M. Knoedler & Co. was established in 1857 by Michael Knoedler (1823-1878). Before this date, he worked in Paris for the French dealers, Goupil & Cie, who specialised in print-publishing. In 1852, Michael moved to the United States of America to manage the company's New York office, at 289 Broadway. Five years later, he bought this part of Goupil and began to conduct business selling paintings under his own name at larger premises located at 366 Broadway. His sons, Roland (1856-1932), Edmond and Charles, helped with the management, and in 1877, when Roland became a partner, the firm changed its name to M. Knoedler & Co. After Michael's death a year later, Roland took over and with Charles Carstairs (1865-1928), opened galleries in Paris and at 15 Old Bond Street in London.
Carstairs' influence led to M. Knoedler & Co. becoming a leading dealer in Old Master Paintings in the 1920s, a period after the First World War in which many collections were disbanded and sold abroad. The company developed a working relationship with P. and D. Colnaghi & Co. Ltd, whereby paintings found in Europe by the latter were sold to rich clients in America through Knoedler's New York office. High profile buyers included Cornelius Vanderbilt, William Rockefeller, Andrew Mellon, J.P. Morgan, Henry Clay Frick, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Clients elsewhere included the Louvre in France and the Tate in the United Kingdom.
Roland Knoedler retired in 1928 and the firm was then jointly managed by his nephew, Charles Henschel (1885-1956), Carman Messmore (1882-1975), Charles Carstairs, and his son, Carroll Carstairs (1888-1948). Following Henschel's death in 1956, Roland Balay (1902-2004), Michael Knoedler's grandson, and Elmore Coe Kerr (c1915-1973) led the firm. Other members of staff and their job titles have been identified through their correspondence in this archive, and a list can be found in the series level description for Interoffice Correspondence (FHS/3/3).
The London office moved to 34 St. James' Street in 1958 and remained there until it closed in 1971 when the entire business was sold to American industrialist Armand Hammer. In 2012, The Getty Research Institute purchased the Knoedler & Company Gallery Archive, which dates from c1850-1971 and includes correspondence, sales books, stock and consignment books, card files on clients and art works, rare photographs, reference photo archives, and rare books. A link to the finding aid for the Getty's collection can be found below.
Many of the records in this sub-collection were created and compiled by Letitia Simpson (1884-1964), Simpson's aunt. She joined the London office in 1915 and worked for Charles Carstairs and Freddie Menzies. Although it is not known in what role she began her career, by 1936 she was signing her correspondence as 'Librarian'. It would appear from records in the archive that she created and managed provenance information for pictures bought and sold by the firm, corresponded with clients and researchers, undertook picture research, and arranged exhibitions. Many of those corresponding with her did so because they sought her opinion on works of art or help with their research, and included Oliver Millar, William Roberts, and Robert Witt, as well as galleries, dealers, authors, and owners.
Correspondence in the archive also shows Letitia and Frank Simpson regularly exchanged work related letters (which was often referred to as 'shop') whilst he worked at The Barber Institute of Fine Arts. Simpson took over the role of Librarian at Knoedler's on 1 April 1958, when Letitia retired from full-time employment, although she continued working in a part-time capacity until shortly before her death in 1964. The London office relocated to 34 St. James' Street in 1958, and interoffice correspondence dating from this time demonstrates the close working relationships between Simpson and the staff of the New York office. He often exchanged letters several times a day, particularly with Helmut Ripperger, Elizabeth Clare and Richard Finnegan who worked in the Library, and this continued until the London office closed in 1971.
The records in this sub-collection are an incredibly rich resource for the study of provenance. Simpson brought some of this material to the Paul Mellon Centre in 1971 when he became Librarian, and it is assumed he did so with the purpose of continuing his research into collecting and taste during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In addition, he sent some of the correspondence, newspaper cuttings, notebooks, invoices, receipts, and publicity material to The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, although it is not known why. The Centre acquired this in 2013.
