Forbes Watson papers
name: label: Creator
content: Watson, Forbes, 1880-1960
label: Names
content: Art Students League (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Pepsi-Cola Company
label: Names
content: Public Works of Art Project
label: Names
content: Red Cross
label: Names
content: United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts
label: Names
content: United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Painting and Sculpture
label: Names
content: United States. Public Buildings Administration. Section of Fine Arts
label: Names
content: Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984
label: Names
content: Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981
label: Names
content: Beal, Gifford, 1879-1956 -- Photographs
label: Names
content: Brancusi, Constantin, 1876-1957
label: Names
content: Bruce, Edward, 1879-1943
label: Names
content: Citron, Minna Wright, 1896-1991
label: Names
content: Coleman, Glenn O., 1887-1932
label: Names
content: Dows, Olin, 1904-1981
label: Photographer
content: Gallatin, A. E. (Albert Eugene), 1881-1952
label: Names
content: Genthe, Arnold, 1869-1942
label: Names
content: Glackens, Ira, 1907-1990
label: Names
content: Klonis, Stewart, 1901-1989
label: Names
content: Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974 -- Photographs
label: Names
content: Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953
label: Names
content: Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953 -- Photographs
label: Names
content: Mangravite, Peppino, 1896-
label: Names
content: Manship, Paul, 1885-1966
label: Names
content: Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954 -- Photographs
label: Names
content: Matisse, Henri, 1869-1954
label: Names
content: Morgenthau, Henry, 1891-1967
label: Names
content: Pène Du Bois, Guy, 1884-1958
label: Names
content: Ray, Man, 1890-1976
label: Names
content: Rowan, Edward Beatty, 1898-1946
label: Names
content: Saint-Gaudens, Homer, b. 1880 -- Photographs
label: Photographer
content: Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965
label: Names
content: Shimin, Symeon, 1902-
label: Names
content: Sterne, Maurice, 1878-1957
label: Names
content: Tucker, Allen, 1866-1939
label: Names
content: Watson, Nan, 1876-1966
label: Names
content: Weber, Max, 1881-1961
label: Names
content: Zorach, William, 1887-1966
place: label: Place
content: United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945
label: Place
content: New York N.Y. -- Buildings, structures, etc., Photographs
title: label: Topic
content: Arts (Magazine)
topic: label: Occupation
content: Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Occupation
content: Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York
label: Topic
content: Art and state
label: Topic
content: Art, American
label: Topic
content: Art publishing
label: Topic
content: Architecture, New York State, New York -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: Architecture -- New York, N.Y. -- Photographs
label: Topic
content: New Deal, 1933-1939
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war
label: Topic
content: Federal aid to the arts
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: The Forbes Watson papers were donated by Watson's widow, Nan Watson, in 1961. An additional folder of material was donated in 2018 by the Museum of Modern Art via Michelle Elligott, Chief of Archives, Library and Research.
creator: label: Creator
content: Watson, Forbes, 1880-1960
setName: label: See more items in
content: Forbes Watson papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: The papers of New York City art critic, writer, and lecturer Forbes Watson date from 1840-1967 with the bulk of materials dating from 1900-1960 and measure 13.92 linear feet. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, business records relating to the Arts Publishing Corporation, records documenting Watson's work for the Public Works of Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture, reference files, an exhibition file from the Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition, writings and notes, ten scrapbooks and loose pages, printed materials, and photographs.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: Forbes Watson (1879-1960) worked primarily in New York City and Washington, D.C. as an art critic, writer, lecturer, and consultant to the U. S. Treasury Department's Public Works of Art Project and Section of Painting and Sculpture (Section of Fine Arts). 

Forbes Watson was born on November 27, 1879 in Boston, the son of stockbroker John Watson and his wife Mary. Watson grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, attending the Phillips Academy in Andover, and graduating from Harvard University in 1902. After a brief period of freelance writing, he was hired by The New York Evening Post as an art critic in 1911 and worked there until 1917. In 1910, he married Agnes, professionally known as painter Nan Watson.

During World War I, Watson served with an American volunteer ambulance unit with the French army, later working with the American Red Cross in Paris. After the war, he moved back to New York City and worked as art critic for The World, from the early 1920s until 1931 and as editor of The Arts  magazine from 1923-1933. Watson also lectured at the Art Students League, and at various universities and arts organizations.

In 1933, Watson moved to Washington, D.C. to serve as technical director of the U. S. Treasury Department's short-lived Public Works of Art Project. In October 1934, Watson was employed as Chief Adviser to the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (later renamed the Section of Fine Arts) and later as Consultant to the Secretary's Office of the Treasury. During World War II, he organized various traveling exhibitions including "Art for Bonds" that promoted the sale of war bonds. Watson retired in 1946 and lived in Gaylordsville, Connecticut.

Watson was the author of numerous essays and reviews, and several books including American Painting Today and Winslow Homer, a biography of the noted American artist. With Edward Bruce, he produced a pictorial volume Art in Federal Buildings, Vol. I: Mural Designs. At his death he was working on his autobiography.

Forbes Watson died on May 31, 1960 in New Milford, Connecticut.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 13.92 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1840-1967
label: Date
content: bulk 1900-1960
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.watsforb
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Notes
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Drafts (documents)
label: Type
content: Scrapbooks
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged as 11 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1902-1960 (Box 1; 4 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1913-1960 (Box 1; 33 folders)

Series 3: Business Records, 1920-1944 (Box 1-3, 14, 22; 2.0 linear feet)

Series 4: U. S. Treasury Department File, 1926-1945 (Box 3-6, 14, 17, 22, OV 21; 3.4 linear feet)

Series 5: File for Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition "Paintings of the Year," 1946 (Box 6; 5 folders)

Series 6: Artist/Patron Files, 1840-1967 (Box 6-9, 15, OV 21; 2.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Art and Architecture File, 1929-1930 (Box 9; 35 folders)

Series 8: Notes and Writings, 1875-1950 (Box 9-10, 22; 1.3 linear feet)

Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1904-1951 (Box 9, 11, 14, BV 18, BV 19, BV 20; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 10: Printed Material, 1900-1961 (Box 10, 12-13, 16-17, 22; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Photographs, 1900-1950 (Box 13, 22; .4 linear feet)

All material is arranged chronologically, with the exception of the Artist/Patron Files which are arranged alphabetically.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Portions of the papers were separated and microfilmed in 1961 on reels D47-D57, 440, 1192-1194, 3480, and 4361. The microfilm reels are no longer in circulation because they do not reflect the current arrangement of the papers. All portions were merged and processed in 2010 by Jean Fitzgerald. The 2018 addition was processed in 2019 by Ryan Evans.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Notes
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Drafts (documents)
label: Genre/Form
content: Scrapbooks
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The papers of New York City art critic, writer, and lecturer Forbes Watson date from 1840-1967 with the bulk of materials dating from 1900-1960 and measure 13.92 linear feet. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, business records relating to the Arts Publishing Corporation, records documenting Watson's work for the Public Works of Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture, reference files, an exhibition file from the Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition, writings and notes, ten scrapbooks and loose pages, printed materials, and photographs. 

Biographical material includes Watson's Harvard diploma, documents concerning his service with the Red Cross in World War II, biographical accounts, and obituaries.

Correspondence is primarily with colleagues and includes scattered letters from Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Ira Glackens, Allen Tucker, and Max Weber. Other letters are from artists, art historians, and museum curators. A notebook contains shorthand drafts of letters from Watson.

Business records include personal business records consisting of various tax and stock records. The Arts Publishing Corporation records concern Watson's tenure as editor of The Arts magazine and contains a contract, correspondence, financial records, stockholders reports, press releases, a scrapbook, and issues of The Arts. Also included are business records pertaining to the Art in Federal Buildings, Inc..

The U.S. Treasury Department file is the largest series and documents Watson's federal employment as technical director, chief advisor, and consultant for Treasury Department's public art programs - the Public Works of Art Project and the Section of Painting and Sculpture. The files contain correspondence, financial reports, prospectuses, exhibition files, typescripts, clippings, exhibition catalogs, miscellaneous printed material, and photographs, and a scrapbook. The files contain a record of Watson's and other federal administrators' interactions with many artists during the Depression Era. Correspondence is primarily between Watson and Edward Bruce, Olin Dows, Henry and Elinor Morgenthau, and Edward B. Rowan. Found are scattered letters from artists including Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Paul Manship, and William Zorach, among many others. There are exhibition files for "Art for Bonds," "Army at War," and "War Against Japan." There are also photographs of U. S. Treasury Department events including a radio broadcast by John Dewey, Robert La Follette, Jr., and Sumner Welles. 

Documents from the Pepsi-Cola Company's Third Annual Exhibition at the National Academy of Design contains a prospectus, an exhibition catalog and artists' statements.

Artist/Patron files contain reference material concerning painters, sculptors, photographers, dancers, composers, authors, art collectors, art dealers, and museum administrators. Files may include writings, notes, artworks, exhibition catalogs and other printed materials. Of particular note are photographs, which include portrait photographs of artists and of artists in their studios. Notable photographers include Ansel Adams, Arnold Genthe, Man Ray, photographs of New York City by Charles Sheeler and a photo of Henri Matisse by A. E. Gallatin. Files for Nan Watson, Symeon Shimin, and Glenn O. Coleman contain artworks. A file for Constantin Brancusi contains legal documents concerning U. S. Customs vs. Brancusi. 

Art and Architecture files consist of reference material including photographs and notes concerning miscellaneous unattributed art works, American architecture, and furnishings.

Notes and writings consist of miscellaneous notes and typescripts of lectures and published articles, and notebooks.

Nine scrapbooks and loose scrapbook pages contain clippings of articles written by Watson, lists, and exhibition announcements and catalogs. Additional printed material includes clippings, copies of the Hue and Cry newspaper, exhibition announcements and catalogs, press releases, calendars of events, brochures for the Art Students League, book catalogs, published books, and miscellaneous printed material. 

Photographs are of Forbes Watson; family members including his wife, painter Nan Watson; and members of the Art Students League including Peggy Bacon, Minna Citron, Stewart Klonis, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and Reginald Marsh. There are also photographs of juries for the Carnegie Institute International Exhibitions that include colleagues Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Gifford Beal, Guy Pene DuBois, Leon Kroll, Henri Matisse, Homer Saint-Gaudens, and Maurice Sterne.