MoMA
Posts by Celia Hartmann
December 6, 2012  |  Behind the Scenes, Library and Archives
Victor D’Amico Papers Now Available in the Museum Archives
Victor D'Amico, Director, Department of Education, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. undated. Department of Public Information Records. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York.

Victor D’Amico, Director, Department of Education, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. undated. Department of Public Information Records, II.C.54. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York

The Victor D’Amico Papers are now processed and open for researchers to use onsite, by appointment at the Museum Archives reading room in Long Island City, Queens. The collection’s finding aid (inventory) is searchable online from any web-enabled device, along with MoMA’s other archival collections.

October 17, 2011  |  Behind the Scenes, Library and Archives
The Edward Steichen Archive: The Collection in Context

Edward Steichen Photography Study Center. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1967. Reports and Pamphlets, 1960s. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York

The Edward Steichen Archive processing project is now complete. The collection’s finding aid is available and searchable online from any Internet-enabled device, along with MoMA’s other archival collections.

Edward Steichen Archive: The Photographer in Front of the Lens

Unknown White House photographer. "For Edward Steichen with memories of a gay afternoon, Lady Bird Johnson." From left, Edward Steichen, Lynda Bird Johnson, First Lady Claudia Taylor (Lady Bird) Johnson, Carl Sandburg. Rose Garden, The White House, Washington, DC, (April 10, 1964). Chromogenic color print. Edward Steichen Archive, VIII. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York

Among his many contributions to photography in a long and productive life, Edward Steichen (1879-1973) was a master portraitist, capturing, in now-iconic images, sitters as diverse as Gloria Swanson,  Winston Churchill, and Walt Disney (and friends).

Edward Steichen Archive: Delphiniums Blue (and White and Pink, Too)
Edward Steichen with delphiniums (c. 1938), Umpawaug House (Redding, Connecticut). Photo by Dana Steichen. Gelatin silver print. Edward Steichen Archive, VII. The Museum of Modern Art Archives

Edward Steichen with delphiniums (c. 1938), Umpawaug House (Redding, Connecticut). Photo by Dana Steichen. Gelatin silver print. Edward Steichen Archive, VII. The Museum of Modern Art Archives

Edward Steichen: painter, photographer, modern art promoter, museum curator, exhibition creator—and delphinium breeder.

Yes, in addition to his groundbreaking career as a visual artist and museum professional, Steichen was also a renowned horticulturist. While he lived in France, the French Horticultural Society awarded him its gold medal in 1913, and he served as president of the American Delphinium Society from 1935 to 1939. In the early 1930s, after leaving his position as chief of photography for the Condé Nast publications—including Vogue and Vanity Fair—and more than 10 years before beginning his career as Director of the Department of Photography at MoMA, he retired to his Connecticut farm to raise flowers.

November 17, 2010  |  Artists, Behind the Scenes, Library and Archives
Edward Steichen Archive: The 55th Anniversary of The Family of Man

Visitors await entry to The Family of Man, an exhibition organized by The Museum of Modern Art, at the Government Pavilion, Johannesburg, Union of South Africa (on view August 30–September 13, 1958). From The International Council/International Program Exhibition Records. Image courtesy The Museum of Modern Art

This year marked the 55th anniversary of the opening of MoMA’s photography exhibition The Family of Man, a show that was groundbreaking in its extent—503 images by 273 photographers originating in 69 countries—its physical design, and the numbers of people who experienced it.