Avis Berman research material on Juliana Force
name: label: Creator
content: Berman, Avis
label: Names
content: Whitney Museum of American Art
label: Names
content: Force, Juliana, 1876-1948
label: Names
content: Whitney, Gertrude Vanderbilt, 1875-1942
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Authors -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Women art dealers
label: Topic
content: Women art historians
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The collection was donated in 2020 and 2021 by Avis Berman.
creator: label: Creator
content: Berman, Avis
setName: label: See more items in
content: Avis Berman research material on Juliana Force
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Avis Berman research material on Juliana Force, inaugural director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, measures 11.8 linear feet and dates from 1857 to circa 2010. The collection is comprised of Berman's research and writing files in preparation for her book, Rebels on Eighth Street: Juliana Force and the Whitney Museum of American Art, published in 1990. Included are manuscript drafts, correspondence, photographs, photocopies of archival material, notes, printed material, and theirty-seven recordings of interviews with numerous artists, as well as a few unidentified recordings. Berman's manuscript is also contained in digital format on twenty-three electronic disks. Research topics include Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the Whitney Museum, Whitney Studio Galleries and Club, MacDougal Alley, Force and the Rieser family, and historical events of the early 1900s.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Avis Berman (1949- ) is a writer, curator, and historian of American art, architecture and culture based in New
York, N.Y. She holds a bachelor's degree from Bucknell University and an master's degree from Rutgers
Univerisy, both in English literature. She is the author of numerous books including Rebels on Eighth Street:
Juliana Force and the Whitney Museum of American Art; James McNeill Whistler; and Edward Hopper's
New York. She was also co-author and editor of Katharine Kuh's memoir, My Love Affair with Modern Art:
Behind the Scenes with a Legendary Curator.

Berman has written numerous articles on subjects including painting, sculpture, photography, illustration,
design, architecture, and the social history of the visual arts for a broad range of publications including The
New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The Washington Post, Smithsonian, Saturday Review,
The Boston Book Review, American Art, ARTnews, The San Francisco Examiner, The Boston Globe, The
Philadelphia Inquirer, The Baltimore Sun, Art in America, Art & Antiques, House & Garden, and Architectural
Digest.
Throughout the 1980s 1990s and 2000s Avis served as a consultant for the Archives of American Art,
Washington, D.C., in her capacity as interviewer for the oral history project for which she has researched and
interviewed countless artists, collectors, and other figures in the art world in Europe and the United States.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 11.8 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1857-circa 2010
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.bermavis4
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Video recordings
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
label: Type
content: Interviews
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as two series.

Series 1: Writing Project Files, circa 1980s (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 2: Research and Subject Files, 1857-circa 2010 (10.2 linear feet; Boxes 2-13, OVs 14-15)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Sarah Mundy in 2023.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Video recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Sound recordings
label: Genre/Form
content: Interviews
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Avis Berman research material on Juliana Force, inaugural director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, measures 11.8 linear feet and dates from 1857 to circa 2010. The collection is comprised of Berman's research and writing files in preparation for her book, Rebels on Eighth Street: Juliana Force and the Whitney Museum of American Art, published in 1990. Included are manuscript drafts, correspondence, photographs, photocopies of archival material, notes, printed material, and theirty-seven recordings of interviews with numerous artists, as well as a few unidentified recordings. Berman's manuscript is also contained in digital format on twenty-three electronic disks. Research topics include Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the Whitney Museum, Whitney Studio Galleries and Club, MacDougal Alley, Force and the Rieser family, and historical events of the early 1900s.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Also in the Archives are the Avis Berman research material on Katharine Kuh, 1939-2006, research material on art and artists, 1976-1994, research material on Elie Nadelman, 2001, and an interview of Reuben Nakian conducted by Berman for the Archives Oral History Program, June 1981.