René Gimpel papers
name: label: Creator
content: Gimpel, René
label: Names
content: E. Gimpel & Wildenstein
label: Names
content: Galerie René Gimpel
label: Names
content: Godwin, Blake-More, 1894-
label: Names
content: Kress, Samuel H. (Samuel Henry), 1863-1955
label: Names
content: Monet, Claude, 1840-1926
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Art dealers -- France -- Paris
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: A portion of the collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Lawrence S. Jeppson in 1971, who received it from Jean Gimpel as research for his book on art dealers. Another gift was donated by Jean Gimpel, René Gimpel's son, in 1972. Loaned material on reels 415-419 was microfilmed in London through Jean Gimpel in 1972.
creator: label: Creator
content: Gimpel, René
setName: label: See more items in
content: René Gimpel papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of Parisian art dealer, René Gimpel (1881-1945), dating from circa 1890-1966, with the bulk of the material dating from 1902-1930s, and measuring 0.4 linear feet, provide a small but significant window into the crucial relationship between American collectors and the art dealers who supplied them, as they amassed some of the most influential art collections of the first half of the twentieth century. Gimpel's work as an art dealer is documented through correspondence with his parents, clients, business associates, and collectors, including Helen Frick and Duveen Brothers, Blake-More Godwin and the Toledo Museum of Art, Florence Libbey, Samuel H. Kress, Silva White, and others, and through printed material, writings by Gimpel, and photographs of René and Ernest Gimpel and others.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: René Gimpel (1881-1945) was an influential Jewish Parisian art dealer with galleries in Paris and New York City, who sought to protect art collections from the Nazis in the 1930s and early 1940s, until he was arrested for Resistance activities and imprisoned at the Neuengamme concentration camp in Germany. He died in captivity in January 1945.


Gimpel played an important role in building American art collections between the two World Wars. His father, Ernest Gimpel, operated E. Gimpel & Wildenstein with Nathan Wildenstein in New York, New York, from 1902-1919, and René Gimpel traveled repeatedly to the United States during this time to facilitate sales to collectors in the United States. Gimpel's core business was initially in 18th-century French art, but he later became a key dealer in Impressionist and other 19th-century works by artists including Monet, Cassatt, Degas, Derain, Renoir, and others.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 0.4 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1890-1966
label: Date
content: bulk 1902-1930s
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.gimprene
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as one series.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Stephanie Ashley in 2019.
altformavail: label: Existence and Location of Copies
content: Portions of the collection and material lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reels 270, 918, 1817, and 415-419 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory does not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The papers of Parisian art dealer, René Gimpel (1881-1945), dating from circa 1890-1966, with the bulk of the material dating from 1902-1930s, and measuring 0.4 linear feet, provide a small but significant window into the crucial relationship between American collectors and the art dealers who supplied them, as they amassed some of the most influential art collections of the first half of the twentieth century. Gimpel's work as an art dealer is documented through correspondence with his parents, clients, business associates, and collectors, including Helen Frick and Duveen Brothers, Blake-More Godwin and the Toledo Museum of Art, Florence Libbey, Samuel H. Kress, Silva White, and others, and through printed material, writings by Gimpel, and photographs of René and Ernest Gimpel and others.
separatedmaterial: label: Separated Materials
content: The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reels 415-419, including diaries, 1918-1945, 22 volumes; ca. 750 letters, 1908-1945, including correspondence with Bernard Berenson, Mary Cassatt, Walter Gay, Malvina Hoffman, Arthur Lee, the Rockefeller family, Marcel Proust, and others; writings; a stockbook and price lists; and exhibition catalogs. Loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.