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  2. Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records, 1859-1984, bulk 1900-1949
  3. Series 4: Walt Kuhn Family Papers, 1859-1984
  4. 4.3:General Correspondence, 1890-1966

Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records, 1859-1984, bulk 1900-1949

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4.3:General Correspondence, 1890-1966
4 Linear feet
Box 5-9, 32, 56, OV 40

Correspondence in this series is primarily between Walt Kuhn and his professional and personal contacts and spans his entire career. Correspondents include family members, fellow artists, students, dealers, museum and gallery staff, collectors, friends, fans, critics and colleagues. Copies of outgoing correspondence are often present and are interfiled chronologically. Also included is scattered correspondence of Vera and Brenda Kuhn, and correspondence written after Kuhn died that documents his family's efforts to exhibit, sell, and donate his work.
The content of the correspondence ranges from personal and candid to purely transactional. Artists, collectors, dealers, and critics involved in the creation of significant works of art and collections in the early 20th century are represented. An alphabetical index of selected correspondents in this series is provided in the appendix. Another resource for accessing correspondence are the card files in Series 4.8: Notes and Writings, where correspondence with various contacts was indexed by the Kuhns and filed alphabetically by name.
In 1938, Walt and Vera Kuhn wrote and self-published the pamphlet, "The Story of the Armory Show" and sent it gratis to hundreds of interested parties. Among the correspondence from that year are many heartfelt reponses from fellow artists and other witnesses to the 1913 event, including Charles Sheeler, William Glackens, Stuart Davis, André Derain, Henri Roché, Walter Pach, and J.H. du Bois to name just a few.
Kuhn regularly instructed students through the mail with lengthy letters about painting techniques and methods. San Francisco painter Otis Oldfield is represented by over 100 lengthy letters in this subseries. Kuhn's letters to Oldfield, returned at Kuhn's request in 1945 for a publication project that was never realized, are interfiled. Other correspondence students include Patsy Santo, Frank di Gioia, Watson Bidwell, John Bernhardt, John Laurent, Goldie Paley, and Eric Lundgren. See the appendix for dates.
Types of material include letters (sometimes illustrated), postcards, invitations, announcements, and Christmas cards, which are sometimes made of original artwork. Enclosures are often found, such as photographs, clippings, tracings of art work, writings, receipts, passes and membership cards. Some letters indicate enclosures that were previously separated and can be found in other series.
Significant writings enclosed with correspondence include an early vaudeville script written by Kuhn and his friend, Archibald Macnab (1923); drafts of articles about Kuhn by the poet Genevieve Taggard (1931), critic Alan Burroughs (1930), and patron Eloise Spaeth (1950); and an unpublished history of the 1913 Armory Show by Paul Bird (1938). Photographs and photographic postcards are also found throughout the series. Included are photo postcards from Spain and France (1925), and from Arizona and California (1928); and photographs related to Kuhn's work for the Union Pacific Railroad Company (1936, 1938).
Additional correspondence can be found throughout the collection. See individual series descriptions for details.
This series has been scanned in entirety, except for the 2015 addition.
DescriptionContainerSelect
General Correspondence, 1890-1913, undated
5
16
General Correspondence, 1894, 1899
Includes a business card showing Kuhn as proprietor of the bicycle shop where he held his first job, and an 1894 letter to Kuhn from the Washington Continental Guard.
56
4
General Correspondence, 1914-1919
5
17
General Correspondence, 1920-1922
5
18
General Correspondence, 1923
5
19
General Correspondence, 1923
5
20
General Correspondence, 1924-1925
5
21
General Correspondence, 1926
5
22
General Correspondence, 1927 January-March
5
23
General Correspondence, 1927 April-September
5
24
General Correspondence, 1927 September-December
5
25
General Correspondence, 1928 January
5
26
General Correspondence, 1928 February
5
27
General Correspondence, 1928 March-October
5
28
General Correspondence, 1928 October-December
5
29
General Correspondence, 1929 January-February
5
30
General Correspondence, 1929 March-May
oversized material housed in Box 32
5
31
General Correspondence, 1929 June-October
5
32
General Correspondence, 1929 November-December
5
33
General Correspondence, 1930 January-March
6
1
General Correspondence, 1930 April-October
6
2
General Correspondence, 1930 October-December
6
3
General Correspondence, 1931 January-May
6
4
General Correspondence, 1931 June-October
6
5
General Correspondence, 1931 November-December
6
6
General Correspondence, 1932 January
6
7
General Correspondence, 1932 February-March
6
8
General Correspondence, 1932 March-June
6
9
General Correspondence, 1932 July-December
6
10
General Correspondence, 1932 December
6
11
General Correspondence, 1933 January-April
6
12
General Correspondence, 1933 April-December
6
13
General Correspondence, 1933 December
6
14
General Correspondence, 1934 January-April
6
15
General Correspondence, 1934 April-September
6
16
General Correspondence, 1934 September-December
6
17
General Correspondence, 1934 December
6
18
General Correspondence, 1935 January-May
6
19
General Correspondence, 1935 June-November
6
20
General Correspondence, 1935 November-December
6
21
General Correspondence, 1935 December
6
22
General Correspondence, 1936 January-April
6
23
General Correspondence, 1936 April-June
6
24
General Correspondence, 1936 June-September
6
25
General Correspondence, 1936 September-December
6
26
General Correspondence, 1936 December
6
27
General Correspondence, 1937 January-March
6
28
General Correspondence, 1937 March-April
6
29
General Correspondence, 1937 May-June
oversized material housed in Box 32
6
30
General Correspondence, 1937 June-September
6
31
General Correspondence, 1937 October-November
6
32
General Correspondence, 1937 November-December
6
33
General Correspondence, 1937 December
6
34
General Correspondence, 1938 January-February
7
1
General Correspondence, 1938 February
7
2
General Correspondence, 1938 March
7
3
General Correspondence, 1938 March
7
4
General Correspondence, 1938 March
7
5
General Correspondence, 1938 April
7
6
General Correspondence, 1938 May
7
7
General Correspondence, 1938 June
7
8
General Correspondence, 1938 July-August
7
9
General Correspondence, 1938 September-November
7
10
General Correspondence, 1938 November
7
11
General Correspondence, 1938 December
7
12
General Correspondence, 1939 January-February
7
13
General Correspondence, 1939 February-March
7
14
General Correspondence, 1939 April-May
7
15
General Correspondence, 1939 June-July
7
16
General Correspondence, 1939 August-November
7
17
General Correspondence, 1939 December
7
18
General Correspondence, 1940 January
7
19
General Correspondence, 1940 January-February
7
20
General Correspondence, 1940 March-April
7
21
General Correspondence, 1940 May-July
7
22
General Correspondence, 1940 August-December
oversized material housed in Box 32
7
23
General Correspondence, 1941 January
oversized material housed in OV 40
7
24
General Correspondence, 1941 February-March
7
25
General Correspondence, 1941 April-May
7
26
General Correspondence, 1941 June-July
7
27
General Correspondence, 1941 August-November
7
28
General Correspondence, 1941 November-December
7
29
General Correspondence, 1942 January-February
7
30
General Correspondence, 1942 March
7
31
General Correspondence, 1942 April-June
7
32
General Correspondence, 1942 July-December
7
33
General Correspondence, 1943 January-May
7
34
General Correspondence, 1943 June-August
7
35
General Correspondence, 1943 September-October
7
36
General Correspondence, 1943 November-December
7
37
General Correspondence, 1944 January
8
1
General Correspondence, 1944 February-March
8
2
General Correspondence, 1944 April-September
8
3
General Correspondence, 1944 September-December
8
4
General Correspondence, 1945 January-March
8
5
General Correspondence, 1945 April-May
8
6
General Correspondence, 1945 June-August
8
7
General Correspondence, 1945 September-November
8
8
General Correspondence, 1945 November-December
8
9
General Correspondence, 1946 January-March
8
10
General Correspondence, 1946 March-August
oversized material housed in Box 32
8
11
General Correspondence, 1946 August-December
8
12
General Correspondence, 1947 January-April
oversized material housed in Box 32
8
13
General Correspondence, 1947 April-June
8
14
General Correspondence, 1947 June-September
8
15
General Correspondence, 1947 September-December
8
16
General Correspondence, 1948 January-March
8
17
General Correspondence, 1948 March-April
8
18
General Correspondence, 1948 May
8
19
General Correspondence, 1948 June-July
8
20
General Correspondence, 1948 July-August
8
21
General Correspondence, 1948 September-November
8
22
General Correspondence, 1948 November-December
8
23
General Correspondence, 1948 December
8
24
General Correspondence, 1949 January-February
8
25
General Correspondence, 1949 February-March
8
26
General Correspondence, 1949 March-June
8
27
General Correspondence, 1949 June-July
8
28
General Correspondence, 1949 July
8
29
General Correspondence, 1949 July-August
8
30
General Correspondence, 1949 August-September
8
31
General Correspondence, 1949 September-December
8
32
General Correspondence, 1950 January-April
8
33
General Correspondence, 1950 April-November
8
34
General Correspondence, 1950 November-December
8
35
General Correspondence, 1951 January-February
9
1
General Correspondence, 1951 February-March
9
2
General Correspondence, 1951 March-August
9
3
General Correspondence, 1951 August-December
9
4
General Correspondence, 1952 January-May
9
5
General Correspondence, 1952 June-August
9
6
General Correspondence, 1952 August-December
9
7
General Correspondence, 1953 January-May
9
8
General Correspondence, 1953 June-August
9
9
General Correspondence, 1953 September-December
9
10
General Correspondence, 1954
9
11
General Correspondence, 1955-1957
9
12
General Correspondence, circa 1948-1958
56
5
General Correspondence, 1958-1960
9
13
General Correspondence, 1961-1963
9
14
General Correspondence, 1964-1966, undated
9
15
General Correspondence, A-L, undated
9
16
General Correspondence, M-W and Illegible, undated
9
17
General Correspondence, Kuhn Fragments, undated
9
18
Oversized General Correspondence and Enclosures
Oversized material scanned with Box 5, F31; Box 6, F30; Box 7, F23; Box 8, F11 and F13
32
Oversized Blueprint Enclosed with General Correspondence
Oversized material from Box 7, F24
40

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  • To request an appointment to view materials, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reading Room" button. Please note, you will receive the full box.
  • To request reproductions, make your selections using the checkboxes and click the "Reproduction" button.