John Caldwell papers, circa 1909-1996

Biographical material includes identification cards, obituaries for John Caldwell and family members, a file on memorials held for Caldwell in San Francisco and New York, along with audio recordings of the services. This series also contains a published monograph which includes the biography, speeches, and writings of Joshua William Caldwell, a family member. Estate files consist of wills, appraisals, bequests, and correspondence. Also included is documentation regarding the John Caldwell Fund for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

This series houses letters to John Caldwell from friends, artists, and gallery and museum representatives including Amy Blakemore, Marian Goodman, Rebecca Horn, Jeff Koons, John R. Lane, Andrew Masullo, and Sean Scully. Also found are invoices, delivery receipts, and acknowledgement letters from institutions including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Luhring Agustine Gallery, New York, NY, Jack Tilton Gallery, New York, NY, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA, and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN. Also included are honorarium records for Caldwell's participation in juries, symposia, and lectures.

Found within the series are condolence letters to Joan Witek and John R. Lane on Caldwell's passing.

This series is organized chronologically.

Writings by John Caldwell consist of a draft of a speech on Winslow Homer and draft versions of various essays including, "Andy Warhol: Portraits and Disasters," "Art of the '90s," and "Andrew Wyeth: Drawings and Watercolors."

Also found are essays written by Caldwell's mother, Camilla, relating to the social welfare of children.

This series contains articles about John Caldwell and his curatorial career at the Carnegie Museum of Art and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Also included are articles written by Caldwell for the suburban weekly sections of the New York Times from 1980-1983. This series also contains newspaper and magazine clippings.

The series houses a catalog, Facing the Finish: Some Recent California Art for the exhibition Caldwell co-curated with Robert Riley in 1991 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Also found is a monograph of the collected writings of John Caldwell, This is About Who We Are, which was published posthumously.

This series houses photographs of Caldwell as an infant, young boy, and adult, as well as photographs of his parents, Nathan and Camilla Caldwell. Also included are photographs of Caldwell at exhibitions and with dealers, donors, and artists including Matthew Barney and Sigmar Polke. Found within the series is an image of Caldwell taken by Richard T. Hurst.

This series contains a video recording (VHS) of John Caldwell explaining a selection of the artworks included the 1985 Carnegie International. Found on the same VHS tape is an interview of John Caldwell and John R. Lane conducted by Ruth Massey in 1985. Caldwell and Lane discuss artists selected for the 1985 Carnegie International.