Louise Crane and Victoria Kent papers

The Louise Crane and Victoria Kent Papers document the personal and professional lives of Louise Crane, Victoria Kent, and Josephine Boardman Crane, and consist of correspondence, subject files, personal papers, financial documents, clippings, photographs, and slides. The papers provide evidence of the Crane family's philanthropic work and involvement in a number of cultural associations, including the China Institute, Harpsichord Music Society, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Museum of Modern Art. The Papers provide insight into a prominent philanthropic family as well as cultural activities in New York City during the mid- to late twentieth century. Victoria Kent's involvement in politics and cultural affairs is also represented in the Papers. Victoria Kent's correspondence and subject files are a window into the activities of the expatriate Spanish community in the United States following the Spanish Civil War.

Louise Crane lived with and cared for her aging mother -- not only providing company but also serving as a secretary -- and for this reason the papers of Louise and Josephine Boardman Crane are intermingled. The Cranes hosted literary and musical events at their home on Fifth Avenue; these events are captured in their correspondence and subject files (such as "Monday afternoon literary class") that trace guests and topics of conversation. Their home was full of decorative arts and artwork; its decor is recorded in subject files and photographs. The Cranes' friends included a number of authors and artists. Correspondents include: Elizabeth Bishop, Loren MacIver, and Virgil Thomson. The Cranes' financial support for a number of artists and cultural institutions is represented in their financial documents. The papers also include documents pertaining to Cranes family members, such as correspondence and photographs of Josephine Boardman Crane's sister, Mabel Thorp Boardman (1860-1946), who was Secretary of the American National Red Cross.

Victoria Kent's involvement in politics and her work with Louise Crane to publish Ibérica are documented in her correspondence and subject files (which include several copies of the publication). Kent's legal work and interest in prison reform are also represented in various documents. A native of Spain, Kent worked tirelessly on projects relating to her mother country as well as the wellfare of Spaniards displaced by the civil war and World War II, as her files on Comité Popular de Ayuda los Refugiados Españoles and Spanish Refugee Aid demonstrate.