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E.P. (Edgar Preston) and Constance Richardson papers

Creator:
Richardson, Edgar Preston, 1902-1985  Search this
Richardson, Constance, 1905-  Search this
Names:
Archives of American Art  Search this
Castano Galleries (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Detroit Institute of Arts  Search this
Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum  Search this
Historical Society of Pennsylvania  Search this
Macbeth Gallery  Search this
National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.)  Search this
National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian Institution)  Search this
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this
Philadelphia Museum of Art  Search this
White House (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Peale family  Search this
Allen, Joseph  Search this
Allston, Washington, 1779-1843  Search this
Andrews, Wayne  Search this
Aram, Siegfried F.  Search this
Bishop, Isabel, 1902-1988  Search this
Bostick, William A.  Search this
Bouché, Louis, 1896-1969  Search this
Boyd, Julian P. (Julian Parks), 1903-  Search this
Castano, Giovanni, 1896-1978  Search this
Cohn, Harold  Search this
Copeland, Lammot du Pont  Search this
Culver, Charles B. (Charles Beach), 1908-1967  Search this
Fleischman, Lawrence A. (Lawrence Arthur), 1925-1997  Search this
Flexner, James Thomas, 1908-2003  Search this
Frankenstein, Alfred V. (Alfred Victor), 1906-1981  Search this
Fredericks, Marshall M., 1908-1998  Search this
Freeman, Michael W.  Search this
Garrison, Eve Josephson, 1903-2003  Search this
Groce, George C., 1899-  Search this
Hardy, Jeremiah Pearson, 1800-1889  Search this
Heil, Walter, 1890-1973  Search this
Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967  Search this
Jungwirth, Irene G. (Irene Gayas), 1913-  Search this
Krentzin, Earl, 1929-  Search this
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953  Search this
Lee-Smith, Hughie  Search this
Lewis, W. S. (Wilmarth Sheldon), 1895-1979  Search this
Lynes, Russell, 1910-1991  Search this
Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954  Search this
Mast, Gerald, 1908-1971  Search this
McDermott, John Francis, 1902-  Search this
Middeldorf, Ulrich Alexander, 1901-  Search this
Morse, John D., 1906-  Search this
Moser, Liselotte, 1906-1983  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986  Search this
Oliver, Andrew, 1906-  Search this
Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827  Search this
Pleasants, J. Hall (Jacob Hall), 1873-1957  Search this
Ripley, S. Dillon (Sidney Dillon), 1913-2001  Search this
Rockefeller, John D., 1906-  Search this
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979  Search this
Rutledge, Anna Wells  Search this
Sellers, Charles Coleman, 1903-  Search this
Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965  Search this
Simper, Fred, 1914-  Search this
Simpson, Corelli C. W.  Search this
Soria, Regina, 1911-  Search this
Spark, Victor D. (Victor David), 1898-1991  Search this
Speck, Walter, 1895-  Search this
Stevens, William B.  Search this
Valentiner, Wilhelm Reinhold, 1880-1958  Search this
Vose, Robert C. (Robert Churchill), 1911-1998  Search this
Watkins, Franklin Chenault, 1894-1972  Search this
Wedda, John  Search this
Woolfenden, William E. (William Edward), 1918-1995  Search this
Wyeth, Andrew, 1917-2009  Search this
Extent:
28.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Manuscripts
Interviews
Diaries
Transcripts
Sketches
Lectures
Place:
Detroit (Mich.)
Date:
1814-1996
bulk 1921-1996
Summary:
The papers of art historian E. P. Richardson measure 28.7 linear feet and date from 1814-1996, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1921-1996. Within the papers are scattered biographical materials; acquisition files for Richardson's personal art collection; professional and personal correspondence with colleagues, art historians and critics, artists, museums, galleries, and dealers; numerous writings, including manuscripts and research files for his published books, articles, and lectures; general research notebooks and files compiled by Richardson on a wide variety of art-related topics and artists; professional and committee files; as well as a smaller amount of Constance C. Richardson's papers.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian E. P. Richardson measure 28.7 linear feet and date from 1814-1996, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1921-1996. Within the papers are scattered biographical materials; acquisition files for Richardson's personal art collection; professional and personal correspondence with colleagues, art historians and critics, artists, museums, galleries, and dealers; numerous writings, including manuscripts and research files for his published books, articles, and lectures; general research notebooks and files compiled by Richardson on a wide variety of art-related topics and artists; professional and committee files; as well as a smaller amount of Constance C. Richardson's papers.

Biographical materials include certificates, awards, and honorary degrees, membership information, personal and family photographs, a few sketches, and a transcript of an oral history Interview with E.P. Richardson conducted by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 1982.

There are acquisitions files for the Richardsons' personal art collection that invoices, photographs, correspondence with galleries and collectors, appraisals, price lists, and artwork examination forms.

Correspondence is with colleagues, art dealers, collectors, museums and museum curators, foreign scholars, organizations, galleries, artists, art historians and critics, publishers, editors, librarians, friends, and family. Topics regard purchasing art for various collections, consultations about art and collecting including authentications and attributions, publishing, general art history, lectures, and personal matters, among other topics. There is correspondence with the Archives of American Art, Castano Galleries, Lawrence Fleischman, James Thomas Flexner, Alfred V. Frankenstein, George Croce, Walter Heil, Earl Krentzin, Wilmarth Lewis, Russel Lynes, John Francis McDermott, Philadelphia Museum of Art, J. Hall Pleasants, Anna Rutledge, Charles Sellers, Smithsonian Institution, Regina Soria, Victor Spark, William Stevens, Robert Vose, William Woolfenden, and many others. Scattered correspondence with artists is with Isabel Bishop, Louis Bouche, William Bostick, Eve Garrison, Edward Hopper, Irene Jungwirth, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Hughie Lee-Smith, Reginald Marsh, Gerald Mast, Georgia O'Keeffe, Charles Sheeler, Walt Speck, and John Wedda, among many others. The greatest extent of correspondence is with Andrew Wyeth, Harold Cohn, and Frederick Simper. There is also personal correspondence with family and friends, and between E.P. and Constance Richardson.

E.P. Richardson's prominence as an art historian, writer, and expert on collecting is well documented through his prolific writings. Materials include drafts, notes, typescripts, and outlines for articles, exhibition catalog essays, and lectures. Also found are research files and publishing documentation for Richardson's books, including Washington Allston: A Study of the Romantic Artist in America (1948), Painting in America (1956), Charles Willson Peale and his World (1983), and American Romantic Painting (1944). There are also miscellaneous notes and four diaries. Two of the diaries comment on the social and cultural life of Detroit; the authenticity of paintings; Richardson's reflections on contemporary American painting, thoughts about museums, dealers, artists, and art historians (especially Wilhelm R. Valentiner); and travel.

Notebooks compiled by Richardson on a wide variety art-related topics cover nearly six decades. There are also numerous research files organized Richardson about individual artists and art history. And, the art collector files contain reference materials about art collectors and their collections including Lamont du Pont Copeland, Michael W. Freeman, Nelson Rockefeller, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Allen, and the Marquis de Somerlous. There are three index card file boxes containing bibliographic data on published books and articles.

Professional and committee files document Richardson's professional and consulting work for the Art Quarterly, Detroit Institute of Arts, National Collection of Fine Arts, the National Portrait Gallery, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the John D. Rockefeller III collection, Winterthur Museum, the White House, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Constance C. Richardson's papers include business and professional correspondence with various institutions, most extensively with the Macbeth Gallery. In addition, there is a smaller amount of personal correspondence, photographs and slides of her artworks, printed materials, two illustrated notebooks on her work, and miscellaneous notes. Also included is Constance's artist palette.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian, museum director, and writer E. P. (Edgar Preston) Richardson (1902-1985) served as director of the Detroit Institute of Arts (1945-1962) and Winterthur Museum (1963-1966). He was also a board member of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1966-1977 and, in 1954, co-founded the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

E. P. Richardson was born in 1902 in Glens Falls, New York and died in Philadelphia in 1985. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts in 1925 and studied painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for the three years following graduation. In 1930 he became educational secretary at the Detroit Institute of Arts, was quickly named assistant director in 1933, and served as director from 1945 to 1962. He left Detroit to take the position of director of the Winterthur Museum, where he remained until 1966. Richardson married Constance Coleman in 1931. Born in Berlin, Germany in 1905, Constance Coleman Richardson was an award-winning and widely exhibited realist style painter of American landscapes. She gave up painting in the 1960s and died in 2002.

While at the Detroit Institute of Arts, E. P. Richardson co-founded the Archives of American Art with Lawrence Fleischman, and served as the Archives' first director. Richardson was also art advisor to John D. Rockefeller III for over ten years, editor of Art Quarterly from 1938 to 1967, and a member of various boards, including the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Smithsonian Arts Commission, and the National Portrait Gallery. He authored numerous books including ones on artists Washington Allston and Charles Willson Peale, and The Way of Western Art: American Romantic Painting (1939), Painting in America: The Story of Four Hundred and Fifty Years (1956), A Short History of Painting in America (1963), and American Art, an Exhibition of the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, 3d (1976).
Related Materials:
Related collections among the holdings of the Archives of American Art include an interview with E.P. Richardson dated February 6, 1978 conducted by Linda Downs; and several miscellaneous manuscripts that include an E.P. Richardson Letter to Rockwell Kent, June 15 1959; E.P. Richardson letters to Lawrence Arthur Fleischman, May 13, 1962 and August 22 1954; and a Yasuo Kunioshi letter to E.P. Richardson, July 25 1948.

Additional E.P. Richardson papers are found at the Detroit Institute of Arts and in the archives of the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel D46) including E.P. Richardson's research material on Jeremiah P. Hardy. These materials are housed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Library and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Edith Wilkinson first donated a letter to E. P. Richardson from herself in 1957. E.P. Richardson donated papers to the Archives of American Art in 1958 and 1960 and lent materials for microfilming in 1961. Addition material was donated by Constance Richardson in 1985, and by Martha Fleischman in 2003.
Restrictions:
Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
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.
Occupation:
Authors -- Michigan -- Detroit  Search this
Art historians -- United States  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this
Painting, American  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Romanticism  Search this
Art -- History -- Study and teaching  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Manuscripts
Interviews
Diaries
Transcripts
Sketches
Lectures
Citation:
Edgar P. Richardson papers, 1814-1996, bulk 1921-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.richedga
See more items in:
E.P. (Edgar Preston) and Constance Richardson papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f0a154af-52ef-402b-b06d-60a290eec749
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-richedga
Online Media:

Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman papers

Creator:
Fleischman, Lawrence A. (Lawrence Arthur), 1925-1997  Search this
Names:
American Federation of Arts  Search this
Archives of American Art  Search this
Corcoran Gallery of Art  Search this
Detroit Institute of Arts  Search this
Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum  Search this
Kennedy Galleries  Search this
Kraushaar Galleries  Search this
M. Knoedler & Co.  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Midtown Galleries (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Milwaukee Art Center  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
National Gallery of Art (U.S.)  Search this
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts  Search this
Philadelphia Museum of Art  Search this
United States Information Agency  Search this
University of Michigan. Museum of Art  Search this
Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this
Allston, Washington, 1779-1843  Search this
Arms, John Taylor, 1887-1953  Search this
Bailey, Grace  Search this
Bailey, Truman E., 1902?-1959  Search this
Bohrod, Aaron  Search this
Burchfield, Charles Ephraim, 1893-1967  Search this
Culver, Charles B. (Charles Beach), 1908-1967  Search this
Eakins, Thomas, 1844-1916  Search this
Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this
Fleischman, Barbara  Search this
Gentle, Esther, 1900-  Search this
Krentzin, Earl, 1929-  Search this
Marin, John, 1870-1953  Search this
Pollack, Peter, 1909-1978  Search this
Rattner, Abraham  Search this
Richardson, Constance, 1905-  Search this
Richardson, Edgar Preston, 1902-1985  Search this
Ryder, Albert Pinkham, 1847-1917  Search this
Sellers, Charles Coleman, 1903-  Search this
Watkins, Franklin Chenault, 1894-1972  Search this
Extent:
4.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Typescripts
Photographs
Date:
1837-1984
bulk 1935-1979
Summary:
The papers of art collectors, art patrons, and philanthropists Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman measure 4.9 linear feet and date from 1837 to 1984, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1935-1979. The papers are comprised mostly of correspondence with artists, museums, and arts organizations. Also found are scattered biographical materials, artists' autograph letters purchased by the Fleischmans, exhibition files, notes and writings, printed material, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art collectors, art patrons, and philanthropists Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman measure 4.9 linear feet and date from 1837 to 1984, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1935-1979. The papers are comprised mostly of correspondence with artists, museums, and arts organizations. Also found are scattered biographical materials, artists' autograph letters purchased by the Fleischmans, exhibition files, notes and writings, printed material, and photographs.

One folder of biographical material includes a biographical account and a certificate of appreciation from the Common Council for the City of Detroit.

The bulk of the collection is comprised of correspondence documenting the Fleischman's art related activities and interests primarily during the 1950s and 1960s. Individual correspondents include Aaron Bohrod, Charles E. Burchfield, Charles B. Culver, Philip Evergood, Earl Krentzin, John Marin, Jr., Abraham Rattner and Esther Gentle, Peter Pollack, Edgar P. and Constance Richardson, Charles Coleman Sellers, and Franklin Watkins. One letter from Charles E. Burchfield includes four etching plates used to create the color print of Hot September Wind.

Arts organizations and galleries represented in the correspondence include the American Federation of Arts, the Archives of American Art, the Arts Commission of the City of Detroit, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Detroit Institute of Art, Kennedy Galleries, M. Knoedler and Co., Inc., Kraushaar Galleries, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Midtown Galleries, the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the School of the Society of Arts and Crafts, the United States Information Agency, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Winterthur Museum.

Autograph letters purchased by the Fleischmans include letters written by artists Washington Allston (addressed to Thomas Sully), Albert Pinkham Ryder, and John Taylor Arms.

Exhibition files document the various exhibitions of art work from the Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman Collection at the University of Michigan Museum of Art; the Detroit Institute of Art; in Central and South America; in Greece, Israel and Russia; and at the Milwaukee Art Center. The files contain letters, notes, printed material, and photographs.

Three folders of notes and writings include "Introduction to Earl Krentzin Catalog" by Lawrence Fleischman and "Selection of Excerpts from the Soviet Press and Radio Attacking U. S. Culture" by unidentified authors.

Scattered printed material includes miscellaneous clippings and catalogs not connected with the Exhibition Files series. There is also a book John Marin: The Man and his Work by E. M. Benson that was autographed by Marin to the Fleischmans in 1953.

Photographs include portrait photographs of Lawrence Fleischman, photographs of Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman with colleagues, of art work from the Fleischman Collection, of Truman and Grace Bailey in their studio, and a copy photograph of Thomas Eakins as a boy.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1958 (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1949-1984 (Boxes 1-4, 7; 3.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Autograph Letters, 1837-1942 (Box 4; 4 folders)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1953-1960 (Boxes 4-5, 7; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1957-1962 (Box 5; 3 folders)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1935-1969 (Box 5-6; 6 folders)

Series 7: Photographs, 1953-1965 (Box 6; 13 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Lawrence Fleischman (1925-1997) of New York City was an American art collector, patron, philanthropist, and benefactor. He and his wife, Barbara Greenberg Fleischman, assembled an impressive collection of art and artifacts that they shared with the public as part of their philanthropic activities aimed at fostering a wider appreciation of the arts around the world.

Lawrence Fleischman was born on February 14, 1925 in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Stella and Arthur Fleischman, the owner of a large carpet business. He attended the Western Military Academy in Alton, Illinois, and studied engineering at Purdue University. In 1942, he interrupted his studies to volunteer for service in the U.S. Army during World War II. While serving in France, he met a doctor who further fostered Fleischman's ever growing interest in American art. Following the war, he graduated with a degree in physics from the University of Detroit. Fleischman met Barbara Greenberg in Detroit and they were married in 1948.

Beginning in the late 1940s, Fleischman established a fledgling television station, developed holdings in real estate, and began purchasing art work. Initially the Fleischmans collected undervalued 20th century American art and were friends with several artists, including John Marin, Charles Burchfield, Stuart Davis, and Ben Shahn. They also expanded the scope of their collection to include 19th century American works.

During the 1950s, Lawrence Fleischman realized how there were few American art historians and college departments, as well as a lack of primary source material. Fleischman worked with Edgar P. Richardson, then director of the Detroit Institute of Art, to raise funds and they founded the Archives of American Art at the Detroit Institute of Art in 1954. The Archives of American Art was, and still is, dedicated to the collection, preservation, and study of primary source records that document the history of the visual arts in the United States. Lawrence A. Fleischman is a founding Trustee of the AAA and served as the Chairman of the Board from 1958 to 1966. His wife, Barbara joined the Board of Trustees in 1997 and served as Chair from 2003 to 2007. She is a Trustee Emerita.

Lawrence Fleischman's business and philanthropic interests included the Arthur Fleischman Carpet Company, the Lee Plaza Hotel-Motel in Detroit, Art Adventurers, the Art School of the Society of Arts and Crafts in Detroit, the Friends of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Cultural Committee of the United States Information Agency, and the Art Commission of Detroit, which governed the Detroit Institute of Art. He also served as an officer of the Board for many of the arts-related organizations.

In 1996, the Fleischmans moved their family from Detroit to New York City, where Lawrence Fleischman became a partner in the Kennedy Galleries.

The Fleischmans philanthropic activities include generous support of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Detroit Institute of Art, the Cleveland Museum, the British Museum, the Vatican Museum, and lifelong support of the Archives of American Art.

Lawrence Fleischman died on January 31, 1997 in London, England. Barbara Fleischman lives in New York City and continues to be an active supporter of the visual arts.
Related Materials:
Among the Archives holdings are two oral history interviews with Lawrence A. Fleischman. The first was conducted by Paul Cummings in 1970 and the second conducted by Gail Stavitsky in 1994 . Both interviews have transcripts available.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming, the majority of which was later donated, except for five letters on reel D197. These include one postcard from Constance Richardson, 1956; one letter from Constance Richardson, 1957; one letter from Franklin Watkins, 1955; one letter from Lawrence Fleischman to Wilbur H. Hunter, 1960; and one letter from Richard D. Tucker, 1960. This material remains with lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman papers were donated in several accretions by Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman from 1954 to 2007. Letters were also loaned for microfilming in 1965, but nearly all of them were subsequently donated.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- United States  Search this
Topic:
Painting, American  Search this
Art patrons Michigan Detroit  Search this
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Philanthropists  Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- United States  Search this
Genre/Form:
Typescripts
Photographs
Citation:
Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman Papers, 1837-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.fleilawr
See more items in:
Lawrence and Barbara Fleischman papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92905ad60-9c85-493f-90b7-272f1486ef69
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-fleilawr
Online Media:

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