Adelyn Dohme Breeskin papers, 1934-1978
Breeskin, Adelyn Dohme,
b. 1896
d. 1986
Curator, Art historian, Museum director
Washington, D.C.; Baltimore, Md.
Collection size: 2.2 linear feet (partially microfilmed on 2 reels)
Collection Summary: Research materials mostly relating to Loren MacIver and Mary Cassatt, printed materials, artists' files, correspondence, photographs of Breeskin, and exhibition catalogs.
UNMICROFILMED: Correspondence, research files, manuscript, related to Breeskin's unpublished monograph on New York City painter, Loren MacIver. Included are correspondence of Breeskin and MacIver, 1969-1970; correspondence with the publisher, the Pierre Matisse Gallery and individuals primarily regarding reproductions for the book; research files containing photocopies of WPA-related correspondence and records, 1938-1966, photocopies of the Museum of Modern Art's file on MacIver's mural done on the SS Argentina, 1958; 13 poems, many concerning works by MacIver written by her husband, LLoyd MacIver; and an untitled manuscript which includes a chronology, lists of art works, and 2 drafts of the text.
Additional unmicrofilmed material includes: correspondence; subject files, containing correspondence, biographical data, photographs, newspaper clippings and travel itineraries; correspondence regarding her appointment as director of the Baltimore Museum of Art; material relating to her work as consultant to the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the National Museum of American Art); files on Mary Cassatt containing copies and typescripts of letters written by Cassatt to Mathilda Brownell, Adaline Havemeyer, Julie Manet and others; typescripts and drafts and notes of lectures, broadcasts and articles; course files for art appreciation classes taught at Johns Hopkins University; and photographs of Breeskin.
REEL 2227: Artists' files accumulated by Breeskin while working at the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum), containing letters from Georgia O'Keeffe, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, and Lawrence Calcagno; an exhibition catalog for Calcagno; and a file on Milton Avery with letters from his wife, Sally.
REEL 2787: An edited draft of a catalog of the paintings at the State House in Annapolis, Maryland, 1934.
Biographical/Historical Note: Art historian, museum curator; Baltimore, Md., and Washington, D.C. Died 1986.
Unmicrofilmed materials donated 1979-1987 by Breeskin and by Robert Frash, who had Breeskin's research materials on MacIver for an exhibition on MacIver he curated in California. Materials on reel 2227 transferred from NMAA. Provenance of materials on reel 2787 is uncertain.
How to Use this Collection
- Reels 2227 and 2787 (frames 456-487) available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
- Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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