Archives of American Art

Isabella Stewart Gardner letters to Bernard Berenson

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.gardisas
Creators:
Gardner, Isabella Stewart, 1840-1924
Dates:
1887-1924
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Reel
ca. 400 items (on 1 microfilm reel)
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Letters from Isabella Stewart Gardner to Berenson and his wife, Mary.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Art historian, critic, collector, and teacher; Florence, Italy. First name often spelled Bernhard. Was "discovered" by Isabella Stewart Gardner immediately after his graduation from Harvard. As a patron of the fine arts, Gardner financed Berenson's travels in Italy to collect Italian Renaissance art for the Venetian palazzo she re-created in Boston. Berenson bought Villa I Tatti, his home in Florence, before the Second World War. During the war he and his wife and his personal secretary were exiles in the villa for several years. He lived there until his death where upon he bequeathed it to Harvard University.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reel 699 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Originals in Villa I Tatti, Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Florence, Italy.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Microfilm copy lent by Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum 1974. AAA duplicated the microfilm for its own collections. Microfilm labeled Isabella Stewart Gardner papers.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art, Renaissance -- Italy Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art patronage Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Italy Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art critics -- Italy Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Art historians -- Italy Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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