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Creator
Segal, Martin Eli, 1916-2012
Call number
MssCol 23010
Physical description
46.2 linear feet (111 boxes); 60.82 mb (79 computer files)
Preferred Citation

Martin E. Segal papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

The Martin E. Segal papers date from 1929 to 2012 (bulk 1975-2005) and document Segal's career as a businessman and patron of the arts in New York City.

Biographical/historical information

Martin E. Segal (1916-2012) was a Russian born businessman and patron of the arts. He was an integral force in the formation of New York City's cultural policies as the founding chair of the Commission for Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Assistance Center, and the New York International Festival of the Arts; as founding president and chief executive of the Film Society at Lincoln Center; and as chairman of Lincoln Center. He served on the board of directors for the Graduate Center Foundation of the City University of New York from 1983 to 1996, and was vice chairman from 2003 to 2008. In 2000, the theater at the Graduate Center was named The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center. Throughout his lifetime, Segal served on countless boards and commissions and donated and raised funds for numerous cultural organizations.

Born in Vitebsk, the Russian Empire in 1916, Segal and his family immigrated to the United States in 1917 via Poland and Belgium. Segal was very interested in art as a child and teenager, and originally wanted to be a painter. He attended Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York, but quit after three years and began working full time. In 1939, he founded the Martin E. Segal Company (now the Segal Group), an actuarial and employee benefits consulting firm. Within four years, the company went from two employees in a single-room office in Manhattan to one of the most successful human resources, retirement, and benefit plan firms in the United States. Segal remained president there until 1967, when he became chairman of the board, a position he held until 1991. From 1967 to 1982, he was a partner in the investment firm Wertheim & Co., Inc.; he was also president of Wertheim Asset Management Services from 1972 to 1975, and chairman from 1975 until 1982.

Segal's involvement in civic affairs developed between 1960 and 1970. During this time he served on the board of directors for the National Urban League (1961-1970) and as vice president (1967-1970) for the same organization. He was a member of the Board of Hospitals from 1962 to 1970, and became a trustee for Mount Sinai Hospital in 1966. In 1970, he was appointed by Mayor John Lindsay as the chairman of the finance committee of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation. The 1970s marked a period of increased patronage of the arts and cultural policymaking for Segal. He was a member of the board and chairman of the executive committee for the City Center of Music and Drama from 1971 until 1974. That same year he founded the Cultural Assistance Center (now Alliance for the Arts) and became chairman of the Mayor's Committee on Cultural Policy. In 1975, Segal was appointed by Mayor Abraham Beame as the founding chairman of the Commission for Cultural Affairs of the City of New York. His influential report, New York as a National Cultural Resource: A Report to the American People, was published by the Commission in 1976. Segal's deep involvement with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts began in 1968, when he co-founded the Film Society of Lincoln Center with William F. May and Schuyler G. Chapin. He remained president and chief executive there until 1978, when he became vice chairman of Lincoln Center. Segal served as chairman of Lincoln Center from 1981 to 1986, then as chairman emeritus until 2012. The Martin E. Segal Awards at Lincoln Center were established in 1986. In 1975, Segal began planning to create an international arts celebration in New York City. After several attempts and holding periods, the New York International Festival of the Arts (NYIFA) was founded in 1986. NYIFA's first festival was in 1988. Segal, along with Samuel S. Friedman and Gordon J. Davis, were the Festival's founding directors. The not-for-profit corporation developed and managed periodic international festivals presenting music, drama, opera, and dance; and displayed films, paintings, sculptures, videos, and other visual arts. In 1998, the Festival hosted an arts education week, and the following year held an international conference on the future of arts education. NYIFA was discontinued in 2002.

Martin E. Segal was granted dozens of awards throughout his lifetime, and held honorary degrees from seven institutions, including the Manhattan School of Music, Pratt Institute, New York University, and the Juilliard School. He died in his home in 2012.

Scope and arrangement

The Martin E. Segal papers date from 1929 to 2012 (bulk 1975-2005) and document Segal's career as a businessman and patron of the arts in New York City. The collection is arranged into three series: Professional Files, Personal Files, and Recordings. The professional files primarily document Segal's involvement with the Commission for Cultural Affairs; the Cultural Assistance Center (CAC); Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; The Martin E. Segal Company; and the New York International Festival of the Arts (NYIFA). Civic and Academic and Cultural Affairs files document Segal's work with organizations not otherwise represented in the collection. Personal correspondence comprises the bulk of the personal files. Recordings are primarily professional in nature, and document various events that Segal attended or spoke at; meeting minutes of the board of directors of Lincoln Center; and interviews of Segal.

The Martin E. Segal papers are arranged in three series:

  • Series I: Professional Papers
    1952-2011

    Professional Papers document the career of Martin E. Segal through files for cultural and civic organizations for which he worked. The most robust files are those for the Commission for Cultural Affairs; the Cultural Assistance Center (CAC); Lincoln Center; the Martin E. Segal Company; and the New York International Festival of the Arts (NYIFA). Chronological files contain invitations and other ephemera in addition to speech transcripts, letters, and articles.

    Files for the Mayor's Committee on Cultural Policy document the formation of the Committee and the review of cultural policy in New York City under Mayor Abraham Beame. The appointment of Irving Goldman, then head of the Shubert Foundation, as the Commissioner of Cultural Affairs is documented through press releases, articles, and correspondence. The bulk of the correspondence relates to Segal's work as chairman of the Committee, specifically to his development of the Committee's October 15, 1974 report, which is also present.

    Commission for Cultural Affairs files date from 1975 to 1995 and further document Segal's work with Mayor Beame on cultural policy in New York City, specifically the Commission's reestablishment and activities after Irving Goldman ceased as the Commission's leader. Segal's work with Mayor Abraham Beame and local arts and cultural boards to increase promotion of and funding for the arts in New York City is documented. The files also record Segal's recommendation to create a Department of Cultural Affairs, separate from the existing entity held within the Department of Parks and Recreation. Documents are largely comprised of correspondence and memoranda between Segal and Beame, other Commission members, and leading local governmental and cultural figures. Board meeting minutes and project notes are also included. Manhattan Plaza files contain an affirmative marketing study for the conversion of Manhattan Plaza into section 8 housing for performing artists. Reports and studies, such as Segal's New York as a National Cultural Resource: A Report to the American People (1977), are usually accompanied by correspondence.

    Cultural Assistance Center (CAC) materials date from 1975 to 1984 and consist primarily of meeting minutes, reports, and correspondence. The papers document the Center's projects, such as studies on corporate support of the arts, and the creation of a cultural facilities inventory for local or out-of-town performers and artists. In addition to the publications themselves, the meeting minutes document the publication, distribution, and reception of A Guide to New York City Museums(1978), America's Stake in New York City Arts and Culture (1979), and The Arts as an Industry: Their Economic Importance to the New York-New Jersey Metropolitan Region (1983).

    The New York International Festival of the Arts (NYIFA) files date Segal's initial conception in 1975 through its discontinuation in 2002. Files dating from 1975 to 1988 are the most thorough and record the early planning stages of the Festival and the opening and closing nights of the first festival in 1988. Materials consist of NYIFA board of directors' member lists, meeting minutes, legal papers, by-laws, public relations reports, program packets, reports, and summaries. Materials dating from 1975 to 1977 consist of a feasibility report and accompanying correspondence; memoranda detailing funding and local government involvement; press release drafts and proposals; and articles. Materials documenting the 1988 festival consist of daily event listings, symposia fact sheets, letters of agreement, and memoranda regarding invitations, seating, venue schedules, guest lists, publicity, and budgeting. The 1989 Fête de la Musique, a one-day, city-wide musical celebration presented by NYIFA, is also represented through publicity materials and correspondence.

    Lincoln Center materials primarily record issues addressed by the board of directors during the course of Segal's chairmanship of the Center, between 1982 and 1986. Correspondence with Lincoln Center president Nathan Leventhal discusses policies and procedures, theater marketing brochures, and issues surrounding the reconstruction of the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Lincoln Center files also contain meeting minutes; memoranda pertaining to grants, budgets, and development; chronologies; reports; and correspondence, cost summaries, and other materials pertaining to the opening of the Samuel B. and David Rose Building in 1991.

    Civic and Academic and Cultural Affairs files were organized separately by Segal and document his involvement as a board or committee member in organizations not otherwise represented in the collection. The files are primarily arranged chronologically, with alphabetical files following the chronological run. Document types include a significant amount of ephemera in addition to letters, speech drafts, meeting minutes, and articles. The National Urban League, the Whitehead Institute, and New York Citizens for Balanced Transportation (NYCBT) are among the more robust civic and academic files. Files for NYCBT provide detailed documentation of the actions taken by the NYCBT for the Westway Development Project, which aimed to revitalize the then decaying west side, between the Battery and 42nd Street; and to open up the waterfront to citizens. Correspondence, by-laws, board meeting minutes, press releases, newsletters, and proposals are present. Within the cultural affairs files, The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) and the City Center for Music and Drama contain more details regarding Segal's involvement with them.

  • Series II: Personal Papers
    1929-2012

    The majority of the personal papers consist of correspondence, arranged chronologically. Copies of Segal's responses are usually attached to the incoming letters. While the majority of the correspondence details purely personal matters, such as dinner parties held by the Segals, invitations to performing arts events, travel plans, and holidays, some letters may also mention professional engagements, such as workshops, lectures, speaking engagements, charitable contributions, fundraising, and awards. Correspondence from 1981 consists almost entirely of congratulatory letters sent to Segal upon his appointment as chairman of Lincoln Center. Personal papers also include documentation of Segal's art collecting.

    Miscellaneous personal materials consist of event speech transcripts, cards, photographs, invitations, and unsorted notes and letters.

  • Series III: Recordings
    1975-2007

    Sound and video recordings document meetings, tributes, events, and speeches given by Segal and others pertaining to Segal's professional endeavors, including those with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NYIFA, Public Radio International, Harvard School of Public Health, and several others. Radio stations hosting interviews with Segal or giving event announcements include WNYC and WQXR. Several interviews with Segal are also included among the sound and video recordings. Among the NYIFA recordings are radio news briefs on the festival, audio interviews with Segal, and the first festival press conference; and video tapings of the 1989 Fête de la Musique and the and ArtsEd conference.

    Many of the Lincoln Center sound recordings are of the Martin E. Segal Awards luncheons and meetings of the board of directors and executive committee. Also of interest is a sound recording of "Martin E. Segal," composed and sung by Marvin Hamlisch at the home of Abe and Ann Rosenthal in celebration of Segal's appointment as Chairman of Lincoln Center. Videos of Live from Lincoln Center, Segal Awards luncheons, and Lincoln Center's 25th Anniversary party are also included. The Martin E. Segal Company is represented through video recordings of Segal discussing the company's history, as well as sound and video recordings of company holiday parties.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Gift of the family of Martin E. Segal, 2014 and 2016.

Processing information

Compiled by Robyn Hjermstad, 2016.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328