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A Finding Aid to the Walter Pach Papers, 1857-1980, in the Archives of American Art

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A Finding Aid to the Walter Pach Papers, 1857-1980, in the Archives of American Art A Finding Aid to the Walter Pach Papers, 1857-1980, in the Archives of American Art Nancy Malloy, Catherine Stover and Stephanie Ashley Funding for the initial digitization of the microfilm of this collection was provided by the Gladys K. Delmas Foundation. Funding for the processing of the addition to the Walter Pach papers and digitization of the fully re- processed collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. 1997, 2012 Archives of American Art 750 9th Street, NW Victor Building, Suite 2200 Washington, D.C. 20001 https://www.aaa.si.edu/services/questions https://www.aaa.si.edu/ Table of Contents Collection Overview ........................................................................................................ 1 Administrative Information .............................................................................................. 1 Biographical/Historical note.............................................................................................. 2 Scope and Contents note................................................................................................ 7 Arrangement note............................................................................................................ 8 Names and Subjects ...................................................................................................... 8 Container Listing ........................................................................................................... 10 Series 1: Biographical Material, 1884-circa 1950s................................................. 10 Series 2: Correspondence, 1883-1980.................................................................. 12 Series 3: Writings, 1899-circa 1950s..................................................................... 73 Series 4: Diaries and Journals, 1903-circa 1950s................................................. 81 Series 5: Business Records, circa 1913-circa 1960s............................................. 82 Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1900-1977........................................................... 84 Series 7: Scrapbooks, circa 1890-circa 1940s....................................................... 87 Series 8: Artwork, circa 1860-circa 1950s............................................................. 88 Series 9: Photographs, 1857-1959........................................................................ 89 Series 10: Selections from Walter Pach's Library, 1880-1963............................... 94 Walter Pach papers AAA.pachwalt2 Collection Overview Repository: Archives of American Art Title: Walter Pach papers Identifier: AAA.pachwalt2 Date: 1857-1980 Creator: Pach, Walter, 1883-1958 Extent: 20.7 Linear feet Language: The records are in English, French and Spanish. Summary: The papers of New York artist, critic, historian, writer, art consultant and curator Walter Pach, measure 20.7 linear feet and date from 1857-1980. The collection documents Pach's promotion of modernism through his role in the landmark 1913 Armory Show, his relationships with artists and art-world figures and his extensive writings on art. Records include biographical material, correspondence with family, friends and colleagues including noted artists, handwritten and edited versions of manuscripts by Pach, diaries and journals, business records, printed material, scrapbooks, sketchbooks and artwork by Pach and others, and photographs of Pach and his family, friends, and colleagues. The collection also includes 12 linear feet of selections from Walter Pach's library. Administrative Information Acquisition Information The Walter Pach papers were acquired in several installments. After Pach's death his widow, Nikifora Pach, sold Pach's papers to Salander-O'Reilly Galleries. They were purchased by the Archives of American Art in 1988 with a grant from the Brown Foundation, Inc. Eight family photographs, donated by Raymond Pach, son of Walter Pach, were received in 1990. In 2012 Francis M. Naumann donated an additional 5.7 linear feet of material to the Archives of American Art. Separated Materials When the Archives of American Art acquired the Walter Pach Papers, some portion of his library was also received. The bulk of the library was transferred to the Smithsonian's American Art/ Portrait Gallery Library where the items could be properly cataloged, cared for, and used. Related Materials Papers of Walter Pach, 1885-1956, are also located at the Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives. Available Formats The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2014 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website. Material which has not been scanned includes duplicates, blank pages of Page 1 of 110 Walter Pach papers AAA.pachwalt2 bound volumes, some business records and sensitive personal financial and medical records, negatives, and Series 10: Selections from Walter Pach's Library. Processing Information The 1988 accession of the Walter Pach papers was processed by Nancy Malloy and Catherine Stover and the bulk of the collection, with the exception of Walter Pach's library, was microfilmed in 1997. The microfilm was digitized in 2008 with funding provided by the Gladys Delmas Foundation. In 2012 these papers were merged, fully processed, arranged and described with the 1990 and 2012 additions, by Stephanie Ashley, and the bulk of the collection was digitized in 2014 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Motion picture film reel was inspected and re-housed in 2017 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Preferred Citation Walter Pach papers, 1857-1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Restrictions Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. 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. Biographical Note New York artist, critic, writer, art consultant, and curator, Walter Pach (1883-1958) was an influential promoter of modern art and was instrumental in organizing the landmark Armory Show in 1913. Walter Pach was born in New York City, July 11, 1883. His father, Gotthelf Pach, was a prominent commercial photographer who, along with his family, ran the New York firm of Pach Brothers. The company did the bulk of the photographic work for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the young Pach often accompanied his father on museum assignments. In 1903, Pach graduated from the City College of New York with a degree in art. He also studied with Robert Henri at the New York School of Art and went abroad to paint with William Merritt Chase in the summers of 1903 and 1904. In 1906 Pach presented his first art history lecture at the Westfield State Normal School in Westfield, Massachusetts. In 1907, Pach went to France and as an artist and critic moved among the Parisian avant-garde and became part of the Gertrude and Leo Stein circle. Gertrude Stein's "Portrait of Walter Pach was painted in 1908. Pach wrote extensively about modern art and through his numerous books, articles, and translations of European art texts, brought an emerging modernist viewpoint to the American public. In 1908 he wrote the first article published in America on Cézanne, and also wrote on such established artists as Claude Monet, whom he interviewed in 1908 for Scribner's Magazine.. Pach organized exhibitions of contemporary art for important New York City galleries of the period, as well as the landmark exhibition of 1913, "The International Exhibition of Modern Art," commonly known as the Armory Show. Along with painters Arthur B. Davies and Walt Kuhn, he brought together leading contemporary Page 2 of 110 Walter Pach papers AAA.pachwalt2 European and American artists. Pach served with Kuhn as administrator, publicist and gallery lecturer for the Armory Show Chicago for the run of the exhibition. Pach helped to form major collections for John Quinn and Walter Arensberg. He was also instrumental in securing individual works of art for museums, such as a portrait for the Louvre Museum by American master Thomas Eakins, and Jacques-Louis David's Death of Socrates for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Pach married artist Magdalene Frohberg in February 1914, and their son Raymond was born at the end of that year. The Pachs lived primarily in New York, but spent time abroad from 1928 to 1932. Intermittently, they lived on the West Coast, where Pach taught at the University of California at Berkeley. In the 1920s he taught at the University of Mexico on a Shilling Fund grant, lecturing and writing on Native American art and developing a strong interest in Pre-Columbian art. He took an active interest in organizing exhibitions and raising money for a museum to be dedicated to the indigenous art of the Americas. In addition, he was a friend of José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera and helped organize the Mexican chapter of the Society of Independent Artists, the New York-based organization he founded in 1917
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