Pierre Matisse Gallery archives, 1903-1990 1931-1990.

Record ID: 
205567
Accession number: 
MA 5020
Credit: 
Gift of the Pierre Matisse Foundation, 1997.
Description: 
227 cubic feet.
Summary: 

Consists of correspondence with artists, clients, museum staff members, and colleagues; records of gallery stock, purchases, sales, works of art accepted on consignment; select exhibition installation records; bank and auditors' records; shipping records; and business records. Also contains photographs of works of art which were handled by, or of interest to, the gallery, as well as photos of artists and studios. The gallery archives, which spans nearly nine decades, documents the opening of the Museum of Modern Art in N.Y., the arrival of European artists in the U.S. to escape the Nazi purge, the effect of Surrealism, and the abstract-expressionist movement in N.Y. among other topics. Some of the artists represented through letters, biographical information, publicity, and commissions include: Balthus, Butler, Calder, Calliyannis, Carrington, Chagall, Dubuffet, Gabo, Giacometti, Gromaire, Le Corbusier, Miro, Riopelle, Roszak, Saura, Severini, Tanguy, and Zao Wou-ki. The collection, too, contains a large quantity (833 items) of manuscript letters between Henri Matisse and his son Pierre Matisse.

Provenance: 
The Pierre Matisse Foundation was founded in 1992 by the heirs of Pierre Matisse: Maria-Gaetana Matisse, Jacqueline Matisse Monnier, Paul Matisse, and Pierre-Noel Matisse. The foundation was founded for the purpose of creating the Pierre Matisse Gallery Archives. The Archives contains the complete records of the Pierre Matisse Gallery New York from 1931 to 1990.