Correspondence

This series contains the bulk of the records Sherman Lee created. They cover all of the years that Lee directed the museum and a few years prior to his appointment as director, when he was curator of Oriental art. The records are organized alphabetically, usually by the name of the correspondent but occasionally by subject heading. Materials within the folders are organized chronologically. At the end of each alphabetical letter there are folders for miscellaneous correspondence, also organized alphabetically. Correspondence is with dealers, donors, museums, foundations, businesses, and community members. Most of it revolves around four main topics: the acquisition of artwork, whether through gift or purchase; monetary and other support from individuals and corporations; requests for loans or policy information from other museums; and research on art objects.

Because Lee continued as chief curator of Oriental art while director, most of the dealer correspondence relates to Asian art objects. Correspondence with individuals about potential donations tends to be broader, though again much of it focuses on Asian art. By the time Lee was appointed director, the curatorial departments maintained their own dealer's files, although all potential purchases needed to be approved by both the director and the curator in order to be presented before the acquisitions committee of the board of trustees. Files concerning potential acquisitions sometimes include photographs of the objects. In a few instances, Lee kept the records of objects that had a problematic past or were particularly difficult to acquire. These records are organized by the object name (e.g. Meissonnier Silver Tureen (1977.182)). Otherwise, information about an art object acquired by the museum is located under the name of the dealer or individual who sold the object, or the name the individual making the donation. Folders for museum staff in this series relate to gifts they gave the museum; all other correspondence with staff is in series 2.3 under the department name.

Correspondence relating to gifts other than artwork is filed under the name of the corporation or individual donor. Often trustees were also benefactors to the museum, donating both money and art. Memorial funds consisting of donations given in remembrance of an individual were also common. The director's office issued routine thank-you letters and letters for tax purposes to benefactors. There is little additional financial data about gifts in the records of the director's office as the operations administrator maintained information on funds, endowments, and investments. Occasionally the records relate to gifts bequeathed to the museum in wills and estates. These records arranged by individuals' names, followed by "estate of" (e.g. Dority, Daniel W., Estate of, 1964-1965).

Sherman Lee's correspondence with other museums consists primarily of requests from the other museums to borrow artwork for upcoming exhibitions. (Records relating to exhibitions held at the Cleveland Museum of Art are located in a separate collection of exhibition files.) Museum staff also wrote to compare policies and procedures and for suggestions of candidates to fulfill high-level museum positions. In some instances Lee provided extensive services for other art museums, such as by serving as a trustee for the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art and performing consulting work for the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk. Information about Lee's activities for museums other than the Cleveland Museum of Art is located under the museums' names.

Lee corresponded with museum curators and other experts about research he was conducting or in response to research questions posed to him. Because of his expertise in Asian art the museum and scholarly community frequently wrote asking him to verify objects' authenticity or to date unknown objects. Lee was also invited to lecture on Asian art at various symposia and conferences. Information about such events is included in this series.

Also included in this series is correspondence with local arts organizations and local museums which provides information about the local arts scene and the entire museum community in northeastern Ohio. While most information regarding museum staff and trustees is located in series two, there is some correspondence with museum fellows, guest curators, and researchers included in this series, including correspondence with Ford Foundation fellows and other temporary or grant-funded employees. Some information about museum policy is included in correspondence between Lee and trustees of the museum including Noah Butkin, Severance Millikin, and Emery May Norweb. There is also a large amount of correspondence filed under "Letters" which consists of letters to Sherman Lee commenting on museum activities, either of praise ("Yay,") of criticism ("Nay,") or of extreme negativity and possibly derangement ("Nut File.")