John Henry Bradley Storrs papers, 1790-2007, bulk 1900-1956

John Storrs' extensive correspondence spans over fifty years and documents his personal and professional life. There are extensive letters to his wife Marguerite Storrs, including love letters written before they were married and letters written to her during his visits to the United States. Letters written by Marguerite to John are located series 2.2. John Storrs' love letters to other women, including Yolande de Manziarly, are found within his general correspondence.

General correspondence primarily consists of Storrs' correspondence with friends, colleagues, art critics and historians, patrons, art organizations, and galleries. Where they exist, Storrs' drafts of outgoing letters are interfiled with letters he received in a chronological arrangement. Storrs was friends with many artists, architects, performers, and writers in both the US and Europe. Among the artists he corresponded with are Berenice Abbott, Hendrick Andersen, George Biddle, Jerome Blum, Arthur Bock, Louis Bouche, Georges Braque, Alexander Calder, Walter Cole, Arthur Davies, Jessica Dismorr, Katherine Dreier, Marcel Duchamp, Leo Friedlander, Marsden Hartley, Jean Helion, Gertrude Lambert, Fernand Leger, Jacques Lipchitz, Man Ray, Richard Recchia, Edwin Scott, Charles Sheeler, Joseph Stella, Maurice Sterne, Alfred Stieglitz, Leopold Survage, Jacques Villon, and William and Marguerite Zorach. Other notable correspondents include architects Edward Bennett, Paul Phillippe Cret, R. Buckminster Fuller, and Alfonso Iannelli; writers and publishers Sherwood Anderson, Louise Bryant, William Bullitt, Max Eastman, Jane Heap, Paul Scott Mowrer, and Gertrude Stein; art critics Phyllis Ackerman, Frank Crowninshield, and Maurice Raynal; art patrons Arthur Aldis, Mildred Bliss, and Charles Worcester; friend and curator Alice Roullier; and dancer Maud Allan. A portion of the general correspondence is in French.

A small amount of correspondence with galleries, museums, and curators concerns exhibitions and sales of Storrs' artwork. Also found is correspondence concerning his participation in art organizations. Researchers should note a portion of Storrs' business correspondence, especially regarding his major sculpture commissions and his dealings with Downtown Gallery, are found in Series 3: Personal Business Records.

See Appendix for a list of correspondents from Series 2.1.

This series contains access-restricted medical records.

Marguerite Storrs' correspondence is with friends, family, colleagues, and others; many of the letters are in French. Included are letters written to her husband John Storrs, many of them written while he was imprisoned in Compiegne, France in 1942. General Correspondence is with friends and family discussing general news, social activities and invitations, her work as a writer, and her husband's career. Many of the correspondents are the same as found in John Storrs' correspondence and include Phyllis Ackerman, George Biddle, Georges Braque, Louise Bryant, William Bullitt, Paul Phillippe Cret, Jessica Dismorr, Katherine Dreier, Madelyn Fio Rito, Marsden Hartley, Fernand Leger, Jacques Lipchitz, Edmondo Quattrocchi, Alice Roullier, Leopold Survage, and Edith Wharton. Many of the early letters are Daville-Chabrol family correspondence, including correspondence between Marguerite and her mother, Emma Daville-Chabrol, numerous postcards, and letters predating the life of Marguerite Storrs. Researchers should note letters addressed to both Marguerite and John Storrs are found among the John Storrs Correspondence in Series 2.1.

Found here is correspondence between members of the Storrs family as well as certain family members' correspondence with others. Included is John and Marguerite Storrs extensive correspondence with their daughter Monique (also known as "Monica" and after her marriage, Monique Storrs Booz). Also found is correspondence between John Storrs, his father David William Storrs, mother Hannah, and his sister Mary (also known as "Mae"). The bulk of these letters are from the period between 1900 and 1913 when John and Mary were often living in Europe. These letters range from postcards from their travels to letters with very detailed accounts of their activities.

Additionally, this subseries contains Monique and Michelle Storrs Booz's correspondence with others, including family and friends, and galleries, museums, and curators concerning exhibitions and sales of John Storrs' artwork. Also found is David and Hannah Storrs' correspondence with others, much of which is with their extended family during the late 1800s.

Found here are four volumes of John Storrs' memoirs as well as a typed annotated transcript of the memoirs. The first volume was written during his World War II imprisonment from 1941 to 1942, and the second after after returning home in 1942, and the third and fourth from 1946 to 1947. The memoirs briefly mention his imprisonment, but primarily detail his family history and his life from birth to 1906 when he completed his studies with Arthur Bock in Hamburg, Germany.

Other writings include a notebook containing descriptions of his dreams, a notebook of religious poetry, thoughts, and sketches, and an additional 15 notebooks which contain notes about his artwork and art in general, lists, addresses, sketches, quotes, and poetry. Some notebooks only contain a few pages of writing. Also found is a large amount of poetry, in various draft forms, written by Storrs over a 45 year period. Other items of note are written personal accounts of his mother's death, an art class in Paris, World War II, and the death of Auguste Rodin.

Scattered writings by others include a booklet of poetry written by Storrs' friend and fellow artist Jessie Dismorr, an open letter concerning the New-Age group by artist Zoltan Hecht, and an essay (in French) by art critic Maurice Raynal about the work of John Storrs. Also found are notebooks belonging to Storrs family members, and a handmade notebook which includes poetry written by musician Arthur Olaf Andersen, artist Richard H. Recchia, writer Paul Scott Mowrer, and others. Also contained here are various writings and notes by unidentified authors.