Nancy McDermott Herstand donated the gallery records of Arnold Herstand & Co. in 1995, and donated Arnold Herstand's personal papers in 1997.
One videotape in the collection was digitized in 2010 and is available upon request from the Archives of American Art.
The collection was processed by intern Maneesha Patel in 2004 and Carla De Luise in 2006.
Arnold Herstand & Co. records and Arnold Herstand papers, 1927-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival video recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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
Arnold Herstand (1925-1989), university administrator, art dealer, and painter, opened the Arnold Herstand & Co. gallery (1983-1992) in New York City. Herstand was born in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating from high school in 1943, he was inducted into the army and served in Europe during World War II. Under the G. I. Bill, he studied painting in the studio of Fernand Léger in Paris from 1948 to 1949. Herstand received his B.F.A. from Yale University in 1952 and his M. A. from Columbia University in 1954. He was also a lecturer at City College of New York from 1952 to 1954. In 1952 Herstand joined the Fine Arts faculty at Colgate University, where he remained until 1963.
From 1963 to 1969, Herstand served as Director of the Minneapolis School of Art, where he met and married his second wife, Nancy McDermott Herstand. From 1969 to 1974, he served as President of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (formerly known as Minneapolis School of Art). In 1974, Herstand accepted the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the San Francisco Art Institute. He served there until 1976, when he resigned due to student and faculty discontent about his policies.
Throughout Herstand's career as a university administrator and educator, he continued his artistic activities and exhibited his paintings and prints in museums and galleries both in the United States and Europe. He held a solo exhibition at the Il Camino Art Gallery in Rome in 1962, and participated in many faculty shows while at the Minneapolis School of Art and Colgate University, as well as in numerous regional shows. Herstand gave lectures and interviews and published articles on education and art which appeared in publications such as
In 1983, Herstand founded the Arnold Herstand & Co. gallery located at Fifty-Seventh Street in New York. Among the artists he represented were Pol Bury, Gonzalo Fonseca, Katsura Funakoshi, Jenny Lee, Ann McCoy, and Paul Rotterdam. The gallery also exhibited the works of many international artists including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jean Dubuffet, Pablo Gargallo, Rene Magritte, Roberto Matta, Isamu Noguchi, Pablo Picasso, and Joaquín Torres-García. The gallery was particularly strong in exhibiting modern European artists. After Herstand's death in 1989, his widow Nancy McDermott Herstand assumed the presidency of Arnold Herstand & Co. The gallery closed in 1992.
The Arnold Herstand & Co. records and Arnold Herstand papers measure 3.8 linear feet and date from 1927-1995. The papers document Herstand's career as a university administrator, art dealer, and artist. The collection consists of biographical material; personal and professional correspondence; artist files of the Arnold Herstand & Co. gallery; lectures and writings by Herstand; artwork by Arnold Herstand and other artists; photographs of Herstand, friends, family, and Herstand's artwork; and printed material relating to the Arnold Herstand & Co. gallery and Herstand's artistic career. Also included are video recordings.
Herstand's personal life is reflected through correspondence which includes letters between Herstand and his friends and family while stationed in Europe during World War II. Herstand's career as a university administrator is also well represented in the collection through correspondence, printed material including a poster and clippings, writings and lectures on art and education among other materials. The activities of the Arnold Herstand & Co. gallery (1983 to 1992) are well documented through artist files. These files include biographical notes on the artists, checklists, correspondence, price lists and printed material. The collection also offers a rich resource on Herstand's artistic activities through biographical and printed material including clippings, scrapbook, exhibition files, and artwork.
The collection is arranged into 8 series:
Biographical material includes a passport, license, marriage certificate, honors and awards, and funeral guest register. This series also contains material relating to Arnold Herstand's career including clippings; a poster for a colloquy at Walker Art Center in which he participated; correspondence and clippings relating to Herstand's presidency at the San Francisco Art Institute; and printed material on his solo and group exhibitions including the Il Camino Art Gallery in Rome, faculty shows at Minneapolis School of Art and Colgate University, and various regional shows. The scrapbook contains clippings and exhibition announcements relating to Herstand's early years as an artist and educator. Also included is memorabilia Herstand brought back from Europe at the end of his military deployment.
Some material is in Italian.
Oversized items housed in Box 5.
Oversized items housed in OV 6.
Oversized items housed in Box 5.
See also Box 1, Folder 4.
See also Box 1, Folder 8.
See also Box 1, Folders 5-6.
This series contains the personal and professional correspondence of Arnold Herstand and Nancy McDermott Herstand.
Personal correspondence includes letters between Herstand and his friends and family while he was stationed in Europe during World War II; a photocopy of a letter from Fernand Léger certifying the dates that Herstand studied at the Atelier Léger in Paris; and single letters and postcards from friends and artists including Joseph Beuys, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Malitte Matta, and Pierre Soulages. Also included are condolence notes sent to Herstand's widow Nancy McDermott Herstand, and congratulatory letters to Nancy Herstand regarding her presidency of Arnold Herstand & Co. gallery.
Professional correspondence contains letters written during the years Herstand served as Director of the Minneapolis School of Art (1963 to 1969) and as President of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (1969-1974), and includes single letters from artists and writers responding to Herstand's invitation to visit or teach at the school. Correspondents include Josef Albers, Eduardo Chillida, Sam Francis, Hans Hofmann, Robert Indiana, Jacques Lipchitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Roman Polanski, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Antonio Saura, Charles Schulz, George Segal, Aaron Siskind, and Tom Wolfe. Also included is a letter from Angelica de Siqueiros, on behalf of her husband David Alfaro Siqueiros, citing political reasons for not accepting Herstand's invitation to visit the school. Also found is a letter from Isamu Noguchi to Edmund Pillsbury, Director of the Kimball Art Museum, regarding four sculptures intended for the museum.
Some letters are in French.
This series is arranged chronologically. Where dates are unknown, letters have been filed at the end of a folder or group of folders.
The bulk of the material in this series pertains to the years Herstand served as Director of the Minneapolis School of Art (1963-1969) and as President of Minneapolis College of Art and Design (1969-1974). In these positions, he frequently addressed students and the outside community on matters pertaining to education and art. Included are drafts of an interview titled "What is Intermedia," and drafts on lectures and addresses such as "The Future Art School," and "Conformity and Imagery in Contemporary Painting." Also found are Herstand's writings, including his recollections as a student of Fernand Léger.
This series is arranged chronologically.
Artist files contain various materials, including biographical notes, checklists, correspondence, exhibition mailing lists and records, plans for dinner events, price lists, printed material, photographs, slides and transparencies of art work. The files are primarily related to the activities of Arnold Herstand & Co. gallery. Also included is a resume and printed material relating to Ugo Giannini with whom Herstand studied at the Atelier Léger in 1948.
Some material is in Italian and French.
The files are arranged alphabetically by artist's last name or by gallery exhibition.
Oversized items housed in Box 3, Folders 1-13; Box 5, Folders 4-5; and OV 6.
Oversized items housed in Box 2, Folders 28-29; Box 5, Folders 4-5; and OV 6.
See also Box 2, Folders 28-29; Box 3, Folders 1-13; and OV 6.
See also Box 2, Folders 28-29; Box 3, Folders 1-13; and Box 5, Folders 4-5.
This series houses printed material relating to the Arnold Herstand & Co. gallery including exhibition catalogs, announcements, and laminated magazine advertisements. Also found are reproductions of Herstand's artwork on season's greetings cards and on his sixtieth birthday invitation. In addition the series contains printed material relating to Arnold Herstand's artistic activities including exhibition announcements and catalogues, as well as pamphlets containing artwork created by Herstand for performances or events. Found within the material is a poster of Fernand Léger with Herstand and other students.
Oversized items housed in Box 5, Folder 6, and OV 6.
Oversized items housed in Box 5, Folder 7.
See also Box 3, Folders 23-24, and OV 6.
See also Box 3, Folders 25-27.
See also Box 3, Folders 23-24, and Box 5, Folder 6.
This series contains sketches by Herstand and his illustrations published in two monographs:
Oversized items housed in Box 5, Folder 9.
See also Box 4, Folders 2-3.
Photographs include images of Herstand's artwork, and of family and friends. Also included are photographs of Herstand at various art-related functions.
Included in this series are three video recordings of segments of "The Art Market Report." The segments include coverage of the Burt G. Sr. and Emily Hall Tremaine collection auction at Christie's in New York and the preparations involved preceding an auction; discussion of original prints and how to avoid fakes and forgeries; review of the record breaking 1988 auction season; and the susceptibility of collectors of African art to fake works.
One videocassette, dated December 19, 1988, has been digitized by the Archives of American Art for reference use.