American Art Association Records
name: label: Creator
content: American Art Association
label: Names
content: American Watercolor Society
label: Names
content: Blakeslee Galleries (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Carnegie, Andrew, 1835-1919
label: Names
content: Crocker, William H.
label: Names
content: Kirby, Thomas Ellis, 1846-1924
label: Names
content: Millet, Francis Davis, 1846-1912
label: Names
content: Parsons, Alfred, 1847-1920
topic: label: Topic
content: Art -- Economic aspects
label: Topic
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- Economic aspects
label: Topic
content: Art, French
label: Topic
content: Art auctions
label: Topic
content: Art, American
label: Topic
content: Artists -- France -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Artists -- United States
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: A portion of the American Art Association records were donated in 1968 by Thomas Ellis Kirby's daughter, Mrs. Thomas B. Waller. The remaining records were donated by the American Antiquarian Society in 1978 and 1993.
creator: label: Creator
content: American Art Association
setName: label: See more items in
content: American Art Association Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The American Art Association records measure 27.8 linear feet and date from circa 1853-1929, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1885-1922. The records include auction and sales files, general financial and legal files, inventory and stock records, client files, printed materials, photographic materials, artwork, and the personal papers of founder Thomas Ellis Kirby.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The American Art Association was an art gallery and auction house based in New York City, New York, formed in 1883 by James F. Sutton, R. Austin Robertson, and Thomas E. Kirby. It was the first auction house in the United States. 

The Association was founded to promote American art and exhibit the work of American artists in its American Art Galleries in New York City.  In its first year of operation, the Association exhibited Thomas B. Clarke's collection of American paintings as a benefit for the National Academy of Design.  After the successful management of the public sale of the George I. Seney art collection in 1885, with Thomas E. Kirby as auctioneer, the Association continued conducting auctions and managing  estate sales. Austin Robertson died in 1892 and Sutton became a special partner in 1895. In 1912 Kirby's son, Gustavus T. Kirby, joined the Association as a general partner and later also acquired Sutton's interest and became a full partner. The Association was sold in 1923 to Cortlandt Field Bishop, and merged with the Anderson Auction Company to form the American Art Association-Anderson Galleries, Inc, in 1929. The firm was taken over by Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., in 1938.
function: label: Function
content: Arts organizations -- New York (State)
label: Function
content: Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
label: Function
content: Auction houses -- New York (State)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 27.8 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1853-1929
label: Date
content: bulk 1885-1922
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.amerarta
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Sales records
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Prints
label: Type
content: Sketches
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 9 series. Folder titles have been retained from the original records, and occasionally devised for clarity.

Series 1: Auctions, circa 1885-1922 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, BV23-24)

Series 2: Sales, circa 1884-1923 (8.1 linear feet; Boxes 2-6, 20-21, BV25-39)

Series 3: General Financial and Legal Files, circa 1883-1923 (9.3 linear feet; Boxes 6-11, BV40-62)

Series 4: Inventory and Stock Records, circa 1887-circa 1922 (0.8 linear feet; Box 11, BV63-65)

Series 5: Client Files, circa 1895-circa 1922 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 11-13)

Series 6: Printed Materials, circa 1853-1923 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 13-14, 21)

Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1885-circa 1922 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 14-15, 21-22)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1888-circa 1900 (0.1 linear feet; Boxes 15, 22)

Series 9: Thomas Ellis Kirby Personal Papers, circa 1861-1929 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 15-19)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: A portion of the papers received a preliminary level of arrangement upon receipt and were microfilmed onto reels 422-425 and reels 4478-4484. 

Multiple accessions were merged and archivally processed and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2015 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund. The Archives of American Art has implemented accelerated processing when possible to increase information about and access to more of our collections. For this collection, accelerated processing included arrangement to the series, subseries and folder levels, adhering to the creator's original arrangement as much as possible. Generally, folder contents were simply verified with the original folder titles, but items within folders were not arranged further. All materials were rehoused in archival folders and boxes for long-term stability, but staples and other fasteners have not all been removed.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of this collection are available on 35 mm microfilm reels 422-425 and 4478-4484 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of the material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Sales records
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The American Art Association records measure 27.8 linear feet and date from circa 1853-1929, with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1885-1922. The records include auction and sales files, general financial and legal files, inventory and stock records, client files, printed materials, photographic materials, artwork, and the scattered personal papers of founder Thomas Ellis Kirby.

Auction files contain a wide variety of materials regarding auction schedules, auctions, gallery sales, and estate sales. The files primarily contain correspondence, sales statements and ledgers, estate inventories and appraisals, and photographs. Of interest is a handwritten letter from Andrew Carnegie concerning the Second Prize Fund Exhibition.

Records of sales are documented in named files, sales ledgers, client account books, and Blakeslee Gallery sales ledgers.  Files are found for specific art collections and estates.  Sales ledgers list sales transactions of the Association by collection, department, genre, or named auction and provide the most detailed sales information, often noting title or subject, size, owner, lot number, date, purchaser, and price, and sometimes an index of artists.  Other ledgers document consignment and exhibition sales, as well as sales conducted by other galleries or auction houses, both in the United States and in Europe. Exhibition sales documented include those of Alfred Parsons and Frank Millet in 1903, the American Watercolor Society in 1902, and the American Painters and Illustrators in 1905, and others. Client account books provide itemized costs accrued by individuals or estates over the course of a sale or purchase.  Many of the ledgers contain name indexes. 

General financial and legal files primarily consist of cash and expense ledgers documenting daily, monthly, and yearly costs and expenses related to the production of auction and sales catalogs, costs associated with leasing spaces and equipment, shipping and crating, employee sales commissions, art department expenses, book department expenses, and other costs. Legal files contain scattered forms and contractual documents, as well as correspondence and documents related to two lawsuits.

Inventory and stock records document the Association's inventory through a series of stock books and inventory cards that include sales and provenance information.

Client files consist of cards divided into clients interested in art and clients interested in books.  They also include some information on specific client sales and purchases. Also found are numerous client address books.  Printed materials include auction catalogs, clippings, and newspapers.  

Photographs depict works of art and materials sold and collected. Of interest is a collection of cabinet photographs of French artists collected when the American Art Association was actively involved in the auction sales of thousands of paintings by French artists. Also found are four photo albums depicting auction items for a 1907 auction, prepared for the American Art Association by William H. Crocker. Several unsigned prints, sketches, and drawings are found in the artwork series. 

Thomas Ellis Kirby's scattered personal papers include an address book, scattered family and biographical materials, correspondence with clients and associates, writings and speeches, legal material, auction records, and photographs.