Search results for: Holidays, page 1 | Collections Search Center, Smithsonian Institution

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Correspondence, Andrews, Ambrose - Harding, Chester

Creator:: Beal, Gifford, 1879-1956 Search this; Andrews, Ambrose, 1805-1859 Search this; Bates, Edward, 1793-1869 Search this; Bohrod, Aaron Search this; Cloar, Carroll Search this; Colman, Samuel, 1832-1920 Search this; Bacon, Josephine Daskam, 1876-1961 Search this; Rogers, Daniel Denison, 1751-1825 Search this; Elliot, William Parker Search this; Brush, George de Forest, 1855-1941 Search this; Harding, Chester, 1792-1866 Search this

Names:: Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) Search this; Beach, Ella Search this; Thayer, Abbott Handerson, 1849-1921 Search this; Town, Ithiel, 1784-1844 Search this; Watson, Forbes, 1880-1960 Search this

Collection Creator:: Brumbaugh, Thomas B. (Thomas Brendle), 1921- Search this

Extent:: 14 Items (Letters, written in ink, ball point, graphite, typewritter)

Type:: Archival materials; Lithographs; Correspondence

Place:: New York (N.Y.)

Date:: 1779-1981

Scope and Contents:: This folder is an amalgamation of letters written and recieved by prominent figures in 19th and 20th century American art. Included in the folder are letters by Ambrose Andrews, Edward Bates, Gifford Beal, Aaron Bohrod, Carroll Clear, Samuel Colman, Josephine Daskam, Daniel Denison Rogers, William Elliot, George de Forest Brush, and Chester Harding. The letters' subjects cover a wide range of topics, including the buying and selling of art, invitations to dinner, and general correspondence.

Arrangement:: Organized alphabetically by author.

Biographical / Historical:: Ambrose Andrews was a portrait, miniature, and landscape portrait who worked throughout New England and the United States. He was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 1801 and studied at the National Academy of Design. He exhibited paintings at many different institutions, including his portraits of Henry Clay and Sam Houston. Andrews's work is now in the New York Historical Society.; Edward Bates was a representative for Missouri in the mid-1800s. He served in the War of 1812 as a sergeant in a volunteer brigade, studied and practiced law, attended the state constitutional convention, was district attorney from 1821 to 1826, and was a member of the state senate. He declined to serve as Secretary of War for President Fillmore, but was appointed Attorney General of the United States by President Lincoln, and served from March 5, 1861 to September 1864. Bates died on March 25, 1869.; Admiral Charles Henry Davis was born on January 16, 1807, and served as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation between 1862 and 1865. He then served as Superintendent of the Naval Observatory. He had three ships named after him.; Forbes Watson was an art critic, lecturer, and administrator in New York City in the early 20th century. He served as art critic for the New York Evening Post. In 1933 he was appointed Technical Director of the first New Deal art program, the Public Works of Art Project, which provided work for artists in the decoration of non-federal buildings. He later worked at the Treasury Department of Painting and Sculpture, which administered funding for decorating federal buildings. Watson finally served in the Treasury Department's War Finance Division, where he organized exhibitions and posters by combat artists to promote the sale of war bonds. Forbes Watson's papers are held in the Archives of American Art.; Gifford Beal was an American artist who worked with many organizations for the advancements of the arts, finding inspiration from a wide variety of sources, including holiday scenes, every-day life, and landscapes. Beal loved spontaneity and was influenced by French Impressionists. He was commissioned by the government to paint two murals: one on the post office in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and one in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C. Beal's papers are held in the Archives of American Art.; Aaron Bohrod was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 21, 1907, where he studied art at the Art Institute of Chicago. He worked for a while in the advertising art department at the Fair Department Store in Chicago, but eventually moved to New York City, where he joined the Art Students League. He died on April 3, 1992. During World War II, Bohrod worked as an artist for the United States Army Corps of Engineer and Life magazine in Europe.; Carroll Cloar was an American realist and surrealist who lived from 1913 to 1993. He grew up in Arkansas, but later moved to Tennessee, travelled Europe, and joined the Art Students League in New York City. During World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps, and although he did complete some artwork during this period, none of it survives. Cloar then settled in Memphis. One of his paintings was chosen to commemorate President Clinton's inauguration in 1993. Cloar died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 10, 1993, after a long battle with cancer.; Samuel Colman was an American painter who belonged to the Hudson River School, and is most well-remembered for his landscapes. He was born in Portland, Maine, in 1832, and began exhibiting at the young age of 18. At 27 he was elected an associate of the National Academy, and later studied abroad in Paris and Spain. He was made a full Academician upon his return to the United States, and both founded and served as the first president of the American Water-color Society. He continued to both study in Europe and exhibit artwork, moving from New York to Rhode Island. Colman is represented in the metropolitan Museum, Chicago Art Institute, and many other collections. He died in New York City in 1920.; Josephine Daskam Bacon was an American writer known for writing about "women's issues" and using female protagonists. She wrote a series of juvenile mysteries and helped pioneer the Girl Scouts movement, writing a guidebook for the organization.; Daniel Denison Rogers is perhaps most widely remembered for the painting that John Singleton Copley completed of his wife, Abigail Bromfield.; Ithiel Town was an American architect and civil engineer who lived from October 3, 1784 to June 13, 1844. He worked in the Federal and revivalist Greek and Gothic styles, and was widely copied. He was born in Connecticut, and built both Center Church and Trinity Church in New Haven. Town patented a wooden lattice truss bridge, which made him quite wealthy. He formed a professional architecture firm with Alexander Jackson Davis. One of Town's most amazing feats was the construction of the Potomac Aqueduct in Washington, D.C., which allowed fully loaded canal boats to cross the Potomac River.; William Parker Elliot designed the old U.S. Patent Office, a very important Greek Revival building, with Ithiel Town.; George de Forest Brush was an American painter who grew up in Connecticut and is typified by his paintings and drawings of Native Americans. Even after moving from Wyoming, where he met the Native Americans, back to the East, Brush still occasionally enjoyed living in a teepee. Brush's artistic style later developed into Renaissance-inspired portraits. He was friends with Abbott H. Thayer, and along with Brush's wife, Mary, and son, Gerome, they all contributed to early camouflage designs. Brush died in New Hampshire in 1941.; Chester Harding was an American portrait painter born in Massachusetts in 1792. He worked in many different professions, finally becoming a self-taught itinerant portrait painter. Harding settled in Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, in a building that now houses the Boston Bar Association (the Chester Harding House, a Historic National Landmark). He studied at the Philadelphia School of Design, later setting up a studio in London, where he befriended and painted for royalty and nobility. Harding finally returned to Boston, where he died in 1866.

Local Numbers:: FSA A2009.06 4

Other Archival Materials:: Thomas B. Brumbaugh research material on Abbott Handerson Thayer and other artists, 1876-1994 (bulk 1960s-1994); Also located at Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Collection Restrictions:: Collection is open for research.

Collection Rights:: Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.

Topic:: Art, American Search this; Real property Search this; Drawing Search this

Genre/Form:: Lithographs -- 1950-2000; Correspondence -- 19th century; Correspondence -- 20th century

Collection Citation:: The Brumbaugh Collection of Artist Letters. FSA.A2009.06. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Identifier:: FSA.A2009.06, Series FSA A2009.06 4

See more items in:: The Brumbaugh Collection of Artist Letters

Archival Repository:: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc3fe083cf2-c3ca-489b-b0ee-4f49e62444b0

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-fsa-a2009-06-ref2

Online Media:

No Image Available

Communicating and connecting with all your audiences

Author:: Wallace, Margot A. 1941- Search this

Physical description:: 1 online resource (ix, 285 pages) illustrations (chiefly color)

Type:: Electronic resources

Date:: 2022

Topic:: Communication in museums Search this; Museums--Public relations Search this; Museums--Social aspects Search this; Museums--Educational aspects Search this; Museum visitors Search this; Authorship Search this; Rhetoric Search this

Call number:: AM125 .W35 2022 (Internet)

Restrictions & Rights:: 1-user

Data Source:: Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:: edanmdm:siris_sil_1163031

Lewis Koch New Year's cards, 1980-2021

Creator:: Koch, Lewis, 1949- Search this

Citation:: Lewis Koch New Year's cards, 1980-2021. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:: Greeting cards Search this

Theme:: Miscellany Search this

Record number:: (DSI-AAA_CollID)22133; AAA_collcode_kochlewi

Theme:: Miscellany

Data Source:: Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:: edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_22133

An Unbroken Line: Josh Berer and Mariam Lodin Share the Art of Islamic Calligraphy

Creator:: Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this

Type:: Blog posts; Smithsonian staff publications; Blog posts

Published Date:: Wed, 20 Sep 2023 18:36:00 GMT

Topic:: Cultural property Search this

See more posts:: Festival Blog

Data Source:: Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

EDAN-URL:: edanmdm:posts_4f16595b9654463807f308fe1135299c

A Brief History of Borshch

Creator:: Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this

Type:: Blog posts; Smithsonian staff publications; Blog posts

Published Date:: Mon, 03 Jul 2023 14:54:00 GMT

Topic:: Cultural property Search this

See more posts:: Festival Blog

Data Source:: Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage

EDAN-URL:: edanmdm:posts_8a6457e3e2b44d772eece97ab0fd7094

Lewis Koch New Year's cards

Creator:: Koch, Lewis, 1949- Search this

Extent:: 0.2 Linear feet

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials

Date:: 1980-2021

Summary:: Lewis Koch New Year's cards measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1980-2021. Included are 41 holiday and New Year's cards created by Koch representing a complete set of cards sent over 41 years. Many cards are unsigned.

Scope and Contents:: Lewis Koch New Year's cards measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1980-2021. Included are 41 holiday and New Year's cards created by Koch representing a complete set of cards sent over 41 years. Many cards are unsigned.

Arrangement:: The collection is arranged into one series.

Series 1: Lewis Koch New Year's Cards, 1980-2021 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Biographical / Historical:: Lewis Koch (1949- ) is an artist and documentary photographer in Madison, Wisconsin.

Provenance:: Donated in 2022 by Lewis Koch.

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.

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.; The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.

Topic:: Greeting cards Search this

Citation:: Lewis Koch New Year's Cards, 1980-2021. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:: AAA.kochlewi

See more items in:: Lewis Koch New Year's cards

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9beca8102-8ee2-4b95-925d-673265a4cc41

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-aaa-kochlewi

No Image Available

Lewis Koch New Year's Cards

Collection Creator:: Koch, Lewis, 1949- Search this

Extent:: 0.2 Linear feet (Box 1)

Type:: Archival materials

Date:: 1980-2021

Scope and Contents:: Lewis Koch New Year's cards measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1980-2021. Included are 41 holiday and New Year's cards created by Koch representing a complete set of cards sent over 41 years. Many cards are unsigned.

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.

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.; The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.

Collection Citation:: Lewis Koch New Year's Cards, 1980-2021. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:: AAA.kochlewi, Series 1

See more items in:: Lewis Koch New Year's cards

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90832de0c-01e1-4e36-b955-1ff2d6d9a23c

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-aaa-kochlewi-ref3

No Image Available

Biographical Material

Collection Creator:: Maril, Herman Search this

Extent:: 0.3 Linear feet (Box 1, OV 11)

Type:: Archival materials

Date:: circa 1940-circa 1998

Scope and Contents:: This series includes a range of biographical material such as resumes and short biographical statements or profiles, World War II military service records, awards and certificates, and limited financial records. A folder of documents on Herman Maril's personal collection of African sculpture includes an appraisal, correspondence, writings, slides and photographs. In addition, there are a few sketches and holiday greeting card designs by Herman Maril and two interviews with Herman Maril: one is an interview transcript and the other is a sound recording.

Arrangement:: The folders in this series are arranged in alphabetical order.

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.

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 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:: Herman Maril papers, 1932-2023, bulk 1935-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:: Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Herman Maril Foundation.

Identifier:: AAA.mariherm, Series 1

See more items in:: Herman Maril papers

Archival Repository:: Archives of American Art

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw959796fff-dcc7-439b-a365-e1c857832d39

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-aaa-mariherm-ref14

No Image Available

Correspondence and envelopes of Philip St. George

Collector:: Archives Center, National Museum of American History Search this

Collection Collector:: Archives Center, National Museum of American History Search this

Collection Donor:: Becker, John M. Search this; Gay Officers Action League. GOAL Search this; Heritage of Pride (HOP) Search this; Rohrbaugh, Richard Search this; Atlantic States Gay Rodeo Association (ASGRA) Search this

Collection Creator:: Hirsch, Leonard Search this; Guest, Barbara Search this; Barna, Joseph T. Search this; Guest, Michael E. Search this; Cruse, Howard, 1944-2019 Search this

Extent:: 176 Items

Type:: Archival materials; Letters

Date:: 1945 to 1953

Scope and Contents:: These letters are clues to a secret life. This is a series of letters and addressed envelopes sent to Philip St. George (?-1997) of New York City who, from all indications, identified as being a closeted gay man. George's correspondents, who may have also have been gay or bisexual, tell of their experiences in the armed forces after World War II and their life after the war, 1945-1953.

Arrangement:: In Box 84, Folders 1 - 10.

Local Numbers:: AC1146-0000117-01 to AC1146-0000273 (AC Scan)

Restrictions:: Unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.

Collection Rights:: Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:: LGBT Search this; Homosexuality Search this

Genre/Form:: Letters

Collection Citation:: Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

See more items in:: Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection; Archives Center Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Collection / Series 13: St. George, Philip / 13.1: Correspondence and envelopes

Archival Repository:: Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep859ce5d95-b8bb-4f26-8d04-1541e00c1ac2

EDAN-URL:: ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-1146-ref2773

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Magie Dominic Caffe Cino Collection

Names:: Cino, Joe, 1931-1967 Search this

Donor:: Dominic, Magie Search this

Extent:: 1 Cubic foot (3 boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Advertisements; Ephemera; Magazines (periodicals); Off off broadway; Photographs; Theater programs

Place:: Broadway (New York, N.Y.); Greenwich Village (New York, New York)

Date:: 1948-2023, undated

Summary:: The collection documents Caffe Cino in Greenwich Village, New York, founded in 1958 by Joe Cino as a coffee shop and art exhibition space. The collection has materials related to and written by author and artist Magie Dominic, Caffe Cino alumni and chronicler.

Content Description:: The materials consist of printed materials, photographs, scripts, advertisements, ephemera, and theater programs.

Arrangement:: Collection is unarranged.

Biographical / Historical:: An Overview with Personal Reflections, Timeline 1958-1968, and The Archives-Key Moments were supplied by donor, Magie Dominic in April 2024

An Overview with Personal Reflections by Magie Dominic

Early Years: 1931-1958

Joe Cino was born on November 16, 1931 in Buffalo, NY. His parents, Mary and Joseph were both Sicilian. There were four brothers, Gabby, Richard, Joe, and Steve. Joe's father, Joe Cino senior, died at a very young age and Mary worked to support the family. She worked at a candy factory at night and wrapped candy in tissue and throw it out the window for the boys to catch. As a child, Joe did little shows in the backyard for the neighbors.

Michael Smith, Village Voice critic, interviewed Joe in 1965 and asked him why he came to New York City. "The opportunity arose because four friends of mine were running away from home, and two of them had some money." (1948; Joe was sixteen; his friends were Tony Vaccaro, Angelo and Stephen Lovoulo (brothers). "I had to make a decision within two hours. It was snowing. My mother was visiting a neighbor, and she came home calling me as I was leaving the house. I ran into the street and jumped into a passing car. I heard my mother calling, and I said, "I'll be back soon, there's a note on the kitchen table." The note said, "I'm going to Rochester to visit some friends."

He arrived in New York City on February 7, 1948, during a blizzard, and broke. "I had a job within three days at the YMCA in Penn Station as a counterman for $110 a month. February to summer. I was making ice cream sodas at Howard Johnson's. Hotel Statler reservations department."

Eight weeks later, April 12, he sent a long, handwritten letter to his mother explaining why he'd run away and his dream to study acting and dance, "Dear Mom, Don't read this letter until tonite when you're relaxed—don't read it half-fast—go through it quite carefully. There are 12 pages (24 sides) Love "Junior"

"When I got the job at the Statler I enrolled in the Henry Street Playhouse and took courses in everything. I was there for about two years. I went home (Buffalo) in July. She (his mother) gave me her blessing. When I left at the end of the week everything was O.K. from then on."

In 1953 Joe was given a dance scholarship to Jacob's Pillow; danced with the Mary Anthony Dance Theater and toured with Maxine Munt and Alfred Brooks.

Michael Smith asked him when he got the idea of opening a café, "I started thinking about the café in 1954. I would talk about it with close friends. My idea was always to start with a beautiful, intimate, non-commercial, friendly atmosphere where people could come and not feel pressured or harassed."

He worked two jobs, studied, and saved for ten years. In the summer of 1958, his friend Ed Franzen saw a For Rent sign on 31 Cornelia Street. He called Joe and introduced him to the landlady, Josie Leema, who was leaning out an upstairs window. Joe said 'Oh you're Italian." Josie said, Yes, what are you. Joe said Sicilian. Josie said, "I don't have to come down," and threw him the key and gave him the first month's rent free if he did all the needed repair work. Josie was Joe's landlady for the Caffe's entire existence. She often brought down pots of soup when Joe was unable to pay the rent. Her reasoning was, if Joe didn't have rent money, he probably didn't have food money. Joe opened the Caffe Cino on a Friday in December 1958. There was room for about twenty mismatched ice cream parlor tables and chairs, and a tiny kitchen with his espresso machine. The room could accommodate about forty people.

MAGIE DOMINIC: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

In 1962 I left my home in Newfoundland, as a teenager, like Joe Cino. I was 18 and studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In 1964 I moved to New York, worked in interior design, gave poetry readings in New York venues, stage managed productions at Lighthouse for the Blind and stage managed a play at La Mama. Ellen Stewart introduced me to Tom Eyen. Tom introduced me to Joe Cino. Joe asked me my sign, (Cancer) and we began a friendship and a dialogue that lasted in one form or another to this day. I entered the Caffe that day and never left. Joe was handsome, broad-shouldered, dark hair, a quick smile; his dark brown eyes were filled with passion. He could hold you with his eyes.

I stage managed for Lanford Wilson and Tom Eyen, created roles for new playwrights, created tiny collages for the Caffe walls and worked on the sets; created the large stars and flags for the Dames at Sea set and made Joe an apron from left over stars. I was assistant director to Marshall Mason; I occasionally ran to the store for groceries for the Caffe kitchen. There was no job description. We worked for free, passed the basket after each performance and if we collected fifty dollars by the week's end, and the production had five people, we received $10. each for a week's work. We would have worked for a dollar. We would have paid to be there. The Caffe Cino ceiling was a maze of intricate lighting equipment. Lights were dimmed, stage lights appeared on a tiny performance area, and the room opened like a chakra. The walls were collages with photographs, posters, and twinkle lights. Music ranged from opera to Shirley Temple to Kate Smith, belly dancing, Christmas carols and Billie Holiday. A curtain of crystals and bells stretched in front of the espresso machine; a musical explosion by Joe before each performance with the words, "It's magic time!" And each performance was dedicated to somebody's birthday.

Eventually there was a stage, a tiny eight-foot portable wooden platform. New playwrights emerged and used the free venue Joe offered. Joe would ask them their sign, (I think it was his way of reading people), give them a date, say, "This is your week," and politely refuse to read the script. Joe was generous to the extreme. People came to him for help - and he offered it.

For several years Joe operated the Caffe at night, while simultaneously working during the day as a typist for American Laundry Machinery Company. That salary probably sustained the Caffe. Every new playwright paving the way to the next century had roots there - Lanford Wilson, Tom Eyen, Sam Shepherd, John Guare, Robert Patrick, Doric Wilson, Paul Foster, H. M. Koutoukas, William Hoffman, among many, many others. Bernadette Peters, Marshall Mason, and Harvey Keitel began there. Performances were done for the room, with or without an audience. In the words of theater critic John Gruen, ― Caffe Cino presented the outrageous, the blasphemous, the zany, the wildly poetic, the embarrassingly trite, the childish, and frequently, the moving and the beautiful. A few years ago, someone asked me in an interview where the Caffe Cino administrative offices were located. I said they were in the kitchen, next to the expresso machine, because that's where Joe was standing. In the years following the Caffe's closing I wrote two books, co-edited a third with Michael Smith, gave several presentations on the Caffe, and raised a daughter. My artwork was exhibited in Canada and the United States, and my large fabric installation, The Gown, was presented at The United Nations. Two Caffe Cino people have fabric in the Gown, Robert Patrick and Jim Gossage. For many, the Caffe Cino was a second home. For others it was the only home they'd ever known. Awards received by those who began their careers at the Caffe Cino include the Pulitzer, the Emmy, the Grammy, the Tony, the Obie, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Robert Chesley Award, and the New York Innovative Theater Awards.

TIMELINE, PLAYWRIGHTS, KEY MOMENTS

"The one thing I never thought of was fully staged productions. I opened as the Caffè Cino Art Gallery, and we had openings every six weeks." Joe Cino

1958-1959 Primarily art exhibitions, poetry and readings of classic plays, Tennessee Williams, etc.

1960 First original play is written for the room, "Flyspray"' by James Howard. In the beginning there is no stage. Tables are moved aside, and actors perform in the space between tables. The photographer, Rowland Sherman, has his first exhibition, with mainly Caffe Cino people as his subjects.

1961 Original plays are now written for the room. Doric Wilson presents his first three plays. The Caffe receives "The Coffee Cup Award" from Show Business newspaper. Al Pacino makes his Off-Off Broadway début in the production of William Saroyan's Hello Out There. "It was a very important moment for me," Pacino, 2014, New Yorker Magazine.

1962 The official menu is designed by Michael Wiley. The $1. minimum includes a show, coffee, and pastry. The one dollar minimum is never changed. Dramatic lighting effects are achieved through the ingenious work of lighting designer John P. Dodd. Adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. "The play was one of the most beautiful things we had at the Cino. I think it was the first time we had that kind of magic." Joe Cino

1963 One-week performances. Claris Nelson writes three original plays. Lanford Willson produces his first plays. Harassment from New York City inspectors.

1964 Two week runs begin with 14 performances weekly. Caffe Cino becomes eligible for the Obie Award. There is continued harassment from New York City inspectors. They categorize the Caffe as a cabaret and insist that Joe obtain a cabaret license and sell alcohol, the requirement for obtaining the license. Joe has a valid restaurant license, wants only a caffe with expresso, and wants nothing to do with liquor. He offers to pay for the cabaret license but refuses to serve alcohol. In an attempt to stop the fines, he changes the name of the Caffe Cino to the Caffe Cino Arts Club and issues membership cards, but the fines continued, and the name change is abandoned. It is a cafe without a category. The staging of Lanford Wilson's The Madness of Lady Bright is a breakthrough hit as the play deals openly about homosexuality. The Caffé has become well known for its plays dealing with gay subject matter. For the first time in New York, and perhaps in the country, LGBT people see depictions of themselves in a more multi-dimensional and realistic light.

1965 On the night of March 3, a fire caused by a gas leak, completely destroys the caffe interior. Edward Albee and H.M. Koutoukas organize a benefit to rebuild the Caffe. Several benefits are held throughout the city. The Caffe is rebuilt and reopens on May 18. The Caffe receives special Obie Award. Playwrights include Diane di Prima, H. M. Koutoukas, David Starkweather, Lanford Wilson, Jean-Claude van Itallie, John Guare, Mary Mitchell, Robert Heide, Tom Eyen, William M. Hoffman, Sam Shepard.

1966 In May, Dames at Sea, a 40-minute musical, opens on the tiny stage, is directed by Robert Dahdah and runs for three consecutive months. It is the first New York play for a teenage Bernadette Peters and, is probably the most successful play in Off-Off-Broadway history. Unfortunately, a producer moves Dames from the Caffe Cino to an Off-Broadway theater and Joe and the Caffe are never acknowledged for its creation.

1967 In January, Joe's lover is electrocuted in an accident in upstate New York and Joe is devastated. City fines and harassment increase. At the end of 1966 and the beginning of 1967, a group of non-Caffe Cino people begin to frequent the room, bring a darkness and quantities of drugs, and although they are not welcomed by most at the Caffe, they continue to frequent the room. On the night of March 31, alone in the room, Joe Cino tries to end his own life. He survives for three days but is pronounced dead at St Vincent's Hospital on Sunday, April 2. Joe Cino cherished life. He cherished his family; the arts; and cherished his magical Caffe. He is devastated by the death of his lover, by the years of unrelenting fines, by the years of harassment, by exhaustion, and is overpowered by a lethal supply of drugs offered to him. They are all contributing factors.

On April 10th at Judson Church, the memorial program cover is wordless. Only a black and white photo of Joe smiling, and wearing an apron made from left over "Dames at Sea" stars.

Four people, led by Charles Stanley - Ken Burgess, Robert Patrick, and Magie Dominic are joined by a few others and work to keep the Caffe open, following the schedule Joe had planned. An unexpected classic comic book production of Snow White. Charles Stanley is the magic mirror; Ken Burgess is all the magical forest creatures; Robert Patrick, playwright, is both Doc and the haunted forest; H.M. Harry Koutoukas, the Greek playwright, is the evil queen; Magie Dominic is Snow White. At every performance the dwarfs are different, and the number is always changing. City harassment and fines intensify. Michael Smith and Wolfgang Zuckerman take over management of the Caffe.

1968 City harassment and fines reach a breaking point. "The summonses cost $250 each. We could not get them to stop, and we could not afford to pay them. So in March, after a final, beautiful production of "Monuments" by Diane di Prima, directed by James Waring and Alan Marlowe, with lighting by John P. Dodd, the Caffè Cino closed for good." (Michael Smith) The Caffe Cino closes on March 17, 1968. Michael Smith, in the days after the Caffe's closing in 1968, takes pictures and programs from the Caffé walls and brings them to Library for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center.

THE ARCHIVES. KEY MOMENTS

1972. Off-Off Broadway Book by Albert Poland and Bruce Mailman, published with a chapter on Caffe Cino, research and scripts. 1977. Magie Dominic contacted photographer Jim Gossage, a main photographer of Caffe Cino and 1960s OOB theater, regarding existing Caffe Cino photographs. Together, they began assembling documentation. 1979. The newspaper Other Stages published a series of articles about Caffe Cino. 1979. Dorothy Swerdlove, Curator of the Billy Rose Theatre Division of New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (LPA) was shown Caffe Cino documentation by Magie Dominic, and established a 1985 exhibition date in the Astor Gallery, Lincoln Center. For the following six years, 1979-1985, and with the assistance of several Caffe Cino people; Ken Burgess - designer of Caffe show posters; the photographer Jim Gossage; the LPA curatorial staff and Richard Buck, Magie Dominic co-curated the exhibition Caffe Cino and Its Legacy. 1985 Caffe Cino and Its Legacy, March 5 - May 11, Astor Gallery, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center.

AIDS devastated the Caffe Cino people during the 1980s and into the 1990s. Over sixteen playwrights, actors and designers were lost.

2000: The Queen of Peace Room, memoir by Magie Dominic, published, with a chapter depicting Caffe Cino; and loss of people to AIDS; nominated for three literary awards. 2005. The New York Innovative Theatre Awards established The Caffe Cino Fellowship Award. 2005: Caffe Cino: The Birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway, by Wendell Stone, published. 2006. Bernadette Peters, in Legends of Broadway Compilation, related working on Dames at Sea at Caffe Cino. 2006 CUNY TV, Conversations with William M. Hoffman: Caffe Cino/Off-Off Broadway interviews. 2007. In The Life: Channel 13 TV, fifteen-minute documentary on Caffe Cino's impact on New York theatre and gay theatre in New York. 2007. Return to the Caffe Cino, co-Edited by Steve Susoyev and George Birimisa, published. 2008. Thirty-minute video by Library for the Performing Arts, documenting Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation's tribute to Caffe Cino's historic importance; plaque designed by playwright Robert Patrick installed. 2010. H.M. Koutoukas Remembered by His Friends, co-edited by Michael Smith and Magie Dominic, published. 2011. Caffe Cino documentation entered into Library for the Performing Arts permanent archives including the show posters designed by Ken Burgess. 2011. Fales Archives, NYU, enters Magie Dominic writing and art documentation into their permanent archives. 2016. New York Press Association awarded Second Place for Coverage of the Arts to The Villager newspaper for their story, "Magie Dominic - Magic Time at the Caffe Cino". 2017. Caffe Cino placed on The National Register of Historic Places for its significance to LGBT history. It was placed on The State Register of Historic Places the same year. 2019. Caffe Cino designated a New York City Landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. 2019: Lifetime Achievement Award from New York Innovative Theater Awards awarded to Magie Dominic for her contribution to the arts, and Caffe Cino archival work. 2022. Nov 16. A plaque honoring Caffe Cino's placement on The National Register of Historic Places installed on 31 Cornelia Street. It was also Joe Cino's 91st birthday. Research and documentation are ongoing. In 2017, the Cino family found among Mary Cino's papers, the 24-page letter Joe had written to her in 1948.

The Caffe Cino brought theatre into the modern era, created Off-Off Broadway, and from its humble, little eight foot by eight-foot wooden stage, forever altered the performing arts worldwide.

Provenance:: Collection donated by Magie Dominic, 2024.

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research.

Rights:: Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:: Experimental theater Search this

Genre/Form:: Advertisements; Ephemera; Magazines (periodicals) -- 20th century; Off Off Broadway; Photographs; Theater programs -- 20th century

Citation:: Magie Dominic Caffe Cino Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Identifier:: NMAH.AC.1596

See more items in:: Magie Dominic Caffe Cino Collection

Archival Repository:: Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:: https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8fafdcaf8-93f5-45c6-bb27-f93a1c883546

EDAN-URL:: ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1596

William Russo Music and Personal Papers

Creator:: Strayhorn, Billy (William Thomas), 1915-1967 Search this; Russo, William, 1928-2003 Search this

Photographer:: Claxton, William Search this; Leonard, Herman, 1923-2010 Search this

Composer:: Kenton, Stan Search this

Musician:: Mulligan, Gerry Search this

Names:: Chicago Jazz Ensemble Search this; Ellington, Duke, 1899-1974 Search this

Extent:: 87 Cubic feet (188 boxes)

Type:: Collection descriptions; Archival materials; Motion pictures (visual works); Music; Audiotapes; Business records; Photographs; Correspondence; Librettos; Awards; Posters; Programs; Scrapbooks; Scores; Lecture notes

Date:: 1920-2002

Summary:: Papers and audiovisual materials documenting Russo's career in music.

Scope and Contents:: The collection includes Russo's original and published music scores, parts and arrangements; audiovisual materials including recordings of broadcasts of Russo's radio show, performances of Russo's compositions, including performances by Duke Ellington, and film and video recordings of Russo's productions in theater and opera; and personal papers such as correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, publicity files, contracts, etc. Among the most significant items in the collection are experimental jazz arrangements for Stan Kenton in the late 1940s-early 1950s, undated arrangements for Gerry Mulligan, Russo's original arrangement of Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert, scores to his first and second symphonies, and scores and libretti to several early rock operas. The photographs include images of persons such as Ellington, Kenton, and Billy Strayhorn, and photographs by jazz photographers Herman Leonard and William Claxton. 2007 addendum includes correspondence, mostly between Russo and his family; eighteen diaries for 1946-1967 (not all years are present) with sparse entries, some in Italian; and additional music manuscripts, parts, scores and libretti.

Arrangement:: The collection is arranged into nine series.

Series 1: William Russo's Music

Series 2: Teaching Notes

Series 3: Correspondence

Series 4: Publicity, Programs, and Reviews

Series 5: Posters and Artwork

Series 6: Photographs

Series 7: Books and Lecture Notebooks

Series 8: Memorabilia

Series 9: Audiovisual Materials

Biographical / Historical:: William Russo, renowned American jazz composer, arranger, and founder of the Chicago Jazz Ensemble, had a music career that spanned five decades and included performance, conducting and composition. During his career he worked with such diverse talents as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Leonard Bernstein, Cannonball Adderly, Yehuidi Menuhin, Dizzy Gillespie, Seiji Ozawa, and Billie Holiday. Although critics acknowledged Russo mainly for his pioneering contributions to the big-band jazz canon, his talents extended to a far wider range of musical styles, creating groundbreaking jazz scores, rock operas, classical works, film scores, and educational textbooks on jazz orchestration and arrangement. In all, he composed over 200 pieces for jazz orchestra with more than 25 recordings of his work. In 1990, Russo received a Lifetime Achievement award from NARAS, the organization that presents the Grammy Awards.

As a young trombonist, Russo studied with Lennie Tristano, the pianist and theorist who became a leader in the progressive jazz movement. During the late 1940s, Russo led the revolutionary Experiment in Jazz band. At age 21, he became one of the chief composers/arrangers for the Stan Kenton Orchestra, one of the most innovative and influential jazz orchestras of the postwar era. In his four years with Kenton, Russo penned such classic Kenton works as "23° North – 82° West," and "Frank Speaking."

Russo made several major jazz recordings under his own name before his classical "Symphony No. 2 in C (TITANS)" received a Koussevitsky award in 1959; it was performed by the New York Philharmonic that same year under Leonard Bernstein, who had commissioned the work. This award marked Russo's "official" entry into the world of classical music. Russo continued to write major symphonic works throughout his career, including his 1992 grand opera, "Dubrovsky."

After his tenure with Kenton, in the early 1950s, Russo led his own successful bands, The Russo Orchestra in New York, and the London Jazz Orchestra, before returning to Chicago to form the Chicago Jazz Ensemble in 1065. With the Ensemble, he presented Duke Ellington's "First Concert of Sacred Music" in 1967. This was one of the rare times when Ellington allowed one of his compositions to be arranged and performed by a jazz orchestra other than his own, and was a reflection of Ellington's respect for Russo. Shortly after this performance, Russo composed a rock cantata, "The Civil War," that led him into the field of rock opera. After concentrating on classical music again in the 1970s, in the late 1980s, Russo began to re-explore the history of jazz through his revived Chicago Jazz Ensemble. In 1995, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble made history with the first-ever complete live performance of Gil Evans' and Miles Davis' "Sketches of Spain" in its original form. Recent Russo works that premiered in Chicago included "Chicago Suite No. 1," and "Chicago Suite No. 2," a recording that was published posthumously in the spring of 2003.

Related Materials:: Materials in the Archives Center

William Russo Transcription and Arrangement of Duke Ellington's First Concert of Sacred Music, 1967-1968 (AC0406)

Provenance:: Bequeathed to the Smithsonian by William Russo. Papers collected after Russo's death in 2003. The 2007 addendum sent by Russo's sister and daughter were also part of the bequest.

Restrictions:: Collection is open for research but an oil painting is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:: Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Occupation:: Composers -- 20th century Search this

Topic:: Opera Search this; Jazz musicians -- United States Search this; Jazz Search this; Music -- 20th century Search this

Genre/Form:: Motion pictures (visual works); Music -- Manuscripts; Audiotapes; Business records -- 20th century; Photographs -- 20th century; Correspondence -- 20th century; Librettos; Awards; Posters -- 20th century; Programs; Scrapbooks; Scores; Lecture notes