Jane Wade papers regarding Curt Valentin
name: label: Creator
content: Wade, Jane, 1925-
label: Names
content: Buchholz Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Curt Valentin Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Fine Arts Associates
label: Names
content: Universität Hamburg
label: Names
content: Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981
label: Names
content: Ben-Zion, 1897–1987
label: Names
content: Butler, Reg, 1913-1981
label: Names
content: Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976
label: Names
content: Cox, Jan, 1919-1980
label: Names
content: Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956
label: Names
content: Flannagan, John Bernard, 1895?-1942
label: Names
content: Gerson, Otto
label: Names
content: Hepworth, Barbara, Dame, 1903-1975
label: Names
content: Kahnweiler, Daniel Henry, 1884-
label: Names
content: Knaths, Karl, 1891-1971
label: Names
content: Kolbe, Georg, 1877-1947
label: Names
content: Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891-1973
label: Names
content: Marcks, Gerhard
label: Names
content: Marini, Marino, 1901-1980
label: Names
content: Masson, André, 1896-1987
label: Names
content: Moore, Henry, 1898-1986
label: Names
content: Odets, Clifford, 1906-1963
label: Names
content: Osborn, Robert Chesley, 1904-1994
label: Names
content: Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973
label: Names
content: Pickens, Alton
label: Names
content: Pickhardt, Carl E.
label: Names
content: Piper, John, 1903-
label: Names
content: Roesch, Kurt, 1905-
label: Names
content: Smith, David, 1906-1965
label: Names
content: Sutherland, Graham Vivian, 1903-
label: Names
content: Valentin, Curt, 1902-1954
topic: label: Occupation
content: Gallery owners -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- 20th century
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Jane Wade papers were donated by Jane Wade in 1976. The catalogs of exhibitions organized by Curt Valentin were donated in 1977 by Jane Wade. In 2018 the two collections were merged and named the Jane Wade papers regarding Curt Valentin.
creator: label: Creator
content: Wade, Jane, 1925-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Jane Wade papers regarding Curt Valentin
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Jane Wade papers regarding art dealer and New York gallery owner Curt Valentin, measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1903-1971. This small collection consists of papers donated by former Curt Valentin Gallery employee Jane Wade, which provide scattered documentation of Valentin's life and exhibitions at the Buchholz Gallery (renamed Curt Valentin Gallery in 1951) including biographical material, correspondence from artists Valentin represented, writings and notes, lists documenting clients, exhibitions held, and artwork by Picasso sold by the gallery, clippings of obituaries for Valentin, and a complete set of Buchholz Gallery exhibition catalogs from 1937-1948.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Born in Germany in 1902, modern art dealer Curt Valentin immigrated to the United States in 1937 where he opened the Buchholz Gallery on West Forty-sixth Street in New York city. After two years he moved the gallery to West Fifty-seventh Street and in 1951 it was renamed the Curt Valentin Gallery. 

Valentin's first job was with Alfred Flechtheim, the leading dealer in modern art in Berlin at that time. In 1934 he began working with Karl Buchholz in Hamburg, selling modern art classified as degenerate by the Nazi government from the rear of Buchholz's bookstore. In 1937 Valentin was granted a permit from the Reichskammer der bildenden Kunste in Berlin to purchase and sell German artwork outside of Germany. He left Germany that same year with a number of pictures and came to the United States.

Valentin was a widely respected dealer who specialized in modern paintings, sculpture, and prints, and handled the work of major artists including Alexander Calder, John Flannagan, Gerhard Marcks, Marino Marini, and Henry Moore.

Valentin died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 52, while visiting Mario Marini in Italy in 1954.

Jane Wade was employed as Valentin's assistant and continued to help run the Curt Valentin Gallery after his death, until it closed in 1955. She then worked for Otto Gerson at Fine Arts Associates, where she helped to handle the works of some of the artists previously represented by Valentin.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1903-1971
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.wadejane
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Prints
label: Type
content: Sketches
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as a single series.

Series 1: Jane Wade Papers Regarding Curt Valentin, 1903-1971 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was donated separately in two accessions: The Jane Wade papers, and the Catalogs of exhibitions organized by Curt Valentin. Both accessions were microfilmed after donation on reels 2322 and 5742 respectively. Due to their related subject matter and provenance the two collections were merged as the Jane Wade papers regarding Curt Valentin. The collection was then processed, prepared for digitization, and described in a finding aid by Stephanie Ashley in 2018 and digitized with funding provided by The Walton Family Foundation.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: This collection was digitized in 2018 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Prints
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Jane Wade papers regarding art dealer and New York gallery owner Curt Valentin, measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1903-1971. This small collection consists of papers donated by former Curt Valentin Gallery employee Jane Wade, which provide scattered documentation of Valentin's life and exhibitions at the Buchholz Gallery (renamed Curt Valentin Gallery in 1951) including biographical material, correspondence from artists Valentin represented, writings and notes, lists documenting clients, exhibitions held, and artwork by Picasso sold by the gallery, clippings of obituaries for Valentin, and a complete set of Buchholz Gallery exhibition catalogs from 1937-1948.

Valentin's biographical material is in German and includes his baptismal certificate, a report book from Hamburg University, a letter of recommendation from Commetersche Kunsthandlung, a 1937 permit authorizing Valentin to buy and sell the work of German artists outside Germany, and his 1950 passport.

Valentin's correspondence is primarily with artists and includes letters from Ben-Zion, Reg Butler, Alexander Calder, Jan Cox, Lyonel Feininger, John Flannagan, Barbara Hepworth, Karl Knaths, Gerhard Marcks, André Masson, Henry Moore, Clifford Odets, Carl Pickhardt, Alton Pickens, John Piper, Kurt Roesch, and Graham Sutherland. There are also photocopies of three letters in German from Georg Kolbe. Many of the letters are substantial and provide details about the artists and their work. Also found are a letter vouching for Valentin's loyalty to the United States from Alfred Barr, and two 1942 letters from France from art dealer Henry Kahnweiler, containing news of European artists including Picasso and André Masson.

Jane Wade's correspondence extends to her time working for Otto Gerson at Fine Arts Associates, and includes letters from some of the artists whose work was handled by Curt Valentin, including Alexander Calder, Lois Dailey, and Henry Moore. There are also thirteen letters and telegrams from David Smith, with some responses from Jane Wade and Otto Gerson, which document exhibitions and details of his artist-dealer relationship with Gerson and include sketches of his sculpture with information about prices.  Also found in Wade's correspondence are letters from Gertrude Lennart and Marino Marini. Lennart describes the last days of Valentin's life as she accompanied him on a visit to Marini in Italy in August 1954. 

There are three folders of condolence letters written upon Valentin's death, from artists, museum and gallery professionals, and other colleagues and friends. 

Writings and notes include two appreciations of Valentin written after his death by André Masson and Henry Moore, and a sheet of notes written by John Flannagan with an accompanying note entitled "Some of Johns' thoughts...."

Printed material is comprised of news clippings of obituaries and reviews of a memorial exhibition for Valentin, in addition to a complete set of bound exhibition catalogs for Buchholz Gallery from 1937-1948. Also found is a bound collection of 1929 exhibition catalogs for Galerie Alfred Flechtheim.

Artwork includes a Christmas card from Valentin designed by an artist whose name is illegible; a print by Gerhard Marcks; and a colored pencil sketch of "127 Evil Eye II" on Curt Valentin letter head, with an address on the Rue de Seine written beside it. 

Photographs include two of Valentin in his gallery and two of an unidentified woman, possibly Jane Wade, in the gallery; a folder of photographs of Valentin's apartment showing his art collection; a photo of a Robert Osborn cartoon about Valentin; and a photo of "Portrait of Curt Valentin" by Jacques Lipchitz.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The bulk of Curt Valentin's papers are held by the Museum of Modern Art Archives.