The papers of art critic and historian Alfred Victor Frankenstein measure 19.1 linear feet and date from 1875 to 1985. The bulk of the collection consists of Frankenstein's research and writing files on American painting, particularly artists working in the nineteenth-century. There are extensive files on artists John Haberle, William Michael Harnett, and William Sidney Mount. The collection also includes biographical material, correspondence, general writings and notes, professional activities files, personal business records, printed materials, photographs, and unidentified sound recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art critic and historian Alfred Victor Frankenstein measure 19.1 linear feet and date from 1875 to 1985. The bulk of the collection consists of Frankenstein's research and writing files on American painting, particularly artists working in the nineteenth-century. There are extensive files on artists John Haberle, William Michael Harnett, and William Sidney Mount. The collection also includes biographical material, correspondence, general writings and notes, professional activities files, personal business records, printed materials, photographs, and unidentified sound recordings.
Biographical materials include awards, museum passes from the 1970s, school records, and a scrapbook documenting Frankenstein's career at the San Francisco Chronicle. Also found is his father's medical school diploma.
Largely professional in nature, Frankenstein's correspondence is with galleries, museums and institutions, colleges and universities, as well as art historians and museum colleagues including Paul Jenkins, Stanton MacDonald-Wright, and Thomas E. Ripley.
General writings are on subjects such as music, art, California, and the Ronald P. Murdock art collection. It is likely that some writings may be drafts for articles that later appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. Also found are three notebooks, a recorded interview, recorded lectures by Frankenstein and by others.
The bulk of the collection consists of Frankenstein's extensive research files on American sill-life painting in the nineteenth-century. Research topics focus primarily on artists John Haberle (including sketches by Haberle), William Michael Harnett, William Sidney Mount, and John Frederick Peto; however, some files are found for collectors, dealers, and subjects. Files are found both for the research and writing of Frankenstein's books, After the Hunt (1953) and The World of Copley: 1738-1815 (1970). Contents of the research files vary but many contain correspondence, photographs, notes and writings, provenance research, printed materials, and photocopied and original primary documents. Additional research files are also found in Series 5, Exhibition Files.
Files concerning exhibitions curated or organized by Frankenstein include Artist Self-Portraits (1974) at the National Gallery of Art, an exhibition at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, and the World's Fair Exposition exhibition, Our Land, Our Sky Our Water: an Exhibition of American and Canadian Art (1974). Files contain loan agreements, gallery plans, photographs, writings, correspondence, and printed materials.
Frankenstein's professional activities files include material about his job as a music critic at the San Francisco Chronicle, and records documenting his participation in the American Arts Alliance and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Also found are scattered student writings, lecture notes, and some correspondence from his teaching position at the University of California, Berkeley.
An appraisal for a Joseph Decker work, the estate records of Sylvia Frankenstein, general receipts for purchases and shipping records, and vehicle ownership records comprise Frankenstein's personal business records.
Printed materials include clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, magazines, and blank postcards. Also found are eight commercial audio recordings, including a musical piece by Charles Ives on cassette, and six phonograph records that are likely of music. A cassette entitled "Heritage of American Art" may be from an exhibition of the same title held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in 1975.
Personal photographs include snapshots of Frankenstein with his family and portraits of him, as well as a photocopy of a family photo album. The bulk of the photographs are of artwork.
There are six unidentified sound recordings.
Biographical / Historical:
Alfred Victor Frankenstein (1906-1981) was an art historian, writer, art and music critic, and educator active in San Francisco, California.
Frankenstein was born in 1906 in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at the University of Chicago but moved to San Francisco to take a job as a music critic for the San Francisco Chronicle . Later, the position expanded to include critiques of visual art and art exhibitions. He remained at the San Francisco Chronicle until 1979, concentrating only on art from 1965.
He was an expert on 19th century American still-life and his notable book, After The Hunt (1953), examined the American trompe-l'œil movement in late 19th century and early 20th-century through the work of painters William Harnett and John Frederick Peto. He also authored The World of Copley: 1738-1815 in 1970. Frankenstein curated several major exhibitions, including American Self-Portraits (1974) at the National Portrait Gallery and the 1974 World's Fair Exposition exhibition, Our Land, Our Sky Our Water: an Exhibition of American and Canadian Art..
An educator, Frankenstein was a professor of Art History at the University of California at Berkeley (1940-1974), Stanford University (1973-1981), and at Mills College (1945-1974), where he also taught American music.
Related Materials:
Also found among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are two oral histories with Alfred Frankenstein, one conducted by Mary McChesney on November 9th, 1965 and the other conducted by Paul Karlstrom from 1978 to 1979. Additionally, Frankenstein donated one sketchbook and twelve loose sketches that are cataloged as a separate collection: the William Harnett sketches, 1870.
Provenance:
Alfred Frankenstein donated some of his papers in 1972, and lent materials for microfilming in 1978. His estate, handled by his son John Frankenstein, donated the materials original loaned as well as additional records in 1981.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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:
Art critics -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art historians -- California -- San Francisco Search this
The Ira and William Glackens papers, circa 1900-1990, measure 2.3 linear feet. The collection consists primarily of the papers of Ira Glackens relating to the artwork of his father, William Glackens, but also contains scattered correspondence of William and his wife Edith, including letters from Albert Barnes. Ira Glackens' papers include books written by Ira; exhibition catalogs and clippings about William and others; photographs of the Glackens family and friends, of Ira, and of the Glackens residence; and an audio recording of William Glackens' remarks upon accepting an award at the Carnegie International Exhibition in 1936. There are also records of the Sansom Foundation, which was set up by Ira Glackens and his wife Nancy.
Scope and Content Note:
The Ira and William Glackens papers, circa 1900-1990, measure 2.3 linear feet. The collection consists primarily of the papers of Ira Glackens relating to the artwork of his father, William Glackens, but also contains scattered correspondence of William and his wife Edith, including letters from Albert Barnes. Ira Glackens' papers include books written by Ira; exhibition catalogs and clippings about William and others; photographs of the Glackens family and friends, of Ira, and of the Glackens residence; and an audio recording of William Glackens' remarks upon accepting an award at the Carnegie International Exhibition in 1936. There are also records of the Sansom Foundation, which was set up by Ira Glackens and his wife Nancy.
Biographical information consists of genealogical research on the Glackens family and a copy of Ira Glackens birth certificate.
Correspondence of the artist William Glackens includes letters to his wife, Edith, written while on a trip to Paris in 1912 to purchase paintings for collector Albert C. Barnes. Barnes' letters to William and Edith Glackens are about paintings in the Barnes Collection, the educational plans of his Foundation, and Glackens' work and exhibitions. Letters to Edith Dimock Glackens are from relatives and friends including her father, Ira Dimock, her sister, Irene Dimock FitzGerald, author James L. Ford, and painter Maurice Prendergast. There is also a copy of a letter concerning the estate of Lenna G. Borton, the Glackens' daughter.
Ira Glackens' correspondence largely concerns exhibitions, sales, loans, donations and the authentication of artwork by William Glackens. Correspondents include museums, galleries and artists, in addition to personal correspondence with family and friends. Names of significant correspondents in Ira Glackens' correspondence include Laura (Mrs. Albert C.) Barnes, Charles Buckley, Delaware Art Museum, Kraushaar Gallery, Walt Kuhn, Vivian Liff, George Luks, Stearns Morse, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Bennard Perlman, Eugenie Prendergast, Arnold T. Schwab, Helen (Mrs. John) Sloan, and Williams College Museum of Art.
Noteworthy writings include speeches, a memoir, and a short play by Ira Glackens, and family recollections of Edith Glackens. A 1936 audio recording is of remarks made by William Glackens upon being presented with an award for his entry in the Carnegie Institute's International Exhibition. Writings by others include essays by John Bullard and Everett Shinn about Glackens.
Printed material includes Ira Glackens' books, catalogs of group and solo exhibitions featuring the work of William Glackens, clippings concerning William Glackens, and reviews of Ira Glackens' books.
Records of the Sansom Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization founded in 1950 by Ira and Nancy Glackens to oversee their art interests, consist of annual reports, a charitable trust registration form, and financial and tax records.
Photographs are of the Glackens family, travel scenes and artwork by William Glackens, The Eight, and other artists.
A card index of William Glackens' paintings, prepared by Ira Glackens, provides details of artwork in William Glackens' estate.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Information, circa 1900-1990 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1902-1989 (Box 1; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, 1963-1982 (Boxes 1, 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Sansom Foundation, Inc., 1957-1973 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1903-1989 (Boxes 2-3; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbook, 1956-1980 (Box 3; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 7: Photographs, circa 1900-1986 (Box 2; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 8: Card Index of William Glackens' Paintings, circa 1940-1949 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Ira Dimock Glackens (1907-1990), the first child of painter and illustrator William Glackens and Edith Dimock Glackens, was born in New York City. Raised in the art world, he was well acquainted with his father's friends and colleagues. Upon his father's death in 1938, Ira became responsible for managing and administering the art remaining in William Glackens's estate.
Educated at the Choate School, Ira Glackens became a writer. He published two books about his father: William Glackens and the Ashcan Group: The Emergence of Realism in American Art (1957) and William Glackens and the Eight: The Artists who Freed American Art (1984). An opera expert, Ira Glackens was also the author of Yankee Diva: Lillian Nordica and the Golden Days of Opera (1963) and an authority on apples.
William Glackens (1870-1938) was born in Philadelphia and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with Robert Henri while working as an illustrator for local newspapers, including the Philadelphia Press. In 1895, he departed for a year in Paris and then moved to New York City where he continued to work as an illustrator for various newspapers and periodicals. Before long, Glackens began to focus on scenes of city life and street crowds and, in 1908, he participated in the groundbreaking exhibition of The Eight at the Macbeth Gallery in New York City.
Between 1925 and 1932 William Glackens lived and worked in France and his painting was strongly influenced by Renoir. He spent the remainder of his life in New York City, exhibiting widely from 1894 on. Glackens was named an Associate of the National Academy of Design and was the recipient of several awards including those of the 1901 Pan-American Exposition (gold), the 1904 St. Louis Exposition, the 1915 Pan-Pacific Exposition, the 1933 Society of Independent Artists Exhibition, and the 1936 Carnegie International Exhibition.
Related Materials:
The Archives also holds several collections related to Ira and William Glackens, including the Ira Glackens letters to Jane Wasey; the Illustrations by William Glackens and letter from Ira Glackens; the Lillian E. Travis papers relating to William Glackens and Charles Prendergast; and the Thomas Hart Benton and Ira Glackens letters. Substantial correspondence between William Glackens and the Kraushaar Gallery can also be found in the Kraushaar Galleries records.
Separated Material:
Published books not authored by Glackens family members or related to Glackens' family members were transferred to the Smithsonian's American Art Museum Library in 2007. A few pieces of artwork were given to Williams College, also in 2007.
Provenance:
The Ira and William Glackens papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Ira Glackens in 1987, and by his estate in 1991. In 2007 a small cache of papers found in the Glackens home was donated by Susan Corn Conway, who had purchased the Glackens' house.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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.
Topic:
Illustrators -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Authors -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Search this
Interview of Thomas Adrian Fransioli, conducted April 21, 1981, by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Wenham, Massachusetts.
Fransioli speaks of his upbringing in Seattle, Washington; training and friendships at architectural school at the University of Pennsylvania; working in North Carolina, Virginia, Philadelphia, and Cleveland as an architect, interior designer, and draftsman; his commission for a grand country house in Virginia, 1932-1934; his work for John Russell Pope on the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; work in photographic reconnaissance for the U.S. Army during World War II; visiting Hiroshima after the atomic bomb; his training at the Art Students League; his paintings of cityscapes and houses; the promotion of his career by Margaret Brown of Boston; and influences upon him. Fransioli also recalls Charles Klauder, Margaret Brown, Carl Feiss, Otto Eggers, John Walker, David Finley; and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Thomas Adrian Fransioli (1906- 1997) was an architect and painter from Massachusetts. He was born in Seattle, Washington.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Topic:
Architects -- Massachusetts -- Interviews Search this
A letter from Mitchell to the director of the National Gallery of Art seeking information regarding the gallery's policy on copying works of art; and a response informing Mitchell that the gallery does not permit copies to be made of its works.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, instructor; San Francisco and San Diego, California.
Provenance:
Transferred 1982 from the National Museum of American Art-National Portrait Gallery Library.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Spark, Victor D. (Victor David), 1898-1991 Search this
Extent:
5.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1903-2007
bulk 1960-2007
Summary:
The papers of collectors Raymond and Margaret Horowitz measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1903-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960- 2007. The collection documents the Horowitzes' activities as collectors through art collection files, including appraisals, sales information, printed material, and photographs of artwork; files of artwork sold or donated; accession records, including inventory lists of paintings and prints; and catalog information.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of collectors Raymond and Margaret Horowitz measure 5.4 linear feet and date from 1903-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960- 2007. The collection documents the Horowitzes' activities as collectors through art collection files, including appraisals, sales information, printed material, and photographs of artwork; files of artwork sold or donated; accession records, including inventory lists of paintings and prints; and catalog information.
The records document the acquisitions that formed the foundation for the Raymond and Margaret Horowitz collection. Materials reflect Raymond Horowitz's long-standing relationships with dealers, galleries, and museums, including Adelson Galleries, Babcock Galleries, Daniel Fraad, Hirschl & Adler, Paul Magriel, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Victor Spark, and others.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 4 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Art Collection Files, 1943-2007 (Boxes 1-3; 2.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Artwork, Sold or Donated, 1903, 1950-2003 (Boxes 3-5; 2.0 linear feet)
Series 3: Accession Records, 1959-circa 1994 (Box 5; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Catalog Information, circa 1960-1967 (Box 5; 3 Folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Raymond Horowitz (1916-2005), a lifelong resident of New York City, was a founding partner in the firm Graubard Miller, where he practiced corporate law for over fifty years. Horowitz's interest in art history and art developed as an undergraduate student at Columbia College (1932-1936) where he attended lectures by the art historian, Meyer Schapiro. In 1939, Horowitz earned his jurisprudence degree from Columbia University. Shortly thereafter, he found a position as assistant Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, where he remained until 1943 when he went into private practice. In 1940, Raymond married Margaret Goldenberg.
Raymond and Margaret shared an interest in art and began collecting in the 1940s. Initially, the Horowitzes acquired drawings and pastels on a modest, informal basis. In 1961, with the purchase of a painting by Robert Henri, Raymond and Margaret began to collect early twentieth century American artists, whose work they thought had been overshadowed by the French Impressionists and the Abstract Expressionists. Raymond and Margaret Horowitz were credited as pioneers in the rediscovery and revaluation of the work of Frank Benson, William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, Maurice Prendergast, Theodore Robinson, John H. Twachtman, J. Alden Weir and other notable American Impressionist artists. Raymond Horowitz also acquired the works of Social Realist artists, such as Thomas Anshutz, George Bellows, William Glackens, and John Sloan. Many of the pieces from the Horowitzes' collection have been exhibited in museums and galleries in the United States and abroad. Raymond and Margaret Horowitz donated works of art to the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Newark Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art; in early 2000s, they made a major gift of 49 paintings, drawings, and watercolors to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
In September, 2005, at the age of 90 years, Raymond Horowitz died in New York.
Born in New York City in 1915, Margaret Horowitz (1915-2005) received a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University. Encouraged by her parents to equip herself to earn a living, Margaret went on to receive a Master's Degree from Teacher's College at Fordham University in literature. Raymond Horowitz referred to Margaret as an equal partner in their collecting endeavors. At the time of her death in March, 2005, Margaret and Raymond had been married for sixty-five years.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Raymond Horowitz, conducted 1973 January 17 by Paul Cummings and conducted 2004 October 20-November 5 by Avis Berman.
Provenance:
The papers of Raymond and Margaret Horowitz were donated in 2015 by Stephen L. Ingerman, the executor of the estate of Raymond and Margaret Horowitz.
Restrictions:
Use of original material requires an appointment.
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.
The Search for Alexander : an exhibition / National Gallery of Art Washington, D.C. ... [et al.] ; with contributions by Nicholas Yalouris ... [et al.]
An interview of Raymond Horowitz conducted 2004 Oct.20-Nov. 5, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art, in New York, N.Y.
Horowitz speaks of his privileged childhood in New York; the effects of the Depression on his family's finances; attending Columbia University for Law and the anti-Semitism he faced there; his ingratiation into art appreciation through Meyer Shapiro; employment under then-New York City comptroller Joseph McGoldrick; the formation of his law practice; and his marriage to his wife, Margaret Goldenberg. Horowitz also mentions his involvement in left-wing political movements; how he managed relationships with different dealers; his experiences with misattributed artworks and forgeries, particularly his luck in avoiding them; the hobbies of himself and his wife; how he avoids relationships with the artists of his works; sharing information with other collectors; the economics of donating artworks and the subsequent tax breaks; the importance of credit in art purchasing; how he and Margaret conferred on purchases; their affinity for Chase; his habits on lending to exhibitions; the differences between the management of the Metropolitan Museum and the National Gallery; his summer homes in East Hampton and Provincetown; the problems with contemporary art scholarship; and the importance of dealers in affirming the interest in American art. Horowitz spends most of the interview reflecting upon others in the art world whom he has met. He recalls Ira Spanierman, Dan and Rita Fraad, Charles Merill Mount, Victor Spark, Abraham Adler, Nicolai Cikovsky, Phillipe de Montebello, Theodore Stebbins, Jack Levine, Daniel Terra, Joseph Hirshhorn, Norman Hirschl, John Canaday, Doris and Harry Rubin, Paul Mellon, Bill Gerdts, Paul Magriel, Bernard Meyers, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Raymond Horowitz (1916-2005) was a collector from New York, N.Y. Avis Berman is an art historian from New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Lawyers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Materials less than 15 years old Restricted. Records may contain personally identifiable information (PII) that is permanently restricted. Contact reference staff for details
