Ella Baron, widow of the ACA Galleries' founder Herman Baron, donated the records to the Archives of American Art in 1965 and 1966.
The Archives of American Art holds the Herman Baron papers, dating from 1937-1967 which were donated by Syracuse University, George Arents Research Library in 1984. Some exhibition catalogs may be found here.
This site provides access to the records of
The papers were microfilmed upon receipt on reel D304. The records were re-processed by Jayna Hanson in August 2008 and digitized in their entirety in 2010 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
ACA Galleries records, 1917-1963. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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
Herman Baron, Stuart Davis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Adolf Dehn founded the American Contemporary Art (ACA) Galleries on August 16, 1932. Located at 1269 Madison Avenue in New York City, the galleries' first show featured watercolorist Hy Cohen. Baron encouraged freedom of expression and did not censor the artworks displayed in his gallery. As a result, the gallery became an outlet for generally unknown and socially conscious artists, including the Social Realists.
Born in Lithuania in 1892, Herman Baron immigrated to the United States as a child. He served in World War I and later attended New York University. Baron founded and edited
In response to economic issues facing the art market during the depresssion of 1930s, ACA Galleries organized relief efforts to financially support their artists. During this period, the gallery became closely allied with militant artists' organizations and some of the more politically radical artists. In 1935, the ACA Galleries and Herman Baron hosted the first meeting of the American Artists' Congress in the gallery space.
The ACA Galleries featured exhibitions of works by artists David Burliuk, Stuart Davis, Philip Evergood, William Gropper, Robert Gwathmey, Joe Jones, Rockwell Kent, Lee Krasner, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Lewis Mumford, Louise Nevelson, Alton Pickens, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Max Weber, Art Young, and others. Baron also organized exhibitions of many artists employed by or associated with the Works Progress Administration of the federal arts program. Due to the progressive nature of the works of art found in the ACA Galleries, Herman Baron came under considerable criticism during the McCarthy Era. Baron was condemned by Representative George A. Dondero for supporting "un-American" sympathies and was forced often to defend his gallery and artists.
For years the gallery focused on artists rights and supporting the work of artists, rather than a profit. In the 1950s, a shift occurred when Baron's nephew Sidney Bergen initiated professional business practices and transformed the gallery into a profitable venture. Now located at 529 West 20th Street in New York City, ACA Galleries continues to promote and support various social causes.
The scattered records of the ACA (American Contemporary Art) Galleries date from 1917 through 1963 and include writings by founder Herman Baron, artists Philip Evergood and Anton Refregier, and art critic Elizabeth McCausland; printed materials; and photographs of Baron, ACA artists, art collectors, works of art, and exhibitions. Correspondence is with David Burliuk, Philip Evergood, William Gropper, Lewis Mumford, Moses Sawyer, Max Weber, and others. Also found is a small group of Herman Baron's personal papers.
The records are a rich resource for documenting the Social Realist artists and the militant socialist artists during the great depression and the post-World War II era of "McCarthyism".
Correspondence with ACA artists consists of letters from Philip Evergood, David Burliuk, William Gropper, Robert Gwathmey, Joseph Hirsch, Lewis Mumford, Elizabeth Olds, Alton Pickens, Moses Soyer, Max Weber, and Art Young. Some of the letters concern the socialist and communist views of some of the artists, including responses to Congressional Representive George A. Dondero's public statements and attacks on modern art as a conspiracy to spread communism in the United States. There is a letter written by Holger Cahill to the editor of
Writings include Herman Baron's written history of the ACA Galleries and scattered pages of Baron's book on Joe Jones and William Gropper. There are essays and writings by art critic Elizabeth McCausland, and artists Anton Refregier and Philip Evergood. Printed materials consist of ACA publications, newspaper clippings, published articles, printed illustrations by Philip Evergood, and printed materials about Congressman Dondero.
Photographs are of David Burliuk, Bruce Calder, Nicolai Cikovsky, Hy Cohen, Robert Cronbach, Alexander Dobkin, Philip Evergood, Mike Gold, Chaim Gross, William Gropper, Joe Jones, Mervin Jules, Irene Rice Pereia, Geri Pine, Philip Reisman, Vic Shifreen, Harry Sternberg, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, James Baare Turnbull, Nicky Walker, Abraham Walkowitz, Nat Werner, and Art Young. Photographers include Berenice Abbott, Arnold Newman, and Alfredo Valente. Additional photographs are of unidentified installations or exhibitions.
Herman Baron's personal papers include letters written to his wife and friends during World War I, writings by Baron for various magazines including
The collection is arranged as 5 series:
This series contains Herman Baron's ACA Galleries' correspondence with artists, collectors, and museums. Some of the letters concern Works Progress Administration projects and the American Artists' Congress.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Correspondence is arranged by artist and subsequently by date with undated materials filed at the end. General correspondence is arranged chronologically.
General Correspondence
Burliuk, David
Evergood, Philip
Evergood, Philip
Gropper, William
Gwathmey, Robert
Hirsch, Joseph
Mumford, Lewis
Olds, Elizabeth
Pickens, Alton
Soyer, Moses
Weber, Max
Young, Art
This series contains writings by Herman Baron concerning the founding and the history of the ACA Galleries, ACA artists, and the clash of McCarthyism and American art. Also found are writings by ACA artists Philip Evergood and Anton Refregier, and art critic Elizabeth McCausland.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Writings and Notes are arranged alphabetically by author.
"ACA Uptown," by Herman Baron
McCarthyism and American Art articles, by Herman Baron
Drafts, by Herman Baron
"The Humanist Approach in Art," by Philip Evergood
Writings and Notes, by Philip Evergood
"Photomontages by a Social Satirist," by Elizabeth McCausland
"The American Artists Gift Exhibition," by Anton Refregier
"On the Humanity of Abstract Painting," by Meyer Schapiro
This series contains ACA Galleries publications including exhibition catalogs and a calendar illustrated by Philip Evergood to promote diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Also found are newspaper clippings concerning ACA artists and Representative George A. Dondero attack on ACA Galleries for "un-American" activities.
This series has been scanned in its entirety with the exception of duplicates.
ACA Publications
(partially scanned)
Calendar and Publication Written and Illustrated by Philip Evergood
Clippings
Clippings concerning Representative George A. Dondero
This series contains photographs of Herman Baron, ACA artists, collectors and critics. Those artists depicted are David Burliuk, Bruce Calder, Nicolai Cikovsky, Hy Cohen, Robert Cronbach, Alexander Dobkin, Philip Evergood, Mike Gold, William Gropper, Chaim Gross, Joe Jones, Mervin Jules, Irene Rice Pereia, Geri Pine, Philip Reisman, Vic Shifreen, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Harry Sternberg, James Baare Turnbull, Nicky Walker, Abraham Walkowitz, Nat Werner, and Art Young. Some photographs are attributed to photographers Berenice Abbott, Arnold Newman, and Alfredo Valente. Also found are photos of works of art and full exhibition installations, many of which are not labeled.
This series has been partially scanned. Photographs of works of art, duplicates, and negatives have not been scanned.
ACA Photographs of Herman Baron
Baron and Others
Portraits of ACA artists
Unidentified photographs, probably ACA artists
Installations
This series consists of Herman Baron's personal papers, many of which predate the ACA Galleries. Included are letters written by Baron during his service in World War I to his wife and friends as well as later personal correspondence. Also found are writings by Baron for the
This series has been partially scanned. Only the front covers and those pages concerning Herman Baron have been scanned of the
Correspondence
Short Stories by Baron
(partially scanned)
"Fist of Wickedness," probably by Herman Baron
Obituaries
Notes
Photographs