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

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.