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INVENTORY OF THE SCHAEFFER GALLERIES RECORDS,
1925-1985
910148
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Title: Schaeffer Galleries records
Dates: 1925-1985
Collection number: 910148
Creator:
Schaeffer
Galleries (New York, N.Y.)
Extent:
100 linear feet
Repository:
Getty Research Institute
Research Libary
Special Collections and Visual Resources
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688
Abstract: Records document the dealings of the gallery
in Berlin from 1925-1933 and the New York gallery from 1933 into the early
1990s. The bulk of the papers dated from 1950-1985. Circa 2,500 photographs of
art and 23 photograph albums illustrate the stock, primarily Old Master
paintings and drawings, exhibited, bought and sold by the gallery.
Letters of expertise and correspondence with clients, dealers, art historians
and other experts dates from the years 1933-1985, and document the daily
business of the gallery for the years 1950-1985.
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Language: Collection material is in
English and
German
Open for use by qualified researchers.
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Library Rights and Reproductions
Schaeffer Galleries records, 1925-1985. Research Library, The
Getty Research Institute, Accession no. 910148.
The collection was acquired in 1991 from the Schaeffer family. Additions to the
archive have been received in 1991, 1993, 2001 and 2002. Unprocessed additions received in 2001 and 2002 are
filed at the end of the archive.
Vladimira processed the 1991 and 1993 acquisitions in 1996-1997. Additions received in 2001 and 2002 (45 boxes) are unprocessed.
Hanns and Kate Schaeffer began as art dealers in Berlin in 1925, and
moved to New York in 1935 where they became a rallying point for emigré
scholars and musicians (W. Stechow, J. Held, R. Wittkower, O. Hagen, among
others). The Berlin gallery operated between 1925-1939, the New York gallery
from 1935 into the 1990s. The gallery specialized in Old Master Paintings, at
first concentrating on Flemish and Dutch masters, later adding Italian
paintings and far more drawings from all schools. The gallery was the agent for Benjamin
Katz during the war years and had considerable dealings with the Duits family
and business. Hanns Schaeffer died in 1967 and Kate Schaeffer carried on the
business for almost 20 years with a particular interest in drawings.
Scope and Content of the Collection
The records of the Schaeffer Galleries hold circa 2,500 copy
photographs of art offered by the galleries in Berlin and New York, (most Old
Master paintings and drawings dating between the 16th and 18th century) with
provenance, certification, sales and other reference notes; stock sheets and
other inventories dating from the 1930s; gallery exhibition catalogs and
photographic documentation of exhibitions (1927-1953, scattered years); 15
photograph albums of gallery stock and 8 albums which illustrate the Le Roy
Backus collection of drawings. Correspondence, circa 1938-circa 1985, documents
relationships with clients, dealers and other experts, sales and the daily
workings of the gallery.
Unprocessed additions are filed at the end of the collection.
Arrangement
Arranged in 4 series:
Series I. Inventory and client files, circa 1925-1980
Series II. Photographic documentation, circa 1925-1980
Series III. Albums and publications, circa 1925-1953
Series IV. Correspondence, circa 1933-circa 1985
Series V. Unprocessed additions, circa 1938-1985
Schaeffer,
Hans
Schaeffer Galleries
(New York, N.Y.)
Art—Collectors and
collecting
Art
dealers--Germany--Berlin
Art dealers—New York
(State)
Art galleries,
Commercial—Germany—Berlin
Art galleries,
Commercial—United States
Drawing, Dutch
Drawing, European—Private
collections
Drawing, Flemish—Private
collections
Painting, Dutch
Painting,
European
Painting, Flemish
Photographic prints
Photographs, original
Backus, Le Roy
M.
Schaeffer,
Hanns