
Guide to the Florence Nightingale Levy Papers
1899-1946 (bulk dates 1908-1926)
MS 382
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
Phone: (212) 873-3400
@ 2011 New-York Historical Society
Collection processed by Processed by Courtney O. Lavery
This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit
on November 01, 2011
Description is in
English.
Descriptive Summary
Title: | Florence Nightingale Levy Papers |
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Dates: | 1899-1946 (bulk dates 1908-1926) |
Abstract: | The Florence Nightingale Levy Papers pertain mostly to Levy's professional life and activities in arts administration and education in New York City. The bulk of the collection is concentrated in the years between 1908 and 1926. The Levy Papers include correspondence with James Parton Haney, director of art education in New York high schools; Levy family legal documents; and an autograph book of Florence Nightingale Levy. |
Quantity: | 0.4 Linear feet (1 box) |
Location note: | Manuscript cage |
Call Phrase: | MS 382 |
Biographical Note
1870 Aug. 13 | Florence Nightingale Levy is born in New York, New York. |
1889 June 7 | Her father, Joseph Arthur Levy, dies. |
1894-1895 | Studies at Ecole Au Louvre in Paris. Editor and publisher of the American Art Annual, editor until 1918; later serving as associate editor, and, in 1945 - 1947, as advisory editor. The Annual in 1948 divides into two publications: The American Art Directory and Who's Who of American Art. |
1901 | Editor of the catalogue of the art exhibition of the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo; catalogs the private collection of William C. Whitney. |
1901-1904 | Teaches private classes in art history |
1908-1909 | Assistant to James P. Haney, secretary of the National Association for the Promotion of Industrial Education and first art director of New York City's high schools. She collaborates in editing and publishing Art Education in the Public Schools of the United States. |
1909 | Founds the American Federation of Arts and serves as director until 1945. Founds the School Art League of New York and serves as secretary until 1945. |
1909-1917 | Accepts a position on the staff of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Organizes and prepares catalogues for a succession of major museum shows: the exhibition of 1909 in connection with the Hudson-Fulton Celebration (on which she collaborates with Henry Kent), and (with Bryan Burroughs) exhibits of Whistler (1910), Winslow Homer (1911), the Altman collection (1914), and William M. Chase (1917). |
1916-1939 | Editor of several editions of A Guide to the Works of Art in New York City (afterward Art in New York). |
1917-1919 | Serves as General Manager of the Art Alliance of America. |
1919 | Establishes Art Service organization. |
1922-1925 | Works part-time as Director of the Baltimore Museum of Art. |
1923 Mar. 3 | James P. Haney dies of pneumonia. |
1925 | American Institute of Graphic Arts elects Levy as one of the first two women in the organization. |
1927-1932 | Serves as the Executive Secretary of the Arts Council of New York City (after 1929 the New York Regional Art Council). |
1927-1935 | Publishes semimonthly New York Art Calendar (after 1930 Art Center Bulletin). |
1932-1934 | Supervisor of the Vocational Service of the National Association for Art Education. |
1934 | Supervisor of the Federated Council on Art Education (after 1938 the Art Education Council). |
1937 Feb. 23 | Levy's mother, Pauline (Goodheim) Levy, dies. |
1938 | Prepares auspices of Art Education in the city of New York. |
1941 | Serves as Executive Secretary of the American Fine Arts Society. |
1947 | Levy dies in New York City. Cremation at Ferncliff Crematory, Hartsdale, New York. |
Scope and Content Note
The Florence Nightingale Levy Papers pertain mostly to Levy's professional life and activities in arts administration and education in New York City. The bulk of the collection is concentrated in the years between 1908 - 1926 and includes correspondence, clippings, and Levy family legal documents.
Florence Nightingale Levy was founder and editor of the American Art Annual, 1898 - 1918, and founder and director of the American Federation of Arts, 1913 - 1945. The American Federation of Arts is a clearinghouse for information regarding the visual arts, and publisher of the American Art Annual. She served as Director of the Baltimore Museum of Art, and received letters in that capacity from H.W. Kent, Blanchard Randall, and Henry Wiegand, 1922 - 1925. Included is a one-page ledger on the finances, expenses, assets, and liabilities of the museum, 1923.
Levy also served as the General Manager of the Art Alliance of America, through a placement bureau and occasional exhibits, this organization encouraged the greater industrial use of domestic artists and design at a time when European sources were disrupted. Correspondence between W. Frank Purdy, President, and Elizabeth Berkeley Grimball, Secretary, of the Art Alliance centers on Levy's ongoing wish to resign, 1919 - 1920.
The collection includes personal letters to Levy from James Parton Haney, director of art education in New York high schools; written mostly from Europe, 1908 - 1923. Many of the letters are on hotel stationary from various locations and include Haney's sketches and drawings of local scenery, people, and monuments. These letters provide insight into the personal life of Florence Nightingale Levy and her fifteen-year friendship with Haney. Much of Haney's career is covered in these letters. Also included are a few photographs of Haney during this time period. In addition, there are several obituaries, memorials, and letters about Haney, written after his death in 1923.
The collection also includes Levy Family legal documents, including an autograph book given by Levy's mother, Pauline, to her in 1879 and includes an autograph of A. Stieglitz. There is also a memorial tribute to her father, Joseph Arthur Levy, from Ancient Chapter No. 1, Royal Arch Mason Society of which he was a member. Other documents included are an indenture between Arthur Lumley Levy and the Congregation Shaaray Tefilia for seats in the 44th St. synagogue, 1869; a conveyance of 1000 acres in Georgia, 1794, and the transfer of the same deed from Lucius Field to Arthur Lumley Levy, 1837; citizenship paper issued by the Marine Court of the City of New York to Esther Levy, 1840; marriage certificate in Hebrew between Joseph Arthur Levy and Pauline Goodheim, 1869; and passports from the years, 1839 and 1894. In addition there are signed letters from Arthur Lumley Levy to his parents, 1824; to Joseph Arthur Levy on his 21st birthday, 1861; and to Florence Nightingale Levy on her 18th birthday, 1888. Family members represented in this folder are Arthur Lumley and Esther Levy, parents of Joseph Arthur Levy, Joseph Arthur and Pauline (Goodheim), Florence Nightingale Levy's parents.
Organization
The collection is organized by type of material, then chronologically.
Access Points
Subject Names
- Bement, Alon
- Blashfield, Edwin Holland
- Campbell, Harold G
- Cowan, Georgia C
- Gottlieb, Frederick H
- Grimball, Elizabeth Berkeley
- Haney, James Parton
- Kent, H.W.
- Lanterman, Caroline
- Levy family
- Levy, Arthur Lumley
- Levy, Esther
- Levy, Florence Nightingale, 1870-1947
- Levy, Joseph Arthur, 1840-1889
- Mechlin, Leila
- Oppenheim, Laurent
- Parker, Thomas C
- Parsons, Frank Alvah
- Prudy, W. Frank
- Randall, Blanchard
- Whiting, F. Allen
- Wiegand, Henry H.
- Youtz, Philip N.
Document Type
- Announcements
- Articles
- Autograph Book
- Clippings
- Drafts
- Invitations
- Poems
- Sketches
- Songs
Subject Organizations
- American Art Annual
- American Federation of the Arts
- Art Alliance of America
- Art Center
- Art Education Council
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Arts Council of the City of New York
- Baltimore Museum of Art
- Board of Education, City of New York
- Brooklyn Museums
- Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London, England
- Metropolitan Museum of New York
- Municipal Art Society
- National Academy of Design
- National Arts Club
- New York School of Fine and Applied Art
- New York University
- Ogunquit Hotel, Ogunquit, Maine
- Pratt Art Alumni Club
- Royal Arch Masons (RAM)
- School Art League
- Shaaray Tefilia
Subject Topics
- Art - publications - periodicals
- Art - Study and teaching - New York (State) - New York
- Art Museum Directors
- Art museums - United States
- Arts - management
- Correspondence
- Europe - Germany - Berlin, Dresden
- Museums and Women
- New York (N.Y.)-History
- Photographs
- United States - Georgia
- United States - Maine
- United States -History
- Women editors
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Open to qualified researchers.
Photocopying undertaken by staff only. Limited to twenty exposures of stable, unbound material per day. Researchers may not accrue unused copy amounts from previous days. Researchers on site may print out unlimited copies from microfilm reader-printer machines at per-exposure rates. See guidelines in Reading room for details.
Use Restrictions
Permission to quote from this collection in a publication must be requested and granted
in writing. Send permission requests, citing the name of the collection from which
you wish to quote, to
Library Director
The New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as The Florence Nightingale Levy Papers, The New-York Historical Society.
Container List
Professional Correspondence - "Contracts and Agreements"
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
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Box: 1 | Folder : 1 | Professional Correspondence - "Contracts and Agreements"
Scope and Contents noteApproximately 35 letters received by New York City editor and arts administrator Florence Nightingale Levy written by her associates. The letters pertain to Levy's activities as editor of the American Art Annual and her involvement in the fields of arts administration and education and include invitations to public functions held in honor of Levy, museum openings, publications, and congratulations to Levy acknowledging her contribution to the art world. Arranged chronologically. |
1908-1945 | |
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Florence Nightingale Levy, Letters Received
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 2 | Florence Nightingale Levy, Letters Received
Scope and Contents noteApproximately 44 items, arranged chronologically. Mostly personal letters received from James Parton Haney, director of art education in New York high schools, written mostly from Europe and several obituaries, memorials, and letters about Haney, written after his death in 1923. |
1888 - 1923 | |
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American Institute of Graphic Arts, Certificate of Membership
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 3 | American Institute of Graphic Arts, Certificate of Membership
Scope and Contents noteAmerican Institute of Graphic Arts elects Levy as one of the first two women in the organization. |
1925 | |
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The American Art Annual Testimonial to Florence Nightingale Levy
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 4 | The American Art Annual Testimonial to Florence Nightingale Levy
Scope and Contents noteHand painted and scripted testimonial to Levy in celebration of her 21 years' publication of the American Art Annual. |
1919 | |
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James Parton Haney Lecture on Industrial Art
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 5 | James Parton Haney Lecture on Industrial Art
Scope and Contents noteTwo slides of newspaper articles from the Baltimore American and The Sun, Baltimore, related to the lecture given by Haney at the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1910. |
1910 | |
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James Parton Haney Photographs
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 6 | James Parton Haney Photographs
Scope and Contents noteSelect photographs of James Parton Haney. |
1908,1918 | |
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James Parton Haney Testimonial
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 7 | James Parton Haney Testimonial
Scope and Contents noteTestimonial luncheon for Haney by the Art Teachers of New York City at the Hotel McAlpin on May 3, 1919. |
1919 | |
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James Parton Haney Memorials
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 8 | James Parton Haney Memorials
Scope and Contents noteTestimonial luncheon for Haney by the Art Teachers of New York City at the Hotel McAlpin on May 3, 1919. |
1923-1924 | |
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Levy Family Legal Papers, Georgia Property
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 9 | Levy Family Legal Papers, Georgia Property
Scope and Contents noteConveyances for land in Georgia. Included in this folder is the original conveyance and the transfer of the conveyance to Arthur Lumley Levy. |
1794-1837 | |
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Levy Family Correspondence
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 10 | Levy Family Correspondence
Scope and Contents noteIncluded in this folder are signed letters from Arthur Lumley Levy to his parents, and to his son, Joseph Arthur Levy, on his 21st birthday. |
1824-1867 | |
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Esther Levy, Naturalization Record
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 11 | Esther Levy, Naturalization Record
Scope and Contents noteCitizenship paper issued by the Marine Court of the City of New York to Esther Levy. |
1840 | |
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United States of America Passports
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 12 | United States of America Passports
Scope and Contents notePassports issued to Joseph Arthur, Pauline and Florence Nightingale Levy. |
1839,1894 | |
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Marriage Certificate for Joseph and Pauline Levy
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 13 | Marriage Certificate for Joseph and Pauline Levy
Scope and Contents noteIn Hebrew. |
1869 | |
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Indenture - Shaaray Tefilia
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 14 | Indenture - Shaaray Tefilia
Scope and Contents noteAn indenture between Arthur Lumley Levy and the Congregation Shaaray Tefilia for seats in the 44th St. Synagogue. |
1869 | |
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Joseph Arthur Levy, Memoriam
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 15 | Joseph Arthur Levy, Memoriam
Scope and Contents noteMemorial tribute to Joseph Arthur Levy from Ancient Chapter No. 1, Royal Arch Mason Society of which he was a member. In the back of the book is a photograph of Joseph Arthur Levy as well as correspondence of this acquisition by the Royal Arch Mason Society |
1889 | |
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Poetry and Drawing
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Folder : 16 | Poetry and Drawing
Scope and Contents notePoetry made into songs about James Parton Haney. One piece of paper with drawings on it. Unknown creator. |
n.d. | |
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Autograph Book
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Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
Box: 1 | Volume : | Autograph Book
Scope and Contents noteAn autograph book given to Levy by her mother with autographs of friends and family - one of whom is A. Stieglitz. |
1879-1885 | |
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