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Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | Newhall, Beaumont, 1908-1993 | |
| Title: | Beaumont Newhall Papers | |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1934-1957 | |
| Quantity: | 1.25 linear feet 3 5" document boxes |
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Arrangement |
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| The papers are arranged in chronological order, and separated into three Series. Series I consists of Library administrative papers from 1934 to 1954. Series II begins with the Beaumont Newhall - Ansel Adams correspondence, from 1938 to 1945, and then concludes with additional Department of Photography administrative material, including several budget statements, from 1940 to 1945. Series III consists of letters between Beaumont Newhall, Nancy Newhall, and Edward Weston from 1937 to 1957. | ||
| The Papers are organized into three Series and two Subseries: | ||
| Series I: Library, 1934-1954 | ||
| Series II: Department of Photography, 1938-1945 | ||
| Series III: Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Correspondence with Edward Weston, 1937-1957 Subseries III.A: Photocopied Correspondence Donated by Amy Conger Subseries III.B: Correspondence Transferred from the Department of Photography |
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Beaumont Newhall: Newhall was born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1908 and graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, in 1926. He studied art history at Harvard University, receiving the degree of A.B. cum laude in 1930 and a master's degree in 1931. He continued his studies at the Courtauld Institute and the University of Paris. He lectured and published extensively in the U.S. and worked briefly at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1935, Newhall was hired as the librarian of The Museum of Modern Art. Two years later, he organized and wrote the catalogue for Photography 1839-1937 [MoMA Exh. #60, March 17-April 18, 1937] at the request of Alfred H. Barr, Jr., the Museum's founding director. The exhibition was followed by the publication of Photography: A Short Critical History in 1938. The two works established Newhall as America's preeminent historian of photography. In 1940, he helped create The Museum of Modern Art's Department of Photography, the first such department at any museum, and became its first curator. Between 1942 and 1945, Newhall served in the military. His wife, Nancy Newhall, served as Acting Curator in his absence. Newhall left the Museum in 1947 on a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, and in 1948 was named curator of the George Eastman House, now known as the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY.
Ansel Adams: Adams was born in San Francisco in 1902 and was educated as a musician by private tutors, but turned to photography in 1927. His correspondence with Beaumont Newhall began in the late 1930s, after writing to several leading museums to propose the creation of a photography department. Over the following years, Adams wrote to several institutions, schools, museums, and photographic suppliers to garner interest and support for the fledgling MoMA department. Adams also encouraged David McAlpin, a newly elected MoMA trustee, to join him in establishing a department of photography at The Museum of Modern Art. While working in California, Adams corresponded regularly with Newhall, helped to curate the department's inaugural exhibition, Sixty Photographs: A Survey of Camera Esthetics [MoMA Exh. #121, December 31, 1940-Jan 12, 1941], and worked with the Circulating Exhibitions Department to send it to several museums around the country. Through letters and sporadic visits to the east coast, Adams worked as Vice-Chairman of the Department of Photography, helping to organize these exhibitions: Photographs of the Civil War and the American Frontier [MoMA Exh. #172, March 3-April 5, 1942], Two Years of War in England: Photographs by William Vandivert [MoMA Exh. #177, April 15-June 10, 1942], Action Photography [MoMA Exh. #240, August 18-September 19, 1943], and Manzanar: Photographs by Ansel Adams of Loyal Japanese-American Relocation Center [MoMA Exh. #265, November 10, 1944-December 24, 1944].
Edward Weston: Weston was born in Highland Park, Illinois in 1886. He first began using a camera at the age of 16. In 1908, he attended the Illinois College of Photography in Effingham, Illinois. From 1911-1922, he ran a portrait studio in Tropico, California, where he was well known for a soft focus, pictorialism style. After a visit to Ohio in 1922, Weston began working in the style he is most famous for, including highly detailed abstractions of shells, rocks, fruits, and vegetables. In 1937, Weston was the first photographer to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship, which he used to photograph the landscape of the West and Southwest. In this collection, the first piece of correspondence between Weston and Beaumont Newhall is dated from the same year, as Newhall began creating the Department of Photography at MoMA. In 1946, Weston was the subject of a retrospective, organized by Beaumont and Nancy Newhall, The Photographs of Edward Weston [MoMA Exh. #311, February 11-March 31, 1946]. By 1948, Weston had taken his last photograph as the symptoms of Parkinson's disease worsened, though he was still involved in the printing of previous photographs. In 1956, the Newhalls curated an additional retrospective at the Smithsonian Institution, The World of Edward Weston, which traveled extensively between 1957 and 1961. Weston died in 1958 in Carmel, California.
This small collection of papers documents early Library history, the creation of the Department of Photography at The Museum
of Modern Art, and both the professional and personal relationship between Beaumont Newhall, Nancy Newhall, and photographer
Edward Weston. The papers are not in any way a comprehensive history of the MoMA Library, nor of the Department of Photography,
but they offer a broad overview of the Departments in their fledgling states. The entire collection consists of administrative
papers of the Library from 1934 to 1954; correspondence between MoMA Librarian Beaumont Newhall and photographer Ansel Adams,
tracing the establishment and development of the Department of Photography from 1938 to 1945; as well as correspondence between
Beaumont Newhall and photographer Edward Weston from 1937 to 1957. The collection is divided into three Series.
Series I consists of four folders that include minutes from Library Committee meetings, lists of members, fundraising activities,
lists of proposed and recent book acquisitions, early attempts at creating a consistent bibliographical format, and Beaumont
Newhall's application material for the position of MoMA Librarian.
Series II begins with the correspondence regarding the founding of the Department of Photography and is primarily between
Beaumont Newhall and Ansel Adams, but also includes David McAlpin, Nancy Newhall, and Willard Morgan, the Department's first
Director. The correspondence covers the first ten years of the Department of Photography, revealing the initial efforts involved
in creating a new museum department, and forms what can be considered the crux of the collection, as it is the most extensive
and substantive. Series II also includes budget and expense reports and initial administrative papers from the Department
of Photography.
Subseries III.A and III.B in Series III similarly cover the first ten years of the Department of Photography, as well as the
planning of an Edward Weston exhibition, and the correspondence is primarily among Beaumont Newhall, Nancy Newhall, and Weston,
but also includes Charis Wilson, Weston's second wife, and Dody Weston Thompson, Weston's assistant. When Beaumont Newhall
served in the army from 1942-1945, his wife, Nancy Newhall, became Acting Curator of the Department of Photography in his
absence and helped organize The Photographs of Edward Weston [MoMA Exh. #311, February 11-March 31, 1946.]. The correspondence continued after Beaumont Newhall left MoMA in 1946 and,
in 1948, was named curator of the George Eastman House, now known as the George Eastman Museum. Both Beaumont and Nancy Newhall
continued as scholars, curators, and close confidantes of Edward Weston until Weston's death in 1958. For distinctions between
Subseries III.A and III.B, please see notes within each subseries.
The records are open for research and contain no restricted materials.
The Beaumont Newhall 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. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with The Museum of Modern Art. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archivist.
Index Terms |
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| This collection is indexed under the following headings in the library catalog of The Museum of Modern Art. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings. | ||
| Persons and Organizations: | ||
| Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984 | ||
| Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984 -- Correspondence | ||
| Art museum curators -- New York (N.Y.) -- Correspondence | ||
| Librarians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Correspondence | ||
| Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) -- Dept. of Photography -- History | ||
| Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) -- Library -- Administration | ||
| Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) -- Library -- History | ||
| Newhall, Beaumont, 1908-1993 | ||
| Newhall, Beaumont, 1908-1993 -- Correspondence | ||
| Weston, Edward, 1886-1958 | ||
| Weston, Edward, 1886-1958--Correspondence | ||
| Subjects: | ||
| Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984 -- Correspondence | ||
| Art museum curators -- New York (N.Y.) -- Correspondence | ||
| Librarians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Correspondence | ||
| Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) -- Dept. of Photography -- History | ||
| Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) -- Library -- Administration | ||
| Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) -- Library -- History | ||
| Newhall, Beaumont, 1908-1993 -- Correspondence | ||
| Weston, Edward, 1886-1958--Correspondence | ||
The Public Information Records include extensive clippings regarding nearly every Museum exhibition, personality, and event.
For complementary exhibition-related materials, please consult The Museum of Modern Art Exhibition Records, Department of Circulating Exhibitions Records, and the International Council and International Program Records.
The first two series were created by the Department of Photography and accessioned into the Library of The Museum of Modern
Art via internal transfer at an unspecified date. The Papers entered the collection of the MoMA Archives at the time of the
Department's founding in 1989.
Amy Conger sent Subseries III.A of Edward Weston correspondence to John Szarkowski in The Museum of Modern Art's Department
of Photography in 1981. The files were later transferred to the MoMA Library, who subsequently gave them to the Archives in
2008. They were processed and added to this collection in 2022.
In 2023, the Department of Photography transferred the correspondence in Subseries III.B to the MoMA Archives; the files were
processed and added to this collection in 2023.
Beaumont Newhall Papers, [series.folder]. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York.
The records are in good condition. There is minimal tearing of the onion skin paper and a few instances of rusted paperclip impressions.
Explanation of Abbreviations
ACS is an Autographed Card Signed.
ALS is an Autographed Letter Signed.
TLS is a Typed Letter Signed.
TL stands for Typed Letter.
MoMA is The Museum of Modern Art.
n.d. stands for no date.
re: stands for regarding.
Series I: Library 1934-1954 |
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Series I consists of Library administrative papers. |
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| Folder | Title | Date |
| I.1 | Early Library Correspondence Application materials for Beaumont Newhall |
8/23/1935-5/9/1954 |
| I.2 | Library Committees Minutes and agendas of Library Committee meetings |
12/31/1934-12/6/1935 |
| I.3 | Library Business Lists of books considered for purchase by MoMA Library, many focusing on dance and theater |
3/30/1936-1/1/1943 |
| I.4 | Japan Art Bibliography of Modern Japanese Art, n.d. |
n.d. |
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Series II: Department of Photography 1938-1945 |
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Series II begins with the Beaumont Newhall - Ansel Adams correspondence, from 1938 to 1945, and then concludes with additional Department of Photography administrative material, including several budget statements, from 1940 to 1945. |
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| Folder | Title | Date |
| II.1 | Adams Correspondence: 1938-1940 Initial correspondence between Beaumont Newhall and Ansel Adams concerning Adam's book,
Making a Photograph |
2/14/1938-10/17/1940 |
| II.2 | Adams Correspondence: 1940-1941 Correspondence from Ansel Adams to various photographic departments, institutes, and suppliers requesting information, data,
suggestions, and technical advice for the newly formed MoMA Department of Photography |
4/28/1938-12/22/1941 |
| II.3 | Adams Correspondence: 1941-1942 Correspondence between Ansel Adams in California and Beaumont Newhall (and later, Nancy Newhall) concerning technical aspects
of framing, matting, and mounting shows, including
Photographs of the Civil War and the American Frontier [MoMA Exh. #172, March 3-April 5, 1942] and
Two Years of War in England: Photographs by William Vandivert [MoMA Exh. #177, April 15-June 10, 1942] |
12/10/1941-10/28/1942 |
| II.4 | Adams Correspondence: 1943-1945 Correspondence between Ansel Adams and Nancy Newhall about the planning of exhibitions
Action Photography [MoMA Exh. #240, August 18-September 19, 1943] and
Manzanar: Photographs by Ansel Adams of Loyal Japanese-American Relocation Center [MoMA Exh. #265, November 10, 1944-December 24, 1944] and outlining the development of Department of Photography |
1/28/1943-1/14/1945 |
| II.5 | Projects: Ideas in Photography Department Detailed lists of projects and programs for the Department of Photography |
10/21/1940-5/14/1945 |
| II.6 | Personnel: Photography Department Documents detailing the creation of the position of Director of Photography, and the proposed expansion of the Department. |
4/30/1943-5/3/1944 |
| II.7 | Analyst's File: Budget, 1944 Documents outlining budget changes and re-allocation of funds |
5/11/1943-9/29/1944 |
| II.8 | Budget: 1945-1946 Department of Photography budget estimate for 1945/46 |
6/30/1944-6/3/1945 |
| II.9 | Annotated Copy of Photography 1839-1937 This 1937 publication, Photography 1839-1937, is annotated by Newhall with revisions for the 1938 publication, Photography: A Short Critical History. This folder was added in 2022. |
1938 |
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Series III: Beaumont and Nancy Newhall Correspondence with Edward Weston 1937-1957 |
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Correspondence in Series III covers the first ten years of the Department of Photography, as well as the planning of an Edward
Weston exhibition. The correspondence is primarily among Beaumont Newhall, Nancy Newhall, and Weston, but also includes Charis
Wilson, Weston's second wife, and Dody Weston Thompson, Weston's assistant. When Beaumont Newhall served in the army from
1942-1945, his wife, Nancy Newhall, became Acting Curator of the Department of Photography in his absence and helped organize
The Photographs of Edward Weston [MoMA Exh. #311, February 11-March 31, 1946]. The correspondence continued after Beaumont Newhall left MoMA in 1946 and,
in 1948, was named curator of the George Eastman House, now known as the George Eastman Museum. Both Beaumont and Nancy Newhall
continued as scholars, curators, and close confidantes of Edward Weston until Weston's death in 1958. |
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Subseries III.A: Photocopied Correspondence Donated by Amy Conger 1937-1957 |
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Subseries III.A contains photocopies of correspondence among Beaumont Newhall, Nancy Newhall, and Edward Weston, from 1937
to 1957, arranged chronologically. Amy Conger sent this correspondence to John Szarkowski in The Museum of Modern Art's Department
of Photography in 1981. The files were later transferred to the MoMA Library, who subsequently gave them to the Archives in
2008. They were processed and added to this collection in 2022. Items were received in one stack, which the processing archivist
subsequently divided into five folders. |
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| Folder | Title | Date |
| III.A.1 | Weston Correspondence: 1937-1942 Correspondence covers the new Department of Photography, Weston's printing techniques, Weston's commission to illustrate Leaves of Grass, the impact of World War II on the Museum's finances (causing a delay in Weston's exhibition), and Newhall's drafting into the Photo Intelligence Detachment of the United States Army Air Force. See III.B.1 for letters by Edward Weston dated 9/23/1938 and 4/9/1940. See III.B.3 for a letter by Edward Weston dated 12/2/1941. These letters are not present in this folder. |
4/20/1937-12/10/1942 |
| III.A.2 | Weston Correspondence: 1943-1945 Correspondence with Nancy Newhall predominates as she assumes the role of Acting Curator, helping to organize The Photographs of Edward Weston [MoMA Exh. #311, February 11-March 31, 1946]. Edward Steichen's forthcoming appointment as head of the Department of Photography is discussed. See III.B.6 for a letter by Nancy Newhall dated 12/22/1943 and a letter by Edward Weston dated 1/1/1944. See III.B.7 for a biography of Edward Weston dated 12/17/1945. These letters and biography are not present in this folder. |
1/1/1943-12/29/1945 |
| III.A.3 | Weston Correspondence: 1946-1947 Correspondence covers reactions to The Photographs of Edward Weston [MoMA Exh. #311, February 11-March 31, 1946], and also includes discussion of Weston's health and divorce, Nancy Newhall's book on Paul Strand, Beaumont Newhall's teaching position at Black Mountain College, the death of Alfred Stieglitz, and the founding of the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, New York. See III.B.8 for a letter by Edward Weston dated early 1946 and a chronology and essay about Weston. These items are not present in this folder. |
1/3/1943-12/28/1947 |
| III.A.4 | Weston Correspondence: 1948-1952 Correspondence covers Beaumont Newhall's appointment as curator of the George Eastman Museum in 1948, as well as other topics. See III.B.11 for a letter by Edward Weston dated 3/18/1949. See III.B.12 for a checklist of works by Weston dated 1950. These items are not present in this folder. |
1/17/1948-11/30/1952 |
| III.A.5 | Weston Correspondence: 1953-1957 Correspondence covers Weston's worsening health with some letters written by Dody Weston Thompson on his behalf. Final correspondence includes discussion of a feature in LIFE Magazine in 1956 and the itinerary of the Smithsonian exhibition, The World of Edward Weston, organized by the Newhalls. See III.B.18 for a letter by Edward Weston dated early 1956. This letter is not present in this folder. |
1/19/1953-6/3/1957 |
Subseries III.B: Correspondence Transferred from the Department of Photography 1937-1957 |
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Subseries III.B comprises the original correspondence from which Subseries III.A was photocopied and is similarly arranged chronologically by folder. After Subseries III.A was processed, the Department of Photography transferred this correspondence to the MoMA Archives, which was subsequently processed and added to this collection in 2023. Original order and original folder titles were maintained; handwritten notes on folder labels were transcribed, though neither the Department of Photography nor the MoMA Archives knows the meaning of "vault." When letters are marked "missing" they are usually present in the folder in photocopy form. There are also initials and other markings on the letters, which also appear on those in Subseries III.A, though neither the Department of Photography nor the MoMA Archives knows the meaning of these annotations. |
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| Folder | Title | Date |
| III.B.1 | "LETTERS Weston - 1937-38" | 4/20/1937-11/14/1938 |
| III.B.2 | "LETTERS Weston - 1940" Note on original folder: "originals (11/21 orig missing)" See III.A.1 for a letter by Edward Weston dated 4/9/1940. This letter is not present in this folder. |
4/9/1940-12/24/1940 |
| III.B.3 | "LETTERS Weston - 1941" Note on original folder: "VAULT COMPLETE" |
3/20/1941-12/27/1941 |
| III.B.4 | "LETTERS Weston - 1942" Note on original folder: "missing origs 2-42 7/9 2/27 7/30 9/2 9/20 10/26" |
1/15/1942-12/10/1942 |
| III.B.5 | "LETTERS Weston - 1943" Note on original folder: "vault seems complete" |
1/1943-9/21/1943 |
| III.B.6 | "LETTERS Weston - 1944" Note on original folder: "vault" |
12/22/1943-12/6/1944 |
| III.B.7 | "LETTERS Weston - 1945" Note on original folder: "vault" See III.A.2 for letters by Edward Weston dated 7/1945 and after 8/1945 and a letter by Nancy Newhall dated 10/5/1945. These letters are not present in this folder. |
1/1945-12/29/1945 |
| III.B.8 | "LETTERS Weston - 1946" Note on original folder: "VAULT missing origs. 3/20 -> EW for BN" |
1/3/1946-12/17/1946 |
| III.B.9 | "LETTERS Weston - 1947" Note on original folder: "VAULT" |
1/11/1947-12/28/1947 |
| III.B.10 | "LETTERS Weston - 1948" Note on original folder: "VAULT complete" See III.A.4 for a letter by Edward Weston, likely dated 1948. This letter is not present in this folder. |
1/17/1948-12/20/1948 |
| III.B.11 | "LETTERS Weston - 1949" Note on original folder: "VAULT missing original of 12/11/49" |
1/17/1949-12/22/1949 |
| III.B.12 | "LETTERS Weston - 1950" Note on original folder: "all VAULT" |
3/2/1950-12/6/1950 |
| III.B.13 | "LETTERS Weston - 1951" Note on original folder: "VAULT" See III.A.4 for a letter by Edward Weston dated 2/27/1951. This letter is not present in this folder. |
1/31/1951-12/27/1951 |
| III.B.14 | "LETTERS Weston - 1952" Note on original folder: "VAULT" See III.A.4 for a letter by Edward Weston dated 3/24/1952. This letter is not present in this folder. |
1/2/1952-11/30/1952 |
| III.B.15 | "LETTERS Weston - 1953" Note on original folder: "VAULT" |
1/19/1953-11/12/1953 |
| III.B.16 | "LETTERS Weston - 1954" Note on original folder: "VAULT" |
1/15/1954-11/22/1954 |
| III.B.17 | "Weston Letters - 1955" Note on original folder: "VAULT" |
5/12/1955-12/2/1955 |
| III.B.18 | "LETTERS Weston - 1956" Note on original folder: "VAULT" |
2/13/1956-10/1/1956 |
| III.B.19 | "Letters Weston - 1957" Note on original folder: "VAULT" |
4/24/1957-6/3/1957 |
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| Series | Folder Range | Box |
| I | 1-4 | 1 |
| I | 1-8 | 1 |
| II | 9 | 2 |
| III.A | 1-5 | 2 |
| III.B | 1-19 | 3 |