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William Mills Ivins papers

Archives of American Art

Alford, Roberta Fansler
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
Finding aid
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .

Object Details

sova.aaa.ivinwill
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw948e0d1d0-c1e5-4575-b422-cf91cb813195
Creator
Ivins, William Mills, 1881-1961
Names
Century Association (New York, N.Y.)
Grolier Club
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
Pierpont Morgan Library
Ames, Winslow
Arensberg, Walter, 1878-1954
Arms, John Taylor, 1887-1953
Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959
Boas, George, 1891-
Burroughs, Bryson, 1869-1934
Carrington, Fitz Roy, 1869-1954
Cockerell, Sydney Carlyle, Sir, 1867-1962
Constable, W. G. (William George), 1887-1976
Dodgson, Campbell, 1867-1948
Frankfurter, Felix, 1882-1965
Friedländer, Max J., 1867-1958
Greene, Belle da Costa, 1883-1950
Holmes, Margaret Ivins, 1882-1954
Ivins, Barbara
Ivins, Emma Yard, 1857-1940
Ivins, Florence Wyman, 1881-1948
Ivins, Katherine
Ivins, William Mills, 1851-1915
Photographer
Käsebier, Gertrude, 1852-1934
Names
Lay, Charles Downing, 1877-1956
Rogers, Bruce, 1870-1957
Ruzicka, Rudolph, 1883-
Sachs, Paul J. (Paul Joseph), 1878-1965
Sarton, George, 1884-1956
Simonson, Lee, 1888-
Sizer, Theodore, 1892-1967
Webster, Herman A. (Herman Armour), 1878-1970
Wind, Edgar, 1900-
Winter, Carl, 1906 Jan. 10-
Occupation
Illustrators
Art historians
Topic
Aesthetics
Art museums
Book collectors and collecting
Museum directors
Perspective
Designers
Museums -- Acquisitions
Prints -- History
Etching -- History
Engraving -- History
Medicine and art -- History
Illustrated books -- History
Museum curators
Provenance
The William Mills Ivins, Jr., papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by his daughter, Barbara Ivins, in several installments between 1977 and 1983.
Creator
Ivins, William Mills, 1881-1961
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William Mills Ivins papers
Summary
The papers, 1878-1964 (20.5 linear feet) of museum curator, director, and art scholar William Mills Ivins (1881-1961) consist of correspondence, writings, notes, photographs, and Ivins family papers. Ivins was Curator of Prints, 1916-1946, Assistant Director, 1933-1938, and Acting Director, 1938-1940 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection contains professional and personal correspondence with art historians, art dealers, museum curators, print and book collectors, and artists concerning the history of print making, book design and illustration, print collectors and collecting, exhibitions, and museum administration. Also found are Ivins' published and unpublished writings and lectures, and notes. The collection contains some Ivins' family papers including family correspondence, genealogies, and photographs.
Biographical Note
William Mills Ivins, Jr. (1881-1961), a lawyer, first became interested in collecting prints and illustrated books while an undergraduate at Harvard. He studied the history of printmaking through self-directed reading, by looking at prints in the major European libraries and museums, and tried his hand at many of the printmaking processes. While practicing law, he wrote articles and organized some small exhibitions of prints as early as 1908. In 1916, the Metropolitan Museum of Art appointed its first Curator of Prints to organize a Department of Prints and Drawings and to develop its small existing collection. Upon the recommendation of Paul J. Sachs who was unable to accept the position, Ivins was selected. He held the post until his retirement some thirty years later. During his tenure as Curator of Prints, Ivins became one of the most highly-respected individuals in the profession. Under Ivins the collection grew in scope, size, and quality; he acquired materials by cultivating potential donors, and through systematic purchase of pieces not likely to come into the collection by bequest. The department's active exhibition schedule included some especially noteworthy shows, such as The Arts of the Book in 1924. Ivins was knowledgeable and shared information by writing several books on prints and the history of printmaking, and by writing large numbers of articles for the educated layman. His articles often highlighted items in the permanent collection, and frequently appeared in the museum's Bulletin. He was interested in perspective, psychology of perception, aesthetics, mathematics and modern philosophy, and wrote on these topics, as well. He was an accomplished speaker and was in much demand as a lecturer. Of particular note were his series on Illustrated Books of the Renaissance at the Morgan Library in 1936, and the 1950 Lowell Lectures (subsequently published under the title Prints and Visual Communication). In addition to his curatorial duties, Ivins served as Assistant Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art between 1933 and 1938, and was its Acting Director from 1938 until 1940. Francis Henry Taylor was appointed Director in 1940, and Ivins was named to the newly created post of Counselor; failure to attain the directorship was a bitter disappointment, which many attributed to his lack of tact and generally difficult disposition. Ivins retired in 1946, and continued to write and publish until the mid-1950's. During this period he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Yale University (1946), made an honorary fellow of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1946), named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1950), and invited to deliver the annual lectures at the Lowell Institute (1950). He died at the age of eighty in 1961, after several years of declining health. Ivins' private collection of prints and illustrated books, which he had continued to amass through the 1930's, was partially dispersed during his lifetime through gifts to the Metropolitan Museum and to a number of university and special libraries. The portion remaining in his estate was sold at auction by Parke Bernet between 1962 and 1964. 1881 -- born to William Mills Ivins and Emma Yard Ivins, Flatbush, N.Y. 1890-1893 -- attended King's School, Stamford, Conn. 1896 -- trip to South America with father 1897 -- graduation from St. Paul's School, Concord, N.H. 1901 -- graduation from Harvard (A.B.) 1901-1902 -- travelled in Europe with Paul Haviland, and studied economics at University of Munich 1902-1904 -- employed by The World's Work, writing articles on economic and artistic subjects 1907 -- graduation from Columbia School of Law 1907-1916 -- practiced law in New York City: Ivins, Wolff and Houget for New York Public Service Commission, 1907-1908; Strong and Cadwallader, 1908-1909; Cravath, Henderson, and der Gersdorff, 1909-1916 1908 -- arranged first exhibition of prints, Keppel & Co, 1910 -- marriage to Florence Wyman, an illustrator 1916 -- appointed first Curator of Prints, Metropolitan Museum of Art c. 1927-1935 -- served on editorial board of Metropolitan Museum Studies 1933-1938 -- Assistant Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1937 -- Morgan Library Lectures 1938 -- Honorary Curator of Prints and Drawings, Morgan Library 1938-1940 -- Acting Director, Metropolitan Museum of Art (Note: Mr. Ivins continued to act as Curator of Prints during periods when he was assigned other major administrative responsibilities at the museum) 1940 -- Counselor, Metropolitan Museum of Art 1946 -- Honorary Fellow, Metropolitan Museum of Art; retirement from Metropolitan Museum of Art; Honorary Doctorate, Yale University 1950 -- Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Lowell Lectures (published in 1953 under the title Prints and Visual Communication) 1961 -- death 1962-1964 -- Ivins Collection of Prints and Illustrated Books sold at auction by Parke Bernet 1977-1983 -- William M. Ivins, Jr. Papers donated to the Archives of American Art by his daughter, Barbara Ivins
Extent
20.5 Linear feet
Date
1878-1964
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.ivinwill
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Citation
William Mills Ivins papers, 1878-1964. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into 7 series. The contents and organization are noted in the individual series descriptions. Series 1: Professional and Personal Papers, circa 1908-1961 (Boxes 1-8; 6.5 linear ft.) Series 2: Writings, circa 1910-1960 (Boxes 8-12; 4.9 linear ft.) Series 3: Publications, 1896-1958 (Boxes 13-14; 2.0 linear ft.) Series 4: Miscellaneous, 1915, undated (Box 15; 1.0 linear ft.) Series 5: Ivins Family Papers, 1878-1964, undated (Boxes 16-20; 4.5 linear ft.) Series 6: Photographs, circa 1890-1940 (Boxes 20-21; 1.5 linear ft.) Series 7: Oversized Material, 1897-1950 (1 OV folder)
Processing Information
The collection was processed and the finding aid written by Cathy Stover in 1988. The finding aid was modified during EAD conversion by Stephanie Ashley in 2002. Additional work on the collection was completed by intern Carrol Park in 2012.
Rights
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.
Scope and Content Note
The papers, 1878-1964 (20.5 linear feet) of museum curator, director, and art scholar William Mills Ivins (1881-1961) consist of personal and professional correspondence, writings, notes, photographs, and Ivins family papers. Ivins was Curator of Prints, 1916-1946, Assistant Director, 1933-1938, and Acting Director, 1938-1940 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection contains professional and personal correspondence with art historians, art dealers, museum curators, print and book collectors, and artists concerning the history of print making, book design and illustration, print collectors and collecting, exhibitions, and museum administration. Correspondence files appear to be complete, and correspondence is of substantive content. Also found are Ivins' published and unpublished writings and lectures, and notes. Of particular interest are the letters from Bernard Berenson, Paul J. Sachs, and Theodore Sizer, each of whom corresponded with Ivins freqently over extended periods about both personal and professional and matters. Ivins' family papers include family correspondence, genealogies, and photographs. The papers of Ivin's wife, illustrator Florence Wyman Ivins (1881-1948), and the correspondence of several other relatives, can be found here augmented by family photographs.
Restrictions
Use of unmicrofilmed material in the holdings of the Archives of American Art requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C., facility.
AAA.ivinwill
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw948e0d1d0-c1e5-4575-b422-cf91cb813195
AAA.ivinwill
AAA
Record ID
ebl-1503512826758-1503512826782-0

Showing 8 result(s)

  • Archival materials 8 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1890s 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1900s 3 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1940s 2 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • 1950s 1 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • William Mills Ivins papers 8 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • CC0 8 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • No 8 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus
  • ead_component 8 Filter by term plus Exclude term minus

Clear facet(s):

Included:

  • Remove Set Name: William Mills Ivins papers / Series 7: Oversize Material close
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences, fellow

  • Metropolitan Museum of Art, honorary fellow

  • U.S. Passport

  • St. Paul's School, achievement award

  • St. Paul's School Diploma

  • Harvard College Diploma

  • Yale University, Honorary Doctorate Diploma

  • Columbia College School of Law Diploma

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