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The Metropolitan Museum of Art Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10028 212-TR 9-5500 July 12, 1983 Florence Knoll Bassett Box 411 Route 1 Jeffersonville, Vermont 05464 Dear Shu: It was nice chatting with you, on Wednesday. You sound extremely excited about the interiors in the bank; and I, for one, am excited about having you back as an active force in American design. Could this be the start of a whole new career? Will I have to add a hasty postscript to my Cranbrook manuscript? I think I have talked with you at lunch on several occasions about the (belated) effects of the Museum to build the twentieth-century design collection. The Cranbrook show will be our first big modern design show in almost fifty years, and we hope it will put us back in the public eye. My work has mainly been in the American Wing, and we have been quite fortunate to acquire a series of major acquisitions over the last few years. In addition, I have been working with the Department of Prints and Photographs to acquire architectural and furniture drawings, as well as archival material for the Museum. The Director has recently expanded my duties to include twentieth-century European decorative arts, so we are now in a position to really shape the Museum's collection. I am sure you have many considerations concerning what to do with your papers, but I would ask you to keep us in mind whenever you make a decision. You very kindly loaned us a large portion of your papers for the research for Cranbrook (a photocopy is enclosed), and this material is in storage here. The Registrar has asked the Department to return any material not being used for the exhibit. We can, however, hold this material indefinitely until you make a decision or we could return it to Miami at your convenience. As the most influential design of your generation, I, of course, feel strongly that your work belongs in an institution like the Metropolitan Museum. New York was the place were you lived during the 1940s and 50s, and it remains the center of the design world. If you get down to the "Big Apple" during the summer, I'll buy you some lunch; and let's discuss it. Best regards, Craig R. Craig Miller Associate Curator Department of American Decorative Arts RCM:tbb
