The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware 19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Creator: Rabin, Bernard, 1916-2003

Title: Bernard Rabin conservation papers

Dates: ca.1957-2004

Call No.: Col. 808

Acc. No.: 07x20

Quantity: 21 boxes

Location: 506 H 1-2

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Bernard Rabin was a paintings conservator from 1960 until shortly before his death. Rabin was born in the Bronx, New York, November 1, 1916, and died at age 86 on March 24, 2003. He attended Newark Art School, 1930-1933. He and Nathan Krueger established the Rabin and Kreuger Gallery in Newark, New Jersey in 1938. In 1957 he began studying conservation with Sheldon and Caroline Keck in a pilot program at the Brooklyn Museum. In 1959 he traveled to Italy and undertook an internship at the Uffizi Museum in Florence. In his career as a conservator, Rabin focused on wall paintings, frescos and other fine art. Rabin treated paintings for many museums, especially the Princeton University Art Museum where he was employed from 1970 to 1980. As well, he worked at the Museum of Modern Art on Monet’s “Water Lilies” in 1960. As a trained conservator, he traveled to Italy following both the 1966 flood in Florence and the 1976 earthquake in Friuli to help rescue damaged art. He presented a new lining adhesive technique in 1972 and spent more than 10 years working on murals in the U.S. Capitol Building, beginning in 1981, including a fresco produced by Constantino Brumidi.

Rabin was active in several professional organizations. In addition to conservation work, lectures and teaching, Rabin also published a number of articles and a chapter on conservation in a book about Constantino Brumidi. He was survived by his wife Dorothy, two sons, Sandy and Stuart, and two daughters, Michelle Rabin and Susan Mason.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

This collection consists of conservation business papers of Bernard Rabin from 1957 until his death in 2003. Of interest are the conservation treatment records, including proposals and photographic documentation. As well, the collection includes Rabin’s lectures and articles; various papers pertaining to his training as a conservator; resumes; and other research documents pertaining to artists or conservation problems he encountered.

Most of the client files in the collection pertain to Rabin’s work for the federal government. Individual and institutional client records are found only for the letters K, N through P, and R through W. These client files frequently include a proposal, expense receipts and documentary images, slides, negatives or prints. They include: Kean College, Montclair Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, Princeton University Art Museum, Newark Museum, Norton Simon Museum, Old Barracks Museum, and Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. There are also files pertaining to work at a number of U.S. post office buildings, including those in Fort Lee, Riverside and Westfield, New Jersey; Norristown, Pennsylvania, and Yonkers, New York.

Federal agency client files frequently include government contracts, documentary images, correspondence, and expense records for the many individuals, including conservators, architects and engineers, involved in these long-term projects. Buildings include: U.S. Capitol, Department of the Interior Building, and the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building.

Slides, negatives and images which were found filed with textual documents remain with those documents. Some 3,000 slides were not filed with documents and make up Series IV. The slides span 1966 though 1991, with the bulk from the late 1970s and 1980s. These slides include slides to accompany lectures, slides documenting work performed for federal agencies, and other projects. Most slides, except for the collection relating to the Norton Simon Museum, were not commercially produced. Most non-commercial slides were produced with dates and were not labeled when accessioned.

ORGANIZATION

The files are in four series: I. Clients, II. Writing and Speaking, III. Business Papers, and IV Slides. Client files are subdivided into I.A. Individuals and Institutions, and I.B. Federal Agencies. Federal agencies are organized by client name, then by date. All other series are arranged alphabetically.

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

The materials are primarily in English, with some Italian and French.

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.

PROVENANCE

This collection was donated by Mrs. Dorothy Rabin, widow of Bernard Rabin, on June 15, 2006.

RELATED MATERIALS

The papers of Rabin and Kreuger Gallery, from late1930s- ca. 1980, are housed at the Newark Public Library Special Collections Division

ACCESS POINTS

People:

Keck, Caroline K. (Caroline Kohn)

Brumidi, Constantino, 1805-1880

Topics:

Department of the Interior Building (Washington, D.C.).

Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building (Washington, D.C.).

United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.).

Art – Conservation and restoration.

Art restorers.

Mural painting and decoration, American.

Museum conservation methods.

Paintings – Conservation and restoration.

Post office buildings.

Public art – Washington (D.C.).

Public buildings – United States.

Slides (Photography).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 506 H 1-2

Series I: Clients

Subseries A: Individuals and Institutions

Box 1:

Folder 1: K-Ke:

Katz; Kean College; Kelleher; Kelsey Room at Edison College

Folder 2: Ki-Ku:

Kilborn; Kirk; Klimann; Kornblau; Koszewnik; Krueger; Kulerman

Folder 3: N – O:

Newark Museum; Norton Simon Museum; Old Barracks Museum; O’Leary; Osborne

Folder 4: P (including U. S. Post Offices):

Painting Conservation Studio; Payne; Penick (Montclair Art Museum); Phoenix Art Museum; Pine Valley Golf Club; Post Offices: Fort Lee (N.J.), Norristown (Pa.), Riverside (N.J.), Westfield (N.J.), Yonkers (N.Y., Bronxville station); Princeton Art Musem

Folder 5: R – W:

Rhodes; Rice; Rollings; Ross; Selz; Solomon; Supino; Westport, Conn.

Folder 6: Rockefeller Plaza

Series I: Clients

Subseries B: Federal Agencies

Box 2:

Folder 1: Architect of the Capitol – Insurance Certificates

Folder 2: Architect of the Capitol - Publications

Folder 3: Capitol, U. S.: January 12, 1981; Frescos, PO 811748

Folder 4: Capitol, U. S.: March 17, 1981; Mural Conservation Preliminary Study Report

Folder 5: Capitol, U. S.: March 16, 1982; Murals: Pilot conservation, ACbr-733

Folder 6: Capitol, U. S.: February 3, 1983; Rotunda paintings (3); old conservation reports

Folder 7: Capitol, U. S.: September 25, 1984; Painted frieze, PO 848994

Folder 8: Capitol, U. S.: November 1984 – January 1986; Correspondence

Folder 9: Capitol, U. S.: January 15, 1985; Room S-151, PO 863599

Folder 10: Capitol, U. S.: May 20, 1985; Senate wing wall paintings, ACbr-85032

Folder 11: Capitol, U. S.: August 5, 1985; Murals, Anteroom of Senate Dining Room Report,

ACbr-85032

Folder 12: Capitol, U. S.: October 29, 1985; Painted medallions (24), Senate Wing,

Reports and notes, ACbr-85032

Folder 13: Capitol, U. S.: December 12, 1985; Painted lunette, Senate Wing, Report,

ACbr-85032

Folder 14: Capitol, U. S.: December 14, 1985; Portrait of John Fitch, Report and notes,

ACbr-85032

Folder 15: Capitol, U. S.: June – November 1985; Expenses

Box 3:

Folder 1: Capitol, U. S.: February 26, 1987; Room H-209, ACbr-87037

Folder 2: Capitol, U. S.: March 2, 1987; Room H-144, ACbr-87038

Folder 3: Capitol, U. S.: August 1988; Canopy Fresco Report (part 1 of 2)

Folder 4: Capitol, U. S.: August 1988; Canopy Fresco Report (part 2 of 2)

Folder 5: Capitol, U. S.: August 1988; Canopy Fresco Report, bound copy

Folder 6: Capitol, U. S.: February 2, 1990; Room H-117, ACbr-90035

Folder 7: Capitol, U. S.: September 26, 1995; Mural by Leutze, Previous treatment and

research

Folder 8: Capitol, U. S.: January 19, 2000; Frieze Rotunda, water damage repair

Folder 9: Capitol, U. S.: Miscellaneous photographs

Box 3A:

Roll 1: Capitol, U.S.: Frieze of the Rotunda, 1986 Conservation Project, 1, History of Execution

Roll 2: Capitol, U.S.: Frieze of the Rotunda, 1986 Conservation Project, 2, Technique of Execution

Roll 3: Capitol, U.S.: Frieze of the Rotunda, 1986 Conservation Project, 3, Gray Surface Deposit

Box 4:

Folder 1: Department of the Interior: 1989 condition survey of murals

Folder 2: Department of the Interior: 1989 report on murals: study for conservation

Folder 3: Department of the Interior: 1989 report on murals: extent and cause of deterioration

Folder 4: Department of the Interior: October 22, 1990; Penthouse mural stabilization, Project: RDC-98071

Folder 5: Department of the Interior: June 2, 1992; Penthouse Mural Conservation, Phase II, RDC-08156

Folder 6: Department of the Interior: October 14, 1992; Correspondence (not Penthouse)

Folder 7: Department of the Interior: January 22, 1996; Murals by McKenxie, McCosh and Cikowsky, RDC-28114

Folder 8: Department of the Interior: June 26, 1996; Penthouse Mural Conservation Conservator recommendations

Folder 9: Department of the Interior: January 3, 1997; Penthouse Mural Conservation, Phase II, RDC-08156

Folder 10: Department of the Interior: October 28, 1998; Correspondence: award submission for work on Penthouse

Folder 11: Library of Congress: February 16, 1983; PO 833175

Folder 12: Page Conservation Inc.: March 1992 – April 1994; Collaborative projects in Washington D.C.

Folder 13: Cunningham-Adams: 1991 – 1998; Treatment Reports: U.S. Capitol, Library of Congress, U.S. Federal Building in Conn.

Series II: Writing and Speaking

Box 5:

Folder 1: Article: “The Conservation of Two Rouault Oil Paintings on Paper Support,”

presented June 1969 at IIC-AG Annual Meeting

Folder 2: Article: “The Survey and Treatment of Some Polychromed Wooden Sculptures

Damaged by Earthquakes in the Fruli Region of Italy,” with Grissom,

Carol; c. 1977

Folder 3: Article: “Use of Poly Vinyl Acetate AYAA as an Adhesive,” November 1976,

Florence Conference

Folder 4: Article: “Various Problems on four Murals and their Treatment,” April 1979, AIC

Toronto Conference

Folder 5: Articles and Mentions in Journals, 1958 - 1972

Folder 6: Book: Constantino Brumidi: Artist of the Capitol: Correspondence, 1987 – 1998

Folder 7: Book: Constantino Brumidi: Drafts, 1994 -1995

Folder 8: Book: Constantino Brumidi: Research and images

Folder 9: Lectures, not at conferences

Folder 10: Lecture / Guest Conservator: J. Paul. Getty Museum, February – March 1983

Folder 11: Report: Emergency procedures for musical instruments

Series III: Business Papers

Box 5:

Folder 12: Awards and Certificates

Folder 13: Conservation Tips

Box 6:

Folder 1: Correspondence

Folder 2: Correspondence regarding GSA reorganization, August – October 1994

Folder 3: Early Conservation Training, 1957 - 1965

Folder 4: Houdon, J. A.

Folder 5: Insurance, 1990-2000

Folder 6: Miscellaneous

Folder 7: Rabin: photographs at work

Folder 8: Rabin: resumes and awards introduction

Folder 9: Rabin: Transfer of papers to Winterthur Library

Folder 10: Report from Keck, Albert, regarding paintings restorations, no year

Folder 11: Rutgers University

Folder 12: “Secco Suardo”: Correspondence to get translation published

Folders 13-15: “Secco Suardo”: Translation

Folder 16: Tax Records, 1990-1992

Series IV: Slides (1966 – 1991)

Boxes 1-7: U. S. Capitol Building conservation and rotunda dome conservation

Box 8: Friuli, Italy, earthquake

Box 9: Friam, 1977 [continues in next box]

Box 10: Friam, 1977;

“Nude in Art”:

Ben Shahn mural, North Bronx Post Office, Toronto conference, 1979 [see Series II, Box 5, folder 4];

Restoration in Florida, Dec. 1991

Box 11: Florence flood [continues in next box]

Box 12: Florence flood;

Miscellaneous slides

Box 13: Leger;

Exploded view of an oil painting;

P.V.A. report [see Series II, Box 5, folder 3];

Sistine Chapel;

Treatment slides [not filed with treatment reports];

Slides pertaining to restoration

Box 14: Library of Congress – mural paintings;

Norton Simon Museum

Goya

Revised June 24, 2015