The collection is arranged as 10 series: Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1934-1955, 1974 (Box 1; 6 folders) Series 2: Correspondence, 1932-1984 (Box 1-3; 2.1 linear feet) Series 3: Writings, circa 1946 (Box 3; 2 folders) Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1945-1975 (Box 3, 5; 0.3 linear feet folders) Series 5: Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Records and Looted Inventories, circa 1942-1950 (Box 3, 5, OV 6; 0.3 linear feet) Series 6: Photographs, 1938-1970 (Box 3-5; 1.2 linear feet) Series 7: Scrapbook, 1936-1948 (Box 4; 0.1 linear feet) Series 8: Printed Materials, 1934-1980 (Box 4; 0.4 linear feet)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Summary:
The Thomas Carr Howe papers measure 4.4 linear feet and date from 1932 to 1984. Howe was director of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco for nearly 40 years, and he served as one of the Monuments Men in the Monuments, Fine Art and Archives (MFAA) Section of the U.S. Army during World War II. The collection documents Howe's MFAA work in Germany and Austria locating and recovering cultural artifacts and artwork stolen by the Nazis. There is significant correspondence with friends and colleagues, as well as fellow Monuments Men such as Samson Lane Faison, Edith Standen, and George Stout. The papers also includes reports, inventories of stolen artwork, maps, annotated photographs, a scrapbook, and photographs. The papers also document Howe's later work at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.
Citation:
Thomas Carr Howe papers, 1932-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Funding:
Funding for the processing 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:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American are the papers of several additional members of the U. S. Army MFAA section. There is an oral history interview with Thomas Carr Howe and Robert Neuhaus conducted by Paul Karlstrom and Peter Fairbanks on September 26, 1987 and another with Howe conducted by Paul Karlstrom on June 2-3, 1976.
Biography Note:
Thomas Carr Howe, Jr. (1904-1994) served as the director of the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco for nearly four decades and, during World War II, as an officer in the U.S. Army's Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives unit assisting with locating, recovering, and restituting cultural objects and artwork stolen by the Nazis.
Language Note:
Collection is in English. Some records are in French and German.
Provenance:
Thomas Carr Howe donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in multiple installments from 1979 to 1982.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Cultural property -- Protection -- Europe -- History -- 20th century Search this
Art thefts -- Germany -- History -- 20th century Search this
Museum directors -- California -- San Francisco Search this