Pach, Walter, b. 1883 d. 1958
Art critic, Art historian, Author, Curator, Etcher, PainterNew York, N.Y., England, Holland (Show Bio)
Walter Pach papers, 1883-1980
5.0 linear ft.
Pach's library: 12.0 linear ft.; not microfilmed
Personal and family papers, extensive 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.
Personal and family papers consist of biographical information on Pach and his family; letters, mainly from his son Raymond who spent many years abroad pursuing an operatic career; and a travel diary, June 24 - Sept. 12, 1903 and June 14 - Aug. 2, 1904 (1 v.) and Aug. 1904 (loose p.), recording Pach 1903 trip to Haarlem, the Netherlands, and 1904 trip to London with William Merritt Chase's class in which Pach reflects on life abroad, fellow classmates Morton Livingston Schamberg and Charles Sheeler, his early interest in Japonisme and active collecting of Japanese art, including prints by master ukiyo-e artists Hokusai and Hiroshige, and the purchase in Holland of a Manga book by Hokusai. A small group of financial records, among them those of his second wife, Nikifora Pach, complete the series.
The Professional correspondence contains letters from artists, critics, collectors, and curators, 1900-1958. Among the correspondents are: Bernard Berenson, Constantin Brancusi, Van Wyck Brooks, Bryson Burroughs, Arthur B. Davies, Marcel Duchamp, Raymond Duchamp-Villon, Susan Eakins, Elie Faure, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Jose Orozco, Maurice Prendergast, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Diego Rivera, Morton L. Schamberg, John Sloan, Leo Stein, Alfred Stieglitz, and Jacques Villon.
The writings series includes handwritten and edited versions of published and unpublished manuscripts on a variety of topics. Many are written on the backs of pages containing pencil figure studies by Pach. There are lecture notes from classes he taught at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Mexico; several college notebooks; the text of a speech delivered in 1941 at the Society of Independent Artists dinner honoring John Sloan; memorandums, fragments of writings, and a card index noting works of art. Among the writings by authors other than Pach are poems, chapters of books, articles, and prose by Apollinaire, Baudelaire, Faure Le Roy, Mallarmé, Rouault, Villon, and others.
Within the art work series are found early sketchbooks (3 v.), drawings by Pach and unidentified artists, print portfolios (2 v.), produced by Laurel Gallery, 1947, containing hand-pulled prints by noted artists (among them Milton Avery, Reginald Marsh, and Joan Miró); one includes an etching by Pach, and the other an essay by him.
Photographs are of Pach, his family, artists and other friends, Robert Henri's and William Merritt Chase's classes at the New York School of Art, ca. 1904, of works of art, including Mexican mural projects by José Orozco and Diego Rivera, of Pach's studio, travels, and installation view of 1917 exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists.
Printed matter con
Purchased from the Salander O'Reilly Galleries through the courtesy of the Brown Foundation, Inc., 1988. The Galleries purchased the papers from Pach's widow. In 1990, Pach's son, Raymond Pach, donated eight family photographs.
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