Description
The M. Knoedler & Co. artist files form part of the
records of the firm of M. Knoedler & Co. described in the related finding aid for the collection. Due to their size, the artist
files are described separately from the rest of the archive. The M. Knoedler & Co.
artist files primarily document artworks handled by the New York office of Knoedler &
Co. and represent the bulk of the materials in Series VII. Photographs. The photographs,
along with research and descriptive information, document artworks purchased and sold by the
firm or on consignment at the firm, as well as artworks offered for sale to the firm, but
not acquired. In addition to photographs, each artist file typically includes "pedigree"
documentation of the artworks, such as ownership history, bibliographies and expertise
documentation. The photographs provide a visual record of the condition of the artwork at
the time it was in the firm's stock and enable to distinguish works with similar titles or
works whose titles have changed over time. Often they are the last record of works whose
location is presently unknown. The titles indicated for the works are derived from the
titles that Knoedler staff assigned the works in the stock books, the sales books or the
inventory cards. When possible, abbreviations of the titles in the archive have been
expanded and spelling mistakes corrected, but no attempt has been made to update the titles
to current standards of the repositories for these works. When different sources in the
archive provided titles that differed considerably, the different versions have been
provided, when possible. The main finding aid for the The M. Knoedler & Co. records is
available here: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2012m54.
Background
M. Knoedler & Co. was a successor to the New York branch of Goupil & Co., an
extremely dynamic print-publishing house founded in Paris in 1827. Goupil's branches in
London, Berlin, Brussels, and The Hague, as well as New York, expanded the firm's market in
the sale of reproductive prints. The firm's office in New York-an initiative of Léon Goupil,
the son of Adolphe Goupil, Théodore Vibert, and the agent William Schaus-was established in
1848 at 289 Broadway on the corner of Duane Street near City Hall.
Extent
507.7 linear feet
(1228 boxes)
Restrictions
Contact Library Reproductions and
Permissions.
Availability
Open for use by qualified researchers.