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Mickey Wolfson Theater Collection, 1946-2015

 

Summary

Creator:
Mitchell "Mickey" Wolfson, Jr., b.1939
Extent:
18.33 Linear Feet
Language:
Afrikaans Arabic Bulgarian Chinese Croatian Czech Danish English Finnish French German Italian Japanese Latin Malay Polish Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan Russian Slovak Swedish

Background

Scope and content:

The materials in this collection reflect Mr. Wolfson's interest in the arts. The materials primarily consist of playbills, showbills, and programs from plays, operas, and musical performances in Europe, the U.S. (including South Florida), Asia, and Oceana.

Biographical / historical:

Mitchell "Mickey" Wolfson was born in 1939 and raised in Miami Beach and Asheville, NC. His parents were Frances Cohen (December 16, 1906– May 9, 1980) and Mitchell Wolfson (1900–1983). His father was the founder of Wometco Enterprises in 1925 and served as the first Jewish mayor of Miami Beach in 1943. His older brother, Louis Wolfson II, was a Florida state representative from Dade County from 1963–1973. Mickey Wolfson is a graduate of the Lawrenceville School, Princeton, and Johns Hopkins. He is an American businessman and collector and founded the Wolfsonian Museum in Miami Beach and Genoa, Italy.

Collector: In 1986 Wolfson established The Wolfsonian Foundation, a research center and museum in Miami Beach, and began publishing The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Art, a journal fostering scholarship in late 19th- and early 20th-century design. In the same year he acquired the Mackenzie Castle in Genoa to house his collection.

In 1997 he donated his collection, estimated at 80,000 objects, and the state-of-the-art museum to Florida International University. It was the basis for the Wolfsonian Museum-FIU, a research center and museum. In downtown Miami, the new Michael Wolfson Jr. Study Centre provides access to a collection of decorative, design and propaganda arts of the period 1885 to 1945. In Italy, the newly inaugurated Wolfsoniana Museum in Genoa exhibits elements from his collection that comprises more than 18,000 works on paper, paintings, sculpture, furniture and decorative objects.

Community Activities: He is president of The Wolfson Initiative, Washington Storage Company, and the Novecento Corporation. He sits on the Wolfsonian-FIU Advisory Board and the Florida International University Board of Directors and is a trustee for the Mitchell Wolfson Senior Foundation that supports educational and health issues. Also, he is a trustee for the Mitchell Wolfson Family Foundation that supports the Audubon House and Tropical Gardens in Key West, Florida. He is a member of the International Council of the Museum of Arts and Design, the International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, the International Council of Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France, and a past member of the American Friends of the Louvre. He is on the advisory council of Princeton University's Department of Comparative Literature and on the advisory council of the Paul N. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Wolfson co-authored Miami Beach: Blueprint of an Eden with artist Michele Oka Doner. Published in 2005, the book is a personal portrayal of Miami Beach from the 1920s through the 1960s. (Biographical source: Wikipedia and collection materials)

Acquisition information:
Materials were donated by Mickey Wolfson
Arrangement:

The materials are arranged into the following series based on the geographical location of the performance: 1. Australian Arts 2. Bolivian Arts 3. Canadian Arts 4. Chinese Arts 5. European Arts 6. Filipino Arts 7. Indian Arts 8. Japanese Arts 9. Lebanese Arts 10. Malaysian Arts 11. Mexican Arts 12. New Zealand Arts 13. South African Arts 14. U.S. Arts.

There is one sub-series under U.S. Arts entitled Arts in Florida.

Materials are in alphabetical and date order.

Physical facet:
44 5" document cases
Material specific details:
Language of materials is in English unless otherwise noted.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. Researchers must contact Special Collections & University Archives in advance for access to unprocessed born digital materials in this collection. Collection restrictions, copyright limitations, or technical complications may hinder the SPCUA's ability to provide access to unprocessed born digital materials.

Terms of access:

The Mickey Wolfson Theater Collection is owned by Florida International University. This collection is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

For more information please visit: https://library.fiu.edu/find/copyright/general

Location of this collection:
Florida International University
11200 SW 8th Street
Miami
FL
33199
USA