Page 1 of 19 Guide to the Rudolf Berliner and D. Graeme Keith records 1913-1964 bulk 1946-1960 Fleet Library at RISD 2 College Street Providence, RI 02903 Tel: 401-709-5922 Fax: 401-709-5932 email: risdarchives@risd.edu Published in 2015
Page 2 of 19 Collection overview Title: Rudolf Berliner and D. Graeme Keith records Date range: 1913-1964, bulk 1946-1960 Creator: Extent: Abstract: Language of materials: Repository: Berliner, Rudolf, 1886-1967 Keith, D. Graeme (David Graeme), 1912-2003 2.5 linear feet The collection documents the formation of the Decorative Arts Department and the activities of Curators Rudolf Berliner and D. Graeme Keith, 1946-1958, as well as other Museum employees, 1913-1964. English, German, French Collection number: 23.3.4.1 Scope & content The collection documents the formation of the Decorative Arts Department and the activities of Curators Rudolf Berliner and D. Graeme Keith, 1946-1958, as well as other Museum employees, 1913-1964. The bulk of the collection contains correspondence, 1913-1960, bulk 1946-1960, with patrons, RISD employees, institutions, dealers, galleries, and family members documenting loans, purchases, exhibitions, research, travel, inventories, family, and administrative matters. Additional records include committee reports, inter-office memos, photographs, and speeches. There are a few records, 1914-1960, created by other Museum employees including Elizabeth T. Casey and Eleanor Fayerweather. Indices, 1947-1952, document the Berliner correspondence. The collection arrived at the Archives in a disorganized state with many letters misfiled according to Berliner's filing system documented in the Indices. The original order, per the Indices, was restored during processing. The folder arrangement follows a file cabinet list found in Series V.
Page 3 of 19 Arrangement The records are arranged in five series. I. Correspondence, 1913-1960, bulk 1946-1960 II. Dealer correspondence, 1946-1960 III. Subject files, 1945-1960 IV. Department files, 1924-1964 V. Indices, 1946-1952 Biographical Note Rudolf Berliner, 1886-1967 Rudolf Paul Berliner served as Curator of Decorative Arts, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, 1946-1953. Born in Ohlau, Germany 1886 April 14, Berliner studied at the University of Heidelberg and received his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in 1910 under Josef Strzygowski and Max Dvorak. He served as a Research Fellow, 1912-1919, and Chief Curator, 1920-1935, at the Bavarian National Museum, Munich except for military service during World War One. Arrested and sent to the Dachau Concentration Camp in 1933 July, Berliner was released after two weeks through the efforts of his professional colleagues. He retained his position in Munich until 1935 when he was purged because of his Jewish heritage. He and his wife Maria immigrated to the United States in 1939 July joining their two sons who had left Germany early for their education and safety. Records indicate that Berliner had traveled to the US in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1938. Berliner obtained, with the assistance of Paul J. Sachs, the position of Keeper of Prints and Drawings, Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, New York in 1939, the same year that D. Graeme Keith joined the staff as an Assistant in Exhibitions. He left in 1946 because of the return of Curator Calvin S. Hathaway from his service in Europe, to become the first Curator of Decorative Arts at the RISD Museum of Art. His primary function was to survey, study, inventory, and catalogue the extensive decorative arts works that had been collected during the previous fifty years. He created the Textile Study Room for faculty and students and collected works through his extensive relationships with dealers, galleries, and collectors in Europe. He returned to Europe in 1951 and 1952 to purchase works with the aid of RISD benefactors. Berliner resigned taking a final leave of absence 1953 January-June and returned to Europe, living primarily in Rome and Germany and working on research projects. He
Page 4 of 19 returned to the US in 1955 joining the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University in 1956 to give seminars in decorative arts and the museum course. He worked at the Textile Museum, Washington, D.C, from 1962 until 1967 when he returned to Germany. He died 1967 August 26 in Bischofswiesen near his family's home in Berchtesgaden. For a list of Berliner's writings see: Muller, Theodore. Rudolf Berliner: Bibliographie. Munich, 1966. (German/English) D. Graeme Keith, 1912-2003 D. Graeme (David Alexander Graeme) Keith joined Berliner at RISD in 1948 as Assistant to the Curator after Director Gordon B. Washburn received a recommendation from Hathaway. Born in Toronto, Canada 1912 September 21, Keith received degrees from Western Reserve University, BA (1934) and MA (1935), attended Paul J. Sachs' Museum Course at Harvard, 1935-1937, and took courses toward a Ph. D at New York University, 1946-1952. His doctoral research concerned the history of 19th century American printed textiles. He worked for the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts as a curator, 1937-1939, before joining Cooper Union in 1939/1940 to work with exhibitions and publicity. He became Acting Curator of Decorative Arts in 1953 upon Berliner's resignation. Keith served as Curator, 1955-1958, and taught Summer Sessions at the University of California, Berkeley in 1956. Keith left in 1958 to become Curator of Decorative Arts at the M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, where he served until his retirement in 1977. He died in Port Townsend, WA 2003 July 14. Note: The following materials from the Paul J. Sachs papers are used by permission of the Harvard Art Museums Archives: Letter from Rudolf Berliner to Paul J. Sachs, December 22, 1939. Paul J. Sachs papers (HC 3), file 157. Harvard Art Museums Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Letter from Rudolf Berliner to Paul J. Sachs, January 29, 1946. Paul J. Sachs papers (HC 3), file 157. Harvard Art Museums Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Letter from Gordon B. Washburn to Paul J. Sachs, July 23, 1948. Paul J. Sachs papers (HC 3), file 1049. Harvard Art Museums Archives, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
Page 5 of 19 Access & use Access to the collection: Use of materials: The use of certain documents and collections may be restricted. Please consult the Archives staff for further details. Permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from archival materials must be obtained in writing from the Archives. The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of material and for conformity to all applicable laws, including copyright. Preferred citation: Rudolf Berliner and D. Graeme Keith records, 23.3.4.1, Contact information: Administrative information About the collection Fleet Library at RISD 2 College Street Providence, RI 02903 Tel: 401-709-5922 Fax: 401-709-5932 email: risdarchives@risd.edu Aquisition: The Archives received the records from the RISD Museum of Art's Curator of Decorative Arts. About the finding aid Author: Finding aid prepared by Douglas Doe. Encoding: Finding aid encoded by Douglas Doe 2015 September 11 Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Page 6 of 19 Search terms Names: Berliner, Rudolf, 1886-1967 Keith, D. Graeme (David Graeme), 1912-2003 Fayerweather, Eleanor, 1904-1992 Casey, Elizabeth Temple, 1901-1991 Maxon, John, 1916-1977 Alford, Roberta M., 1903-1995 Washburn, Gordon B. (Gordon Bailey), 1904-1983 Schwarz, Heinrich, 1894-1974 Danforth, Helen M., 1887-1984 Subjects:
Page 7 of 19 Inventory Series I, Correspondence, 1913-1960 The Correspondence series, 1913-1960, documents loans, exhibitions, research, purchases, potential gifts and acquisitions, rough drafts of reports and talks, and the Museum Committee. Correspondents include donors, institutions, Museum employees, professional colleagues, and family members. Photographs, illustrations, receipts, inventories, letters, and reports document Berliner's trips to Europe and his health issues, the Edith Wetmore Room, the Lucy T. Aldrich Collection of Staffordshire Pottery, Cooper Union, and Berliner and Keith's interaction with Museum employees, trustees, donors, galleries, and other institutions. There is correspondence from Berliner's son Michael Bever, Directors Gordon Washburn, Roberta Alford, and John Maxon, and curator Eleanor Fayerweather (1958-1960) and Acting Curator Elizabeth T. Casey (1958). Berliner's correspondence is indexed. See Series V. Container Description Date 1 A - Miscellaneous 1946-1951 2 A - Miscellaneous 1953-1959 3 Abegg, Werner and Margaret 1946-1951 4 Aldrich, Lucy T. and Winthrop 1947-1950 5 Art Institute of Chicago 1951-1953 6 B - Miscellaneous 1946-1952 7 B - Miscellaneous 1953-1960 8 Benisovich, Michel 1947-1951 9 Berliner, Rudolf 1946-1949 10 11 Berliner, Rudolf 1951-1955 Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 1947-1954
Page 8 of 19 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Brooklyn Museum 1946-1958 Burg, Mrs. Margaret 1950-1952 C - Miscellaneous 1947-1953 C - Miscellaneous 1953-1959 Cooper Union Museum 1947-1957 D - Miscellaneous 1946-1952 D - Miscellaneous 1953-1960 Delmar, Emil 1946 E - Miscellaneous 1941-1949 E - Miscellaneous 1957-1960 F - Miscellaneous 1946-1951 1 F - Miscellaneous 1954-1960 2 Fogg Museum of Art - Harvard 1950-1952 3 de Frey, A. C. 1950-1951 4 G - Miscellaneous 1946-1951
Page 9 of 19 5 G - Miscellaneous 1952-1959 6 Garbaty, Eugene L. 1951-1952 7 Greenleaf, Richard 1951-1953 8 H - Miscellaneous 1946-1952 9 H - Miscellaneous 1952-1959 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Hyde, James H. 1951-1952 I - Miscellaneous 1946-1951 I - Miscellaneous 1957-1959 Ikle, Fred C. 1949-1952 J - Miscellaneous 1948-1951 J - Miscellaneous 1952-1959 K - Miscellaneous 1946-1954 K - Miscellaneous 1953-1960 L - Miscellaneous 1946-1952 L - Miscellaneous 1953-1959
Page 10 of 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Lewandowsky, George 1947-1952 Los Angeles County Museum 1954-1955 M - Miscellaneous 1946-1952 Metropolitan Museum of Art 1947-1954 de Micheaux, Robert 1954 Mooney, Kit 1947-1948 N - Miscellaneous 1947-1949 O - Miscellaneous 1948-1950 O - Miscellaneous 1954-1958 P - Miscellaneous 1947-1952 1 R - Miscellaneous 1947-1951 2 Rough Drafts circa 1950-1952 3 S - Miscellaneous 1947-1952 4 Sharpe, Mrs. and Mrs. Henry D., Ellen 1913, 1947-1952
Page 11 of 19 5 Syz, Dr. Hans 1949 6 T - Miscellaneous 1947-1948 7 T - Miscellaneous 1956-1958 8 Textile Museum, Washington D.C. 1951 9 U - Miscellaneous 1948-1953 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 U - Miscellaneous 1952-1953 V - Miscellaneous 1947-1949 W - Miscellaneous 1946-1952 W - Miscellaneous 1953-1958 Walters Art Gallery 1947-1952 Weibel, Mrs. Adele 1950-1951 Weinberger, Dr. Martin 1947-1952 Westerfield, Mrs. Jason 1947-1950 Wetmore, Miss. Edith 1935-1949 Wetmore, Miss. Edith 1935-1939, 1949-1951
Page 12 of 19 20 21 22 23 Worcester Art Museum (Stout) 1952 Y - Miscellaneous 1947-1951 Y - Miscellaneous 1954-1958 Z - Miscellaneous 1957 Series II, Dealer correspondence, 1946-1960 The Dealer correspondence, 1946-1960, contains letters, receipts and invoices for works of art, deaccession records, and shipping records. Letters may document loans, purchases, proposed acquisitions, research, costs of works of art, and deaccessions. The Gimbels - Deaccessions, 1947-1948, folder documents the work of the Committee on Disposal and contains lists of objects to be sold through Gimbel Brothers (NYC). Organized by department, the lists include the accession number, object description, acquisition (donor or purchase), and the expected price. The correspondence is indexed. See Series V. Container Description Date 24 25 26 27 28 A - Miscellaneous 1951 Ars Antiqua 1951 Avigdor, Moustapha 1950 B - Miscellaneous 1949-1955 Berges, S. 1950-1952
Page 13 of 19 29 30 Berry-Hill 1947-1952 Blumpka, Leopold 1946-1953 1 C - Miscellaneous 1949-1954 2 Carlebach Gallery 1950-1953 3 Connoisseur 1947 4 D - Miscellaneous 1951-1953 5 Drey, F. A. 1951 6 G - Miscellaneous 1951-1953 7 Gans, Edward 1952-1953 8 Gimbels - Deaccessions 1947-1948 9 Haus, C. A. 1946-1952 10 11 12 13 14 J - Miscellaneous 1952 K - Miscellaneous 1951-1954 Kelekian, Dikran G. 1950-1952 L - Miscellaneous 1951-1956 Loewi, Adolph 1953
Page 14 of 19 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 M- Miscellaneous 1946 Morley, Charles L. 1947-1956 R - Miscellaneous 1947-1951 S - Miscellaneous 1947-1952 Sack, Israel 1951-1953 Schaeffer Galleries 1947 Schatzki, Walter 1948 Schulman, Hans 1947 Silberman Galleries 1947-1952 Stora, R. 1946-1952 T - Miscellaneous 1951-1954 V - Miscellaneous 1951-1952 W - Miscellaneous 1951
Page 15 of 19 Series III, Subject files, 1945-1960 The Subject files include Museum Committee meeting records (1946-1960), inter-office memos (1946-1952), department reports (1946-1956), and sculpture photographs. The meeting records are primarily lists of gifts and rejected works with the curator's recommendation as well as a 1947 December 1 report of the future of the department written by Berliner. A separate file contains his 1948 February 26 report on the progress of the department. The exhibition records include correspondence, press releases, clippings, and ideas for future exhibitions. The inter-office memos from the Director and other staff document purchases, loans, budgets, travel, and staffing. Container Description Date 28 29 30 31 32 33 Committee Meetings 1946-1947 Committee Meetings 1948 Committee Meetings 1954 Committee Meetings 1955-1960 Exhibitions - General 1945-1958 Exhibitions - Stieglitz (Worcester Show) 1949 1 Exhibitions - Students 1947-1949, 1955 2 Exhibitions - Textiles 1947 3 Inter-Office 1946-1947 4 Inter-Office 1948 5 Inter-Office 1949
Page 16 of 19 6 Inter-Office 1950 7 Inter-Office 1951 8 Inter-Office 1952 9 Miscellaneous Notes on Museum Objects undated 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pending Disposal 1948-1949 Progress Report 1948 Feb 26 Reports - Quarterly - Dec. Arts 1946-1948 Reports - Semi-annual - Dec. Arts 1948-1956 Sculpture - Photographs circa 1952 Textile Firms 1947 Series IV, Department files, 1924-1964 The Department files is an artificial series comprised of records not found on the list of file cabinet contents (box 6, folder 23). The series includes correspondence, lists, photographs, and reports for the Rhode Island Treasures/Hobby Show (1939-1940), World of 1930s (1956) and Modern Interior Design (1957-1958) exhibitions, Rudolf Berliner's expenses for his 1952 trip to Europe, and the Wetmore Room donated to the Museum of Art by Edith Wetmore. Elizabeth T. Casey's correspondence (1930-1955) includes letters to Lucy T. Aldrich and accounts of Aldrich's loans to the Museum. Other records document routine administrative matters and gifts or metalwork (circa 1924-1939) and oriental art works (undated).
Page 17 of 19 Container Description Date 16 Basketry undated 17 18 19 20 Casey, Elizabeth T. - Letters 1930-1955 Equipment 1949-1954 European Trip Expenses (Berliner) 1952 Ledgers (partial) 1950-1956 21 Library Books undated 22 Manuscripts 1953 23 24 25 Material for Card File Material Used for Textile Design Class Metalwork undated undated circa 1924-1939 26 27 28 Miscellaneous 1946-195-? Modern Interior Design Exhibition 1957-1958 Mounting Materials 1950-1954
Page 18 of 19 1 Museum Notes - Subscriptions 1954-1956 2 Museum Registrar - Receipts for Potential Gifts 1954 3 New England Craft Exhibition 1954-1955 4 New York Trip 1948 Oct 25 5 Oriental Objects undated 6 Rhode Island Treasures / Hobby Show 1939-1940 7 Textiles - Photographs 1934-1935, 195-8 Vittoria Bust 1955 9 Wetmore Room 1947-1949, 1964 10 World of 1930s Exhibition 1956 Series V, Indices, 1946-1952 The Indices, 1947-1952, document incoming and outgoing correspondence chronologically. Each incoming letter has a number (for example, 47-112) and the responding outgoing letter has the same number. The indices list the number, date, correspondent, subject, and file location. The series includes an alphabetical index, 1947-1950, listing the correspondent and all corresponding letter numbers and separate alphabetical indices for 1951 and 1952. The is an accessions index, 1947-1949, listing by Museum Committee meeting date all accessions with number, description, price, dealer, gallery, or donor, and source of funds. Container Description Date 11 Indices 1947-1948 Jan
Page 19 of 19 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Indices 1948 Jan-1949 Jan Indices 1949 Indices 1950 Indices - Alphabetical 1947-1950 Indices 1951 Indices 1952 Visitors 1947-1949 Museum Committee - Accessions 1947-1949 Preliminary Accession Sheets 1947 Theses Students 1947-1948 Registrar Cards 1946-1947 23 File Cabinet undated