The Fiske Kimball Papers document the myriad interests and tireless professional pursuits of architect, scholar and museum director Fiske Kimball (1888-1955). The papers include professional and personal correspondence; architectural drawings; manuscript, typescript, and printed versions of articles, books, and reviews; photographs, including some personal snapshots and portraits of Kimball and his family; and research and reference material, particularly notes and clippings.
Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]
From 1925 to 1955, Fiske Kimball served as director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, steering the institution from what he described as "a minor provincial position to become one of the leading museums of Americirca" The Fiske Kimball Records document Kimball's efforts in achieving this transformation in collaboration with the Museum's officers, staff, and the Fairmount Park Commission, and with the assistance of private benefactors and City funding. Comprised primarily of correspondence, these records also include ephemera, clippings, notes, legal documents, reports, minutes, press releases, publications, floor plans, installation drawings, and photographs, mostly of objects, rooms and architectural elements offered for purchase. Kimball's correspondents include preeminent leaders of art museums, universities, auction houses and professional affiliations, as well as government representatives, private collectors, scholars, and artists. Kimball's often successful courting of...(see more)
Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]