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Dorothy Norman Research Collection
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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.
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Through her writings and photographs, DOROTHY NORMAN advanced the causes she believed in; namely, social activism and artistic expression. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1905, Norman was the only daughter of Esther and Louis Stecker. She had two brothers, Robert and Jack. Growing up in a well-to-do Jewish family did not keep Norman from becoming a young rebel. She was fascinated with the idea of attending a New England boarding school, but her parents would only allow her to go as far as Washington, D.C. So at the age of 16, while her parents were away in Europe, Norman registered herself at the Wheeler School in Providence, Rhode Island. After Wheeler, Norman's restless nature accompanied her to college, as she spent one year at Smith and two more at the University of Pennsylvania. Although she was disappointed to be back in Philadelphia, Norman decided to take a course that was offered to Penn students at the Barnes Foundation, which housed the primarily late 19th and early 20th century art collection of Dr. Albert C. Barnes. The course introduced Norman to modern art, and as she later described it, the experience was life-changing. Norman sensed the connection between all forms of modern art and contemporary life, which in turn sparked in her a sense of revolution and social commitment. Such sentiments make her marriage in 1925 to Edward A. Norman seem all the more timely. The couple settled in New York City where Edward became interested in consumers' cooperatives. According to Norman, her husband believed such ventures could revolutionize the world's economy, freeing people from totalitarian government and capitalist control. New York City also provided Dorothy with venues for her social activism. During her first year there, she became a volunteer at the American Civil Liberties Union. Soon after, Norman also joined the Urban League and worked with Margaret Sanger to increase awareness of birth control.
Another encounter to alter Norman's life also occurred in New York City, when in 1927 she met the photographer Alfred Stieglitz, who for the past two decades tirelessly promoted photography and modern art to the American public. Norman found a kindred spirit in Stieglitz's conviction of the artist's ability to help society develop and rebuild itself. He became her mentor, and despite their marriages to others, the two also became lovers. When the building that housed Stieglitz's gallery was demolished, Norman convinced him to open another. She was crucial in raising funds and in promoting this new venture, which opened in 1929 as An American Place. It was here that Norman would come to know America's avant-garde painters such as John Marin, Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Charles Demuth, and Stieglitz's wife Georgia O'Keeffe, who by that time began spending half the year in the Southwest. Contemporary writers, such as William Carlos Williams, Lewis Mumford and Hart Crane also frequented the gallery. Many of these artists became Norman's subject in her portrait photographs, noted for their small size and sense of intimacy. She also became known for her interior shots of An American Place and for her photos of New England landscapes and architecture. In her writings, Norman began her most ambitious attempt to combine arts and social action in 1938 with the publication of Twice A Year: A Semi-Annual Journal of Literature, the Arts and Civil Liberties. During its ten-year run, the journal covered issues such as the Spanish Civil War, civil liberties and racism, and Nazi atrocities, along with writings by e.e. cummings, Franz Kafka, and Anaïs Nin, and the photographs of Stieglitz and Ansel Adams. In her column for the New York Post, Norman continued to address the social issues of the day. She also contributed articles, reviews, poems and photographs to various journals and published several books on Stieglitz, John Marin and one on myth, which coincided with an exhibition she organized in 1958. Her meeting with Jawaharlal Nehru in New York City led to a close friendship with the Indian leader as well as her publication of a two-volume collection of his speeches and writings. In 1987 she published a book of her letters to Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi. Norman spent her later years studying religion and philosophy and working to improve the social conditions of India. She died in 1997. Norman had two children, Nancy and Andrew.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art benefitted from a relationship with Norman that spanned almost three decades. In 1968, Norman helped to establish the Alfred Stieglitz Center at the Museum, giving a collection of more than 500 photographs by Stieglitz and others. She continued to donate works, and at the time of her death, the Museum received her entire collection. In regard to her own work, the Museum holds more than 500 photographs, and has made Norman the subject of three exhibitions, held in 1984, 1994 and 1998. The 1984 show examined the works of Norman and Stieglitz produced during their 20-year relationship. The latter shows featured Norman's own work and her personal collection, respectively.
- San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1993. Abrahams, Edward. Preface to intimate visions: the photographs of Dorothy Norman.
- 12 Oct. 2006. The Getty Museum. Explore Art: Artists, s.v. Norman, Dorothy.
- Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1987. Norman, Dorothy, 1905-. Encounters: a memoir.
- Oral history transcript for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 31 May 1979. Online 12 Oct. 2006. Norman, Dorothy. Interview by William McNaught.
During her twenty-year relationship with photographer and art promoter Alfred Stieglitz, Dorothy Norman, herself a photographer as well as writer, came to know artists such as John Marin, who were defining American modernism during the 1930s and 1940s. Norman published and edited writings about both men, and likely compiled this material in preparation.
The "Alfred Stieglitz" series documents Stieglitz's multiple careers as photographer, gallery owner and collector. Material consists primarily of exhibition announcements and checklists, and of images of Stieglitz's work as well as that of the European artists who inspired him and of the contemporary American artists he championed. Both formats chronicle Stieglitz's entire professional life. Images include his photographs of European people and settings of the late 19th century to the ethereal examinations of his "Equivalent" series done in the late 1920s and early 1930s. There are also images from his childhood and family, as well as of exhibitions he staged, including those at his first gallery at 291 Fifth Avenue in New York. Exhibition checklists begin with one of Stieglitz's earliest U.S. shows, featuring his lantern slides (1896). Later exhibition checklists and announcements document his work as both artist and promoter. These include exhibitions he presented in New York at the Anderson Galleries from 1921 to 1925, a few at the Intimate Gallery, 1925 and 1929, and almost all of those at the second gallery he owned and operated, An American Place, from 1929 to 1946. Both formats also chronicle the works of the artists most associated with Stieglitz and his galleries; namely Georgia O'Keeffe, John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Arthur G. Dove, and Charles Demuth. The series includes clippings from journals Stieglitz published; namely Camera Work, Manuscripts (MSS) and various-titled bulletins produced by An American Place. Other documentation consists of Norman's research notes as well as typescripts of an anecdote in which Stieglitz recalls "meeting" D.H. Lawrence--five years after the writer's death.
The second series, "John Marin," consists primarily of photographs and published writings regarding the life and work of this American painter and printmaker. Most of the photographs are informal portraits of Marin taken by Norman or are of his paintings. Published writings include newspaper clippings, magazine articles, books, and numerous catalogues of exhibitions. Also included are portions of a transcript to the 1954 radio interview of Norman and others talking about Marin. The collection also includes photocopies or typescripts of Marin's correspondence primarily to his family and to Norman, as well as a few of his writings. Ephemera and notes are also included.
Norman's own art collection and publication comprise the bulk of the final series, "Other subjects." More than 30 photographs document the exhibition of her collection organized at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1968. Circulars listing the contributing writers and titles make up most of the documentation and underscore the editorial emphasis of Norman's publication, "Twice a Year." There is also ephemera pertaining to the related publications put out by Twice a Year Press, including the Stieglitz Memorial Portfolio.
The collection came to the Archives in two transfers--one of Marin material, and the latter of Stieglitz. Other than those two divisions, there was no discernible arrangement of materials. In many cases, Norman's original folder titles were very general or inaccurate as materials were clearly transferred in and out of folders over the years. Many folders were overstuffed and about one-third of the material was loose. Materials were refoldered, and identified and arranged generally by format. Folder titles within quotation marks represent Norman's original naming that clearly explained the rationale of that grouping of material. Photocopies were made of folder fronts annotated with additional information.
Material originally came to the Museum as a gift of Dorothy Norman estate, circa 1997. The department of Prints, Drawings and Photographs transferred the John Marin material to the Archives in September 2002. In February 2008, the department transferred the materials pertaining to Alfred Stieglitz.
These materials were arranged and described by Bertha Adams. Funded by a grant from The Institute of Museum and Library Services.
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This collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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The Dorothy Norman Research Collection is 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
From her notes and the affixed captions and photo-cropping markings made to much of this material, it appears Norman compiled this material for at least three publications about Stieglitz. These are "Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer" (1960), which Norman wrote and Aperture Book produced; "America Alfred Stieglitz: a collective portrait" (1934), which Norman edited along with Waldo Frank and others; and the revised edition of the latter (1979), which was published this second time by Aperture Book and for which Norman wrote the preface and supplied some of the works illustrated.
The first and second subseries consist of primary documentation of Stieglitz's career as photographer and gallery owner. "Exhibition announcements and checklists" cover almost all the shows Stieglitz staged at various galleries in New York, from 1896 to 1946. Documentation includes an almost complete run of announcements and checklists for exhibitions at Stieglitz's gallery, An American Place. Citing all the works exhibited by a particular artist or group of artists, the checklists recreate the exhibitions, and in a way chronicle the development of each artist's work and of America's notion of modernism. The "Publications" subseries consists primarily of works published by Stieglitz. Included here are copies of some of the bulletins produced by An American Place from 1933 to 1937 under the subtly-changing titles, "It must be said," "It has been said," "It might be said," and "It should be remembered." Artists, poets and other writers contributed. There are also a few clippings from Stieglitz's other publishing ventures, Manuscripts (MSS) and Camera Work. Other contemporary writings by or about Stieglitz are also reproduced here. The "Images" subseries consists primarily of copyprints of works by Stieglitz and by other artists. There are also images of exhibitions beginning with an 1899 show at New York's Camera Club, and including Steiglitz's earliest staged exhibition of the Photo Secession at the 291 Gallery. There are a number of images of exhibitions at An American Place. Copyprints pertaining to Stieglitz's childhood and family are also here, including drawings by his father Edward. As Norman used or intended to use most of these images to illustrate her writings, almost all are marked up or captioned. The final subseries, "Other material," consists of inventories and other notes about Stieglitz's private art collection as well as bibliographic information about Camera Work. There are also photocopies of early Stieglitz correspondence, written in German. These were provided to Norman by Stieglitz's niece, Flora Stieglitz Straus. Also of note here are the three versions of Stieglitz's recollection of "meeting" the late D. H. Lawrence in 1935.
In some of her notes, Norman mentions "Mike Hoffman" receiving or returning images. Beginning in 1965, Michael E. Hoffman was publisher of Aperture, the magazine and book imprint responsible for some of Norman's writings. He served as its Executive Director until his death in 2001. Hoffman also served as the founding curator and adviser to the Stieglitz Center at Philadelphia Museum of Art, which Norman helped to establish.
- E-Resource, 2003. (accessed Jan. 26, 2009). American Federation of Arts. "Debating modernism: Stieglitz, Duchamp, and the New York avant-garde."
- New York Times, Jan. 11, 1896 (accessed Jan. 13, 2009). "Art notes."
- Time, Feb. 9, 1976 (accessed Jan. 13, 2009). "Died. Angelo Ravagli..."
- 1934. New, rev. ed. with preface by Dorothy Norman, Aperture, Inc. 1979. Frank, Waldo, Lewis Mumford, Dorothy Norman, Paul Rosenfeld and Harold Rugg, eds. America & Alfred Stieglitz: a collective portrait.
- New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1934. Frank, Waldo, Lewis Mumford, Dorothy Norman, Paul Rosenfeld and Harold Rugg, eds. America & Alfred Stieglitz: a collective portrait.
- Exhibition brochure, 2001. (accessed Nov. 4, 2008). National Gallery of Art (U.S.). "Modern art and America: Alfred Stieglitz and his New York Galleries."
- New York: Random House, 1973. Norman, Dorothy, 1905-. Alfred Stieglitz: an American Seer.
By document format.
Physical Description2 linear feet
There are enough similarities between the lantern slide presentation reviewed in the New York Times "Art Notes" for January 11, 1896, and the one documented here (with "Jan. 15" written by hand above the printed year), to conclude that the latter, if not at the same venue, was similarly received as being "in every way a success." The 1896 lantern slide presentation is the earliest exhibition of Stieglitz's work documented in this subseries with a photostat of the checklist citing the 140 works shown. Like the show reviewed, the documented one includes "American and foreign subjects...pictures of Venice...and familiar scenes nearer home," which were no doubt "all thoroughly appreciated." Other early exhibitions documented here include two by The Camera Club, New York, as well as the 1902 pictorial photography exhibition at the National Art Club arranged by Stieglitz and his "Photo-Secession" group. As this subseries has no documentation of Stieglitz's shows held at his first gallery at 291 Fifth Avenue, announcements and checklists pick up again in 1921 when Stieglitz borrowed rooms at the Anderson Galleries on Park Avenue. Shows documented there include the 1925 "Seven Americans: Marin, O'Keeffe, Demuth, Dove, Harley, Strand, Stieglitz--Paintings, Photographs." This was the first time Stieglitz showed these artists together. There is literature for only two of the exhibitions staged at The Intimate Gallery, which is the name Stieglitz gave to the small room he then rented at the Anderson Galleries from 1925 to 1929. Most of the announcements and checklists pertain to An American Place, the gallery Norman encouraged Stieglitz to open in 1929. It was located at 509 Madison Avenue, on the seventeenth floor. Compared to the list of exhibitions printed in the appendix to Norman's "American Seer," there is an announcement or checklist for all but six of the 75 exhibitions staged there starting in the fall of 1929 until Stieglitz's death in 1946. The half a dozen lacking documentation were all group shows.
Chronological, by venue.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / B. Publications / f. An American Place. "It should be remembered," no. 1.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / B. Publications / f. An American Place. "It has been said," nos. 2-4.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / B. Publications / f. An American Place. "It must be said," nos. 1-4, 7. Incl. superseded[?] issue of no. 4.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / B. Publications / f. An American Place. Other leaflets.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / B. Publications / f. An American Place. Other leaflets.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Research. [Drafts of exhibition checklists from "291" and An American Place?]. Incl. annotated photocopies.
This subseries consists of writings published by Stieglitz as well as a few related newspapers and magazine clippings. Most are bulletins produced by An American Place, in which are essays written by or about artists. Others are narratives about certain AAP exhibitions, such as "'291' Again!" by the American painter and writer Ralph Flint in 1937. Subscription forms and other ephemera are also included. For Stieglitz's other publishing ventures, there is minimal documentation, consisting primarily of clippings or fragments of articles in Camera Work, which Stieglitz published 1903-1917, and in Manuscripts (MSS), which Stieglitz launched in 1922, publishing only five issues. As Norman describes the latter in "American Seer," the mission of MSS was to encourage experimentation in all art forms. Some of the contributing writers would reappear in Norman's "Twice a Year" journal 15 years later, such as William Carlos Williams and Herbert J. Seligmann. The subseries concludes with "other" contemporary writings. The earliest is the cover page and introduction written by Walter Woodbury for a folio-size book of Stieglitz photographs published in 1897 by R.H. Russell, New York. Norman reproduced in "American Seer" the two newspaper articles that follow. Both are film negatives rather than actual clippings. The earliest article of 1912 (Ill. no. 50) reviews an exhibition of children's art Stieglitz staged at 291. Stieglitz wrote the 1913 article (Ill. no. 53) to encourage public attendance of the International Exhibition of Modern Art, better remembered as the Armory Show, the seminal exhibition introducing America to European modernism. The last clipping features Stieglitz's "portrait" of Dorothy True incorporated into a page from a Dada publication. Although captioned with an illustration number, the intended publication is not certain.
Alphabetical, by publication name, ending with "other" contemporary writings. Chronological within each subgroup.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / A. Exhibition announcements and checklists / f. An American Place. [4 exhibitions].
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / A. Exhibition announcements and checklists / f. An American Place. [2 exhibitions].
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / A. Exhibition announcements and checklists / f. An American Place. [5 exhibitions]. Incl. annotated and captioned duplicates of "Beginnings and Landmarks: '291.'"
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / A. Exhibition announcements and checklists / f. An American Place. [3 exhibitions].
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / A. Exhibition announcements and checklists / f. An American Place. [4 exhibitions].
Norman compiled an extensive number of copyprints of Stieglitz's work, as well as that of the other artists, whom she categorized in her files as "Stieglitz Group from 291 on." Most of the copyprints are pasted on paper, numbered and captioned, indicating their use for publication. It is unclear as to which writings these images were intended, except for those with a 2x2 paper label attached. In those cases, the penciled-in illustration number (Ill. No.) coincides with those in "Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer." While a number of those images have been filed here under the publication title, additional images having the same labeling, are included in the other folders as Norman grouped them by topic rather than use. A significant number of copyprints remain in the original acetate sleeves because of the small label attached. Written on every label is: "after DNS T" followed by a number unique to that image. To date, the meaning of this coding is unknown. In addition to copyprints, some images are clippings, that is the image as reproduced in a publication. A few others are photostats.
By subject or artist, beginning with photographs by Stieglitz.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / D. Other materials / f. Lantern slides by Stieglitz. Annotated inventory.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946. Portraits. Anderson and Hartley. Oversized.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Portraits of Stieglitz. Incl. self-portraits. [1 of 2]
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946. Portraits. Frank--Hermann.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz family and home.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz family and home. Oversized.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Eugene, Frank, 1865-1936. Portrait of Stieglitz and other members of Photo-Secession Group.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Works, other than photographs, by other artists. Marin. Oversized.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz, Edward, 1833-. Drawings.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Works, other than photographs, by other artists. Bacon (Peggy)--Matisse.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Exhibition installations by Stieglitz and others. Unidentified.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946. Portraits. Picabia--Zoler.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Photographic works by other artists. Adams--Norman.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946. Other. "Fountain by R. Mutt."
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Writings. Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer. Illustration nos. 1-49.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946. Other. "Fountain by R. Mutt."
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Works, other than photographs, by other artists. O'Keeffe--Zayas.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Unidentified works, other than photographs.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz family and home. Oversized.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / D. Other materials / f. Writings. Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer. Book cover and mock-up of same. Oversized.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / D. Other materials / f. Notes and other papers. Incl. note of receipt w/Aperture, Inc.
Most of Norman's documentation identifying works of art collected by Stieglitz are inventories of holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, and the Stieglitz Archive at Yale University Library. A collection catalogue from Fisk University and a 1944 exhibition catalogue of the Philadelphia Museum of Art also cite their respective Stieglitz collection holdings. While works by the artists Stieglitz championed, namely Marin, Hartley, DeMuth, Dove, O'Keeffe, Sheeler, as well as his own photographs comprise the largest part of his collection, other artists identified here infer their influence on Stieglitz's idea of modernism. These include Rodin, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Matisse, as well as African sculpture, bronzes by Lachaise and Brancussi, and drawings by children, ages 2 to 10.
Also included here are typescripts of three slightly varied versions of Stieglitz's recollection of meeting D. H. Lawrence, which was no run-of-the-mill encounter. Instead this anecdote relates to the time in 1935 that he was telephoned by Angelo "Angelino" Ravagli, a companion of the writer's widow Frieda, seeking Stieglitz's assistance in retrieving the deceased Lawrence's ashes that were being held by the Customs House in New York City. The order of the versions was assigned during processing and based on textual differences. The "first" and "second" versions have no introductory paragraphs, and unlike the seemingly latter versions, the "first" does not mention O'Keeffe's trip to New Mexico, and her confirming the disposition of the ashes there. According to the text, Stieglitz corresponded with Lawrence, but the two never met. He did meet Frieda and Ravagli, however, a few years earlier on the couple's way from Europe to Taos. According to online sources, Ravagli had some success as a landscape painter in New Mexico. He has also been cited as the lover of Frieda Lawrence, whose affair during the 1920s, Lawrence memoralized in "Lady Chatterley's Lover." Frieda and Ravagli married in 1950.
The "Camera work" files consist of various summaries of publication information Norman compiled about the journal Stieglitz published from 1903 to 1917. The "Writings" files pertain to the publications about Stieglitz for which Norman was author or contributing writer. Most of the documentation is promotional ephemera, along with some notes. Also included in this subseries are copies of letters by Stieglitz and another writing in German.
Alphabetical by subject or document type.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / D. Other materials / f. Alfred Stieglitz Collection. Inventories of works held at various institutions. Annotated lists.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / D. Other materials / f. Alfred Stieglitz Collection. Exhibition catalogue. Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946. "Lantern slides."
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Writings. America and Alfred Stieglitz. Rev. edition. Illustrations and plates. Incl. agreement w/Aperture and illustration list, 26 Feb 1979.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / C. Images / f. Writings. Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer. Illustration nos. 1-49.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Writings by Marin. Remarks (2) on Alfred Stieglitz. [Annotated by Norman for inclusion in American and Alfred Stieglitz?] Ms.
This series consists primarily of photographs and published writings regarding the life and work of John Marin. Norman served as editor of "The Selected Writings of John Marin" (1949) and wrote the book's introduction. While some of this material may pertain to that publication, Norman apparently compiled the bulk of it for a later, perhaps more in-depth, profile of the artist. Her collection of writings by others about Marin include magazine articles, Mackinley Helm's book (1948), newspaper clippings, and numerous exhibition catalogues, some of which were held posthumously. Norman's own writings include a 1937 article about Marin and Alfred Stieglitz, and another reminiscing about Marin published after his death in 1953. Portions of a transcript to the 1954 radio interview of Norman, Edward Steichen, and David Friendenthal offer additional reminiscences. These writings are filed by their respective document format. The "photographs" files include a number of images of Marin. Based on the notations penciled on the verso, Norman took most of the informal portraits of Marin as well as of his family and home. There are also a significant number of "object" photographs of Marin's works. These are mounted on paper annotated with the title of the work and other information, perhaps intended as printer's instructions. Also included are most of the photographic illustrations to "Selected Writings."
"Correspondence" by Marin, most of which is in photocopy or typescript form, includes letters to family, colleagues and Norman. According to a folder notation, the original letters Marin wrote to Norman are at Yale. The few originals here include what appear to be Marin's drafts of letters to Alfred Barr and A. Conger Goodyear, MoMA's director and president, respectively. The museum held a Marin exhibition in 1936, for which the artist expressed his thanks and pleasure to both men. There is also a file of correspondence to Norman from several individuals and institutions. While most pertain to her research of Marin, one letter written by his son in 1948 discusses plans for an exhibition of his father's work at An American Place, a year after Stieglitz's death. During the processing of this material, certain files were identified as "research." Included in this subset is an actual volume of "Selected Writings." Norman cut out almost half of the pages, making notations or deletions to many of the passages. The set of index cards appear to be how Norman chronologically recorded Marin's correspondents, their addresses, and the dates of his outgoing letters to each. Another research file contains what appear to be draft exhibition checklists. On a photocopy of one, Norman penciled in the date 1909 and marked the list as Marin's writing with additional remarks written by [Edward] Steichen. Based on the date, this list could refer to Marin's first one-man show organized by Steiglitz at his 291 Gallery in New York. This subset also includes some ephemera and notes Norman made about Marin's watercolors and a trip he made in 1951 to St. John in New Brunswick, Canada. Ending the series are a few of Marin's writings about Alfred Stieglitz, Arthur Carles and Ernest Haskel.
- Encyclopedia Britannica Online, 12 Oct. 2006. Encyclopedia Britannica 2006, s.v. Marin, John.
- Tate Online, 12 Oct. 2006. Tate Collection. General collection: artists, s.v. Marin, John.
- (NY: Pellegrini & Cudahy, 1949). Norman, Dorothy, ed. The selected writing of John Marin.
Alphabetical, by document format or subject.
Physical Description1.5 linear feet
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Research. [Drafts of exhibition checklists from "291" and An American Place?]. Incl. annotated photocopies.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Press release. Downtown Gallery. Re Marin's death, dated 1 Oct. 1953. Ts.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Articles. Oversized.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Articles.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Articles. Incl. College Art Journal obituary.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Interview [radio]. "Roundtable discussion on John Marin." Edited excerpts re A. B. Carles. Partial Ts and notes.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Articles. Oversized.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Book review. Mellquist, Jerome reivew of John Marin by M. Helm.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Photographs. "Selected writings" (1949) illustrations and other captioned photos.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Research. "Selected writings" (1949). Volume used for redaction.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Book dust jackets. Emergence of an American art; John Marin, and Selected writings of John Marin.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Photographs. Exhibition installation. Baltimore Museum of Art. "Contrasts in Impressionism." (1942).
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Articles.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Exhibition catalogues.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Photostats. Objects. "Paintings owned by D. Norman."
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Book dust jackets. Emergence of an American art; John Marin, and Selected writings of John Marin.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Photographs. Objects. "DN's painting."
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Articles. Incl. College Art Journal obituary.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / A. Exhibition announcements and checklists / f. An American Place. [1 exhibition].
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Articles.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / II. John Marin / f. Book dust jackets. Emergence of an American art; John Marin, and Selected writings of John Marin.
Dorothy Norman Research Collection / I. Alfred Stieglitz / D. Other materials / f. Writings. America and Alfred Stieglitz (1934). Prospectus.
From May 24 to Sept. 15, 1968, the Philadephia Museum of Art exhibited works from Dorothy Norman's art collection. The exhibition honored Norman's help in establishing the Alfred Stieglitz Center at the Museum and for her initial gift of more than 500 photographs by Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, Paul Strand, Minor White, and other 20th-century photographers. Thirty-six black and white installation photographs document the exhibition, displaying Norman's collection of photographs, paintings, prints and sculpture. There is a small amount of correspondence pertaining to this exhibition as well as to one in London to which Norman was a lender.
Norman's own publishing venture is also documented here, with circulars and other ephemera for "Twice A Year: A Semi-Annual Journal of Literature, the Arts and Civil Liberties." The journal grew out of Norman's evolving philosophy. When interviewed in 1979, Norman recalled that during the late 1920s, she felt artists were not interested enough in civil liberties and the threat of censorship. Conversely she did not feel lawyers and other workers in civil liberties fully appreciated the arts. By the following decade, Norman also recognized her distrust of any dogmas or "isms," and that the battles for freedom could be fought differently yet with similar goals. "Twice a Year," which ran from 1938 to 1948, served as Norman's attempt to reconcile these discrepancies. Both the circulars and out-of-print list cite the contributing writers whose articles underscored the mission of the journal. Contributors included Roger Baldwin, Randolph Bourne, Franz Kafka, Anais Nin, Alfred Stieglitz, Louis Sullivan, George Bernard Shaw and Norman. The topics addressed included war, fascism, civil liberties, poetry, architecture, Hollywood, children's literature, and other writings of art. Other circulars pertain to the special publications also produced by Twice a Year Press. Among these titles are "Love Possessed Juana," an anti-fascist play by Angna Enters, "A Franz Kafka Miscellany," and the "Stieglitz Memorial Portfolio," which included reproductions of 18 photographs by Stieglitz and a number of tributes.
Also in this series is miscellaneous material pertaining to India, an interest Norman pursued in the 1950s, some photographs in which the photographer or subject are unknown and newspaper clippings.
Alphabetical by subject.
Physical Description0.5 linear feet