Received correspondence, conversation transcripts, and other material from the author and art critic, David Bourdon. Throughout his adult life, Bourdon was intimately involved with the art world as a writer, critic, collector, and connoisseur, and he developed close relationships with many of his subjects. This collection of his correspondence and interview transcripts attest both to his professional activities and his personal relationships. The earliest material here dates from 1955, well before Bourdon began his professional career, and consists of letters from numerous close friends. Much of the correspondence in Series I is of strictly personal nature, including numerous Christmas and holiday cards from friends and relatives. There is personal correspondence here from some of Bourdon's more significant relationships, including the art critics Suzi Gablik and Gregory Battcock. And one folder (I.12) contains numerous letters and postcards from noted artists. Many, such as Jeanne Claude and Christo and Carl Andre, were frequent subjects of Bourdon's writing. The transcripts of conversations and interviews in Series II compose a distinct part of Bourdon's activity. Evidence suggests that he regularly recorded his phone conversations, then later transcribed them for research or diaristic purposes. While some of the content is strictly conversational in nature, much also involves the activities of the art world and Andy Warhol in particular, as Warhol is the most frequent caller recorded here. There is no available information suggesting that the callers were informed of the recordings. Finally, one of Bourdon's longest lasting correspondents among the many artists he knew was Ray Johnson. Johnson had studied at Black Mountain College but gained his greatest prominence only in the late 1960s and after as one of the main progenitors of Correspondence or Mail Art. Bourdon was recipient of a great number of these pieces as well as regular written letters. The folders of Series III contain numerous examples of Johnson's output as well as a drawing by Johnson. All correspondence noted below is addressed to Bourdon. Only a few examples of Bourdon's outgoing correspondence is present. That Bourdon kept envelopes for most of his correspondence greatly aids the substantiation of date and correspondent. The material was received as a single series of folders overlapping in chronology, without any clear organization, and absent significant titles or labels. The order of folders has been only minimally rearranged to form the three series.
