Morton D. May Papers
Scope and Contents
The Morton D. May Papers pertain to all aspects of Mr. May's collection of art. Correspondence files consist of letters, invoices, and receipts between Mr. May and artists, dealers, galleries, museums, and universities. The correspondence documents his purchases and exchanges of paintings, sculpture, prints, drawings, and objects in the following areas: art of the Americas; Oceanic art; African art; contemporary American art; German art, particularly the work of Max Beckmann. There are also papers concerning exhibitions to which May lent; requests for permission to publish reproductions; conservation of the May collection; and gifts to institutions.
Two files contain lists of works in the collection; many with valuations, loan numbers, and/or accession numbers.Photographic negatives and prints are of objects in the collection or objects offered by dealers to May.
Eighteen notebooks contain information on the collection in the form of accession records, including May's own accession sheets as well as copies of the St. Louis Art Museum's record sheets. Photographs and miscellaneous papers are included in several notebooks.
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1955 - 1983
Conditions Governing Use
Open to researchers by appointment. Restricted files marked for staff use only.
Extent
12 Linear Feet (19 half-size record cartons, 6 letter-size document case boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Organized into four series:
I. Correspondence
II. Lists
III. Photographs
IV. Accession Notebooks
Arranged by type of material; correspondence arranged alphabetically.
Custodial History
The papers of Morton D. May were received by the Museum Archives in March 1984 and January 1986. The papers were formerly housed in Mr. May’s office at the May Department Stores Company in St. Louis. They were donated to the museum in 1984, several months after his death. After transfer to the Museum Archives, AOA Curator John Nunley reviewed the files and placed restrictions on select files for internal use only. Tax documentation related to non-artworks were subsequently removed from the collection in the spring of 2001.
Note on Terminology
These records may contain terms used at the time of creation that are not up to date with contemporary descriptive language.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Saint Louis Art Museum Archives Repository