Finding 4: “Meilleurs Voeux pour 1954” Card 

This card, wishing James J. Sweeney “Best Wishes for 1954,” came from a French painter named Aeyrdy. The 12.5 by 10 cm color print is edition 25 of 74. 

Holiday cards such as this one, between the director and artists, can be found throughout Sweeney’s correspondence. Cards were not limited to people who personally knew Sweeney, but were one of the many ways artists distributed their work to the museum. Additional records found in Sweeney’s artist correspondence are a rich source of information on Sweeney’s process of locating, appraising, and acquisitioning works of art for the museum. He encouraged the development of countless amateur artists and often exchanged several letters with them over a period of years. Related to these correspondences are Sweeney’s artist research records, which contain photographs of completed artwork, small drawings, and gallery exhibition flyers.

—Pete Asch, archives assistant