Thomas M. Messer papers
name: label: Creator
content: Messer, Thomas M.
label: Names
content: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
label: Names
content: Bacon, Francis, 1909-1992
label: Names
content: Barnet, Will, 1911-2012
label: Names
content: Bell, Larry, 1939-
label: Names
content: Burri, Alberto, 1915-
label: Names
content: Bury, Pol, 1922-2005
label: Names
content: Chagall, Marc, 1887-1985
label: Names
content: Chryssa, 1933-
label: Names
content: Dubuffet, Jean, 1901-
label: Names
content: Ernst, Max, 1891-1976
label: Names
content: Flavin, Dan, 1933-
label: Names
content: Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011
label: Names
content: Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966
label: Names
content: Hamilton, Richard, 1922-
label: Names
content: Hélion, Jean, 1904-1987
label: Names
content: Knowlton, Grace, 1932-
label: Names
content: Koczy, Rosemarie, 1939-2007
label: Names
content: Kolář, Jiří, 1914-2002
label: Names
content: Kuh, Katharine
label: Names
content: Martin, Agnes, 1912-2004
label: Names
content: Moore, Henry, 1898-1986
label: Names
content: Rickey, George
label: Names
content: Simonds, Charles, 1945-
label: Names
content: Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980
label: Names
content: Tworkov, Jack
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art museum directors -- United States
label: Topic
content: Curators -- New York (State) -- New York
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated to the Archives of American Art in 1995 by Thomas Messer and in 2016 by the Thomas Messer estate via Adam Lehner, executor.
creator: label: Creator
content: Messer, Thomas M.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Thomas M. Messer papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of New York museum director and independent curator Thomas M. Messer measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1949-2010. Material includes correspondence, a diary transcript, and printed material that reflect Messer's long career, primarily as director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection and documents the relationships he built with artists, art historians, curators, and others colleagues. Notable correspondents include Francis Bacon, Will Barnet, Larry Bell, Alberto Burri, Pol Bury, Marc Chagall, Chryssa, Jean Dubuffet, Max Ernst, Dan Flavin, Helen Frankenthaler, Alberto Giacometti, Richard Hamilton, Jean Hélion, Grace Knowlton, Rosemarie Koczy, Jirí Kolár, Katharine Kuh, Agnes Martin, Henry Moore, George Rickey, Charles Simonds, Clyfford Still, Jack Tworkov, and many others.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Thomas Messer (1920-2013) was a museum director and independent curator in New York, New York. Born and raised in Czechoslovakia, Messer became a United States citizen in 1944 and served in the United States Army in World War II. He earned his bachelor's degree from Boston University and studied at the Sorbonne in France before returning to the United States to study art history and museology at Harvard University. After obtaining his graduate degree, Messer was the director of the Roswell Museum in Roswell, New Mexico and then of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. In 1961, Messer became the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, which includes the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy. Messer retired from his position there in 1988 and became a freelance curator, teacher, writer, and arts consultant.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4.6 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1949-2010
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.messthom
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Transcripts
label: Type
content: Diaries
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as three series

Series 1: Correspondence, 1962-2010 (4 linear feet; Box 1-4)

Series 2: Diary Transcript, 2007-2009 (0.02 gigabytes; ER01)

Series 3: Printed Material, 1949-1987 (0.6 linear feet; Box 5-6)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Hilary Price in 2017.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Transcripts
label: Genre/Form
content: Diaries
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of New York museum director and independent curator Thomas M. Messer measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1949-2010. Material includes correspondence, a diary transcript, and printed material that reflect Messer's long career, primarily as director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Correspondence comprises the bulk of the collection and documents the relationships he built with artists, art historians, curators, and others colleagues. Notable correspondents include Francis Bacon, Will Barnet, Larry Bell, Alberto Burri, Pol Bury, Marc Chagall, Chryssa, Jean Dubuffet, Max Ernst, Dan Flavin, Helen Frankenthaler, Alberto Giacometti, Richard Hamilton, Jean Hélion, Grace Knowlton, Rosemarie Koczy, Jirí Kolár, Katharine Kuh, Agnes Martin, Henry Moore, George Rickey, Charles Simonds, Clyfford Still, Jack Tworkov, and many others.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also found in the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Thomas Messer conducted by Paul Cummings in 1970 and by Andrew Decker in 1994-1995.