Mosette Broderick, assistant to Hitchcock and his literary executor, donated the papers to the Archives of American Art in 1988.
The Archives of American Art also holds Henry-Russell Hitchcock letters to Dorothy Stroud and John N. Summerson, 1946-1949. Additional Henry-Russell Hitchcock papers (circa 8 linear feet) are in the Special Collections division of Wesleyan University Library.
The collection was processed by Catherine S. Gaines and Stephanie Ashley in 2008 as a part of the Terra Foundation for American Art digitization project.
Henry-Russell Hitchcock papers, 1919-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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Henry-Russell Hitchcock, considered the "father" of modern architectural historiography, played a major role in bringing modern architecture to the United States. As an eminent professor for more than forty years, Hitchcock trained and influenced several generations of scholars and critics. He combined a love of architecture with criticism and scholarship to produce a large number of distinguished monographs and articles on a broad range of styles and periods.
Born in Boston in 1903, Henry-Russell Hitchcock was the son of Mayflower descendants. At Harvard University, he studied medieval history with A. Kingsly Porter as his mentor and completed the undergraduate curriculum in three years. Hitchcock spent his senior year studying architecture, graduated in 1924, and stayed to study for a master's degree, which was awarded in 1927. During his years at Harvard, he wrote for Hound and Horn and knew Alfred Barr, T. S. Eliot, Philip Johnson, Lincoln Kirstein, Virgil Thomson, and others who became leaders in the modernist movement.
Henry-Russell Hitchcock's teaching career began when he was appointed an assistant professor at Vassar College for the academic year 1927-28. In 1929, he joined the faculty of Wesleyan University, where he remained for two decades before moving to Smith College in 1949. During his tenures at Wesleyan and Smith, his services as a visiting lecturer were employed on many occasions by Cambridge University, Connecticut College, Harvard University, the Institute of Fine Arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Yale University. Upon retiring from Smith College in 1968, Hitchcock moved to New York City and taught briefly at Columbia University, the Institute of Fine Arts, and the University of Massachusetts, at Amherst.
Best known as a proponent of modernism, Hitchcock wrote more than two dozen books about a wide range of styles and periods, and most are considered standard works on their subjects. His first,
Henry-Russell Hitchcock served as director of the Smith College Museum between 1949 and 1955. In addition, he was curator of several exhibitions, the first and most important of which was
During World War II, Hitchcock's civilian service included working as director of the U. S. Navy's Photographic Library and writing Pratt and Whitney aircraft engine manuals.
Henry-Russell Hitchcock was an active member of many professional associations. He served as president of the Society of Architectural Historians from 1952 to 1954. In addition, he was a founding member of The Victorian Society in Great Britain, and between 1969 and 1974 was president of its sister organization, The Victorian Society in America.
During his long and illustrious career, Henry-Russell Hitchcock won many awards and honors. Awards for
He received honorary degrees from Glasgow University and the University of Pennsylvania in 1973, and in 1979 from Wesleyan University.
Due to declining health, Henry-Russell Hitchcock lectured rarely and wrote little in the three years preceding his death from cancer. He died in New York City, February 19, 1987.
The papers of architectural historian, author, critic, teacher, and museum director, Henry-Russell Hitchcock, date from 1919-1987 and measure 24.8 linear feet. Almost all of the collection is comprised of Hitchcock's correspondence files relating to academic research, teaching, curatorial interests, and professional associations. Letters are from prominent architectural historians, architects, artists, preservationists, museum directors and curators, and family and friends. Also found are two feet of writings by Hitchcock and others, scattered biographical information, miscellaneous records, printed material, and photographs of Hitchcock and architecture.
Among the biographical documents are Hitchcock's birth certificate, passport, and wills. Awards, citations, honorary degrees and commendations are from the University of Pennsylvania, Wesleyan University, the Friends of Cast Iron Architecture, National Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Victorian Society in America.
Chronological name and subject files consist mostly of correspondence and printed material along with a small number of photographs. They include personal and professional correspondence and subject files relating to academic research, teaching, curatorial interests, and professional associations. The correspondence includes large numbers of letters from prominent architectural historians, architects, artists, preservationists, museum directors and curators. Also included are students, friends, relatives, publishers, and representatives of organizations and institutions. Among those of note are: Jere Abbott, Everett A. (Chick) Austin, Alfred H. Barr, Bernard Berenson, Eugene Berman, Leonid Berman, Lyonel Feininger, Henry (Harry) Sayles Francis, Brendan Gill, Robert Goldwater, George Howe, Philip C. Johnson, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., Lincoln Kirstein, Thomas J. McCormick, Lewis Mumford, J.J.P. Oud, Erwin Panofsky, Nikolaus Pevsner, Kingsley Porter, Paul J. Sachs, R. M. Schindler, Vincent Scully, Jr., Theodore Sizer, E. Baldwin Smith, Peter van der Meulen Smith, James Soby, Victor Spark, Harold Sterner, John Summerson, Virgil Thomson, Paul Vanderbilt, Theo Van Doesburg, Helmut von Erffa, Gordon Washburn, Rudolf Wittkower, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Writings by Hitchcock consist of manuscripts and drafts of numerous published and unpublished articles, book chapters, and his masters thesis. Other writings by Hitchcock include lecture notes and texts, book reviews, notes, outlines, photo lists, and a bibliography. Among the other authors represented in this series are John Coolidge and Sir Wilfred Green.
Miscellaneous records consist of the alien registration card of Hitchcock's friend Peter van der Meulen Smith, architectural drawings by Hitchcock, book contracts, and a small number of receipts and invoices.
Printed material consists of articles about, by, or mentioning Henry-Russell Hitchcock, along with advertisements for his books, and postcards of architectural subjects.
Photographs are of architecture, art work, events, people, places, and miscellaneous subjects; also included are color slides, negatives, and transparencies. Architectural subjects include the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Gaudi, as well as interior and exterior views of buildings identified only by location. Photographs of people include Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Chick Austin and Ernestine Carter, Alexander Dorner, Tammy Grimes, Lincoln Kirstein, the Steinway family, and Edgar Tafel. Events recorded include the Society of Architectural Historians at the Newport Casino, Hitchcock receiving honorary degrees at the University of Glasgow and Wesleyan University, and a high tea sponsored by the Victorian Society in America. Family houses and views of Greece are among the photographs of places. Miscellaneous subjects include exhibition installations and family heirlooms.
The collection is arranged as 6 series:
Among the documents found here are Hitchcock's birth certificate, passport, and wills. Awards and citations include honorary degrees awarded in 1979 by University of Pennsylvania and Wesleyan University, and commendations from the Friends of Cast Iron Architecture, National Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Victorian Society in America.
Files consist of Henry-Russell Hitchcock's personal and professional correspondence, as well as subject files relating to academic research, teaching, curatorial interests, and professional associations. Subject files are comprised mainly of correspondence and printed material, with a small number of photographs that mostly relate to exhibitions and writings. After 1932, copies of Hitchcock's outgoing letters are almost always included, making the files from 1932-1987 almost complete.
The correspondence includes large numbers of letters from prominent architectural historians, architects, artists, preservationists, museum directors and curators. Also included is correspondence with students, friends, relatives, publishers, and representatives of organizations and institutions.
Among the correspondents of note are: Bernard Berenson, Eugene Berman, Leonid Berman, Lyonel Feininger, Brendan Gill, Robert Goldwater, George Howe, Lincoln Kirstein, J. J. P. Oud, Erwin Panofsky, Kingsley Porter, Paul J. Sachs, R. M. Schindler, Theodore Sizer, E. Baldwin Smith, Peter van der Meulen Smith, James Soby, Victor Spark, Harold Sterner, John Summerson, Virgil Thomson, Paul Vanderbilt, Theo Van Doesburg, Helmut von Erffa, and Gordon Washburn. Other important correspondents represented in a decade or more of correspondence include: Jere Abbott, Winslow Ames, Everett A. (Chick) Austin, Alfred H. Barr, Agnes Rindge Claflin, John Coddington, Walter Cook, John Coolidge, Henry (Harry) Sayles Francis, George Heard Hamilton, Ada Louise Huxtable, Philip C. Johnson, William Jordy, George N. Kates, Edgar Kauffmann, Jr., Richard Krautheimer, Phyllis W. Lehmann, Thomas J. McCormick, Agnes Mongan, Lewis Mumford, Nikolaus Pevsner, A. Kinglsey Porter, Willebald Sauerlander, Vincent Scully, Helen Searing, James Thrall Soby, Dorothy Stroud, John Summerson, Virgil Thomson, Emily Tremaine, Paul Vanderbilt, Rudolph Wittkower, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
See Appendix for a list of individuals, organizations, and subjects in Series 2
Files are arranged with a single alphabet for each year.
Below is an index to individuals, institutions, organizations, and a small number of subject files, found in Series 2: Alphabetical Files. The index indicates the name and the alphabet year(s) in which each can be found.
Hitchcock did not follow strict alphabetical schema when organizing his files and filing eccentricities for the letters D, M, N, and V are explained below. The original arrangement has been left in place due to the difficulties and time involved in re-arranging the material within multiple alphabets.
Note on filing order for D's: Names beginning with the prefix "de" (e.g. De Cordova) are all filed before names beginning with the letters "de" e.g. Deerfield Academy.
Note on filing order for M's: Names beginning with the prefix "Mac" and "Mc" are all filed after names beginning with Ma. They are interfiled according to the first and subsequent letters following the prefix e.g. McIntyre, Mackay, McKean, MacLaren.
Note on filing order for N's: Proper names beginning with the word "new" (e.g. New American Library) are all filed before names incorporating the syllable "new" e.g. Newark Public Library.
Note on filing order for V's: Names beginning with the prefix "van" (e.g. Van Derpool) are all filed before names beginning with the syllable "van" e.g. Vancouver Hotel.
19th Century American Architecture - Research Inquiries (with Philip Johnson)
Correspondence
Correspondence, Museum of Modern Art
Correspondence, W
Writings by Hitchcock consist of manuscripts and drafts of published and unpublished articles, book chapters, and his masters thesis, arranged alphabetically by title. Among the texts and notes for lectures and talks are: "War Influence on Architecture" (broadcast on WYG radio, Syracuse, NY., 1942); "Painting Toward Architecture" (Wadsworth Athenaeum at the exhibition's opening, 1947);"Some Self-conscious Victorians or Victorian Postmodernists: Lamb and Harris" (Apostles Club, Wesleyan University, 1948); "Landscape and Cityscape" (International Design Conference, Aspen, Colorado, 1955); and "Interplay between Foreign and American Stylistic Influences after 1869" (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970). Other writings by Hitchcock include book reviews, notes, outlines, photo lists, and a bibliography.
John Coolidge and Sir Wilfred Green are among the other authors represented in this series.
This series is arranged as 2 subseries:
Architectural drawings are by Hitchcock and others, with some of the unidentified drawings possibly by Hitchcock. Financial records consist mainly of receipts and invoices. Additional financial records appear in Series 1: Alphabetical Files in folders for various years entitled Correspondence, Banking, Correspondence, Bills Paid, and Correspondence, Income Tax.
The majority of printed material consists of articles about, by, or mentioning Henry-Russell Hitchcock. Also included are advertisements for his books, and postcards (mainly blank) of architectural subjects. Clippings about miscellaneous subjects include articles about historic preservation, architects, and colleagues.
Photographs of architecture include the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and Gaudi. Also included are interior and exterior views of buildings in Europe and the United States. Photographs of people include Henry-Russell Hitchcock, Chick Austin and Ernestine Carter, Alexander Dorner, Tammy Grimes, Lincoln Kirstein, the Steinway family, and Edgar Tafel. Among the events recorded are Hitchcock with S. Lane Faison and Karl Staley at the GE Lighting Institute, Society of Architectural Historians at the Newport Casino, Hitchcock receiving honorary degrees at the University of Glasgow and Wesleyan University, and a high tea sponsored by the Victorian Society in America. Also found with this series are a small number of negatives and color slides.