George Leslie Stout papers, 1855, 1897-1978

Collection Information

Size: 6 linear feet

Summary: The papers of conservator and museum director George Leslie Stout measure 6 linear feet and date from 1855, 1897-1978. Stout was head of the conservation department at Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum, director of the Worcester Art Museum and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Massachusetts, and a member of the Monuments, Fine Art and Archives (MFAA) Section of the U.S. Army during World War II. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and professional associations. There are letters from fellow Monuments Men who served in the MFAA section such as Thomas Carr Howe, Ardelia Hall, Lamont Moore, Theodore Sizer, Langdon Warner, and several other prominent arts administrators. The papers also contain biographical materials, writings, sketches and one sketchbook, military records, printed materials, and photographs.

Biographical/Historical Note

George Leslie Stout (1897-1978) was a conservator and museum director in Massachusettes and California.

Provenance

George Leslie Stout donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1978.

Related Materials

In 1978, Robert Stout, son of George Stout, loaned four diaries to the Archives of American Art for microfilming on Reel 1378. The diaries were returned to Robert Stout, son of George Stout, after microfilming. Stout describes his experiences surveying war-caused damages in France, Germany, and Japan, and the recovery of Nazi impounded art works. Several letters, memos, personal documents, printed matter, and a photograph of U.S. military personnel and others viewing an art exhibit, are included in the diaries. The diaries are not described in the container list of this finding aid.

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with George Stout conducted by Paul Karlstrom in 1978.

Funding

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.

Location of Originals

• Reel 1378: Originals returned to Robert Stout after microfilming.