Ross, Marvin C. (Marvin Chauncey), 1904-1977

Scope and Contents: Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss giving her a progress report. Marvin writes that after applying for a Russian visa he received only one for 25 days, and had to travel with a group. He has asked for two months and to go alone. The local agency that handles tourists for Intourist tells him that he will get the two month visa, but he must be patient. He says he has waited since 1939 to go back and finish his project and finds it hard to be patient.While...

Scope and Contents: Typescript letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss telling her he telephoned to discuss various plans and ideas with her, but recognizes she was busy with the holiday making it a happy one for so many people.He reports the corpus of the enamels that he is working on is the main thing. Other projects have been suggested although time consuming. Milton Fox from Harry N. Abrams, Inc. publisher of art books, was here last week and asked me tentatively about a colour book for...

Scope and Contents: Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss sending a list of museum personnel whose names he secured last summer. He has made copies for Dumbarton Oaks and the Fogg Museum. He tells Mildred he is enclosing a letter from [Etienne] Coche de la Ferle [curator at The Louvre] after he "gave him names of curators in Moscow and Leningrad before he left on his mission. It shows the usefulness of such a list." The letter from Coche de la Ferle is no longer with Marvin's letter....

Scope and Contents: Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to C. Isabel Denison (Keeper of the Founders' Room at Dumbarton Oaks) offering the French designs for garden vases for her reference library. He bought them for study purposes and found them useful at the time. He suggests they could be put in vanila envelopes in the reference room for students to use. He says these designs were actually used, the Walters Art Gallery own a pair in marble after one of the Pelitot? designs. Designs no longer with...

Scope and Contents: Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss and Robert Woods Bliss telling them that his article on the bowl in serpentine carved with a figure of St. Demetrius, one of the finest treasures in San Marco, [Venice, Italy] has been published, and he wants them to have his first copy. He says he is pleased for the [Dumbarton Oaks] Collection that the new gold treasure is in it. "It is far more important than the Mersin treasure ... Dumbarton Oaks excels The Hermitage in this...

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Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to Robert and Mildred Bliss telling them he is so excited to hear what they found in Switzerland and whether you were able to do anything with Juritsky. He reports that three days in London were important for the catalogue as well as the enamel and future plans.

Scope and Contents: Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss and Robert Woods Bliss asking them if they meet any members of the Stoclet family and they ask about his Byzantine enamel book, please tell them it is a worthwhile project. Madam Feron-Stoclet has sent him a gift of photographs of the Byzantine enamels in her collection. He is in correspondence with Philippe Stoclet, who has three [enamels], all of them important. Marvin reports there is a third member of the family from whom there has...

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Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred and Robert Bliss wishing them a "happy Dumbarton Oaks Founder's Day". He tells them they were very clever to buy the paste cameo of St. Theophano. He says that aside from being beautiful, it [cameo] helps to resolve an important question about the origin of such objects. He reports that he has found only one other bronze lamp similar to the one they gave to the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, and it is in the British Museum.

Scope and Contents: Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss and Robert Woods Bliss telling them that Jack [John Thacher, Director of Dumbarton Oaks] has told him the perfectly wonderful news about the trip to Russia. He wanted to thank them in person but I am so excited about it that I could not trust myself to speak coherently. He thanks both of them "from the bottom of my heart."He says that finishing the work on Byzantine enamels will be the culmination of a life's ambition. The...

Scope and Contents: Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss and Robert Woods Bliss to inform them of the latest developments on the eve of their departure. He reports the local tourist agency called him to say they had received a cable from Moscow, "sent letter June 22 concerning Ross." When the letter gets to him, he will know his fate. The last letter from the Hermitage took 16 days and the last letter the tourist agency got from Moscow took 28 days.If [Etienne] Coche de la Ferte...

Scope and Contents: Handwritten letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss and Robert Woods Bliss telling them it was a privilege to participate in their golden wedding anniversary. "We [Marvin and wife, Lotus?] thank you both very much. He wishes them many years in which to accomplish the things you want to do!He reports that he has completed the first draft of the monograph on Byzantine jewelry of the VII century and will give a short version of it at the Symposium. It will be about on hundred...

Scope and Contents: Letter from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss and Robert Woods Bliss telling them that this summer he is going to polish up his manuscript on the VII century jewelry. It is ten times as long as my talk at the symposium and has over 300 illustrations. He asks them if they would allow him to illustrate the little gold pendant with Apollo and Daphne and the little imperial wedding ring you got for your wedding anniversary? He already has the photographs and is asking their permission to use them....

Scope and Contents: Typescript letter on professional letterhead from Marvin C. Ross to Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Bliss telling them that he wanted to tell them something after his return from Europe and Istanbul, but only saw them for a brief moment. He says he was so impressed everywhere he went with the growing importance of Dumbarton Oaks. It was talked about by those he saw in the field of Byzantine studies, collectors, museum curators, govenment officials as well as research people of all kinds....

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Signed handwritten letter from Marvin Ross to Robert and Mildred Bliss thanks them for the charming Dumbarton Oaks Garden party. He says the next best thing was the Iris down by the brook. Letter undated, but probably created between 1950-1960 based on other correspondence between Marvin Ross and the Blisses.

Scope and Contents: Typescript letter with handwritten signature from Virginia Lewis, faculty at the Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Marvin C. Ross at Dumbarton Oaks informing him that Walter [Walter Read Hovey], head of the Fine Arts Department is in Sante Fe, [New Mexico] and will be back about October 25th. His plans after that, so far as she can gather, are to be in Pittsburgh for two weeks then go to London. She thinks he still wants to travel, but is not...

Scope and Contents: Includes correspondence sent by Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss discussing two Byzantine rings; photographs of two Byzantine rings; two published articles, one written by Marvin C. Ross titled, "Two gem carvings of the IV century (exhibited by the Walters Art Gallery) published in the American Journal of Archaeology under Archaeological Notes (pages 173-174) and the other published by V.[Vitalien] Laurent in "Revue des Etudes Byzantines" XVI, pages 298-300 about the Dumbarton Oaks collection...

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Correpondence including letters, picture postcards, photographs from Marvin C. Ross to Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Bliss discussing Byzantine antiquities and cameos held in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection. The bulk of the correspondence is directed to Mildred Bliss. Also included is a newsclipping of Guggenheim awardees in which Marvin C. Ross is mentioned.

Scope and Contents: Newspaper clipping probably from a Washington, D.C. area newspaper titled "Ten Persons in Area Receive Guggenheim Fellowship Awards." Written at the top in pencil: April [?]. Clipping possibly from 1952 highlighted the selection of Marvin C. Ross, curator, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, for a study of the American soldier and painter, Gen[eral] Seth Eastman. Marvin C. Ross received Guggenheim fellowship awards in 1938, 1939, 1948, 1952. Marvin C. Ross later created the Catalogue of...

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Handwritten note from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss telling her the [Dumbarton Oaks] gardens have been more beautiful than ever. What a joy Mildred has given to so many of people.

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Photograph of Byzantine ring with insignia in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection. Correspondence between Marvin C. Ross and Mildred Bliss may describe this ring further: H7:Ross 1957.03.04. According to the correspondence this ring may have been acquired by Jack (John Thacher?) and included a monogram of Cosmas. Written on verso is: D.O.56.27, possibly an accession number for the ring in the Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine Collection.

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A handwritten note and 15 black and white photographs from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss of 8 glass cameos in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection.

Scope and Contents: One postcard with handwritten message from Marvin C. Ross to Mildred Bliss with VIII Congresso Internazionale di Studi Bizantini, Palermo 3-10 Aprile 1951 written on front and "Rome" written in upper right on back. Marvin tells Mildred that the trip has been perfectly magnificent. The Congress at Palermo was successful and people loved your beautiful bracelets with the gems. Rome seems more fascinating than ever. He reports the new Madonna (IV-VII?) is very impressive indeed and the newly...

Scope and Contents: Six postcards sent from Marvin C. Ross to Robert Woods Bliss and Mildred Bliss discussing his travels to Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, and Czechoslovakia.Postcard #1 postmarked August 12, 1957: front side only addressed to Honorable Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, France, but sent on to Hotel Ambassador, Vienne, Autriche [Vienna, Austria]. Postcard sent on expedited by Morgan and Cie, incorporated, [Vend]ome 14, Place, Vendome, Paris (1er); par avion. Marvin used Russian stamps and...