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Avis Berman research material on Katharine Kuh, 1939-2006

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Series 1: Katharine Kuh Files, 1944-2003
0.4 Linear feet
Box 1, 4

This series contains correspondence; exhibition files; writings and notes; and an interview. Included is Katharine Kuh's correspondence with artists, collectors, museums, and others during her tenure at the Art Institute of Chicago and the correspondence of the Art Institute's Director, Daniel Catton Rich with Kuh and others. Letters between Rich and Walter and Louise Arensberg chronicle Rich's efforts to obtain the Arensbergs' art collection for the Art Institute. Exhibition files contain letters, a chronology, notes, list of artwork, printed material, press releases, and clippings; included is an extensive file on Kuh's efforts to organize the exhibition, 20th Century Art from the Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection. Writings and notes include Kuh's article for Vassar Alumnae Magazine; her written reports of visits to galleries; notes on possible acquisitions for the Art Institute of Chicago; published copies of journals featuring writings by Kuh; and a copy of a transcript of Katharine Kuh's 1984 interview with Lily Harmon on J. B. Neumann.
Katharine Kuh Files have been arranged into four subseries:
  • Subseries 1.1: Katharine Kuh Correspondence, 1944-1982
  • Subseries 1.2: Daniel Catton Rich Correspondence, 1946-1958
  • Subseries 1.3: Exhibitions Curated by Katharine Kuh, 1949-1955
  • Subseries 1.4: Writings and Notes; Interview, 1947-1984

1.1

Katharine Kuh Correspondence, 1944-1982
Description Container
Abell, Walter - Cook, Gene, 1944-1957
1
1
Duchamp, Marcel - Hess, Thomas, 1944-1954, 1974
1
2
Kaufmann, Edgar - Kunstadler, Sigmund, 1953-1957
1
3
Langsner, Jules - Maxon, John, 1949-1959, 1982
1
4

1.2

Daniel Catton Rich Correspondence, 1946-1958
Description Container
Correspondence, 1946-1947
1
5
Correspondence, 1948
1
6
Correspondence, 1949
2 Folders
1
7-8
Correspondence, 1950-1951
2 Folders
1
9
Correspondence, 1952-1953
1
10
Correspondence, 1954
1
11
Correspondence, 1955
1
12
Correspondence, 1956
1
13
Correspondence, 1957
1
14
Correspondence, 1958
2 Folders
1
15-16
Correspondence, undated
1
17

1.3

Exhibitions Curated by Katharine Kuh, 1949-1955
Description Container
20th Century Art from the Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1949-1956
5 Folders
1
18-22
Rico Lebrun: Latest Paintings from Mexico, , 1954-1956
1
23
Mark Tobey, One-Man Exhibition, , 1954-1955
1
24

1.4

Writings and Notes; Interview, 1947-1969; 1984
Description Container
"Explaining Art Visually," Vassar Alumnae Magazine (March 1957), 1957
1
25
Reports on Gallery Visits, 1947-1959
1
26
Notes on Acquisition of Artwork for the Art Institute of Chicago, undated, 1953-1957
1
27
Miscellaneous Notes, 1954-1955, undated
1
28
Published Writings by Kuh, 1948-1969
4
1-2
Katharine Kuh's Interview with Lily Harmon on J. B. Neumann, 1984
1
29
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Series 2: Sorting Out and Summing Up: Episodes in An Art Odyssey by Katharine Kuh, 1939-2006
2 Linear feet
Boxes 1-2

This series includes Katharine Kuh's drafts of book chapters, manuscripts, and interviews compiled for her memoir, which she had tentatively titled Sorting Out and Summing Up: Episodes in An Art Odyssey. Also found are annotated excerpts of Avis Berman's oral history interview with Kuh. Files include correspondence, notes, printed material, clippings, reviews, and photographs.
Sorting Out and Summing Up: Episodes in An Art Odyssey by Katharine Kuh has been arranged into three subseries:
  • Subseries 2.1: Draft Versions of Chapters, 1939-2006
  • Subseries 2.2: Manuscripts and Interviews, 1987-1993
  • Subseries 2.3: Draft Versions of Chapters Not Used in My Love Affair with Modern Art: Behind the Scenes with a Legendary Curator, 1945-1997

2.1

Draft Versions of Chapters, 1939-2006
Description Container
"Preface and Introduction,", 1959-2006
12 Folders
1
30-42
"Josef Albers,", 1984-1994
3 Folders
1
43-45
"Bernard Berenson,", 1990s
1
46
"Stuart Davis,", 1990s
1
47
"Hans Hofmann,", 1990s-2002
3 Folders
1
48-50
"Edward Hopper,", 1990s-circa 2002
3 Folders
1
51-53
"Alfred Jensen,", 1990s
4 Folders
1
54-57
"Alfred Jensen,", 1990s
8 Folders
2
1-8
"Franz Kline,", 1990s-2003
4 Folders
2
9-12
"Fernard Léger,", 1953-1998, undated
11 Folders
2
13-23
"Isamu Noguchi,", 1990s-1995, undated
3 Folders
2
24-26
"Mark Rothko,", 1950s-1990s
11 Folders
2
27-37
"Clyfford Still,", 1990s-2002
2 Folders
2
38-39
"Mark Tobey,", 1962-1994
4 Folders
2
40-43
"Mies van der Rohe,", 1990s, undated
2 Folders
2
44-45
"Mies van der Rohe,", 1939-2003, undated
4 Folders
3
1-4
"Vincent van Gogh,", 1974-1995
3 Folders
3
5-7

2.2

Manuscripts and Interviews, 1987-1993
Description Container
Manuscript of Sorting Out and Summing Up: Episodes in An Art Odyssey by Katharine Kuh, 1993
3
8
Final Version of Sorting Out and Summing Up: Episodes in An Art Odyssey by Katharine Kuh, 1993
3
9
Excerpts of Interviews with Katharine Kuh conducted by Avis Berman, 1987
3
10

2.3

Draft Versions of Chapters Not Used in My Love Affair with Modern Art: Behind the Scenes with a Legenday Curator, 1945-1997
Description Container
"Alaska,", undated, 1946-1997
5 Folders
3
11-15
"Central America,", 1945-1992
2 Folders
3
16-17
"Corporate Art,", 1978-1995
4 Folders
3
18-21
"Charles and Ray Eames,", 1990s-1995
3
22
"Germany After the War,", 1990s-1996
6 Folders
3
23-28
"India,", 1990s-1992
3 Folders
3
29-31
"La Grand Jatte,", 1960, 1990s
2 Folders
3
32-33
"Mexico,", 1990s-1993
3
34
"Self Portraits,", 1975-1990s, undated
3
35-36
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Series 3: Avis Berman Files, 1950s-2006
0.6 Linear feet
Box 3

This series contains Avis Berman's research materials related to the editing and publication of My Love Affair with Modern Art: Scenes with a Legendary Curator. Included is correspondence, a letter agreement, writings, printed material, clippings, press releases, and miscellaneous printed material. Also found is Katharine Kuh's correspondence detailing her efforts to find a publisher for the memoir. Writings contain draft versions of chapters formatted on floppy disks.
The Avis Berman Files have been arranged into three subseries:
  • Subseries 3.1: Correspondence, 1981-2003, undated
  • Subseries 3.2: Writings, 1990s-1994
  • Subseries 3.3: Printed Material, 1950s-2006

3.1

Correspondence, 1981-2003
Description Container
Correspondence, 1981-1982
3
37
Correspondence, undated, 1991-1992
3
38
Correspondence, 1993
3
39
Letter Agreement, 1994
3
40
Correspondence, 1994-2003
3
41

3.2

Writings, 1990s-1994
Description Container
Katharine Kuh Manuscript Chapters: "Sorting and Summing," "Hofmann," "Kline," "Rothko," "Jensen," "The 20th Century Briefly," "Tobey" and "Jensen Revisions,", 1990s
(2 1/2" disks)
3
42
Various Manuscript Chapters: "Rothko Quote," "B. Berenson and Germany," "Preface and Donors," and "India and World Corp.,", 1994
(4 1/2" disks)
3
43

3.3

Printed Material, 1950s-2006
Description Container
Clippings, 1950s, 2005-2006
3
44
Press Releases, 1954-2006
3
45
Miscellaneous Printed Material, 1950s
3
46
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Series 4: Memorabilia, 1997, 1976
0.1 Linear feet
Box 3

Memorabilia houses a book of poems by Richard T. Cox and a memorial booklet.
Description Container Select
Many Seasons by Richard T. Cox, 1976
3
47
Memorial Booklet for Denise Browne Hare , 1997
3
48
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Series 5: Files Regarding The Artist's Voice: Talks With Seventeen Modern Artists Reissue, 1998-2000
0.5 Linear feet
Boxes 4-5

The series consists of material regarding the reissue of Katharine Kuh's book The Artist's Voice: Talks With Seventeen Modern Artists in 2000. Berman collected the material as the literary executor of Kuh's estate. The files include permission forms and correspondence with artists and artists' estates to reprint artwork; agreements with museums and organization including the Artists Rights Society, Visual Artists and Galleries Association, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art; photographs of artwork; reviews of the book; and a file for the Society for Preservation of American Modernists. The file for De Capo Press includes contracts and financial records, notes, an author questionnaire, and drafts of the book's layout and foreword by Berman.
Description Container Select
Agreements and Permissions, Alexander Calder, 1999
4
3
Agreements and Permissions, Ben Shahn, 1998-2000
4
4
Agreements and Permissions, David Smith, 1998
4
5
Agreements and Permissions, Edward Hopper, 1998
4
6
Agreements and Permissions, Edwin W. Dickinson, 1998
4
7
Agreements and Permissions, Franz Kline, 1998
4
8
Agreements and Permissions, Georgia O'Keeffe, 1998-2000
4
9
Agreements and Permissions, Hans Hofmann, 1998
4
10
Agreements and Permissions, Isamu Noguchi, 1998
4
11
Agreements and Permissions, Jacques Lipchitz, 1998
4
12
Agreements and Permissions, Joseph Albers, 1998
4
13
Agreements and Permissions, Marcel Duchamp, 1998
4
14
Agreements and Permissions, Mark Tobey, 1998
4
15
Agreements and Permissions, Morris Graves, 1998
4
16
Agreements and Permissions, Museums, 1998-2000
4
17
Agreements and Permissions, Naum Gabo, 1998
5
1
Agreements and Permissions, Organizations, 1998
5
2
Agreements and Permissions, Stuart Davis, 1998
5
3
De Capo Press, 1998-2000
5
4
Photographs of Artwork, 1999
5
5
Reviews, 2000
5
6
Society for the Preservation of American Modernists (SPAM), 1998
5
7
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Series 6: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1952-2006
1.6 Linear feet

Description Container Select
Unprocessed Papers
6
Unprocessed Papers
7
Unprocessed Papers
Five cassette tapes of interviews conducted by Avis Berman including an interview with Katharine Kuh about Edwin Dickinson, January 3, 1990; an interview with Emerson Woeffler about the Katharine Kuh Gallery, January 8, 1995; an interview with Edmund Teske, about the Katharine Kuh Gallery, January 15, 1995; an interview with June Wayne, about Katharine Kuh, April 21, 1997; and an interview with Katherine Dunham, about Katharine Kuh and their friendship, May 24, 1995 are access restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information.
8

Make a Request

  • To request an appointment to view materials, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reading Room" button. Please note, you will receive the full box.
  • To request reproductions, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reproduction" button.