The Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art records are another valuable archival collection at the Archives of American Art for establishing pre-Nazi era provenance for many European works of art and provide a remarkable overview of German avant-garde collectors in the 1930s. For example, the records contain a list of German collectors of modern art around 1930, penned by Carnegie International Berlin-based consultant, Charlotte Weidler, for an upcoming visit by the director of the Carnegie to Germany. Additionally, Weidler’s correspondence with Carnegie throughout the 1930s provides unique insight and detail about the situation of artists in Nazi Germany, and about matters of degenerate art[1]. Weidler’s correspondence with Carnegie president Homer St. Gaudens is an extraordinary source of information for provenance researchers about the location of artwork pre-war and the changing attitude towards modern art in Germany as the Nazis rose to power. A portion of the Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art records have been digitized and are available online. The bulk of the records are available in the Archives’ reading room in Washington, D.C.
[1] McCoy, Garnett. “Letters from Germany, 1933-1938: Marsden Hartley, Guillaume Lerolle, Charlotte Weidler and Homer Saint-Gaudens.” Archives of American Art Journal Volume 25.1/2 (1985): 3-29. Print.
Have you ever wanted to see a handful of folders in a collection at the Archives of American Art, but you couldn't find the time to come to our DC reading room? Then the Archives of American Art’s Digitization on Demand service is for YOU!
Original material can be consulted by appointment in our Washington, D.C. Headquarters.
Copies of unrestricted microfilm materials can be obtained through one of our affiliated research centers.
Research and reference services provides help finding, accessing, and using the collections at the Archives of American Art.
