eakins and well appreciative of your efforts in regard to it"; Metropolitan Museum of Art may participate in the French exhibition in London next year; "a new era of liberalism and cooperation is about due with the passing of so many ancient trustees"; describes the excellent condition of the -- TrÃ¨s Belles Heures -- . 3 pp
From Caroline Pratt, Chilmark, Mass., August 14, 1931: Discusses Raymond's academic progress and challenges; gives recommendations for the future. 5 pp
From Elie Faure, Peking, China, October 7, 1931: Received a warm welcome in the United States; the end of his trip and the end of his life are darkened by catastrophe. Picture postcard ("Great Wall of China"), in French
From Beatrice [?], New York, N.Y., October 10, 1931: " Simone is ours." Telegram
From Elie Faure, Angkor, Cambodia, November 14, 1931: Expresses love for America and Americans; thinks the hope of the world is in the United States and also between the Urals and Vistula. Picture postcard ("Ruines D'Angkor"), in French
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., November 15, 1931: Etta Cone bought a Pach painting and is "enthusiastic" about Duchamp-Villon; "saw the Mouillots at Brummer's and I must confess to being very disappointed"; she "positively rejoice[s]" in her own piece by Duchamp-Villon; many praise Pach's work in her collection; art prices are down; news of various friends, especially musicians. 4 pp
From Jean Crotti, Paris, France, November 18, 1931: "I have always declined to write prefaces for contemporaries (the cases of Villon and Duchamp-Villon being exceptions which I intend shall remain exceptions); it is a job for a professional critic, and not for a man who is himself engaged in painting." 2 pp
From Bryson Burroughs, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., November 24, 1931: Gift of 2 etchings by Pach was received by the Museum. 2 pp
From Elie Faure, Colombo, Ceylon, November 25, 1931: Everyone says his wife and daughter were courageous and that helps him tolerate the loneliness; is anxious to see the Corot book, especially the reproductions; will continue writing for -- Petit Parisien -- ; now believes one must write for the masses. 2 pp., in French
From Henri Verne, Director, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, December 22, 1931: Thanks Pach for his gift of an engraving of New York. 1 p., in French
From Al Bing, New York, N.Y., December 23, 1931: Socrates by David and the Havemeyer collection are now hanging at the Metropolitan; Whitney Museum, Frick Gallery, and the Modern Gallery will all be open when Pach returns; Coffin, "a man of great ability and sterling character," has been elected Museum president; is interested in the Bonaparte exhibition; asks Pach to help sell his Renoir. 12 pp
From Albert Morance, La Chef des Services Commerciause et Techniques, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, January 11, 1932: Is returning to Pach the contract concerning his engraving. 1 p. + 2 pp. printed form (Louvre Print Department acquisition form for The Telephone and Telegraph Building, New York, and rules for transfer of works to the Print Department), in French
From Leo Stein, Paris, France, [postmarked] January 12, 1932: Discusses "two questions that always arise in respect to art... (1) What qualities does one note in a work of art. (2) What value has that which one sees." 6 pp
From Allen Tucker, New York, N.Y., January 18, 1932: Pach's stay in Morocco seems to have been beneficial; 1931 was a difficult year; hopeful for the future; "the Whitney has shaken the whole thing up and American shows past and present and I daresay future are everywhere"; "Rivera having a grand time in a pas de deux with Mrs. Rockefeller at the Museum of 'Foreign' Art." 3 pp
From Henri Verne, Director, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, January 26, 1932: Thanks Pach for his role in the Louvre's acquisition of the Eakins painting; it arrived in good shape and was readily accepted; is still considering the Barye castings. 1 p., in French
From Leo Hartman, Harper's Magazine, New York, N.Y., February 1, 1932: The artists mentioned in Pach's article are too obscure for Harper's readers. 1 p
From Al Bing, New York, N.Y., February 7, 1932: Thanks Pach for helping him find a potential buyer for his Renoir; discusses the Furdson and Havemeyer collections at the Metropolitan; family news; is anxious for Pach's return. 7 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., February 8, 1932: "The Depression is not to be underestimated" and could change the social order; discusses colleges for Raymond; Life of Emerson and a volume of his essays reprinted From the Freeman will be out soon; the Prendergasts live nearby; "Charlie P. is surely a true primitive old master to whom only Vasari could do justice in the way of antecedents"; "I kept thinking as I read your book, what new books must logically follow From your mind"; suggests Pach write histories of art criticism and American art. 10 pp
From Henri Verne, Director, Louvre Museum, Paris, France, March 5, 1932: Because Barye's -- Apollon -- is a fragile plaster, the curator cannot risk making castings. 1 p., in French
From Childe Hassam, New York, N.Y., March 8, 1932: Has a print of Helen Wells for Pach; the Metropolitan Museum filmed him at work and play in East Hampton last summer; the Boston Museum commissioned a similar film of Benson. 3 pp
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., March 25, 1932: Sent another payment for City of Mexico to Pach's bank; several people have shown interest in Simone; she and the Steins purchased work From Baylinson's Kraushaar show. 3 pp
From Allen Tucker, New York, N.Y., April 10, 1932: Congratulates Pach on his show and catalog; compliments the Morse exhibition at the Metropolitan; "the Whitney gallery has shaken up the attention of people to the present Americans." 2 pp
From D.T. Sieveking, Director, Antikensammlungen, Munich, Germany, April 27, 1932: Returns the completed questionnaire. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (questionnaire about Greek figure known as -- Naked Girl with Cap -- ), in German
From John Sloan, New York, N.Y., April 30, 1932: Recounts the politics of the League's presidential election that he lost; Schnakenberg will be an "inactive president"; when the Board turned down Geo. Grosz, Sloan resigned; Jonas Lie threatened to resign if Pach lectures there; Sloan will teach at Archipenko's school next season; Dolly is a manager for the touring Exhibition of Indian Tribal Arts; Baylinson supported Sloan in the "fight"; financial details of the Sixteenth Annual Independent Exhibition. 2 pp
From Charles Bourgeat, Galerie Dru, Paris, France., May 7, 1932: Received payment for Pach's exhibition there; cannot locate the Sisley and Pissarro photographs Pach sent; their aim to show fine and beautiful painting was accomplished with Pach's exhibition; difficult times account for compliments and no sales. 2 pp., in French
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., May 10, 1932: Her opinion of photography remains "good, but not art, and deadly after a certain length of time." 1 p
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, New York, N.Y., May 22, 1932: Hopes Pach's article, "Owning Pictures," will be published; the museum's rehung galleries present interesting new comparisons; asks his opinion of the Art Students League controversy; saw Baylinson at the Independent show; purchased a Baylinson drawing From Kraushaar. 3 pp
From the -- Atlantic Monthly -- , Boston, Mass., May 31, 1932: Pach's article is of limited interest to Atlantic Monthly readers. 1 p
From M.L. Allen, -- Harper's -- Magazine, New York, N.Y., June 2, 1932: Pach's article, "American Art in the Louvre," is not appropriate for a general audience. 1 p
From Gino Severini, Fribourg, Switzerland, June 16, 1932: His schedule will not permit another meeting before Pach's departure; the art market will improve; is interested in the prospect of a show at Brummer's; "decoration work" for Weyhe may end in September; thanks Pach for his help. 2 pp., in French
From P. Dubaut, Paris, France, July 19, 1932: Thanks Pach for sending clippings; the gallery behaved professionally but was not overly kind; was generally pleased with the show; is happy to know Pach. 2 pp., in French
From Alfred Vance Churchill, Rockport, Mass., July 25, 1932: Pach was the first to write of the Smith College Museum as "one of the choicest and best directed collections of art in America"; has received many commendations and is putting together extracts "for certain personal uses"; requests additional thoughts From Pach on the collection. 3 pp
From Alfred Vance Churchill, Rockport, Mass., July 25, 1932: Is trying to arrange a lecture for Pach at Smith College and perhaps at Mount Holyoke College; Jere Abbott will succeed him as museum director; thinks his retirement was forced on the trustees by Paul J. Sachs. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France., January 7, 1933: France is declining; sends family news; Paul Morand gave his book a favorable review; inquires whether Pach has found work; there are fewer exhibits in Paris; good paintings are now seen only at the big sales such as Strauss. 2 pp., in French
From Marjorie Carpenter, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, January 9, 1933: Confirms lecture date at McMaster University. Telegram
From Gertrude Wolf, Executive Secretary, New York University, New York, N.Y., January 9, 1933: Requests syllabus for last 2 lectures of Pach's course and the examination questions. 1 p
From Susan Macdowell Eakins, Philadelphia, Pa., [postmarked] January 19, 1933: Informs Pach of prices of two Eakins portraits; many Eakins paintings were damaged by restorers; others are in "splendid condition" due to the efforts of Charles Bregler; comments on Mrs. Whitney's plans to aid painters. 1 p
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 9, 1933: A Courbet, which Faure believes is his most beautiful, is for sale; indicates price, size, and citation of a reproduction; inquires about the financial crisis in the United States; comments on economic problems, political events, and inertia of the French people; is writing a preface for Rosenberg's Renoir exhibit; asks about Pach's painting and printmaking; requests news of Rivera about whom he wrote an article; Harper's sent money and will reprint The Spirit of the Forms. 4 pp., in French
From Clifton A. Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., February 2, 1934: Discusses fellow board members of the Indianapolis Art Association and acquisitions; "modernization" was the response to declining school enrollment; 9 instructors, including Wheeler, were fired; describes life on the top of La Conte Mountain, Tenn., where he painted the previous fall; has mural and portrait commissions, "so long as I can make a living I don't care if I don't teach." 8 pp
From E.D. Smyth, Tangier, Morocco, September 19, 1934: Thanks Pach for sending a painting of Helen; is staying in Helen's house; Gertrude Stein's book about Alice Toklas is "an overwhelmingly cheeky work" that failed to mention Pach; news of mutual friends; reminiscences of visits with the Pachs; James McBey, a Scottish painter and etcher, has settled nearby. 3 pp
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, October 17, 1934: Feels animosity toward Barr, whom he calls narrow-minded; will handle in his own way any resulting confrontation or unpleasantness; told Arensberg, owner of -- Un Descendant -- , not to lend to Barr; asks Pach to find an excuse for refusing Barr; Barr shall reap what he has sown; American collectors are now speculators; sends order forms for his new book. 5 pp., in French
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 4, 1934: The owners of the Courbet are impatient; asks if it has arrived in New York; suggests that a collector, Barnes, or the Metropolitan Museum of Art may be interested; his book is being ignored in France; if Pach has money, now is a good time to buy art; tells of works that are selling at reduced prices. 2 pp., in French
From Simonne Maubert, Paris, France, December 22, 1934: Miss Stein wrote with good news of Pach; posed for Miss Stein during the autumn and hopes for similar work next year. 2 pp. + picture postcard ("Palais de Fontainebleau, La Cour Ovale et le BaptistÃ¨re"), in French
From A. Frohberg and Johanna, Dresden, Germany, December 31, 1934: Thanks Pach for letter and for holiday greetings; the news of Pach's selection for an important commission brings them great joy; news of a family friend who has made progress and overcome obstacles. 2 pp., in German
From Karl Lilienfield, New York, N.Y., May 13, 1935: Confirms the commission Pach will receive if he sells paintings for Alexander M. Bing. 1 p., in German
From Henri Focillon, New Haven, Conn., May 21, 1935: Thanks Pach for sending the fine article he wrote on -- La Patelliere -- , which he saw in Bucharest; when visiting the Politzers, he failed to recognize Pach's name, thus missing the opportunity to express his admiration and respect. 2 pp., in French
From Father [Frohberg] and Johanna, Dresden, Germany, July 2, 1935: Birthday greetings. Picture postcard ("Herzlichen Gluckwunsch zum Geburtstage"), in German
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, September 13, 1935: Opposes exhibitions such as the current one at the Petit Palais; is revising his work on drawings of Florentine painters; "foulness piled over Michelangelo by a lot of German animals, the worst of whom is a biped named Panofsky." 12 pp
From Clifton A. Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., October 20, 1935: Pach should notify the director of the John Herron Art Institute of his schedule and lecture fees; is teaching at a high school; the art school is now "purely Yale, Beaux Arts competition, and American Academy in Rome." 2 pp
From Edna Strasser, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, October 26, 1935: Called on friends of Pach, the Brinkman family of Haarlem; saw the portrait Pach painted of their brother in 1906. 3 pp
From Arthur Strasser, Seville, Spain, November 18, 1935: Recounts visit with Brinkmans in Haarlem; is impressed by the Prado, Rubens, and El Greco; at Pach's suggestion, they have attended several performances of gypsy music and dancing. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, [place unknown], November 29, 1935: Is enchanted by and praises the most successful part of Pach's triptych; discusses the economy and prospects for work in France; continues to be pessimistic about painting in France; architecture is what is needed now and cinema may become more important than painting; mentions a Flemish exhibition; congratulates Pach on his portrait of a young man, possibly Raymond; the critics who denounced what Faure wrote on the agony of painting now admit he was right. 4 pp., in French
From A. Frohberg and Johanna, Dresden, Germany, March 2, 1936: Belated birthday greetings; tell Magda everything has been done for Zittau [?]. Picture postcard (untitled), in German
From Gerda Stein, New York, N.Y., March 10, 1936: Thanks Pach for his friendship; "accept this simple expression of my appreciation for what you have given me and the earnest hope that it will bring you an answer to some of the problems that perplex you." 4 pp
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, Ontario, Canada, August 4, 1936: Read his review in the -- Nation -- and wants to see the exhibition; the watercolor of Magda acquired by the Brooklyn Museum is one of Pach's best. 1 p
From Bernard Berenson, Grusbach, Czechoslovakia, August 26, 1936: "You are one of the last surviving acquaintances who, in the study of art, have not gone over to irrelevant promiscuity"; discusses attribution of Goldman's Madonna; has begun writing "The Decline and Recovery of Form"; spent 6 weeks in Yugoslavia studying Roman remains and Byzantine frescoes. 4 pp
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, November 30, 1936: Read his article in the -- Virginia Quarterly -- ; he liked the photograph of Pach's fresco more than the article; tell Van Wyck Brooks he is welcome to visit when next in Florence; spent 5 weeks in Paris. 4 pp
From Elie Faure, Paris, France, December 28, 1936: Eight months ago Lizou married a man who died of cancer a few days later; his books are not selling well; History of Art is unavailable and financing cannot be found for a new edition; saw an exhibit of Bonnard and Vuillard; considers mural work the only important current painting; recounts a visit to Spain; Rivera was wounded in Mexico; Rivera's recent silence may be the result of Faure's article. 4 pp., in French
From Herbert Eustis Winlock, Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., February 13, 1937: Winthrop will not loan his collection. 1 p
From Allen Tucker, Castine, Maine, May 30, 1937: "I wonder if Museums and concerts haven't stopped rather than helped our creative efforts"; is glad to be back in America; wrote to Moe; "the foundation likes to bet on the unknown instead of helping anyone who has shown they HAVE ability and have done the work"; congratulates Pach on continuing to paint despite other responsibilities; sorry to hear Sloan is unwell. 1 p
From Ernestine Ludolf, Florence, Italy, June 22, 1937: Pach is "a good and faithful friend"; his kind words about Egisto are like "a flower of remembrance on his grave"; wants to give him a small painting by Egisto, showing a corner of the Montmartre studio where he and Pach first met. 6 pp
From Ida E. Guggenheimer, Paris, France, September 13, 1937: Attended a conference in Paris; visited the Fountain of the Innocents; made a thorough tour of the exhibition with Villon. 3 pp
From Marcel Duchamp, Paris, France, September 28, 1937: Would like to see his painting -- Sad Young Man on a Train -- join related paintings in California and believes Arensberg would agree; requests a photograph of the painting to reproduce in an album he is compiling. 2 pp., in French
From Allen Tucker, New York, N.Y., November 1, 1937: Thanks Pach for the Delacroix book; congratulations on "another great contribution to civilization"; completed a "pretty good summer's work" before his illness. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 18, 1937: Thanks Pach for the book on Delacroix; the introduction is "wholly satisfying." 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, New York, N.Y., November 23, 1937: Reads some of Delacroix each day; "I'm beginning to understand your feeling about him." Picture postcard ("Self Portrait by Francesco Goya. Frontispiece to Los Caprichos. Madrid, circa 1803")
From L. (Mme. Elie) Faure, Paris, France, November 30, 1937: Thanks Pach for writing to her; wants to carry out her husband's wishes to make his work publicly accessible; sends a list of Faure's unpublished articles; discusses financial matters relating to the Harper's contract. 4 pp., in French
From Royal Cortissoz, New York, N.Y., January 2, 1938: Thanks Pach for his book on Delacroix, "the work of an artist and man of letters." 3 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 2, 1938: "I'm glad to stand by that statement." Picture postcard ("Mountain landscape. Chinese, Ming Period, 15th century, after a design attributed to Ma Yiian (flourished 1190-1221)")
From Henry Watson Kent, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., November 3, 1938: Thanks Pach for the "kind letter about the Morgan exhibition." 1 p. (frame 589) and envelope
From Henry Watson Kent, New York, N.Y., November 8, 1938: Thanks Pach for the inscribed copy of his book; is proud to be associated with the book and to have Pach say kind things about him. 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 9 and 11, 1938: Read -- Queer Thing, Painting -- ; "I had better begin now by telling my few objections, in order to hand you later my full bouquet"; "you exaggerate the Villon connection"; "you exaggerate the ignorance of Italian art on the part of our forbears"; "you praise some collectors too highly," especially Morgan and John Quinn; "your memory of Yeats is suspect"; Pach has created a "permanent record and source-book" full of "wisdom." 14 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 15, 1938: Grants permission to quote From his previous letter; Pach's book is "tremendously important." 2 pp
From Kenneth Hayes Miller, New York, N.Y., November 15, 1938: Congratulations on -- Queer Thing, Painting -- ; the book has "permanent value." 1 p
From Louis Lombard, [place unknown], France, November 23, 1938: Thanks Pach for his letters; describes the horrors of life as a soldier; he reads Whitman to maintain good spirits. 4 pp., in French
From Henry Watson Kent, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, N.Y., December 9, 1938: Advises Pach to distribute new cards to schools. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (suggested text for announcement of Pach's availability as a lecturer)
From W.S. Rusk, Wells College, Aurora-on-Cayuga, N.Y., December 21, 1938: "Thank you for the conference the other day in which we discussed the artist and the art critic." 1 p
From G. Masolle, Evian, France, December 31, 1938: Thanks Pach for the extract From his book, which she translated immediately; it showed perfect understanding of Jean's character; -- The Prisoners of the World -- is impossible to find; Jean Cocteau has not published Jean's first essays or poems. 2 pp., in French
From Simonne Maubert, Paris, France, April 5, 1939: Thanks Pach for sending his book; she was happy to recognize herself in one of the chapters; her English is improving and one day she may be able to read the entire book. 4 pp., in French.
To Magdalene Pach From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., July 8, 1939: Is looking forward to the Pachs' visit. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., December 29, 1939: The book is a "glorious achievement... by far your best book"; it "brought back all my gratitude to you for all that you have taught me about art." 4 pp
From Daniel Gregory Mason, New York, N.Y., March 15, 1940: Thanks Pach for the "great pleasure and stimulus" of Ingres; "one grows to feel something of the affection, respect, and admiration for Ingres that you show the way to." 1 p
From Don F. Dickson, Director, Dickson Mound Museum, Lewistown, Ill., March 28, 1940: Sends photographs of pipes that Pach found interesting. 1 p. + enclosures (4 photographs of ceremonial pipes: "Front view of a human effigy tobacco pipe From the Great Temple Mound in Oklahoma, Ceremonial type"; "Front view. Ceremonial type"; "Side view. Ceremonial type"; and "Back view of human effigy tobacco pipe From the Great Temple Mound in Oklahoma, Ceremonial type")
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, March 30, 1940: Was interested in the Ohio mound builders in his youth; "my writing days are over I fear, for one thing I feel afraid I have nothing to say that would not sound commonplace"; "too much absorbed" in what is going on in this part of the world." 8 pp
From Ernestine Ludolf, Florence, Italy, April 18, 1940: Ingres is "splendid"; sympathizes with the "difficulties" Pach encountered when organizing the World's Fair art exhibition. 6 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Boothbay Harbor, Maine, September 2, 1940: Pach has found "the only paragraph in the whole book (which after a dozen rewritings) left me unsatisfied." Postal card
From G. Masolle, Evian, France, October 14, 1940: Is happy that Jean's memoirs are in Pach's hands; awaits English victory; the French are suffering, but she is confident the country will survive. 2 pp., in French
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., April 9, 1941: "We missed you at the John Sloan dinner"; he won't write any more about expatriates. 3 pp
From Alfred Vance Churchill, Northampton, Mass., April 21, 1941: Congratulations on Ingres; recalls Pach's help in acquiring important paintings for the Smith College Museum of Art. 3 pp
From Art Young, New York, N.Y., May 9, 1941: Congratulations on -- Masterpieces of Art -- . 1 p., illustrated with drawing of a stooped man walking with a cane
From Hugo Robus, New York, N.Y., June 13, 1941: Was pleased by Pach's letter praising his marble at the Museum of Modern Art; Alfred Barr was "delighted" by Pach's comments; there is also a Robus bronze at the Museum of Modern Art; "I never dated my work and so the actual year of production is a pretty hazy matter." 2 pp
From Ruth A. Wilmot, Oak Bluffs, Mass., [postmarked] August 2, 1941: She and Donald are enjoying their vacation. Picture postcard ("Yacht Club and Harbor, Edgartown, Mass.")
From Kenneth Hayes Miller, New York, N.Y., August 7, 1941: Comments on paintings From the Louvre shown at the M[etropolitan] M[useum of Art]; he doesn't enjoy the country as Pach seems to. 2 pp
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, August 30, 1941: "I believe the entire Mississippi basin to its utmost reaches was flooded with Aztec influences"; requests photograph of a piece Pach mentioned seeing in Columbus, Ohio; "French art will rise again"; recalls his first acquaintance with Poussin's work. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., September 4, 1941: "I am reacting against this whole conception of 'mankind' as 'rabble' "; his new book will expound on this. 2 pp
From Charles Cunningham, Assistant Curator of Paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., September 11, 1941: Requests additional information about Pach's Delacroix painting; shares information on works in the collection of George Reinhardt, Winterthur, and the Metropolitan. 2 pp
From Charles Cunningham, Assistant Curator of Paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., October 15, 1941: Sends summary of information compiled when cataloging the Museum's version of Delacroix's -- Christ on the Sea of Genesareth -- . 1 p. + 4 pp. enclosure (notes on 6 versions of the painting)
From William Mills Ivins, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] January 27, 1942: Thanks for his "warm approval of the Bulletin article." 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Norwalk, Conn., [postmarked] February 3, 1942: Thanks for sending the brochure about Quidor. Picture postcard ("The Dance of Death. The Ploughman Woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger. German, 1497-1543")
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., [postmarked] February 19, 1942: Thanks for the Quidor catalog; saw the show yesterday; "he's really a discovery." Picture postcard ("Saint George and the Dragon. Woodcut by Lucas Cranach the Elder. German, 1472-1553")
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., [postmarked] February 27, 1942: "What you say about the book makes me regret all the more that it has to be postponed." Picture postcard ("Rembrandt, Dutch, 1606-1669. Portrait of the Artist"), with annotation by Pach: "Book on American Art proposed to the American Philosophical Society."
From Fred M. Stein and Arthur Strasser, New York, N.Y., March 21, 1942: In "recognition of what you have meant to the [Schilling] Fund... [we] take great pleasure in sending you the enclosed." 2 pp
From M.M. Pochapin, Music Appreciation Record Corporation, New York, N.Y., May 6, 1942: Please sign and return a copy of the agreement. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (May 6, 1942, From M.M. Pochapin, New York, N.Y. Pach has been selected a Judge for the "Art Appreciation Movement. In this capacity you are to pass on the true value of paintings submitted.").
to Magdalene Pach From M.M. Pochapin, Managing Director, Art Appreciation Movement, New York, N.Y., May 13, 1942: Requests that she read the organization's pamphlet about the Art Appreciation Movement and complete the "lengthy Qualification Form"; "great artists will make their paintings available at these small Public Service prices." 2 pp
From M.I. Block, Art Appreciation Movement, New York, N.Y., May 27, 1942: Receipt for 5 oil paintings consigned. 1 p
From Reginald Poland, Director, Fine Arts Gallery, San Diego, Calif., 5 June 25, 1942: "We realize increasingly that, in the Caravaggio, we have a magnificent work of art"; "we have just acquired a glorious Titian Madonna, painted about 1514-- very strongly Giorgionesque." 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., [postmarked] July 8, 1942: "What happens to them [artists] when they are 'above' politics? Don't they in the end lead themselves to the politics that destroy them?" Postal card + clipping ("Guest Artists," Time)
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., July 15, 1942: "I won't agree with you about artists and politics"; "a certain breadth of interests and sympathy does not drain one's energy." 2 pp
From Raymond B. Humphrey, Brown, Crosby & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., July 17, 1942: Discusses insurance and storage arrangements for Pach's property while he is in Mexico. 2 pp
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., July 17, 1942: Agrees to publish his article on Ingres. 1 p
From Raymond B. Humphrey, Brown, Crosby & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., July 20, 1942: Sends "lost policy releases" and policy numbers. 1 p
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., August 4, 1942: Pach's article on Ingres will appear in the October issue. 1 p
From Gilbert R. Gabriel, Schneider-Gabriel Galleries, Inc., New York, N.Y., August 10, 1942: "Your article on the Ingres is a masterpiece"; discusses the price of a painting of Trinity Church. 2 pp. + enclosures (12 business cards and 4 handwriten notes containing names, addresses, and telephone numbers of Mexican acquaintances)
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., August 19, 1942: Pach's piece on Ingres will be the lead article; accepts his proposal for an article on the "Mexican primitive Bustos." 1 p
From Raymond B. Humphrey, Brown, Crosby & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., September 3, 1942: Discusses overpayment of insurance premium. 1 p. + 4 enclosures (3 invoices and inventory of artwork in storage). [postmarked September 3, 1942] From John Strasser, New York, N.Y. 4218 703-705 September 4, 1942: Discusses "early Hispano-Mexican" Madonna; "Rosenberg has an attractive show." 3 pp
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.Mex., September 8, 1942: Is home From the hospital; his exhibition was in Chicago, Denver, and Santa Fe, and will go to Albuquerque next and then Fort Worth; received "enthusiastic notices"; sold 2 pieces. 2 pp
From Jacob M. Heimann, Beverly Hills, Calif., September 14, 1942: "I greatly appreciate the idea of making an exhibition in Mexico"; inquires about lighting and dimensions of the galleries; "the lack of interest and the ignorance as far as art is concerned here, is unbelievable." 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (lists of numbers)
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., September 18, 1942: "Considering risk expenses at present offer seven and half percent for next three years." 1 p
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., September 21, 1942: Expenses will be high; recommends he establish a relationship with Mizracchi [ sic] before arriving in New York; show him some "really valuable" paintings as well as "less expensive works on the sale of which we may really count"; suggests a selection of "object d'art" From A la Vieille Russie; November is the best time for an exhibition in Mexico. 3 pp
From John Strasser, New York, N.Y., September 25, 1942: Pyramid of the Sun, as it appears in the photograph, is "dazzling"; discusses his search for a job. 2 pp
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., September 29, 1942: Proposed exhibition may receive the cooperation of the president of Mexico and the king of Rumania; "we must and shall have a first class show"; mentions several works he intends to include. 1 p
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., October 5, 1942: The editor of Cuadernos must insert a notice stating the article was written for publication in Art in America and appears simultaneously in translation. 1 p
From M.M. Pochapin, President, Art Movement, Inc., New York, N.Y., October 8, 1942: Is deciding whether to continue the Art Movement; Marsh resigned; "my enthusiasm has never waned"; Sloan remains involved; plans to market paintings through department stores; work by Walter and Magda Pach is being shown in Philadelphia and Atlanta. 2 pp
From Diego Rivera, [place unknown], October 13, 1942: He and the editors extend thanks and enclose payment. 1 p., in Spanish
From Adrian Bourcart, [place unknown], Mexico, October 21, 1942: Had the pleasure of attending Pach's lectures on art; requests clarification of true art versus false art and live art versus dead art. 4 pp., in French
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., October 22, 1942: "I was delighted with your article on Bustos"; "unless the article appears in Art in America prior to publication elsewhere, we cannot print it." 2 pp
From John Strasser, New York, N.Y., November 13, 1942: Comments on Mexico painted by Velasco. 2 pp
From Marjorie D. Mathias, College Art Association of America, New York, N.Y., November 14, 1942: The State University at Bowling Green, Ohio, has inquired about engaging Pach for a lecture. 1 p
From Henry Allen Moe, Committee for Inter-American Artistic and Intellectual Relations, New York, N.Y., November 16, 1942: "We want our grantees to be able to do what they ought to do and live as they ought to live"; Pach should let them know his anticipated expenses and how much time he needs in Mexico. 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., November 18, 1942: With the help of Eleanor and Kenyon, he has managed to read some of the Cuadernos Americanos Pach sent; "I like immensely its tone and elevated feeling"; "I envy your meetings with Diego Rivera, who has always seemed to me a very great painter"; is "shocked" that Lionello Venturi and William G. Constable don't share his opinion of Rivera; a "complicated family problem" keeps them From traveling; is working on -- The Age of Washington Irving -- . 4 pp
From Stephen Duggan, Director, Institute of International Education, New York, N.Y., November 30, 1942: Is glad that Pach's lectures were well received; hopes Pach can remain in Mexico. 1 p
From Alfonso Reyes, Colegio de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, December 3, 1942: He is honored by Van Wyck Brooks's words and wants to correspond with him. 1 p., in Spanish
From Stephen Duggan, Director, Institute of International Education, New York, N.Y., December 7, 1942: Is "delighted to learn that Pach will receive a grant through Mr. Moe and 'his Committee.' " 1 p
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., December 8, 1942: "Just returned From Johns Hopkins Hospital." Telegram
From Henry Allen Moe, New York, N.Y., December 11, 1942: "Your letter received but no word From the university." Telegram
From A.S. Baylinson, New York, N.Y., December 18, 1942: He and Constant were rejected by the jury of the "so called Victory exhibition"; reports the death of Michael Rosenthal. 2 pp
From George Constant, New York, N.Y., December 20, 1942: Is glad that Pach, a "fine painter," now has time to paint; the Artists for Victory exhibition at the Metropolitan is "lousy." 2 pp
From Henry Allen Moe, Committee for Inter-American Artistic and Intellectual Relations, New York, N.Y., December 21, 1942: Confirms that Pach is to receive a grant; a final report is due upon return. 1 p. + 2 enclosures (1 sheet of figures titled "Mex--New York" and copy of 1 p. letter to Rodulfo Brito Foucher, Rector, National University of Mexico, From Henry Allen Moe, New York, N.Y., announcing grant to the University for Pach's lectures)
From Pedro HenrÃquez UreÃ±a, Buenos Aires, Argentina 4218 764-765 December 22, 1942: Sent photographs of the work of Attilio Rossi; Argentine critic, Julio Rinaldini, will send books. 1 p
From Lasar Kipnis, New York, N.Y., December 29, 1942: Asks Pach to write an article on new acquisitions by Mr. Poland's Museum; wants Pach lecture in San Diego; when a new catalog of the permanent collection is published, "we are sure the work will be entrusted to you." 2 pp
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., December 29, 1942: Robert Montenegro's book impressed him; hopes Montenegro will write on Estrada for Art in America; requests Pach's help in arranging it. 1 p
From Harry Miller Lydenberg, [place unknown], Mexico, December 29, 1942: Discusses origin of the phrase "biblia a-biblia." 1 p
From Marcel Duchamp, New York, N.Y., January 3, 1943: Fearing visa problems, he has decided not to go to Mexico; made several "suitcases"; the opening at Peggy's gallery was a big success; plans a surrealist show with Schiaparelli and Breton; Reynolds, just arrived in Madrid, requested that Pach extend greetings to Frida and Diego. 2 pp., in French
From Arthur Strasser, New York, N.Y., January 7, 1943: Congratulations on receiving a grant; "it is not to the Schilling Fund but to you personally, Walter, that our gift to the Metropolitan was the beginning of the belated recognition of Flannagan's genius"; Fred Stein would appreciate suggestions for the Schilling Fund award. 2 pp
From John Rewald, Weyhe Gallery, New York, N.Y., January 13, 1943: Is glad Pach liked his article on Bonnard; will send Pach a copy of his new book on Seurat. 2 pp., with postscript From Laura Canade: New York Public Library has purchased Pach's Self-Portrait
From John Strasser, New York, N.Y., January 16, 1943: "People who might have enjoyed the 'Victory' show 25 or 30 years back now unanimously dislike that accumulation of junk"; "read of your and Rivera's project for spreading Flannagan's reputation." 3 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, New York, N.Y., January 17, 1943: Saw Jacques Villon's "grand portrait" of Pach at the "Modern Museum." Picture postcard ("Illuminated initial From a South Italian ms. Valerius Maximus written about 1450")
From M.L. Stafford, American Consul, American Embassy, Mexico, January 22, 1943: Pach's registration of American citizenship was approved. 1 p
From Harry Miller Lydenberg, Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin, [place unknown], Mexico, January 23, 1943: Is sending a check in appreciation of the time and interest Pach contributed to their exhibition; wants to publish Pach's tribute to Bustos. 1 p
From Stephen Duggan, Director, Institute of International Education, New York, N.Y., February 3, 1943: Pach's observation about Mexican education interested him; he is "well informed concerning the anti-American attitude" in Mexico. 1 p
From Jean Lipman, Editor, -- Art in America -- , Cannondale, Conn., February 15, 1943: Thanks Pach for arranging to have Fernando Gambo write an article on Estrada; Pach's writings have stimulated interest in Mexican art; his review will not be published due to "paper restrictions." 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, New York, N.Y., March 9, 1943: Has "rediscovered" New York by living in the city temporarily; "I am especially happy to have got to know some of the new young writers"; wants more news of Diego Rivera. 3 pp
From Georges Wildenstein, Director, Gazette des Beaux-Arts, [filmed twice] New York, N.Y., March 26, 1943: Wants to publish Pach's article; hopes he will agree to some minor changes. 1 p., in French
From Lyman Bryson, Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion, New York, N.Y., March 26, 1943: Requests comments on a paper by Professor William Scott, Randolph-Macon Women's College. 1 p. + 2 pp. enclosure ("Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion, Reply to Questionnaire of December 7, 1942 by Walter Pach")
From Paul J. Sachs, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., April 8, 1943: Grenville L. Winthrop collection has been bequeathed to the Fogg Museum; wartime conditions have caused universities to curtail their art departments; "it is extremely important that able and understanding North Americans, such as yourself... should be our cultural ambassadors in Latin America"; suggests summer programs in the United States where Pach might teach; tells Pach to add his name to the speakers list maintained by the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs. 2 pp
From William N. Eisendrath Jr., Chairman, Exhibition Committee, Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., April 26, 1943: Requests assistance in selecting works for a Rivera retrospective planned for February 1944. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (list of works by Rivera, "suggested by Mrs. Goodspeed, April 26, 1943," with notes by Walter Pach)
From Annette B. Cottrell, Director, Speakers Service Section, Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, Washington, D.C., April 28, 1943: Thanks Pach for his "interest in inter-American affairs and desire to collaborate with the work of this office as a speaker." 1 p
From Robert Chester Smith, Director, Hispanic Foundation, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., April 30, 1943: Considers Pach "an historic figure, one of the first to call attention to the development of Mexican art"; this is not the right time for Pach's proposed publications and translations. 1 p
From Harry Miller Lydenberg, [place unknown], Mexico, May 8, 1943: Pach's "review of the Low study on the place of the Museum in our world today" is "admirable"; politically or economically motivated explanations of art will "fail"; he is less "pessimistic" than Pach on the role of public funding; public libraries are a good example. 2 pp
From Annette B. Cottrell, Director, Speakers Service Section, Coordinater of Inter-American Affairs, Washington, D.C., May 25, 1943: Pach will be included among the organization's available speakers. 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., May 28, 1943: El Hijo Prodigo and Cuadernos are "typographically delightful"; wishes he knew Spanish; would like to be able to contribute articles to Mexican periodicals; John Sloan is reported to be "very frail." 4 pp
From William N. Eisendrath Jr., Chairman, Exhibition Committee, Arts Club of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., June 4, 1943: Need to figure costs for Rivera exhibition before continuing negotiations for loans; Pach must supply further information. 1 p. + 2 pp. enclosure ("List of Rivera Paintings," June 3, 1943)
From Elias Lieberman, Associate Superintendent, Board of Education of the City of New York, Brooklyn, N.Y., June 7, 1943: Pach will be granted a "substitute license" to teach Spanish in the New York public schools. 1 p
From Raymond B. Humphrey, Director, Brown, Crosby & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., June 18, 1943: Instructions for renewing war damage and fire insurance policies. 1 p
From James A. Porter, Washington, D.C., June 19, 1943: Thanks Pach for the "remarkable" introduction and subtitle suggestions for his book. 1 p.
to Maurice Block, Curator, Henry E. Huntington Art Gallery, San Marino, Calif., From Marjorie S. (Mrs. A.R.) Waybur, Kingsley Art Club, Sacramento, Calif.,June 20, 1943: Inquires about Pach's availability to lecture. 2 pp
From Ignacio Marquina, National Institute of Archaeology and History, Mexico City, Mexico., June 26, 1943: Gives Pach permission to export the 5 archaeological objects specified on the list attached. 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (copy of form completed by Pach), in Spanish
From Frederick Lewis Allen, -- Harper's -- Magazine, New York, N.Y., August 27, 1943: Rejects 2 articles, "The Negro's Place" and "Your Ancestors of the Soil." 2 pp
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.Mex., August 31, 1943: Is recovering From surgery; feeling better, but still unable to travel. 1 p
From Charles A. Thompson, Department of State, Washington, D.C., September 7, 1943: Dr. Moe will contact Pach about writing a book, in Spanish, about "art resources of the United States." 1 p
From Ernst E. Clad, New York, N.Y., September 9, 1943: Outlines Pach's finances; advises specific investments. 3 pp. + 1 p. enclosure (copy of September 9, 1943 letter From Walter Pach to H.C. Wainwright & Co. authorizing sale of stocks)
From Laurence Duggan, Adviser on Political Relations, Department of State, Washington, D.C., September 17, 1943: Cannot assist with funding or promise to purchase his book; Dr. Moe is attempting to finance the project; "I think the preparation of the book would be a far more useful contribution to inter-American understanding than your acting as an unofficial Mexican cultural representative in the United States." 1 p
To Springmeier Shipping Co from J.O. Ellis, New York, N.Y., October 14, 1943: Notification of claim for items missing From shipment of Pach's possessions. 2 pp
From Houston Peterson, Head, Division of Social Philosophy, Cooper Union, New York, N.Y., October 15, 1943: Pach is "definitely on our list of favored speakers" for the second semester. 1 p. + enclosure (brochure for "Cooper Union Forum, first half 1943-1944")
From John Sloan, Santa Fe, N.Mex., December 30, 1943: Went out to his old house, "Sinagua," which reminds him of Dolly; still recuperating From surgery; needs to clean up his Chelsea studio; it is unlikely he can get to New York; read Pach's article on the "Eight"; the name was invented by an Evening Sun writer; "the 'chosen' of Robert Henri we were, not at all a mutual admiration group as I recall the time." 3 pp
From Art Young, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] December 30, 1943: New Year's greetings. Picture postcard ("28th Issue--Art Young's Annual Hello")
From Donald Carlisle Greason, Deerfield, Mass., April 8, 1944: The enclosed letter was sent in a "weak moment"; "is it not time you took up the mightier sword again; or have your ideas changed?" 1 p. + 1 p. enclosure (letter, April 6, 1944, to Hugo Gellert and Gentlemen of the [Exhibition and Competition] Committee, Artists for Victory, Inc., From Donald Carlisle Greason, Deerfield, Mass.: declines invitation to participate in the Artists for Victory exhibition; "I shyly deplore this undignified business of artists thumbing rides of the troop trains, of Patriotism for Publicity--and prizes!"; "did not Pach write the obituary of this [prizes] in his Ananias?")
From Henry Watson Kent, New York, N.Y., November 30, 1944: Hopes his notes on Pach's manuscript will be of use and interest. 1 p. + 7 pp. enclosure (notes, comments, and suggestions relating to Pach's manuscript)
From Ernst E. Clad, New York, N.Y., December 11, 1944: Information about Pach's 1944 taxes. 1 p. + enclosures (completed "Form for Computing Capital Gains and Losses," 1 p., and printed instructions, 5 pp.)
From George Ferdinand Of, [place unknown] Read both of Pach's articles and is returning one; "you must take me to see that charming Miss Roger's paintings."
From George Ferdinand Of, [place unknown], December 28, 1944: Read both of Pach's articles and is returning one; "you must take me to see that charming Miss Roger's paintings." Picture postcard ("'Chapeau de Faille' by Rubens")
From Donald Carlisle Greason, Deerfield, Mass., February 9, 1945: "I thought my annual letter of 'regrets' to the 'Artists for Defeat' might amuse you"; quotes remarks by Sinclair Lewis made when declining the Pulitzer Prize. 1 p
From Rufus E. Clement, Atlanta University, Atlanta, Ga., April 11, 1945: Sends photographs taken at the "art show"; mentions recent reviews of their exhibition. 1 p. + 2 photographs (Pach viewing the exhibition, and Pach speaking in the gallery)
From Viking Press, New York, N.Y., April 30, 1945: Royalty statement for Masters of Modern Art. 1 p
From Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, N.Y., June 30, 1945: Royalty statement for Ingres and -- Queer Thing, Painting -- . 1 p
From Jacques Lipchitz, Paris, France, July 31, 1945: [Illegible due to show-through]. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, November 29, 1945: May continue work begun several years earlier on "Aesthetics and History"; working on "Decline and Recovery in the Figure Arts"; when in "hiding" he kept a diary, which he may publish. 2 pp
From Fred M. Stein and Arthur Strasser, Trustees of the Schilling Fund, New York, N.Y., February 8, 1946: Thank Pach for his work on behalf of the Schilling Fund; offer him a salary to continue as an adviser. 1 p., with annotation by Pach (on reverse), February 10, 1946, draft letter of acceptance, 1 p
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., June 23, 1946: Eleanor's leg had to be amputated; they will move to an apartment in New York in October. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Westport, Conn., August 26, 1946: "Eleanor's condition has taken a serious turn for the worse, and I fear it is only a question now of a very few weeks." 1 p
From Jacques Lipchitz, Paris, France, November 19, 1946: New York trip was postponed; describes a wonderful exhibit at Delacroix's studio; occasionally sees Jacques Villon, who has a painting in the Salon d'Automne. 2 pp., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, January 10, 1947: Pach's son and daughter-in-law visited him; publishers are not interested in his diary; Aesthetics and History will have to go to a university press. 2 pp
From Irma L. Richter, New York, N.Y., March 27, 1947: Is returning Pach's copy of ABC on Painting by Severini; "I wonder whether you have tried to follow his advice regarding technique." 1 p
From James Daugherty, Westport, Conn. [postmarked, March April 22, 1947]: Saw Pach's exhibition at Laurel Gallery; "your work has grown simpler and broader and more unified." 1 p
From Octavio G. Barreda, [place unknown], Mexico, October 9, 1947: Thought of Pach when visiting galleries in Italy and Paris; Paris, Rome, and Florence seem to have recovered From the war, but it wasn't the same without the old faces; in both art and literature it is the end of an era; young artists and writers do not know their message; family news; will visit New York and Havana. 4 pp., in Spanish
From Kurt Wolff, Pantheon Books, New York, N.Y., November 5, 1947: Asks Pach to accept all changes made by the editor. 1 p
From Kurt Wolff, Pantheon Books, New York, N.Y., December 4, 1947: Needs to clarify certain points; Pach must bear the cost of retyping. 1 p
From Kurt Wolff, Pantheon Books, New York, N.Y., January 29, 1948: The final pages of his manuscript must be condensed. 1 p.
To Kurt Wolff From Walter Pach, New York, N.Y., January 30, 1948: They never discussed, nor did he authorize, changes to the final pages of his book. 1 p
From Henry Watson Kent, New York, N.Y., February 21, 1948: Remarks on Pach's complimentary statement about him. 1 p
From Margarita Nelkin, Paris, France, September 1, 1948: Has heard From Pach through letters to Mlle. Burchardt; thanks Pach for supporting Spanish Republicans; is going to Rome for the Congres Interparlementaire and then to Brussels and Amsterdam to give a conference on Mexican art; in November she will leave for Mexico. 1 p., in French
From George Ferdinand Of, New York, N.Y., September 5, 1948: Thanks Pach for bringing pictures of his collection and explaining it personally; Pach has "persuaded" him to paint again. 3 pp
From Francis Hackett, Bethel, Conn., November 8, 1948: Pach is one of the "Old Guard"; his book, -- American Rainbow -- , will include "a lot in it about John Quinn"; his wife recently published a volume on Swedenborg. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Cornwell, Conn., December 2, 1948: Thanks for the inscribed copy of his "enchanting" new book; glad Pach met Francis Hackett. 3 pp
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., February 1, 1949: Royalty statement. 1 p
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., July 1, 1949: Royalty statement. 1 p
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., August 1, 1949: Royalty statement for The Art Museum in America. 1 p
From Anne Chase (Mrs. Arthur White) Sullivan, Glen Head, N.Y., November 3, 1949: Pach's lecture was "just right as a preliminary to the exhibition"; her father would have approved. 2 pp
From Mary Socard, Paris, France, December 13, 1949: Pach's young friend is making good progress learning French; discusses the student's appreciation of art and philosophy. 4 pp., in French
From Jimmy Stern, New York, N.Y., December 23, 1949: Even with "favorable 'press'," his book has not sold well; is "discouraged"; appreciated Pach's note. 1 p
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., February 1, 1950: Royalty statement. 1 p
From FranÃ§ois Puaux, Acting Consul General of France, New York, N.Y., March 7, 1950: Congratulates Pach on being awarded the cross of Chevalier of the Legion of Honor "for the services you have always rendered to the French cause." 1 p
to John Collier From Walter Pach, New York, N.Y., March 11, 1950: Hopes Professor Collier will want the thoughts expressed in Pach's manuscript "given to a wider audience." 1 p., annotated with reply, May 30, 1950: "This has been good reading for me!"
From Meyer Schapiro, Columbia University, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] March 27, 1950: "Comments on the first draft of W. P., Renoir." 3 pp
to Meyer Schapiro From Walter Pach, New York, N.Y., March 27, 1950: Responses to "Comments on the first draft of W.P., Renoir." 4 pp. draft + 4 pp. final copy
From Charles E. Slatkin, Art Book Guild of America, Inc., New York, N.Y., March 28, 1950: Invites Pach to become a member of the Art Book Guild's Advisory Board. 1 p
From Charles E. Slatkin, Art Book Guild of America, Inc., New York, N.Y., April 17, 1950: Acknowledges Pach's acceptance of appointment to the Advisory Board. 1 p
From Atlantic Monthly Company, Boston, Mass., April 20, 1950: "Assignment of Copyright" to Atlantic Monthly Corporation of Pach's article, "Art Must Be Modern." 1 p
From W.G. Constable, Department of Paintings, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass., May 30, 1950: Thanks Pach for assistance in securing the Portrait of Madame Villchelis for the museum; agrees that attribution to Gros is most likely; reports the death of Ned Holmes. 2 pp
From Mary Socard, Paris, France, June 20, 1950: The young student has left; he would have benefited From a longer stay but at least had an introduction to European culture; sympathizes with Pach's disappointment over having his prologue replaced by an analysis of painting construction. 3 pp., in French
From Pantheon Books, Inc., New York, N.Y., August 1, 1950: Royalty statement for -- The Art Museum in America -- . 2 pp
From Nanny (Mrs. Sigmund) Pollitzer, New York, N.Y., November 8, 1950: Sorry to learn of Magda's illness. 2 pp
From Nanny (Mrs. Sigmund) Pollitzer, New York, N.Y., November 11, 1950: Extends her sympathy; will try to attend the service. 2 pp
From Eufrosia A.W. Tucker, New York, N.Y., November 11, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 2 pp
From Sarah d'Harnoncourt, New York, N.Y., November 13, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 1 p
From Edith R. Abbot, New York, N.Y., November 13, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 2 pp
From Fanny and Ralph Ellison, New York, N.Y., November 14, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 1 p
From Robert L. Duffus, Westport, Conn., November 15, 1950: Sympathy on the death of Mrs. Pach. 1 p
From Roland Balay, New York, N.Y., November 20, 1950: Offers condolences on the death of Mrs. Pach. 1 p., in French
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, September 23, 1951: Congratulates Pach on his recent marriage. 2 pp
From Mutual Benefit Health and Accident Association, New York, N.Y., [postmarked] November 23, 1951: "Official Receipt for Premium Due." Postal card
From [signature illegible], Athens, Greece, December 24, 1951: Carouzos will select photographs of the subjects that interest Pach; wants to see photographs of Pach's latest paintings. 4 pp
From Jacques Lipchitz, New York, N.Y., January 12, 1952: Pach is right that endings offer new beginnings; predicts that Pach will resume work soon. 1 p., in French
From Rufino Tamayo, [place unknown], Mexico, January 22, 1952: Appreciates Pach's stimulating critique; expects to spend the next year on a mural for the Palace of Fine Arts; congratulates Pach on his marriage. 2 pp., in Spanish
From Bernard Berenson, Ischia, Italy, May 29, 1952: "My indignation over distorted, abstract, non-representational art is that it can lead nowhere." 2 pp
From U.S. Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service, New York, N.Y., August 8, 1952: "Adjustment of tax liability" and audit for calendar year 1950. 1 p. + enclosures (1 p. "Statement of Income Tax Due," and 4 pp. report)
From Bernard Berenson, [place illegible], September 23, 1952: Agrees with most of Pach's letter to the New York Times; "feeling for art is of the few and understanding for even fewer." 2 pp
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, March 17, 1954: Comments on Pach's "poem to Greek art"; is working on a new edition of Italian Paintings; sends an article he wrote on Picasso. 2 pp
From George Ferdinand Of, Rome, Italy. Is in Rome; heading for Naples, [undated (prior to April 18, 1954)]: Picture postcard ("Roma-Foro Romano, veduto del Campidoglio")
From George Ferdinand Of, Padua, Italy, April 18, 1954: Saw Giottos; visited Ravenna, Naples, and Pompeii. Picture postcard ("Padova-Monumento al Generale Gattamelata")
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, April 25, 1954: He still does not accept the Metropolitan Museum's Madonna as an Antonello; "I remain an optimist" that culture will once again become "genial, creative and human." 2 pp
From Hendrik Willem van Loon, Riverside, Conn., : He is much better; they have a house near the water where friends are welcome. 1 p., in Dutch
From Bernard Berenson, Florence, Italy, April 21, 1955: "I agree with all you write about the present state of art appreciation"; read the book about Sloan by Van Wyck Brooks; not impressed by Sloan's work; wonders how much Pach influenced Brooks. 2 pp
From William Mills Ivins, Woodbury, Conn., July 17, 1955: Was disappointed to have missed a visit by Pach and Brooks; is living a solitary and quiet life. 2 pp
From Jacques Lipchitz, Beach Haven, N.J., August 7, 1955: After reading Pach's article, he wants to read the book; he no longer appreciates Maillol's sculpture; discusses Renoir's strong judgments of other artists; although Epstein has reached a dead end in Paris, he is a good artist. 3 pp., in French
From Jacques Lipchitz, Beach Haven, N.J., August 15, 1955: Thanks Pach for sending Epstein's book; considers Epstein a good portrait painter but not such a good sculptor; discusses his theory that Jews need to assert their identity. 1 p., in French
From Alfred Russell, Paris, France, September 27, 1955: Thanks Pach for the award; the modern Italian painters he once admired no longer interest him; he finds the sculptors a "revelation"; his exhibition drew "brutal and barbaric insults"; Paris is "the pivot of the universe." 2 pp
From Hendrik Willem van Loon, Riverside, Conn., October 17, [1955?]: "My sincere congratulations upon having finished these miles of paint." 1 p., with illustrated envelope (sailboats) + illustrated card (landscape with windmills)
From Carl Sandburg, Flat Rock, N.C., March 27, 1956: "Values" Pach's letter and plans to affix it to his copy of Faure's History of Art. 1 p
From Germain Seligman, New York, N.Y., April 15, 1957: Ingres's -- Study for the Iliad -- is in the permanent collection of the Art Gallery of Toronto. 1 p. + enclosures (2 pp. description of -- Study for the Iliad -- [Apotheosis of Homer], photograph of -- Study for the Iliad -- , and 2 pp. [photocopies] From Exposition Ingres catalog, 1921)
From Martin Baldwin, Director, Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 16, 1957: The gallery is conducting further research on Study for the Iliad; will share information when it becomes available. 1 p
From Lewis Mumford, Paris, France, April 27, 1957: Has reviewed his correspondence since 1920; Pach's letters are "real treasures" to be saved for historians; being in Paris made him recall Pach's "friendliness and hospitality in 1932"; has rediscovered Ingres now that his taste is mature. 2 pp
From Van Wyck Brooks, Bridgewater, Conn., January 4, 1958: Will study Howells' letters at the Harvard library; recommends novels by Howells. 2 pp
From Hans Christian, Rome, Italy, April 7, 1958: Is visiting Raymond and Ruth in Rome. Picture postcard ("Roma--Arco di Constantino"), in German
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
The Walter Pach papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Walter Pach papers, 1857-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Funding for the initial digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Gladys K. Delmas Foundation. Funding for the processing of the addition to the Walter Pach papers and digitization of the fully re-processed collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Report on Plan of Assistance Incident to the Acquisition of Atlanta Transit System, Inc. by the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority including Valuation of Physical Assets and other Operation and Intangible Assets of Atlanta Transit System, Inc.
History of Technology, Division of, NMAH, SI Search this
Collection is open for research and access on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Frank H. Waring papers, 1912-1997, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.