Werner H. Kramarsky Papers

in The Museum of Modern Art Archives

The Museum of Modern Art Archives
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019-5497
moma.org/learn/resources/archives

© 2008

The Museum of Modern Art Museum Archives

Finding aid prepared by Jonathan Lill.

Biographical Note

Werner H. (Wynn) Kramarsky was a long-time collector and enthusiast of modern drawings. Born in Amsterdam in 1926, Kramarsky immigrated to the United States before World War II. His interest in art, artists and drawings developed early (one of his earliest purchases was of a Jasper Johns drawing from Leo Castelli in 1958). Kramarsky's taste ran to American abstraction, with a focus on minimal and conceptual works. In 1991, after decades of collecting, Kramarsky signed a lease on a space at 560 Broadway. The space was often referred to as the Fifth Floor Foundation (after the name of the non-profit entity created to administer the space), but is most commonly known simply as "Wynn Kramarsky" or the Wynn Kramarsky Space. The space allowed Kramarsky a greater outlet for his collecting interests by providing him a place to curate special exhibitions of young, up-and-coming artists as well as exhbitions of works by mature or established artists. In between the special exhibitions the space was used to display rotating installations from Kramarsky's personal permanent collection.

Perhaps Kramarsky's larger impact on the art world was his generous support for curators and exibitions. He freely lent his own works elsewhere (often insisting on anonymous credit) and sponsored traveling exhibitions of his collection. Kramarsky's generousity and support was further evidenced in the eventual donation of thousands of drawings from his collection to numerous museums and institutions across the country. Wynn Kramarsky closed the exhibition and office space at 560 Broadway in 2006 but continued his participation in the art world, particularly sitting on numerous boards and committees including The Museum of Modern Art and The Hammer Museum of the University of California, Los Angeles, and as Director Emeritus of the Drawing Center. Wynn Kramarsky passed away August 22, 2019.

Scope and Content

The Werner H. Kramarsky Papers represent a set of records culled from the operation of the Wynn Kramarsky Space during it's fifteen-year history and from related collecting and curatorial activity by Wynn Kramarsky. During that period, from 1991 until 2006, the space hosted twenty-nine special exhibitions, seventeen of which were solo exhibitions. Most shows were dedicated to new or recent work, as opposed to having historical perspectives, and the majority of artists represented were not yet considered established in the art world.

The major portion of the papers, Series I, consists of 620 files for over 400 artists Kramarsky collected. Records include some correspondence, exhibition ephemera, news clippings and reviews, and biograhpical material. In many cases the quantity of material is such that these categories are broken out into separate folders. Series II consists of similar material (though a much smaller quantity) for those artists Kramarsky ceased to collect and donated to museums or collections prior to 2004; Series III contains artists' files for artists Kramarsky found interesting or whose career he tracked but whom he had not yet collected or exhibited. Series IV: MoMA Object's Files, contains documents and ephemera related to works donated to or purchased by The Museum of Modern Art. The small number of files present here are photocopies; the originals have been removed to the appropriate curatorial departments in the Museum. Series V contains records of loans of artworks Kramarsky made to outside exhibitions around the world, including those at MoMA. Series VI comprises catalogs and material related to entire exhibitions at the Wynn Kramarsky Space or curated by Kramarsky at other locations. Finally, Series VII contains a small quantity of correspondence, mostly with museums, galleries, and other arts organizations.

As Kramarsky insisted that the focus should always remain on the artist (as opposed to the gallery or the curator), these papers do not include business records of the gallery or personal records of Wynn Kramarsky. Most of the material in the collection was produced or collected during the lifespan of the 560 Broadway exhibition space, though some series contain records from earlier in time.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research and contains no restricted materials.

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Wynn Kramarsky Papers are the physical property of The Museum of Modern Art. Literary rights, including copyright belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns.

Related Material

Further material relating to artists and exhibitions mentioned in the Wynn Kramarksy Papers may be found throughout the Library and Museum Archives.

Separated Material

Series IV: MoMA Objects' Files consist of records and materials relating to artworks now in the Museum's collection. Therefore, it was decided that these records belong with all other objects' files in the appropriate curatorial department and the original documents were removed from this collection. Photocopies were made of all items and foldered and described as the originals. See Series IV below.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Long version: Werner H. Kramarsky Papers, [series.folder]. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York.

Short version: Kramarsky, [series.folder]. MoMA Archives, NY.

Provenance

The Werner H. Kramarsky Papers were donated to the Museum Archives by Wynn Kramarsky in September, 2006.

Processing and Condition Information

The Werner H. Kramarsky Papers were prepared for public access with the partial support of a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.

All materials in this collection are of relatively recent origin and in good condition; the overwhelming type of material is white office paper. Processing was predominantly performed by staff of the Wynn Kramarsky Space under the direction of MoMA Archives staff. All material was rehoused in archival folders and boxes, the folders were labeled in pencil, and folder lists were prepared for each series.

Additional Descriptive Data

Explanation of Abbreviations

MoMA is The Museum of Modern Art.

Container List