The collection is arranged as 10 series.
Russian-born painter and sculptor Peter Blume (1906-1992) was active in New York and Connecticut. His style combined American and European traditions with folk art and surrealism.
Peter Blume was born Piotr Sorek-Sabel in 1906 in Smorgon, Russia. With his family, he emigrated to the United States in 1911 and settled in New York City. Blume studied at the Educational Alliance and the Art Students League in New York. Influenced by folk art, Precisionism, Cubism, and Surrealism, Blume combined European and American painting tradition to create his own style. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1932 and travelled to Italy.
In 1934, Blume's
Peter Blume married Grace "Ebie" Douglas Craton in 1931. The couple built their home in Sherman, Connecticut. The Blumes travelled the world and kept close relationships with family and friends, such as Ann and Heber Blankenhorn, Malcolm Cowley, and Ned and Nancy Holsten.
Peter Blume died in Connecticut in 1992.
The papers of New York and Connecticut painter Peter Blume date from 1870 to 2001 and measure 7.6 linear feet. Found are biographical materials; correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, galleries and institutions, and writers; writings on art by Blume and others; subject files regarding organizations, works of art, exhibitions, and reference files; personal business records; printed material; two scrapbooks; photographs of Blume, family, friends, and works of art; extensive artwork; and material relating to Blume's wife's family, the Cratons.
Biographical materials include an award, obituaries, a travel itinerary, and sound recordings and transcripts of interviews of Peter Blume by Alfred H. Barr, Boston College, Harry Boursa, and Visionary Company Magazine.
Correspondence is professional and personal. Letters are from friends, family, artists, writers, galleries, and institutions. Notable correspondents include Kirk Askew, Malcolm Cowley, Peter DeVries, Joseph Hirsch, and Frank A. Trapp, among others. Also found is Grace Blume's correspondence which includes letters to and from Peter Blume and letters from Grace to her family members and friends. The bulk of Grace Blume's correspondence concerns her travels with Blume.
Writings and notes by Blume include a travel journal, lists of works of art, lectures, talks and other writings on art, artists, and friends. Writings by others include theses and scholarly papers about Blume, and include writings by Heber Blankenhorn, Kenneth Burke, Malcolm Cowley, Robert Ulrich Godsoe, Frank Getlein, Michael A. Kelly, and Frank A. Trapp. Also found is criticism on
Blume's subject files cover the American Academy of Arts and Letters, American Artists Congress, Heber Blankenhorn, works of art by Blume, exhibitions, and the Connecticut Council on the Arts. Also found are reference files consisting of photographs of artwork by others and clippings.
Personal business and financial records consist of business correspondence with galleries and museums; sales and consignment records; scattered price lists; and receipts and invoices relating to the building and running of Blume's house in Connecticut.
Printed materials include clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for solo and group shows, magazines featuring articles about Blume, posters, and reproductions of works of art.
Scrapbooks include a fragment of a scrapbook from 1942-1944 and a clippings scrapbook from 1934-1939.
Photographs include portraits and snapshots of Peter Blume, Grace Blume, family, friends, travel, parties, pets, homes, landscapes, exhibitions, and works of art. There are also photos of the Askews, the Blankenhorns, the Cowleys, Alfred Eisenstaedt, the Holstens, the Josephsons, Arthur Miller, Georgia O'Keeffe, the Sobys, and Raphael Soyer.
Artwork by Peter Blume includes completed drawings, sketches, doodles, prints, and preliminary drawings for many of his works. Of note are extensive sketches of heads, and preliminary drawings for
Craton family papers consist of geneological material relating to Grace Blume's brother, James Craton and his wife Catherine Sears Craton. Found are vital records; military records for James and Marshall Craton; correspondence; scattered financial records; clippings; and family photographs.
Also in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Peter Blume conducted on August 16th, 1983 to May 23rd, 1984 by Robert F. Brown.
The Peter Blume papers were arranged upon receipt and fully merged, arranged, and described by Jayna Josefson in 2013 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Peter Blume papers, 1870-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Peter Blume papers were donated by in 1993 by Grace Blume, Peter Blume's widow. Additional papers were donated by Catherine Weiss, Jamie Vance, and Leigh Butler in 2010.
The collection was digitized in 2014 and is available via the Archives of American Art's website.
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
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Scattered biographical records include an award, Peter Blume's obituaries, a map of his birthplace Smorgon, a travel itinerary; and sound recordings and transcripts of interviews with Peter Blume by Alfred H. Barr, Boston College, Harry Bouras, and Visionary Company Magazine. Also found are genealogical records for Grace Blume's family, the Cratons. Researchers should note that the bulk of the Craton family papers are arranged in Series 10.
This series has been partially scanned. Sound recordings have not been scanned.
Award
Interview with Peter Blume, by Alfred H. Barr
Interview with Peter Blume by Visionary Company Magazine
Obituaries
Also includes a map of Blume's birthplace
Travel Itinerary
Grace Blume Biographical Material
Craton Family genealogy
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Professional and personal correspondence is with friends, family, artists, writers, galleries, museums, and institutions. Correspondents include Kirk Askew, Kenneth Burke, Malcolm Cowley, Charles Daniel, Peter and Katinka DeVries, John Hersey, Joseph Hirsch, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and Frank A. Trapp, among many others. Some works of art have their own folder within correspondence as they reflect Blume's original order. All the letters are in reference to the specified artwork.
Also found are letters written by Peter Blume to Grace Blume while Blume travelled or was working away from home. There are extensive letters written by Grace Blume to her sister and brother-in-law, Ann and Heber Blankenhorn and to friends, Nancy and Ned Holsten, mostly written during the Blume's travels abroad. Additional correspondence, particularly with galleries and museums, is found among the personal business and financial records. Also, scattered correspondence regarding genealogy is found in Series 10.
Albright Art Gallery
American Academy in Rome
American Academy of Arts and Letters
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Associated Artists of Pittsburgh
Art Institute of Chicago
Art Students League
Artists Welfare fund, Inc.
Askew, Kirk and Constance
A
Balicki, Mrs. Manan
Barr, Alfred H. Jr.
Beal, Gifford
Bearden, Romare
Becker, John
Bernard Davenberg Galleries
Birmelin, Bob
Blankenhorn, Heber and Ann
Blankenhorn, Heber and Ann
Includes some poetry by Heber Blankenhorn
Boyle, Kay
Breitenbach, Thomas
Brooks, Gladys Von Wyck
Brooks Memorial Art Gallery
Burke, Kenneth
Caffin, Caroline
Calder, Alexander and Louise
Campbell, William
Carnegie Institute
Cartwell, Bob
Century Association
Cheever, John, Mary, and Benjamin
Clemens, Cyril
Coale, Joan
Columbia University
Columbus Museum of Art
Cone, Michelle N. C.
Connecticut Commission on the Arts
CORE
Cowles, Russell and Nancy
Cowley, Malcolm
Cowley, Malcolm
Crawford, Sidney Peak
C
Daniels, Charles
Daniels, Charles
Daniels, Charles
DeVries, Peter and Katinka
Diamond, David
Dickinson, E.W.
Diller, George E.
Downtown Gallery
Driscoll, John Paul
Edel, Leon
Editions Richelieu
Evergood, Phillip
"Exhibitions"
Contains letters of praise from friends for exhibition openings
E
Fellows, James
Fogg Art Museum
Ford Foundation
Friend, David
Gase, Dorothy
Gilmore, Myron
Goldfarb, Stephen
Graziadei, Ercole
Gross, Chaim and Renee
Guggenheim Foundation
G
Hancock, Walker
Hart Crane Newsletter
Hersey, John
Hellman, Lillian
Hirsch, Joseph
Hirshhorn, Joseph and Olga
Holsten, Nancy and Ned
Houston Museum of Fine Arts
H
Imago Design Co., Inc.
Ingersol, R. Sturgis
Isaacs, Stanley
Johnson, Donna
Josephson, Hannah and Matthew
Josephson, Hannah and Matthew
Kantor, Sybil
Karkadoulias Bronze Art
Kaufmann, Edgar
Kirshner, Leon
Kirstein, George, Jane and Paulina
Knoedler and Co.
Kriss, Mark
Lattimore, Richmond
Lighthill, Amy
LIndsey, Alexander
MacLeish, Archibald
March, Florence and Frederic
Markowitz, Gerald
Martinu, Charlotte
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Midtown Galleries
Modern Art Foundary, Inc.
Moe, Henry Allen
Muller, Steve
Mumford, Lewis
Municipal Art Committee, New York City
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
National Academy of Design
National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, Inc.
National Institute of Arts and Letters
National Portrait Gallery
Newhaus, Eugene
New Britain Museum of American Art
Neward Museum
Newberry Library
Nordness Gallery
Norman, Charles
Oldbourne Book Company LTD
Osborn, Bob
Owing, Nat (?)
Pach, Walter
Pei, I.M. (and Partners)
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
Piel, Mrs. Gerard
Pinette, Carmen
Porte (?), Katherine Anne
Post Publishing Co.
Powell, Dawn
Pratt, George
P
Randolph Macon Women's College
Resor, Helen and Stanley
Reynolds, Louise
Robert Schoelkopf Gallery
Roberts, L.P.
Robson, Peggy and Ernie
Rockefeller, Mrs. John D. (Abby)
Roe, Anne
Rutgers
R
Sachs, Paul J.
Saint Paul Art Center
Saint-Gaudens Memorial
Salisbury, Harrison
San Francisco Museum of Art
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Schwabacher, W.S.
Seven Gables Bookshop
Sharrer, Honore
Sheeler, Charles
Shubert, Katherine
Shulman, Marshall
Sims, Patterson
Soby, James T.
"South of Scranton"
Includes letters of congratulations for winning Carnegie Prize
Sotheby Parke Bernet, Inc.
Southern Illinois University
Soyer, Moses
Soyer, Raphael
Spock, Jane
Stearn, Jimmy and Tonia
Stephan, David
Stuyvesant, Felicia
Styron, William
Sweeny, James J.
S
Tallix
Tate, Allen
Taubes Copal
Thurber, Helen
Trapp, Frank A.
Tuchmen, Barbara
Tworkov, Jack
T
University of Nebraska
University of Vermont
University Prints
United States Army
Vassar College
Visual Artists and Galleries Associations, Inc.
Volo, Sharon
V
Wachs, Ethel and Paul
Wadsworth Atheneum
Walsh, Alexander DeWitt
Walter, Eda Loux
Warren, Robert, Eleanor, Rosanna, and Gabriel
Warren, Robert, Eleanor, Rosanna, and Gabriel
Washington Art Association
Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research
Westcott, Glennary
Weston, Christine
White, E.B.
Whitney, Betsey
Whitney, Tom, Julia and Marguerite
Whitney Museum of American Art
Wilbur, Charlee and Richard
Worcester Art Museum
W
Yale University
Fragments and First Names Only
Blankenhorn, Heber
Blume, Grace
Blume, Grace
Blume, Grace
Blume, Grace
Blume, Rose
Blume, Peter
Blume, Peter
Blume, Peter
Blankenhorn, Ann and Heber
Blankenhorn, Ann and Heber
Blankenhorn, Ann and Heber
Blankenhorn, Ann and Heber
Blankenhorn, Ann and Heber
Blankenhorn, Ann and Heber
Blankenhorn, Ann and Heber
Craton, Marshall
Holsten, Edward and Mrs.
Holsten, Edward and Mrs.
Holsten, Edward and Mrs.
Condolence Letters
Margaret Larkin to Ann Blankenhorn
Writings by Blume include a travel journal, a notebook, lists of works of art, lectures, talks, and other writings about his art, about other artists and friends, and about art in general. Writings by others include theses and scholarly papers on Blume and poetry. Also found is a selection of criticism on
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Travel Journal, by Peter Blume
from South Pacific cruise
Notebook
on Arshille Gorky's suicide
On Picasso's Guernica, by Peter Blume, Talk at Valentine Gallery
Includes printed materials
"The Artists Responsibility as a Citizen," by Peter Blume, Lecture from The Arts, Sciences and Professions in the Post-War World Conference
"Modern Artists on Artists of the Past," by Peter Blume, Lecture for Conference at Musuem of Modern Art
Statement on the Trial of 11 Communists, by Peter Blume
"A Tribute to Charles Burchfield," by Peter Blume
On Louis Bouche, by Peter Blume, Talk from American Academy in Rome Annual Meeting of Board of Trustees
"Julian Levy," by Peter Blume
On His Art, by Peter Blume
On Rueben Nakian, by Peter Blume, Speech for Medal Ceremony of American Academy of Arts and Letters
On
On Alexander Calder, by Peter Blume, Speech from Presenting A.C. Gold Medal for Sculpture
"Ivan Lorraine Albright," by Peter Blume
On Hart Crane, by Peter Blume
Also includes "The Bridge," by Hart Crane
Notes for Unidentified Lectures and Talks
Lists of Works of Art
Oversized material housed in Box 9, F2
"Peter Blume," by Robert Ulrich Godsoe, Mock-Up Biography
"Third Declamation," by Kenneth Burke
Forward, by John Driscoll, for Metamorphosis Catalog, Ditenfass Gallery
"Grandma Moses and Peter Blume," by Eloise Barrangon, Poem
"The World," by Wade Van Done, Poem
Poetry, by Heber Blankenhorn
"Peter Blume," by Frank Getlein
"The Life and Works of Peter Blume," by George John Seidel, College of Wooster
Poetry, by Nancy Cardozo
Speech, by Gordon Hendricks
Children's Criticism, on "The Rock"
"Peter Blume's Ventriloquist Act," by Mark R. Kriss
"Peter Blume's Paintings of the 1930's [sic]," by Barbara D. Gallati, Thesis
"The Rock by Peter Blume" by Michael A. Kelly
"Peter Blume--Sixty Years of His Art (1926-1986)," by Frank Anderson Trapp with Forward by Malcolm Cowley
Subject files were originally maintained by Peter Blume regarding organizations, works of art, exhibitions, reference files, and about Blume's brother-in-law, Heber Blankenhorn. Files include a variety of materials, such as correspondence, administrative records, writings, printed material, and photographs. Reference files contains photographs and clippings of works of art used as inspiration by Blume.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Correspondence, Copies
Meeting Minutes
Meeting Minutes
Reports
Treasurer's Reports
Statement of Income
American Artists Congress
Includes correspondence, writings, printed material, and administrative records
Includes a proposal, correspondence, and legal records
Includes correspondence and printed material
Blankenhorn, Heber
Includes material concerning Blankenhorn's donation of his personal papers and military career, and printed materials.
"Chicago Show" (1976)--Museum of Contemporary Art
Includes correspondence, printed material, photographs, and lists of works of art
Connecticut Council on the Arts
Includes writings, photographs, and printed material
Includes correspondence and printed material
Includes correspondence, photographs, and printed material
Reference Files
Reference Files
Reference Files
Reference Files
Reference Files
Includes clippings and material regarding the Carnegie Prize. Oversized material housed in Box 9, F4.
Found here are records relating to the sale, exhibition, and loan of Peter Blume's works of art. Also found are financial records relating to the construction of Blume's home.
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Coe Kerr Gallery
Currier Gallery of Art
Ditenfass Gallery
Ditenfass Gallery
Durlacher Bros.
Durlacher Bros.
Durlacher Bros.
Julian Levy Gallery
Kennedy Galleries
Kay Sage Tanguy Estate
Museum of Modern Art
Public Works of Art Project and Public Buildings Administration
Regarding conservation and restoration
WPA, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania Post Office
Consignment Receipts and Lists
Sales Receipts
Gift Receipts
Invoice
Price Lists
Price Lists
Mailing List
Legal Records
Condition Reports
Tax Correspondence
Household and Building Records and Invoices
Household and Building Records and Invoices
Household and Building Records and Invoices
Oversized material housed in Box 9, F3
This series has been partially scanned. In some cases, only relevant pages of printed materials have been scanned.
Printed materials concern Peter Blume's career, exhibitions, artwork, and art in general. Exhibition announcements and catalogs are found for Peter Blume's solo and group shows, some of which are annotated by Blume. Also found are posters, one of which includes a poem by Malcolm Cowley entitled
Auction Catalog
Bulletins
Bulletins
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings
Clippings, Concerning Friends
Congressional Record, Communist Activities in Museums
Exhibition Announcements
Exhibition Catalogs
Exhibition Catalogs
Exhibition Catalogs
Oversized material housed in Box 9, F5
Exhibition Catalogs
Annotated
Magazines
Magazines
Magazines
Magazines
Magazines
Magazines
Magazines
Magazines
Magazines
Reproductions of Works of Art
Reproductions of Works of Art
Oversized material housed in Box 9, F1
Posters
Posters
Found is a clippings scrapbook dating from 1934 to 1939 and a fragment of a scrapbook from 1942 to 1944. The clippings scrapbook contains articles, most of which discuss Blume's works of art
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Scrapbook 1
Scrapbook 1
Scrapbook 2, Fragment
Includes a clipping, telegram, diary, and page of a ledger
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Found are portraits and snapshots of Peter Blume, Grace 'Ebie' Blume, family members, friends, and colleagues. Other photographs depict travel, parties, exhibitions, the outdoors, homes, pets, and of works of art including paintings and sculpture.
Photographs of Peter Blume depict Blume painting outdoors and in his studio, with his art, with Grace Blume, and with family and friends. Travel photos are from Europe, Japan, and the American West. Some of the travel photos are of Ned and Nancy Holsten, the Blumes' travel companions and friends. Photographs of friends and family include the Cowleys, the Blankenhorns, the Askews, the Josephsons, and the Sobys, among others.
Photographs from a terrace party, likely taken by H. Strauss, depict many of the Blumes' friends and family in addition to Arthur Miller.
Photographs of exhibitions are from the American Institute in Rome and the Carnegie Institute.
Photo Album
Harry Blume's Birthday
Peter Blume, Portraits
Peter Blume, Painting in Studio
Peter Blume, Painting Outside
Peter Blume, in Studio
Peter Blume, With Art
Peter Blume, Snapshots
Oversized material housed in Box 9, F8
Grace "Ebie" Blume
Peter and Grace Blume
Peter and Family
Snapshots
Trip to Woodlawn Plantation
With Blankenhorns
With Cowleys
Medal Presentation Ceremony
Group Portrait
With Alfred Eisenstaedt, Raphael Soyer, Malcolm Cowley, Barbara Tuchman, and Peter Blume
Peter Blume with Georgia O'Keeffe
Terrace and Pool Parties
Terrace and Pool Parties
With Arthur Miller, Askews, Sobys, Josephsons, and Cowleys
Europe and Japan
With Ned and Nancy Holsten
With Ned and Nancy Holsten
American West
Cowley Family
Ann and Heber Blankenhorn
Friends and Family
Mostly unidentified. Oversized material housed in Box 9, F9.
Pets and Animals
Blume's Home, Gardens, and Construction
Homes, Others
Outdoors, Landscapes
Exhibition, Carnegie and Others
Exhibition, American Academy in Rome,
Contact Sheets
Works of Art, Packets
Works of Art, Packets
Works of Art, Packets
Works of Art, Packets
Works of Art, Packets
Works of Art, Sculpture
Oversized material housed in Box 9, F7
Works of Art, Studies
Works of Art, Drawings
Works of Art, Painting
Works of Art, Painting
Transparencies
Slides
Xeroxes of Photos of Works of Art
This series has been scanned in its entirety.
Works of art by Blume include sketches, preliminary drawings, prints, and one final drawing. Media include pencil, pen, pastel, and charcoal. Sketches entitled Doodles were likely numbered and identified by Blume. Also found are a series of drawings of heads, some of which are mounted. Studies for Blume's works include:
Works by Peter Blume owned by the Craton family are also found. These include three prints, one entitled
Also found is a work by Deborah Nourse Lattimore entitled
Designs for a Stand
Doodles, DDOND 12-17
Doodles, DDOND 18-25
Doodles, DDOND 26-31
Doodles, DDOND 32-50
Doodles, DDOND 51-65
Doodles, DDOND 66-89
Doodles, DDOND 90-99
Doodles, DDOND 100-113
Doodles, DDOND 114-135
Doodles, DDOND 136-154
Doodles, DDOND 155-179 (174 missing)
Doodles, DDOND 180-197
Doodles, DDOND 198-203
Doodles, DDOND 204-209 (and others)
Doodles, DDOND 210-213
Sketches
Sketches
Sketches
Sketches, Heads
Sketches, Heads
Sketches, Heads
Sketches, Heads
Sketches, Heads
Oversized material housed in Box 9, F6
Oversized material housed in Box 9, F10
Prints and Drawings, Owned by Craton Family
Oversized material housed in OV 10.
Oversized material housed in OV 11 and OV 14.
Doodles
Doodles
Includes
Oversized Mounted Sketches, Untitled
Oversized Mounted Sketches, Untitled
This bulk of this series has been scanned; financial records have not been scanned.
Found are family papers from Grace Blume's brother, James Craton and his wife, Catherine Sears Craton. The bulk of this series relates to the genealogical research performed by Catherine Craton on the Craton and Sears families. These materials include birth, marriage, military, baptismal, and death records, clippings, correspondence, and photographs. Also found is a letter from Grace Blume and an unsigned writing about Peter and Grace Blume by one of their nieces or nephews.
Certificates, Birth and Death
Certificates, Marriage
Burial Records
Baptismal Records
Wedding Invitation
Military Records, Marshall Craton
Xerox copies of Marshall Craton's Civil War service records including correspondence, payroll and muster rolls. Date determined from the date of the copies.
Military Records, James Craton
Correspondence, James and Catherine Craton
Correspondence, Regarding Genealogy
Lists of Family Members
Instructions for Family Cabin
Clippings
Family Photographs
Photocopies, Genealogical Material