Louise Medbery von Brockdorff papers
name: label: Creator
content: Von Brockdorff, Louise Medbery
label: Names
content: Charlton, Maryette
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Designers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women artists
label: Topic
content: Women authors
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated 1980 by Lillian Kiesler and Maryette Charlton, friends of von Brockdorff. Additional materials were donated by Maryette Charlton between 1998 and 2013.
creator: label: Creator
content: Von Brockdorff, Louise Medbery
setName: label: See more items in
content: Louise Medbery von Brockdorff papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of painter and designer Louise Medbery von Brockdorff measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1975. The collection comments on von Brockdorff's colorful life of different interests and travel. Found are address books, biographical materials, letters from Maryette Charlton, eighteen journals, sketches, and handwritten writings and notes.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Louise Medbery von Brockdorff (1887-1975) was a painter and designer based in New York, New York who worked briefly for the Works Progress Administration. She was also an astrologist and a socialite with many friends in the arts including choreographers, dancers, artists, and poets.

Known to friends as Fifi, Louise Medbery was born in Columbus, Ohio and studied at Vassar College. Shortly after graduation, she moved to Europe and studied painting in Munich, Germany. She married Count Hugo von Brockdorff in 1910 and remained in Germany while he fought in World War I. The couple lived in Denmark after the war but Louise ultimately returned to Columbus and the two divorced, after which she completed a secretarial course and worked at an office in Columbus and took other jobs around Ohio. 

Von Brockdorff moved often seeking out new interests and professions. In 1924 she moved to New York City to study fashion design and pursued an interest in astrology which ultimately became a career. During the Depression, she supported herself through mail-order star charts and would find clients through word-of-mouth. Briefly, she worked for the Works Progress Administration and continued to move in and out of New York City. Later in life, von Brockdorff took an interest in theater and dance and became close with choreographers, poets, and artists. 

She died in 1975 in New York City.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.9 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1905-1975
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.vonbroc
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Jayna Josefson in 2023 with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of painter and designer Louise Medbery von Brockdorff measure 0.9 linear feet and date from 1905 to 1975. The collection comments on von Brockdorff's colorful life of different interests and travel. Found are address books, biographical materials, letters from Maryette Charlton, eighteen journals, sketches, and handwritten writings and notes.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds the Maryette Charlton papers, circa 1890-2013. Charlton, who served as executor of von Brockdorff's estate, was a close friend. The Charlton papers include letters from von Brockdorff to Charlton, information on the acquisition of the estate, legal documents, and records regarding von Brockdorff's memorial which was organized by Charlton.