Morgan Russell Archives and Collection October 15, 2008

The Montclair Art Museum is the premier repository for the art and papers of leading American modernist Morgan Russell (1886-1953). Henry M. Reed, a resident of Caldwell, New Jersey, who served on the Museum's Board and Art Committee from 1985 to 1990, donated this collection in 1985. The Morgan Russell Archives and Collection, which prior to 2005 had never been fully inventoried, consists of thousands of works on paper (in various media from graphite to watercolor); six oil paintings; two rare examples of sculpture; scores of sketchbooks and notebooks; thousands of pages of correspondence; and more than 300 photographs of Russell, his work (including exhibition installations), his family, friends and associates, and his French studio -- as well as many additional documents. The collection is a unique record of the complexities of Russell's aesthetic and intellectual adventures.