Chester Dale papers, circa 1883-2003, bulk 1920-1970

Writings by Dale include an essay on Rolad Oudot written for a 1955 exhibition; an essay for the New York Times on Dale's collection of nineteenth century French paintings; financial and investment articles written for W. C. Langley & Co. during Dale's employment with the company; and typed drafts of memoirs written in 1958 and 1959. The memoir from 1958 recalls Dale's early employment and experiences in the world of finance. The 1959 memoir, a "retype of the 1953 version," records his early experiences in art collecting. The memoirs reference how Mary Towar Bullard, Dale's secretary at the time, encouraged him to tell stories related to the purchase of his first paintings and record them using a dictaphone. It is possible that these stories can be found on the dictaphone recordings in Series 1.

There are two travel diaries in this series. The diary for 1904 opens "on board the Kaiser Franz Joseph-July 1st" and reference is made to it being the writer's 21st birthday. Although 1904 would be the year of Dale's 21st birthday, the July date conflicts with records stating May as the month of Dale's birth. The author of the diary, therefore, cannot be confirmed. It describes, through a series of journal entries, a trip to Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Holland, England, and Scotland visiting museums and other cultural sites.

The second travel diary has short notes on five different trips to Europe and the Caribbean taken during 1949-1953, and includes some brief note on impressions of artwork seen on the trip. The bulk of the diary, however, consists of names and addresses of overseas contacts.

Also found are writings by others, about Dale, and on art in general. These include typed drafts of Neil MacNeil's writings on Dale's life and his collection which draw extensively from Dale's memoirs. It is unclear whether MacNeil's writings on Dale were published, but they include two folders of data sheets for artwork in Dale's collection, possibly intended to be used for illustrations in a book. Other writings include addresses given at Dale's interment and memorial service; four newspaper articles/press releases about Dale; and several essays by authors including Henry McBride and Horace Havermeyer.

Of additional note are several typed manuscripts of essays on art by Maud Dale, and two articles by her that were published in Art News. Additional writings by Maud Dale can be found in Series 5: Printed Material in some of the early published catalogs.

This series is arranged as two subseries.

The bulk of this series has been digitized. Only the relevant pages of publications from W. C. Langley & Co., Investments have been digitized.