Papers of Dorothy Adlow, 1923-1969

The bulk of this collection consisted of thirty-six scrapbooks; in addition to the microfilm of these scrapbooks, there are correspondence, photographs, clippings, lecture announcements, a phonograph record of a lecture, and a photocopy of the draft of an unpublished book, "Roads to Understanding Modern Art." The papers provide some information about Dorothy Adlow, her friendships and her work, but little about her family. There are no letters by her. The collection is arranged in four sections: personal and biographical, correspondence (arranged alphabetically by writer or organization), papers concerning the unpublished book, and other writings (mainly the scrapbooks).

The correspondence consists of letters to or about Adlow; writers include friends, artists, curators, museum directors, and readers. Most letters are about Adlow's columns and reviews, but 44 from the artist Dodge MacKnight and 23 from the poet Marianne Moore are personal. Dodge MacKnight's letters concern his work, his garden, and Adlow's visits to the MacKnights's home on Cape Cod. Marianne Moore's letters express her admiration for Adlow and describe Moore's efforts to obtain grants for Adlow and Nicolas Slonimsky, the publication of her "fables," and her own schedule.

The 36 scrapbooks, which were microfilmed and discarded, contained mainly clippings. Most were Adlow's Christian Science Monitor articles; there were also some Adlow columns published in other newspapers, some articles about her, and a few about Nicolas Slonimsky. The few non-clipping items were removed from the scrapbooks and integrated into the remainder of the collection. The approximate inclusive dates of each scrapbook are noted in the inventory. Five of the first six volumes span many years, the remainder generally cover only one or two years. The chronological order of items within each volume is irregular.