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Jack Tworkov papers

Creator:
Tworkov, Jack  Search this
Names:
Egan Gallery  Search this
Leo Castelli Gallery  Search this
Nancy Hoffman Gallery  Search this
Poindexter Gallery  Search this
Stable Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Zabriskie Gallery  Search this
Ashbury, John  Search this
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Bartlett, Jennifer, 1941-  Search this
Blinken, Donald M., 1925-  Search this
Calfee, William H. (William Howard), 1909-1995  Search this
Cavallon, Giorgio, 1904-1989  Search this
Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906  Search this
Demarco, Ricky  Search this
Dickinson, Edwin Walter, 1891-1978  Search this
Forge, Andrew  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Herzbrun, Helene  Search this
Katz, Paul  Search this
Knaths, Karl, 1891-1971  Search this
Lindeberg, Linda, 1915-1973  Search this
Matter, Herbert, 1907-1984  Search this
Newman, Arnold, 1918-2006  Search this
Newman, Michael  Search this
Osborn, Robert Chesley, 1904-1994  Search this
Ponsold, Renate  Search this
Praeger, David A.  Search this
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this
Summerford, Joe  Search this
Thorne, Joan, 1943-  Search this
Westenberger, Theo  Search this
Wheeler, Dennis  Search this
Wise, Howard  Search this
Yunkers, Adja, 1900-1983  Search this
Extent:
9.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Interviews
Motion pictures (visual works)
Sound recordings
Sketches
Diaries
Date:
1926-1993
Summary:
The Jack Tworkov papers measure 9.7 linear feet and are dated 1926-1993. Tworkov's work as a painter and influential teacher, as well as his personal life, are documented by extensive journals and substantive correspondence that record his ideas about art and teaching, and illuminate his relationships with friends, colleagues, and students. Many sketchbooks, writings, interviews, photographs, and moving images are also included.
Scope and Content Note:
The Jack Tworkov papers measure 9.7 linear feet and are dated 1926-1993, with the bulk from the period 1931-1982. Tworkov's work as a painter and influential teacher, as well as his personal life, are documented by extensive journals and substantive correspondence that record his ideas about art and teaching, and illuminate his relationships with friends, colleagues, and students. Many sketchbooks, writings, interviews, photographs, and moving images are also included.

Biographical material includes Tworkov's citizenship certificate, awards, diplomas, a copy of Jack Tworkov: Video Portrait, produced by Electronic Arts Intermix, and a motion picture film, USA Artists: Jack Tworkov, produced by National Education Television.

Correspondence consists largely of incoming letters. It is both professional and personal in nature and often combines both spheres. Correspondents include artists Jennifer Bartlett, William H. Calfee, Giorgio Cavallon and Linda Lindeberg, Grace Hartigan, Helene Herzbrun (also named Helene McKinsey), Karl Knaths, Joe Summerford, Joan Thorne, and Adja Yunkers; cartoonist Robert C. Osborn; collectors Donald M. Blinken and David A. Praeger (who was also Tworkov's lawyer); illustrator Roger Dovoisin; critics Dore Ashton and Andrew Forge; critic and poet John Ashbury; galleries that represented Tworkov: Egan Gallery, Leo Castelli, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, Poindexter Gallery, Stable Gallery and Zabriskie Gallery; and many museums, arts organizations, colleges and universities.

Interviews with Tworkov include one with Ricky Demarco videotaped in 1979 and two conducted on video by Twokov's daughter Helen in 1975. The remaining interviews are sound recordings, one conducted by Grace Alexander for the show Artists in New York in 1967, one conducted by Michael Newman in 1980, and the remainder by unidentified interviewers. None have transcripts.

All writings are by Tworkov and include poems, an artist's statement, and documentation for two children's books by Tworkov illustrated by Roger Duvoisin. Two additional notebooks contain miscellaneous notes, teaching notes, and some specific to identified courses. Lectures exist as untranscribed sound recordings.

Tworkov's journals (33 volumes) span a period of 35 years, from 1947 until 1982, with the final entry dated a few weeks before his death. They record his reflections on painting, his challenges as a painter, aesthetics, the role of the artist in society, Jewish identity, painters he admired (especially Cézanne and Edwin Dickinson), politics, and teaching. They also recount everyday life: the comings and goings of friends and family members, social engagements, professional activities, illness, and travel.

The lone subject file concerns Mark Rothko and includes a photograph of Rothko and the guest list for the dedication of the Rothko Chapel in Houston.

Artwork consists of a small number of sketches by Tworkov in pencil and ink. Tworkov's sketchbooks (28 volumes) contain sketches and some finished drawings. Most are in pencil, but scattered throughout are a few pencil sketches embellished with colored marker or pastel, and a small number in ink.

Photographs are of people, places and events. Most photographs are of Tworkov alone and with others including Giogio Cavallon, though most friends and students are unidentified. Of note are views of Tworkov producing a series of prints at Tamarind Institute. Also found is an informal portrait of Wally Tworkov. Events recorded include the jurying of "Exhibition Momentum" in Chicago, 1956. Among the places shown are Tworkov's studios at Black Mountain College and in Provincetown. When known, photographers are noted; among them are Paul Katz, Herbert Matter, Arnold Newman, Renate Ponsold, Theo Westenberger, Dennis Wheeler, and Howard Wise.

A separate series of audiovisual recordings was established for those recordings that could not be readily identified to be arranged in other series. They consist of three videocassettes (2 VHS and 1 miniDV).
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1933-1981 (Boxes 1, 9, 11, FC 13; 0.7 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1926-1993 (Boxes 1-5; 3.8 linear ft.)

Series 3: Interviews, 1978-1982 (Boxes 5, 9-10; 1 linear ft.)

Series 4: Writings, Notes, and Lectures, 1955-1982 (Boxes 5, 9; 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 5: Journals, 1947-1982 (Boxes 5-7; 2.0 linear ft.)

Series 6: Subject File, 1961-1977 (Box 7; 1 folder)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1952-1981 (Box 7, OV 12; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1950s-1960s (Box 7: 3 folders)

Series 9: Sketchbooks, circa 1950s-1960s (Boxes 7-8, 11; 1.0 linear ft.)

Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1941-1981 (Boxes 8-9; 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 11: Audiovisual Recordings, 1961-1975 (Box 9; 0.1 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
New York School painter Jack Tworkov (1900-1982), best known for his Abstract Expressionist paintings and as a highly regarded teacher, lived and worked in New York City and Provincetown, MA.

At age 13, Tworkov (born Yakov Tworkovsky) emigrated from Poland with his mother and sister to join his father already in the United States. In America, they chose to use the name of distant relatives, the Bernsteins, who were their sponsors. Eventually, Jack and his sister, Janice, reclaimed and shortened their name to Tworkov; later, she adopted the name of their hometown in Poland and became the painter Janice Biala.

As a high school student in New York City, Tworkov attended drawing classes. After graduating from Columbia University, where he had been an English major and considered becoming a writer, Tworkov instead turned to art. He studied with Ivan Olinsky at the National Academy of Design between 1923 and 1925, and from 1925 to 1926 attended painting classes taught by Guy Péne Du Bois and Boardman Robinson at the Art Students League. During his college years, Tworkov began visiting museums and became a great admirer of Cézanne. Tworkov's early paintings - still life, landscapes, and portraits - showed the influence of European modernism and Cézanne.

Tworkov spent his first summer in Provincetown while still a student and subsequently returned to study with Ross Moffet. In Provincetown he met and was greatly influenced by Karl Knaths and developed a lifelong friendship with Edwin Dickinson. By 1929, Tworkov was painting there year round. Over the years, Tworkov and his family continued to return for long stretches, and in 1958 he purchased a house in Provincetown.

During the Great Depression, Tworkov participated in the Treasury Department's Public Works of Art Project until 1934, and then moved to the easel division of the WPA Federal Art Project. He felt uncomfortable with the growing ideological and political influences on art and found it depressing to paint for the WPA rather than for himself, so he left the WPA in 1941. Tworkov, who had studied mechanical drawing while in high school, spent most of the War years employed as a tool designer and draftsman at an engineering firm with government contracts.

By the 1940s, Tworkov was painting in the Abstract Expressionist style. Between 1948 and 1953, he leased a studio on Fourth Avenue that adjoined that of his friend Willem de Kooning. During this time, they mutually influenced each other as they developed into mature Abstract Expressionists. At Yale in the 1960s, Tworkov became close friends with fellow student Josef Albers. Alber's influence on Tworkov resulted in a turn to geometric compositions of small, systematic, and repetitive strokes defined by a grid. He experimented with diagonal compositions, and later geometric work that featured large areas of color and soft texture.

Tworkov's first teaching experience was during 1930-1931 when he served as a part-time painting instructor at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. His teaching career began in earnest when he joined the faculties of Queens College, 1948-1955, and Pratt Institute, 1955-1958. During the summers he taught at various schools, most notably Black Mountain College's 1952 summer session. Tworkov was a visiting artist at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture, 1961-1963, and became chairman of its Art Department from 1963 until his retirement in 1969. In retirement he lived in Provincetown and was a visiting artist for both short and extended periods at various universities and art schools.

An avid reader of literature and poetry, Tworkov also wrote poems and essays. He published essays in It Is, Art Digest, and Art In America; his most notable piece, "The Wandering Soutine," appeared in Art News, November 1950. Tworkov also kept a journal for 35 years (1947-1982) that recorded his thoughts on a wide range of subjects concerning professional, personal, and philosophical issues, as well as details of everyday life.

Tworkov was among the founders of the Artists' Club or The Club in 1949, and for a decade actively participated in the stimulating discussions for which the group was known. In 1968 he helped to establish the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Its residency program enabled younger artists and writers to advance their careers and kept Provincetown's historic artists' colony active year round.

He was the recipient of the William A. Clark Award and Corcoran Gold Medal from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1963; Skowhegan School of Art's Painter of the Year Award, 1974; and Distinguished Teaching of Art Award from College Art Association, 1976. Tworkov was appointed to serve on the Massachusetts Art Commission, 1970-1971, and in 1981 was named a Fellow of The Cleveland Museum of Art and of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Following his second divorce in 1935, Rachel (Wally) Wolodarsky became Tworkov's third wife and their marriage endured. They had two daughters. Hermine Ford (b. 1939) is an artist married to fellow painter Robert Moskowitz. Helen Tworkov (b. 1943) is the founder of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and the author of a book about yoga.

Tworkov remained physically and intellectually active after a diagnosis of bone cancer around 1980, and continued to paint until shortly before his death in Provincetown on September 4, 1982.
Related Material:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Jack Tworkov, one conducted by Dorothy Seckler, Aug. 17, 1962, and another by Gerald Silk, May 22, 1981. There is also a small collection of three letters written by Jack Tworkov to friend Troy-Jjohn Bramberger.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel N70-38 and 62) including writings by Tworkov, notebooks, notes for teaching and talks, notes on art and miscellaneous subjects, poems, artist's statements, biographical data, the transcript of a 1970 interview with Tworkov conducted by Phyllis Tuchman, and a few letters and drafts of letters, 1950-1963. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Jack Tworkov lent the Archives of American Art papers for microfilming in 1970-1971. Jack Tworkov's daughters, Hermine Ford and Helen Tworkov, donated the rest of the collection in 2009, which included some of the material from the original loan.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
Reels N70-38 and 62: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Helen Tworkov or Hermine Ford. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts  Search this
Topic:
Painting -- New York (State)  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Interviews
Motion pictures (visual works)
Sound recordings
Sketches
Diaries
Citation:
Jack Tworkov papers, 1926-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.tworjack2
See more items in:
Jack Tworkov papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9345f5838-057f-4572-8063-0df7b8d00ad0
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-tworjack2
Online Media:

Mask of Montserrat Screaming

Artist:
Julio González, Spanish, b. Barcelona, 1876–1942  Search this
Medium:
Bronze
Dimensions:
19 1/8 x 5 7/8 x 6 1/4 in. (48.6 x 14.8 x 15.9 cm) incl. base, height 8 in. (20.3 cm)
Type:
Sculpture
Date:
(c. 1938-1939/cast by 1955)
Credit Line:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Accession Number:
66.2108
See more items in:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
School:
Spanish Modernism
Data Source:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/py23a633f1d-ea73-416f-a6af-4e3d99885c97
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:hmsg_66.2108

Jack Tworkov papers, 1926-1993

Creator:
Tworkov, Jack, 1900-1982  Search this
Subject:
Forge, Andrew  Search this
Dickinson, Edwin Walter  Search this
Demarco, Ricky  Search this
Knaths, Karl  Search this
Katz, Paul  Search this
Herzbrun, Helene  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Bartlett, Jennifer  Search this
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Ashbury, John  Search this
Cézanne, Paul  Search this
Cavallon, Giorgio  Search this
Calfee, William H. (William Howard)  Search this
Blinken, Donald M.  Search this
Ponsold, Renate  Search this
Praeger, David A.  Search this
Westenberger, Theo  Search this
Summerford, Joe  Search this
Thorne, Joan  Search this
Matter, Herbert  Search this
Lindeberg, Linda  Search this
Osborn, Robert Chesley  Search this
Newman, Arnold  Search this
Newman, Michael  Search this
Wise, Howard  Search this
Wheeler, Dennis  Search this
Yunkers, Adja  Search this
Rothko, Mark  Search this
Egan Gallery  Search this
Stable Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Nancy Hoffman Gallery  Search this
Leo Castelli Gallery  Search this
Poindexter Gallery  Search this
Zabriskie Gallery  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Interviews
Motion pictures (visual works)
Sound recordings
Sketches
Diaries
Citation:
Jack Tworkov papers, 1926-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painting -- New York (State)  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13402
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211452
AAA_collcode_tworjack2
Theme:
Diaries
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211452
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Vera Klement

Interviewee:
Klement, Vera, 1929-  Search this
Interviewer:
Silverman, Lanny  Search this
Names:
Artemisia Gallery  Search this
Chicago Art and Artists: Oral History Project  Search this
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
University of Chicago -- Faculty  Search this
Adrian, Dennis, 1937-  Search this
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Deson, Marianne  Search this
Ippolito, Angelo  Search this
Ito, Miyoko, 1918-1983  Search this
Kind, Phyllis, 1933-2018  Search this
Rosenberg, Harold, 1906-1978  Search this
Shapey, Ralph, 1921-2002  Search this
Stamos, Theodoros, 1922-1997  Search this
Extent:
3 Items (Sound recording: 3 sound files (3 hr., 24 min.), digital, wav)
140 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2015 June 12 and 14
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Vera Klement conducted 2015 June 12 and 14, by Lanny Silverman, for the Archives of American Art's Chicago Art and Artists: Oral History Project, at Klement's home and studio in Chicago, Illinois.
Klement speaks of her early childhood in Danzig (now, Gdansk, Poland) on the eve of World War II; her family's immigration to New York; her early experiences with music and art; her decision to become a painter; her interactions within New York's art community of the 1950s; the change in New York's art scene after the emergence of Pop art; her move to Chicago and subsequent difficulties in showing her work; her involvement within the Chicago art community; the founding of the women's artist cooperative, Artemisia; her involvement with the women's movement in the 1970s; teaching at the University of Chicago; her conception of her artwork as representational and apolitical; her literary influences; and her distaste for the contemporary art world. Klement also recalls Dennis Adrian, Dore Ashton, Marianne Deson, Angelo Ippolito, Miyoko Ito, Phyllis Kind, Harold Rosenberg, Ralph Shapey, Theodoros Stamos, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Vera Klement (1929-2023) was an Expressionist painter in Chicago, Illinois.
Lanny Silverman (1947- ) is a curator at the Chicago Cultural Center in Chicago, Illinois.
General:
Originally recorded as 3 sound files. Duration is 3 hr., 24 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Topic:
Art, American -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art, American -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women's rights  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.klemen15
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92ebbec79-bfdc-4b94-8f4c-e6782bd05599
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-klemen15
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Vera Klement, 2015 June 12 and 14

Interviewee:
Klement, Vera, 1929-2023  Search this
Interviewer:
Silverman, Lanny  Search this
Subject:
Adrian, Dennis  Search this
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Deson, Marianne  Search this
Ippolito, Angelo  Search this
Ito, Miyoko  Search this
Kind, Phyllis  Search this
Rosenberg, Harold  Search this
Shapey, Ralph  Search this
Stamos, Theodoros  Search this
Artemisia Gallery  Search this
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Chicago Art and Artists: Oral History Project  Search this
University of Chicago  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Vera Klement, 2015 June 12 and 14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art, American -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women's rights  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Theme:
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)16266
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)371137
AAA_collcode_klemen15
Theme:
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_371137

Willem de Kooning Texts by Dore Ashton and Willem de Kooning. [Exhibition] Smith College Museum of Art, April 8 - May 2. The Hayden Gallery, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, May 10 - June 16

Author:
De Kooning, Willem 1904-1997.  Search this
Author:
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Hayden Gallery  Search this
Smith College Museum of Art  Search this
Subject:
De Kooning, Willem 1904-1997  Search this
Physical description:
[48] p illustrations, port 25 cm
Type:
Exhibitions
Expositions
Exhibition catalogues
Catalogues d'exposition
Exhibition catalogs
Date:
1965
20th century
20e siècle
Topic:
Painters  Search this
Peintres  Search this
Call number:
N40.1.D32 S6
N40.1.D32S6
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_11132

Portrait of Vartoosh

Artist:
Arshile Gorky, American, b. Dilkaya, Turkey, 1904–1948  Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
20 1/4 × 15 1/8 in. (51.3 × 38.4 cm)
Type:
Painting
Date:
(1933-1934)
Credit Line:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Foundation, 1966
Accession Number:
66.2148
See more items in:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
School:
Abstract Expressionism (First Generation)
Data Source:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/py20f36d98a-627b-4085-bc6a-533d8ba6e8d4
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:hmsg_66.2148

A

Collection Creator:
Parsons, Betty  Search this
Container:
Box 23, Folder 10
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1959-1971
Scope and Contents note:
Adams, Ann

Aldrich, Larry

Alexander, Judith

Alonso, Jose

Aluminum Corporation of America

Anglim, Paule M. (Architectural Art Services)

Anthony, Nathan

Aposporos, Panas

Aronson, Harvard

Ashton, Dore

Augur, Gladys
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers, 1916-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers
Betty Parsons Gallery records and personal papers / Series 3: Correspondence Files / 3.2: Individuals and Collectors
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw998f383d3-d427-4e67-8683-2f7519a2d7d3
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-parsbett-ref945

Lion Attacking A Gavial Crocodile

Artist:
Isidore-Jules Bonheur, French, b. Bordeaux, 1827–1901  Search this
Medium:
Terra-cotta
Dimensions:
14 5/8 X 13 5/8 X 12 1/2 IN. (37.2 X 34.0 X 31.9 CM.) ON BASE, H: 3 5/8 IN. (9.3 CM.) WT. 40.5 LB.
Type:
Sculpture
Date:
1860
Credit Line:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Museum purchase, 1979
Accession Number:
79.238
See more items in:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
Data Source:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/py2ec3a0c0f-9477-4eac-950f-32601bf0c9da
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:hmsg_79.238

Costantino Nivola January 15 to February 9, 1963

Artist:
Nivola, Costantino 1911-1988  Search this
Writer of essay:
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Issuing body:
Andrew-Morris Gallery  Search this
Author:
Smithsonian Libraries Art and Artist Files Collection  Search this
Physical description:
1 volume ([6] unnumbered pages) 4 illustrations 21 cm
Type:
Books
Exhibitions
Artist files
Date:
1963
Call number:
NB623.N58 A4 1963
AAF--Nivola, Costantino
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_711799

Letters

Collection Creator:
Asher, Elise, 1914-  Search this
Extent:
2 Folders (Box 1)
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1941-1988, undated
Scope and Contents note:
Letters found here are from Asher's colleagues, including Fritz Bultman, Helen Frankenthaler, Philip Guston, Hans Hofmann, Norman Mailer, Robert Motherwell, Louise Nevelson, Mark Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, Jack Tworkov, and Kurt Vonnegut. The letters primarily concern their art-related activities.

See Appendix for list of notable correspondents from Series 2
Appendix: Notable Correspondents from Series 2:
Adams, Pat: May 31, 1979

Albert, Calvin: undated Christmas cards (3), one is illustrated

Ashton, Dore: undated postcard?; Jun 12, 1985

Beck, Rosemarie: Jun 1972

Boghosian, Varujan and Marilyn: undated Christmas card

Bourgeois, Louise: Jun 15, 1977

Brooks, Charlotte and Jim: undated letters (2); Apr 3, 1966; Jul 27, 1970; Feb 15, 1971

Brustlein, Daniel: Sep 8, 1955

Bultman, Fritz: undated letters (3); Dec 12, 1964; Jan 2, 1965; Dec 1976

Burlin, Paul and Peggy: Dec 4, 1960

Busa, Peter: Dec 23, 1964

Castellon, Hilda, Paul, and Fred: undated Christmas card

Cavallon, Giorgio: Nov 15, 1955; Sep 8, 1963; Oct 22, 1963; Jan 6, 1965; Oct 3, 1966; Mar 12, 1974

De Kooning, Lisa: 1979 (incomplete letter)

Dorfman, Elsa: undated letter

Ferber, Ilse and Herbert: undated Christmas card; Oct 24, 1960? (with 5 photographs of works)

Ferren, John: undated Christmas card (illustrated); Feb 11, 1964; Jun 30, 1964

Frankenthaler, Helen: undated letters (2); Aug 2, 1956; Jan 19, 1960; Oct 2_, 1960; Apr 1, 1961; Mar 1, 1969; Aug 18, 1969; also see Robert Motherwell

Friedman, Sanford: undated postcard; Jul 7, 1969; Dec 26, 1981; Apr 19, 1988; Dec 27, 1988

Greene, Stephen and Sigrid: undated Christmas cards (2)

Gross, Chaim and Renee: 1967 Christmas card; 1968 Christmas card; 1983 Christmas card

Gruen, John: undated Christmas card

Guston, Philip and Musa: undated Christmas card with illustration; undated letters (3); Jul 29, 1958; Aug 17, 1960; Sep 19, 1963 (illustrated); Jan 10, 1964 (illustrated); Aug 17, 1964 (illustrated); Nov 6, 1964; Sep 22, 1969; Oct 13, 1970; Feb 15, 1971; [1971]; Apr 9, 1971; Aug 2, 1971; Sep 19, 1972; Dec 22, 1972; Jun 12, 1973; Jul 16, 1973 (illustrated); Aug 27, 1974; Dec 1, 1974; Jan 9, 1975; Aug 16, 1979

Hare, David: Mar 7, 1957; Jun 15, 1979; Aug 4, 1980; Jul 14, 1981; Apr 1, 1983

Harmon, Lily: undated Christmas card

Hess, Thomas: undated letters (2); Nov 12, 1974 (envelope only)

Hofmann, Hans and Miz: undated letter; Dec 23, 1952; Dec 1957; Jun 25, 1958; Dec 1, 1958; Jun 3, 1960; Jun 13, 1962; Apr 18, 1963

Kahn, Wolf: Oct 16, 1955

Kootz, Sam and Jane: undated Christmas card

Kuh, Katharine: undated letter; Dec 28, 1974

Mailer, Norman: Apr 11, 1968

Manso?, Leo: Dec 1979 illustrated envelope

Miller, Dorothy: Aug 26, 1953

Morris, Hilda: undated letters (3)

Motherwell, Robert and Renata Ponsold: Mar 3, 1975; Oct 1, 1977; Oct 16, 1978; Feb 25, 1985; Nov 29, 1988; also see Helen Frankenthaler

Nevelson, Louise: Dec 20, 1960 (illustrated card)

O'Doherty, Brian: undated letter; Jul 31, 1967; Aug 5, 1968 Sep 20, 1982

Pavia, Philip: Aug 17, 1982

Reis, Bernard and Becky: undated Christmas cards (2)

Resnick, Milton: Feb 23, 1956

Rosati, James and Carmel: undated Christmas cards (2); also see Art Work

Rothko, Mark: undated letters (2); Jul 20, 1959; Aug 9, 1961; also see Photographs

Stamos, Theodorus: undated letter; Jan 3, 1962; Aug 6, 1964; Jul 14, 1965; Aug 19, 1965; Jul 15, 1966; Jul 19, 1967; Jun 29, 1968; Aug 5, 1968; Jul 23, 1973; Dec 11, 1981

Stevens, May: Jul 14, 1975

Stout, Myron: Mar 25, 1980

Terris, Albert and Virginia: Dec 1953 (illustrated Christmas card)

Tworkov, Jack and family: undated letters (2); Dec 22, 1955 (illustrated Christmas card); Aug 27, 1956; Jul 5, 1960; Dec 11, 1960; Oct 21, 1968; Jan 4, 1983

Varian, Elayne: Oct 6, 1969; Dec 19, 1969

Vonnegut, Kurt: undated letters (2); Jan 29, 1975

Watson, Hildegarde: Feb 24, 1946; Jun 12, 1948; Mar 31, 1951; Jan 27, 1956; Aug 9, 1958

Webb, Nancy: Jan 6, 1986; Dec 15, 1986 (illustrated Christmas card)

Wesley, John: Mar 21, 1987

White, Emil: see Art Work

Williams, William Carlos: Jul 2, 1949 (photocopy); also see Photographs

Wilson, Jane: see John Gruen

Yunkers, Adja: undated cards (2), one illustrated; Feb 3, 1951; Dec 16, 1964
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Microfilmed portion must be consulted on microfilm. Use of unmicrofilmed material requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington D.C. research facility.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
The Elise Asher papers, 1923-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.asheelis, Series 2
See more items in:
Elise Asher papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92faf8e2f-8f5d-4985-a4f9-c8143a5cf024
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-asheelis-ref17

Lily Harmon papers

Creator:
Harmon, Lily, 1912-  Search this
Names:
Algren, Nelson, 1909-1981  Search this
Neumann, J. B. (Jsrael Ber)  Search this
Nierendorf, Karl  Search this
Odets, Clifford, 1906-1963  Search this
Schmid, Elsa, 1897-  Search this
Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946  Search this
Warburg, Edward M. M.  Search this
Interviewee:
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Avery, Sally  Search this
Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981  Search this
Bruno, Phillip A.  Search this
Copley, Alfred L.  Search this
Dehner, Dorothy, 1901-1994  Search this
Drew, Bettina, 1956-  Search this
Driggs, Elsie, 1898-1992  Search this
Hertzberg, Benjamin  Search this
Hutton, Leonard, Sir  Search this
Isaacs, Lewis  Search this
Kahn, Max, 1903-2005  Search this
Knotts, Howard  Search this
Kuh, Katharine  Search this
Lamm, Johanna Neumann  Search this
Manacher, Frances  Search this
Neumann, Albrecht  Search this
Neumann, Peter, 1928-  Search this
Rothbaum, Nolbert  Search this
Sapanel, Margarete  Search this
Schultz, Margarete  Search this
Solman, Joseph, 1909-2008  Search this
Stix, Hugh  Search this
Vogel, Ilse Margret  Search this
Extent:
6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Date:
1930-1996
Scope and Contents:
Primarily research files and notes, subject files, interview tapes and transcripts, correspondence, writings, and other materials compiled by Harmon for a never-published biography of art dealer J.B. Neumann, titled The Art Lover. Found are photocopies of J.B. Neuman's correspondence with Karl Nierendorf, Clifford Odets, Elsa Schmid, and Alfred Stieglitz; photocopies and other materials from the J.B. Neumann Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, Harry Ransom Humanities Center, including photocopies of the magazine published by Neumann titled Art Lover Library, 1930-1957 (volume 1, 1930 is original bound volume), copyprints and photocopies of photographs of Neumann, his family, and of other subjects; interview transcripts and audio tapes with numerous artists conducted in the mid-1980s; research notes and files; and subject files on numerous artists (all photocopies).
Harmon's personal papers include resumes; copies of letters from friends, family, dealers and others; photographs of Harmon's paintings; writings, including poems, excerpts from diaries, autobiographical essays, and her autobiography FREEHAND; photocopies of various mss. drafts of Harmon's biography of Neumann, The Art Lover, and related writings by Harmon, including The Art Dealer and the Playwright, and Synopsis of Art Lover, ca. 1987-1990 ; a transcript of an interview of Harmon conducted by Karl Fortress, 1967; magazine and newspaper clippings; exhibition announcements and catalogs; and miscellany.
Interviewees include: Dore Ashton, Sally Avery, Alfred Barr, Phillip Bruno, Al Copley, Dorothy Dehner, Bettina Drew (about Nelson Algren), Elsie Driggs (also found is a video interview and transcript of Driggs by Merryman Gatch, n.d.), Ben Hertzberg, Leonard Hutton, Lewis Isaacs, Max Kahn, Katharine Kuh, Johanna Neumann Lamm, Frances Manacher, Peter Neumann, Albrecht Neumann, Nolbert Rothbaum, Margarete Schultz, Joseph Solman, Margarete Sapanel, Hugh Stix, Ilse Vogel with Howard Knotts, and Edward M.M. Warburg.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and sculptor; New York City. Harmon worked for the influential art dealer J.B. Neumann, and spent several years preparing a biography of him which was never published. As an artist, she lived in Europe in the early part of the century, and worked on WPA art projects in the 1930s.
Provenance:
Donated 1983 and 1998 by Lily Harmon.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Identifier:
AAA.harmlily
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f94dc6db-1401-409d-b617-4439c4f8fb03
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-harmlily

Ashton, Dore

Collection Artist:
Cornell, Joseph  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 32-33
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1963-1972
Scope and Contents:
1 black and white photograph.
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the collection requires an advanced appointment. Contact collection staff at least two weeks prior to preferred date, at AmericanArtCornellStudy@si.edu.

Series 9: Artifacts and Ephemera, Series 13: Personal Library and Book Collection, and Series 14: Record Album Collection, are still undergoing processing and preservation and may not be available for research use. Record albums are unavailable for playback. Contact collection staff for full lists of publications and record albums.
Collection Rights:
Unpublished materials are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Collection Citation:
Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum.
See more items in:
Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection
Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection / Series 2: Correspondence / 2.1: General Correspondence
Archival Repository:
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Research and Scholars Center
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ih7ae7ba584-e2d9-4478-867c-216d87921ec3
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-saam-jcsc-1-ref1205

Ashton, Dore

Collection Creator:
Greenberg, Clement, 1909-1994  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 47
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1962
1971
Series Restrictions:
Correspondence between Peter Fuller, Andre Emmerich, and Clement Greenberg; correspondence with Nuala O'Faolain; Greenberg family letters; and additional individual letters from a variety of correspondents are access restricted. Written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
The Clement Greenberg papers, 1937-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Clement Greenberg papers
Clement Greenberg papers / Series 3: Correspondence
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b29f7561-af6b-4cb2-a629-762947be008e
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-greeclep-ref67

Untitled (Schooner)

Artist:
Joseph Cornell, American, b. Nyack, New York, 1903–1972  Search this
Medium:
Photomechanical reproductions on paperboard mounted to paperboard
Dimensions:
in artist's frame: 13 × 14 1/4 in. (33 × 36.2 cm)
Type:
Collage
Date:
(1931)
Credit Line:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Joseph H. Hirshhorn Bequest Fund and partial gift from the daughter of June W. Schuster in honor of her Mother, 2003
Accession Number:
01.17
See more items in:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
School:
Surrealism (American)
Data Source:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/py2b213582e-b27a-4ae3-b11c-531188473610
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:hmsg_01.17

Research

Collection Creator:
Finch College. Museum of Art  Search this
Varian, Elayne H.  Search this
Container:
Box 15, Folder 57
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1975
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, 1943-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art / Series 4: Exhibition Files / "James Brooks Retrospective" (1975)
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw901b78c13-47d1-48de-86cd-6bf4409dc533
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-finccoll-ref1957

Catalog Drafts

Collection Creator:
Finch College. Museum of Art  Search this
Varian, Elayne H.  Search this
Container:
Box 15, Folder 51
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1975
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, 1943-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art / Series 4: Exhibition Files / "James Brooks Retrospective" (1975)
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw908ae9dbe-1c3c-4fb1-a307-3a44c082911b
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-finccoll-ref990
1 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
  • View Catalog Drafts digital asset number 1

Research

Collection Creator:
Finch College. Museum of Art  Search this
Varian, Elayne H.  Search this
Container:
Box 15, Folder 56
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1975
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art, 1943-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art
Exhibition records of the Contemporary Study Wing of the Finch College Museum of Art / Series 4: Exhibition Files / "James Brooks Retrospective" (1975)
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c4513aff-16f8-4dec-bd76-45004cd4417e
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-finccoll-ref994
1 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
  • View Research digital asset number 1

José de Rivera papers, 1930-1991

Creator:
De Rivera, José Ruiz, 1904-1985  Search this
Subject:
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Goldsmith, Howard  Search this
Marter, Joan M.  Search this
American Iron and Steel Institute  Search this
New York World's Fair (1964-1965)  Search this
Smithsonian Institution  Search this
Exposition universelle et internationale (1958 : Brussels, Belgium)  Search this
Type:
Drawings
Collages
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Transcripts
Sketches
Motion pictures (visual works)
Blueprints
Photographs
Citation:
José de Rivera papers, 1930-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Hispanic American artists  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculpture, American -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9304
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211499
AAA_collcode_derijose
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211499
Online Media:

José de Rivera papers

Creator:
De Rivera, José Ruiz, 1904-1985  Search this
Names:
American Iron and Steel Institute  Search this
Exposition universelle et internationale (1958 : Brussels, Belgium)  Search this
New York World's Fair (1964-1965)  Search this
Smithsonian Institution  Search this
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Goldsmith, Howard  Search this
Marter, Joan M.  Search this
Extent:
5.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Collages
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Transcripts
Sketches
Motion pictures (visual works)
Blueprints
Photographs
Date:
1930-1991
Summary:
The papers of sculptor José de Rivera date from 1930 to 1991 and measure 5.6 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, letters, scattered personal business records, commission files, art work including four sketchbooks, printed material, and photographs. One of the commission files includes a motion picture film.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of sculptor José de Rivera date from 1930 to 1991 and measure 5.6 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical materials, letters, scattered personal business records, commission files, art work including four sketchbooks, printed material, and photographs. One of the commission files includes a motion picture film.

Biographical material consists of a biographical account, resumé, military service records, an interview transcript, certificates, addresses, and miscellaneous notes and writings.

Twenty-nine folders of letters are primarily from de Rivera's patron, attorney Howard Goldsmith, but also include single letters from Marcel Breuer, John Canaday, Emlen Etting, Dag Hammarskjold, and G. Vantongerloo.

Scattered personal business records include rental records, sculpture inventories, a contract, receipts, and miscellaneous records.

Commission files contain letters, contracts, receipts, clippings, blueprints, miscellaneous printed material, and photographs concerning several of de Rivera's commissions, including Brussels Construction for the Brussels Universal and International Exhibition, his sculpture for the 1964 New York World's Fair, and Infinity, commissioned for the Smithsonian. A file for Construction #73 completed for the American Iron and Steel Institute also contains a reel of 16mm motion picture film.

Art work consists of four sketchbooks, drawings, and geometric collages including detached cut out shapes.

Printed material includes primarily clippings and exhibition announcements and catalogs. There is also a copy of the book José de Rivera Constructions by Dore Ashton and Joan M. Marter. Photographs are of de Rivera, miscellaneous art-related events, his studio, his art works, and of miscellaneous exhibition installations. Commission files also contain photographs.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1942-1984 (Box 1; 11 folders)

Series 2: Letters, 1938-1988 (Box 1; 29 folders)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1947-1984 (Box 1; 11 folders)

Series 4: Commission Files, 1955-1977 (Box 1-2, 6-7, OVs 10-11, FC 13; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Art Work, 1960-1984 (Box 2, 6, OV 8; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1931-1991 (Box 2-4, 6; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Photographs, 1930-1985 (Box 4-7, OV 9-OV 10, 12; 1.7 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
José de Rivera (1904-1985) worked primarily in New York as an abstract expressionist sculptor known for twisting steel or bronze bands into space-defining three-dimensional shapes.

José A. Ruiz was born on September 18, 1904 in West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the son of Joseph and Honorine Montamat Ruiz. He would later take the surname of his maternal grandmother, de Rivera. Early in his life his family moved to New Orleans where his father was a sugar mill engineer on a plantation. De Rivera became adept at repairing machinery and doing blacksmith work with his father. Shortly after completing high school in 1922, de Rivera moved to Chicago where he was employed in foundries and machine shops as a pipe fitter and tool and die maker. His 1926 marriage to Rose Covelli ended in divorce.

Beginning in 1928 de Rivera attended night drawing classes conducted at the Studio School by painter John W. Norton. De Rivera was impressed by the Egyptian collections at the Field Museum. The work of Mondrian, Brancusi, and Georges Vantongerloo also exerted a strong influence on him. In 1932, he traveled through southern Europe and North Africa visiting Spain, Italy, France, Greece, and Egypt. Upon his return to the United States he decided to become a sculptor.

From 1937-1938, de Rivera was employed by the Works Progress Administration-Federal Art Project and created the sculpture Flight for the Newark, New Jersey airport. During World War II, he first served in the U.S. Army Corps from 1942 to 1943. For the following three years, he designed and constructed ship models used as training aids in the U. S. Navy.

De Rivera's first solo exhibition was in 1946 in New York at the Mortimer Levitt Gallery. In 1953, de Rivera taught sculpture at Brooklyn College. For the following three years, he was a critic in sculpture at Yale University and taught at the School of Design at North Carolina State College from 1957 to 1960. De Rivera married Lita Jeronimo in 1955.

In 1961 de Rivera was given a retrospective exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art. One of his most notable works Infinity was commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution for the front of its newly built Museum of History and Technology in 1963.

José de Rivera died on March 19, 1985 in New York City.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel N70-32) including biographical material, correspondence, writings, drawings, printed material, and photographs. Loaned material was returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
In 1970, José de Rivera loaned the Archives of Amrican Art material for microfilming. The artist and the Grace Borgenicht Gallery donated additional papers in 1982 and De Rivera's son, Joseph A. Ruiz II, gave more material in 1998.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Hispanic American artists  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculpture, American -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Collages
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Transcripts
Sketches
Motion pictures (visual works)
Blueprints
Photographs
Citation:
José de Rivera papers, 1930-1991. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.derijose
See more items in:
José de Rivera papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90e6c5475-2b48-4c4c-8467-5370b77740fc
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-derijose

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