Archives of American Art

Winslow Ames papers

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.ameswins
Creators:
Ames, Winslow
Dates:
1787-1989
bulk 1960-1979
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
929 Items
(on 5 microfilm reels)
11 Linear feet
Unmicrofilmed
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Correspondence; research material; writings; diaries; family papers; and printed material.
Scope and Contents
REEL NAM: The Mastery of Drawing, an English translation revised and brought up to date by Winslow Ames, of Joseph Meder's Die Handzeichnung; ihre Technik und Entwicklung, 1923.
Scope and Contents
REELS 1428-1429: Three diaries, 1940-1942; correspondence, 1931-1978; writings; and printed material. Among the correspondents are Leonard Baskin, Kenneth Clark, Krick Hawkins, Hans Huth, William Ivins, Jr., Walt Killam, Lincoln Kirstein, Gaston Lachaise, Agnes Mongan, Nelson Rockefeller, Michael E. Sadler, Meyer Schapiro, Wolfgang Stechow, Francis Henry Taylor and William Zorach.
Scope and Contents
REEL 3134: Correspondence, 1934-1959, (16 items) regarding Gaston Lachaise's "Standing Woman" and its purchase by the Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.C. Included are 3 letters from Lachaise to Ames, 1934, one containing a sketch and description of the statue.
Scope and Contents
REEL 3768: Annotated photographs of a silver sugar basket designed by Arthur J. Stone. The basket was a wedding gift to Ames' grandparents, Katharine Milicent Ames and Edward Winslow Ames in 1905. The photographs were taken by Todd Studios of St. Louis, Mo., 1983-1984.
Scope and Contents
UNMICROFILMED: Papers, 1787-1989, mainly documenting Ames' writing and research projects, as well as family papers and professional correspondence, and Ames' personal library. Correspondence relates to his work as an appraiser, his activities in the Drawing Society and the Victorian Society, and general professional activites. Among the correspondents are Lincoln Kirstein, Michael E.Sadler, Agnes Mongan, Hubert Humphrey, and Senator Claiborne Pell. Research material consists primarily of photographs of art work and decorative art and some printed material. Writings (5 ft.) consist of Ames' addresses and lectures, articles, reviews, books, his autobiography (unpublished), and fiction; 2 ft. relates to his never published book, American Taste. Included also are material relating to his books The Mastery of Drawing (1978) and Prince Albert and Victorian Taste (1968). Family papers consists mainly of correspondence, among which is a 1787 letter from a distant relative and journals, 1869-1906, kept by Elizabeth Winthrop Ames during her travels throughout the western U.S.; also found are biographical materials and papers relating to Ames' volunteer work during 1945-56 for the Quaker Transport.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Museum director, art and architecture historian, collector, connoisseur of drawings; b. 1907; d. 1990.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reels NAM, 1428-1429, 3134, and 3768 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Reels NAM, 1428-1429: Originals returned to Winslow Ames after microfilming.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Material on reels NAM and 1428-1429 lent for microfilming 1978 by Winslow Ames; he donated the remaining microfilmed material 1977-1984. The unfilmed papers were donated in 1996 by Ames' daughter, Alison Ames.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Historic preservation -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art historians Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art museums -- New York (State) Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lachaise, Gaston, 1882-1935 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stone, Arthur J., 1847-1938 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Meder, Joseph, 1857-1934 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lyman Allyn Museum (New London, Conn.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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