The Painting toward architecture exhibition (1947-52), Miller Company Collection of Abstract Art: Documentation and historical information
artdesigncafé - art | Emily Hall Tremaine / Collection | 16 July 2016 | Updated 22 July 2024
LINK: Painting toward architecture exhibition - artworks
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"The part that the Medicis played in Renaissance Italy can be best approximated today by such great corporations as those that I have named and the fact that the Miller [Company] recently won an award for having made the best use of the fine arts to promote high standard in the [caliber] of their own products is truly significant." (Adelyn D. Breeskin, Director, Baltimore Museum of Art, excerpt from speech, 4 April 1948. See below.)
> For an essay overview of the Miller Co. Painting toward architecture exhibitions (1947-52), see Rethinking Painting toward architecture (1947-52). For the c. 1947 press release, see the link among others at the bottom of this webpage. Also, see the accompanying book (not a complete exhibition catalogue) below (or the book at archive.org).
Painting toward architecture was a 28(+) venue art/design show exhibited in 1947-52 by the Miller Company, a commercial lighting manufacturer based in Meriden, CT. A book, not necessarily an exhibition catalogue, also entitled Painting toward architecture was published a year after the first opening in c. November 1948 and then accompanied the exhibition. This book featured an essay by Henry-Russell Hitchcock; a foreword by Alfred Barr, Jr of MoMA; acknowledgements by Emily Hall Tremaine, Art Director, The Miller Company; and a one-paragraph, introductory statement introducing the book by Burton G. Tremaine, Jr., President of the Miller Company, located in Meriden, CT...
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After publication of the book, photo-murals of architecture start to appear in the traveling exhibition with the art, according to found documentation below. Before this, it appears that only artworks were on view.
During and around this time, the Miller Company brought Modernism into their graphic design, product design, interior design concepts and in architecture commissions— the latter largely pursued on a personal basis by the Tremaines. These commissions include a structure, unbuilt, for Meteor Crater, Arizona by Frank Lloyd Wright, and then by Philip Johnson. There was another commission, unbuilt, for the Tremaine House in the Santa Barbara area by Oscar Niemeyer with garden design by Roberto Burle Marx. The art/design activities led by the Tremaines overall can be considered as contributing to the construction of the Modern in America.
Mrs. Tremaine had a very sophisticated communications background prior to working on the Painting toward architecture project. The diverse articles below reflect that sensibility, including coverage in art, design, architecture and lighting publications and more. Events for architects and presumably with Miller Co. customers and prospects occurred at some exhibition venues.
The details of the Miller Company work have largely been buried in history. Below and on other Miller Co. pages, artdesigncafe.com has actively engaged in retrieving this history to provide a fuller picture of its contributions to Modernism.
— R. J. Preece, artdesigncafe.com, 2 November 2017
A. Painting toward architecture: exhibition venues, and primary sources including media coverage
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Venue 1: Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT, (11 December 1947 - 3 January 1948).
> Speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock, 11 December 1947. (See mention in 12 December article listed below.)c. 1947 - documentation(c. December 1947). Various documentation. (Updated 3 June 2018. AAA00115-16; AAA00337-38; AAA00442-52; AAA03333-34. Also: AAA00363.) Including:
c. 1947 - documentation - photo(c. December 1947). Installation photo of Painting toward architecture at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford.*^ (Photo not received from Wadsworth Atheneum archive above.) In Kathleen L. Housley’s Emily Hall Tremaine: Collector on the Cusp. (2001). EHTF Foundation: Meriden, CT. (Viewed 7 January 2018. AAA03337).
various dates - documentation(Various dates). Various (possible) documentation at Henry-Russell Hitchcock Papers, 1919-1987, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. (Updated 2 November 2017. A01177.) 1947 - newspaper article - wire serviceAP [Associated Press]. (28 November 1947). Art exhibit Dec 11.*^ Bridgeport Post, p. 39. (Viewed 25 February 2018. AAA00982.) > No photos accompany the article.
"HARTFORD, Nov. 28—(AP) A collection of abstract art consisting of some 35 paintings and seven pieces of sculpture by masters in the field, will be seen here Dec. 11 in the first of many exhibitions in a two-year, nation-wide tour of the country. The collection, owned by the Miller company of Meridan [sic], is said to be one of the most important of its kind in the United States. It will be shown here first at the Wadsworth Atheneum, as an exhibition called "painting toward architecture." (Excerpt from above in full.)
1947 - newspaper articleMurray, Marian. (28 November 1947). Atheneum to show Miller Collection.*^ The Hartford Times. (Viewed 1 September 2016. AAA00112.) > No photos accompany the article.
1947 - newspaper article(29 November 1947). Miller Collection of paintings to be exhibited to public.*^ The Hartford Daily Courant, p. 4. (Viewed 30 December 2017. AAA00753.) > No photos accompany the article.
1947 - magazine articleLouchheim, Aline B. (December 1947). Abstraction on the assembly line.*^ ARTnews. (Viewed 21 August 2016. AAA00072.) > Photos (in reprint): de Rivera’s Black, yellow, red; Spiralating heat wave cover; graphics examples; Perle Fine’s Midnight; Miller Co lighting installation; Braque’s Black Rose; van Doesburg’s Space-time construction #3. "Thus abstract art finds its maturity and consummation in performing a function, serving the company which is its sponsor (and perhaps eventual mentor) as directly as the art of the Renaissance satisfied the desires of the merchant princes who were its purchasers." (Excerpt from article above. This article is key, describing and showing the Miller Co. usage of art into design at the company.)
1947 - bulletin article(1 December 1947). Painting toward architecture.*^ News Bulletin (Wadsworth Atheneum), p. 2. (Viewed 21 October 2016. AAA00368.) > Photo: Kandinsky’s Animated stability. "One of the most important paintings in the exhibition is Piet Mondrian’s Victory Boogie Woogie... It is peculiarly fitting that this painting should be the focus of the collection..."
1947 - newspaper brief(6 December 1947). Miller Company exhibit at Wadsworth Atheneum [Painting toward architecture; Hitchcock will give an accompanying lecture on December 11]. Meriden Daily Journal, p. 1, col. 1. (Viewed 22 July 2023. N2-00035). > No photos accompany the article. 1947 - newspaper article(7 December 1947). Professor Hitchcock to speak at Atheneum on Miller Collection [December 11]. Hartford Courant, p. D3, col. 2. (Viewed 22 July 2023. N2-00003). > No photos accompany the article.
1947 - newspaper article(9 December 1947). Miller Company art collection to make public debut Thursday [at Wadsworth Atheneum]. Meriden Record, p. 4, cols. 5-8. (Viewed 15 July 2023. Q01145). > No photos accompany the article. 1947 - newspaper article(12 December 1947). Miller exhibit wins acclaim in Hartford.*^ Meriden Record, p. 25. (Viewed 22 October 2016. AAA00374.) > No photos accompany the article. 1947 - newspaper article(12 December 1947). Abstract art exhibited at Avery show.*^ Hartford Daily Courant, p. 23 or 28. (Viewed 30 December 2017. AAA00754.) > No photos accompany the article.
1947 - newspaper articleMurray, Marian. (c. 13 December 1947). Abstract art at Avery casts light on new architecture.*^ The Hartford Times. (Viewed 1 September 2016. AAA00111.) > No photos accompany the article
1947 - newspaper article(13 December 1947). Miss Seaver will talk on Miller exhibition.*^ Hartford Courant. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00171.) > No photos accompany the article
1947 - newspaper article(14 December 1947). New ties are shown between art and industry; Lighting firm’s exhibition also traces modern impact on architecture.*^ New York Herald Tribune. (Viewed 21 August 2016. AAA00074.) > Photo (in reprint): Kunisada’s Japanese actor. "New and closer relationships between modern art, architecture and industry were disclosed here today when the Miller Company of Meriden, Conn., a century-old firm of lighting manufacturers, exhibited its art collection at the Avery Memorial of the Wadsworth Atheneum." (Excerpt from article above.)
1947 - newspaper articleLouchheim, Aline B. (21 December 1947). Using the abstract; Hartford show reveals how industrial firm puts a collection to work.*^ New York Times. (Viewed 21 August 2016. AAA00073.) > Photo: de Rivera’s Black, yellow, red.
1947 - newspaper articleDevree, Howard. (21 December 1947). In form and line*^ [survey article of exhibitions but no mention of Painting toward architecture in the text]. New York Times, p. X10. (Viewed 7 September 2016. AAA00142.) > Photo, with caption: "Jose de Rivera’s metal sculpture, in the current exhibitions at the Wadsworth Atheneum, was adapted by the Miller Company as a symbol for a ’spiralating’ oil burner."]
1947 - newspaper articleSmith, Wayne C. (28 December 1947). Abstract art on view at Hartford Atheneum.*^ The Republican (Springfield, MA). (Viewed 14 September 2016. AAA00115; AAA00154.) > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - exhibition listing(January 1948). January exhibitions [listing].*^ Museum News. (Viewed 25 September 2016. AAA00222.)
1948 - magazine article(19 January 1948). Art in the factory.*^ Newsweek, p. 90. (Viewed 8 October 2016. AAA00300.) > Photo: de Rivera’s Black, yellow, red. "’This is no Barnum & Bailey play,’ says Mrs. Burton G. Tremaine, Jr., art director of the company and wife of its owner. ’Our scheme is directed toward a small industrial audience— engineers and designers who have open minds, or they wouldn’t be in the business. We reach up to them, not down.’" (Excerpt from article above.)
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Venue 2: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, (20 January - 22 February 1948).
> Speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock, 20 February 1948. (See press release, Hitchcock’s talk and photos below.)1948 - documentation(1948). Various documentation. (Updated 9 January 2018. AAA00117-25; Also: AAA00363; AAA00031; AAA00773; G01929.) Includes:
1948 - newspaper announcement(18 January 1948.) Abstractions shown at Walker Center [short, two-paragraph announcement].*^ Star Tribune (Minneapolis). (Viewed 20 May 2018. AAA00851.)
1948 - listing(19 January 1948). Exhibition listing.*^ Minneapolis Star, p. 9. (Viewed 17 January 2018. AAA00819.)
1948 - newspaper articleSherman, John K. (28 January 1948). A bas les conservatives! Modern art takes over.*^ (Discusses three art exhibitions including Painting toward architecture.) Minneapolis Star. (Viewed 25 August 2016. AAA00088-89.) > No photos accompany the article. "At Walker Art center is the amazing collection of modern abstract art, shipped here by a lighting equipment firm in Connecticut, the Miller Co." (Excerpt from article above.)
1948 - magazine articleLansford, Alonzo M. (1 February 1948). Miller Collection presents art as step-mother of architecture.*^ The art digest. (Viewed 21 August 2016. AAA00075.) > Photos (in reprint): Rice-Pereira’s Transfluent lines; de Rivera’s Black, yellow, red; Van Doesburg’s Space-time construction #3. "Industry as the future art patron has been suggested, and the surface has been scratched by the worthy efforts of International Business Machines, Pepsi-Cola, Encyclopedia Britannica, Container Corporation, La Tausca and others. But the approach suggested by the Miller Company seems to be the most practical and promising yet devised." (Excerpt from article above.)
1948 - newspaper listing(8 February 1948). At Walker Art Center.*^ Star Tribune (Minneapolis). (Viewed 24 January 2018. AAA00850.)
1948 - magazine article(February 1948). Art for architecture’s sake.*^ Interiors, pp. 76-81. (Updated 2 June 2018. AAA00294; AAA03308.) > Photos: Ilya Bolotowsky’s Perpendiculars and diagonals, (1945); Jean Helion’s Composition, (1934); Perle Fine’s Midnight; Paul Klee’s Structural II, (1924); Irene Rice Pereira’s Translucent lines, (1946); and Theo van Doesburg’s Space-time construction #3, (9123). "There are certain differences between the Miller collection and those of the giant corporations we mentioned... the important difference lies in the collection itself... unlike the average company collection, it was not assembled to meet the approval of the masses..." "We cannot refrain from mentioning that the original idea for the program was contributed by Mrs. Burton G. Tremaine, Jr. who insists on staying in the background although she is entitled to official recognition not as the boss’s wife but as the company’s art director, and a skilled hand at advertising techniques." (Excerpt from article above.)
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Venue 3: Akron Art Institute (now the Akron Art Museum), Akron, OH, (9-28 March 1948).
1948 - documentation(March 1948). Invitation.*^ (Viewed 17 August 2016. AAA00054-56; Also: AAA00363.)
1948 - newspaper articleTucker, Peri. (7 March 1948). Art world.*^ Akron Beacon Journal, p. 4B. (Updated 23 July 2023. AAA00063; N2-00033.) > Photo: Leger’s Le Petit Dejeuner.
1948 - newspaper articleBruner, Louise. (12 March 1948). Akron’s modern art show has city gasping, "What is it?"*^ Cleveland News, p. 8. (Viewed 17 August 2016. AAA00058-59.) > Photo: Picasso’s Jeune Fille au Chapeau. "The advance guard artists— the school that puts Picasso into the class of the staid old masters— have taken over the Akron Art Institute this month for a show of abstract art that has the whole town talking." (Excerpt from article above.)
1948 - journal mention(Spring 1948). News reports. [Akron Painting toward architecture exhibition mention].*^ College Art Journal, 7(3), p. 232. (Section: pp. 226-42). (Updated 30 October 2017. AAA00272.) > No photos accompany the article.
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(before April 1948). Architectural commission, Oscar Niemeyer & Roberto Burle Marx. Niemeyer: Tremaine House, Montecito, CA (unbuilt); Burle Marx: integrated design for a garden (unbuilt). Niemeyer drawings not in Painting toward architecture traveling show based on current evidence, but published in the forthcoming Hitchcock book Painting toward architecture (1948), p. 53.; Burle Marx 2-D work Design for a garden enters the PtA exhibition by the October 1948 exhibition in Cincinnati.
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> No primary source documentation about Tremaine House (unbuilt) is held at Fundação Oscar Niemeyer, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (as of 6 February 2018. AAA03318). 1948 - documentationOscar Niemeyer. (1948). Tremaine House (unbuilt), Montecito, CA. Maquette and drawings. (Viewed 29 November 2018.)
1948 - documentation as artworkRoberto Burle Marx. (1948). Design for a garden. Gouache. 50 1/4 x 27 3/4 in. 1950 - inclusion in bookPapadaki, Stamo. (1950). The work of Oscar Niemeyer, (pp. 188-95). New York: Reinhold. (Viewed 2 June 2018. AAA03310-18).
2017 - secondary source articlePreece, R. J. (31 December 2017). Oscar Niemeyer / Roberto Burle Marx. Tremaine House & Painting toward architecture. artdesigncafe.com. |
Venue 4: Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD., (4-28 April 1948).
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> Speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock (4 April 1948). (See Carol Wharton article and transcript of speech by Breeskin below.) 1948 - documentation(1948). Various documentation. (Viewed 20 August 2016. (AAA00030; AAA00045-47; Also: AAA00363.) Includes: "The part that the Medicis played in Renaissance Italy can be best approximated today by such great corporations as those that I have named and the fact that the Miller [Company] recently won an award for having made the best use of the fine arts to promote high standard in the [caliber] of their own products is truly significant." (Adelyn D. Breeskin, excerpt from speech mentioned above, 1948).
1948 - museum newsletter(April 1948). "Painting toward Architecture".*^ Baltimore Museum of Art News, p. 7. (Updated 30 October 2017. AAA00027.) > No photos accompanying article.
1948 - newspaper articleWharton, Carol. (4 April 1948). Exhibit notes [with three paragraphs on Painting toward architecture].*^ The Sun (Baltimore), p. A4. (Viewed 7 September 2016. AAA0139.) > No photos accompanying article.
1948 - newspaper articleLouchheim, Aline B. (4 April 1948). Art patronage: London’s new effort.*^ [brief mention, Miller Co. in general]. New York Times, p. X 11. (Viewed 4 January 2018. AAA00764.) > No relevant photos accompany the article.
"Where can there be effective patronage of art in our world?... Industry, too, has yet to prove that its self-interests are not in conflict with artistic expression, the creative programs of Container Corporation and the Miller Company, notwithstanding."
1948 - newspaper article(5 April 1948). Painters’ aid to architects.*^ The Sun (Baltimore), p. 10. (Viewed 18 August 2016. AAA00060.)
1948 - exhibition listing(11 April 1948). At local galleries [listing].*^ The Sun (Baltimore), p. FA4. (Viewed 5 October 2016. AAA00290; AAA00783.) > Photo: Pablo Picasso’s Jeune Fille au Chapeau, (1939).
1948 - exhibition listing(16 April 1948). Art galleries [listing].*^ The Sun (Baltimore), p. 16. (Viewed 5 October 2016. AAA00292.)
1948 - exhibition listing(18 April 1948). Exhibit notes [listing].*^ The Sun (Baltimore), p. MM4. (Viewed 5 October 2016. AAA00291.)
1948 - exhibition listing(23 April 1948). Baltimore art galleries [listing].*^ The Sun (Baltimore), p. 16. (Viewed 14 January 2018. AAA00782.)
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Venue 5: Milwaukee Art Institute (now the Milwaukee Art Museum), Milwaukee, WI, (7 May - 6 June 1948).
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> Speaker: Serge Chermayeff, 7 May 1948, 8:30 PM. (See April 1948 bulletin article entry in the articles section below.)
c. 1948 - documentation(c. 1948). Various documentation. (Updated 6 January 2018. AAA00299.) Including:
1948 - bulletin article(April 1948). Painting toward architecture.*^ [On fourth page, the calendar of activities lists: "May 7, 8:30 P.M. Speaker: Serge Chermayeff". Milwaukee Art Institute Gallery Notes, 20(4). (Viewed 20 August 2016. AAA00064; A01197.) > No photos accompany the article. "[The exhibition] has already gained a reputation for itself of general and lively interest to really large audiences in Hartford, Minneapolis, Akron and Baltimore. Sponsored by The Miller Company, manufacturers of industrial lighting equipment, of Meriden, Connecticut, it is a frank and serious attempt to explain the meaning of abstract art and show that it has a practical and definite usefulness to contemporary living." [...] (Excerpt from above.)
1948 - speech by Serge ChermayeffChermayeff, Serge. (1948). "Painting Toward Architecture." Talk given at opening of exhibition at the Milwaukee Museum of Art. 7 pp. Typescript, with annotations. (Viewed 31 August 2016. A01174.)
1948 - newspaper article(8 May 1948). ’Painting toward Architecture’ exhibit opens.*^ Milwaukee Sentinel, p. 3. (Viewed 14 January 2018. AAA00784.) > Photos: Charles Sheeler’s On a theme of farm buildings, (1947) with Serge Chermayeff with artist Edmund Lewandowski (not in the PtA show).
1948 - exhibition listing(15 May 1948). [Listing: Milwaukee Art Institute - "abstract art".]*^ Museum News. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00316.)
1948 - newspaper articleStover, Frances. (16 May 1948). Art collection of Miller Co.; other shows.*^ Milwaukee Journal, p. 6. (13 October 2016. AAA00326-27.) > Photos: Callery’s Amity and Klee’s Departure of the ghost.
1948 - magazine articleChermayeff, Serge. (June 1948). "Painting toward architecture".*^ Arts and Architecture, pp. 24-31. (Updated 22 November 2017. AAA00109.) > Over 30 photos including those pertaining to the PtA exhibition: Arp’s Relief (1934) (image is upside down compared to Hitchcock catalogue); Bertoia’s Composition; Le Corbusier’s Still life (1925) and Villa Savoye rooftop photo; Van Doesburg’s Space-time construction #3; Klee’s Departure of the ghost and Structural II; Leger’s Petit Dejeuner presumably; John Marin’s A street seeing (1928); Joan Miro’s Personnages dans la nuit (1940); Mondrian’s Composition, (1935-42); Ben Nicholson’s Still life (1947) (dated in article "1927" and image shown on its side compared to Hitchcock PtA book); Oud’s Café de Unie, Rotterdam; Picasso’s Lady with a fan; Rice-Pereira’s Transfluent lines; de Rivera’s Black, yellow, red; Tecton’s Penguin pool; and John Tunnard’s Avenue.
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Architectural commission, Frank Lloyd Wright, Meteor Crater, AZ resort project (drawings presented in May 1948 at Plaza Hotel, New York), not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling show based on current evidence, but published in the forthcoming Hitchcock book Painting toward architecture (1948), p. 43.
1947-99 - documentation(1947-49). Meteor Crater, AZ project (unbuilt): 17 illustrations; 18 letters / telegrams from/to Burton and Emily Hall Tremaine and Frank Lloyd Wright. (Viewed 28 November 2017. AAA00701-720).
1948 - reference photo - site(26 April 1948). Two-page photo of Meteor Crater (presumed). In "Birth of solar system". LIFE magazine, pp. 91-98. (Viewed 28 November 2017. G01730.)
2017 - secondary source articlePreece, R. J. (31 December 2017). Frank Lloyd Wright. Project for Meteor Crater & Painting toward architecture. artdesigncafe.com. |
Venue 6: California Palace Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA, (1 July - 1 August 1948). [1]
c. 1948 - documentation(c. 1948). Various documentation. (Updated 6 June 2018. AAA00066-67; AAA00299; AAA03335. Also: AAA00363.) Including: > Four installation photos*^
1948 - magazine article(June 1948). Painting toward architecture.*^ Architect and engineer (San Francisco), pp. 10-13. (Viewed 20 August 2016. AAA00065.) > Photos: Bolotowsky’s Perpendiculars and diagonals; Gris’s Still life with pears; Helion’s Composition; Kandinsky’s Animated stability; Kunisada’s Japanese actor; Sheeler’s On a theme of farm buildings; unspecified Miller Company installation of Ceilings Unlimited lighting concept. 1948 - missing newspaper articleWriter unknown. (2 July 1948). [Title unknown].*^ Richmond Banner (local San Francisco newspaper). No copy of newspaper on this date known to exist, according to San Francisco Public Library representative. (Viewed 22 October 2016. AAA00115.) On comments by the press document, presumably prepared by the Miller Co. (See Wadsworth Atheneum documentation above), the following is a quote from the article listed above: "... The Miller Company is pioneering a highly practical effort to show the relationship between fine arts and industry. The abstract, which still puzzles many people, becomes wholly logical and comprehensible when translated into architecture or industrial design— and even typography or advertising layout... although the exhibition is primarily intended for architects and designers, it comprises also an exceptional show of historically and artistically important paintings and sculpture." 1948 - newspaper articleDungan, H. L. (11 July 1948). California artists bring travel show to Oakland.*^ (Article surveys three exhibitions including Painting toward architecture, p. C-5. Oakland Tribune. (Updated 6 January 2018. AAA00083.) "... now on a three-year tour of 36 American cities..." (excerpt from above. This is probably false, but no one seemed to know about the 1951 exhibitions found below.)
1948 - newspaper article(17 July 1948). Palace of Legion of Honor acquires first Rembrandt.*^ [Three paragraphs about the Miller Co. show in the article.] Christian Science Monitor, p. 12. (Viewed 4 January 2018. AAA00763.) > No relevant photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper articleFrankenstein, Alfred. (25 July 1948). The new exhibits at the local galleries.*^ San Francisco Chronicle, pp. 20-1. (Viewed 19 August 2016. AAA00061-62.) > Photo of Joan Miro’s Personnages dans la nuit, (1940). "The relationships claimed in this statement seem a little tenuous in the light of the actual objects brought together to illustrate them. [...] all these, seem to exemplify painting influenced by architecture, rather than the other way around..." (Excerpt from article above.)
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Venue 7: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, (7 August - 6 September 1948). [1]
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> No documentation on file at LACMA. (Viewed 8 October 2016. AAA00303; Also: AAA00363.) 1948 - documentation(before 9 June 1948). Packing list (sent by Miller Co. to California Palace Legion of Honor, San Francisco (previous venue); what to send to Los Angeles Museum).*^ (Updated 6 January 2018. AAA00299.)
1948 - newspaper mention(22 July 1948). Outstanding exhibitions include famous paintings [including preview mention of forthcoming Painting toward architecture exhibition at Los Angeles County Museum of Art]. Southwest Wave newspaper (Los Angeles, CA), p. 3. (Viewed 19 July 2023. N2-00028). > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - magazine articleBoyd, E. (August 1948). Art: "’Painting toward architecture’... currently on view at the Los Angeles County Museum".*^ Arts & Architecture. (Viewed 7 October 2016. AAA00295.)
1948 - newspaper mention(1 August 1948). Museum to launch new policy [mention].*^ Los Angeles Times. (Viewed 22 October 2016. AAA00371-08.)
1948 - newspaper article mention(4 August 1948). Art splurge at County Museum varied [with mention of Painting toward architecture]. Daily News (Los Angeles), p. 26. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00027). > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - university newspaper article(5 August 1948). County Museum will display art.*^ Summer News [University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA], 3(19), p. 1. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00201.) 1948 - newspaper articleBarlow Jarvis. (15 August 1948). Art matters [on the Painting toward architecture exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art]. Pasadena Independent (Pasadena, CA), pp. 18-19 (six large paragraphs). (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00026). > Photos: Paul Klee’s Departure of the ghost. "One of the fairly recent developments of the company, called "Ceilings Unlimited", involves the use of geometric and abstract patterns of the paintings exhibited in an endeavor to realize a new architectural design in lighting..." (Excerpt from above.)
1948 - newspaper mentionMillier, Arthur. (15 August 1948). Story of "space" told in touring in touring exhibition at County museum.*^ Los Angeles Times. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00168.) > Photos: Juan Gris’s Still life with pears, (1913) and Picasso’s Lady with a fan (1911-18).
1948 - newspaper mention(31 August 1948). Triple exhibit nears close [with mention of Painting toward architecture exhibition].*^ Los Angeles Times. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00169.)
1948 - newspaper mention(2 September 1948). Triple art exhibit will close Monday [with mention of Painting toward architecture exhibition]. Southwest Wave newspaper (Los Angeles, CA), p. 2, col. 4. (Viewed 19 July 2023. N2-00025). > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper mention(3 September 1948). Art exhibit [with mention of Painting toward architecture exhibition]. Highland Park News-Herald (Los Angeles, CA), p. 5. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00023). > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper mention(3 September 1948). L. A. museum to display triple exhibit [with mention of Painting toward architecture exhibition]. Evening Vanguard (Venice, CA), p. 12, col. 4. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00024). > No photos accompany the article.
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Venue 8: Portland Art Museum, OR, (13 September - 3 October 1948).
1948 - documentation(1948). Object list.*^ (Viewed 13 September 2016. AAA00147; AAA00070.)
1948 - documentation(1948). Object "list sent by Portland, Oregon".*^ (Viewed 10 January 2018. AA00775)
1948 - bulletin announcement(September 1948). Announcement: Painting toward Architecture.*^ Portland Museum of Art Bulletin, 10(1). (Viewed 13 September 2016. AAA00084.) > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper article(12 September 1948). Art museum to present architecture.*^ Journal (Portland, OR). (Viewed 26 August 2016. AAA00085a.) > Photo: Georgia O’Keeffe’s New York Night, (1926).
1948 - newspaper articleJones, Catherine. (12 September 1948). Eastern company sponsors exhibit at art museum.*^ The Sunday Oregonian. (Viewed 21 August 2016. AAA00071.) > No relevant photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper article(12 September 1948). Architecture exhibit opening at museum.*^ Enterprise (Oregon City, OR). (Viewed 23 August 2016. AAA00085.)
1948 - newspaper mention(26 September 1948). Closing dates set for four exhibitions [short mention].*^ Enterprise (Oregon City, OR). (Viewed 23 August 2016. AAA00085.) > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper mention(26 September 1948). Four exhibitions to close[;] Guatemalan textiles next.*^ Journal (Portland, OR). (Viewed 7 January 2018. AAA00085b.) > No photos accompany the article.
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Venue 9: Cincinnati Art Museum, organized by the Cincinnati Modern Art Society, Cincinnati, OH, (11-31 October 1948). [1]
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> Speaker: Henry Russell-Hitchcock (11 October 1948). (See 3 October 1948 Cincinnati Enquirer article below.)
1948 - documentationCincinnati: The Society (1948). Invitation with objects list.*^ [1 folded sheet]. (Viewed 9 July 2016. A00079; AAA00028-29. Also: AAA00057; AAA00363; AAA00774.)
1948 - documentation(1947-48). Various documentation. (Viewed 10 January 2018. AAA00775-80.) Including:
1948 - newspaper article(3 October 1948). Critic [Henry-Russell Hitchcock] to lecture at art museum.*^ Cincinnati Enquirer, section 4, p. 1. (Viewed 26 August 2016. AAA00104.) > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper brief(10 October 1948). Modern art show [Painting toward architecture opens the following day, with lecture by Hitchcock]. Cincinnati Enquirer, p. 6. (Viewed 23 July 2023. C01362). > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper brief(11 October 1948). Lecture to open Modern art series [announcement of lecture by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and opening of Painting toward architecture exhibition on this day]. Cincinnati Post, p. 10, col. 2. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00022). > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper mention(17 October 1948). Museum film stars Simon [brief mention].*^ Cincinnati Enquirer, Section 3, p. 11. (Viewed 28 June 2018. AAA00821.)
1948 - newspaper articleLouchheim, Aline B. (24 October 1948). San Francisco: Division and vitality*^ [art scene feature; Miller Co. SF show mention re. Jul-Aug 1948]. New York Times, p. X 9. (Viewed 4 January 2018. AAA00761.) > No relevant photos accompany the article.
"... The California Palace of the Legion of Honor... Under Thomas Carr Howe and his able assistant, Jermayne McAgy, the museum is up and coming... Ingenious installations for the Miller Company’s abstract art collection and now for an entertaining... show rival the activities of... the San Francisco Museum of Art, dedicated to modern art..."
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Venue 10: Knoedler Art Galleries, New York (for the benefit of the Scholarship Fund of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, (2-20 November 1948).
1948 - documentation(November 1948). Brochure with object list: Painting toward architecture for the Benefit of the Scholarship Fund of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.*^ (Viewed 6 November 2016. AAA00068; AAA00304. Also: AAA00363.)
1948 - documentation(November 1948). Invitation card.*^ (Viewed 20 August 2016. AAA00068.)
1948 - newspaper article(1 November 1948). Art show to help scholarship fund.*^ New York Times. (Viewed 20 August 2016. AAA00069-03.) > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper article(1 November 1948). Abstract art exhibition to benefit N.Y.U. fund*^ [one-paragraph announcement]. New York Herald Tribune. (Viewed 16 January 2018. AAA00793.) > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - newspaper brief(2 November 1948). Miller Co. exhibit benefits Institute [of Fine Arts, New York]. Meriden Record, p. 5, cols. 4-5. (Viewed 15 July 2023. Q01144). > No photos accompany the article. 1948 - newspaper articleLouchheim, Aline B. (2 November 1948). Value of lighting art show feature.*^ New York Times, p. 31. (Viewed 20 August 2016. AAA00069-02.) > No photos accompany the article. "The Miller Company is to be applauded for its courage and its broad point of view, and for the sound way in which it has used art to help its business rather than making its sponsorship a remote beau geste." (Excerpt from article above.)
1948 - newspaper articleBurrows, Carlyle. (2 November 1948). Miller Collection of Modern Art put on exhibition here; Abstracts that created discussion on tour will aid N.Y.U. Institute Fund.*^ New York Herald Tribune, p. 29. (Viewed 5 October 2016. AAA00289.) > No photos accompany the article. "This collection is one which, during the last ten months, has stirred considerable discussion while on a tour of museums from Hartford to San Francisco."— Carlyle Burrows in New York Herald Tribune, (2 November 1948) above.
1948 - newspaper articleF. G. (7 November 1948). The Miller Art Collection and design manual.*^ The New York Herald Tribune. (Viewed 20 August 2016. AAA00069-01.) > No photos accompany the article. "Perhaps too much admiring attention has been given the industrial aspects of the Miller collection..."— New York Herald Tribune (7 November 1948).
1948 - newspaper article mentionDevree, Howard. (7 November 1948). Chiefly Modern: Early works by Vuillard— Prints and prints*^ [mention]. New York Times. (Viewed 16 January 2018. AAA00791.) > No relevant photos accompany the article.
1948 - magazine article(November 1948). Painting toward architecture.*^ Harper’s Bazaar. (Viewed 20 August 2016. AAA00069-04.) > Small photos of Georges Braque’s Black rose, (1927); Le Corbusier’s Still life, (1925); Paul Klee’s Departure of the Ghost, (1931); Fernand Léger’s Les Plongeurs Circulaires, (1942); Jacques Lipchitz’s Pegasus (Study), (1944); Joan Miro’s Personagges dans la nuit, (1940); Pablo Picasso’s New Hebrides mask, (1929); Jose de Rivera’s Black, yellow and red, (1942) [misattributed to Calder]; Charles Sheeler’s On a theme of farm buildings, (1947); Rufino Tamayo’s Clowns, (1942). "Burton Tremaine, president of the Miller Lighting Company of Meriden, Connecticut, sees modern lighting, not as a gadgety afterthought to building but as a structural element in architecture." (Excerpt from article above.).
1948 - exhibition listing(13 November 1948). Goings on about the town [art; listing].*^ The New Yorker, p. 8. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00207.)
1948 - magazine articleCoates, Robert M. (13 November 1948). The art galleries; various ventures in Modern art [half of the article focused on Painting toward architecture].*^ The New Yorker, pp. 118-20. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00208.) > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - exhibition listing(20 November 1948). Goings on about the town [art; listing].*^ The New Yorker, p. 8. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00209.)
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Painting toward architecture book / exhibition catalogue media launch, (c. October - December 1948).
1948 - book / exhibition catalogue(1948). Painting toward architecture.*^ The Miller Company Collection of Abstract Art; essay by Henry-Russell Hitchcock; foreword by Alfred H. Barr, Jr.; introduction by Burton Tremaine; acknowledgements by Emily Hall Tremaine, art director; many artwork texts by Mary Chalmers Rathbun; book design by Bradbury Thompson. New York; Duell, Sloan and Pearce; 118 pp. (Updated 20 July 2023. A00078.) 1948 - important previous Hitchcock essayHitchcock, Henry-Russell. (1948). The place of painting and sculpture in relation to Modern architecture.*^ In The Architects’ Yearbook: 2, pp. 12-23. London. [This article is cited in Hitchcock’s Painting toward architecture book.] (Viewed 2 June 2018. AAA03307). > Several photos of architecture and some artworks. The only photo also appearing in the Painting toward architecture exhibition is Rietveld’s Schroeder House, Utrecht.
1948 - documentation(1948). Correspondence (Miller Company / Emily Hall Tremaine). (Viewed 2 November 2017. A03002.)
1948 - book reviewD. D. (1 October 1948), “Painting toward architecture” [book review].*^ Architectural Forum, 89(4), pp. 158-59. (Viewed 6 November 2016. AAA00240.) > Photos: Le Corbusier’s Still life, (1925), Fernand Leger’s Petit Dejeuner (c. 1921), and Piet Mondrian’s Composition (1935-42). "The key to Mr. Hitchcock’s text is in the title’s connective word toward which might imply a sense of distance as well as direction... through Mrs. Burton Tremaine, wife of the president, the whole program has been intelligently and, from a commercial point of view, unostentatiously made available to public appreciation." (Excerpt from review above.)
1948 - magazine articleThrall Soby, James. (12 October 1948). The fine arts [book review mention, one long paragraph].*^ Saturday Review, p. 44. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00313.)
1948 - new book listing(16 November 1948). Books published today [listing - Painting toward architecture].*^ New York Times, p. 26. (Viewed 22 October 2016. AAA00371-02.)
1948 - advertisement of bookJepson’s Bookstore, Meriden, CT. (18 November 1948). Advertisement: "Painting toward architecture... Critic and historian of modern architecture, Henry Russell Hitchcock, discusses in this new book the relationship of modern abstract art to architecture— Mr. Hitchcock’s text is based upon the remarkable collection of modern abstract painting and sculpture which has been assembled by the MILLER CO. of Meriden. See our window." Meriden Record, p. 2, cols. 2-3. (Viewed 19 July 2023. N2-00021). > No photos in the advertisement.
1948 - advertisement of bookJepson’s Bookstore, Meriden, CT. (18 November 1948). Advertisement: "Painting toward architecture... Critic and historian of modern architecture, Henry Russell Hitchcock, discusses in this new book the relationship of modern abstract art to architceture [sic]— Mr. Hitchcock’s text is based upon the remarkable collection of modern abstract painting and sculpture which has been assembled by the MILLER CO. of Meriden. See our window." Meriden Daily Journal (Meriden, CT), p. 18, cols. 1-2. (Viewed 19 July 2023. N2-00020). > No photos in the advertisement. 1948 - newspaper article on book(18 November 1948). Miller Co. publishes book on its collection of art.*^ Meriden Daily Journal, pp. 1 & 8. (Viewed 1 November 2017. AAA00644; AAA00670-71.) > Photo: Henry-Russell Hitchcock; Harry L. Harrison, Miller Co. public relations director; R. L. Richardson of the Meriden library. "Culminating more than three years of research, The Miller Company has published a book entitled ’Painting Toward Architecture’ built around, and descriptive of, the collection of abstract art and sculpture assembled by the company in connection with its relationship to architecture and design. ... They became interested in abstract art in the early days of fluorescent lighting just before Pearl Harbor when it became clear to them that the era of hanging individual lighting fixtures was passing and the new era of light as an integral part of architecture had opened." (Excerpt from article above.)
1948 - newspaper article on book(19 November 1948). Miller Co. publishes art book. Meriden Record, p. 5, cols. 2-4 (somewhat lengthy article). (Viewed 19 July 2023. N2-00019). > Photo: Henry-Russell Hitchcock; Harry L. Harrison, Miller Co. public relations director; R. L. Richardson of the Meriden library.
1948 - advertisement of bookAssociated American Artists Galleries, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Crestview, CA. (20 November 1948). Advertisement: "Latest books on art: Painting toward architecture by Russell Hitchcock..." Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), p, 37. (Viewed 19 July 2023. N2-00018). > No photos in this advertisement.
1948 - newspaper articleDwight, Edward H. (President of the Cincinnati Modern Art Society). (20 November 1948). Painting toward architecture [book review].*^ Cincinnati Enquirer, p. 7. (Viewed 26 August 2016. AAA00105.) > Photos of Joan Miro’s Personnages dans la nuit (1940) and Stuart Davis’s Composition (1863), (c. 1930).
1948 - new book listing(28 November 1948). Books received [Painting toward architecture listed].*^ New York Tribune, p. E37. (Viewed 5 October 2016. AAA00288.)
1948 - book reviewBarlow, Jarvis. (12 December 1948). Art matters [with discussion on Painting toward architecture book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock]. Pasadena Independent, p. 30. (Viewed 22 July 2023. N2-00017). > No photos accompany the article. "... It is a book which, regardless of particular likes or dislikes, can be of interest and concern to everyone, since it is clarifying that which concerns all of us living in these modern times." (Excerpt from above.)
1948 - book announcement mentionMocsanyi, Paul (U. P.). (18 December 1948). Art in review [with mention of new book Painting toward architecture]. The Bakersfield Californian, p. 4. (Viewed 22 July 2023. C01361).
1948 - book announcement mentionMocsanyi, Paul (U. P.). (20 December 1948). Art in review [with mention of new book Painting toward architecture]. Terre Haute Tribune, p. 4. (Viewed 22 July 2023. C01364).
1948 - book announcement mentionMocsanyi, Paul (U.P.). [2] (26 December 1948). Some books about art [mention of Painting toward architecture book / exhibition catalogue].*^ The Washington Post, p. L5. (Viewed 7 September 2016. AAA00140.)
1949 - book listing(2 January 1949). New books at public library [listing].*^ Buffalo Courier-Express. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00184.)
1949 - book listingHunter, Sam. (9 January 1949). The gold, the glitter [book reviews including Painting toward architecture].*^ New York Times, p. BR20. (Viewed 7 September 2016. AAA00141.)
1949 - book listingBUP (British United Press). (15 January 1949). Art and artists in latest books [mention].*^ The Ensign (Canada), p. 11. (Viewed 7 September 2016. AAA00143-44.) 1949 - book listing(15 January 1949). [Painting toward architecture book announcement].*^ The Booklist. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00314-15.)
1949 - book mention(24 January 1949). Pembroke College gets new books.*^ [Mentions "Painting toward architecture".] The Robesonian (Lumberton, NC), approx. p. 3. (Viewed 21 December 2017. G01878.) For more reviews, scroll down through later sections. |
Venue 11: Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, (16 December 1948 - 15 January 1949). [1]
> Speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock, 10 January 1949. (See article, 9 January 1949, listed below.)1948 - documentation(c. 1948). Object list.*^ [This object list does not include photo murals, which are mentioned in the media coverage.] (Updated 30 May 2018. AAA00138. Also: AAA00363.)
1948 - exhibition listing(13 December 1948). Art exhibitions [listing].*^ Christian Science Monitor, p. 5. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00175.)
1948 - exhibition listing(15 December 1948). [listing].*^ Museum News. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AA00324.)
1948 - exhibition listing(17 December 1948). [Exhibits in brief - Painting toward architecture at ICA listing].*^ The Radcliffe News, p 3. (Viewed 4 October 2016. AAA00274-75.)
1948 - newspaper articleDriscoll, Edgar J. (19 December 1948). This week in the art world— Abstract art artists show paintings in Newbury St.*^ Boston Sunday Globe, p. 12. (Viewed 4 January 2018. AAA00766.) > No photos accompany the article. "... Along with [the art] hang photographs of works by such leading modern architects as Harvard’s Walter Gropius; [Alvar Aalto], former Finnish architect and designer, now teaching at M.I.T.; Le Corbusier, one of the leading exponents of what has been called by critics "the machine for living" type architecture; and others..."
1948 - newspaper articleAdlow, Dorothy. (20 December 1948). Art institute exhibition indicates mutual relations.*^ The Christian Science Monitor, p. 5. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00173.) > No photos accompany the article.
1948 - exhibition announcement(26 December 1948). Painting toward architecture [short announcement].*^ Boston Sunday Globe, p. B2 (ABOVE). (Updated 23 July 2023. AAA00136; AAA00138; N2-00047.) > Photos include, from left to right: the Dudok-designed town hall in Hilversum, The Netherlands; Piet Mondrian’s Victory Boogie Woogie and Georges Vantongerloo’s architectural-looking Construction. (It is not believed that Dudok and Vantongerloo were included in the exhibition.)
1948 - exhibition listing(27 December 1948). Art exhibitions. [Listing.]*^ Christian Science Monitor, p. 5. (Viewed 4 January 2018. AAA00765.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - magazine article(January 1949). Architectural design and abstract art: related to Henry Russell-Miller’s book, ’Painting toward architecture’ and the current exhibit of the Miller collection of abstract art at Institute of Contemporary Design [sic?] in Boston.*^ Architectural Record, pp. 90-4. (Updated 30 October 2017. A01196-01; AAA00166.) > Photos of works in travelling exhibition: Jean Arp’s Relief, (1934); Van Doesburg’s Space time construction III (1923); Kunisada’s Japanese actors, (1805); Matta’s Splitting of the ergo (1945-46); de Rivera’s Black, yellow and red, (1942); John Tunnard’s Avenue (1944). > Photos of works not believed to be in exhibition: Le Corbusier’s Abstraction, (1922); Van Doesburg’s Rhythms of a Russian dance, (1918); Vantangerloo’s Sculpture, (1931). > Photos of architecture in some venues of the exhibition as photo murals: Alvar Aalto, "Senior House at MIT", (1947); Le Corbusier’s "Vestible, Villa Savoye", (1929); Tecton’s "Penguin pool", (1933); Frank Lloyd Wright’s "Hickox House", (1900). > Photos of architecture, as photo murals, not believed to be in exhibition: Dudok’s "Hilversum Town Hall" (1928); Mies van der Rohe’s "Country house project", (1923).
1949 - exhibition listing(1 January 1949). [listing].*^ Museum News. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00325.)
1949 - event mentionDriscoll, Edward J., Jr. (9 January 1949). Portrait exhibitions her reflect varied technique [at end of article, announces Henry-Russell Hitchcock talk on 10 January, 1949].*^ Daily Boston Globe. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00170.) > No relevant photos accompany the article.
1949 - exhibition listing(10 January 1949). Art exhibitions [listing].*^ Christian Science Monitor, p. 5. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00174.)
1949 - magazine articleWight, Frederick S. (29 January 1949). Art in abstract.*^ [The article discusses the historical works and then at the end mentions the (previous) exhibition at the ICA.] Christian Science Monitor (magazine section), pp. 8-9. [Viewed 30 May 2018. AAA00911-38(-40)]. > Photos include: Theo van Doesburg’s Space-time construction #3 (1923); J. J. [P.] Oud’s Cafe de Unie, Rotterdam; Jose de Rivera’s Black, yellow, and red (1942); and Tecton’s Penguin Pool (1933). Other photos include Le Corbusier’s first painting (1918) and "house for mass production" (1920), not believed to have been exhibited in the show.
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Venue 12: Yale University, New Haven, CT (two shows), (c. 14 January - 13 February 1949). [1]
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> Speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock, 9 February. (See article, 24 January 1949, listed below.)
Two shows: At Yale, there were two shows presented, presumably due to space constraints. There was a smaller Painting toward architecture show, and also a show at the Yale University Art Gallery called Sculpture since Rodin which included (at least) four sculptures usually exhibited in Painting toward architecture shows. (See list of works below in the exhibition catalogue listing.) > No documentation related to Yale viewing was located at the Yale University Art Gallery on file. (Also: AAA00363.) c. 1948 - documentation(c. 1948). Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston - Object list.*^ [Handwritten notations to the left of listed artworks: "N.H." and "Col." with check marks. It is believed that after the Boston show, works were sent to the two locations, New Haven and Columbus, as well as Meriden (presumably Miller Co.).] (Viewed 7 September 2016. AAA00138. Also: AAA00363.)
1948 - documentation(1948). Letters: Emily Hall Tremaine to Charles H. Sawyer, Yale director (22 November 1948);*^ Charles H. Sawyer, Yale director to Emily Hall Tremaine (23 November 1948).* [The show is discussed as a scaled-back version due to an exhibition size constraint at Yale.] (Viewed 6 January 2018. AAA00770-72.)
1949 - newspaper brief(24 January 1949). Hitchcock to speak on abstract art [lecture in relation to the Painting toward architecture exhibition at the art gallery of Yale University, 4 pm, 9 February]. Meriden Record, p. 9, col. 8. (Viewed 22 July 2023. N2-00016). > No photos accompany the article. 1949 - documentation(24 January 1949). (Specifying the two parallel shows by name only) Report of Exhibition Committee Meeting, School of Art and Architecture, Monday, January 24, 1949.*^ (Updated 9 January 2020. AAA03341). 1949 - university newspaper article mentionHamilton, George Heard. (January 1949). Speaking of pictures: Artistic activities during the year.*^ [Mention of traveling exhibition as a national event, in a survey of 1948 events, but no mention of the exhibition at Yale]. The Yale Daily News (special supplement). (Viewed 7 September 2016. AAA00137.) 1949 - exhibition catalogue, Sculpture since Rodin(1949). Sculpture since Rodin exhibition catalogue. (Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT.) (Viewed 7 June 2018. AAA03338). > Miller Company (Collection of Abstract Art), loaned artworks, based on catalogue: Alexander Calder’s Bougainvillea, (1947); Mary Callery’s Amity (study), (1946); Jacques Lipchitz’s Pegasus (study), (1944); and Jose de Rivera’s Black, yellow, and red, (1942). |
Exhibition including a key PtA artwork, Black Rose by Georges Braque, but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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Georges Braque at Cleveland Museum of Art (26 January -13 March 1949) and Museum of Modern Art, New York (29 March - 12 June 1949). n. d. - documentation(undated). Listing of exhibition. (Viewed 29 September 2016. AAA00242.) c. 1949 - documentation(c. 1949). Exhibition checklist, three press releases and exhibition catalogue. (Viewed 29 September 2016. AAA00241.) c. 1948 - documentation(c. 1948). Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston - Object list.* [Handwritten notation to the left of listed Braque work: "Cle." with check marks, understood to mean the artwork was sent to Cleveland.] (Viewed 18 January 2018. AAA00138.)
1949 - newspaper brief(19 Feb 1949). Mrs. Tremaine lends Braque painting [Tremaine has lent The Black Rose by Braque for a retrospective exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art and also for its viewing at the Museum of Modern Art, New York]. Meriden Daily Journal, p. 1. (Viewed 22 July 2023. N2-00036). > No photos accompany the article. 1949 - newspaper mention(21 Feb 1949). City items [mention: Mrs. Burton Tremaine, Jr. has lent The Black Rose by Braque for a retrospective exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art and also for its viewing at the Museum of Modern Art, New York]. Meriden Record, p. 12, col. 4. (Viewed 22 July 2023. N2-00037). > No photos accompany the article. |
Exhibition at MoMA based on Painting toward architecture "book".
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From Le Corbusier to Niemeyer: Savoye House - Tremaine House 1949 at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (15 February - 17 April 1949). "The theme of this show is based on Henry Russell-Hitchcock’s book on the Miller [Company] Collection of abstract art, Painting toward architecture..." (Excerpt from press release listed in documentation section below). 1949 - documentation(1949). Documentation. (Updated 31 October 2017. AAA00250-51.)
"The theme of this show is based on Henry Russell-Hitchcock’s book on the Miller [Company] Collection of abstract art, Painting toward architecture... Oscar Niemeyer’s project for the Burton Tremaine house, designed in 1948-49 and intended for a California location, is a brilliant reinterpretation of [Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye]... The 1920 still life painting by Le Corbusier, shown together with the model of the Savoye house... This extreme formalism was, in turn, modified by the free form shapes to be seen in the 1938-39 relief by Jean Arp. These forms, originally conceived by Arp in 1934-35, found their way into architectural expression through the imaginative garden plans of Roberto Burle-Marx..." (Excerpt from press release above.)
c. 1949 - documentation(c. 1949). Exhibition documentation. 400. From Le Corbusier to Niemeyer: 1929-1949 [MoMA Exh. #400, February 15-April 3, 1949]. Museum of Modern Art Archives. (Viewed 29 December 2017.)
1949-65 - documentation(1949-65). Roberto Burle Marx artist file. Emily Hall Tremaine papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. [Contents: clippings of the two magazine articles resulting from the MoMA exhibition mentioned below, a photo of Design for a garden, and 3 letters from 1956, 1965, 1966 that don’t relate to the 1949 MoMA installation or commissioning context. (Viewed 29 December 2017. AAA00734.) 1949 - newspaper articleGutheim, Frederick. (16 February 1949). Santa Barbara beach cottage is shown. New York Herald Tribune, p. 16. (Viewed 29 December 2017. AAA00748.)
1949 - newspaper article(16 February 1949). Art examples viewed. New York Times, p. 29. (Viewed 29 December 2017. AAA00749)
1949 - magazine article(March 1949). Project for a house in Santa Barbara. Arts and architecture, pp. 26-29. (Viewed 12 December 2017. AAA00725.)
1949 - magazine article(April 1949). Produced site unseen: design for a vacation house by Oscar Niemeyer. Interiors, pp. 96-105. (Viewed 29 November 2017. AAA00586.)
2017 - secondary source articlePreece, R. J. (31 December 2017). Oscar Niemeyer / Roberto Burle Marx. Tremaine House & Painting toward architecture. artdesigncafe.com. |
Venue 13: Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, (18 February - 13 March 1949).
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> Speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock, 18 February 1949. (See bulletin article, c, 1949, below.) > No documentation at Columbus Museum of Art on file. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00138; AAA00363.) c. 1948 - documentation(c. 1948). Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston - Object list.*^ [Handwritten notations to the left of listed artworks: "N.H." and "Col." with check marks. It is believed that after the Boston show, works were sent to the two locations, New Haven and Columbus, as well as Meriden (presumably Miller Co.).] (Viewed 7 September 2016. AAA00138. Also: AAA00363.)
c. 1949 - bulletin article(c. 1949). February 18 to March 13: Painting toward architecture [mentions talk by Henry Russell-Hitchcock on 18 February].*^ Monthly Bulletin (Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts), 19(2), pp. 20. (Viewed 22 November 2016. AAA00502.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - exhibition listing(1 February 1949). [listing].*^ Museum news. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00217-18; AAA00322.)
1949 - newspaper articleRoyer, Ed. (27 February 1949). Finally he could stand it no more [article with three sections: on artist George Ehrlich; then two sections related to Painting toward architecture].*^ Columbus Citizen, pp. 12-3. (Updated 31 October 2017. AAA00279.) > Photo: Piet Mondrian’s Composition, (1935-42). "A recent article in another Columbus newspaper did this community a great disfavor. The author dashed off an attack against present-day art that clearly shows no effort to understand either modern art or its objectives..." "’Painting toward architecture’, the most important show of the year in Columbus, is open at the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts... If you are to enjoy the exhibit, you must go to it with an open and inquiring mind..." (Excerpt from article above.)
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Exhibition not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling show, but involving its lead organizer, art director Emily Hall Tremaine.
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The 28th Annual Exhibition of Advertising and Editorial Art of the New York Art Directors Club at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (15 March - 17 April 1949).
> Mrs. Burton Tremaine, Jr., Art Director, The Miller Company, is listed as a jury alternate. c. 1949 - documentation(c. 1949). Press release, exhibition checklist, small catalogue / guide. (Viewed 1 February 2017. A01492; AAA00563.) |
Venue 14: George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum, Springfield, MA, (27 March - 17 April 1949).
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> No documentation at the museum. (AAA00363.) 1949 - exhibition listing(15 March 1949). [listing].*^ Museum News. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00219; AAA00321.)
1949 - short announcement(3 April 1949). "Painting toward architecture".*^ Springfield Union, p. 64. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00177.) > Photos: Charles Sheelers’s On a theme of farm buildings, (1947); Jacques Lipchitz’s Pegasus (study), (1944); Jose de Rivera’s Black, yellow and red, (1942); Leo Amino’s Spring (c. 1946); Pablo Picasso’s New Hebrides mask, (1929); and Joan Miro’s The cat’s whiskers, (1927).
1949 - exhibition listing(4 April 1949). Art exhibitions [listing].*^ Christian Science Monitor, p. 5. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00176.)
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Venue 15: Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, (26 April - 24 May 1949).
n. d. - historical exhibition webpage(undated). Painting toward architecture at RISD Museum (April 26 - May 24, 1949). Historical exhibition webpage presumably in development. (Viewed 20 July 2023. Q01147). 1949 - documentation(1949). Various documentation. (Updated 6 January 2018. AAA00114. Also: A01175; AAA00363.) Including:
1949 - exhibition listing(April 1949). Mid-April exhibitions [listing].*^ Museum News. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00219-20; AAA00320.) 1949 - book listing(23 May 1949). Modern art [new books at local library].*^ The Tribune, (Coshocton, OH), p. 2. (Viewed 28 June 2018. AAA00820.)
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Venue 16: Smith College, Northampton, MA, (1 June - 26 June 1949). [1]
1949 - documentation(1949). Two pieces of documentation. (Updated 6 January 2018. AAA00114. Also: AAA00044; AAA00363.) > (c. 26 May 1949) Objects sent from RISD Museum to Smith College;*^
1949 - newspaper article mention(20 June 1949). Named acting director of art museum at Smith [Henry-Russell Hitchcock; mentions his book Painting toward architecture].*^ New York Times, p. 6. (Viewed 20 September 2016. AAA00172.) |
"Pictures being renovated at The Miller Company— summer of 1949" (according to c. 1984 exhibition overview document. Wadsworth archive.) (Viewed 21 October 2016. AAA00363.)
Exhibition including a key artwork, For internal use only by Stuart Davis, but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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Thirty paintings: Stuart Davis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Franklin Watkins at Santa Barbara Museum of Art (28 July - 28 August 1949); M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco (8 September - 9 October 1949); Portland Art Museum (15 October - 20 November 1949). c. 1949 - exhibition brochure(c. 1949). Exhibition brochure listing artworks. (Viewed 26 October 2016. AAA00380.)
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Venue 17: Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, (30 September - 24 October 1949). [1]
> Speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock, c. 21 October 1949, 4:30 PM. (See documentation listed below.)1949 - documentation(21 October 1949). Program sheet: New York State Association of Architects, 1949 convention, Rochester, NY*^ [lists H. R. Hitchcock as a speaker at the Memorial Art Gallery]. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00180; AAA00199. Also: AAA00363.)
1949 - newspaper mentionNairn, Norman. (25 September 1949). This week in music and art: Kilborn chamber series notable— two gallery openings [mention].*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 76. (Viewed 14 September 2016. AAA00150; AAA00186.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - newspaper mention(27 September 1949). Gallery preview slated [one paragraph].*^ Democrat and Chronicle, p. 17. (Viewed 31 October 2017. AAA00681-82.)
1949 - newspaper mention(27 September 1949). Gallery to hold open house .*^ Democrat and Chronicle, p. 23. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00195.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - newspaper article(28 September 1949). Display to explain aim of Modern art.*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 21. (Viewed 4 September 2016. A01176; AAA00148-49; AAA00185.) > Photos: de Rivera’s Black, yellow and red, (1942) and Tecton’s Penguin pool.
1949 - newspaper mention(30 September 1949). Memorial gallery women’s unit aids plans for opening tonight [short article, mention].*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 30. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00193.)
1949 - newspaper article(30 September 1949). Art study group to begin season [two-paragraph article, mention].*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 46. (Viewed 23 September 2016. AAA00197.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - newspaper article(30 September 1949). Gallery opens series [one paragraph].*^ Rochester Times Union [Rochester, NY]. (Viewed 23 September 2016. AAA00196.)
1949 - gallery bulletin(30 September 1949). Artists and craftsmen.*^ Rochester Times-Union. (Viewed 23 September 2016. AAA00196; AAA00228.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - gallery bulletin(October 1949). The Miller Company Collection.*^ [Hitchcock talk listed in calendar.] Gallery notes, 15(1), pp. 2-3. (Viewed 21 September 2016. AAA00180.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - journal articleSeidler, Harry. (October 1949). Painting toward architecture.*^ Architecture: Journal of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, 37(4), pp. 119-24. (Seidler seems to offer his own take on "Painting toward architecture". For any consideration of the influence of PtA, it is essential to look at Seidler’s impressive later work, as he brought PtA to Australia in a very big way.) (Updated 2 June 2018. A01196-02; AAA00423.) > Photos related to PtA: similar or same Leo Amino Spring, (1946) [no photo yet found of this artwork]; similar artwork or cropped view of Van Doesburg’s Space-Time Construction No. 3, (1923); same or similar director’s house at Bauhaus; same or similar Arp Relief (1934); and Oscar Neimeyer’s Church of Pampulha, among other art and architecture.
1949 - newspaper articleNairn, Norman. (1 October 1949). Old, Modern art contrasted at gallery opening.*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY]. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00192.) > No photos accompany the article.
"... The tie-up between the fine arts and industry is extremely interesting. Paintings are juxtaposed with photo-murals of contemporary buildings, carrying over one to the other such things as space relations, diagonal and horizontal planes. ..." (Excerpt of article above.)
1949 - exhibition listing(1 October 1949). [listing].*^ Art digest, p. 34. (Viewed 7 October 2016. AAA00293.)
1949 - exhibition listing(9 October 1949). Current exhibitions in galleries [listing].*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 10E. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00188.)
1949 - event listing(14 October 1949). Monday study series to hear art talk [two-paragraph article].*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 32. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00191.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - university newspaper articleMeisel, Bertha ’53. (14 October 1949). Scanning the arts.*^ Tower Times (University of Rochester campus newspaper). (Viewed 21 September 2016. AAA00179.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - event listing(15 October 1949). [listing].*^ Museum News. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00319.)
1949 - event listing(16 October 1949). The week in music and art [mention; listing].*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 12E. fultonhistory.com. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00190.)
1949 - event mention(19 October 1949). State architects meet here today.*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 22. fultonhistory.com. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00214.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - event mention(19 October 1949). Architects’ conference to draw 600.*^ Rochester Times-Union. Memorial Art Gallery archive / Rochester Public Library. (Viewed 23 September 2016. AAA00199; AAA00227.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - newspaper mention(21 October 1949). Tea to honor architects*^ [Speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock]. Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 34. (Viewed 14 September 2016. AAA00151; AAA00187.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - exhibition listing(22 October 1949). Current exhibitions in galleries [listings].*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 10E. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00189.) 1949 - event mention(22 October 1949). Chicago scholar sees war stayed at least 5 years [mention].*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 14. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00215.) > No relevant photos accompany the article.
1949 - exhibition listing(23 October 1949). Current exhibition in galleries [listing].*^ Democrat and Chronicle [Rochester, NY], p. 10E or 74. (Viewed 14 September 2016. AAA00152.)
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Exhibition including two key PtA artworks, Still life by Le Corbusier and Fernard Léger’s Petit Déjeuner, but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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Modern art in your life at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (5 October - 4 December 1949). [An art/ design show exhibiting painting, sculpture, graphics, interior and industrial design, and architecture.] c. 1949 - documentation(c. 1949). Installation photos, checklist, two press releases, and small exhibition catalogue. (Viewed 25 January 2017. A01487.) |
Exhibition including a key PtA artwork, Victory Boogie Woogie by Piet Mondrian, but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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Piet Mondrian: Paintings 1910 through 1944 at Sidney Janis Gallery (10 October - 12 November 1949). > Mrs. Burton G. Tremaine, Jr, Miller Co., "Painting toward Architecture", loaned artwork: Piet Mondrian’s Victory Boogie Woogie. c. 1949 - brochure or small catalogue (copy)Sidney Janis Gallery. (c. 1949). Piet Mondrian: 1910 through 1944 (10 October - 12 November 1949). (Updated 22 June 2018. AAA03371a-b; BBB00003; G1805; G1807.)
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Venue 18: Greenbrier Hotel, White Sulphur Springs, WV (during American Institute of Architects, Middle Atlantic District Conference), (4-5 November 1949).
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Speakers: > There was no documentation at the Greenbrier Hotel. (Updated 21 October 2016. A01050-51; AAA00363.) 1949 - newsletterWest Virginia Institute of Architects. (November 1949). White Sulphur meeting.*^ Chapter chatter (newsletter), 6(11). (Viewed 12 September 2016. AAA00145.)
1949 - magazine articleNeal, Allan H. (December 1949). Middle Atlantic District Conference; Greenbrier, W. VA. November 4-5 1949.*^ The Charette (Pittsburgh’s Journal of Architecture and Building), p. 22-23. (Viewed 4 September 2016. AAA00129-32.) "The next morning Serge Chermayeff really baffled us at another lecture, "Painting Toward Architecture." To go with the erudite talk there was hung on the surrounding walls a painting exhibit which was even more baffling. I didn’t understand much of either but it made us feel very cultured and superior. The discussion part of the program was particularly enjoyed." (Excerpt from article above.) See additional entertaining and later coverage concerning Painting toward architecture in The Charette, in the Houston venue "articles" section.
1949 - journal article(December 1949). The West Virginia meeting.*^ Journal of the American Institute of Architects, 7(6), pp. 257-60. (Viewed 12 September 2016. AAA00146.) > Photos of artworks in the background of a group portrait shot: Piet Mondrian’s Composition (1935-42), photo mural of J. J. P. Oud’s Cafe de Unie, Rotterdam; chart(s) by Perle Fine concerning Victory Boogie Woogie; presumed "copy / oil transcription" or "interpretation" of VBW by Perle Fine.
1950 - published speech in journalWalker, Ralph. (February 1950). The architect as a modern, part I.*^ Journal of the American Institute of Architects, 8(2), pp. 57-61. ["An address before the meeting of the West Virginia Chapter and its guests at White Sulphur Springs, Nov. 5, 1949."] (Viewed 12 September 2016. AAA00146.)
1950 - published speech in journalWalker, Ralph. (March 1950). The architect as a modern, part II.*^ Journal of the American Institute of Architects, 8(3), pp. 119-23. ["An address before the meeting of the West Virginia Chapter and its guests at White Sulphur Springs, Nov. 5, 1949." (Viewed 12 September 2016. AAA00146.) "If I may be forgiven, Painting toward architecture makes me think of a ‘bull in someone else’s china shop’”.
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Venue 19: Georgia Tech Hightower Textile Building, Atlanta, GA (sponsored by Georgia Tech School of Architecture and the Architecture Society), (14 November - 12 December 1949). [1]
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> No documentation related to Georgia Tech viewing at Georgia Tech. (AAA03302; AAA03306; AAA00363.) 1949 - newspaper article(6 November 1949). Art show at Tech begins Nov. 14*^ [three short paragraphs]. Atlanta Constitution, p. 6D. (Viewed 19 January 2018. AAA00825.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - university newspaper article(8 November 1949). Modern abstract paintings to be shown November 13.*^ The Technique (Georgia Tech newspaper), 33(35), p. 3. (Viewed 24 August 2016. AAA00087.) 1949 - college newspaper articleCrane, Dave (editor of "The Engineer"). (9 November 1949). Hightower building opening will present Miller exhibit of Modern abstract art.*^ The Agnes Scott News (Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA near Atlanta), pp. 1-2. (Viewed 21 August 2016. A01050-51.) 1949 - newspaper article(13 November 1949). Modern abstract art exhibit scheduled here.*^ [Short announcement.] Atlanta Constitution, p. 12C. (Viewed 4 January 2018. AAA00759.) > No photos accompany the article.
1949 - university newspaper article(18 November 1949). The summing up [review of exhibition].*^ The Technique (Georgia Tech newspaper), 33(38), p. 5. (Viewed 28 September 2016. AAA00230.) |
Possible unknown venue of Painting toward architecture between 13 December 1949 - 7 January 1950. The Agnes Scott News report above states: "An exhibition of the collection in Cuba is planned for the near future." However, nothing has been found yet.
Venue 20: Contemporary Art Museum Houston, TX, (8 January - 2 February 1950). [1]
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> Speaker: Philip Johnson at the Fondren Library, Rice Institute, Houston, 9 January 1950. (See invitation in documentation below.)
n. d. - historical exhibition webpage(undated). Painting toward architecture (by the Miller Company, Meriden, CT) at Contemporary Art Museum Houston (January 8, 1950 - February 2, 1950). (Historical exhibition webpage in development). (Viewed 20 July 2023. Q01146). 1950 - documentation(1950). Invitation.*^ Painting toward architecture, Contemporary Art Museum Houston (8 January - 2 February 1950). [Includes mention of lecture by Philip Johnson at the Fondren Library, Rice Institute, Houston, 9 January 1950. (Viewed 28 December 2017. AAA00736.)
c. 1950 - five installation photos(c. 1950). Five Painting toward Architecture installation photos showing the artworks integrated with photo-murals of designs.*^ [Two are new compared to those previously found at the Austin archive below; one photos shows an almost complete view of the Victory Boogie Woogie representation, which might be a new kind of representation at it is unusually large]. (Viewed 2 June 2018. AAA03304-05; D01036).
1950 - three installation photos(c. 1950). Three Painting toward Architecture installation photos showing the artworks integrated with photo-murals of designs.*^ (Viewed 8 October 2016. AAA00305. Also: A01049; AAA00363.)
1948-1979 - documentation"Contemporary Arts Association / Museum records, 1948-1979". REEL 1778: includes "Painting toward architecture". (Viewed 3 September 2016. A01178.) 1950 - lecture(8 January 1950). Lecture given by Philip Johnson, and other archival information. (Viewed 3 September 2016. A01179.)
1950 - letter to the editorNowicki, Matthew. (January 1950). Henry-Russell Hitchcock: Painting toward architecture [book review].*^ Magazine of Art, pp. 35-6. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00194.) "Painting toward architecture seems another significant step in the growing maturity and self-consciousness of a civilization."— Nowicki in Magazine of Art above.
1950 - newspaper articleHolmes, Ann. (8 January 1950). Show explains paintings’ effect on architecture.*^ Houston Chronicle, Section D, p. 18. (Updated 30 December 2017. AAA00736; AAA00747; G01922.) > Photos: Picasso’s Lady with a fan, (1911/18) and Lipchitz’s Pierrot, (1916).
n. d. - newspaper articleBillfaldt, Patsy. (undated). Functional character of abstract art gets study in new exhibit.*^ (unattributed newspaper source, probably the Houston Post). (Viewed 28 December 2017. AAA00736.) > No photos of artworks.
1950 - letter to the editorRaphael, Orin. (April 1950). Letter to the editor.*^ The Charette (Pittsburgh’s Journal of Architecture & Building), pp. 5 & 7. (Viewed 5 September 2016. AAA00133.) [...] "These experimental painters and many other artistic voices crying in the wilderness are among the abstract artists whose works are collected in the now famous book, Painting Toward Architecture. An attempt has been made to credit these artists with a strong influence on the direction modern architecture has taken. I note that the president of the American Institute of Architects, Ralph Walker, calls this claim a "bull in somebody else’s china shop’. I do not understand what he means by this..."— Orin Raphael in letter above.
1950 - magazine article(April 1950). Architecture... toward painting [parody].*^ The Charette (Pittsburgh’s Journal of Architecture & Building), pp. 20-21. (Viewed 6 September 2016. AAA00133.) "Some time ago a book, Painting toward architecture, was published, purporting to prove how the early abstract painters (cubists, purists, constructivists, dadists, etc.) deeply influenced modern architecture. Many architects howled like stuck pigs when this debt was implied and denied it stoutly... As a small tribute to all architects, we present here our own private theory of how architecture has influenced painting...."
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Venue 21: Isaac Delgado Museum of Art (now the New Orleans Museum of Art) and the Arts and Crafts Gallery, Royal Street, New Orleans, LA, (19 February - 19 March 1950). [1]
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> There is no documentation at the museum or in the gallery’s archive. (Viewed 8 November 2016. AAA00420-22. Also: AAA00363.) c. 1950 - documentation(c. 1950). Letter concerning the shipment of artworks from the New Orleans museum mistakenly to the University of Michigan.*^ (Viewed 29 December 2017. AAA00440.)
1950 - exhibition listing(1 February 1950). [listing - museum].*^ Museum News, p. 5. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00219-21; AAA00318.)
1950 - exhibition listing(1 February 1950). [listing - gallery].*^ Art digest, p. 4. (Viewed 8 October 2016. AAA00302.)
1950 - newspaper article(20 February 1950). Delgado-Crafts art show opens.*^ Times-Picayune, p. 4. (Viewed 8 October 2016. AAA00301.) "The bulk of the exhibition is at the museum but about 20 paintings are at the Arts and Crafts... Photographs of architectural units inspired by abstract art show the real value of the exceptional exhibition. It should be a must for architects and should also be seen by anyone who wants to know what is doing in art in the 20th century." (Excerpt from article above.)
1950 - book mention(March 1950). Painting toward architecture [book review; one paragraph].*^ The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, p. 203. (Viewed 10 November 1950. AAA00422.)
1950 - exhibition listing(1 March 1950). [listing - museum].*^ Museum News. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00317.)
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Venue 22: U-T Audigier Gallery, Library Buildings, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, (2-14 April 1950). [1]
c. 1950 - documentation(c. 1950). Attendance record (2390 persons).*^ (Viewed 21 October 2016. AAA00367. Also: AAA00363; AAA00440.)
c. 1950 - documentation(c. 1950). Letters including those concerning the shipments of artworks from the New Orleans museum to U-T Audigier Gallery mistakenly via the University of Michigan.*^ (Viewed 29 December 2017. AAA00440.)
1950 - newspaper article(23 March 1950). U-T gallery to exhibit abstract art. Knoxville Journal, p. 5, cols. 1-3. (Viewed 20 July 2023. C01359). > No photos accompany the article. "A collection of 39 abstract paintings and nine piece of modernistic sculpture will be shown... Among the works are some by Picasso..." (Excerpt from above.)
1950 - news article(26 March 1950). ’Modern’ paintings at Audigier.*^ The Knoxville News-Sentinel, p. C-3. (Viewed 21 October 2016. AAA00365; N2-00014.) > Photos: Juan Gris’s Still life with pears, (1913); Jacques Lipchitz’s Pegasus (Study), (1944).
1950 - news article(28 March 1950). Art collection start for U-T, ends in Michigan.*^ The Knoxville News-Sentinel, p. 16. (Viewed 21 October 2016. AAA00364.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - news article(2 April 1950). Modern art show opens at Audigier.*^ The Knoxville News-Sentinel. (Viewed 21 October 2016. AAA00366.) > No photos accompany the article. "Several days delay in setting up the show was brought about by shipment of the art pieces to Michigan University [sic] where it will go from here." (Excerpt from article above.)
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Venue 23: Museum of Art, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, (23 April - 14 May 1950). [1]
> Speaker: Prof. Jean Paul Slusser, 14 May 1950. (See mention in 13 May 1950 article listed below.)1950 - documentation(1950). Various documentation.*^ (Viewed 9 January 2018. AAA00424. Also: A01046; AAA00363; AAA00440-04; AAA00727.) Includes:
1950 - exhibition listing(1 April 1950). [listing].*^ Museum News. (Viewed 12 October 2016. AAA00223; AAA00323.) 1950 - newspaper article(20 April 1950.) ’Painting toward architecture’ exhibit planned on campus.*^ Ann Arbor News, page unknown. (Updated 20 July 2023. AAA00730-31.)
1950 - newspaper articleForsyth, George M., Jr. (Professor, Department of Fine Arts.) (25 April 1950). Exhibit of ’Painting toward architecture’ is ’absorbing’.*^ Ann Arbor News, p. 8. (Viewed 20 December 2017. AAA00728-29.) "Anyone interested in modern painting and anyone concerned with architecture, the decorative arts, or industrial art will be absorbed by the exhibition entitled ’Painting toward architecture’..." "... In spite of any commercial overtones, however, the show is of the first rank, not merely because it includes many great names but, far more, because it was assembled around basic ideas." "In conclusion, let us hope that more industrial firms will find themselves with shrewd presidents whose wives have intelligently collected modern work[s] of art". (Excerpt from article above.)
1950 - university newspaper articleEnggass, Robert. (28 April 1950). Art.*^ The Michigan Daily (campus newspaper, Ann Arbor, MI), p. 4. (Viewed 18 August 2016. A01137-43.) 1950 - academic articleEnggass, Robert. (Fall 1950). Aesthetic limitations of non-objective painting.*^ [General reference to Miller Co. and Victory Boogie Woogie. This article refers to his art review above and was published later in the fall]. College Art Journal, 10, 1, pp. 30-35. (Viewed 4 January 2018. AAA00757.) > No photos accompany the article. "... In a similar way, Piet Mondriaan... gives his works such musical names... Victory Boogie Woogie, for example, owned by the Miller Company of Meriden, Conn., is exhibited around the country (in a version posthumously completed by others) with the accompaniment of twelve large and elaborately labled charts which explain the painting’s design..." (excerpt from above, p. 32.)
1950 - exhibition listing(May 1950). [listing].*^ Museum News. (Viewed 25 September 2016. AAA00223.)
1950 - university newspaper article(13 May 1950). The weekend in town [lecture].*^ The Michigan Daily (campus newspaper, Ann Arbor, MI), p. 4. (Viewed 27 September 2016. AAA00229.) |
Venue 24: Memorial Union, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, (sponsored by the Madison Art Association with the cooperation of the Union Gallery Committee), (23 May - 14 June 1950).
1950 - documentation(1950). Exhibition documentation (invitation and program sheet with object list).*^ (Viewed 28 September 2016. AAA00238. Also: AAA00223; AAA00363.) > No photos accompany the program sheet.
c. 1950 - documentation(c. 1950). Letters including those concerning the shipment of artworks from the University of Michigan to the University of Wisconsin.*^ (Viewed 29 December 2017. AAA00400.)
1950 - newspaper article(13 May 1950). Brilliant show opens May 23: Exhibit, "Painting toward architecture," coming to Union.*^ Capital Times. (Viewed 2 October 2016. AAA00239.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - newspaper article(14 May 1950). Miller show explains the abstract.*^ Wisconsin State Journal. (Viewed 27 September 2016. AAA00226.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - newspaper article(20 May 1950). Reception to preview art show May 23.*^ Capital Times. (Viewed 2 October 2016. AAA00239.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - newspaper article(20 May 1950). Union galleries to exhibit collection of abstract art.*^ Capital Times. (Updated 20 July 2023. AAA00239; N2-00013.) > Photo: Van Doesburg’s Space-time construction #3.
1950 - newspaper article(21 May 1950). Painting, architecture exhibit to show space arrangement.*^ Wisconsin State Journal, Section 3. (Viewed 27 September 2016. AAA00225.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - newspaper article(21 May 1950). Reception will precede art exhibit at Union.*^ Wisconsin State Journal. (Viewed 2 October 2016. AAA00239.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - university newspaper article(23 May 1950). Hold reception for art show.*^ Daily Cardinal [University of Wisconsin-Madison student newspaper]. (Viewed 4 October 2016. AAA00273.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - event listing(23 May 1950). Today in Madison ["Reception-opening of Miller show, "Painting Toward Architecture," Memorial Union, 8:15 p. m.]. Capital Times (Madison, WI), page unknown ("editorial page"), col. 6. (Viewed 20 July 2023. C01360).
1950 - university newspaper article(23 May 1950). [News brief under article "Forum to discuss Germany’s future"] Art show.*^ Daily Cardinal [University of Wisconsin-Madison student newspaper]. (Viewed 2 October 2016. AAA00239.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - university newspaper article(24 May 1950). Collection relates art and architecture.*^ Daily Cardinal [University of Wisconsin-Madison student newspaper]. (Viewed 4 October 2016. AAA00273.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - university newspaper article(c. 24 May 1950). [News brief] Art exhibit.*^ Probably Daily Cardinal [University of Wisconsin-Madison student newspaper]. (Viewed 4 October 2016. AAA00273.) > No photos accompany the article.
1950 - university newspaper article(26 May 1950). Miller "Painting toward architecture" show gives a circus atmosphere.*^ Daily Cardinal [University of Wisconsin-Madison student newspaper]. (Viewed 2 October 2016. AAA00239.) Photo: Van Doesburg’s Space-time construction #3. "[Warrington] Colescott [of the art-education faculty] described the current show... as one of the most enjoyable shows he had seen in Madison." (excerpt from article above.)
1950 - newspaper article(4 June 1950). Art exhibit shows influence of painting on architecture.*^ Wisconsin State Journal, Section 4, p. 11. (Viewed 27 September 2016. AAA00226b.) > Photos: Kunisada’s Japanese actor, (1805); Van Doesburg’s Composition XX, (1920); Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hickox House, (1900) and J. J. P. Oud’s Cafe de Unie, Rotterdam (1925).
1950 - newspaper article(25 June 1950). "Most important" art show of kind will open July 5 [mention].*^ Wisconsin State Journal, Section 2, p. 11. (Viewed 28 September 2016. AAA00233-34.) > No photos accompany the article. "[Prof. Robert] Grilley points out that the coming exhibition will differ from the "Painting toward architecture" show recent on view... [this] exhibition will include subject painting of a romantic sort, he says, in which ideas are very important. These canvases are not of a non-objective nature, as were the pieces in the "Painting toward architecture" show, Griffey explains, but they convey human experience." (Excerpt from article above.)
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Possible unknown venue(s) of Painting toward architecture between 15 June 1950 - January 1951.
Exhibition including a key PtA artwork, Victory Boogie Woogie by Mondrian, but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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Recent acquisitions at Museum of Modern Art, New York (25 July - 5 November 1950). > Loaned artwork: Piet Mondrian’s Victory Boogie Woogie, included in show among the recent acquisitions. c. 1950 - documentation(c. 1950). Exhibition checklist, two press releases. Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York. (Viewed 28 September 2016. AAA00237.) 1950 - newspaper articleDevree, Howard. (30 July 1950). Recently acquired: Diverse painting and sculpture placed on view at Museum of Modern Art. New York Times, p. 2 X. (Viewed 4 January 2018. AAA00758.) > No relevant photos accompany the article. "... Two early paintings by Mondrian represent phases of his painting not previously indicated in the museum’s collection and the last "Victory Boogie Woogie" (on extended loan from the collection of the Miller Company) reveals his more complex organization and less strictly purist vein after his coming to this country."
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Exhibition including four, key PtA artworks, but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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Five Modern Old Masters: : Kandinsky, Matisse, Mondrian, Picasso, Braque at Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence (25 October - 26 November 1950). > Miller Company (Collection of Abstract Art), loaned artworks: Piet Mondrian’s Pier and ocean, (1914) and Composition, (1935); Wassily Kandinsky’s Animated stability, (1935); Pablo Picasso’s New Hebrides mask, (1929). c. 1950 - brochureMuseum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence. (c. 1950). Five Modern Old Masters: : Kandinsky, Matisse, Mondrian, Picasso, Braque exhibition brochure. (Viewed 23 June 2018. AAA03372; G02001-05.)
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Exhibition including a key PtA artwork, For internal use only by Stuart Davis, but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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Abstract painting and sculpture in America at Museum of Modern Art, New York (23 January - 25 March 1951). c. 1951 - documentation(c. 1951). Checklist, two press releases, and exhibition catalogue. Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York. (Viewed 26 October 2016. AAA00378.) |
Venue 25: Person Hall Gallery, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, (c. 21 January - 25 February 1951).
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Speakers: > Speaker: Serge Chermayeff, 21 January 1951 (See article announcement below.) > Speaker: John V. Allcott, head of the art department, 28 January 1951 (See article announcement below.) 1950-51 - documentation(1950-51). Various documentation. (Viewed 3 June 2018. AAA00849). > 15 letters*^ 1951 - newspaper article(17 January 1951). Chicago School head visits here Saturday. [Article mentions the talk in the abstract and not the Miller Co. collection specifically.]*^ The News and Observer, (Raleigh, NC), p. 6. (Viewed 3 June 2018. AAA03324). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - newspaper article(19 January 1951). American Institute of Architects sets annual conference; session to run January 21-23 in Chapel Hill [with mention of Painting toward architecture exhibition]. Durham Morning Herald (North Carolina), sec. III, p. 4. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00008). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - newspaper brief(19 January 1951). Architects to meet day after tomorrow [with mention of Painting toward architecture exhibition]. The Chapel Hill Weekly (North Carolina), p. 1, col. 1. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00012). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - newspaper brief(19 January 1951). State architects open meeting on Sunday [with mention of Painting toward architecture exhibition]. Greensboro Daily News (North Carolina), section 2, p. 14, col. 5. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00010). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - newspaper brief(19 January 1951). State’s architects will gather at UNC [with mention of Painting toward architecture exhibition]. The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC), p. 14. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00011). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - university newspaper article(20 January 1951). Architects to hold meeting tomorrow.*^ The Daily Tar Heel, p. 1. (Viewed 6 September 2016. AAA00135.) > No photos accompany the article. "The North Carolina chapter of the American Institute of Architects will hold its annual sessions here tomorrow through Tuesday noon. In conjunction with the meeting, the University Art Department will show an exhibit in the Person Hall Gallery of the internationally known Miller Collection, "Painting Toward Architecture", which includes paintings and sculptures by such artists as Picasso, Henry Moore, Alexander Calder, Georgia O’Keeffe, Lipchitz, Paul Klee, Theo van D[o]esburg, Ben Nic[h]olson, Leger, Kandinsky, Gris, Tamayo, and Moholy-Nagy ... At 4 o’clock in Person Hall Serge Chermayeff, head of the Chicago Institute of Design, will discuss the pictures in the Miller Collection..." (Excerpt from article above.)
1951 - newspaper article(21 January 1951). Architects open sessions today.*^ [Three paragraphs in six-paragraph article mention the annual meeting of the North Carolina Chapter of the AIA, and Serge Chermayeff’s scheduled talk about the Miller Co. collection.] The News and Observer, (Raleigh, NC), p. 11. (Viewed 3 June 2018. AAA03325). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - newspaper brief(21 January 1951). Meeting set for architecture; North Carolina Group will convene today in Chapel Hill [with mention of Painting toward architecture exhibition and talk by Serge Chermeyeff]. The Charlotte Observer (North Carolina), p. 12-A. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00007). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - short university newspaper article(26 January 1951). Campus briefs: Miller Collection [mentions that John V. Allcott, head of the art department, will give an informal talk].*^ The Daily Tar Heel, p. 4. (Viewed 6 September 2016. AAA00134.) > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - newspaper article(27 January 1951). View painting, sculpture exhibit at UNC: ’Painting toward architecture’ now on exhibit at UNC.*^ [Many specific artworks are mentioned.] News and Observer, (Raleigh, NC), p. 7. (Viewed 3 June 2018. AAA03323). > Photo of (presumably copy) of Victory Boogie Woogie, although article doesn’t distinguish between the original and the copies. Also in view are Serge Chermayeff; John Alcott, head of the art department; Henry Kamphoefner, dean of the School of Design of State College; and Lindsey Gudger, president of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
1951 - short news article(28 January 1951). Art [news brief, two short paragraphs].*^ Rocky Mount Evening Telegram, (NC), p. 5A. (Viewed 5 January 2018. AAA00769.) > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - short news article(4 February 1951). Chapel Hill show [two paragraphs].*^ Rocky Mount Evening Telegram, (NC), p. 5A. (Viewed 24 January 2018. AAA00855.) > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - newspaper brief(8 February 1951). Art talk [John Allcott, head of the University of North Carolina Art Department, Person Hall, "Painting Toward Architecture"]. The Daily Tar Heel, p. 1. (Viewed 20 July 2023. C01363). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - newspaper brief(8 February 1951). Art talk today [John Allcott, head of the University of North Carolina Art Department, Person Hall, "Painting Toward Architecture"]. Durham Morning Herald (North Carolina), section II, p. 5. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00005). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - short news article(11 February 1951). At Chapel Hill [one short paragraph].*^ Rocky Mount Evening Telegram, (NC), p. 5A. (Viewed 5 January 2018. AAA00769.) > No photos accompany the article.
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Venue 26: Parthenon, Nashville, TN, sponsored by the University of Tennessee extension center, (4 March - 6 April 1951).
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> No documentation was located at the Parthenon; University of Tennessee, Knoxville library special collections; Nashville Public Library archives; Tennessee State Library and Archives; or Tennessee State University in Nashville special collections. (September-October 2016. AAA00676-77.) 1951 - newspaper article(4 March 1951). Art exhibition opens here today.*^ The Tennessean, p. 46. (Viewed 11 January 2017. AAA00312.) > No photos accompany the article. "’Painting Toward Architecture’, an exhibition of French and American modernists will open at the Parthenon today at 2 p.m. under sponsorship of the University of Tennessee’s fine arts extension here. The collection, on loan from the Miller Co. of Meriden, Conn., contains canvasses and sculpture by some of the foremost figures in contemporary art. Among the artists represented are Picasso, Leger, Juan Gris, Mondrian, O’Keeffe, Sheeler, Klee, Le Corbusier, Maholy-Nagy, and Alexander Calder." (Full excerpt from above.)
1951 - newspaper articleCampbell, Ruth. (2 April 1951). Parthenon art gallery role draws architect’s praise.*^ The Tennessean, p. 4. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00203.) > No photos accompany the article. "Use of the Parthenon here to house various art and cultural exhibit[s] was praised yesterday by Edwin A. Keeble, Nashville architect. Keeble, one of two speakers in informal gallery talks in connection with the hanging of the Miller collection of modern art, said the Parthenon ’cannot be put into the category of a mere replica or something to be unused. ... Also speaking in connection with the exhibit now showing in the Parthenon was Philip Perkins, fine arts instructor of the University of Tennessee Nashville extension center. Perkins spoke on changes and development in art. ... " (Excerpt from article above.)
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Exhibition including a key PtA artwork, Le petit déjeuner by Leger, but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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March - April 1951. Early Léger at Sidney Janis Gallery, New York. (Viewed 19 January 2018. AAA00830) 1991 - citation
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Articles concerning former Miller Company Collection of Abstract Art "Assistant to the Art Director", Mary Chalmers Rathbun
1951 - newspaper article(6 April 1951). Art, politics to share spotlight in programs at Manor Club [debate speaker: Mary Chalmers Rathbun, "curator", Miller Company Collection of Abstract Art].*^ [See Painting toward architecture book (1948) above; she is described in the acknowledgements as "Assistant to the Art Director", who is Emily Hall Tremaine.] The Daily Argus [Mt. Vernon, NY]. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00212.)
1951 - newspaper article(11 April 1951). Opposed views on Modern art heard in Manor Club program.*^ The Daily Argus [Mt. Vernon, NY]. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00213.)
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Possible unknown venue(s) of Painting toward architecture between c. 7 April - 28 October 1951.
Exhibition including two PtA artworks, John Marin’s A street seeing, (1928) and Stuart Davis’s For internal use only (1945), but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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15 April - 15 May 1951. An exhibition of contemporary art at University of Arkansas Arts Center, Fayetteville, Arkansas. c. 1951 - documentation(c. 1951). brochure / exhibition checklist. (Viewed 23 January 2018. AAA00848.)
1951 - newspaper article(20 March 1951). Painting exhibit at university. Camden News. (Viewed 23 January 2018. AAA00846-47.)
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Exhibition not billed as Painting toward architecture but including 24 works from the Miller Company art collection.
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(22- 29 April 1951). [Unknown exhibition title], Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. > Speakers, (a) Joseph Carreiro, head of industrial design department in the Philadelphia Museum School of Art, "The role of the industrial designer", 22 April 1951. [Given location of talk, possibly directly related to Miller Co. exhibition.] (b); gallery talk: Prof. John A. Hartell and Kenneth W. Evert, (Cornell’s Fine Arts Department), 23 April 1951. > "Miller Company" (Collection of Abstract Art), loaned artworks, "19 paintings and five pieces of sculpture", including: Josef Albers’s Flying man (1929/1935); unspecified work by Paul Klee; Fernand Leger’s Les Plongeurs Circulaires (1942); Pablo Picasso’s Jeune Fille au Chapeau; and Jose de Rivera’s Black, yellow and red (1942). 1951 - Cornell newspaper article mention(21 April 1951). Concert opens Cornell’s fifth contemporary arts celebration [mentions exhibition].*^ The Cornell Daily Sun, p. 1. (Viewed 29 May 2018. G01924-26.) 1951 - Cornell newspaper article mention(22 April 1951). University events today... Festival lecture [mention: Joseph Carreiro, head of industrial design department in the Philadelphia Museum School of Art, "The role of the industrial designer"].*^ The Cornell Daily Sun, p. 5. (Viewed 29 May 2018. G02101.) 1951 - Cornell newspaper article mention(23 April 1951). Festival program to include lectures, gallery discussion.*^ The Cornell Daily Sun, p. 5. (Viewed 29 May 2018. G02100.) > No photos accompany the article. 1951 - Cornell newspaper photo and caption(24 April 1951). ’Black, yellow and red’ [photo and caption only].*^ The Cornell Daily Sun, p. 1. (Viewed 29 May 2018. G02102.) > Photo of Jose de Rivera’s Black, yellow and red. 1951 - Cornell newspaper article(24 April 1951). Hartell, Evett discuss exhibit: Panel to review trends in art.*^ The Cornell Daily Sun, p. 2. (Viewed 29 May 2018. G02103). > No photos accompany the article. 1951 - Cornell newspaper articleSemonin, Douglas. (26 April 1951). Art review.*^ The Cornell Daily Sun, p. 7. [Probably coincidental, while the Miller Co. show presumably encouraged "Ceilings Unlimited", an "Inhibitions Unlimited" dance was announced for this evening (p. 5).] (Viewed 29 May 2018. G01927-28; G02104.) > No photos accompany the article. |
Exhibition including at least one PtA artwork, Theo van Doesburg’s Composition XX (1920), but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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7 May - 2 June 1951. Painters of De Stijl. Debut of Abstract Art in Holland, 1917-21 at Sidney Janis Gallery, New York. (At this juncture, it seems possible that other Miller Co. works were exhibited in the show.) c. 2017 - documentation(c. 2017). Exhibition history of artwork document.*^ (Viewed 7 February 2018. AAA00845.)
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Not part of PtA exhibition, but of interest: "Design as a function of management" design conference, Aspen, Colorado (28 June - 1 July 1951).
> Opening Session speakers include: B. G. Tremaine, President, The Miller Company (mentioned in IMPRESSIONS documentation below).c. 1951 - documentationMiddleton, R. Hunter & Ebin, Alexander. (c. 1951). IMPRESSIONS from the Design Conference held at Aspen, Colorado, June 28 through July 1, 1951.*^ Approx. 27 pp. (Viewed 29 November 2017. AAA00721.) "From the viewpoint of designers, these speakers were an elite of American industry... Mr. [Walter] Paepcke’s opening remarks dealt with the purpose of the conference, namely— to discuss Design as a Function of Management..." "Mr. Tremaine stated this his company’s first use of an art form to promote its business was the assembling of an art collection of 80 easel paintings by artists who had had an influence on architecture. The paintings were used for travelling exhibitions and as subject matter for a book entitled Ceilings Unlimited which sold 3,000 copies, an additional 3,000 being distributed to architects. The second phase of the use of design had to do with their product— lighting fixtures, and the solving of technical lighting problems. The company worked on the theory that the best results were obtained by a compromise of: 1. economic factors; 2. aesthetic factors, and 3. utility factors. The design of all the company’s fixtures, he said, was always arrived at by discussion, trial and compromise between those skilled in the three factors mentioned." (Except from booklet above.) 1951 - article mention(31 May 1951). Design conference in Aspen in late June.* The Aspen Times (Colorado), pp. 1 & 8. [B. G. Tremaine, Jr. is listed as one of the speakers.] (Viewed 29 November 2017. AAA00722.)
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Exhibition including at least one PtA artwork, Theo van Doesburg’s Composition XX (1920), but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
6 July - 25 September 1951. De Stijl at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. (At this juncture, it seems possible that other Miller Co. works were exhibited in the show.)
c. 2017 - documentation(c. 2017). Exhibition history of artwork document.*^ (Viewed 11 June 2018. AAA00845; AAA03354.)
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Venue 27: Dwight Hall, Mt. Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, (29 October - 17 November 1951).
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> Speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock, 19 November 1951. (Mentioned in event listing, 10 November 1951. See articles below.) > No documentation was located at Mt. Holyoke College library, Special Collections. (Viewed 4 October 2016. A01201.) 1951 - university newspaper article(26 October 1951). M H C exhibit shows abstract art forms among architecture.*^ The Mount Holyoke News [student newspaper], pp. 1, 5. Mt. Holyoke special collections archive. (Updated 29 October 2017. AAA00296-97.) > No photos accompany the article. "... the exhibit promises to be the most exciting display of this kind ever shown at Mount Holyoke... In conjunction with the painting exhibition, a collection of architectural models will be brough to Dwight Hall from Harvard. Also included in the show is a series of photo-murals. ..." (Excerpt from article above.)
1951 - exhibition listing(26 October 1951). [listing].*^ The Mount Holyoke News [student newspaper], pp. 6. (Viewed 7 October 2016. AAA00298.)
1951 - exhibition listing(27 October 1951). Campus column [event listing].*^ Greenfield Recorder-Gazette, p. 4. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00181.)
1951 - exhibition listing(3 November 1951). Campus column [event listing].*^ Greenfield Recorder-Gazette. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00211.)
1951 - event listing(10 November 1951). Campus column [event listing; speaker: Henry-Russell Hitchcock].*^ Greenfield Recorder-Gazette. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00182.)
1951 - exhibition listing(17 November 1951). Campus column [listing].*^ Greenfield Recorder-Gazette. (Viewed 24 September 2016. AAA00210.)
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Additional exhibition at Smith College, not defined as Painting toward architecture
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(3 December 1951 - 23 January 1952). Paintings from the Miller Company Collection. Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA. > Speaker: George H. Hamilton, Associate Professor of Art at Yale. (See listing in articles section below.) c. 1951 - documentation(c. 1951). Various documentation related to the exhibition. (Viewed 20 August 2016. AAA00043-44; AAA00076-81.) Includes: "On the present occasion, only a selection of the Miller Company’s paintings are on display in this gallery; one piece of sculpture is on the bridge. Several of the paintings and the group of prints by El Lissitsky have been added to the collection since the previous Smith showing."— excerpt from press release (3 December 1951) above.
1951 - event listings mention(1 December 1951). Smith College ["Monday, Dec. 3— 4 p. m., Tryon Gallery, opening of the exhibition, "Painting Toward Architecture"]. Greenfield Recorder-Gazette (Massachusetts), p. 4. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00002). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - documentation(4 December 1951). Press release for PM papers.*^ (Viewed 8 October 2016. AAA00306.)
1951 - event listings mention(8 December 1951). Smith College ["Monday, Dec. 10, 4:30 p. m., lecture by George H. Hamilton, associate professor of art at Yale, Graham Hall; subject, Painting Toward Architecture"]. Greenfield Recorder-Gazette (Massachusetts), p. 5. (Viewed 20 July 2023. N2-00001). > No photos accompany the article.
1951 - event listing(9 December 1951). Campus column [events listing; speaker: George H. Hamilton, associate professor of art at Yale].*^ Greenfield Recorder-Gazette. (Viewed 22 September 2016. AAA00183.)
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Exhibition including unspecified Miller Co. artwork(s), but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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[Exhibition title unknown] at Wildenstein Galleries, New York (to benefit the Whitney Purchase Fund) (20 February - 22 March 1952).
1952 - newspaper articleDevree, Howard. (20 February 1952). U. S. art since 1900 chosen by critics.*^ New York Times, p. 32. [Mentions Miller Company as a lender to the exhibition.] (Viewed 3 June 2018. AAA00755.)
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Exhibition including two key PtA artworks, Jean Helion’s Composition (1934) and Matta’s Splitting of the Ergo (1945-46), but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
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Some businessmen collect contemporary art: An exhibition of contemporary paintings by American and European artists from private collections of American professional and business men at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, TX (6 - 27 April 1952).
c. 1952 - exhibition catalogue(c. 1952). S. B. C. C. A. - Dallas Museum of Fine Arts [exhibition catalogue]. (Updated 10 December 2017. AAA00577-81; AAA00865.)
c. 1952 - brochure(c. 1952). S. B. C. C. A. - Dallas Museum of Fine Arts [exhibition brochure]. (Viewed 27 January 2018. AAA00865.)
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Exhibition including a key PtA artwork, Georges Braque’s The black rose (1927), but not part of the Painting toward architecture traveling exhibition.
La nature morte de l’antiquité à nos jours at Orangerie des Tuileries, Paris. (April - June 1952).
1991 - citationChristie’s, New York. (1991). Important Modern paintings from The Tremaine Collection (5 November 1991). (Braque’s The black rose with exhibition history on pp. 26-27. (Viewed 31 January 2018. AAA00838.)
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Venue 28: Farnsworth Art Museum, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, (c. 8 May - 1 June 1952).
c. 1950-52 - documentation(c. 1950-52). Correspondence.*^ (Updated 3 January 2018. AAA00768.) 1952 - university newspaper articleTeasdale, Molly. (15 May 1952). "Art critic: Farnsworth exhibit".*^ Wellesley College News. (Updated 12 February 2017. AAA00041.) > No photos accompany the article.
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Possible unknown venue(s) of Painting toward architecture after 2 June 1952 but unlikely.
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> Miller Company (Collection of Abstract Art), loaned artworks: apparently 13 unspecified works including those by Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, Kurt Schwitters, and Hans Arp.
... "Painting toward architecture, an exhibit of 13 works from the Miller Company Collection of Abstract Art will be balanced with color transparency enlargement by Ezra Stoller of the new Connecticut General Life Insurance Co. headquarters in Bloomfield[, Connecticut]. Each photograph will relate to the design or color arrangement of its companion painting. Charles B. Ferguson of the fine arts department at Trinity prepared the exhibit for showing in the Library Conference Room." [...] (Excerpt from 25 May 1958 article listed above). ... "In a catalogue note, Charles B. Ferguson of the Trinity are [sic] department says that the Meriden lighting engineers assembled their collection ’on the premise that abstract painting has influenced the development of contemporary architecture’... Connecticut General is indeed one of the remarkable complexes of contemporary American architecture. Its creators were Skidmore, Owings and Merill [sic], architects, Turner Construction Co. builders, Knoll Associates, interior designers and Isamu Noguchi, landscape designer... Mr. Stoller and Mr. Ferguson have cleverly contrived, at least, to make it look as if Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, Kurt Schwitters and Hans Arp had leaned over the drafting boards with them. Dozen artists featured - So we see that the purism, the rectangles, lines and colors of Mondrian apparently born out in Connecticut General’s walls. We see ’the painted construction intersecting in space’ of van Doesburg in the interior layouts. We are advised that Mr. Noguchi’s arrangements for the elegant courts and terraces look mighty like the amorphic creations of Arp. Indeed they do..." (Excerpt from 27 May 1958 article listed above). |
B. Other primary source documentation
c. 1945-55 - related design information(c. 1945-55). Graphics, adverts, product designs, interior design concepts, and design trade catalogues by the Miller Company under the art direction of Emily Hall Tremaine (noting that the business concept of the exhibition points to the development of Modernist interior applications utilizing Miller Co. lighting).
1948 - various documentation(1948). "The Miller Company" folder. Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Papers. (Viewed 3 September 2016. A01180.) |
C. Key secondary resources
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1970s |
1979 - book mention - paragraphKahan, Mitchell Douglas. (1979). "Corporate collecting and American art". In Art Inc.: American painting from corporate collections (exhibition catalogue), p. 12. Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Alabama. (Viewed 16 March 2019. F00583-84; G01986).
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1980s |
1984 - exhibition catalogue(1984). The Tremaine Collection - 20th Century Masters: The spirit of modernism [exhibition catalogue accompanying exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum, (26 February - 29 April 1984)]. [Essays by Tracy Atkinson, Robert Rosenblum and Gregory Hedberg offer information and commentary on Painting toward architecture. Also excerpts of interviews of Emily Hall Tremaine.] Hartford, CT: Wadsworth Atheneum, 188 pp. (Updated 12 June 2018. AAA03352; AAA03355-56; AAA003359-64.)
1984 - speech by Philip JohnsonJohnson, Philip. (1984). Lecture given at the unveiling of the exhibition The Tremaine Collection - 20th century masters: The spirit of modernism. Hartford, CT: Wadsworth Atheneum. c. 1984 - documentation(c. 1984). Documentation: Overview and dates of Dec. 1947-1950 PtA shows at other venues, some PtA-loaned works to other shows during a Dec. 1947-52 time period (not complete), and the 1952 exhibition at Wellesley [not including found 1951 venues]. (Updated 29 October 2017. AAA00363.)
1984 - spotlighted article mentionGlueck, Grace. (8 April 1984). A collection that breathes the spirit of Modernism [with mention of Painting toward architecture]. New York Times. (Viewed 29 November 2023. S00530). "... In 1947 the collection appeared at the Wadsworth in its only other public showing when— a third of its present size— it comprised an influential exhibition called ’’Painting Toward Architecture.’’ Possibly the first corporation-sponsored art show in a museum, it was a collaboration of the art historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Mrs. Tremaine, head of the design department for the Miller Company, a Connecticut rolling mill that also manufactures lighting equipment, whose board chairman is her husband, Burton Tremaine Sr. The show then was geared to attract the attention of architects, potential clients for the company’s fluorescent lighting devices. ..." (Excerpt from above.) 1988 - article mentionMuchnic, Suzanne. (13 September 1988). Johns, Pollock works top art cache set for auction [mention]. Los Angeles Times, Part VI, pp. 1 & 3. (Viewed 18 January 2020. D01060-61). "... Exhibitions of the Connecticut couple’s collection were organized at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Conn. in 1947 and 1984. The 1947 show, called "Painting toward architecture," demonstrated the influence of contemporary painting on modern buildings..." (Excerpt from above.)
1988 - article mentionMuchnic, Suzanne (Los Angeles Times). (16 September 1988). Contemporary art sale likely to set records [mention]. The Journal-News (Nyack, New York), p. C4. (Viewed 18 January 2020. D01058-59). "... Exhibitions of the Connecticut couple’s collection were organized at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Conn. in 1947 and 1984. The 1947 show, called "Painting toward architecture," demonstrated the influence of contemporary painting on modern buildings..." (Excerpt from above.)
1988 - article mentionMuchnic, Suzanne (Los Angeles Times). (17 September 1988). Major works to be sold from Tremaine collection [mention]. Hartford Courant, Connecticut Living section, pp. G1 & G2. (Viewed 20 January 2020. D01063-64). "... Exhibitions of the Connecticut couple’s collection were organized at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Conn. in 1947 and 1984. The 1947 show, called "Painting toward architecture," demonstrated the influence of contemporary painting on modern buildings..." (Excerpt from above.)
1988 - article mentionHowells, Beverley. (6 November 1988). Tremaine collection under the hammer in New York [mention]. Sunday Morning Post / South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), Living section, p. 4. (Viewed 18 January 2020. D01057). "... One of the first purchases was Victory Boogie Woogie (1944), Piet Mondrian’s last work. The collection grew so quickly that by 1947 a landmark exhibition— Painting toward Architecture— was staged..." (Excerpt from above
1988 - mentionMuchnic, Suzanne. (9 November 1988). Record prices expected at N. Y. auctions [mention]. Los Angeles Times, p. H1. (Viewed 18 January 2020. A01502). "... Burton Tremaine, a Connecticut manufacturer of industrial lighting and a pioneer in corporate art patronage, put his collection on a nationwide tour..." (Excerpt from above.)
1988 - PhD thesisRobson, Anne Deirdre. (1988). The market for Modern art in New York in the 1940s and 1950s: A structural and historical survey. [Several mentions; in context of art market and corporate and private collecting. Sources should especially be reviewed.] PhD thesis, University College London. 523 pp. (Viewed 3 June 2018. BBB00001).
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1990s |
1991 - auction catalogue essayChristie’s. (1991). Important Modern paintings from the Tremaine Collection, New York, Tuesday, November 5, 1991. [Introductory essay by Tracy Atkinson, former director, Wadsworth Atheneum; including former Painting toward architecture artworks: Georges Braque’s Black rose, (1927); Le Corbusier’s Still life, (1925); Theo van Doesburg’s Space-time construction #3, (1924); Juan Gris’s Poires et raisins sur une table, (1913); Paul Klee’s Structural II, (1924); Fernand Leger’s Le petit déjeuner, (1921); Joan Miro’s Le chat blanc, (1927); Piet Mondrian’s Composition (1935-42); Ben Nicholson’s Still life, (1947); Kurt Schwitters’s Merzbild, (c. 1922). Also, at end of catalogue, works to be sold in "Contemporary art" sale, 12 November 1991: Alexander Calder’s Bougainvillea, (c. 1947).] Christie’s: New York. 79 pp. (Viewed 12 June 2018. AAA03357-60). "It is always a momentous occasion in the art world when works from a great collection become available in the marketplace, and the Tremaine Collection is indeed entitled to the claim of greatness. Not only was it assembled with superb taste, but it has consistently represented the most important art movements of our time at their very highest level of achievement, while yet remaining a very personal statement. Its historical importance adds additional luster— at its inception it was among the very first corporate collections, and it had extraordinary impact on a whole generation of the art world through the pioneering exhibition, Painting toward architecture, in the late nineteen forties— a critical and formative period for many of us." (Excerpt from Tracy Atkinson’s introductory essay above.)
1995 - secondary sourceScheips, Marguerite T. (Research by Weathers, Allen L.) (1995). The Miller Company, the first 150 years: The story of a successful American business, 1844-1994.* 175 pp. (Updated 19 April 2017. A00093-94; A02239.)
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2000s |
2001 - biographyHousley, Kathleen L. (2001). Emily Hall Tremaine: Collector on the cusp. [Includes chapter on Painting toward architecture, with related mentions elsewhere including information about the associated design activities by the company and Tremaines at that time.] Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation: Meriden, CT. 247 pp. (Updated 28 October 2017. A00095.)
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2010s |
2010 - journal articleBergdoll, Barry. (Summer 2010). The synthesis of arts and MoMa. [Article focused partly on Tremaine House, unbuilt design by Oscar Niemeyer and Roberto Burle Marx’s Design for a garden (1948)]. Docomomo, 42, pp. 110-13. (Viewed 12 December 2017. AAA00723.)
"’This house,’ the show wall text explained, ’represents today’s final synthesis of two important stylistic trends: the strict mechanical formalism of Le Corbusier and the cubist-constructivist movement, and the organic shapes and free-form fantasy of the tradition of Miró and Arp’...
’The Tremaine House... represents today’s final architectural synthesis of [these two] important twentieth century stylistic trends: the formalistic geometry of Le Corbusier, and the free-form anthropomorphic shapes of Arp’.." (Excerpt from text above.)
2013 - mention in bookTroy, Nancy J. The Afterlife of Piet Mondrian. [Several Miller Company and PtA mentions, including reprinted mailing label showing Miller Co. logo: pp. 47-51, 191, 243-44.) University of Chicago Press. (Viewed 14 October 2019. D01033).
2017 - magazine articlePreece, Robert. (July / August 2017). Rethinking "Painting toward architecture" (1947-52). Sculpture magazine, 36(6), pp. 18-21.
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2020s |
2023 - article mentionBelogolovsky, Vladimir. (28 January 2023). Harry Seidler’s exhibit celebrates the architect’s lifework in his centennial year; Vladimir Belogolovsky writes about the life and work of Harry Seidler (1923-2006) on the occasion of his world tour’s last stop in Singapore from February 16 to March 8, 2023. stir world magazine (presumably India). (Viewed 22 July 2024. S01561). ".. The travelling exhibition [on Harry Seidler’s work] which will retire in Singapore is designed to evoke the intersecting planes and basic colours of Theo van Doesburg’s painting, Space-time construction #3 painted in 1923, the year of Seidler’s birth. The painting’s matching colour panels float vertically and horizontally, serving as backgrounds for clusters of large images and table displays. The famed painting was cited prominently in Henry-Russel Hitchcock’s 1948 book, Painting Toward Architecture. The book was in fact a catalogue of an exhibition, which originated at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, and travelled to 24 [sic] additional venues in America in 1947–52. The tour was organised by the Miller Company, a manufacturer of lighting fixtures in Meriden, Connecticut, run by Burton and Emily Hall Tremaine, noted art collectors. Before being a part of the show van Doesburg’s painting was on display at MoMA where it was on loan from the Tremaine collection..." (Excerpt from above.) |
Footnote:
[1] It is important to note that across different sources, the specific dates of the exhibition at different venues can be inconsistent, but only with a few days off here and there.
[2] It is unclear at this juncture but it is believed that U.P. (United Press, later U.P.I.) was distributed news to several media outlets. The number of outlets is unclear but could be noteworthy.
Additional notes:
Please note, most sources will state that there were 25 venues for Painting toward architecture, not referring to the three additional venues that we found in Chapel Hill, NC; Nashville; and Mt. Holyoke College. Therefore we assume that "25" was originally an estimation and not a specific number. Some sources state that the exhibition ran until 1950, which may have been an original plan. However, evidence shows that the exhibition continues until at least 1952.
Additionally, as expected, the full list of media coverage on the exhibition is not known, although The Rochester and Madison, WI viewings show a fuller amount of discourse generation. Researchers are warned that sometimes the indicated dates of an exhibition can vary between documentation and press coverage. Also, as expected in media work, primary source press coverage sometimes makes mistakes; for example in Baltimore the venue was not the Walters Art Gallery, but the Baltimore Museum of Art.
In due course, partly caused by the mass digitization movement, it is expected that more documentation will reveal itself.
READ MORE:
Overview: Emily Hall Tremaine / Collection overview page |
1: Painting toward architecture - Miller Co. press release | 2: Painting toward architecture: Documentation and historical information | 3: Painting toward architecture - artworks and designs | 4: Article - "Rethinking ’Painting toward architecture’ (2017)" | 5: Article - "Painting toward architecture: Three works, three histories, three Modern mysteries" (2017) | 6: Article - "Van Doesburg artworks in PtA" | 9: Miller Co / Tremaine art & design in exhibitions (1945-present)