Kuh, Katharine

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Katharine Kuh, art historian, art curator, and author.

From the description of Katharine Kuh papers, 1937-1964 (inclusive). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702131643

b. 1904; d. 1994.

From the description of Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 81397405

Art consultant, curator, and critic; Chicago and New York City; b. 1904; d. 1994.

From the description of Katharine Kuh interviews, 1982 Mar. 18 - 1983 Mar. 24. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 220208872

Katharine Kuh (1904-1994) was an art consultant, curator, and critic working in Chicago and New York City.

From the description of Katharine Kuh papers, 1875-1994, bulk, 1930-1994. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 744428318

Katharine Kuh, b. 1904; d. 1994, Art consultant, curator, and critic of Chicago and New York City.

From the description of Oral history interview with Katharine Kuh, 1982 Mar. 18-1983 Mar. 24. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 646400503

Katharine Kuh (1904-1994) was a curator with the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.

From the description of Oral history interview with Katharine Kuh, 1993 Jan. 26-27. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 422877171

Art consultant, curator, and critic; Chicago and New York City. Born 1904. Died 1994.

From the description of Katharine Kuh papers, 1908-1994. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 245521099

Katharine Kuh (1904-1994) worked primarily in the Chicago area as an modern art historian, dealer, critic, curator, writer, and consultant. She operated the Katharine Kuh Gallery from 1935-1943 and was the first woman curator of European and Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Katharine Kuh (née Woolf) was born on July 15, 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of the three daughters of Olga Weiner and Morris Woolf, a silk importer. In 1909, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. While traveling with her family in Europe in 1914, Katharine contracted polio, causing her to spend the next decade in a body brace. During this time of restricted movement, she developed an interest in art history through the collecting of old master prints.

After her recovery, Katharine Woolf attended Vassar College where one of her professors, Alfred Barr, encouraged her to study modern art. She graduated from Vassar in 1925 and received a master's degree in art history from the University of Chicago in 1929. Later that year, she moved to New York to pursue a Ph.D. in Renaissance and medieval art at New York University.

In 1930, Katharine Woolf returned to Chicago and married businessman George Kuh and began to teach art history courses in the suburbs of Chicago. After divorcing George Kuh in 1935, she opened the Katharine Kuh Gallery, the first gallery devoted to avant-garde art in Chicago. It was also the first gallery to exhibit photography and typographical design as art forms, and featured the work of Ansel Adams, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Wassily Kandinsky, Fernand Léger, and Man Ray, among others. From 1938 to1940, Kuh was the Visiting Professor of Art at the University School of Fine Arts, San Miguel, Mexico.

After the Katharine Kuh Gallery closed in 1943, Kuh was hired by museum director Daniel Catton Rich to fill a position in public relations at the Art Institute of Chicago. During the following years, Kuh edited the museum's Quarterly publication, took charge of the museum's Gallery of Interpretive Art, and began a long term relationship with Rich. In 1946, Kuh was sent on a special mission for the U. S. Office of Indian Affairs to make a detailed study of Native American totemic carvings in Alaska.

In 1949, Kuh persuaded Mr. and Mrs. Walter Arensberg of Los Angeles to exhibit their collection of modern art, creating the first post-war exhibition of modern art in Chicago. She published her first book Art Has Many Faces in 1951, and in the following year, she began writing art criticism for The Saturday Review . In 1954, Kuh was appointed the first woman curator of European Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute. She assembled the American contribution for the Venice Biennale in 1956 and during these years, Kuh helped acquire many of the works of modern art currently in the museum's collection.

A year following Daniel Catton Rich's 1958 resignation from the Art Institute of Chicago, Kuh also resigned and pursued a career in New York as an art collection advisor, most notably for the First National Bank of Chicago. In 1959, Kuh was made art critic for The Saturday Review, and she continued to publish books, including The Artist's Voice in 1962, Break-Up: The Core of Modern Art in 1965, and The Open Eye: In Pursuit of Art in 1971.

Katharine Kuh died on January 10, 1994 in New York City.

From the guide to the Katharine Kuh papers, 1875-1994, bulk 1930-1994, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)

Katharine Kuh, art historian, curator, author, and critic of twentieth- century art, was born in St. Louis on July 15, 1904. She was educated at Vassar College (A.B. 1925) and the University of Chicago (A.M. 1928).

From 1935 until 1942 she owned and directed The Katharine Kuh Gallery in Chicago and also served as visiting professor of art at the University School of Fine Arts in San Miguel, Guanajuato, Mexico. In 1943 Katharine went to the Art Institute of Chicago as curator, Gallery of Art Interpretation. Until 1959 she was also curator of modern painting and sculpture and edited the Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1943 to 1953. Following her departure from the Institute, she became art editor for Saturday Review (1959-72), World Magazine (1972-73), and Saturday Review Magazine (1973-77).

During her career, Katharine Kuh wrote many books. They include Art Has Many Faces (1951), which was inspired partly by her experience in preparing an advisory report on the fate of Alaskan totem poles for the Office of Indian Affairs in 1946, The Artist's Voice (1962), and Break Up: The Core of Modern Art (1965). She also wrote a catalog of Fernand Léger's work, Léger (1953), and the catalog for a retrospective exhibition, 100 Artists, 100 Years: Alumni of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1979).

Katharine Kuh married George E. Kuh in 1930 and was divorced in 1936. See also: Who's Who of American Women, Vol. I, p. 722.

From the guide to the Katharine Kuh papers, 1937-1964 (inclusive), (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Art Institute of Chicago. Office of the Director. Records, 1938-1958. Art Institute of Chicago, Ryerson & Burnham Libraries
referencedIn Kuh, Katherine, 1904-1994 : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
creatorOf Avis Berman research material on Katharine Kuh Archives of American Art
referencedIn James E. B. Breslin research archive on Mark Rothko, 1900-1994, 1940-1990 Getty Research Institute
creatorOf Kuh, Katharine. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
creatorOf Lily Harmon papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Hilaire Hiler papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Avis Berman research material on Katharine Kuh Archives of American Art
creatorOf George Fedoroff papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Katharine Kuh papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Katharine Kuh papers, 1937-1964 (inclusive). Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Robert Jay Wolff papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf Katharine Kuh papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf KUH, KATHARINE. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
creatorOf Oral history interview with Katharine Kuh Archives of American Art
creatorOf Lee Gatch papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Benjamin Kopman Papers / Collection, 1911-1962 Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center
creatorOf Kuh, Katharine. Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1959-1971, n.d. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Mary Reynolds collection, 1940-1974. Aurora University, Phillips Library
referencedIn Lydia Winston Malbin papers, 1891-1997, 1938-1997 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn James E. B. Breslin research archive on Mark Rothko, 1900-1994, 1940-1990 Getty Research Institute
creatorOf Katharine Kuh papers, 1937-1964 (inclusive). Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Claire Falkenstein papers Archives of American Art
creatorOf New directions in American painting and sculpture Archives of American Art
creatorOf Oral history interview with Katharine Kuh Archives of American Art
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Oral history interview wih Clara Diament Sujo Archives of American Art
creatorOf Transcript of interview with Katharine Kuh Archives of American Art
referencedIn Oral history interview with Anne Rorimer Archives of American Art
Relation Name
associatedWith Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984. person
associatedWith Albers, Josef person
associatedWith Albers, Josef. person
associatedWith Albright, Ivan, 1897- person
associatedWith Albright, Ivan, 1897-1983. person
associatedWith Albright-Knox Art Gallery. corporateBody
associatedWith Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964. person
associatedWith Arensberg, Louise S. (Louise Stevenson), 1879-1953. person
associatedWith Arensberg, Walter, 1878-1954. person
associatedWith Arp, Jean, 1887-1966. person
associatedWith Art Institute of Chicago. corporateBody
correspondedWith Art Institute of Chicago. Office of the Director. corporateBody
associatedWith Avery, Milton, 1885-1965. person
associatedWith Barnet, Will, 1911- person
associatedWith Barr, Alfred Hamilton, 1902- person
associatedWith Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959. person
associatedWith Berman, Avis person
associatedWith Berman, Avis person
associatedWith Biddle, George, 1885- person
associatedWith Biederman, Charles Joseph, 1906-2004. person
associatedWith Biennale di Venezia. corporateBody
associatedWith Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.) corporateBody
associatedWith Breslin, James E. B., 1935-1996. person
associatedWith Breuer, Marcel, 1902- person
associatedWith Breuer, Marcel, 1902- person
associatedWith Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976. person
associatedWith Campoli, Cosmo person
associatedWith Campoli, Cosmo. person
associatedWith Candell, Victor, 1903-1977. person
associatedWith Chagall, Marc, 1887- person
associatedWith Chavez Morado, José, 1909-2002. person
associatedWith Chermayeff, Serge, 1900- person
associatedWith Cornell, Joseph. person
associatedWith Cornell, Joseph, 1903- person
associatedWith Cox, Richard person
associatedWith Cox, Richard. person
associatedWith Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964. person
associatedWith Day, Worden, 1916-1986. person
associatedWith De Kooning, Willem, 1904- person
associatedWith Diament Sujo, Clara person
associatedWith Dickinson, Edwin Walter, 1891- person
associatedWith Dreier, Katherine Sophie, 1877-1952. person
associatedWith Driggs, Elsie, 1898-1992. person
associatedWith Dubuffet, Jean, 1901- person
associatedWith Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968. person
associatedWith Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain, 1926- person
associatedWith Ernst, Jimmy, 1920-1984. person
associatedWith Ernst, Max, 1891-1976. person
associatedWith Falkenstein, Claire person
associatedWith Falkenstein, Claire, 1908- person
associatedWith Falkenstein, Claire, 1908-1997. person
associatedWith Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors. corporateBody
associatedWith Fedoroff, George W., 1906- person
associatedWith Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978. person
associatedWith First National Bank of Chicago corporateBody
associatedWith Friendly, Fred W. person
associatedWith Gabo, Naum, 1890-1977. person
associatedWith Gatch, Lee, 1902-1968. person
associatedWith Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966. person
associatedWith Golub, Leon, 1922-2004. person
associatedWith Goto, Joseph person
associatedWith Goto, Joseph, 1920- person
associatedWith Grabe, Klaus. person
associatedWith Graves, Robert person
associatedWith Graves, Robert, person
associatedWith Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898- person
associatedWith Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898- person
associatedWith Guston, Philip, 1913- person
associatedWith Hare, David, 1917- person
associatedWith Hare, David, 1917-1992. person
associatedWith Hare, Denise Browne. person
associatedWith Harmon, Lily, 1912- person
associatedWith Hayter, Stanley William, 1901-1988. person
associatedWith Hélion, Jean, 1904-1987. person
associatedWith Hepworth, Barbara, Dame, 1903-1975. person
associatedWith Hiler, Hilaire, 1898-1966. person
associatedWith Hirshhorn, Joseph person
associatedWith Hirshhorn, Joseph H. person
associatedWith Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966. person
associatedWith Inverarity, Robert Bruce, 1909-1999. person
associatedWith Jacobson, Egbert, 1890-1966. person
associatedWith Johns, Jasper, 1930- person
associatedWith Johnson, Philip, 1906- person
associatedWith Johnson, Ray, 1927- person
associatedWith Kandinsky, Wassily, 1866-1944. person
associatedWith Katharine Kuh Gallery (Chicago, Ill.) corporateBody
associatedWith Katharine Kuh Gallery (Chicago, Ill.) corporateBody
associatedWith Katharine Kuh Gallery (Chicago, Ill.) corporateBody
associatedWith Katharine Kuh Gallery (Chicago, Ill.) corporateBody
associatedWith Katzman, Herbert, 1923-2004. person
associatedWith Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906-2001. person
associatedWith Kepes, Juliet person
associatedWith Kepes, Juliet. person
associatedWith Kertész, André. person
associatedWith Kertész, André. person
associatedWith Klee, Paul, 1879-1940. person
associatedWith Kline, Franz, 1910-1962. person
associatedWith Knaths, Karl, 1891- person
associatedWith Knox, Seymour H., 1898-1990. person
associatedWith Kokoschka, Oskar, 1886- person
associatedWith Kopman, Benjamin, b. 1887 person
associatedWith Le Corbusier, 1887-1965. person
associatedWith Léger, Fernand, 1881-1955. person
associatedWith Levier, Jack, 1915- person
associatedWith Lionni, Leo, 1910- person
associatedWith Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891- person
associatedWith Lipton, Seymour, 1903- person
associatedWith Lundeberg, Helen, 1908-1999. person
associatedWith Lye, Len, 1901-1980. person
associatedWith Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project. corporateBody
associatedWith Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project. corporateBody
associatedWith Mérida, Carlos, 1891- person
associatedWith Mérida, Carlos, 1891-1984. person
associatedWith Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig, 1886-1969. person
associatedWith Millier, Arthur, 1893- person
associatedWith Moholy-Nagy, László, 1895-1946. person
associatedWith Moore, Henry, 1898- person
associatedWith Motherwell, Robert. person
associatedWith Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970. person
associatedWith Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988. person
associatedWith Nutting, Muriel Leone Tyler, b. 1892. person
associatedWith Nutting, Myron Chester, 1890-1972. person
associatedWith O'Higgins, Pablo, 1904- person
associatedWith O'Higgins, Pablo, 1904- person
associatedWith Orozco, José Clemente, 1883-1949. person
associatedWith Ozbekhan, Hasan, 1921-2007. person
associatedWith Paepcke, Walter Paul, 1896-1960. person
associatedWith Pellan, Alfred, 1906-1988. person
associatedWith Perkins, Frances person
associatedWith Perkins, Frances. person
associatedWith Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973. person
associatedWith Pique, Y. J. person
associatedWith Pollack, Peter, 1909-1978, person
associatedWith Porter, Eliot, 1901- person
associatedWith Putnam, Wallace, 1899 person
associatedWith Putnam, Wallace, 1899-1989. person
associatedWith Ray, Man, 1890-1976. person
correspondedWith Reynolds, Mary, 1891-1950. person
associatedWith Rich, Daniel Catton, 1904-1976. person
associatedWith Rorimer, Anne person
associatedWith Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970. person
associatedWith Sandberg, Carl person
associatedWith Sandburg, Carl. person
associatedWith Seligman, Kurt, 1900-1962. person
associatedWith Seligmann, Kurt, 1900-1962. person
associatedWith Shackelford, Shelby person
associatedWith Shackelford, Shelby. person
associatedWith Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969. person
associatedWith Smith, David, 1906-1965. person
associatedWith Smith, John W., person
associatedWith Spaeth, Otto, d. 1966. person
associatedWith Stamos, Theodoros, 1922-1997. person
associatedWith Steinberg, Saul, 1914- person
associatedWith Sterne, Hedda, 1910-2011. person
associatedWith Sterne, Hedda, 1916- person
associatedWith Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing), 1900-1965. person
associatedWith Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946. person
associatedWith Still, Clyfford, 1904- person
associatedWith Tamayo, Rufino, 1899- person
associatedWith Tanning, Dorothea, 1910- person
associatedWith Tchelitchew, Pavel, 1898-1957. person
associatedWith Tobey, Mark person
associatedWith Tobey, Mark. person
associatedWith Tobey, Mark, 1890- person
associatedWith Tobey, Mark, 1890- person
associatedWith Tworkov, Jack. person
associatedWith Vassar College. corporateBody
associatedWith Weston, Edward, 1886-1958. person
associatedWith Winston, Harry Lewis person
associatedWith Winston, Harry Lewis. person
associatedWith Winston, Lydia, 1897- person
associatedWith Wolff, Robert Jay, 1905- person
associatedWith Woolf, Olga person
associatedWith Woolf, Olga. person
associatedWith Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959. person
associatedWith Young, Victor, person
associatedWith Zucher, Susan. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Illinois--Chicago
New York (State)--New York
Illinois--Chicago
United States
Illinois--Chicago
Illinois--Chicago
United States
United States
Illinois--Chicago
New York (State)--New York
United States
United States
Subject
Art, Modern
Art, Modern
Abstract expressionism
Art, American
Art, American
Art, Abstract
Art, Abstract
Art criticism
Art critics
Art critics
Art festivals
Art galleries, Commercial
Art galleries, Commercial
Artists
Art literature
Art museum curators
Authors
Authors
Curator
Curators
Expatriate artists
Museum curators
Women art critics
Women art critics
Women art critics
Women art dealers
Women art dealers
Women art dealers
Women art historians
Women art historians
Women museum curators
Women museum curators
Occupation
Art critics
Artists
Authors
Activity

Person

Birth 1904-07-15

Death 1994-01-10

Americans

English

Information

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Ark ID: w60k2tqs

SNAC ID: 55210812