Papers of Michael and Dorothy Blankfort, 1961-1995. BLA.001.001

Finding aid prepared by Mali Griffen and Heather Cleary in September 2001.
EAD encoding made possible with a grant from the Getty Foundation as a part of the initiative Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art Balch Art Research Library
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA, 90036
323-857-6118
library@lacma.org

Note

Additional encoding by Jessica Gambling.


Title: Papers of Michael and Dorothy Blankfort
Identifier/Call Number: BLA.001.001
Contributing Institution: Los Angeles County Museum of Art Balch Art Research Library
Language of Material: English
Physical Description: 5.0 Linear feet , 12 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1961-1995
creator: Blankfort, Dorothy

Arrangement note

This collection is arranged alphabetically. Items that were originally filed in the "Misc." folder have been interfiled; these are denoted by an asterisk (*) in the folder list.

Biographical/Historical note

Michael and Dorothy Blankfort began collecting art in the late 1950s. The couple focused on contemporary art in Los Angeles, New York, and Europe. They were both involved with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in various capacities. In 1961, they were founding members of LACMA's Modern and Contemporary Art Council (MCAC); Dorothy chaired MCAC from 1974-1976 as well as participating in and chairing the Acquisitions, Education and Membership committees; and Michael served on the Board of Trustees from 1971-1982. Upon their deaths, the couple left a generous bequest to LACMA.
Michael Blankfort (1907-1982) worked as a college professor, psychologist, and writer. He wrote 13 novels, several short stories, plays, and screenplays. In 1950, he was nominated for an Oscar for the film "Broken Arrow"; his name, however, was used as a front for the blacklisted screenwriter, Albert Maltz. From 1967-1969 he served as President of the Writers Guild of America West. From 1969-1971 he served as a governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Dorothy Stile Blankfort (1910-1998) worked as a literary agent.

Scope and Contents note

The 12 boxes (5 linear feet) that comprise this collection contain correspondence, clippings, greeting cards, checks, receipts, photographs, transparencies, and other realia in connection with the art collection of Michael and Dorothy Blankfort. The files concern items in their personal collection; gifts and loans to galleries and museums; correspondence from friends; clippings of newspaper and magazine articles, both about the artists in their collection as well as art history; and correspondence to institutions. The items range in date mostly from 1961-1995.

Conditions Governing Use note

Contact the Balch Research Library at 323-856-6118 or library@lacma.org for information on publishing or reproducing materials included in these records. Permission will be granted by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as the owner of the physical materials, and does not imply permission from the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain all necessary permissions from the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation note

[Description of item], Papers of Michael and Dorothy Blankfort, 1961-1995, Los Angeles County Museum of Art Balch Art Research Library, BLA.001.001.

Processing Information note

Processed by Mali Griffen and Heather Cleary; processing completed in September 2001; input into Archivists' Toolkit by Joel Parham, March 2011.

Conditions Governing Access note

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment only through the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Balch Art Research Library. Telephone 323-857-6118 or email library@lacma.org.

Bibliography

The Michael and Dorothy Blankfort Collection, Maurice Tuchman and Anne Carnegie Edgerton, with an introduction by Michael Blankfort. Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1982.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Blankfort, Michael, 1907-1982 -- Correspondence
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Modern and Contemporary Art Council.
Art donors
Art, Modern--20th century
Art--Collectors and collecting
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence
Ephemera
Financial records
Photographs

Box 1, Folder 1

A -- Misc., including: Nicol Allen; Benny Andrews; Philip Augerson

Box 1, Folder 2

Albers, Josef

Box 1, Folder 3

Alf, Martha

Box 1, Folder 4

Amlash (Iranian, etc.)

Box 1, Folder 5

Appraisal lists (of Blankfort Collection)

Box 1, Folder 6

Appraisal on 1988 donation to Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Box 1, Folder 7

Appraisals by Silverman

Box 1, Folder 8

Architecture

Box 1, Folder 9

Arikha, Avigdor

Box 1, Folder 10

Arman

Box 1, Folder 11

Art Institute of Chicago

Box 1, Folder 12

Articles (Art)

Box 1, Folder 13

Asher, Betty (1962) letters

Box 1, Folder 14

Auctions, including: Ames, Bowinkel, Raboff, Parke-Bernet

Box 1, Folder 15

Art and Technology Publicity, May 1971

Box 2, Folder 1

B -- Misc., including: Francis Bacon; Jennifer Bartlett; William Baziotes; Bill Beckley; Irving Blum; George Brecht; Patrick Henry Bruce; Alberto Burri

Box 2, Folder 2

Berlant, Anthony

Box 2, Folder 3

Beuys, Joseph

Box 2, Folder 4

Blankfort, Mr. and Mrs. Michael

Box 2, Folder 5

Blankfort Collection

Box 2, Folder 6

Blankfort Collection -- Donations, 1961-1985

Box 2, Folder 7

Blankfort Collection -- Donations, 1986-1991

Box 2, Folder 8

Blankfort Collection -- Formerly Owned Items

Box 2, Folder 10

Blankfort Collection -- Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Box 2, Folder 9

Blankfort Collection -- Letter of Intent

Box 2, Folder 11

Blankfort Collection -- Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art

Box 3, Folder 2

Blankfort Collection -- Writings on art

Box 3, Folder 1

Blankfort Collection -- Loan Agreements

Box 3, Folder 3

Brandstatter, Yehoshua

Box 3, Folder 4

Browne, Byron

Box 3, Folder 5

C -- Misc., including: Paul Cezanne; Marc Chagall; Peter Clothier; Gifford Cochran; Harold Cohen; John Constable

Box 3, Folder 6

California State Colleges

Box 3, Folder 7

Caroompas, Carol

Box 3, Folder 8

Cascella, Andrea

Box 3, Folder 9

Christie's

Box 3, Folder 10

Christo *

Box 3, Folder 11

Cincinnati Art Museum

Box 3, Folder 12

Claremont Colleges

Box 3, Folder 13

Cleveland Museum of Art

Box 3, Folder 14

Coit, Madelin

Box 4, Folder 1

Conservation and Restoration

Box 4, Folder 2

Coplans, John

Box 4, Folder 3

Copley, William *

Box 4, Folder 4

Costumes

Box 4, Folder 5

D -- Misc., including: Denyll Dariusl; Jean Dubuffet

Box 4, Folder 6

Dalwood, Hubert

Box 4, Folder 7

Davy, Woods

Box 4, Folder 8

Dawn Gallery

Box 4, Folder 9

Dine, Jim *

Box 4, Folder 10

Donations 1986, 1987, 1988 (none to Los Angeles County Museum of Art 1989)

Box 4, Folder 11

Duchamp, Marcel

Box 4, Folder 12

E -- Misc., including: Anne Edgerton; El Greco

Box 4, Folder 13

Erte *

Box 4, Folder 14

Estorick, Eric

Box 4, Folder 15

Everts, Connor (Donations to Museum of Modern Art, New York)

Box 4, Folder 16

Exhibition of Blankfort Collection, March 1982

Box 5, Folder 1

F -- Misc., including: Fellows of Contemporary Art; Rosamund Felson Gallery; Betty Friedman

Box 5, Folder 2

Ferus Gallery

Box 5, Folder 3

Fischl, Eric *

Box 5, Folder 4

Frankenthaler, Helen *

Box 5, Folder 5

Frazier, Charles R.

Box 5, Folder 6

Fresno Arts Center

Box 5, Folder 7

G -- Misc., including: J. Paul Getty Museum; Mrs. Charles Gimpel; Jean Gimpel; Yuval Golman; Leon Golub; Ted Gonzalez; Joe Goode; Scott Grieger; Stanley and Elyse Grinstein

Box 5, Folder 8

Gabrielson, Walter

Box 5, Folder 9

Gauguin, Paul *

Box 5, Folder 10

Gechtoff, Sonia

Box 5, Folder 11

Goodman, James

Box 5, Folder 12

Goodnough, Robert

Box 5, Folder 13

Gorky, Arshile

Box 5, Folder 14

Guggenheim Museum

Box 5, Folder 15

Guston, Philip

Box 5, Folder 16

H -- Misc., including: Richard Hamilton; Guy Harloff; Lily Harmon; Marsden Hartley; June Harwood; Barbara Haskell; Victor Henderson; Victor Herstein; Henry Hopkins; Walter Hopps; the Houston trip, May 1988

Box 5, Folder 17

Hendler, Maxwell

Box 5, Folder 18

Herms, George

Box 5, Folder 19

Hispanic Art

Box 5, Folder 20

Hockney, David *

Box 5, Folder 21

B. C. Holland Gallery

Box 5, Folder 22

Hunt, Bryan

Box 5, Folder 23

I -- Misc., including: Impressionists; Institute for Art and Urban Resources; iris.time unlimited; Iris Clert; Israti

Box 5, Folder 24

Israeli Artists (includes appointment book, March - October 1956)

Box 6, Folder 1

Israel Museum

Box 6, Folder 2

Israel Museum, American Friends of the

Box 6, Folder 3

J -- Misc., including: Aldredo Jaar; University of Judaism

Box 6, Folder 4

Sidney Janis Gallery

Box 6, Folder 5

The Jewish Museum

Box 6, Folder 6

Johnson, Lester

Box 6, Folder 7

July 1981 Patron Award

Box 6, Folder 8

K -- Misc., including: Ellsworth Kelly; Frederick J. Kiesler; Jiri Kolar; Joseph Kosuth

Box 6, Folder 9

Paul Kantor Gallery

Box 6, Folder 

Kienholz, Edward

Box 6, Folder 11

Kitaj, R. B., 1963-1964 1963-1964

Box 6, Folder 12

Kitaj, R. B., 1965-1967 1965-1967

Box 7, Folder 1

Kitaj, R. B., 1967-1980 1967-1980

Box 7, Folder 2

Kitaj, R. B., 1981 1981

Box 7, Folder 3

Klein, Yves, 1961-1965 1961-1965

Box 7, Folder 4

Klein, Yves, 1967-1982 1967-1982

Box 7, Folder 5

Kosso Eloul

Box 7, Folder 6

Kovarsky, Yehoshua

Box 7, Folder 7

L -- Misc., including: Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE); Don Lagerberg; Wolfgang Laib; Thomas W. Leavitt; Fernand Leger; David Lemon; A. F. Levinson; Sol LeWitt; Gary Lloyd; Morris Louis; Martin Lubner

Box 8, Folder 1

Los Angeles -- Los Angeles County Museum of Art opening, 1965 1965

Box 8, Folder 2

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1961-1975 1961-1975

Box 8, Folder 3

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977-1995 1977-1995

Box 8, Folder 4

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Modern and Contemporary Art Council

Box 8, Folder 5

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Modern and Contemporary Art Council -- Art Here and Now

Box 8, Folder 6

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Modern and Contemporary Art Council -- Acquisitions

Box 8, Folder 7

Los Angeles Fine Arts Squad and Terry Schoonhoven (Solo)

Box 8, Folder 8

La Jolla Art Center (La Jolla Museum of Art)

Box 8, Folder 9

LA Louver Gallery

Box 8, Folder 10

Lichtenstein, Roy

Box 8, Folder 11

Long Beach Museum of Art (City of Long Beach, California)

Box 8, Folder 12

Lebrun, Rico

Box 9, Folder 1

Lynch, Alan

Box 9, Folder 2

Lytton Center

Box 9, Folder 3

M -- Misc., including: Loren Madsen; William Malherbe; Gerhard Marcks; Brice Marden; Marino Marini; Andre Masson; Medali; Zvi Meirovitch; Judith Miller; Miro; George Miyasaki; Patrick Mohr; Moshe Mokady; Henry Moore; Jim Morphesis; Elizabeth Murray

Box 9, Folder 4

Man Ray

Box 9, Folder 5

Marin, John

Box 9, Folder 6

Marlborough Gallery

Box 9, Folder 7

Michael Blankfort -- Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Box 9, Folder 8

McCollum, Allan

Box 9, Folder 9

McCracken, John

Box 9, Folder 10

McGarell, James

Box 9, Folder 11

Melville, Herman *

Box 9, Folder 12

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Box 9, Folder 13

Miller, George

Box 9, Folder 14

Morro, Juana de Madrid

Box 9, Folder 15

Mural Conservancy

Box 9, Folder 16

Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago

Box 9, Folder 17

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Box 9, Folder 18

Museum of Modern Art, New York City

Box 9, Folder 19

N -- Misc., including: Otto Natzler; Ernst Nay; Joshua Neustein; Kim Novak

Box 9, Folder 20

Naumann, Bruce

Box 9, Folder 21

Nevelson, Louise

Box 9, Folder 22

Newport Harbor Art Museum

Box 9, Folder 23

Newspace Gallery

Box 9, Folder 24

O -- Misc., including: Georgia O'Keeffe

Box 10, Folder 1

Oakland Art Museum, Oakland, California

Box 10, Folder 2

Oklahoma Art Center

Box 10, Folder 3

Oldenburg, Claes, 1965-1966 1965-1966

Box 10, Folder 4

Oldenburg, Claes, 1967-1969 1967-1969

Box 10, Folder 5

Oldenburg, Claes, 1970-1995 1970-1995

Box 10, Folder 6

Otis Art Institute

Box 10, Folder 7

P -- Misc., including: Denise M. Palm; Jules Pascin; I. M. Pei; Richard Pettibone; Mark John Polland; Jackson Pollock; Maurice Prendergast

Box 10, Folder 8

Pasadena Art Museum

Box 10, Folder 9

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Box 10, Folder 10

Phillips, Joann and Gifford

Box 10, Folder 11

Picasso, Pablo

Box 10, Folder 12

Pop Art

Box 10, Folder 13

Pomona College Gallery

Box 10, Folder 14

Probst, Joachim

Box 10, Folder 15

Probst, Joachim (Greer)

Box 10, Folder 16

R -- Misc., including: Arnulf Rainer; Robert Rauschenberg; Roland Reiss; Vincent Robbins; Sue Ann Robinson; Richard Rosenblum; Susan Rothenberg; Rotraut; Guy de Rougemont; Ruchards Ruben; Edward Ruscha

Box 10, Folder 17

Raboff, Ernest

Box 10, Folder 18

Richmond Art Center

Box 10, Folder 19

Rivera, Manuel

Box 10, Folder 20

Rivers, Larry

Box 10, Folder 21

Robles, Glenn

Box 10, Folder 22

Rosenberg, Harold

Box 11, Folder 1

S -- Misc., including: Peter Saul; Kurt Schwitters; Richard Serra; Maura Sheehan; Betty Sheinbaum; Itzhak Michael Shillo; Simon Rodia; Mario Sironi; Barbara T. Smith; Kenneth Snelson; Sual Steinberg; Antonio Suarez; California Surrealism (Marcel Duchamp)

Box 11, Folder 2

Samaras, Lucas

Box 11, Folder 3

San Francisco Museum of Art and San Francisco Art Institute

Box 11, Folder 4

Saura, Antonio

Box 11, Folder 5

Schiele, Egon

Box 11, Folder 6

Sculpture

Box 11, Folder 7

Secunda, Arthur

Box 11, Folder 8

Shaffer, Richard

Box 11, Folder 9

Skirball Museum

Box 11, Folder 10

Smith, Hassel

Box 11, Folder 11

Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam, Holland)

Box 11, Folder 12

Stella, Frank

Box 11, Folder 13

Strombotne, James

Box 11, Folder 14

T -- Misc., including: Robert Therrien; Ann Thornycroft; Harry Thubron; Jean Tinguely; William Tunberg; William Turnbull

Box 11, Folder 15

Tamarind Facts

Box 12, Folder 1

Tamarind (additional)

Box 12, Folder 2

Tate Gallery, London

Box 12, Folder 3

Terra Museum

Box 12, Folder 4

Tobey, Mark

Box 12, Folder 5

Toledo, Francisco

Box 12, Folder 6

Tuchman, Maurice

Box 12, Folder 7

Twonbly, Cy

Box 12, Folder 8

Tworkov, Jack -- Donation to Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Contemporary Art Council Auction

Box 12, Folder 9

University of California

Box 12, Folder 10

University of Illinois, Krannert Art Museum

Box 12, Folder 11

University of New Mexico

Box 12, Folder 12

University of Redlands

Box 12, Folder 13

University of Southern California

Box 12, Folder 14

University of Texas

Box 12, Folder 15

V -- Misc., including; Vincent Van Gogh; Jacques Villon; Manuel Viola

Box 12, Folder 16

Vuillard, Edouard

Box 12, Folder 17

W -- Misc., including: Andy Warhol; William Wegman; Frederick Wight; William T. Wiley; Witold-K.; Adam Wolpert

Box 12, Folder 18

Walker Art Center

Box 12, Folder 19

Washington Gallery of Modern Art

Box 12, Folder 20

Wayne, June

Box 12, Folder 21

"West Coast Artists" (and "L.A."?); "California" ("Depleted" June 21, 1989 Ellie and Peter)

Box 12, Folder 22

White, Charles

Box 12, Folder 23

White, John

Box 12, Folder 24

Whitney Museum of Art

Box 12, Folder 25

Womanspace

Box 12, Folder 26

X, Y, Z -- Misc., including: Diana Zlotnick; Francisco de Zurburan