Archives of American Art

A Finding Aid to the Virginia Teague papers relating to the Armory Show, 1913-1962, bulk 1913-1917, in the Archives of American Art

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.teagvirg
Creators:
Teague, Virginia Vanderbilt
Dates:
1913-1962
bulk 1913-1917
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.2 Linear feet
Repository:
The papers of New York historian Virginia Teague measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1913-1962, with the bulk of materials from 1913-1917. The papers consist of scattered records and papers compiled by Virginia Teague for the intended purpose of writing a history of the 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS). Documents include correspondence, business records, and printed material mostly in connection with the Copley Society and AAPS.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The papers of New York historian Virginia Teague measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1913-1962, with the bulk of materials from 1913-1917. The papers consist of scattered records and papers compiled by Virginia Teague for the intended purpose of writing a history of the 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS). Documents include correspondence, business records, and printed material mostly in connection with the Copley Society and AAPS.
There are a few letters from Elmer MacRae and Vera Kuhn to Virginia Teague recalling the Armory Show. There is one letter from Art Alliance of America Secretary, Elizabeth Grimball, to Henry Fitch Taylor advocating "preparedness" for artists in the event of international hostilities.
Records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors include meeting minutes, 1913-1915, with agendas, drafts and completed reports of proceedings, checklists of attendees, a hand-written statement by Walt Kuhn, signed by Arthur B. Davies and Elmer McRae, and a mimeograph copy of the AAPS Constitution. Additional correspondence is between Henry Fitch Taylor, George Luks, and James Townsen regarding a review published in American Art News.
Records of the Copley Society are mostly related to the Armory Show. Business records include an exhibition contract and daily sales tallies from the Copley Society, which hosted the Boston venue at Copley Hall. Correspondence is with Walt Kuhn, Arthur B. Davies, John Quinn, Holker Abbott, Edward Warren, L. Flanders, and the law firm of Brandeis, Dunbar & Nutter, and regards a disagreement over sharing revenue generated by the Armory Show exhibition; and letters from General Services Administration and the U.S. Treasury Department regarding customs records for the Armory Show.
Printed material includes catalogs and clippings about the Armory Show.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Virginia Vanderbilt Teague was a historian in New York, N.Y. and Vermont and was the wife of sculptor and painter R. Lewis Teague. The collection consists of material related to the 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art. The exhibition opened at the 69th Street Regiment, in New York City, in February 1913, and traveled to Chicago's Art Institute of Chicago, in March, and Boston's Copley Hall, in April.

Administration

Author
Rihoko Ueno
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The Virginia Teague papers relating to the Armory Show were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2010 by Adam and Clover Bergmann, son and daughter of Rudolph Bergmann, Virginia Teague's friend. The papers were found in Bergmann's home after his death in 2009.
Processing Information
The collection was processed and described in a finding aid by Rihoko Ueno in 2020.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research. Access to orginal 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 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
The Virginia Teague papers relating to the Armory Show, 1913-1962. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Walt Kuhn, Kuhn family and Armory Show records, which contain records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors kept by Walt Kuhn, Secretary of AAPS. Correspondence (January 1951) between Teague and Vera Kunn in the Walt Kuhn, Kuhn family papers, and Armory Show records in the Archives of American Art shed some light on Teague's intentions to compile a history of the Armory Show and contact she had with others to gather materials.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taylor, Henry Fitch, 1853-1925 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen), 1862-1928 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Copley Society (Boston, Mass.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Association of American Painters and Sculptors (New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Armory Show (1913: New York, N.Y.) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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