American Museum of Natural History, Dept. of Anthropology correspondence with Barnett Newman and Betty Parsons
name: label: Creator
content: American Museum of Natural History. Department of Anthropology
label: Names
content: Betty Parsons Gallery
label: Names
content: Wakefield Gallery
label: Names
content: Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970
label: Names
content: Parsons, Betty, 1900-1982
label: Names
content: Shapiro, Harry L. (Harry Lionel), 1902-1990
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Lent for microfilming by the American Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology, 1992.
creator: label: Creator
content: American Museum of Natural History. Department of Anthropology
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The American Museum of Natural History Department of Anthropology was established in 1873, four years after the founding of the museum in New York, NY. It holds objects related to people of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific Islands. 

Barnett Newman (1905-1970) was an abstract expressionist painter associated with the New York School and Color Field painters. He is known for his characteristic "zips," or thin vertical bands that separated areas of color. 

Betty Parsons (1900-1982) was an art dealer in New York, N.Y. Parsons was director of the Wakefield Bookshop Gallery, 1940-1944, and director of the contemporary section of the Mortimer Brandt Gallery, 1944-1946. She opened Betty Parsons Gallery in 1946 and represented many abstract expressionists. The gallery closed in 1983.
function: label: Function
content: Natural history museums -- New York -- New York
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 26 Items ((on partial microfilm reel))
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1944-1946
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.amermuse
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: 35mm microfilm reel 4588 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The microfilmed American Museum of Natural History, Department of Anthropology correspondence with Barnett Newman and Betty Parsons contains correspondence between painter Barnett Newman and gallerist Betty Parsons with Harry L. Shapiro, Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History regarding two exhibitions of Native American art: Pre-Columbian Stone Sculpture at Wakefield Gallery in 1944 and Northwest Coast Indian Painting at Betty Parsons Gallery in 1946. Newman wrote essays for the catalogs of both shows stressing the affinity between Native American and modern art. The exhibition catalogs and announcements are also included in the collection.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also hold the Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers, circa 1920-1991, bulk 1946-1983 and the microfilmed Barnett Newman papers, 1943-1971.