Robert Rosenblum Papers
name: label: Creator
content: Rosenblum, Robert
label: Names
content: Columbia University -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
label: Names
content: Los Angeles County Museum of Art
label: Names
content: Musée d'Orsay
label: Names
content: National Museum of American Art (U.S.)
label: Names
content: New York University -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Princeton University -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
label: Names
content: University of Michigan -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Yale University -- Faculty
label: Names
content: Becraft, Melvin E.
label: Names
content: Ingres, Jean-Auguste-Dominique, 1780-1867
label: Names
content: Kramer, Hilton
label: Names
content: Rockwell, Norman, 1894-1978
label: Names
content: Rosenquist, James, 1933-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Art museum curators
label: Topic
content: Art -- Study and teaching
label: Topic
content: Art -- 19th century
label: Topic
content: Art -- 18th century
label: Topic
content: Painting, Modern
label: Topic
content: Portraits
label: Topic
content: Dogs in art
label: Topic
content: Painting, French
label: Topic
content: Photographs
label: Topic
content: Educators -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The papers were donated  in multiple accessions by Robert Rosenblum between 1986 and 2003, and by his widow, Jane Kaplowitz between 2010 and 2013.
creator: label: Creator
content: Rosenblum, Robert
setName: label: See more items in
content: Robert Rosenblum Papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of art historian, curator, and professor Robert Rosenblum measure 38.3 linear feet and 1.17 GB and date from circa 1927 to 2009, with the bulk dating from 1950 to 2006.  They include biographical material, extensive personal and professional correspondence; lectures, writings, and writing project files by Rosenblum and others; exhibition files; research reference files; teaching files; personal business records; printed and digital material; photographs; and artwork.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Robert Rosenblum (1927-2006) was an art historian, curator, and professor who worked primarily in New York City. 

Rosenblum received his B.A. from Queens College, his M.A. from Yale, and his Ph.D. from the Institute of Fine Art at New York University in 1956. He spent a year teaching art at the University of Michigan before becoming an associate professor at Princeton, ultimately accepting a Professor of Fine Arts position at NYU in 1966, where he spent the rest of his professorial career interspersed with visiting professorships at Oxford University and Yale University. Rosenblum was named Henry Ittleson, Jr. Professor of Modern European Art at NYU in 1976, and received the Frank Jewett Mather Award for Distinction in Art Criticism in 1981. After being appointed Stephen and Nan Swid Curator of 20th-Century Art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1996, Rosenblum went on to curate such exhibitions as 1900: Art at the Crossroads (2000) and Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People (2001). Prior to this appointment, he was one of the organizers of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's French Painting, 1774-1830: The Age of Revolution (1974). He received a Distinguished Teaching Award from NYU in 2005, and continued to curate, lecture, teach, and write.

Rosenblum was a prolific author, and his seminal works include: Cubism and Twentieth-Century Art (1959), Transformations in Late Eighteenth-Century Art (1967), Modern Painting and the Northern Romantic Tradition: Friedrich to Rothko (1975), and 19th-Century Art (co-authored with H.W. Janson, 1984).

Rosenblum married Jane Kaplowitz in 1978.  He died in New York City in 2006.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 38.3 Linear Feet
label: Extent
content: 1.17 Gigabytes
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1927-2009
label: Date
content: bulk 1950-2006
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.roserobe
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Gigabytes
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Collages
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Interviews
label: Type
content: Transcripts
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 11 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1927-2006 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, 1.00 GB; ER02)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1927-2006 (4.5 linear feet; Boxes 1-5)

Series 3: Lectures, Writings, and Writing Project Files, 1940-2006 (13.5 linear feet; Boxes 5-16, OV 39-41, 0.063 GB; ER01)

Series 4: Writings by Others, circa 1954-2006 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 16-19)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, circa 1965-circa 2006 (5.2 linear feet; Boxes 19-24, 0.109 GB; ER03)

Series 6: Research Files, circa 1927-2006 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 24-27)

Series 7: Teaching Files and Class Notes, 1955-2006 (4.3 linear feet; Boxes 27-31)

Series 8: Personal Business Records, 1951-2009 (4.4 linear feet; Boxes 31-36)

Series 9: Printed Material, 1927-2009 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 36-38)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1950s-circa 2000 (0.3 linear feet; Box 38, OV 41)

Series 11: Artwork, circa 1940s-circa 1980s (0.1 linear feet; Box 38)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Multiple accessions were merged, processed, and a finding aid prepared by Anna Rimel in 2017 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. Born-digital records were processed by Kirsi Ritosalmi-Kisner in 2019 with funding provided by Smithsonian Collection Care and Preservation Fund.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Collages
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of art historian, curator, and professor Robert Rosenblum measure 38.3 linear feet and 1.17 GB and date from circa 1927 to 2009, with the bulk dating from 1950 to 2006.  They include biographical material, extensive personal and professional correspondence; lectures, writings, and writing project files by Rosenblum and others; exhibition files; research reference files; teaching files; personal business records; printed and digital material; photographs; and artwork.

Biographical materials include Rosenblum's bibliography and resume materials, various school related ephemera and diplomas, a transcript of an interview with Amy Newman for Artforum, and a digital video recording of a Josef Levi interview. Extensive personal and professional correspondence is with friends, family, colleagues, publishers, museums, and others.  Some of the correspondents include Melvin Becraft, the Guggenheim, Harry Abrams, Inc., Hilton Kramer, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the National Museum of American Art.  Also found are numerous postcards.

Lectures, writings, and writing project files document Rosenblum's prolific writing and speaking career, and include notes, copies, and manuscript drafts of lectures, articles, catalog essays, and books, as well as additional materials related to the writings and the publication of books, such as as correspondence, editing feedback, photographs, and lists of photographs.  There are manuscript, notes, and other materials related to many of Rosenblum's notable books, including  Transformations in Late Eighteenth-Century Art, Paintings in the Musee D'Orsay, 19th-Century Art, The Dog in Art, Ingres, Modern Painting and the Northern Tradition, and others.  Also found are Rosenblum's dissertation and other student writings.  There is also a series containing writings by or about others, such as students and colleagues. 

Rosenblum planned and facilitated numerous exhibitions that are well-documented within the exhibition files, including French Painting, 1774-1830: The Age of Revolution (1974), 1900: Art at the Crossroads (2000), Norman Rockwell: Pictures for the American People (2001), Best in Show: Dogs in Art from the Renaissance to the Present (2006), and Citizens and Kings: Portraits in the Age of Revolution, 1760-1830 (2007), among many others.  Contents of each exhibition file vary considerably but often include correspondence, lists of artwork, proposals, notes, catalog drafts and outlines (see also series 3), and printed materials.  There are a few sound cassettes, including a recorded interview with James Rosenquist with transcripts. Also included are digital photographs of Norman and Irma Braman Collection exhibition.

Research reference files cover a wide variety of art related topics, but are arranged within a separate series because they are not related to specific named projects as are the files in Series 3.  These files contain research notes, bibliographies, and syllabi kept by Rosenblum presumably for a variety of publications, research interests, and teaching references. 

Teaching files and class notes document Rosenblum's professorial career at Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University, University of Michigan, Yale College, and Yale University, and include a variety of course materials.

Personal business records consist of various financial and legal documents, expense and income records, publishing and speaking contracts, and royalties received. 

The papers also include a variety of printed materials, photographs, student sketches by Rosenblum, and an unidentified collage.