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INVENTORY OF THE PIERRE COURTHION PAPERS, 1901-1987, UNDATED
890007
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Title: Pierre Courthion papers
Date (inclusive): 1901-1987
Number: 890007
Creator/Collector:
Courthion, Pierre
Physical Description:
18.0 linear feet
(40 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The collection documents the scholarly, personal and professional pursuits and activities of noted art critic and art historian
Pierre Courthion. The bulk of the material relates directly to Courthion's research and writing projects, consisting primarily
of unpublished notes and edited typescript drafts of essays, articles and monographs, as well as related visual materials
and correspondence.
Request Materials: To access physical materials on site, go to the
library catalog record for this collection and click "Request an Item." Click here for
access policy .
Language: Collection material is in
French with some
German,
Italian, and
English.
Pierre Courthion (1902-1988) was a prominent Swiss-born art critic and historian. Courthion's major projects focused on the
history of American, French and European art including the art of Paris and Montmartre, Romanticism and Realism, the Impressionist
movement, Swiss art, and the contemporary art of his time. Courthion attended the Université de Géneve and received a scholarship
to study painting at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. While in Paris, Courthion spent time in Montmartre where he became
acquainted with and developed friendships with artists such as Alberto Giacometti and Kurt Seligmann and encountered many
of the artists living and working there, many of whom would be the focus of his later publications. Courthion was a student
at the Louvre and did his doctoral work on the painter, Jean-Étienne Liotard. Over the course of his career, Courthion traveled
widely for his research, lecture tours, and conferences. He lived and worked in France for most of his life.
For a complete bibliography of Pierre Courthion's works, consult his autobiography,
D'une palette à l'autre: mémoires d'un critique d'art, which was published after his death in 2004.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Contact
Library Reproductions and Permissions .
Pierre Courthion Papers, 1901-1987, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 890007.
Acquired in 1989.
Onica Busuioceanu did preliminary processing and inventoried the collection in 2007-2008. Intern Amy Cubicciotti developed
an arrangement plan and wrote the biographical note and preliminary scope and contents notes in 2009. Teresa Soleau finished
processing the collection and completed the finding aid in 2011.
The following collections are also held by the Getty Research Institute:
Pierre Courthion correspondence, ca. 1950-1980 (accession number: 850239) and
Pierre Courthion interview with Henri Matisse and related papers, 1940-1941 (accession number: 850855B).
Hundreds of books and periodical issues were transferred to the general collection of the Getty Research Library and can be
found by searching the
library catalog for "Pierre Courthion Collection" as the source collection.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection documents the scholarly, personal and professional pursuits and activities of noted art critic and art historian
Pierre Courthion. The bulk of the material relates directly to Courthion's research and writing projects, consisting primarily
of unpublished notes and edited typescript drafts of essays, articles and monographs, as well as related visual material and
correspondence. Most of the manuscripts are undated. Numerous black-and-white photographs of artists' works, as well as some
negatives, slides, and transparencies are found throughout the collection. Printed materials and clippings include press reviews,
published articles by Courthion and other art critics and scholars, and other printed ephemera collected by Courthion. Other
materials relating to Courthion's professional activities include additional with publishers, artists and their families,
business and travel documents, and professional and teaching files.
The collection is arranged in five series:
Series I. Artist files, 1912-1985, undated;
Series II. National and regional art and history, 1901-1987, undated;
Series III. Topical research and writing, 1921-1972, undated;
Series IV. Printed materials, 1921-1985, undated;
Series V. Professional, teaching and personal files, 1906-1980, undated.
Camargo , Iberê, 1914-1994
Chéreau, Jean-Baptiste, 1907-1988
Courbet, Gustave, 1819-1877
Delacroix, Eugène, 1798-1863
Dufy, Raoul, 1877-1953
Ingres, Jean-Auguste-Dominique, 1780-1867
Liotard, Jean-Etienne, 1702-1789
Manet, Édouard, 1832-1883
Matisse, Henri, 1869-1954
Rouault, Georges, 1871-1958
Rousseau, Henri, 1844-1910
Schiavi, Elena
Seurat, Georges, 1859-1891
Soutine, Chaïm , 1893-1943
Art historians
Art, French
Art, Modern--History
Artists--Correspondence
France--History
Impressionism (Art)--France
Montmartre (Paris, France)--In art.
Painting, European
Painting, French
Painting, Modern
Paris (France)--In art.
Realism in art--France
Romanticism in art
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
Clippings (information artifacts)
Color photographs
Correspondence
Manuscripts
Photographs, Original
Printed ephemera
Printing plates
Matisse, Henri, 1869-1954
Rousseau, Henri, 1844-1910
Seligmann, Kurt, 1900-1962
Severini, Gino, 1883-1966