Main content

Arensberg Archives, 1905-1957, undated (inclusive)

Extent:

33 linear feet

Abstract:

Art collectors Walter and Louise Arensberg amassed a seminal collection of Modern and pre-Columbian art between 1913 and 1950, when they presented it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Arensberg Archives contain correspondence, ephemera, clippings, writings, personal and art collection records, and photographs documenting the couple's art collecting activities as well as their friendship with many important artists, writers and scholars, including Marcel Duchamp, Charles Sheeler, Walter Pach, Beatrice Wood, and Elmer Ernest Southard. The collection also includes some material related to Walter Arensberg's study of Francis Bacon and the founding of his research institute, the Francis Bacon Foundation.

Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]

Main content

Anne d'Harnoncourt Records, 1973-2008, undated (inclusive)

Extent:

216.75 linear feet

Abstract:

The Anne d'Harnoncourt Records correspond to the quarter of a century that Anne d'Harnoncourt (1943-2008) served as the George D. Widener Director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA), assuming the additional responsibilities of Chief Executive Officer in 1997. During her tenure, d'Harnoncourt led the Museum through milestones that transformed its collections, exhibitions, curatorial and educational missions, and physical environment. The records she compiled during that time provide the framework for those transformations and underscore the attention to detail, encyclopedic intellect and interests, community commitment and contagious enthusiasm for the arts that characterized d'Harnoncourt's styles of leadership and life. D'Harnoncourt maintained most of her files in large groups of alphabetically arranged names and subjects. Her exhibition records, however, were kept separate, implying an affinity for a subject she learned well during her earlier curatorial years. Other topics...(see more)

Held at: Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives [Contact Us]