Material on reels N698, N698A-N698B were lent for microfilming by Martin Birnbaum in 1967. The rest of the collection was donated in an anonymous gift in 1970 and by Martin Birnbaum's great-nephew, Jerome Ziegler, in 1975.
Portions of the collection were loaned and microfilmed prior to receipt. The entire collection was arranged and a finding aid written by Stephanie Ashley in 2016 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
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Martin Birnbaum papers, 1962-1967, bulk 1920-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of New York art dealer, critic, and author Martin Birnbaum measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1862-1967, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920-1967. The papers document Birnbaum's association with the firm of Scott & Fowles, the lives and activities of his friends and colleagues, and his literary work, through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, business records, printed material, a scrapbook, scattered artwork, and photographs of Birnbaum, friends and colleagues, and artwork.
Correspondence, primarily letters received by Birnbaum in New York, and throughout Europe from 1917-1960s, reflects Birnbaum's association with Scott & Fowles, particularly Stevenson Scott, and includes many details about the lives and activities of his correspondents, among them: artists Edward Bruce, Cecilia Beaux, Beniamino Bufano, Stephen C. Clark, Louise Dillingham, William Hunt Diedrich, Luis Fernandez, Herbert Haseltine, Jan Hoowij, Malvina Hoffman, Leonebel Jacobs, Lenard Kester, Lois Mailou Jones, Paul Manship, Gari Melchers, Maxfield Parrish, Charles S. Ricketts, William Rothenstein, John Singer Sargent, Janet Scudder, Carl Sprinchorn, Maurice Sterne, Albert Sterner, Carl N. Wertz, and Stanley Wilson. Also found is correspondence with art collectors and patrons including Mabel Choate, Edmund Davis, Reginald Davis, Henry P. McIlhenny, James Parmalee, Edith Wetmore, and Grenville Windall Linthrop, and museums including the Fogg Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and then curator Gisela Marie Augusta Richter, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Correspondence with scholars, writers, and publishers including George Coedes, Edmund Dulac, Joseph Francis Charles Rock, Upton Sinclair and others, documents aspects of Birnbaum's literary and scholarly work.
Writings include drafts of
Business records include financial records such as bills, receipts, canceled checks and statements for sales of artwork, and scattered legal records.
A small amount of printed material primarily consists of programs for musical events which evidence Birnbaum's early success as a violinist, as well as scattered news clippings, 2 exhibition catalogs, and announcements for the publications of
Artwork includes 2 etchings and a sketch by Birnbaum, bookplates by various artists, circa 10 sketches by other and unidentified artists, and 3 cards with original artwork.
Photographs include snapshots and portraits of Birnbaum and artists and friends, among them: Robert Chanler, Charles Despiau, Norman Douglas, Luis Fernandez, Herbert Haseltine, Augustus John, Paul Manship, Gari Melchers, Elie Nadelman, Albert Sterner, Stevenson Scott, and Grenville Lindall Winthrop. Also found is a photo of Birnbaum with Edward Bruce, Alfred Potterton, Leon Stein, and Maurice Sterne, circa 1915-1916, and photographs proposed for use in
New York art dealer, critic, and author Martin Birmbaum (1878-1970) was the manager of the American branch of the Berlin Photographic Company in New York City from 1910–1916, and a longtime partner in the art firm Scott & Fowles. He spent the later part of his career building the Grenville Lindall Winthrop Collection, now at the Fogg Museum.
Birnbaum immigrated to the United States from Hungary as a child. He was an accomplished violinist who studied at City College of New York, and graduated with a law degree from Columbia University in 1901, but developed a life-long interest in art during visits to Europe. As manager of the Berlin Photographic Company he had great success in staging art exhibitions at the company's New York galleries, which led him to a junior partnership in the Fifth Avenue firm of art dealers, Scott & Fowles. Birnbaum traveled widely and built relationships with many of the prominent artists and art collectors of his day and, in addition to the Grenville Lindall Winthrop collection, was influential in developing other important art collections including those of Edward Davis, Reginald Davis, and Henry P. McIlhenny.
Birnbaum wrote widely about his experiences and encounters in the world of wealthy socialites, literary salons, artists, art patrons, and collectors in publications such as
Collection is arranged as 8 series.
Portions of the collection and material lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reels N698, N698A, N698B, 108, and 1023-1027 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels N698, N698A-N698B) including correspondence, bookplates, sketches, newspaper clippings, and a list of books containing ornamental drawings and illustrations. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Series consists of certificates, visa applications, a 1922 passport, commencement programs, lists of names and addresses, letterhead, and travel material. United States visas are for 1907-1908 and 1913. Certificates include those from Birnbabum's grammar school, the City College Associates for membership, the Committee of the American Museum of Natural History to which Birnbaum was elected, and the Library of Congress for the deposit of his play
Travel material includes tourist maps of French Indochina, the Congo, and Europe and the Black Sea, as well as menus and passenger lists from ocean liners and cruise ships.
Oversized material housed in OV 4
Oversized material housed in OV 5
Correspondence is primarily in the form of incoming letters to Birnbaum, with drafts or copies of some of Birnbaum's outgoing letters. Correspondence is with family members, friends and colleagues, including artists, clients, galleries, museums, scholars, writers, and publishers.
Found is significant correspondence with artists including Cecilia Beaux, Orland Campbell, Louise Dillingham, William Hunt Diedrich, Herbert Haseltine, Jan Hoowij, Malvina Hoffman, Leonebel Jacobs, Lois Mailou Jones, Rockwell Kent, Lenard Kester, Paul Manship, Gari Melchers, Maxfield Parrish, Janet Scudder, Carl Sprinchorn, Maurice Sterne, Albert Sterner, and Carl N. Werntz. Correspondence with Edward Bruce discusses Bruce's painting, and his relationships with Birnbaum and Scott & Fowles concerning the development of his private collection. Letters from John Singer Sargent relate to Sargent's own work and his interests in acquiring works of art by others. Letters from Maxfield Parrish provide details about the artist's life and work in Windsor, Vermont.
Also found is correspondence with noted art collectors including Edmund Davis and his brother Reginald Davis, Henry P. McIlhenny, Grenville Lindall Winthrop, and Edith Wetmore. Material relating to Winthrop includes drafts of many of Birnbaum's letters to Winthrop, telegrams regarding sales, price lists, and correspondence with Harvard University's Fogg Museum, all of which document Birnbaum's crucial role in the development of the Winthrop collection and Winthrop's ultimately transformative gift to the Fogg Museum. Correspondence with Harvard University and Kate Winthrop Morse also relates to the Fogg's interest in Morse's sister, sculptor Emily Winthrop Miles.
2 folders of letters document directly Birnbaum's relationship with Scott and Fowles, primarily with Stevenson Scott, from the 1920s to the 1940s.
Correspondence with writers, publishers, and others illustrate Birnbaum's important literary and social connections and friendships and includes letters from Upton Sinclair relating primarily to collaborations prior to the publication of
Letters from James St. O'Toole contain appraisals of artwork provided to Birnbaum. Letters from James Parmalee relate to Gari Melchers and their involvement in the Smithsonian's National Gallery of Art Commission. Correspondence with Metropolitan Museum of Art includes correspondence with Gisela Marie Augusta Richter, during her time as assistant curator for the Museum.
Includes letter from Pearl S. Buck and Bryson Burroughs
Coedes, George
Includes 1 letter each from Alexander Stirling Calder and Robert Winthrop Chanler
Includes l10/26/16 letter from W. B. Yeats
Includes 1 letter from Charles H. Davis
includes 1 letter from Paula Eliasoph
Includes 2 cards by Jones
Includes letter from Edna St. Vincent Millay.
O'Keeffe, Georgia
Includes 2 letters from Mary Sargent Potter and 1 letter from Dorothy Parker regarding Birnbaum's donation to the Anti-Nazi League
Ricketts, Charles S.
Includes 1 letter from Emanuel Romano and 2 letters from Albert Daniel Rutherston.
Includes letter illustrated by Sargent
Includes I letter each from Augustus Tack and Scofield Thayer
Includes 1 letter from Thornton Wilder
Writings and notes are by Birnbaum unless otherwise noted. They include a diary from 1946-1955, primarily concerning Birnbaum's travels in the United States and Europe, and a typed manuscript of
A copy of an 1897 publication
Series also includes 3 sound tape reels with recorded dictation for "The Romance of Collecting Art," a working title for
Business records include financial records, a folder of descriptions of specific artwork with their appraisal and sale values, and legal records.
Financial records comprise bills, canceled checks, and receipts and statements for artwork bought and sold from and to galleries, individuals, and museums in the United States and Europe. These records also document gifts Birnbaum made to the Metropolitan Musem of Art and others.
Legal records consist of a loan agreement between Stevenson Scott and Birnbaum (1916); a signed, handwritten land agreement between Birnbaum and Prince Louis Ferdinand d'Orleans of Bourbon (1938); a copy of the will of Alfred B. Potterton (1940); and a copy of Birnbabum's deposition on the value of an Eli Nadelman bust of Jane Wallach (1958).
One folder documents Birnbaum's involvement with the Professional Children's School in the mid-1960s. Birnbaum made financial contributions to the school and served on its Board of Trustees.
Printed material includes programs, primarily for musical events which Birnbaum helped to arrange or appeared in as a violinist, and scattered newsclippings about Birnbaum. Announcements and exhibition catalogs include Twayne Publishers Inc.'s announcement for
Found is a dismantled scrapbook from the 1960s documenting Birnbaum's receipt of the Townsend Harris Medal from the Alumni Association of the City College of New York, and the publication of
Series includes 2 etchings and one pencil sketch by Birnbaum; bookplates by Arthur W. Crisp, Anthony H. Euner, Allen Lewis, Emil Orlik, and others; 3 sketches and 3 cards with original artwork by others; and 7 pencil sketches by unidentified artists.
Series comprises photos of Birnbaum alone and with artists and friends including one of Maurice Sterne, Alfred Potterton, Ned (Edward) Bruce, and Leo Stein (brother of Gertrude Stein), at Ned Bruce's house near Rome, Italy, circa 1915-1916.
Photos of artists and others include snapshots and portraits of Robert Chanler, Charles Despiau in his Paris studio, Norman Douglas, Luis Fernandez, Herbert Haseltine, Augustus John, Paul Manship, Gari Melchers, Elie Nadelman, Albert Sterner, Stevenson Scott, Mrs. Leonard Valkmann, Abraham Walkowitz, and Grenville Lindall Winthrop.
Also found are circa 82 travel photographs, primarily of Greece, photographs used in the publication of