Art Records and Inventories
name: label: Collection Artist
content: Louis, Morris, 1912-1962
setName: label: See more items in
content: Morris Louis and Morris Louis Estate papers
label: See more items in
content: Morris Louis and Morris Louis Estate papers / Series 2: Morris Louis Estate Papers
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1960-1992
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.louimorr, Subseries 2.2
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Inventory cards were maintained according to their original order.  The cards sometimes include several numerical references, including original Morris Louis numbers (referred to as ML #), Santini numbers (of the Santini Brothers Warehouse), and "DU" numbers.  It is not clear what "DU" stands for.  Some cards have a color tab attached, while others have minimal description containing perhaps only a title and date.  At the time of the Louis' death, numerous unidentified paintings were stored in rolls, and, thus, a numbering system was assigned posthumously. These numbers are most likely the DU numbers.

Inventory files are arranged in numerical order according to "DU" number, though notations within files may refer to additional filing numbers. Inventory files are connected to inventory notecards, though some files exist where notecards are absent. Some files contain photocopies of relevant inventory notecard, as well. 

In both inventory cards and inventory files, systems were used over the course of 30 years, which accounts for varying numbers assigned, descriptions, and notations in multiple handwritings.

One inventory file is dedicated to researching the whereabouts of a missing painting identified as 5-71 "a large veil on a triple-fold stretcher."
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Art inventory files and cards contain extensive details about Louis' artwork and often include photographs and transparencies, as well as written descriptions.  The files contain documentation of the movement of artwork, whether showing in an exhibition, donated to a museum or gallery, or sold through auction or to a private collector.  There are also notations about artwork donations made my Marcella Brenner before her death. Additionally, several estate inventories and lists of museums where pieces were located are filed here.