Image assets for this folder have not been fully processed.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Jayna Hanson and Stephanie Ashley
Scope and Contents
The papers of influential New York author and art critic Clement Greenberg measure 8.6 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1983. The bulk of the papers consists of letters from art critics, artists, family, friends, curators, collectors, publishers, galleries, and museums, with scattered letters from Greenberg. Also found are Greenberg's business and financial records along with small amounts of biographical material, printed material, and writings consisting of two reports.
Correspondence includes letters to Greenberg, often documenting the lives and careers of many of the correspondents in significant detail, and scattered copies of Greenberg's replies. Much of the correspondence is rich and substantive, and is indicative of Greenberg's influence in the art world. Correspondents include Darby Bannard, Ethel Baziotes, Anthony Caro, Richard Diebenkorn, Piero Dorazio, Andre Emmerich, Paul Feeley, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Robert Goodnough, Adolf Gottleib, Hans Hofmann, Philippe Hosiasson, Jacob Kainen, Rosalind Krauss, Robert Motherwell, Ken Moffett, Barnett Newman, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Beverly Pepper, Ludwig Sander, David Smith, Kimber Smith, Clyfford Still, Anne Truitt, Leslie Waddington and many others.
Biographical material includes notes from an interview with Greenberg conducted by Deborah Solomon in 1983. Greenberg's personal business and financial records include correspondence and other documentation related to Greenberg's appearances, such as for lectures and on television, and documents relating to Greenberg's testimony at the Mark Rothko Trial in 1974.
Artwork consists of one etching by Kurt Wisenski. Although the papers contain very few of Greenberg's writings about art, there are lists of artists and reports written by Greenberg on the state of art in Japan and India in 1967 which are probably related to his membership in the American Committee for Cultural Freedom. Printed material includes scattered clippings concerning art and exhibition announcements.
One series of access restricted papers contains documents relating to Greenberg's role as executor for the David Smith estate.
Language
English
Provenance
Clement Greenberg initially lent material for microfilming in 1968-1969. He donated most of this material to the Archives of American Art with additional papers in several accretions between 1984 to 1991.
Separated Material
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels N69-91, N70-7, and N737). Most, but not all, of these papers were later donated by Greenberg. Loaned materials not donated at a later date are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
Related Material
The Portland Art Museum holds Clement Greenberg's private art collection as well as a library of exhibition catalogs.
Funding
Sponsor
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Funding for the digitization of the papers was provided in part by The Walton Family Foundation.
Processing Information
All accretions, including earlier microfilmed materials, were merged and processed by Jayna Hanson in 2009 with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. The collection was prepared for digitization in 2022 by Stephanie Ashley and was digitized in 2023 with funding from The Walton Family Foundation.
