Compare Constellations

Selz, Peter Howard, 1919-. Oral history, 1994.

Title: Oral history, 1994.

Selz gives a brief overview of his life and early professional career before joining The Museum of Modern Art staff in 1958. Selz discusses exhibitions he mounted, developments in the Department of Painting and Sculpture and the Museum as a whole during his tenure, and offers insights into various Museum personalities, including Alfred H. Barr, Jr. and Rene d'Harnoncourt.

ArchivalResource: 1 transcript (110 p.)3 sound cassettes.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122456775 View

Rasmussen, Waldo. Oral history, 1994.

Title: Oral history, 1994.

Waldo Rasmussen describes his family background, his early interest in art and modern art and his arrival at The Museum of Modern Art in 1954 from the Portland Art Museum. The history of the International Program, almost from its inception under Porter McCray, is chronicled, and Rasmussen's long tenure as its head is discussed in detail. Included are descriptions of and stories about several important exhibitions MoMA sent abroad during those years, including "David Smith", "Jackson Pollock" and "The New American Painting". Also discussed is the relationship of overall Museum activities to those of the International Program. Most of the Museum's important persons are discussed, including Alfred H. Barr, Jr., René d'Harnoncourt, Richard E. Oldenburg, Frank O'Hara and Dorothy Miller.

ArchivalResource: 5 sound cassettes.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/81133724 View

Ala Story papers

Title: Ala Story papers

Primarily research material for exhibitions organized by Story at the American British Art Center and at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

ArchivalResource:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90f8bca6e-217a-44d4-a365-236c0d38ded6 View

Alfred Hamilton Barr papers

Title: Alfred Hamilton Barr papers

The microfilmed Alfred Hamilton Barr papers contain files kept during Barr's tenure at the Museum of Modern Art, including personal and professional correspondence with museum officials, curators, writers, historians, critics, art associations, foundations, magazines, artists, and collectors; files on staff, exhibitions, and MoMA publications and collections; files on abstract art, cubism, and futurism, some related to Barr's book <emph render="italic">Cubism and Abstract Art</emph> (1936); files on the Foundation for Arts, religion and Culture (ARC), Barr's travels, lectures, speeches, exhibitions, publications, political controversies, and artists and collections in the USSR; writings, including travel notebooks regarding his trip to Russia (1959), visits with Pablo Picasso (1956), and Henri Matisse (1952); exhibition catalogs, clippings, and printed material; and photographs. Also included are material collected by Barr's wife, Margaret Scolari Barr, including Alfred Barr's obituaries, <emph render="italic">A Memorial Tribute</emph> (1981), an invitation and guest list to the memorial service, and condolence letters; and photocopies of autograph letters (circa 1920s-1970s), from the Barr's collection sold to Arthur A. Cohen in 1975.

ArchivalResource: 61 microfilm reels

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f94b6146-4ced-40f1-b4d3-9382aaee6076 View

Belle Krasne Ribicoff papers

Title: Belle Krasne Ribicoff papers

The papers of Belle Krasne Ribicoff measure 1.6 linear feet and date from 1942-circa 2010, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945-2004. Papers include biographical materials; correspondence with artists, art historians, writers, museum directors, and others; individual files relating to Belle and Irving Ribicoff's art collection and the Friends of Abe Ribicoff's campaign for the United States Senate; artwork; printed material, e.g., clippings, announcements, exhibition catalogues, brochures; and photographs. The collection documents Ribicoff's career as an arts editor, critic, and her involvement in civic and arts organizations for the State of Connecticut.Biographical materials include documentation of the Buttenweiser Prize awarded to Belle Krasne by the Art History Departmental Honors at Vassar College in 1945 and curriculum vitae.Correspondence, primarily incoming letters consists of letters, postcards, draft versions, and copies of e-mails. Belle Krasne Ribicoff was friends with many artists; their letters focus on daily activities, work, and the art world. Among the correspondents are Oscar and Eleanor Chelminsky, Joseph Cornell, Piero and Virginia Dorazio, John and Rae Ferren, Helen Frankenthaler, James Fitzsimmons, Adolph Gottlieb, John Graham, Ellsworth Kelly, Frank Modell, George L.K. Morris, Philip Pearlstein, Eero Saarinen, David Smith, and Adja Yunkers. There is substantial correspondence from Ben Benn, Sidney Geist, Leon Hartley, Ralph Rosenborg, and Theodore Roszak. Also found are love letters to Belle Krasne Ribicoff from Jean Bazaine. Many of the artists' letters are illustrated. Of note, are a letter from Carl Holty to J.B. Neumann and an artist's statement written by Adolph Gottlieb.Ribicoff had a professional and personal relationship with a number of prominent writers, actors, and other individuals known for their work in the arts, such as Edward Albee, Claire Bloom, Peter DeVries, Horton Foote, Elia Kazan, Mark Lamos, Estelle Parsons, Karl Shapiro, Cornelia Otis Skinner, and P.L. Travers. There are letters from museum directors, art historians, and other well-known cultural figures, such as Dore Ashton, Clement Greenberg, Balcomb Greene, Rene d'Harnoncourt, Pierre Matisse, E. P. Richardson, Andrew C. Ritchie, Harry Salpeter, Curt Valentin, and Mark Van Doren. Also found are files of holiday cards, many original artwork; letters to Ribicoff upon her departure from <emph render="italic">Art Digest</emph>; letters from representatives at Storm King Art Center Museum and the Wadsworth Atheneum; and letters from unidentified correspondents. The Ribicoff collection relates to the personal art collection of Belle and Irving Ribicoff; materials document the purchase and sale of artwork and the lending of artwork for exhibitions. There is a file of petition letters sponsored by the Friends of Abe Ribicoff campaign for the United States Senate.Original artwork includes prints by Jean Arp and Adja Yunkers and pencil sketches of Sarai Ribicoff by William Bailey. Printed material consists of news clippings; a periodical; exhibition announcements; brochures; an offprint of an article by Cleve Gray; and miscellaneous printed material.Photographs contain black and white photographs of Belle Krasne Ribicoff, Ben and Velida Benn, Richard Krautheimer, and of the jurors attending the Carnegie International exhibition (circa 1954), including Jean Bazaine, Rico Lebrun, Eric Newton, and James Thrall Soby.

ArchivalResource:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91c413ec6-93d1-49eb-aefe-563ddcb130b4 View

Jack Levine papers

Title: Jack Levine papers

The papers of New York social realist painter and printmaker Jack Levine date from 1923-1999, and measure 3.2 linear feet. Levine's career is documented through biographical material, scattered letters, notes and a speech, writings, student drawings, three scrapbooks, printed material and nearly one linear foot of photographs of Levine, his family, and his colleagues.Found within the papers are two driver's licenses and several biographical accounts, and scattered letters from colleagues including one each from John Taylor Arms, Hyman Bloom, Leonard Bocour, René d'Harnoncourt, Lloyd Goodrich, Jacob Lawrence, and Homer Saint-Gaudens discussing various art-related events. There is only one carbon copy of a letter written by Levine. The correspondence includes oversized photographs of the members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Additional photographs of the members are found in the Photograph series. Notes and writings are primarily typescripts about Jack Levine written by others. There is also a transcript of one speech, "Jack Levine Speaks Regarding the Donation of 108 of his Drawings to the Archives" delivered by Levine at the Fogg Art Museum.Artwork consists entirely of Levine's student drawings including anatomical studies, neighborhood genre scenes, copies of Old Masters, and a series of images of symphony musicians. Some of the drawings display themes that are reflected in his later paintings.Three scrapbooks contain clippings that document Levine's career and reflect his political interests. Additional printed material consists of a comprehensive collection of clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs. There is also an announcement for a lecture by Levine, press releases, calendars of events, reproductions of artwork, programs, brochures including one for <emph render="italic">Facing East</emph>, a portfolio of Levine's prints, and three books.Photographs include numerous photographs of Levine throughout his artistic career, including images of his wife, painter Ruth Gikow, their daughter Susanna, and colleagues including Hyman Bloom, Leonard Bocour, Alexander Dobkin, Joachim Probst, and Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Especially notable is a series of photographs of Levine printmaking with Emiliano Sorini and Ruth Gikow. There are photographs of Levine serving on art juries and panels with Eleanor Coen, Joseph Hirsch, Gabor Peterdi, Studs Terkel, and Max Weber, and attending events with Lawrence Fleischman, Betty Friedan, Edith Halpert, Mauricio Lasansky, Gypsy Rose Lee, Pope Paul VI, and Raphael Soyer. A small album contains photographs of Levine and various buildings in Boston. There are also photographs of miscellaneous exhibition installations including Levine's retrospective at the Jewish Museum, and of artwork by Levine and others.Group photographs of the members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters are found here, and include Will Barnet, Paul Cadmus, Chuck Close, David Levine, George Tooker, and John Updike. Additional group photographs of the members that were originally enclosed with letters are found in the correspondence series.

ArchivalResource:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ee98ce56-1333-40b7-8878-654a12f9024b View

Oral history interview with Dorothy C. Miller

Title: Oral history interview with Dorothy C. Miller

An interview of Dorothy Miller conducted 1970 May 26-1971 Sept. 28, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Miller speaks of her childhood and family background; the beginning of her career in museums; her first trip to Europe; the Depression and its effect on the art world; the establishment of the WPA Federal Art Project; the scandal over the Diego Rivera mural in Rockefeller Center; getting started with the Museum of Modern Art in its early years; working with Alfred Barr; early exhibitions at the MOMA; meeting Mark Tobey and Morris Graves; meeting Holger Cahill; Cahill's background; Cahill's involvement with the WPA Federal Art Project, and the Project's early years; post-war changes in American art and the post-war years at the MOMA; Shaker design; some of her colleagues at the MOMA. She recalls Duncan Phillips, Rene D'Harnoncourt, Jackson Pollock, Edward M.M. Warburg, Nelson Rockefeller, Mark Rothko, Louise Nevelson, Alexander Calder, Lyonel Feininger, Walker Evans, and Edwin Dickinson.

OralHistoryResource: 1 sound tape reel ; 7 in. and 9 sound tape reels ; 5 in. (19 hrs.); Transcript: 260 p.

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw940c85ded-d241-4018-8248-4f24388f12e3 View

Koch, Richard H., 1918-. Oral history, 1991.

Title: Oral history, 1991.

Koch recalls his early days as a writer/director of industrial films and as an associate with the law firm of Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts, where he worked on Museum of Modern Art matters. He discusses the 1958 fire at the Museum, the legal ramifications of which resulted in his being hired full-time, and describes changes in the structure of trustee committees as well as his own various responsibilities. Koch offers personal reminiscences of Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Rene d'Harnoncourt, John B. Hightower, Bates Lowry, and Monroe Wheeler, and discusses in depth the period in the 1960s during which he, J. Wilder Green and Walter Bareiss assumed joint responsibility for the administration of the Museum. Also discussed are the Museum's 1964 building expansion, the planning phase of the 1984 expansion, the formation of the Museum's professional staff union (PASTA/MoMA), and the employee strikes of the early 1970s.

ArchivalResource: 1 transcript (181 p.)5 sound cassettes.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/86148441 View

Museum of Primitive Art (New York, N.Y.). Archive of the Museum of Primitive Art, 1949-1992 (inclusive), 1957-1975 (bulk).

Title: Archive of the Museum of Primitive Art, 1949-1992 (inclusive), 1957-1975 (bulk).

The Archive of the Museum of Primitive Art includes documents, correspondence, memoranda, photographs, and negatives from the offices of the Director, Registrar, Controller, and Curators, as well as materials from the Library and Public Relations departments. The documents relate to the exhibitions, administration, publications, acquisitions, and education programs of the Museum of Primitive Art, from its first exhibition in 1957 to its final presentation in 1974. During the period from 1975 to 1978 when the Museum of Primitive Art was closed to the public, the files from various MPA departments were brought together to form the Archive, in preparation for transfer to the Metropolitan. Materials concerning the transition of the MPA to the Metropolitan, along with the opening of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at the Metropolitan Museum in 1982, are included in the Archive. These materials include correspondence, memoranda, photographs, and architectural drawings and sketches. Of particular importance to the Archive are the materials relating to the special exhibitions that were presented from Feb. 1957 through Dec. 1974, including correspondence, memoranda, and exhibitions catalogs. Among other items, the Archive holds approximately 1,200 black-and-white, 8-by-10-inch photographs of the actual special exhibition installations. Taken primarily by Charles Uht, the staff photographer, they are complemented by a less complete group of color 35 mm. slides by Uht and other photographers. Also included are sketches of installation designs by René d'Harnoncourt and Douglas Newton. The Archive also contains collections of ephemera that encompass an extensive range of media, from newspaper clippings to the metal lettering from the facade of the building. Important components of the Archive are the scrapbooks of articles concerning the museum's opening, exhibitions, and public programs. Publicity releases are also included in the scrapbooks. The sixty-three publications produced by the staff of the Museum of Primitive Art and visiting scholars are also represented in the Archive.

ArchivalResource: ca. 145 linear feet.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122427865 View

Oral history interview with Henry Geldzahler

Title: Oral history interview with Henry Geldzahler

An interview of Henry Geldzahler conducted 1970 Jan. 27, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Geldzahler speaks of his youth and family background; his early interests; his education at Yale and Harvard; the decision to pursue an art career; working with the Metropolitan Museum of Art for Robert Beverly Hale; working with James Rorimer; his first exhibit; artists and curators he has been associated with; working with Roger Stevens at the National Endowment for the Arts; public interest in museums; working with Thomas Hoving; his opinion of critics; and how he selects works for exhibitions. He recalls Richard Bellamy, Harry Lowe, Lois Bingham, Robert Scull, Leo Castelli, Frank Stella, Andy Warhol, and Rene D'Harnoncourt.

OralHistoryResource: Sound recording: 2 sound tape reels ; 7 in.Transcript: 76 p.

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw930961b87-e75b-4509-b6de-2f4dadabd532 View

John Collier papers

Title: John Collier papers

The papers consist of correspondence, subject files, writings, memoranda and reports, research materials, and miscellanea, documenting the personal life and professional career of John Collier. His service with the American Indian Defense Association (A.I.D.A.), as United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and as a teacher and author is detailed. Correspondence files include materials with leading political, literary, and social figures. Drafts of books, articles, essays, reviews, and poetry are supplemented with extensive subject files and research materials. Files relating to the Institute of Ethnic Affairs include substantive correspondence and memoranda. The papers of anthropologist Laura Thompson, Collier's second wife, are also arranged in the papers, and date from 1945-1956.

ArchivalResource: 52.25 linear feet

http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.0146 View

Morrow, Elizabeth C. Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1931-1940.

Title: Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1931-1940.

Elizabeth Morrow was associated with William Spratling and Rene D'Harnoncourt through their mutual interest in Mexico. In 1932, Carl Zigrosser arranged for a group of Morrow's essays to be privately published as Casa Manana. This correspondence concerns her book.

ArchivalResource: 12 items (16 leaves).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/213466205 View

Mazo, Sara, 1911-. Oral history, 1993.

Title: Oral history, 1993.

Ms. Mazo discusses coming to work at the Museum at the beginning of World War II, and includes descriptions of Dorothy C. Miller, Dorothy H. Dudley, Rene d'Harnoncourt, James Thrall Soby, and Alfred H. Barr, Jr. The relationship between the artist Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1893-1953), to whom Ms. Mazo was married, and the Museum is described as are the evolution of the Museum's Department of Painting and Sculpture from the Department of Museum Collections and changes in the department during the 1950s and 60s.

ArchivalResource: 1 transcript (61 p.)1 sound cassette.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122604491 View

John Collier papers, 1910-1987

Title: John Collier papers 1910-1987

The papers consist of correspondence, subject files, writings, memoranda and reports, research materials, and miscellanea, documenting the personal life and professional career of John Collier. His service with the American Indian Defense Association (A.I.D.A.), as United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and as a teacher and author is detailed. Correspondence files include materials with leading political, literary, and social figures. Drafts of books, articles, essays, reviews, and poetry are supplemented with extensive subject files and research materials. Files relating to the Institute of Ethnic Affairs include substantive correspondence and memoranda. The papers of anthropologist Laura Thompson, Collier's second wife, are also arranged in the papers, and date from 1945-1956.

ArchivalResource: 52.25 linear feet

http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.0146 View

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.). Early museum history: administrative records, 1930s-1950s.

Title: Early museum history: administrative records, 1930s-1950s.

The Papers concern the early activities of many of the Museum's programs, such as the Armed Services Program, Art in America radio program and subsequent book, film library, circulating exhibitions, lectures, Veteran's Art Center; and committees such as the Advisory Committee, Education Committee, Garden Committee, and Reception Committee. The Museum's involvement with Latin America (Series II) and television (Series III) is also documented. Notable staff members represented in the Papers include John E. Abbott, Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Alan R. Blackburn, Jr., Thomas W. Braden, Rene d'Harnoncourt, Thomas D. Mabry, Jr., Allen Porter, James Thrall Soby, Julian Street, Jr., James Johnson Sweeney, Ione Ulrich, and Monroe Wheeler. Correspondents include such collectors and dealers as, for example, Walter C. Arensberg, Bernheim Jeune & Cie., F. Valentine Dudensing, Durand-Ruel, Grace Horne, Julien Levy, J.B. Neumann; and such personalities as Nicolas Calas, Leo Frobenius, Naum Gabo, Lincoln Kirstein, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.

ArchivalResource: 11 linear ft. (32 boxes)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/702415860 View

Norman Carton papers

Title: Norman Carton papers

Correspondence; writings and notes; financial data; sketchbooks; photographs; exhibition catalogs and clippings.

ArchivalResource:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw983bbdf28-3e8d-4ac6-8d65-3d6eb3110837 View

Lowry, Bates, 1923-. Bates Lowry papers, 1965-1969.

Title: Bates Lowry papers, 1965-1969.

The Papers concern many aspects of the Museum's operation, both administrative and curatorial, between the years 1965 and 1969. Symposia, Jazz in the Garden concerts, the Children's Art Caravan, the Children's Art Carnival, exhibitions, and publications are among the subjects documented. Lowry's Papers include files maintained by René d'Harnoncourt, under whose direction he worked in 1968.

ArchivalResource: 1.5 linear ft. (4 boxes)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/701722166 View