Archives of American Art
Jean Gabriel Lemoine papers relating to Morgan Russell
Lemoine, Jean Gabriel, b. 1891
AAA.lemojean
Archival Resource Key
0.2 Linear feet
1921-1923, 1964
The Jean Gabriel Lemoine papers relating to Morgan Russell measure 0.2 linear feet and are comprised of 20 items that date from 1921-1923 and 1964. The item dating from 1964 is a typescript of a letter fragment. Included are 17 letters and letter fragments written by Morgan Russell in 1923 to Jean Gabriel Lemoine, art critic for L'Echo de Paris. In these letters Russell explains his art and the Synchromism style that he developed with Stanton MacDonald-Wright. Also found are a one page list naming ten paintings in his studio, an article by Lemoine about Russell, and a typed extract about Russell from La Peinture Abstraite by Michel Senghor.
English
.
Provenance
The papers were transferred to the Archives from the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum) in 1976. NCFA acquired them as part of a purchase in 1972 of Russell's artwork from Lucien Goldschmidt, Inc.
Separated Material
One annotated exhibition catalog, Les Synchromistes: Morgan Russell et S. Macdonald-Wright, from 1913, and four photographs of Russell's artwork were kept by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery Library when they transferred the collection to the Archives of American Art. These items are also available on microfilm reel 1190 at the Archives of American Art.
Related Material
Also available at the Archives of American Art are the Stanton Macdonald-Wright letters to Morgan Russell, 1913-1938, found on microfilm reel 1266. Microfilm reels 4524-4542 contain Morgan Russell papers that were loaned for filming by the Montclair Art Museum in 1991.
Alternative Forms Available
The papers of Jean Gabriel Lemoine relating to Morgan Russell in the Archives of American Art. The papers were digitized in 2008 and total 79 images.
Processing Information
The papers were microfilmed upon receipt on microfilm reel 1190. The collection was fully processed by Eric Frazier and Erin Corley in 2006-2007 and digitized in 2008 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Preferred Citation
Jean Gabriel Lemoine papers relating to Morgan Russell, 1921-1923, 1964. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Restrictions on Access
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
Terms of Use
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.
Biographical Note
Jean Gabriel Lemoine was an art critic for L'Echo de Paris at the time that he corresponded with abstract painter Morgan Russell (1886-1953). Lemoine also wrote for Gazette des Beaux-Arts, Revue Belge d'Archeologie et d'histoire de l'Art and Beaux Arts Magazine. Morgan Russell studied at the Art Students League in New York with James Earle Fraser and Robert Henri from 1906 to 1907. His first trip to Europe in 1906 was sponsored by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, and he returned to Paris in 1908 and joined the Academie Matisse. He settled in Paris and did not return to the United States until 1946. In 1911 he studied with Canadian color theorist Ernest Tudor-Hart. Also at this time he met fellow artist Stanton Macdonald-Wright with whom he developed the theories of Synchromism. In 1913 he and Macdonald-Wright exhibited together as Synchromists at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery, Paris, where they attracted the attention of French critics, including Lemoine. Russell continued to paint abstract works until 1930 when he began painting large-scale religious works.
Scope and Content Note
The Jean Gabriel Lemoine papers relating to Morgan Russell measure 0.2 linear feet and are comprised of 20 items that date from 1921-1923 and 1964. Included are 17 letters and letter fragments written by Morgan Russell in 1923 to Jean Gabriel Lemoine, art critic for L'Echo de Paris. One item dates from 1964 and is a typescript of a letter fragment. In these letters Russell explains his art and the Synchromism style that he developed with Stanton MacDonald-Wright. Also found are a one page list naming ten paintings in his studio, written in 1921 in Morgan Russell's hand, a news clipping of article by Lemoine about Russell, and a typed extract about Russell from La Peinture Abstraite by Michel Senghor. All of the items in the collection are in French. The collection also includes a few notes about the items in each folder, probably written by Lemoine.
Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection, items are arranged into one series.
Missing Title
- Series 1: Jean Gabriel Lemoine papers relating to Morgan Russell, 1921-1923, 1964 (Box 1; 5 folders)
Art critics -- France -- Paris
Synchromism (Art)
Russell, Morgan, 1886-1953
Macdonald-Wright, Stanton, 1890-1973
Senghor, Michael
Jean Gabriel Lemoine papers relating to Morgan Russell
Series 1
Archival Resource Key
5 Folders
Box 1
1921-1923, 1964
Scope and Contents note
The Jean Gabriel Lemoine papers relating to Morgan Russell are comprised of 20 items dating from 1921-1923, and 1964. Included are 17 letters and letter fragments written by Morgan Russell in 1923 to Jean Gabriel Lemoine, art critic for L'Echo de Paris. One letter fragment includes a typescript in French dating from 1964. In these letters Russell explains his art and the Synchromism style that he developed with Stanton MacDonald-Wright. Also found are a one page list naming ten paintings in his studio, written in 1921 in Morgan Russell's hand, a news clipping of article by Lemoine about Russell, and a typed extract about Russell from La Peinture Abstraite by Michel Senghor. Also found are a few notes about the items in each folder, possibly written by Lemoine.
Letters from Morgan Russell to Jean Gabriel Lemoine
Archival Resource Key
1923
1
1
Letters from Morgan Russell to Jean Gabriel Lemoine
Letters from Morgan Russell to Jean Gabriel Lemoine
Archival Resource Key
1923
1
2
Letters from Morgan Russell to Jean Gabriel Lemoine
List of Works in Russell's Studio
Archival Resource Key
1921
1
3
List of Works in Russell's Studio
Typed Excerpt from Le Peinture Abstraite about Morgan Russell
Archival Resource Key
1964
1
4
Typed Excerpt from Le Peinture Abstraite about Morgan Russell
News Clipping of Article by Lemoine about Russell
Archival Resource Key
1921
1
5
News Clipping of Article by Lemoine about Russell