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Ricky Gomez
Scope and Contents
The papers of Hudson D. Walker measure 15.9 linear feet and date from 1920 to 1982. The papers document his career as an art collector, arts administrator and researcher through correspondence, writings, artist files, personal business records, professional activity, scrapbooks, printed material, and photographic material.
Correspondence consists of letters between Walker and family and friends, some business related correspondence in regards to stocks he owned in the lumber industry, and correspondence with art organizations and individuals regarding research for art pieces in their collections. Also included is correspondence from 1945 to 1948 regarding the New York State Art Bill that created the New York University Division of Painting and Graphic Arts.
Writings consist of some miscellaneous notes and a number of diaries containing notes on various artists and artwork.
Artists files consist primarily of photographs and some printed material and artist statements on artists Walker researched. Some of the artists include: Henry Botkin, Marsden Hartley, Moy Seong, Harry Sternberg, and Harry Kemp.
Personal business records consist primarily of invoices for research work, ledger books, and receipt books.
Professional activity files consist of correspondence, meeting minutes, and some financial materials for organizations for which Walker was a board memeber of. Organizations include: T.B. Walker Foundation, National Council of American-Soviet Friendship, Red River Lumber Company, American Federation of Arts, and the Artists Equity Association. Also included are loan agreements, inventories and price lists, and other exhibition materials for art museums where Walker worked.
Scrapbooks consist of a series of professional and printed material scrapbooks containing clippings, exhibition announcements, and catalogs.
Printed material consists of clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for exhibitions that Walker either helped organize or lent artwork to, poetry by Harry Kemp, and articles written by Walker.
Photographic material consists of photographs of Walker with family, friends, and artists. Also included are photographs, slides, and transparencies of artwork he researched.
Unprocessed material consists of documents awaiting mold treatment. Material consists of correspondence, professional material, and some printed material.
Language
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Material on reels D351-D358 & unmicrofilmed donated 1966-1982 by Hudson D. and Ione G. Walker; material on reel 1535 lent for microfilming 1979 by Ione G. Walker, widow of Walker; material on reel 130 donor unspecified.
Separated Materials
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on Reel 1535: 4 volumes of a diary, 1929, 1930, 1942, and 1945. The first two volumes were kept while Walker was a graduate student at Harvard, the 1942 volume covers exhibitions and artists, including Marsden Hartley, and the 1945 volume details Walker's travels in Europe after World War II. Also included are 7 letters, a valentine, and two post cards from his wife, Ione G. Walker, and a 1967 letter from Hans van Weeren-Griek. Loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Related Materials
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Hudson Walker conducted by Dorothy Seckler, August 21, 1965; an oral history interview with Hudson Walker conducted by Paul Cummings, October 22-28, 1969; an oral history with Hudson Walker conducted by Robert Brown, September 1, 1971-August 2, 1972.
Processing Information
The collection was processed, and a finding aid prepared by Ricky Gomez in 2023.
