Smithsonian Institution Archives

Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution

Record Unit 541
Cooper-Hewitt Museum,
Office of the Registrar,
Loan Files,
1958, 1975-1987

Introduction

Descriptive Entry


INTRODUCTION

This finding aid was digitized with funds generously provided by the Smithsonian Institution Women's Committee.


DESCRIPTIVE ENTRY

These records pertain to the exhibitions of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, beginning with the first held under the auspices of the Smithsonian, "Immovable Objects/Lower Manhattan from Battery Park to the Brooklyn Bridge," which opened in June 1975, and ending with "Louis Sullivan: The Function of Ornament," which closed in September 1987. In addition, a file is included for the exhibition "Clay and Color: The Ceramics of Picasso," which opened in the Cooper Union Museum in March 1958. The records largely document the loan of objects by public and private institutions, organizations, and individuals for exhibition in the Museum. Exhibition documentation consists of correspondence with lenders regarding special conditions and restrictions on loans; loan agreements; packing, shipping, and insurance information; object specifications, provenance, and insurance values; object packing, condition and conservation photographs and reports; inventory lists; exhibition budgets; installation plans; label copy; and press reviews. The extent of documentation varies with each exhibition. Many of the exhibition files correspond to object photographs contained in record unit 542 and are linked to the photographs by loan numbers.

Box 1 of 35

Clay and Color: The Ceramics of Picasso

Immovable Objects: Lower Manhattan from Battery Park to the Brooklyn Bridge, June 13 - August 8, 1975

The Designer Designs, Pacific Design Center, California, September - October, 1976

ManTRANSforms, October 7, 1976 - February 7, 1977

The Royal Pavilion at Brighton, March 3 - May 23, 1977

Box 2 of 35

Architectural Drawings from 19th-Century Berlin, April 11 - April 30,1977

Henry C. Mercer Tiles, May 3 - May 15, 1977

Andrea Palladio in America, June 7 - October 5, 1977

Box 3 of 35

Two Hundred Years of American Architectural Drawing, June 7 - September 14, 1977

The Carnegie Mansion, June 7-July 3, 1977

Immovable Objects: Subways, December 8, 1977 - March 31, 1978

Palaces for the People, July 14 - September 18, 1977

Drawing Toward a More Modern Architecture, September 20 - November 20, 1977

More than Meets the Eye, November 15, 1977-March 20, 1978

To Celebrate the Moment, November 23, 1977 - January 8, 1978

Place, Product, Packaging, January 20 - March 20, 1978

Museum of Drawers, March 21 - May 7, 1978

20th Century Scenic and Costume Design

Embroidery Through the Ages, June 6 - September 3, 1978

In Celebration of Water, June 13 - September 1, 1978

Looking at Los Angeles, July 18 - September 17, 1978

Box 4 of 35

Ornament in the Twentieth Century, September 19 - November 5, 1978

Vienna Moderne 1898-1918, November 28, 1978 - February 4, 1979

Box 5 of 35

The Dream King: Ludwig II of Bavaria, January 23 - March 25, 1979

Indelible Images: Contemporary Advertising Design, February 6 - April 10, 1979

MA, Space/Time in Japan, April 3 - May 27, 1979

Take Your Choice: Contemporary Product Design, April 17 - May 13, 1979

Alvar Aalto, June 12 - September 16, 1979

Box 6 of 35

Roma Interotta, June 12 - August 12, 1979

Fantastic Illustration and Design in Britain, June 12 - September 2, 1979

Treasures of the Smithsonian, September 11, 1979 - January 6, 1980

The Oceanliner: Speed, Style, Symbol, January 22 - April 5, 1980

Mercer Tiles, January 29 - March 30, 1980

Box 7 of 35

Close Observation: The Oil Sketches of Frederic E. Church, April 29 - July 27, 1980

Hair, June 10 - August 17, 1980

Box 8 of 35

Resorts of the Catskills, June 10 - August 17, 1980

Wallpaper from the Cooper-Hewitt Collection, August 12 - October 26, 1980

Mustard Pots from the Colman Collection, August 26 - October 19, 1980

Beach, Boardwalk, Boulevard, August 26 - October 19, 1980

Electroworks, September 2 - November 2, 1980

International Contemporary Platinum Jewelry

The Cooper-Hewitt Collection: Silver, October 28, 1980 - January 18, 1981

Central Park, October 28, 1980 - January 18, 1981

Now I Lay Me Down to Eat, November 18, 1980 - February 22, 1981

Box 9 of 35

Innovative Furniture in America, March 10 - May 10, 1981

John Henry Belter and the Rococo Revival, March 10 - May 24, 1981

19th-Century German Stage Design, April 7 - June 7, 1981

Pottery, May 26 - August 9, 1981

Gardens of Delight, June 9 - August 23, 1981

Box 10 of 35

The Moving Image, June 16 - August 16, 1981

Americans in Glass, August 25 - November 15, 1981

Magazine Covers, August 25 - November 1, 1981

Reading and Writing, September 21, 1981 - January 3, 1982

Box 11 of 35

Box 12 of 35

Suburbs, November 10, 1981 - January 31, 1982

Puppets: Art and Entertainment, December 15, 1981 - February 21, 1983

City Dwellings and Country Houses: Robert Adam and His Style, January 19-April 11, 1982

Box 13 of 35

Architectural Fantasy and Reality, February 16 - May 9, 1982

Hawaii: The Royal Isles, March 9 - May 9, 1982

Gilt Bronze

English Majolica, March 23 - June 13, 1982

The American Landscape, April 27 - July 18, 1982

The Jacquard Loom: Recent Experiments, May 18 - August 22, 1982

Basketry: Tradition in New Form, June 8 - August 22, 1982

Button, Button, June 8 - August 22, 1982

Box 14 of 35

Lace, August 3 - November 7, 1982

Italian Revolution

Fashion Prints: 125 Years of Style, August 31, 1982 - January 3, 1983

Scandinavian Modern 1880-1980, September 14, 1982 - January 2, 1983

Box 15 of 35

Box 16 of 35

The Golden Age of Naples

American Picture Palaces, November 23, 1982 - February 27, 1983

Tiffany Studios: Metalwork and Other Decorative Arts, January 18 - April 17, 1983

Designed for Theater, January 25 - August 7, 1983

Box 17 of 35

Faberge: Jeweller to Royalty, March 15 - July 10, 1983

Canes and Walking Sticks, May 3 - July 26, 1983

Urban Documents: Twentieth Century American Prints, May 10 - September 24, 1983

Photography and Architecture: 1839-1939, July 26 - October 16, 1983

Open Spaces

Box 18 of 35

A Penny Saved: Architecture in Cast-Iron Toy Banks, August 2 - October 22, 1983

Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie School, August 30, 1983 - January 1, 1984

Contemporary Continuous Pattern, September 20, 1983 - January 15, 1984

Box 19 of 35

The Art of the European Goldsmith: From the Schroder Collection, November 1, 1983 - January 22, 1984

The Amsterdam School: Dutch Expressionist Architecture: 1915-1930, November 11, 1983 - February 5, 1984

American Enterprise: Nineteenth Century Patent Models, January 17 - April 1, 1984

Etchings by the Tiepolos: From the Cooper-Hewitt Collection, January 24 - April 22, 1984

Box 20 of 35

Netsuke: Japanese Design in Miniature, January 31 - April 8, 1984

Embroidered Samplers, February 21 - May 27, 1984

Finished in Beauty: Southwest Indian Silver, April 17 - July 8, 1984

Circles of the World: Traditional Art of the Plains Indians, April 24 - July 15, 1984

Visual Spaces in Music: Drawings by John Decesare, May 1 - August 5, 1984

Manhattan Skyline: New York Skyscrapers between the Wars, June 12 - September 23, 1984

Box 21 of 35

Design in the Service of Tea, August 7 - October 28, 1984

Box 22 of 35

Damask, August 14 - November 4, 1984

Objects of Adornment: 5000 Years of Jewelry from Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, October 16, 1984 - January 6, 1985

European Illustration: 1974 - 1984, November 13, 1984 - February 3, 1985

Box 23 of 35

Embellished Calendars: An Illustrated History, November 20, 1984 - February 24, 1985

Fabled Cloth: Batik from Java's North Coast, January 29 - April 28, 1985

Chinese Gold and Silver from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 - 907) in American Collections, February 5 - April 21, 1985

Cut Paper, February 12 - May 19, 1985

The Four Continents, February 19 - May 12, 1985

Timeless Sources: Rare Books from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, May 21 - October 6, 1985

Box 24 of 35

Chicago Furniture: Art, Craft and Industry 1833 - 1983, May 21 - August 25, 1985

Wine: Celebration and Ceremony, June 4 - October 13, 1985

Box 25 of 35

Carnegie's Libraries: A Sesquicentennial Celebration, June 11 - September 8, 1985

Box 26 of 35

Paris Recorded: The Therese Bonney Collection, September 17 - December 8, 1985

Paestum and the Doric Revival

The Modern Spirit: Glass from Finland, October 1, 1985 - January 5, 1986

The Golden Eye, November 5, 1985 - February 23, 1986

Box 27 of 35

Box 28 of 35

Advertising America, December 17, 1985 - March 9, 1986

Memphis/Milano, January 21 - March 13, 1986

Toys from the Nuremburg Spielzeug Museum, March 3 - May 11, 1986

Box 29 of 35

La Nijinska: A Dancer's Legacy, March 18 - July 6, 1986

Playing Cards, March 18 - May 25, 1986

Bon Voyage! Designs for Travel, April 29 - July 13, 1986

Box 30 of 35

Hollywood: Legend and Reality, August 5 - October 12, 1986

Treasures from Hungary: Gold and Silver from the 9th-19th Centuries, May 20 - August 10, 1986

Embroidered Ship Portraits, June 3 - September 7, 1986

Newcomb Pottery: An Enterprise for Southern Women, August 19 - October 19, 1986

Milestones: 50 years of Goods and Services, September 23, 1986 - January 4, 1987

Box 32 of 35

Berlin 1900-1933: Architecture and Design, November 3, 1986 - January 25, 1987

Box 33 of 35

Box 34 of 35

Recollections: A Decade of Collecting, November 25, 1986 - March 11, 1987

Perspective: The Illusion of Space, November 25, 1986 - March 1, 1987

Crystal Palaces, January 13 - April 26, 1987

Folding Fans from the Cooper-Hewitt Collection, February 3 - May 31, 1987

The Catalan Spirit: Gaudi and His Contemporaries, February 17 - June 9, 1987

Box 35 of 35

Louis Sullivan: The Function of Ornament, March 24 - September 28, 1987


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