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About the Holger Cahill papers

All information on this page comes from A Finding Aid to the Holger Cahill Papers, 1910-1993 (bulk 1910-1960), in the Archives of American Art by Jean Fitzgerald, in the Archives of American Art. (Printable Version of Finding Aid: PDF, 164 KB )

Biographical Information | Description of the Collection | How to Use the Collection

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Biographical Information [+]

Holger Cahill was born Sveinn Kristjan Bjarnarson in Iceland in a small valley near the Arctic Circle, on January 13, 1887. His parents, Bjorn Jonson and Vigdis Bjarnadottir, immigrated to the United States from Iceland sometime later in the 1880s. In 1904, his father deserted the family, forcing Sveinn to be separated from his mother and sister to work on a farm in North Dakota. He ran away and wandered from job to job until settling in an orphanage in western Canada, where he attended school and became a voracious reader. READ MORE

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Description of the Collection

Overview - Scope and Contents

The papers of Holger Cahill (1887-1960) date from 1910 to 1993 (bulk 1910-1960) and measure 16 linear feet. The collection offers researchers fairly comprehensive documentation of Cahill's directorship of the FAP in addition to series documenting his work as a writer and art critic. FAP records include national and state administrative reports, records of community art centers, photographic documentation of state activities, artist files, divisional records about teaching, crafts, murals, and poster work, files concerning the Index of American Design, scrapbooks, and printed material.

Arrangement and Series Description

The collection is arranged into nine series:

• Series 1: Biographical Material and Personal Papers, 1931-1988 (Box 1; 19 folders)
• Series 2: Correspondence Files, 1922-1979, 1993 (Boxes 1-2; 1.5 linear ft.)
• Series 3: Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project, 1934-1970 (Boxes 2-14, 18, MMs009; 10.75 linear ft.)
• Series 4: Writings, Lectures and Speeches, 1916-1960 (Boxes 14-15, 18; 1.0 linear ft.)
• Series 5: Minutes of Meetings and Panel Discussions, Non-FAP, 1939-1947 (Box 15; 5 folders)
• Series 6: Notes and Research Material, 1935-1970 (Boxes 15-16; 0.25 linear ft.)
• Series 7: Artwork, undated (Boxes 16, 18; 2 folders)
• Series 8: Printed Material, 1910-1985 (Boxes 16-17; 1.8 linear ft.)
• Series 9: Photographs, circa 1917-1960 (Box 17; 6 folders)

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Subjects

This collection is indexed in the online catalog of the Archives of American Art under the following index terms. People, families and organizations are listed under "Names" when they are creators or contributors and under "Subjects" when they are the topic of collection contents.

• Subjects:
  
  • Brown, Samuel Joseph, 1907-
  • De Rivera, José Ruiz, 1904-
  • Hopkins, Harry Lloyd, 1890-1946
  • Knaths, Karl, 1891-
  • Olds, Elizabeth, 1896-
  • Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
  • Rowan, Edward Beatty, 1898-1946
  • Scaravaglione, Concetta Maria, 1900-1975
  • Segal, George, 1924-
  • Ward, Lynd, 1905-
  • Weisenborn, Rudolph, b. 1881
  • American Council of Learned Societies
  • American Federation of Arts
  • Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.)
  • Cartoonists Guild
  • The Design Laboratory (New York, N.Y.)
  • Federal Art Project (U.S.)
  • Federal Music Project (U.S.)
  • Federal Theatre Project (U.S.)
  • Index of American Design
  • Shakers
  • Treasury Relief Art Project
  • American Artists' Congress

• Subjects-Topical:
  
  • New Deal, 1933-1939
  • Federal aid to the arts
  • Federal aid to the public welfare
  • Art and state
  • Arts administrators
  • Public officers

• Subjects-Geographical:
  
  • United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945
  • United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945

• Types of Materials:
  
  • Drawings
  • Government records
  • Interviews
  • Photographs
  • Photograph albums
  • Prints
  • Scrapbooks
  • Slides (photographs)

• Names:
  
  • Abbott, Berenice, 1898- photographer
  • Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970
  • Miller, Dorothy Canning, 1904-
  • Morris, Carl, 1911-1993
  • Speck, Walter, 1895-
  • Federal Art Project (U.S.)
  • New York World's Fair (1939-1940)
  • United States. Works Progress Administration
  • United States. Work Projects Administration

Provenance

The Holger Cahill papers were donated to the Archives of American Art through a series of gifts by Cahill's widow, Dorothy C. Miller, between 1964 and 1995.

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How the Collection was Processed

The collection was typically microfilmed in the order in which it was received at some point after receipt. The entire collection was processed by Jean Fitzgerald in 1998. The microfilm was digitized in 2005 with funding provided by Jane Blumenfeld.

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Index(es)

• Abbott, Berenice: 1944 (letter to the Editor)
• Abbott, John: [1946]
• Abell, Walter (Canadian Art): 1943-1944 (2 letters)
• Adams, Charles C.: 1940
• Alcopley, Mr.: [1952] (including typescript "Pictures of Alcopley" by Saburo Hasegawa); 1953-1960 (4 letters)
• Alsberg, Henry G. (Director, Federal Writers' Projects): 1936 (4 letters)
• American Council of Learned Societies: 1949
• American Federation of Arts: 1949-1952 (3 letters)
• American Folk Art Gallery: 1941
• American Heritage: 1954
• American Swedish Historical Foundation: 1949
• Andrews, Robert Armstrong and Eleanor: [1960], undated
• Art in America: 1953
• Artists For Victory: [1942]
• Artists League of America: 1945
• Artists Union of Massachusetts: 1936 (telegram to President Roosevelt)
• Arts Council of Japanese Americans for Democracy: 1944
• Ashton, Dore: [1960]
• Bach, Richard F. (Metropolitan Museum): 1924 and 1950
• Bailey, Herbert: 1972 (letter from Naomi Bliven)
• Baker, Donald: [1936]
• Baker, Jacob (WPA): 1935-1960, undated (10 letters)
• Barach, Frederica (Writers' War Board): 1944
• Barker, Virgil and Ida: 1945-1960 (4 letters)
• Barnard College: 1951 (2 letters)
• Barr, Alfred H., Jr. (Museum of Modern Art): 1935-1960 (16 letters)
• Barr, Tony: 1960
• Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn, Inc.: 1950
• Baur, John (Brooklyn Museum): 1946-1960 (6 letters)
• Baylinson, Ada: 1950
• Bear, Donald J. (Denver Art Museum): 1939
• Beckmann, Mrs. Max: 1960
• Bennington College: 1950
• Benson, Emanuel M. (FAP): 1936-1940 (7 letters)
• Berlandina, Jane: 1960
• Bessinger, Frederic (artist): 1933
• Biddle, George: 1936-1940
• Biesel, Fred and Frances: 1941-1955 (13 letters)
• Bird, Elzy: [1949]
• Bittermann, Eleanor: 1951
• Black, Mary: [1960]
• Bliven, Naomi: 1972 (letter to Herbert Bailey)
• Block, Edgar S.: 1950
• Block, Lou: 1949
• Bluemner, Oscar: 1934-1937 (3 letters)
• Blue Ribbon Books: 1935
• Blume, Peter: 1944 and 1950
• Blumenfeld, Willow (Cahill's granddaughter): [1960]
• Blumenschein, Ernest L.: 1936
• Blumenthal, Joseph: [1960]
• Bolotowsky, Ilya: 1960
• Borgenicht, Grace (art dealer): [1960]
• Boston Marine Museum: 1949
• Boston: Museum of Fine Arts: 1950
• Boulton, Margaret: 1936
• Bragozzi, Tony and Olive (curator of David Rockefeller's collection): 1960
• Breck, George and Ruth: [1960]
• Brennan, Francis: 1960
• Brook, Alex: 1959 (2 letters)
• Brook, Gina (wife of artist Alexander Brook): 1960
• Brooks, James and Charlotte: [1960]
• Brown, Clara D. (antiques dealer): [1935]
• Brown, Yaeger: 1943 (2 letters)
• Bruce, Edward: 1937
• Bucks County Historical Society: 1950
• Bufano, Beniamino: [1940-1942], undated (3 letters)
• Bulau, Alwin E.: 1952
• Burnham, Ralph Warren (antiques dealer): 1933
• Byron, Evelyn S.: 1942 (memo from Wilda Sawyer)
• Bywaters, Jerry: 1960
• Calder, Alexander: 1956 (photocopy) and 1960
• Calkins, K: 1936 (2 letters to Constance Rourke)
• Campbell, Robert B.: 1960
• Carolina Art Association: 1935-1950 (5 letters)
• Carroll, Bob: 1960
• Carroll, Eleanor: 1936
• Castelli, Leo: 1960
• Catlin, Tod: 1960
• Cavanna, Elise: 1960
• Chamberlain, Betty: 1960
• Chanin, Abraham and Maralt (Museum of Modern Art): [1960]
• Chapin, Lucy Stock: 1932-1933 (2 letters)
• Chapman, Suzanne: 1946-1949 (2 letters)
• Charm (Barbara Lee Johnson): 1929
• Chermayeff, Serge (Institute of Design): 1948
• Chichester, Jim Hinchman (college friend of Elizabeth Holt): 1960
• Church, Elizabeth D. (antiques dealer): 1935 (including 10 photographs of folk art)
• Citizens Committee for Support of WPA: 1937
• Claflin, Agnes: 1960
• Clark, Stephen C.: 1939
• Cleveland Institute of Art: 1950 (letter from Alfred Barr)
• Coffey, Katherine: 1960
• Coggeshall, Calvert and Suzanne: 1956-1960 (2 letters)
• Cole, Mrs. Charley Tidd (Friends of the FAP): 1940 (letter from Martha Davidson)
• Colie, Annetta (Elizabeth Holt's sister): 1960
• Colin, Georgia and Ralph: 1960
• Collier, Nina (Index of American Design): 1936 (6 letters)
• Collins, Lloyd and Lib: 1960
• Colman, Anne (FAP, Michigan): 1937 (2 letters)
• Colonial Williamsburg, Incorporated: 1935-1960 (13 letters)
• Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center: 1939-1960 (3 letters)
• Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.: 1939 (contract for Cahill to broadcast "What's Art to Me" program)
• Columbia University: [1939]
• Conklin, Franklin (Newark Museum): 1944
• Connolly, Elizabeth (FAP, Southern California): 1940
• Cooper, Charlotte Gowing (FAP, Ohio): 1937-1937 (4 letters)
• Cooper, Samuel C.: 1941 (including certificate of dissolution for the American Folk Art Gallery); 1951 (3 letters)
• Corcoran Gallery of Art: 1950 (3 letters)
• Cornelius, Charles: 1936 (2 memoranda from others)
• Cosmopolitan Fire Insurance: 1931
• Coussirat, Elizabeth (Index of American Design): 1936 (6 letters)
• Crampton, Rollin: 1960
• Craven, Thomas: 1944 (2 letters)
• Crawford, Phyllis: 1945-1960 (4 letters)
• Crofut, Edward F. (WPA and Museum of Modern Art): 1936-1938 (3 letters)
• Cronin, Agnes S.: 1939-1944 (2 letters)
• Crosby, Hildegard (FAP, Illinois): 1937-1949 (8 letters)
• Culler, Julia Abbott: 1935
• Cummin, Hazel (Index of American Design): 1937 (5 letters)
• Curran, Mary (FAP, Pennsylvania): 1937 (2 letters)
• Daly, Matthew A. (WPA): 1936 (2 letters)
• Dana, John Cotton (Newark Museum): 1924-1925 (4 letters)
• Daugherty, D. H. (American Council of Learned Societies): 1949 (11 letters)
• Davidson, Jo: 1944 (letter to the Editor)
• Davidson, Martha (Friends of the FAP): 1939-1940 (3 letters)
• Davies, Terry: 1960 (2 letters)
• Davis, Charles (artist): mentioned in invitation dated [1938]
• Davis, D. and Phyllis: 1960
• Davis, George Earl: 1952
• Davis, Lew and Mathilde: 1960
• Davis, Stuart: 1936-1960 (5 letters)
• Dehner, Dorothy: [1960]
• Delson, Sidney: 1958-1959 (2 letters)
• de Nagy, Tibor: 1960
• Dentsch, Hilda: [1941-1960] (2 letters)
• DeVoto, Bernard: 1949 (4 letters)
• De Young Memorial Museum: 1939
• d'Harnoncourt, Rene: 1944-1960 (5 letters)
• Dickinson, Edwin: 1960
• Dienes, Sari (artist): 1960
• Don, Michael: 1939-1940 (2 letters)
• Donati, Enric: 1960
• Douglas, Eric: 1949
• Downtown Gallery: 1935
• Dows, Olin (Treasury Relief Art Project): 1935-1960 (5 letters)
• Dunbar, Anna: 1960
• Duntley, Seibert Q.: 1941
• du Pont, H. F.: 1950 (2 letters)
• Durieux, Caroline: 1943
• Durham, Mr.: 1936
• Dutt, Alska: 1956
• du Von, Jay: 1941
• East Liverpool, Ohio, Chamber of Commerce: 1939
• Eaton, Allen: 1938 and 1945
• Edwards, Paul (WPA, Washington, D.C.): 1941
• Eglington, Laurie (Index of American Design): 1936 (2 letters)
• Eilshemius, Louis M.: 1931-1939 (2 letters)
• Emery, Humphrey J. (American Handicraft Council): 1939
• Emil, Allan and Kate (art collectors): 1960
• Emmerich, Andre: 1960
• Engineer Replacement Center, Fort Belvoir: 1941 (2 letters)
• Essex Institute: 1950
• Evans, Ernestine: 1947 (2 letters)
• Evergood, Philip: 1944 (letter to the Editor)
• Fairweather, Sally: [1960]
• Feininger, Julia: 1960, undated
• Feitelson, Lorser and Helen: 1943-1960 (3 letters)
• Ferber, Herbert and Lisi: 1960 (2 letters)
• Ferren, John: 1949 (2 letters)
• Field, George H. (Federal Works Agency): 1943 (2 letters)
• Flanagan, Hallie: 1949 (3 letters)
• Fleming, Philip B.: [1943]
• Fogel, Barbara: 1960
• Follmer, Frank J.: 1942
• Force, Juliana: 1946
• '47 Magazine: 1946
• Frankenberg, Lloyd: 1937 and 1960
• French, Helen: [1960]
• Frick Art Reference Library: 1946
• Fried: Rose Fried Gallery: 1953
• Friends of the FAP: 1939 (13 letters)
• Fuller, Buckminster: 1942-1949 (including a brochure about the Dymaxion House)
• Fultz, Harry T.: 1942 (memo from Fred Biesel)
• Gaskin, William: 1940-1961 (12 letters)
• Gates, Marguerite (Public Library of Newark, N.J.): 1929-1935 (3 letters)
• Gavert, Olive Lyford (Alfred Barr's secretary): 1960
• General Services Administration: 1950
• Gershoy, Toni: [1960]
• Gibbs, Peggy (widow of artist Howard Gibbs): [1960]
• Giedion, Siegfried: mentioned in letter dated Oct 07, 1951
• Glarner, Fritz: 1949 and 1960
• Glassgold, Cook Adolph: 1936-1940 (43 letters)
• Goldberg, Albert L. (Illinois Music Project): 1940
• Goldberg, Mike: [1960]
• Goldwater, Louise and Robert: 1960
• Goodall, Donald B.: 1960
• Goodchild, Donald: 1939
• Goodrich, Lloyd (Whitney Museum of American Art): 1948-1960 (7 letters)
• Goodyear, A. Conger: 1935-1960 (5 letters)
• Gordon, Jack (Whitney Museum of American Art): [1960]
• Gorsline, Douglas W.: 1950 (2 letters)
• Gowing, Lawrence: 1960
• Graham, Ralph (FAP, Illinois): 1941-1942 (3 letters)
• Graves, Morris: 1946
• Green, Wilder: 1960
• Greenberg, Clement: 1960
• Greenwell, Darrell J. (Ogden Standard Examiner): 1949
• Griffis, Toni (Mrs. Hughes Griffis): 1960
• Griffith, E. J. (FAP, Oregon): 1938 and 1960
• Grossman, Mrs. I. Donald: [1960]
• Guerrero, Jose and Roxane: [1960]
• Guggenheim, Olga: 1960
• Gwathmey, Robert: 1944 (letter to the Editor)
• Hale, Bob (Metropolitan Museum of Art): 1960
• Hall, Edward T. (Universal School of Handicrafts): 1939
• Halpert, Edith: 1930-1960, undated (20 letters)
• Hardin, Shirley: [1960]
• Hare, Michael M.: 1948
• Harper's Magazine: 1943-1944 (2 letters)
• Harrison, Preston: 1934
• Hart, "Pop": 1930-1932 (2 letters)
• Hartigan, Grace: 1960
• Hasegawa, Saburo: 1952 (letter to Franz Kline, including typescript "Pictures of Alcopley")
• Hatch, John Davis: 1960
• Hatcher, Harry and Doris: 1960 (3 letters)
• Haupers, Clement (FAP, Minnesota): 1937-1949 (5 letters)
• Haydon, Hal: 1955
• Henley, Helen B. (Wadsworth Atheneum): 1937 (2 letters)
• Herbert, David: 1960
• Hess, Thomas: 1960
• Hinckley, Robert H. (American Broadcasting Co.): 1960
• Hirsch, Joseph: 1960
• Hofmann, Hans and Maria: 1960 (2 letters)
• Holt, Elizabeth (art historian): 1960
• Holzhauer, Mildred: 1937-1940 (4 letters)
• Hope, Henry R. (Indiana Univ.): 1948-1949 (2 letters)
• Hopkins, Harry L.: 1936-1943 (13 letters)
• Horr, Axel (artist): mentioned in invitation dated [1938]
• House Beautiful: 1950
• Houston: Museum of Fine Arts of Houston: 1955
• Hunter, Howard O.: 1941
• Hunter, Virginia and Russell Vernon Hunter: 1951-1960, undated (4 letters)
• Huxley, Julia S.: 1942
• Illinois Art Project: 1941-1942 (6 letters)
• Index of American Design: 1936 (form letter)
• Interior: Department of the Interior: 1950 (3 letters)
• Inverarity, Robert Bruce (FAP State Dir., Washington): 1937-1950 (5 letters)
• Isaacs, Betty and Julius: 1960
• Jackson, Martha: [1960]
• Jerry, Sylvester (FAP, Michigan): 1939 (3 letters)
• Johns, Jasper: 1960
• Johnson, Anna: 1952
• Johnson, Buffie: 1960
• Johnson, Irene Edith: 1960
• Johnson, Philip C.: 1960
• Jones, Anne (Mrs. E. Powis Jones): 1960
• Kallen, Horace (publisher): 1960
• Karpel, Ray and Bernard (Museum of Modern Art): [1960]
• Kavanaugh, George R. (Berea College): 1936
• Kaye, Harold: 1958
• Kayser, Dr.: 1954
• Keck, Caroline and Sheldon (art conservators): 1960
• Kellogg, Elizabeth R.: 1949 (2 letters)
• Kent, Rockwell: 1944
• Kerr, Florence (Work Projects Administration): 1940-1942 (4 letters)
• Keyes, Homer Eaton (Antiques Magazine): 1936
• Kiesler, Frederick J.: 1960
• Kiplinger, Walter M.: 1941 (4 letters)
• Kipper, Katrina (antiques dealer): 1935 (3 letters)
• Kirby, Mr. O. A.: 1941
• Kleinholz, Frank: 1944 (letter to the Editor)
• Kline, Franz: 1952 (letter from Saburo Hasegawa, including typescript "Pictures of Alcopley") and 1960
• Knight, Frederic (Artists' Coordination Committee): Nov 1936 (5 letters)
• Knight, Harry: 1960
• Knittle, Rhea Mansfield: 1936-1937 (2 letters)
• Kokoschka, Oskar: 1944
• Kootz, Jane and Sam: 1960
• Kroll, Eleanor: 1937 (2 letters)
• Kuniyoshi, Yasuo: 1944 (2 letters)
• Labaudt, Lucien: 1943 (4 letters)
• Lane, Harry: [1960]
• Laning, Clair: 1960
• Leech, Nancy T.: 1949
• Leeds, Harold Eliot (architect): 1960
• Legg, Alicia (Museum of Modern Art curator): 1960
• Leggett, Eugene S. (National Emergency Council): 1936 (letter from Harry Hopkins)
• Leicester, Louise B. (American Handicraft Council): [1940]
• Lekakis, Michael: 1960
• Lemmon, Warren W.: mentioned in letter dated Mar 08, 1940
• Levine, Jack: 1960
• Levy, Julian: 1944 and [1960]
• Lewis and Clark High School: 1939
• Lewis, Elizabeth Ray: 1943
• Life Magazine: 1944 (4 letters)
• Lipman, Jean and Howard: [1960]
• Lipscomb, Isabel (Work Projects Admin.): 1941 (3 letters)
• Lipton, Seymour: [1960]
• Litchfield, Elizabeth (Museum of Modern Art): 1941 - [1960] (3 letters)
• Lowenthal, Edith and Milton: 1960
• Lundy, Margaret: 1938
• Lunsford, Bascom Lamar: 1936
• Lyles, Mary E.: 1935
• Mabry, Tom and Ethel: 1960 (2 letters)
• Macdonald-Wright, Stanton: 1936-1955, undated (60 letters)
• Macdowell Colony: 1960
• MacLeish, Archibald: [1943] (letter from Philip B. Fleming)
• Macmillan Company: 1946-1959 (24 letters)
• Magazine of Art: 1948-1951 (10 letters)
• Mapes, Col. Milton C. (Civilian Camouflage): 1941
• March, Frank A. (Project Control Division): 1941
• Marcus, Marcia: 1960
• Marg Magazine: 1956 (6 letters)
• Marx, Ione F.: 1942
• Maryland Historical Society: 1950 (2 letters)
• Matisse, Patricia (Pierre Matisse Gallery Corp.): [1960]
• Mattis, Astria: 1960
• Maverick Maury (Congressman, Texas): 1936 (3 letters)
• Mayor, A. Hyatt (Metropolitan Museum): 1960
• Mazo, Sara (widow of Yasuo Kuniyoshi): 1960
• McAndrew, Betty and John: 1960
• McCormick, M. R.: 1938
• McCrady, John: 1943
• McCray, Porter (Museum of Modern Art): 1960
• McDonald, W. F. (American Council of Learned Societies): 1944-1949 (3 letters)
• McKeague, Robert I. (Community Service Projects Section): 1937-1940 (8 letters)
• McMahon, Audrey (WPA): 1936-1941 (7 letters)
• McPharlin, Paul (Michigan WPA): 1937 (7 letters)
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1953
• Miller, Dorothy C. (Museum of Modern Art): 1936-1956 (27 letters)
• Miller, Emma Guffey: 1938
• Minnesota Historical Society: 1952
• Morgan, Anne: 1938-1939 (5 letters)
• Morley, Grace: 1960
• Morris, Lawrence: 1937-1939 (2 letters)
• Morris, Suzy (Mrs. George L. K. Morris): 1960
• Morrison, Richard: 1936-1949 (6 letters)
• Morsell, Miss: 1938
• Motherwell, Robert: 1960
• Museum of Modern Art: 1936-[1960] (4 letters)
• Myers, Bernard: 1948
• Myers, John (art dealer): 1960
• Nakian, Reuben: 1960
• Nash, Susan Higginson: 1934 (2 letters)
• Nathan, Reuben S.: 1949 (3 letters)
• National Gallery of Art: 1943-1993 (27 letters)
• National Institute on Education and the War: 1943
• Navy: Department of the Navy: 1941
• Neuberger, Roy: 1960
• Neumeyer, Alfred (Mills College): 1944
• Nevelson, Louise: 1960
• Newhall, Beaumont: 1941
• New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire: 1939
• Newman, Barnett: 1960
• Newmeyer, S.: [1936]
• New Republic: 1949 (letter from Lloyd Goodrich)
• New York WPA Artists, Inc.: 1977 (including exhibition catalog "Then and Now")
• New Yorker: 1948 and 1952
• New York Herald Tribune: 1948-1952 (3 letters)
• New York Public Library: 1949 (including copies of Index of American Design correspondence dated 1935-1936)
• New York State Historical Association: 1949-1951 (4 letters)
• [New York Times]: 1944
• Neyland, Harry: 1935 (letter to Mrs. Rockefeller with 13 photographs of folk art)
• Norman, Charles: 1960
• Norman, Dorothy (Steiglitz protegee): 1960
• Norman, Geoffrey (Works Projects Administration): 1941 (3 letters)
• North Texas Agricultural College: 1939
• Northrop, F. S. C.: 1947
• Northwest Missouri State Teachers College: 1939
• Norton, Ann: [1960]
• Norwegian Folk Art Museum: 1949 (2 letters)
• Odegaard, Charles E. (American Council of Learned Societies): 1949 (3 letters)
• O'Hara, Frank (poet and art critic): 1960
• Okada, Kimi and Keryo: 1960
• Olmsted, Harold S.: 1954
• Olsen, Catharine M.: 1941, undated (3 letters)
• O'Neill, John P. (Historic American Buildings Survey, Department of the Interior): 1936 (5 letters)
• Organ, Violet: 1949
• Ormsbee, Thomas H. (editor, American Collector): 1936 (letter to Ruth Reeves)
• Osborn, Elodie: 1960
• O'Steen, Alton (Alabama Dept. of Education): 1943
• Pach, Walter: 1939 (photograph of letter to Friends of the FAP)
• Parker, Margaret: [1960]
• Parker, Thomas C. (Federal Art Proj.): 1936-1940 (14 letters)
• Parkinson, Eliza (Museum of Modern Art trustee): 1960
• Parr, Russell C.: 1936
• Parsons, Betty: 1960
• Pedlar, Sylvia: 1960
• Pedro, Luis Martinez: 1947
• Peixotto, Ernest: 1936
• P.E.N. Club, The: 1948
• People's Art Center Association, St. Louis: 1952 (5 letters)
• Pereira, Irene Rice and George Reavey: 1950-1953 (21 letters)
• Perry, Beatrice (Gres Gallery): 1960
• Philadelphia Museum of Art: 1950
• Pickens, Alton: 1955
• Pietan, Norman: 1948 and [1949]
• Pilgrim Society: 1949 (2 letters)
• Pollack, Peter: 1960
• Pollak, Frances M. (WPA): 1936-1949 (7 letters)
• Pollet, Elizabeth (widow of artist Joseph Pollet): [1960]
• Pollock, Jackson: 1952 (photocopy)
• Price, R. Moore: 1945
• Public Use of Arts Committee: 1939
• Purcell, Ralph: 1949 (4 letters)
• Pyle, Edward Frederick: 1939
• Ramsay, John: mentioned in memo dated Mar 31, 1936
• Reeves, Ruth: 1936-1949 (55 letters including field reports)letters)
• Reines, Harriet: 1938
• Reinhart, Ad: 1952-1959 (3 letters)
• Reynal and Hitchcock, Inc.: 1937
• Richardson, E. P. (Detroit Institute of Arts; Archives of American Art): 1951-1960 (7 letters)
• Riefstahl, Elizabeth: 1936
• Ritchie, Andrew C.: 1944 (2 letters)
• Rivers, Larry: 1960
• Robinson, Boardman: 1936 and 1960
• Rockefeller Center, Inc.: 1934 (contract for the First Municipal Art Exhibition)
• Rockefeller Foundation: 1949
• Rockefeller, David: 1960
• Rockefeller, John D., Jr., and Abby A.: 1934-1940 (4 letters)
• Rockefeller, John III, and Blanchette: 1951-1960 (3 letters)
• Rockefeller, Nelson A.: 1934-1960 (6 letters)
• Rockefeller, Peggy: 1960
• Roesen, Severin: mentioned in letter dated Mar 02, 1938
• Roosevelt, Franklin D.: 1936-1940 (3 letters)
• Rosenbaum, Belle (New York Herald Tribune): 1949-1960 (4 letters)
• Rosenwald, Janet: 1937 and 1960
• Rothko, Mark: 1960
• Rourke, Constance: 1935-1938 (57 letters)
• Rowan, Edward B. (Treasury Department, Section of Painting and Sculpture): 1936-1943 (5 letters)
• Rubenstein, Erica B.: 1945 (3 letters)
• Rubenstein, Sarah (Museum of Modern Art): 1960
• Russell, Morgan: 1950-1951 (2 letters)
• St. Petersburg Federal Galleries: 1939
• Sandoz, Mari (writer): 1960
• Sawitzky, William (painting researcher): 1935 (2 letters)
• Sawyer, Wilda A.: 1942
• Saxon, Lyle: 1943
• Schaefer, Bertha: [1960]
• Scharf, Bill: [1960]
• Scheidt, Melvin E. (War Relocation Authority): 1943
• Schmidt, Katherine: 1944 and 1960
• Schnitzer, Robert C.: 1949
• Schwabacher, Ethel: 1960 (2 letters)
• Scott, Cecil: 1960 (2 letters)
• Scott, Phyllis C.: 1936-1937 (2 letters)
• Scull, Ethel and Bob (art collectors): [1960]
• Seckar, Alvena V.: 1946
• Seeger, Charles: 1936
• Selz, Peter and Thalia: 1960
• Shaw, Charles: 1960
• Simms, Agnes (artist): 1960
• Siporin, Mitchell: 1943-1960 (4 letters)
• Sloan, Helen (Mrs. John Sloan): 1951 and 1960
• Sloane, William: 1945
• Smedley, Agnes: 1947 (letter from Ernestine Evans)
• Smith College: 1944-1950 (6 letters)
• Smith, Ferdinand: 1952
• Smith, Geneva: 1942 (memo from Frank J. Follmer)
• Smith, Gordon M. (Index of American Design): 1936-1937 (8 letters)
• Smith, Holly and Sam: [1960]
• Smith, Joseph Lindon: mentioned in letter dated Mar 28, 1950
• Smith, Laura: 1938-1939 (5 letters)
• Smith, Louise: 1960
• Smith, Margery Hoffman (FAP, Oregon): 1938
• Soby, James Thrall: 1948-1960 (5 letters)
• Soderblom, Nathan: 1922 (in Swedish)
• Solomon, Saul (Cahill's doctor): 1960
• Soyer, Moses: 1944 (letter to the Editor)
• Spark, Mrs. Victor: 1960
• Speck, Walter: 1939 (2 letters)
• Spencer, Betty (Niles Spencer's first wife): 1960
• Spencer, Catherine (Mrs. Niles Spencer): 1952-1960 (8 letters)
• Stamos, Theodoros: 1960
• Standards: National Bureau of Standards: 1941
• State: Department of State: 1939 (3 letters)
• Stavenitz, Alexander: 1937
• Steegmuller, Francis: 1960
• Stella, Joseph: 1936 (2 letters)
• Sterner, Albert: 1935
• Stieglitz, Alfred: 1932 and 1934
• Stier, W. (Project Review Section): 1941
• Still, Clyfford: 1953-1956 (4 letters)
• Stix, Hugh: 1960
• Stock, Joseph (artist): mentioned in letters dated 1932 and 1933
• Stout, Rex: 1944
• Strickland, Sidney: 1949 (2 letters)
• Studio Publications, Inc.: 1951
• Sunami, Soichi: 1960
• Swasey, Jeannette: [1935]
• Sweeney, Jim: [1960]
• Tabak, Maynatalie (colleague of Jackson Pollock): [1960]
• Taub, Alex: 1942 (memo from Buckminster Fuller)
• Taylor, Francis Henry: 1939 and 1952
• Taylor, Miss: 1936
• Thomas, Yvonne (artist): 1960
• Thomley, John: 1949
• Thoms, Mr.: 1936 (letter from Matthew Daly)
• Thorgurson, Nina: [1960]
• Tobey, Mark: 1954 and 1960
• Tobey, Judith (Resettlement Administration): 1936
• Townsend, Gertrude: [1937]
• Townsend, Mr.: 1938
• Tranum, Carl K.: 1949 (2 letters)
• Triggs, Clayton E.: 1940 (4 letters)
• Turner, Katherine: [1935]
• Tworkov, Jack and Wally: 1960
• Uht, Charles (photographer of Nelson Rockefeller's collection): 1960
• United American Artists: 1940
• Valentin, Curt: 1954
• Valentine, Chapin: 1932
• Valentiner, W. R. (Detroit Institute of Arts): 1933
• Varian, Dorothy: 1960
• Viviano, Catherine (art dealer): [1960]
• Volkmer, Jean (Museum of Modern Art conservator): [1960]
• von Wiegand, Charmion (artist): 1960
• Walker, Hudson D.: 1960
• Walley, Jano and John: 1949 and 1960
• Ward: 1925 and 1960 (3 letters)
• War Department: 1938-1941 (5 letters)
• Warren, William (FAP, Connecticut): 1937
• Wasey, Jane: 1960
• Washburn College: 1939
• Washburn, Gordon (Albright Art Gallery): 1960
• Washington: The State College of Washington: 1939
• Watrous, Harry W.: 1936
• Watson, Forbes: 1949
• Webb, Aileen (American Handicraft Council): 1938 (4 letters)
• Weber, Max: 1922-1960 (6 letters)
• Weisenborn, Fritzi (Mrs. Rudolph Weisenborn): 1950
• Wendt, Gerald (Time, Inc.): 1944 (2 letters)
• Weston, Edward: 1936
• Wharton, Frances L.: 1935 (2 letters)
• Wheeler, Monroe (Museum of Modern Art): 1960
• White, Francis Robert: 1944
• White, Jim: 1960
• Whitelaw, Robert N. S.: 1960
• Whitney Museum of American Art: 1949 and 1979
• Whyte, James C.: 1942
• Wilfred, Thomas: 1960
• Williams, Aubrey (WPA): 1936
• Williamsburg Restoration, Incorporated: 1935 (4 letters)
• Winchester, Alice (Antiques Magazine): 1950-1951 (6 letters)
• Winser, Beatrice: 1924-1944 (6 letters)
• Winter, Anna K. (antiques dealer): 1935
• Wisconsin: State Historical Society of Wisconsin: 1939
• Woodstock Artists Association: 1960
• Woodward, Ellen S.: 1936-1938 (3 letters)
• Worcester, Wakefield (architect): 1936
• Wright, Russell (industrial designer): [1960]
• Wyn: A. A. Wyn, Inc.: 1951
• Youngerman, Jack: 1960
• Zegri, Armando (Galeria Sudamericana): 1960
• Zimmerman, Fred and Dorothy: [1960]
• Zorach, William: 1936-1960 (3 letters)

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How to Use the Collection

Restrictions on Use

The Holger Cahill papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

The microfilm for this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.

Available Formats

This collection has been digitized. View the Holger Cahill papers online

The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via the Archives of American Art website.

How to Cite this Collection

Holger Cahill papers, 1910-1993 (bulk 1910-1960). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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