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COLLECTION Identifier: HC 22

Photographs of the Harvard Art Museums, 1895-2003

Overview

This collection contains photographic views of the 1895 and 1927 Fogg Museum buildings, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, united under the Harvard Art Museums name in 1983. It includes exterior and interior views, including images of exhibitions and galleries.

Dates

  • Creation: 1895-2003

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted. A selection of items in this collection have been digitized and are available as thumbnails; additional items may be available in repository.

Conditions Governing Use

Copying: Papers may be copied in accordance with the Harvard Art Museums Archives' usual procedures.

Copyright: The President and Fellows of Harvard College hold copyright in images created by Harvard Art Museums employees. Copyright in some items in the collection may be held by their creators' heirs or assigns. Researchers must obtain the written permission of the holder(s) of copyright and the Harvard Art Museums Archives before publishing any material in the collection.

Extent

19 linear feet (42 file boxes, oversize materials)

Scope and Contents

The collection contains photos, slides, glass slides, transparencies, and negatives. Some special features of this collection are photographs of the construction and floor plans of the New Fogg, images of the Montepulciano Presbytery which provided inspiration for the creation of the Fogg Museum Courtyard and images of the offices of the Old Fogg Museum staff including the office of Paul J. Sachs. In addition there are images of installation projects of sculptures and paintings including Radcliffe’s “Discerning Eye,” Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” and Lewis Rubenstein’s frescoes for the Busch-Reisinger Museum.

The collection is arranged into four series. Series I contains images of exhibitions, galleries and events. Series II, Fogg Museum, contains 13 subseries. Each subseries represent either a different location within the Fogg Museum or locations relating to the Fogg Museum. In most folders, contents are arranged either chronologically or alphabetically. Series III was added in 2010 and contains 8 subseries, and Series IV was added in 2014 with 4 subseries. Some folders contain documents lacking dates or descriptions and for these items there is no current arrangement.

The original order of Series I was maintained during its processing. There was no original order to Series II, III, or IV prior to processing. All series, subseries and folder titles were created by the processor. The materials are housed in acid free folders.

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

The original Fogg Museum building, commonly referred to as the "Old Fogg," opened in 1895. Major funding was provided by Elizabeth Perkins Fogg with the intention of dedicating the museum to the memory of her husband, William Hayes Fogg. This building was used until the "new" Fogg Museum opened its doors at 32 Quincy Street in 1927. The museum was created as a place where interactive learning and research in the field of art could transpire in a single, unified space. This mission is still at the center of the work of the Harvard Art Museums.

Arrangement

Series and Subseries in the Collection
  1. Series I. Exhibitions and Events
  2. Series II: Fogg Museum
  3. ___Subseries A: Fogg Museum Interior Views
  4. ___Subseries B: Fogg Museum Exterior Views
  5. ___Subseries C: Fogg Museum Courtyard
  6. ___Subseries D: Fogg Museum Warburg Hall (Great Hall)
  7. ___Subseries E: Fogg Museum 3rd and 4th Floor Classrooms and Offices
  8. ___Subseries F: Fogg Museum Fine Arts Library
  9. ___Subseries G: Fogg Museum Mongan Center
  10. ___Subseries H: Fogg Museum Wertheim Galleries
  11. ___Subseries I: Fogg Museum Naumburg Residence and Room
  12. ___Subseries J: Fogg Museum Grenville L. Winthrop
  13. ___Subseries K: Old Fogg Museum
  14. ___Subseries L: Floor plans, additions, and construction
  15. ___Subseries M: Private Collections
  16. Series III: Harvard Art Museums Photograph Collection, 1927-2000
  17. ___Subseries A: Miscellaneous
  18. ___Subseries B: Publications
  19. ___Subseries C: Parties, Exhibits, Events 1960s-1970s
  20. ___Subseries D: Sackler Museum
  21. ___Subseries E: Otto Hall
  22. ___Subseries F: Conservation
  23. ___Subseries G: Portraits
  24. ___Subseries H: Buildings and Grounds
  25. Series IV: Harvard Art Museums Photograph Collection, 1895-2003
  26. ___Subseries A: Exhibitions
  27. ___Subseries B: Fogg Museum and Sackler Museum
  28. ___Subseries C: Adolphus Busch Hall, Rubenstein Murals
  29. ___Subseries D: Parties, Exhibits, Events 1950’s – 1990’s

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The materials of this collection were generated and collected by staff of the Harvard Art Museums.

Related Materials

There are additional historical images of the Harvard Art Museums in Harvard's Fine Arts Library Special Collections.

Box and Folder Locations

  1. Box 1: Folders 1.1-1.93
  2. Box 2: Folders 1.94-1.178
  3. Box 3: Folders 1.179-1.242
  4. Box 4: Folders 1.243-1.296
  5. Box 5: Folders 1.297-1.329
  6. Box 6: Folders 1.330-1.358
  7. Box 7: Folders 1.359-1.413
  8. Box 8: Folders 1.414-1.473
  9. Box 9: Folders 1.474-1.493
  10. Box 10: Folders 1.494-1.553
  11. Box 11: Folders 1.554-1.597
  12. Box 12: Folders 1.598-1.630
  13. Box 13: Folders 1.631-1.659
  14. Box 14: Folders 1.660-1.683
  15. Box 15: Folders 1.684-1.725
  16. Box 16: Folders 1.726-1.753
  17. Box 17: Folders 1.754-1.786
  18. Box 18: Folders 1.787-1.821
  19. Box 19: Folders 1.822-1.846
  20. Box 20: Folders 1.847-1.880
  21. Box 21: Folders 1.881-1.919
  22. Box 22: Folders 2.1-2.6
  23. Box 23: Folders 2.7-2.14
  24. Box 24: Folders 2.15-2.20
  25. Box 25: Folders 2.21-2.25
  26. Box 26: Folders 2.26-2.35
  27. Box 27: Folders 2.36-2.43
  28. Box 28: Folders 2.44-2.53
  29. Box 29: Folders 3.1-3.38
  30. Box 30: Folders 3.39-3.70
  31. Box 31: Folders 3.71-3.100
  32. Box 32: Folders 3.101-3.149
  33. Box 33: Folders 3.150-3.184
  34. Box 34: Folders 3.185-3.242
  35. Box 35: Folders 3.243-3.292
  36. Box 36: Folders 3.293-3.307
  37. Box 37: Folders 3.308-3.327
  38. Box 38: Folders 4.1-4.34
  39. Box 39: Folders 4.35-4.86
  40. Box 40: Folders 4.87-4.110
  41. Box 41: Folders 4.111-4.144
  42. Box 42: Folders 4.145-4.173

General note

Names
  1. Coolidge, John, 1913-1995
  2. Degas, Edgar, 1834-1917
  3. Fogg Art Museum
  4. Fogg Art Museum Garden
  5. Forbes, Edward W. (Edward Waldo), 1873-1969
  6. Fogg Art Museum. Agnes Mongan Center for the Study of prints, Drawings and Photographs.
  7. Fogg Art Museum. Felix M. Warburg Hall
  8. Fogg Art Museum. George Chase Christian Room
  9. Fogg Art Museum. Naumburg Room
  10. Fogg Art Museum. Van Rensselaer Room
  11. Fogg Art Museum. Wertheim Gallery
  12. Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966
  13. Harvard University. Art Museums
  14. Harvard University. Fine Arts Library
  15. Hunt Hall (Cambridge, Mass.)
  16. Mongan, Agnes
  17. Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973
  18. Robbins, Daniel
  19. Sachs, Paul J. (Paul Joseph), 1878-1965
  20. Slive, Seymour, 1920-2014
  21. Warburg, Edward M. M.
  22. Wertheim, Maurice, 1886-1950
  23. Winthrop, Grenville Lindall, 1864-1943

General note

Subjects
  1. Art exhibition audiences--Massachusetts--Cambridge
  2. Art museum architecture-Massachusetts--Cambridge
  3. Art museum attendance--Massachusetts--Cambridge
  4. Art museum visitors--Massachusetts--Cambridge
  5. Art museums--Massachusetts--Cambridge--Designs and plans
  6. Art museums--Massachusetts--Cambridge --Employees
  7. Art museums--Exhibitions--Massachusetts--Cambridge
  8. College art museums--Massachusetts--Cambridge
  9. Fogg Art Museum--Design and construction
  10. Fogg Art Museum--Designs and plans
  11. Museum buildings--Massachusetts--Cambridge

General note

Form/Genre Terms
  1. Lantern slides
  2. Negatives
  3. Photographs
  4. Slides
  5. Transparencies

Processing Information

The collection was processed August 2004 - May 2006 by Emma Winter-Roffe, Sarah C. Albright and Julia Sullivan with assistance from Jennifer Hughes and Wingsze Mak. Series III and Series IV addenda were processed by Vanessa Marcoux in Summer 2014 and encoded by Michelle Interrante in February 2016. Updates to the finding aid were made by Michelle Interrante in April 2018. To preserve the chronological nature of Series I, addenda folders 1.901-1.919 appear out of order. In order to preserve the topical nature of extant series, addenda folders 4.172-4.173 also appear out of order.
Link to catalog

Related Names

Administrative Information

Title
Photographs of the Harvard Art Museums (HC 22), 1895-2003: A Guide
Author
Harvard Art Museums Archives, Harvard University
Language of description
eng
EAD ID
art00012

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard Art Museums Archives Repository

https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/teaching-and-research/research-centers/harvard-art-museums-archives

The Harvard Art Museums Archives is the official repository for institutional records and historical documents in all formats relating to the Fogg Museum, the Busch-Reisinger Museum, and the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, 1895 to the present. Its collections include papers of individuals and groups associated with the museums' history, including records of past exhibitions, architectural plans, photographs, scrapbooks, and memorabilia, as well as correspondence with collectors, gallery owners, museum professionals, and artists throughout the twentieth century. Its holdings also document the formation of the museums' collections and its mission as a teaching institution.

Contact:
32 Quincy Street
Harvard University
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
617-495-2384

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