Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Henry and Rose Pearlman Papers, 1893-1995, bulk 1950-1980, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.pearhenr
Creators:
Pearlman, Henry, b. 1895
Dates:
1893-1995
bulk 1950-1980
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
4.38 Linear feet
Repository:
The records of the Henry and Rose Pearlman papers measure 4.38 linear feet and date from 1893 to 1995 (bulk 1950-1980). The collection documents the activities of Post-Impressionist and Modern art collectors Henry and Rose Pearlman through correspondence, research materials, exhibition catalogs, photographs, and clippings.

Scope and Content Note

Scope and Content Note
The Henry and Rose Pearlman papers measure 4.38 linear feet and document the activities of art collectors Henry and Rose Pearlman through correspondence, research materials, exhibition catalogs, photographs of artwork and exhibitions, and clippings ranging from 1909 to 1995 (bulk 1950-1980). Most of the materials relate to artists and pieces represented in the Pearlmans' collection, although a small amount of material concerns works considered or researched by Pearlman, but not purchased.
The bulk of the collection concerns the lending, reproduction, and exhibition of works of art owned by the Pearlmans and their foundation. Supplemental research material such as exhibition catalogs, photographs of artworks, and articles and clippings on artists, artworks or other private collections, make up most of the remainder. Oversized materials include a catalogue of the Pearlman Collection, a portfolio of reproductions of the Cezanne watercolors belonging to the Pearlmans, and photographs comparing Toulouse-Lautrec's Parody of the Bois Sacre aux Arts et Muses to the original.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into four series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
  • Missing Title
  • Series 1: General Collection Files, 1950-1995 (Box 1, 5; 8 folders)
  • Series 2: Artists' Files, 1909-1995 (Boxes 1-5, MGP 5; 3.2 linear feet)
  • Series 3: Museum Files, 1951-1994 (Box 4; 20 folders)
  • Series 4: Personal Files, 1966-1993 (Box 4; 5 folders)

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Henry Pearlman (1895-1974), a lifelong resident of New York City, rose through the ranks of the business world to found his own company, Eastern Cold Storage, in 1919. In 1925, Henry married Rose. In the early 1940s, Pearlman purchased a few realist paintings, but it wasn't until his 1943 purchase of Chaim Soutine's Village Square that he was inspired to build what would become a noted collection of Post-Impressionist works. Over the next three decades, Pearlman acquired numerous works by such well-known artists as Soutine, Modigliani, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, Manet, Matisse, and Toulouse-Lautrec, in addition to those of lesser-known artists. In the early 1950s, Pearlman began collecting Cezanne watercolors. These paintings would become the cornerstone of his collection and would be exhibited around the world. Pearlman died in 1974, leaving his wife, Rose, to manage his collection until her death in 1994. From the mid-1970s, the Pearlman Collection has been on long-term loan to the Art Museum of Princeton.
The Pearlmans founded the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation in the 1950s. Much of the Pearlmans' artwork is now officially owned by the Foundation.

Administration

Author
Vanessa Catanzaro
Sponsor
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Princeton Art Museum. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
Provenance
The Henry and Rose Pearlman papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2004 by Dorothy Edelman and Marge Scheuer, daughters of Henry and Rose Pearlman, care of the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation.
Alternative Forms Available
The papers of Henry and Rose Pearlman in the Archives of American Art were digitized in
2011
, and total
5446
images.
Blank pages, blank versos of photographs, photographs of artwork, duplicates, and medical, legal, and personal financial documents have not been scanned. In most cases, only the cover, title page, and individual relevant pages have been scanned from published materials. A few documents were not scanned at the request of the Princeton Art Museum because they contained sensitive information.
Processing Information
The papers were processed in July 2005, by Vanessa Catanzaro. The collection was prepared for scanning in 2011 by Judy Ng and fully scanned in 2011 with funding provided by the Princeton Art Museum. Glass plate negatives were re-housed in 2015 with a grant provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

Using the Collection

Restrictions on Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Terms of 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
Henry and Rose Pearlman papers, 1893-1995, bulk 1950-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
The Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891-1973 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pearlman, Rose, b. 1901 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Soutine, Chaim, 1893-1943 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Degas, Edgar, 1834-1917 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gogh, Vincent van, 1853-1890 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Modigliani, Amedeo, 1884-1920 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kokoschka, Oskar, 1886- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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