Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Elisabeth Commanday Papers, 1949-1975, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.commelis
Creators:
Commanday, Elisabeth, 1890-1994
Dates:
1949-1975
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.4 Linear feet
Repository:
The scattered papers of art collector Elisabeth Commanday measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1949 to 1974. The collection relates to longtime friendships between Commanday and art historian Bernard Berenson, his sister Elizabeth Berenson, his companion Nicky Mariano, and Mariano's sister Baroness Alda von Anrep. The papers include correspondence, notes, photographs, and printed material.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The scattered papers of art collector Elisabeth Commanday measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1949 to 1974. The collection relates to longtime friendships between Commanday and art historian Bernard Berenson, his sister Elizabeth Berenson, his companion Nicky Mariano and Mariano's sister Baroness Alda von Anrep. Found is correspondence, notes, photographs, and printed material.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Art collector Elisabeth (Betty) Krieger Commanday (1891-1994) lived in New York City and Boston, Massachusetts. She travelled throughout Europe and maintained a correspondence with art historian Bernard Berenson.

Administration

Author
Jayna M. Josefson
Sponsor
Processing of this collection received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
Existence and Location of Copies
The collection is available on 35mm microfilm reel 5054 at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated 1993 by Maurice Commanday, son of Elisabeth Commanday. Commanday corresponded with Berenson for nearly ten years. At his death in 1959, Berenson's companion Nicky Mariano returned to Commanday all of her letters, which she discarded, except for the earliest letter written in April 1949.
Processing Information
The papers were microfilmed on reel 5054 after receipt. The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2022 with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Conditions Governing Use
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Preferred Citation
Elisabeth Commanday papers, 1949-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Collectors Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Collectors and collecting Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Anrep, Alda Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mariano, Nicky Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Berenson, Elizabeth Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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