Collection Information

Size: 7.0 linear ft. (on 8 microfilm reels)

Summary: A photograph album; biographical material; correspondence; writings; books; printed materials; clippings; and motion picture film.

Chiefly printed material, including magazine articles, catalogs, scrapbooks and clippings, but also including biographical data, correspondence, including postcards and letters from Gala and Salvador Dalí, writings, documents regarding the purchase, appraisal and dispersal of the art collection (note: a file on dispersal to Amherst College was inadvertently not microfilmed), photographs and slides of the art collection, and personal photographs of Chester and Mary Dale, including one of Mary taken by Davis & Sanford, ca. 1905, and of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Georges Braque, Salvador Dalí and others. The collection also includes 1 reel of 16mm motion picture film of a social event/dinner.

Biographical/Historical Note

Chester Dale (1883-1962) was an art collector in New York, N.Y. Dale collected 19th and 20th century art works.

Provenance

Donated 1972 by Mary Dale and 1985 by her estate. The photo album on reel 927 was originally lent for microfilming, 1975.

Funding

Funding for the preservation and transfer of motion picture film provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Additional Forms Available

Microfilm reels 927 (photograph album) and 3968-3974 are available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.

Motion picture film has been reformatted on to VHS video and digital betacam.

Restrictions on Access

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

How to Cite This Collection

Chester Dale papers, 1897-1971, (bulk 1950-1968). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.