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Modern and Contemporary Art Department Records
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Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]Philadelphia Museum of Art, PO Box 7646, Philadelphia, PA 19101-7646
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
To reflect the coming millenium, the Twentieth Century Art Department became known in the year 2000 as the department of Modern and Contemporary Art. The first exhibition mounted by the department that year, which was held March 25 to July 20, was "Celebrating the Eight: American Modernism from the Potamkin Collection."
Ann Temkin, who came to the Museum in 1989 as Acting Curator of Twentieth Century Art, continued under the new department name as the Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. She assumed the endowed curatorial position in 1990. Michael Taylor and Susan Rosenberg were Assistant Curators. When Temkin left the Museum for a co-curatorial position at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the fall of 2003, Taylor was named the Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern Art. The position of Curator of Contemporary Art remained vacant until 2006 when Carlos Basualdo joined the Museum staff.
At present this record group documents two exhibitions: "Giorgio de Chirico and the Myth of Ariadne" (2002/2003), and "Jacques Lipchitz and Philadelphia" (2004). The 2.5 linear feet of records pertaining to the de Chirico exhibition consist of research files. Topics include the artist's drawings at the Musee Picasso, relationship between the artist and the contemporary writings of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzche, de Chirico's influence on pop artist Andy Warhol, and other themes explored in the exhibition and related website. The Lipchitz exhibition records measure nearly 4 linear feet and and document every aspect of the exhibition, from loans and installation to merchandising, publicity and exhibition opening. There are also research files, clippings, gallery label drafts, slides and audiovisual materials. Records beginning in 1990 to a cancelled traveling exhibition featuring Alfred Stieglitz, which was to come to Philadelphia in 2003, are included in the Twentieth Century Art Department Records.
Folder-level inventories are available in the Archives.
Organization
- Publisher
- Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding aid prepared by Bertha Adams, Megan Finn and Ada Sinacore-Guinn
- Finding Aid Date
- ©2011
- Sponsor
- Funded by a grant from Institute of Museum and Library Services and National Historical Publications and Records Commission
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research. Access to institutional records less than 10 years old is at the discretion of the Archivist.
- Use Restrictions
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The Modern and Contemporary Art Department Records are the physical property of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Archives. The Museum holds literary rights only for material created by Museum personnel or given to the Museum with such rights specifically assigned. For all other material, literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for obtaining permission from rights holders for publication and for other purposes where stated.
Collection Inventory
To celebrate the centennial of her birth, the Philadelphia Museum of Art organized "Alice Neel", the first full-scale examination of her life and work. Ann Temkin, The Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, organized an exhibition of seventy-five paintings and watercolors with the full cooperation of the Neel family.
Files are arranged according to the curatorial department's original order.
The majority of records in the administrative files pertain to dates and venues for a traveling exhibition, programming, public relations, records relatign to grants and individual donors, and records from support departments regarding installation, conservation, budget, opening events, and attendance.
Ann Temkin's extensive research is documented in these files and organized according to the following categories: Neel's past exhibition history; writings, conversations, and interviews with Neel and her family members; background and biographical information; W.P.A research; art schools and movements; and research and correspondence regarding the subjects of Neel's portraiture and paintings.
For this exhibition, object files and loans are organized together and arranged according to the following categories: loan inquiries; Neel family and collector correspondence; painting object files (organized by decade); collectors and locations for works on paper; works on paper object files; and object location research for loans.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art published an exhibition catalogue written by Ann Temkin with essays by Susan Rosenberg and Richard Flood. Catalogue records include essay drafts, images, checklists, a bibliography and chronology,and transcripts from a related symposium.
This sub-subseries contains archival images, snapshots for research, checklists ofcatalogue raisonne images by decade, and audio/visual resources in the form of audio cassettes and VHS tapes.
Ann Temkin worked in conjunction with the Tate Gallery in London to organize a retrospective on the work of Barnett Newman, featuring more than 100 works that had not been seen together in over 30 years. This exhibition traced the artists' conceptual development from his early surrealist-inspired drawings of the 1940s to his participation in the New York art scene at the height of the abstract expressionist movement and his later role in the development of minimalist and conceptual art in the 1960s.
Exhibition records are divided by administrative, research, object, and publication files with additional research files appended to the end of the subseries.
The majority of records in the administrative files pertain to exhibition loans and permissions for use and reproduction. Financial information regarding development and exhibition expenses are also included here along with initial planning documents such as internal memoranda and correspondence with Annalee Newman and the Tate Gallery; installation files; education and programming records; and marketing materials. In addition, records from a symposium that was held in conjuction with the exhibition include publication transcripts and correspondence with participants.
Ann Temkin's primary research files include biographical information on Barnett Newman arranged by decade and files group and solo exhibitions. There are also extensive individual artist, curator, collector, and dealer files along with various interveiw files. In addition, Temkins research files include correspondence and interviews with Newman's wife, Annalee.
The research files contain primary material copyrighted by, among others, the Barnett Newman Foundation and the Archives of American Art. Materials marked "BNF" may be access or published only with the permission of the Barnett Newman Foundation, New York. Materials marked "AAA" may be published only wit the permission of the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institute. Interviews conducted by Ann Temkin are confidential and may only be access with the permission of the PMA and the interviewee. All other primary research may only be published with the permission of the appropriate copyright holder.
Ann Temkin created an object file for each work considered for inclusion in the exhibition. Files are arranged by medium and include drawings, etchings, prints, and sculpture with the majority of the records dedicated to Newman's paintings. Wherever relevant, PMA catalogue numbers are included in the folder title.
Ann Temkin co-wrote the exhibition catalogue, "Barnett Newman," with Richard Shiff, Suzanne Penn, and Melissa Ho. Publication materials included in the exhibition records comprise transparencies, essay drafts, image captions, and design.
This final sub-sub series includes materials documenting the individual research of Melissa Ho, Susan Rosenberg, and Ann Temkin, but the majority of records relate to photographs used in planning the exhibition.
"Giorgio de Chirico and the Myth of Ariadne" was an exhibition devoted to De Chirico's works exploring the classical Greek myth of Ariadne, a woman who was abandoned on a desert island by her lover, Theseus. Being a culmination of some fifty works of art, the exhibition illustrated a progression of De Chirico's work throughout his lifetime, and the autobiographical nature of his art. The exhibition was curated by Michael Taylor and was shown at the PMA and the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in London in 2003. The bulk of the files are dated from 2000 to 2002.
The files in the PMA Archives concerning this exhibition are subdivided into four categories: administrative files, research files, and object files.
The files in this sub-subseries contain documents from support departments, such as registrar's records, budgets, loan documentation, correspondence between various individuals/institutions, catalogue information, symposium information, press releases, articles, photographs, etc. The bulk of the files are dated from 2001 to 2002.
The files are arranged alphabetically by subject.
The majority of these files pertain to Michael Taylor's essay on de Chirico and research materials related to specific works that were featured in the exhibition. Other research explores de Chirico's relationships with people and places, such as Warhol, Nietzsche and Versailles.
Files are arranged as they were originally organized in the Modern and Contemporary Art Department.
The files in this sub-subseries are each labeled with the name of one or more artworks, some of which were included in the finale exhibition. Most files contain images of such artworks, curatorial research, conservation reports, correspondence between curators, museums and private collection owners, and loan contracts. The bulk of the articles are dated between 2000 and 2002.
Files are arranged in the Department's original order.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art organized the first museum exhibition for Warren Rohrer, a Philadelphia-area artist and twentieth-century abstract painter. Curator Susan Rosenberg brought together some 30 of his works to illustrate the progression of the artist's later works, in which he used a 'grid' system to create his pictures. The majority of the files are dated between the year 2000 and 2002.
The files stored in the Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives are divided into three major sub-subseries: administrative files, research files, and object files.
The files in this sub-subseries contain documents from support departs, such as registrar's records, budgets, loan documentation, correspondence between various individuals/institutions, catalogue information, press releases, articles, photographs, rights and reproduction requests, etc. The bulk of the files are dated from 2001 to 2002.
Files are arranged in the Department's original order.
Susan Rosenberg's research files contain information about all aspects of Rohrer's life, documents ranging from photographs of his works to articles about the Mennonite religion. Jane Rohrer, a relative of the painter, also gave much documentation to the museum about Rohrer's life including copies of his birth certificate, correspondence between him and his patrons, photographs of works of his art she owned, recorded interviews with Rohrer, her account of his life, etc.
Files are arranged in the Department's original order.
The files in this sub-subseries are each labeled with the name of one or more artworks, some of which were included in the finale exhibition. Most files contain images of such artworks, curatorial research, conservation reports, correspondence between curators, museums, galleries and private collection owners, and loan contracts. The bulk of the articles are dated between 2000 and 2002.
Files are arranged in the Department's original order.
Jacques Lipchitz maintained a longstanding relationship with the city of Philadelphia during the latter decades of his life, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art now owns one of the largest collections of Lipchitz's work outside of Israel. In this exhibition, Michael Taylor explored Lipchitz's aritistic interactions with the city and his contributions to local culture through an exhibition of some fifty works drawn from the permanent collections and lent from local institutions and private collectors. The bulk of the files date from 2003 and 2004.
Files are arranged according to the curatorial department's original order and subdivided into four categories: curatorial administration, loans, research and support departments.
Curatorial administration materials pertain to records generated within the Modern and Contemporary Art Department that relate to the general organization of the exhibition. Files include correspondence; the exhibition checklist, chronology and wall labels; and related exhibition planning materials such as the exhibition web page.
Files are arranged according to the order in which they were originally organized when transferred from the Modern and Contemporary Art Department to the Archives.
A separate file exists for each work of art that was exhibited on loan from another institution of personal collection documenting the the loan request and agreement along with correspondence between the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the lender.
Files are arranged according to the order in which they were originally organized when transferred from the Modern and Contemporary Art Department to the Archives.
Materials relating to Michael Taylor's exhibition research are documented here and include notes from original archival research, photocopies of images and articles, essay notes, and a small selection of video and sound recordings. Though some original materials included in the research files date to the 1970s, the bulk of the materials were created between 2002 and 2004.
Files are arranged according to the order in which they were originally organized when transferred from the Modern and Contemporary Art Department to the Archives.
The Modern and Contemporary Art Department gathered materials generated from various museum support departments that directly related to the various phases of planning "Jacques Lipchitz and Philadelphia." Files are grouped according to the function served by individual departments in planning the exhibition (i.e. the Special Events Department organized the exhibition opening, the Marketing and PR department was responsible for press materials, etc.)
Files are arranged according to the order in which they were originally organized when transferred from the Modern and Contemporary Art Department to the Archives.
In honor of the 2004 centenary of Salvador Dali's birth, curators Michael Taylor and Dawn Ades (a guest curator for the show) created "Salvador Dali," a retrospective devoted to the artist's life work. The show was a sensation, and is widely considered to be one of the most successful exhibitions ever organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Palazzo Grassi in Venice was the only other venue at which this exhibition was shown. The bulk of the files are dated from 2004 to 2006.
Files are arranged according to the curatorial department's original order and subdivided into four categories: administrative files, object files, research/lecture files, and The Dali Renaissance.
The files in this sub-subseries contain documents relating to initial planning and from support departments, such as registrar's records, correspondence between various individuals/institutions, catalogue information, press releases, articles, grant and funding applications and documentation, indemnity files, etc. They also contain multimedia files (e.g. VHS, DVDs, CDs).The bulk of the documents are dated from 2002 to 2005.
The files in this sub-subseries are each labeled with the name of one or more artworks, some of which were included in the finale exhibition. Most files contain images of such artworks, curatorial research, correspondence between curators, museums and private collection owners, and loan forms. The bulk of the articles are dated between 2003 and 2005.
The files in this sub-subseries contain research done by Michael Taylor for conferences at which he spoke; lectures he gave at various locations (including other museums and universities); symposiums, which were held in honor of the exhibition, and other similar events.The files also contain correspondence between various individuals and institutions.
"The Dali Renaissance" was an international symposium, which took place at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from April 10 to 11, 2005. The symposium resulted in the publication "The Dali Renaissance: New Perspectives on His Life and Art after 1940," which was edited by Michael Taylor and published in 2008. The files in this sub-subseries contain research done by various scholars, notes from Michael Taylor, correspondence between symposium presenters, contributors, scholars and curators, slides, CDs, images, etc. The bulk of the files are dated from 2004 to 2007.