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Summary:
Primarily letters to Helen Stein from Marsden Hartley, with typed transcriptions and 25 typed pages of anecdotes about Hartley, probably written by Stein. The letters provide intimate information about Hartley's activities, interests, and state of mind for the last 9 years of his life, revealing his thoughts about artists, dealers, artistic styles, critics, and describing his progress in painting and in sales of his paintings. (Included with a letter of September 10, 1939 is a snapshot of Hartley.) Similar information is included in the anecdotes, which recount Hartley's comments on many topics.
There are also catalogs for exhibitions of Hartley's work, a press review, and a letter from Stein to Paul Rosenberg in which she mentions the Hartley letters.
Citation:
Helen Stein papers relating to Marsden Hartley, [undated] and 1934-1949. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
35mm microfilm reel 4130 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Biography Note:
Painter. Born Helen Steinberg in Odessa, Russia, Stein came to the United States at the age of two. She studied at the Art Students League with Max Weber and at Cooper Union. Her benefactor, Sir Michael Crozer-Gielberg, commissioned Le Corbusier to design a studio for her in Paris (1927-29). She met Marsden Hartley, who greatly admired her work, ca. 1930, and painted him ca. 1932. They were close friends for the last ten years of his life.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
The papers were gathered and donated by Jay Friedline, a friend of Stein and Hartley, 1988.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
