The Samuel J. Wagstaff, Jr. records, 1956-1978 (predominantly 1968-1971). 1956-1978 (predominantly 1968-1971)

ArchivalResource

The Samuel J. Wagstaff, Jr. records, 1956-1978 (predominantly 1968-1971). 1956-1978 (predominantly 1968-1971)

The records contain administrative correspondence, personal correspondence prior to and during Wagstaff's tenure as Curator of Contemporary Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts, research work on various artists, periods and schools of art, and files dealing with accessioned art objects and exhibitions during Mr. Wagstaff's tenure. Included are letters between the exhibiting artists and Mr. Wagstaff. In the series on exhibitions, there is also much correspondence with the artists, some of whom has later become more prominent. Also included are original drawings and plans by various artists, especially Robert Morris. Also of interest is Wagstaff's personal correspondence regarding research on Gauguin and the Ecole du Pont-Aven; research notes and a rough draft of an article on sources of influence in the work of Gauguin; and a critique of a monograph on the ceramics and sculpture of Gauguin by Christopher Gray. Notes and correspondence regarding the provenance and symbolic history of various objects in the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum (including various Medieval panels and missal) are of additional interest. Correspondence regarding Wagstaff's personal collecting parallels some of his work on exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum, the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Detroit Institute of Arts, and after. Notable are early recorded interest in silver collecting and photographic collecting. Researchers will find this collection of great use because of Wagstaff's importance as a primary figure in the museum exhibition of avant-garde American art of the 1960s and early '70s. Though this collection does not cover his years as a collector and promoter of photography, it provides precursory documentation and information regarding his collecting and research strategies.

9 linear feet.

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Related Entities

There are 12 Entities related to this resource.

Mapplethorpe, Robert

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w66f6kqw (person)

Mapplethorpe, Robert. American Photographer. Born: New York City, 4 November 1946. Education: Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, 1963-70. Career: Underground film-maker, New York, 1965-70; photographer, collagist, assemblagist, New York, 1970-72. Independent photographer, New York, since 1972. Died: 9 March 1989. From the description of Robert Mapplethorpe. (International Center of Photography). WorldCat record id: 701252064 ...

Morris, Robert, 1931-....

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wd4764 (person)

Robert Morris (1931-) is a sculptor from New York, N.Y. From the description of Oral history interview with Robert Morris, 1968 Mar. 10. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 83475559 ...

Heizer, Michael, 1944-....

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6m3339v (person)

Wadsworth Atheneum.

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Art museum; Hartford, Conn. Established 1842 to house the collection of Daniel Wadsworth, a painter and collector. The museum grew considerably with gifts from J.P. Morgan into a premiere institution of American fine and decorative arts. Formerly known as Wadsworth Atheneum and Morgan Memorial. From the description of Wadsworth Atheneum scrapbooks, 1899-1963. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122502531 ...

Gray, Christopher, 1915-1970

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68s4x9z (person)

Gauguin, Paul, 1848-1903

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w61n8712 (person)

French artist. From the description of Autograph letter signed : [Tahiti], to Monsieur Brault, 1903 Feb. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 269581224 Gauguin was a French post-impressionist painter, sculptor, and graphic artist. From the description of Paul Gauguin's Le sourire, 1899-1900. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 612771726 From the guide to the Paul Gauguin's, Le sourire, 1899-1900., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard Unive...

Wegman, William

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6ht2x0p (person)

William Wegman (1943- ) is a photographer, New York, N.Y. Judith Olch Richards (1947- ) is former executive director, iCI; New York, N.Y. From the description of Oral history interview with William Wegman, 2008 Mar. 8 [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 226956609 ...

Wagstaff, Samuel J.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64t6rtg (person)

Samuel J. Wagstaff, Jr. (Nov. 4, 1921-Jan. 14, 1987) was Curator of Contemporary Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts from September, 1968 through October, 1971. Prior to serving in this position he had been Senior Curator at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut from February 20, 1967 through June, 1968, and Curator of Paintings, Prints and Drawings there from October 1, 1961 through February 20, 1967. He was part-time instructor at George Washington University (18th C. art), and receiv...

Detroit institute of arts

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6b31jbf (corporateBody)

Art museum; Detroit, Michigan. Incorporated 1885 as Detroit Museum of Art and name changed to Detroit Institute of Arts in 1919. From the description of Detroit Institute of Arts records, 1882-1979. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122404328 Art museum; Detroit, Mich. From the description of The Rouge : the image of industry in the art of Charles Sheeler and Diego Rivera : panel discussion, 1978 Sept. 20. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122502662 ...

Kelly, Ellsworth, 1923-....

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w60g3t32 (person)

Born in 1923, Newburgh, New York. From the description of Artist file. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122547390 ...

Homer, Winslow, 1836-1910

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w62b90zv (person)

Winslow Homer was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1836. He was raised in Cambridge, where he developed a love of art and the outdoors. At the age of 19 he began his career as an illustrator, apprenticing at the J.H. Bufford lithographic firm in Boston. He then decided to become a freelance illustrator. In 1859 Homer moved to New York to work for Harper's Weekly, serving as artist-correspondent for the magazine during the Civil War. After taking some art classes at the National Academy of Desig...

Cummings, Frederick J.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w68w3ms5 (person)