Henry Allen Moe Papers, American Philosophical Society

Table of contents

Abstract

An administrator and humanist, Henry Allen Moe (1894-1975) was the first director of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and was a president of the American Philosophical Society from 1959 to 1970. The Moe Papers are a vast and rich resource documenting all phases of Moe's career, but are also a major source of information on twentieth-century philanthropic organizations. As the first Secretary, then Administrator, and finally President of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation (ca. 1925-1963), Moe made contact with the influential and the aspiring in the worlds of banking, finance, the arts, and sciences. This collection is particularly strong in correspondence and information relating to Latin America, much of it generated through Moe's oversight of the Guggenheim's Latin America Fund and by Moe's otherwise keen interest in the region. This material is diverse, ranging from material on agriculture (see Escuela Agricola Panamericana, 15 boxes) and Peruvian archaeology (see Alfred Kroeber's detailed report) to many folders of correspondence and grant reports from artists, writers, and politicians of South and Central America. Moe served as trustee, officer, and committee member of over thirty private foundations, many of which are well represented in the collection by yearly reports and grant applications, among other types of records.

Background note
Scope & content
Administrative information
Additional information
Added entries
Contact information
Collection inventory

Background note

Remembered for his dedication to helping scholars and artists pursue their work, Henry Allen Moe (1894-1975), principal administrator of the Simon Guggenheim Foundation from its inception through his 1963 retirement, brought a personal touch to his work. Moe remembered former fellows and their work, often remaining in contact with them for years, and encouraged them to think of the Guggenheim as their "intellectual home," always allowing time to see them when they returned to the foundation, as a former associate recalled in Moe's obituary.

Moe remained in his home state of Minnesota from his birth to Christian and Sophia Martha (Gaustad) on July 2, 1894 in Monticello through young adulthood. After graduating from Hamline University in 1916, he began reporting for the St. Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press but left journalism to enlist in the U.S. Navy when the United States entered World War I. While in command of a destroyer, he suffered severe injuries when a boom collapsed -- an accident with fortuitous consequences. From his hospital bed, Moe sent a Rhodes scholarship application, which impressed Carroll Wilson, a New York bibliographer, former Rhodes Scholar and lawyer who would greatly influence Moe's career. Wilson visited Moe in the hospital and obtained a scholarship for him.

Admitted to the bar when he returned to the United States in 1923, Moe intended to pursue a career in law, but again, the intervention of Wilson led him down another path. Now a consultant to Simon Guggenheim, the industrialist and former United States Senator, Wilson asked Moe to assist in the establishing of a foundation in memory of Guggenheim's young son who had been killed. After consulting with the Guggenheims and touring the country seeking the advice of educators, Moe developed the plan for the foundation. From this point forward, Moe served as principal administrator for the Guggenheim Foundation, first as its secretary, then as secretary general, and finally, as president from 1961 to his 1963 retirement.

He served as a member or trustee of numerous institutions, organizations, and foundations, including the American Philosophical Society (elected 1943, also served as president); the New York State Historical Association (president and board chair); Farmers' Museum (president); Leatherstocking Corporation, Cooperstown, NY; Maude E. Warwick Fund (trustee, vice-president); Wesleyan University (trustee emeritus); Scriven Foundation (trustee, consultant); Clark Foundation (trustee, consultant); Museum of Modern Art (vice-chair, trustees); Institute of Modern Art (chair trustees); American Academy in Rome (president, chair); Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital (president, chair trustees); Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation (trustee); New York State Council on Arts (honorary vice chair); National Endowment for the Humanities (chair 1965-1966);

His awards include the Recipient Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts; National Institute Arts and Letters, 1955; Public Service medal National Academy of Sciences, 1958; award of merit, Philadelphia Museum College of Art; cosmos Club award, 1965; and the Laurel Leaf award, American Composers Alliance, 1966..

After his retirement, Moe continued to devote himself to philanthropic, scholarly, and educational interests until his death in Sherman, Connecticut on October 2, 1975.

Scope and content

The Henry Allen Moe papers contain a wealth of information on mid- to late-20th century foundations, particularly the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, including correspondence, fellowship applications, and administrative information. The collection also contains information on other organizations with which Moe served, such as the New York State Historical Association. The vast correspondence, too extensive to describe in full, includes many correspondents of interest in banking, finance, the arts, and the sciences. Among these are Franz Boas, Julian P. Boyd, Walter B. Cannon, Aaron Copland, George W. Corner, Theodosius Dobzhansky, Abraham Flexner, Alfred A. Kroeber, Lewis Mumford, Linus Pauling, and John Archibald Wheeler.

For those interested in twentieth-century philanthropic organizations, the Moe papers include correspondence, yearly reports, grant applications, and other records for many of the over thirty private foundations of which Moe served as trustee, officer, and committee member.

Foundations represented include the American Trust for Oxford University; Clark Foundation; Ditson Fund for Music; Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation; John Simon Guggenheim Foundation; Lalor Foundation; National Endowment for the Humanities (for which he served as its the first director); Rockefeller Foundation; Oberlaender Trust; Scriven Foundation; Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation; Allen Tucker Memorial; Vetlesen Foundation; and the Maude E. Warwick Fund for Orphans of WW II.

Reflecting his interests in the arts, the papers also contain much material on the Committee for Inter-American Artistic and Intellectual Relations; the Museum of Modern Art; N.Y.; and the State Council on the Arts.

The collection also includes a great deal of material on academic organizations such as the American Association of Rhodes Scholars; the American Philosophical Society; Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies; Association of American University Presses; Institute for Advanced Study; Institute for Current World Affairs; and the Office of Scientific Research and Development; educational institutions such as American Academy in Rome; Black Mountain College (North Carolina); Columbia University, and New York University; historical institutions such as the New York State Historical Association and the Farmers' Museum, Cooperstown, N.Y.; and other institutions such as the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown, N.Y. and the Leatherstocking Corporation.

Administrative information

Restrictions

None.

Provenance

Gift of Edith Moe, 1976.

Preferred citation

Cite as: Henry Allen Moe Papers, American Philosophical Society.