Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner papers, 1853-1977

Biographical materials include an affidavit of support for citizenship; educational, military, and professional certificates; membership cards; a curriculum vitae; and genealogical information on the Valentiner and Lepsius families.

Materials are arranged by document type.

This series has been scanned in its entirety.

Chronological letters are primarily written to friends and professional acquaintances in German. Letters dating from 1918-1919 include correspondence from acquaintainces affiliated with the group. Family correspondence includes letters in German from Valentiner’s parents, Karl Wilhelm and Anna Lepsius Valentiner, siblings, extended family members, his wife, Cecelia Odefay Valentiner, and his daughter, Brigitta Valentiner Bertoia. Additional letter drafts from Valentiner addressed to various family members are also included.

General correspondence contains letters and cards in German and English from numerous art historian mentors and peers, including Wilhelm von Bode, Cornelius Hofstede de Groot, Carl Heise, and Herman Colenbrander, Alfred J. Barr, and various staff members at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There is also correspondence with major art collectors, including John McIlhenny, Andrew Mellon, and Edsel Ford, as well as substantial correspondence with personal friends, including Maria Sarre, Helen Wills Moody Roark, Edwin Redslob, and Wolfgang von Eckardt.

The series is arranged as 3 subseries.

This series has been scanned in its entirety.

Diaries are in German, some of which include sketches, photographs, and other enclosures.

Materials are arranged in chronological order.

This series has been scanned in its entirety.

Writings and notes consist of autobiographical writings, including a 14 chapter manuscript; numerous essay drafts, lectures, notes, and published monographs on Italian and Dutch art and artists; and reports and lectures on exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Lecture seminar notes appear to have been written while Valentiner was a student at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Drafts, lists, and notes related to date from the period after Valentiner’s military service when he served as a chairman to the newly formed Working Council for the Arts, prior to his return to America in 1921. There are also a handful of literary writings by Valentiner and typescript essays by other art historians, including Carl Heise and Wilhelm von Bode.

The majority of the handwritten writings are in German, with many typed transcriptions in English.

Materials are arranged alphabetically within document types.

The bulk of this series has been scanned. In some cases monographs have had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages scanned.

Printed material includes museum bulletins, exhibition catalogs, and clippings that document Valentiner’s professional career in New York and Detroit.

Materials are arranged chronologically by document type.

The bulk of this series has been scanned. In some cases exhibition catalogs and other publications have had their covers, title pages, and relevant pages scanned.

The first clipping scrapbook documents Valentiner’s professional career and current events in New York. The following two scrapbooks document Valentiner's directorship of the Detroit Institute of Arts and includes press coverage of the museum and local events of note.

Materials are arranged in chronological order.

This series has been scanned in its entirety.

Photographic materials are of Wilhelm Valentiner, his immediate and extended family members, and his friends. Family members include parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews, among others. Photos of Valentiner date from his youth, military service in Germany, and his personal and professional career in the U.S. Photographs of friends include artists, art scholars, collectors, and family friends, including Diego Rivera, Alberto Giocometti, Maria Sarre, Helen Wills Moody Rorke, and Anne Morgan, the daughter of Pierpoint Morgan. There are also a handful of reproductions of artwork used as scholarly references in his writings.

Two photo albums focus on Valentiner’s family and friends from his youth in Germany, and Valentiner with family members later in his life.

Materials are arranged by subject and document type.

This series has been scanned in its entirety.

Artwork in the collection consists of prints from a page in a German book, a bookplate, and two woodcuts by unidentified artists.

Materials are arranged by document type.

This series has been scanned in its entirety.