Two letters from Helen Richardson relating to Joseph Stella
name: label: Creator
content: Richardson, Helen
label: Names
content: Stella, Joseph, 1877-1946
topic: label: Occupation
content: Businesspeople -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The letters were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2006 by the Smithsonian American Art and Portrait Gallery Library.
creator: label: Creator
content: Richardson, Helen
setName: label: See more items in
content: Two letters from Helen Richardson relating to Joseph Stella
abstract: label: Summary
content: Two letters from Helen Richardson relating to Joseph Stella date from 1957 and 1968 and measure 0.01 linear foot. The letters provide insight into Stella's personal life and career and the creation of some of his most important works, including his first paintings of the Brooklyn Bridge.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Businesswoman Helen Richardson was born in circa 1887 and met painter Joseph Stella in 1920 after coming from France to New York City with her children. The two entered what Richardson described as a common law pact as Stella had a wife from a previous marriage with whom he had lost contact. Richardson and her children lived with Stella until he left for Europe in 1927, where she subsequently joined him in 1929. Following the death of Stella's brother, Antonio, and the loss of the financial support that Antonio had provided, the two returned to New York and separated in 1929. 

Richardson wrote to E. P. Richardson in 1957 offering her assistance in reviving interest in Stella's work by providing what details she could about their time together and her knowledge of his life after their separation.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.01 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1957-1968
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.richhele
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: Due to the small size of the collection the papers are arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Stephanie Ashley in 2024 and was digitized in 2024 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: The collection was digitized in 2023 and is available on the Archives of American Art website.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Two letters from Helen Richardson relating to Joseph Stella date from 1957 and 1968 and measure 0.01 linear foot. The letters provide insight into Stella's personal life and career and the creation of some of his most important works, including his first paintings of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The letters include one dated May 23, 1957 to Edgar Preston Richardson (no relation), then director of the Archives of American Art, and one dated February 14, 1968 to Garnett McCoy, then archivist at the Archives of American Art. Richardson discusses Stella's works of art, her life with Stella including their lifestyle and friendships with other artists, art dealers, and patrons, and Stella's relationships with family members and their impact on his income and the handling of his estate after his death.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds the Joseph Stella Papers, circa 1900-1970.