Description
This collection chronicles Douglas Cooper's long career as critic, curator, and collector, as well his wide circle of associations
within the art world. Limited to his professional life, it encompasses his curatorship of the Mayor Gallery (London), his
investigation of art stolen by Nazis, and his penchant for controversy. It includes correspondence, manuscripts, printed matter,
photographs, clippings, audiovisual materials, and a variety of other media.
Background
Douglas Cooper was born in London in 1911 to a family that had made a fortune in Australia and acquired a baronetcy. After
briefly attending Oxford, Freiburg and the Sorbonne, he came into his inheritance, a third of which he employed to amass a
collection of early Cubist paintings (1906-1914) by Picasso, Braque, Gris and Leger. During the same decade he was associated
with the Mayor Gallery in London, serving as curator, lecturer, and essayist, presenting the European Modernists to a British
audience and developing a wide range of art world acquaintances.
Extent
37.5 Linear Feet
(94 boxes)
Restrictions
Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions.
Availability
Open for use by qualified researchers.