The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware  19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Ellis, Estelle.                                      

Title:               Research papers for At Home with Art

Dates:             circa 1996-2000

Call No.:         Doc. 927        

Acc. No.:        13x121

Quantity:        6 boxes

Location:       

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Estelle Ellis (Rubinstein) was a writer, magazine producer, and marketing specialist.  She graduated from Hunter College in New York City in 1940 and went to work for a magazine publisher.  In 1944, she served as promotion director for the new magazine Seventeen.  Although Mrs. Rubinstein did not invent the concept of “teenager,” she was among the first to encourage marketing to that age group.  After 5 years, she left Seventeen to help establish the magazine Charm, which was aimed at working women.  Again, she encouraged advertisers to develop marketing campaigns aimed specifically at this group.  After Charm was bought out by its competitor Glamour, Mrs. Rubinstein founded Business Image, Inc., dedicated -- in her words – “to helping business understand the impact of social change on business trends.”   This marketing agency included Condé Nast publications among its clients; she worked with the editors to make sure they understood how consumers were changing.

 

In later life, Mrs. Rubinstein co-wrote books: At Home with Books (1995), At Home with Art (1999), The Booklover’s Repair Manual (2000), and Cipe Pineles (2005).  Mrs. Rubinstein published her works under the name Estelle Ellis.  She planned to write a book about conservators and their work, but it was not published.  She was born in New York City in 1919, the daughter of Peter and Bessie Ellis.  Peter Ellis, who repaired sewing machines, was born in Russia, Bessie Ellis in England.  Estelle Ellis was married to Sam Rubinstein; they had two children.  She died on July 1, 2012.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

Papers generated for the book At Home with Art, which Mrs. Rubinstein co-authored with Caroline Seebohm and Christopher Simon Sykes (photographer).  This book was published by Clarkson Potter in 1999.  Included in this collection are the cassette tapes of interviews with various collectors, artists, and curators, transcripts of those tapes, drafts of the text, publicity material for the book, a few photographs, and some correspondence, including letters from people who were included in the book.  Of note are interviews with various artists about their interactions with the collectors Dorothy and Herbert Vogel.  There is also some personal information about Mrs. Rubinstein.

 

           

ORGANIZATION

 

The transcripts are arranged alphabetically by name of interviewee.  The files about the publication of the book are follow the transcripts.  The cassette tapes are in separate boxes.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

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

           

 

PROVENANCE

 

Gift of Nora J. Rubinstein and Ellis Rubinstein, children of Estelle Ellis Rubinstein.

 

 

RELATED MATERIALS

 

Papers pertaining to Mrs. Rubinstein’s marketing work are found at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History        : Estelle Ellis papers, 1942-2004.

 

An autographed copy of At Home with Art is found in the Winterthur Library.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

People:

            Vogel, Dorothy.

            Vogel, Herbert.

 

Topics:

            Art – Collectors and collecting.

            Art – Private collections – United States.

 

Added title:

            At Home with Art

           

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location:

 

Box 1:

 

Folder 1:          Abrams, George

 

Folder 2:          Albee, Edward

 

Folder 3:          Ashbery, John

 

Folder 4:          Axelrod, John

 

Folder 5:          Bartlett, Jennifer

 

Folder 6:          Cernuda, Ramon and Nercys

 

Folder 7:          Commoner, Lucy (textile conservator)

 

Folder 8:          Cox, Madison

 

Folder 9:          Davidson, Joan

 

Folder 10:        Dell, Bunny

 

Folder 11:        Diker, Charles

 

Folders 12-13: Dragon, Ted, including Ossorio Foundation

 

Folder 14:        Epstein, Sarah G., and family

 

Folder 15:        Friedman, B. H. and Abby

 

Folder 16:        Friedman-Kien, Dr.

 

 

Box 2:

 

Folder 1:          Gilman, Sondra, and Gonzalez-Falla, Celso

 

Folder 2:          Gund, Agnes

                        [see also Lopez, Sonia; and Shapiro, Daniel]

 

Folder 3:          Huberm Ulla (Lois and George de Menil)

 

Folder 4:          Harrisberg, Halley, and Rosenfeld, Michael

 

Folder 5:          Hechinger, John and June

 

Folder 6:          Hennessey, Richard

 

Folder 7:          Jacobs, Roz

 

Folder 8:          Katcher, Jane and Gerald

 

Folder 9:          Kerschenblatt and Gimblatt: photos

 

Folder 10:        Kislak, Jean and Jay

 

Folder 11:        Lau, Rex, and Mayo, Diane (with Micki Denhof)

 

Folder 12:        LeSueur, Joe

 

Folder 13:        Livingston, Maria and Henry

 

Folder 14:        Lopez, Sonia [Gund curator]

                        [see also Gund, Agnes; and Shapiro, Daniel]

 

 

Box 3:

 

Folder 1:          Mallin, Sherri and Joel

 

Folder 2:          Mangold, Sylvia and Robert

 

Folder 3:          Margulies, Martin Z.

 

Folder 4:          Menil, Lois and George de

 

Folder 5:          Miller, Rosetta and Sam

 

Folder 6:          Nivola, Ruth, Clare, and Pietro

 

Folder 7:          Ottavino, Kate, and Ottavino Stoneworks: photos

 

Folder 8:          Phillips, Tom

 

Folder 9:          Polsky, Cynthia Hazen

 

Folder 10:        Railey, H. B. Randolph (Randy) and Sue

 

Folder 11:        Rambush, Catha Grace

 

Folder 12:        Rijper, Els

 

Folder 13:        Rosenblum, Robert, and Kaplowitz, Jane

 

Folder 14:        Rosse, Bonnie and Thomas

 

Folder 15:        Ruwitch, Francien and Lee

 

Folder 16:        Sanders, Timothy Greenfield

 

Folder 17:        Shack, Ruth and Richard

 

Folder 18:        Shapiro, Daniel, and Gund, Agnes

                        [see also Gund, Agnes; and Lopez, Sonia]

 

Folder 19:        Sharf, Jean and Frederic

 

Folder 20:        Smith, Phillip

 

Folder 21:        ten Haeff, Ingeborg, and Githens, John

 

 

Box 4:

 

Folder 1:          Thaw, Clare and Eugene

 

Folder 2:          Thomas, Jonathan

 

Folder 3:          Tuttle, Richard

 

Folder 4:          van Dyke, Harry

 

Folder 5:          Vogel, Dorothy and Herbert: interview with them

 

Folder 6:          Vogel, Dorothy and Herbert: interviews with others about them

 

Folder 7:          miscellaneous notes

 

Folder 8:          Book proposal, correspondence with publisher (Clarkson Potter), etc.

 

Folder 9:          Correspondence: personal letters about book At Home with Art

 

Folder 10:        drafts of book

 

Folder 11:        publicity for At Home with Art

 

Folder 12:        Bresnan, Joseph and Adrienne: correspondence

                        [not about At Home with Art]

 

Folder 13:        Rubinstein, Estelle Ellis: personal

 

Folder 14:        Winterthur and MOMA: conservation labs: photos

 

 

Boxes 5-6: cassette tapes of interviews (most of these are mini-cassette tapes)