A Thousand Kisses: Love Letters from the Archives of American Art
![[Konrad and Florence Cramer]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/cramkonr/thumbnail/AAA_cramkonr_22752.jpg "[Konrad and Florence Cramer], ca. 1930 / unidentified photographer. Photographic print : 1 item : sepia ; 15 x 10 cm. Konrad and Florence Ballin Cramer papers, 1897-1968. Archives of American Art.")
January 25, 2008 through June 2, 2008
Love letters bring out the voyeur in most of us. These deeply personal communications have the power to make us blush or, at the very least, to let us observe a tender moment in the complex lives of others.
This selection of affectionate communiqués to and from American artists gives us insight into the lives of painters, sculptors, illustrators, and others—their relationships, perceptions, and creative energies—from the mid-19th century to the late 20th. They also allow us to empathize with artists through the most universal of human emotions: love in all its permutations.
Drawn from the collections of the Archives of American Art, the letters presented here cover a range of intensity, from sexual passion to the devotion of a parent, and from the durable bonds of friendship to the enthusiasm of fans.
- Many of the exhibited letters also appear in the recently published book With Love: Artists' Letters and Illustrated Notes by Liza Kirwin and Joan Lord.
- Read an Exhibition Review from the Washington Post.
![[Xavier Gonzalez love note to Ethel Edwards]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/gonzxavi/thumbnail/AAA_gonzxavi_22783.jpg "[Xavier Gonzalez love note to Ethel Edwards], ca. 1985 / Xavier Gonzalez. Notes : 1 item : handwritten, ill. ; 14 x 21 cm. Xavier Gonzalez papers, 1905-1970. Archives of American Art.")
![[Lee Krasner letter to Jackson Pollock]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/polljack/thumbnail/AAA_polljack_12107.jpg "Lee Krasner letter to Jackson Pollock, 1956 July 21. 1 p. ; 24 x 32 cm. Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner papers, circa 1905-1984. Archives of American Art.")
![[Joan Mitchell letter to Michael Goldberg]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/goldmich/thumbnail/AAA_goldmich_22818.jpg "Joan Mitchell letter to Michael Goldberg, ca. 1950. 4 p. : handwritten ; 22 x 14 cm. Michael Goldberg papers, 1942-1981. Archives of American Art.")
![[Joan Mitchell and Michael Goldberg]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/goldmich/thumbnail/AAA_goldmich_22822.jpg "[Joan Mitchell and Michael Goldberg], ca. 1950 / unidentified photographer. Photographic print : 1 item : b&w ; 07 x 07 cm. Michael Goldberg papers, 1942-1981. Archives of American Art.")
![[Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/polljack/thumbnail/AAA_polljack_6323.jpg "[Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner], ca. 1946 / Ronald Stein, photographer. Photographic print : 1 item : b&w ; 10 x 7 cm. Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner papers, circa 1905-1984. Archives of American Art.")
![[My love is like the sea: returning - as the tide -]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/fentbeat/thumbnail/AAA_fentbeat_22772.jpg "[My love is like the sea: returning - as the tide -], 1915 May / Marjorie Marinet. Poem : 1 p. : handwritten ; 22 x 14 cm. Beatrice Fenton papers, 1836-1984 (bulk 1890-1978). Archives of American Art.")
![[Paul and Grace Bransom]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/branpaul/thumbnail/AAA_branpaul_20531.jpg "[Paul and Grace Bransom], ca. 1915 / unidentified photographer. Photographic print : 1 item : b&w ; 8 x 11 cm. Paul Bransom papers, 1862-1985 (bulk 1904-1979). Archives of American Art.")
![[Florence Ballin Cramer letter to Konrad Cramer]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/cramkonr/thumbnail/AAA_cramkonr_22755.jpg "Florence Ballin Cramer letter to Konrad Cramer, [postmarked] 1911 April. 1 p. : handwritten ; 26 x 22 cm. Konrad and Florence Ballin Cramer papers, 1897-1968. Archives of American Art.")
![[Gifford Beal letter to Maude Ramsdell]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/bealgiff/thumbnail/AAA_bealgiff_22697.jpg "Gifford Beal letter to Maude Ramsdell, 1906 Dec. 19. 3 p. : handwritten, ill. ; 18 x 23 cm. Gifford Beal sketches, sketchbooks and papers, 1902-1953. Archives of American Art.")
![[Paul Bransom letter to Grace Bond]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/branpaul/thumbnail/AAA_branpaul_22737.jpg "Paul Bransom letter to Grace Bond, [1905] Thursday. 2 p. : handwritten, ill. ; 28 x 22 cm. Paul Bransom papers, 1862-1985 (bulk 1904-1979). Archives of American Art.")
![[Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and her sculpture <em>Despair</em>]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/whitgert/thumbnail/AAA_whitgert_22892.jpg "[Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and her sculpture <em>Despair</em>], 191-? / Jean de Strelecki, photographer. Photographic print : 1 item : sepia ; 35 x 26 cm. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney papers, 1855-1975 (bulk 1888-1942). Archives of American Art.")
![[Frank and Helen DuMond]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/dumofran/thumbnail/AAA_dumofran_5930.jpg "[Frank and Helen DuMond], ca. 1898 / unidentified photographer. Photographic print : 1 item : b&w ; 17 x 12 cm. Frank Vincent DuMond papers, 1866-1982. Archives of American Art.")
![[Frank Vincent DuMond letter to Helen Xavier]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/dumofran/thumbnail/AAA_dumofran_22764.jpg "Frank Vincent DuMond letter to Helen Xavier, 1894 Aug. 6 p. : handwritten, ill. ; 18 x 23 cm. Frank Vincent DuMond papers, 1866-1982. Archives of American Art.")
![[Harry Payne Whitney letter to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/whitgert/thumbnail/AAA_whitgert_22886.jpg "Harry Payne Whitney letter to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, ca. 1896. 4 p. : handwritten ; 20 x 25 cm. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney papers, 1855-1975 (bulk 1888-1942). Archives of American Art.")
![[Once upon a time...]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/pariharo/thumbnail/AAA_pariharo_22791.jpg "[Once upon a time...], n.d. / Cynthia Hart. Notes : 1 p. : handwritten, ill. ; 23 x 15 cm. Harold Paris papers, 1946-1982. Archives of American Art.")
![[To Gorgeous Ethel on her saints day]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/gonzxavi/thumbnail/AAA_gonzxavi_22785.jpg "[To Gorgeous Ethel on her saints day], n.d. / Xavier Gonzalez. Notes : 1 p. : handwritten, ill. ; 13 x 18 cm. Xavier Gonzalez papers, 1905-1970. Archives of American Art.")
![[I went to buy the Sunday Times]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/gonzxavi/thumbnail/AAA_gonzxavi_22787.jpg "[I went to buy the Sunday Times], n.d. / Xavier Gonzalez. Notes : 1 p. : handwritten, ill. ; 21 x 22 cm. Xavier Gonzalez papers, 1905-1970. Archives of American Art.")
![[I am in a hurry, back in 10 m.]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/gonzxavi/thumbnail/AAA_gonzxavi_22788.jpg "[I am in a hurry, back in 10 m.], n.d. / Xavier Gonzalez. Notes : 1 p. : handwritten, ill. ; 21 x 14 cm. Xavier Gonzalez papers, 1905-1970. Archives of American Art.")
![[Florence J. Ballin in her studio at 30 W. 59th Street]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/cramkonr/thumbnail/AAA_cramkonr_22750.jpg "[Florence J. Ballin in her studio at 30 W. 59th Street], n.d. / unidentified photographer. Photographic print : 1 item : b&w ; 13 x 18 cm. Konrad and Florence Ballin Cramer papers, 1897-1968. Archives of American Art.")
![[Beatrice Fenton letter to Marjorie Marinet]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/fentbeat/thumbnail/AAA_fentbeat_22771.jpg "Beatrice Fenton letter to Marjorie Marinet, n.d. 1 p. : handwritten ; 28 x 21 cm. Beatrice Fenton papers, 1836-1984 (bulk 1890-1978). Archives of American Art.")
![[Beatrice Fenton with her sculpture -Seaweed fountain]](http://www.aaa.si.edu/images/fentbeat/thumbnail/AAA_fentbeat_21995.jpg "[Beatrice Fenton with her sculpture -Seaweed fountain], ca. 1920 / unidentified photographer. Photographic print : 1 item : silver gelatin ; 26 x 21 cm. Beatrice Fenton papers, 1836-1984 (bulk 1890-1978). Archives of American Art.")