Perry Townsend Rathbone papers, 1929-2022

Collection Information

Size: 6.1 Linear feet

Summary: The papers of museum director Perry Townsend Rathbone measure 6.1 linear feet and date from 1929 to 2022. The papers document Rathbone's career as museum director of the City Art Museum of St. Louis and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and his later work with Christie's New York office. Found within the papers are biographical materials, correspondence with friends and colleagues, writings, professional and project files, printed materials, and photographs, mostly of exhibitions. There is a 1.8 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2023 that includesfiles on exhibitions, speeches, lectures; files on artists; slides and photographs of works of art; correspondence; writings by Belinda Rathbone and others. Materials date from circa 1940-2022.

Biographical/Historical Note

Perry Townsend Rathbone (1911-2000) was a prominent museum director who worked primarily in Boston and New York City. He was an early supporter of German Expressionism in America. Read More

Provenance

Perry Townsend Rathbone donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1977 and 1988. Additional material donated by the heirs to Parry T. Rathbone represented by his daughter, Belinda Rathbone, in 2023.

Related Materials

The Archives of American Art also holds an oral history interview of Perry Townsend Rathbone conducted in 1975-1976 by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art's oral history program.

Language Note

The bulk of the collection is in English. Other languages include Arabic, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, most of which are in the travel records.

Funding Note

Processing of this collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.