An Inventory of Her Papers at the Harry Ransom Center
Creator:
Brenner, Leah, 1915-2004
Title:
Leah Brenner Papers
Dates:
1929-1999, undated (bulk 1939-1988)
Extent:
13 document boxes, 1 oversize box (osb) (8.4 linear feet)
Abstract:
The papers document Leah Brenner’s
writings on Mexican art and culture, including a children’s book about and
illustrated by Diego Rivera, and articles for Town &
Country. Personal and family documents and correspondence are also
present.
Leah Brenner was born in 1915 to Jewish immigrants, who, after emigrating from Latvia
to Mexico, moved to San Antonio in the year of Brenner’s birth. She attended La
Universidad de Mexico, receiving a master’s degree in Modern Languages in 1937
and
her doctorate in Letters in 1941. Brenner worked as a secretary for Mexican artist
Diego Rivera from 1939 to 1945. After leaving Rivera’s employment and returning
to
the United States, Brenner lived for a time in New York City and eventually settled
in San Antonio, where she lived until her death in 2004. During this period of
her
life she worked as a freelance writer, contributing stories about Mexican art,
culture, and history to publications such as The New York
Times and Town and Country. She also
wrote a children’s book, An Artist Grows up in Mexico
(1953), about Diego Rivera’s childhood, illustrated with drawings by Rivera. The
book was later republished as The Boyhood of Diego
Rivera (1964) and An Artist Grows up in Mexico:
Scenes from the Boyhood of Diego Rivera (1987).
Sources:
Glusker, Susannah Joel. Anita Brenner: A Mind of Her
Own. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1998.
"Leah Brenner Obituary." San Antonio Express News, 21 February 2004, accessed 25
February 2013,
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sanantonio/obituary.aspx?n=leah-brenner&pid=88842662#fbLoggedOut.
Scope and Contents
The Leah Brenner Papers consist of published and unpublished manuscripts,
correspondence, legal and financial documents, photographs, clippings and personal
documents. Materials relating to Brenner’s writing career make up the major focus
of
the collection, with correspondence and detailed financial documents featured
to a
lesser degree. The papers are organized into three series: I. Works, 1931-1991,
undated; II. Correspondence, 1941-1993, undated; and III. Personal, 1929-1994,
undated.
Series I. Works contains materials related to Leah Brenner’s writing career and is
arranged in three subseries: A. Manuscripts, B. Diego Rivera Materials, and C.
Press
Clippings. The Manuscripts subseries consists of drafts of her book An Artist Grows up in Mexico (including reprints under
alternate titles), articles written for periodicals, and unpublished works. A
number
of these manuscripts contain the handwritten annotations of Brenner and her
publishers. The second subseries, Diego River Materials, consists of copies of
Diego
Rivera materials used by Brenner in the course of her writing career. Included
are
photocopies of Rivera drawings used in An Artist Grows up in
Mexico, promotional materials based on the drawings, and photocopies of
notes sent by Rivera to Brenner. The Press Clippings subseries is comprised of
newspaper and magazine clippings and photocopies of Brenner’s published articles
and
news pieces relating to her work.
Series II. Correspondence is arranged in four subseries: A. Financial, B. General,
C.
Personal, and D. Professional. The financial correspondence prominently features
materials related to a trust fund that was liquidated without Brenner’s consent
and
subsequent legal action against Groos Bank. General correspondence includes
exchanges with the Detroit Institute of Arts relating to a Diego Rivera
retrospective, including loan agreements for works that the Institute borrowed
from
Brenner for the exhibit. Photographer Tina Modotti, painter Jean Chalot and
architect Mathias Goeritz are among the personal correspondents. And Brenner’s
writing career is represented in professional correspondence to publishers,
including some enclosed manuscript drafts.
Series III. Personal reflects Brenner’s personal activities and is arranged in five
subseries: A. Biographical, B. Financial and Legal, C. Photographs, D. Dogs and
Dog
Breeders, and E. Ephemera. The biographical materials are comprised of high school
and college diplomas, and various personal identification cards and certificates.
Financial and legal documents include materials related to Groos Bank, as well
as
receipts for expenses accrued as a traveling correspondent and household
expenditures. The photographs, primarily family related, include portraits of
Brenner’s mother, Paula Brenner, and flower images taken by Italian photographer
Tina Modotti, a contemporary of Diego Rivera. During the process of housing the
materials at the Ransom Center, many of the photographs were sleeved together
for
preservation purposes, but this does not represent any original order or indicate
an
association between the photographs. Finally, Brenner’s love of purebred cocker
spaniels is evidenced in numerous photographs and correspondence with breeders,
while other personal interests are reflected in clippings and ephemera.
Related Material
The Leah Brenner Papers contain correspondence with and photographs of Brenner’s
sister, Anita Brenner, award-winning writer of books on the art and history of
Mexico, as well as children’s books. The Anita Brenner Papers are also housed
at the
Harry Ransom Center, as are several works by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, including
lithographs and drawings by Rivera, his painting "Niña con Muñeca" and Kahlo’s drawing "Diego y Yo."
Separated Material
Twenty-seven books, exhibition catalogs, and auction catalogs, including one book
with inscription by Anita Brenner were transferred to the Ransom Center Book
Collection. One VHS tape was transferred to the Center’s Moving Image Collection.
Three small hand painted gourds were transferred to the Center’s Personal Effects
Collection.
