Jayna M. Josefson
Scope and Contents
The records of the Boston, Massachusetts Swetzoff Gallery measure 18.6 linear feet and date from 1941 to 1968. Materials include administrative files, scattered general correspondence, named files, exhibition files, financial records, printed material, a scrapbook of printed material, photographs, and the personal papers of Hyman Swetzoff.
Administrative records include twenty day books, mailing lists, leases, and shipping records. Correspondence is scattered but includes holiday cards and general correspondence between other institutions, galleries, and clients. Named files are a mix of artist, subject, and client files and relate to Gallery's relationships with artists, buyers and clients, and institutions and galleries. Files may include correspondence from or about the named individual. Substantial materials are found for Varujan Boghosian, Richard Boyce, Bruce Connor, Robert Eshoo, Fannie Hillsmith, Gyorgy Kepes, Yutaka Ohashi, Marianna Pineda, Odilon Redon, Reba Stewart, Harold Tovish, and Fernando Zóbel.
Exhibition files document exhibitions at the Swetzoff Gallery, events at other galleries for which Swetzoff loaned works, and for larger art fairs and exhibitions in which the gallery participated. Financial records include artist account ledgers, appraisals, consignments, accounts receivable and payable, price lists, receipts, records of purchases, sales statements, and other general financial records. Ledgers may include artist name, title of work of art, buyer, and price.
Printed material is scattered and includes some exhibition material and clippings. There is one scrapbook of printed materials. Photographs are of artists, gallery employees, installations, and of works of art.
The Hyman Swetzoff papers include biographical material of Swetzoff and his family, correspondence, business records, writings, photographs, and artwork.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The records of the Swetzoff Gallery were donated by Sidney Swetzoff in 1968.
Funding
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund
Processing Information
The collection was minimally processed by Jayna Josefson in 2015 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund. The Archives of American Art has implemented minimal processing tactics when possible in order to increase information about and access to more of our collections.
Minimal processing included arrangement to the series and folder levels. Generally, items within folders were simply verified with folder titles, but not arranged further. The collection was rehoused in archival containers and folders.