This collection is arranged as 7 series. Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1906, 1948-1981 (1.7 linear feet; Box 1-2) Series 2: Artist Files, 1905-1983 (4 linear feet; Box 2-6, 22) Series 3: Client Files, 1904, 1927-1981 (7.1 linear feet; Box 6-13) Series 4: Financial Records, 1930-1981 (8.7 linear feet; Box 13-20, 22-29) Series 5: Legal Records, 1970-1972 (0.2 linear feet; Box 20) Series 6: Printed Materials, circa 1830-1872, 1948-1982 (0.2 linear feet; Box 20-22) Series 7: Photographs, circa 1898-circa 1940 (0.1 linear feet; Box 21)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Summary:
The Victor D. Spark papers measure 22.2 linear feet and date from circa 1830 to 1983, with the bulk of the material from 1930 to 1970. The papers document Spark's career as a New York City art dealer and appraiser who was most active from World War II through the 1970s, focusing on Old Masters paintings and 19th and early 20th century American art. Found within the papers are biographical materials, artist files, client files, financial records, legal records, printed material, and photographs.
Citation:
Victor D. Spark papers, circa 1830-1983, bulk 1930-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2013 and is available via the Archives of American Art's website. Blank pages, blank versos of photographs, and duplicates have not been scanned. Cancelled checks, check stubs, and bank credit statements have not been scanned. Only the cover, title page, and individual relevant pages have been scanned from contemporary readily available 20th century published materials. Rare 19th century printed materials, however, have been scanned.
Funding:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation
Use Note:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of Victor D. Spark conducted August 5, 1975 by Paul Cummings.
The National Gallery of Art maintains 12,000 photographs and negatives of artwork in their Victor D. Spark photograph collection.
Biography Note:
Victor D. Spark (1898-1991) was a prominent New York City appraiser and art dealer who specialized in Old Masters paintings as well as 19th and early 20th century art.
Language Note:
The collection is in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.
Provenance:
The Victor D. Spark papers were acquired between 1954 and 1996. The first accession of 19th century printed materials and a letter by Ruth Moran was donated by Spark in 1954. The bulk of the collection was purchased jointly by the Archives of American Art and the National Gallery of Art at auction in July 1987. Subsequently, photographs of works of art documenting the collections of the National Gallery of Art were separated and retained by the National Gallery of Art. The papers remained at the Archives of American Art; three letters were later transferred to the Archives from the National Gallery of Art in 1996.
Digitization Note:
This site provides access to the papers of Victor D. (Victor David) Spark in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2016, and total 33,757 images.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001