Robert Rosenblum (1927-2006) was an art historian, curator, and professor who worked primarily in New York City.
Rosenblum received his B.A. from Queens College, his M.A. from Yale, and his Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Art at New York University in 1956. He spent a year teaching art at the University of Michigan before becoming an associate professor at Princeton, ultimately accepting a Professor of Fine Arts position at NYU in 1966, where he spent the rest of his professorial career interspersed with visiting professorships at Oxford University and Yale University. Rosenblum was named Henry Ittleson, Jr. Professor of Modern European Art at NYU in 1976, and received the Frank Jewett Mather Award for Distinction in Art Criticism in 1981. After being appointed Stephen and Nan Swid Curator of 20th-Century Art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1996, Rosenblum went on to curate such exhibitions as
Rosenblum was a prolific author, and his seminal works include:
Rosenblum married Jane Kaplowitz in 1978. He died in New York City in 2006.
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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
The papers were donated in multiple accessions by Robert Rosenblum between 1986 and 2003, and by his widow, Jane Kaplowitz between 2010 and 2013.
Multiple accessions were merged, processed, and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2017 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund. The Archives of American Art has implemented accelerated processing when possible to increase information about and access to more of our collections. For this collection, accelerated processing included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels, adhering to the creator's original arrangement as much as possible. Generally, folder contents were simply verified with the original folder titles, but items within folders were not arranged further. All materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed. Born-digital records were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
The collection is arranged as 11 series.
The papers of art historian, curator, and professor Robert Rosenblum measure 38.3 linear feet and 1.17 GB and date from circa 1927 to 2009, with the bulk dating from 1950 to 2006. They include biographical material, extensive personal and professional correspondence; lectures, writings, and writing project files by Rosenblum and others; exhibition files; research reference files; teaching files; personal business records; printed and digital material; photographs; and artwork.
Biographical materials include Rosenblum's bibliography and resume materials, various school related ephemera and diplomas, a transcript of an interview with Amy Newman for
Lectures, writings, and writing project files document Rosenblum's prolific writing and speaking career, and include notes, copies, and manuscript drafts of lectures, articles, catalog essays, and books, as well as additional materials related to the writings and the publication of books, such as as correspondence, editing feedback, photographs, and lists of photographs. There are manuscript, notes, and other materials related to many of Rosenblum's notable books, including
Rosenblum planned and facilitated numerous exhibitions that are well-documented within the exhibition files, including
Research reference files cover a wide variety of art related topics, but are arranged within a separate series because they are not related to specific named projects as are the files in Series 3. These files contain research notes, bibliographies, and syllabi kept by Rosenblum presumably for a variety of publications, research interests, and teaching references.
Teaching files and class notes document Rosenblum's professorial career at Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University, University of Michigan, Yale College, and Yale University, and include a variety of course materials.
Personal business records consist of various financial and legal documents, expense and income records, publishing and speaking contracts, and royalties received.
The papers also include a variety of printed materials, photographs, student sketches by Rosenblum, and an unidentified collage.
Robert Rosenblum Papers, circa 1927-2009, bulk 1950-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Materials include awards, certificates, fellowship proposals, diplomas, a Josef Levi digital video recording, an interview transcript of Robert Rosenblum by Amy Newman for
Personal and professional correspondence is with friends, family, colleagues and peers, museums and arts organizations, former students, and others. Some correspondents include Melvin Becraft, Guggenheim Museum, Hilton Kramer, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Museum of American Art, André Raffray, and many others. Topics include queries regarding artwork and photograph attributions; exhibition suggestions and curatorial discussions; award nominations and recommendations; and publications and writing projects. Postcards are primarily from friends, family, colleagues, and students.
This series is arranged as 3 subseries. Files are arranged alphabetically by correspondent and in loose chronological order thereafter.
General Correspondence
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Lectures, writings, and writing project files document Rosenblum's prolific writing and speaking career, and include notes, copies, and manuscript drafts of lectures, articles, catalog essays, and books, as well as additional materials related to the writings and the publication of books, such as as correspondence, editing feedback, and lists of photographs, and photographs. There are manuscript, notes, and and other materials related to several of Rosenblum's most notable books, including
Oversized material housed in OV 39.
Possibly for
Possibly for
Oversized material housed in OV 40.
Oversized material housed in OV 41.
Oversized material housed in OV 41.
Files include drafts of articles, books, dissertations, essays, and lectures, written by various students and colleagues.
Files are arranged alphabetically by author.
Files are arranged chronologically by exhibition date.
Primarily reflecting Rosenblum's work as Stephen and Nan Swid Curator of 20th-Century Art at the Guggenheim, exhibition files are comprised of a variety of materials, including correspondence, lists of works, two sound recordings and transcripts of interviews with James Rosenquist, photographs, proposals, reference materials, two digital art inventory lists, catalog drafts and outlines, and clippings of reviews. Notable exhibitions include
A few files of exhibitions curated by others are also found in this series and may have been compiled because Rosenblum was consulted about artwork selections, or contributed to the planning of the exhibition.
Sound recordings are of Robert Rosenblum interviewing James Rosenquist. Interview transcripts are also included.
Research files document a range of topics, including various individual artists, and British and French painting and painters. Files also include artist bibliographic index cards, general research materials and notes, collected syllabi, and bibliographies. Most likely these materials were maintained and used for reference for a variety of curatorial, teaching, and writing purposes, as well as for general research.
Teaching files and class notes document permanent and visiting professorships at Barnard College, Columbia University, Duke University, New York University, Princeton University, University of Michigan, Yale College, and Yale University. Materials include course outlines, exam materials, course lecture schedules, class notes by Rosenblum and students, syllabi, and submitted student papers and assignments.
Personal business records include various financial and legal materials, such as: expense and income documentation, containing receipts and statements of payment; travel expenses; property leases and materials; lecture and publishing contracts, royalties, and arrangements; and photograph purchases and reproduction requests, among other materials.
Printed material includes clippings, collected printed materials, exhibition announcements and catalogs, journals, posters, and published articles and essays.
Photographs are of Robert Rosenblum, exhibitions and installations, and artwork.
Oversized photograph housed in OV 41.
Artwork includes paint sketches and a sketchbook by Robert Rosenblum when he was a student, as well as one unidentified mixed media collage.