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  • Image for Series 1: Personal and Family Papers, 1883-1980, undated. This collection has been digitized: View Collection

    About the Walter Pach papers

    All information on this page comes from A Finding Aid to the Walter Pach Papers, 1883-1980, in the Archives of American Art by Nancy Malloy and Catherine Stover, in the Archives of American Art. (Printable Version of Finding Aid: PDF, 102 KB [Download PDF Version])


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


    Biographical Information [+]

    Artist, critic, lecturer, art adviser, and art historian Walter Pach (1883-1958) wrote extensively about modern art. Through his numerous books, articles, and translations of European art texts, such as Elie Faure's 5-volume History of Art and The Journal of Eugène Delacroix, Pach was able to bring an emerging modernist viewpoint to the American public. He wrote the first article published in America on Cézanne in 1908 and until his death fifty years later continued to champion the cause of modernism in this country. Pach organized exhibitions of contemporary art for important New York City galleries of the period, as well as the landmark exhibition of 1913, "The International Exhibition of Modern Art," commonly known as the Armory Show. Along with painters Arthur B. Davies and Walt Kuhn, he was able to bring together leading contemporary European and American artists. Pach helped to form major collections for John Quinn and Walter Arensberg. He was also instrumental in securing individual works of art for museums, such as a portrait for the Louvre Museum by American master Thomas Eakins, and Jacques-Louis David's Death of Socrates for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. READ MORE

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    Description of the Collection

    Overview - Scope and Contents

    The Walter Pach papers, 1883-1980, contain personal and family papers, extensive professional correspondence with noted artists and art world figures, a large group of handwritten and edited versions of manuscripts by Pach, a selection of drawings and prints, printed material, memorandums and notes, photographs, a scrapbook, and a guestbook.

    Arrangement and Series Description

    The Walter Pach papers are arranged as seven series. All book and article titles have been translated into English; titles of periodicals and works of art are not translated.

    Correspondence and writings are arranged chronologically, followed by undated items arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent or by title of manuscript. The other series are further organized by category or record type, with arrangement noted in the detailed series descriptions.

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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 "Subjects" when they are the topic of collection contents and under "Names" when they are creators or contributors.

    Provenance

    After Pach's death, his widow sold the papers to Salander-O'Reilly Galleries. They were acquired by the Archives of American Art in 1988 through the generosity of the Brown Foundation, Inc. Eight family photographs, donated by Raymond Pach, son of Walter Pach, were received after microfilming had been completed.

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    How the Collection was Processed

    The collection was processed by Nancy Malloy and Catherine Stover in 1997; the finding aid was modified during conversion to EAD by Stephanie Ashley in 2002.

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    Index(es) [+]

    When the Archives of American Art acquired the Walter Pach Papers, some portion of his library was also received. As the Archives of American Art contains primarily manuscript collections and is not a library, it was determined that, for the most part, the books should reside in a library where they could be properly cataloged, cared for, and used. READ MORE

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    How to Use the Collection

    Restrictions on Use

    The Walter Pach 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 collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.

    Available Formats

    This collection has been digitized. View the Walter Pach papers online

    The collection is available on microfilm reels 4216-4221. The microfilm is available for interlibrary loan.

    How to Cite this Collection

    Walter Pach papers, 1883-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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