Tapes document Jules Olitski and Mark Golden delivering a lecture entitled "The Artist's View: Color, Technology, and Style in Postwar Art" as part of the Color Symposium held in the Museum November 11-November 16, 1997, in the Lemelson Center's New Perspectives series. Harry Rand served as moderator.
This lecture and discussion offers an unusal look at how the invention of new pigments, often at the urging of artists, together with new methods of application, advance the vocabulary and depth of painting.
Arrangement:
Divided into 3 series.
Series 1: Original Tape Cassettes, 1997
]
]Series 2: Master Tapes, 1997
Series 3: Reference Tape Cassettes, 1997
Biographical / Historical:
Jules Olitski is a major figure in American painting and Mark Golden is a paint manufacturer and president of Golden Artist Colors, Inc.
Provenance:
Created by the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, National Museum of American History, 1997.
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.
The papers of painter and photographer Stanley Twardowicz measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1942-2009, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1942-1981. The papers contain biographical material, scrapbooks, letters, printed material, photographs, and audio and video recordings regarding the career of Stanley Twardowicz as a painter and photographer.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter and photographer Stanley Twardowicz measure 1.1 linear feet and date from 1942-2009, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1942-1981. The papers contain biographical material, scrapbooks, letters, writings, printed material, photographs, and audio and video recordings regarding the career of Stanley Twardowicz as a painter and photographer.
Biographical material consists of various curriculum vitae, a list of exhibitions and awards from 1942-1954, and typed excerpts from reviews of Twardowicz's one-man shows at Contemporary Arts Gallery during 1951.
Writings include an unpublished hand-written 70 page memoir by Twardowicz entitled "A Life with No Tears" covering the artist's early life through 1970, a master's thesis "Stanley Twardowicz, Tracing the Roots of an American Modernist" by Kim Greer Verzyl written in 1978, and a 2008 writing by Gerald Nicoisa which describes his relationship with Twardowicz.
Scrapbooks are two disbound volumes organized by years. They contain the artist's collection of exhibition announcements, catalogs, and lists; press clippings; letters advising of awards and fellowships; and Ohio State Fair ribbons for excellence in fine art.
Printed materials and related items consist of chronological files that retain their original order. Found are printed materials relating to exhibitions, letters, and audio visual materials. Of particular interest is the 1956 letter advising Twardowicz that he has been awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in creative painting.
Photographs include pictures of the artist and ones taken by Twardowicz. Twardowicz's photographs are of Roy Lichtenstein, David Smith, Jules Olitski, Roy Parker, Mike Kanemitsu, Betty Parsons, Lillian Dodson (the artist's wife), and Jack Kerouac. There also is a photograph by Dorothy Lichtenstein of Twardowicz, Parker, Dodson and Roy Lichtenstein and casual snapshots of the artist and friends and family.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 5 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1951-2008 (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Writings, 1951-2008 (Box 1; 0.1 linear ft.)
Series 3: Scrapbooks, 1942-1951 (Box 1; 0.25 linear ft.)
Series 4: Printed Material and Related Items, 1946-2009 (Box 1; 0V 2; 0.6 linear ft.)
Series 5: Photographs, circa 1960-1979 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Biographical Note:
Stanley Twardowicz (1917-2008) was a painter, photographer and teacher. He is associated with the 1950's Abstract Expressionists of the Cedar Tavern in Greenwich Village, New York and with Beat Generation poet Jack Kerouac.
Twardowicz was born Stanley Jon Leginsky in July, 1917, but took his godfather's surname at age 20 when he married. After working at various jobs, in 1940 Twardowicz enrolled in Detroit's Meinzinger's Art School.
In 1946 Twardowicz was awarded a scholarship to the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, his first exposure to a creative arts community. There he met Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jack Levine and Philip Guston. Through his associations at Skowhegan, Twardowicz obtained a teaching position at Ohio State University. He taught there until 1951, becoming friends with fellow instructor, Roy Lichtenstein. Twardowicz married (Ruth) Ann Mandel in 1949 and they lived in an artists' community near Guadalajara, Mexico. Twardowicz then travelled in Europe, his work edging towards an expressionist technique and mood. By 1953 Twardowicz painted in a fully abstract manner.
Upon his return to the States, Twardowicz frequented the Cedar Tavern in Greenwich Village, New York, where he met and was deeply influenced by Abstract Expressionists such as Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and Jackson Pollock. During this time he had one-man shows and participated in group shows at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was represented in the Museum of Modern Art's travelling exhibition "Young American Painters."
In 1956 Twardowicz received a Guggenheim Fellowship in creative painting and moved to Northport, Long Island, where he befriended area artists Jules Olitski and George Grosz. Between 1958 and 1970 the Peridot Gallery in New York presented annual one-man shows of Twardowicz's work. Twardowicz also participated in numerous major group shows at institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Twardowicz began his long teaching career at Hofstra University in 1964, where he met his third wife, Lillian Dodson, a fellow artist. Twardowicz's career as a photographer also prospered. Edward Streichen, then Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art, selected six of Twardowicz's photographs for the Museum's permanent collection. In June, 1967 Tardowicz took photographs of Jack Kerouac in his Lowell, Massachusetts home, which became the subject of an art book portfolio called Stashou and Yasho.
During the 1990's there was renewed interest in Twardowicz's work with a show at Mitchell Algus' Gallery in Soho, New York City. In 2001, the Phoenix Art Museum celebrated Twardowicz's contributions as a Color Field painter with a retrospective exhibition "Moving Color."
Twardowicz died on June 12, 2008 in Northport, Long Island.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2010 by Lillian Dodson, widow of Stanley Twardowicz.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
Material created by Twardowicz: The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
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.
An interview of Oscar Chelimsky conducted 1990 August 28-September 5, by Michael Plante, for the Archives of American Art.
Chelimsky recalls his studies at Cooper Union, the Art Students League (1939-1943), and the Hans Hofmann School of Art (1946-1947) and describes Hofmann's teaching methods. Chelimsky discusses his decision to go to Paris in 1948; his brief studies at the Fontainebleu School and the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere; his studio in Paris; the French attitude toward Americans in postwar Paris; a proposed exhibition of American painters in France at the Galerie des Beaux Arts in 1963; Americans exhibiting at the various salons and galleries in Paris; and the founding of the cooperative Galerie Huit and the artists involved including Bill Rivers, Jules Olitski, Reginald Pollack, Robert Kulicke, Sidney Geist, and Paul Keene. Chelimsky also discusses the evolution of his style, his move back to the United States in 1970, and his continuing investigation of the "open form" in his paintings.
Biographical / Historical:
Oscar Chelimsky (1923-2010) was a painter.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 34 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
Interview of Susan Crile conducted 1972 August 1-3, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Crile speaks of her family background; having polio and problems with her eyesight; her education at Connecticut College, Bennington College, and New York University; art criticism; her teachers, including Lawrence Alloway, Paul Feeley, Jules Olitski, Tony Smith, and Esteban Vicente; Clement Greenberg's theories and relationships with artists; forming a discussion group with painters, poets, and musicians; working in pastel; her still lifes and "rug paintings"; color; and the artist's need for emotional support.
Biographical / Historical:
Susan Crile (1942-) is a painter from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 30 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
ACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission required.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The notes of painter and sculptor Jules Olitski to Joan Olitski measure 0.02 linear feet and date from 1981-2004. The collection comprises of ten humorous love notes, some illustrated, written by Jules Olitski to his wife, Joan. Olitski wrote the notes to his wife (also known as Kristina) in the morning when he left his studio after working through the night.
Scope and Contents:
The notes of painter and sculptor Jules Olitski to Joan Olitski measure 0.02 linear feet and date from 1981-2004. The collection comprises of ten humorous love notes, some illustrated, written by Jules Olitski to his wife, Joan. Olitski wrote the notes to his wife (also known as Kristina) in the morning when he left his studio after working through the night.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 1 series.
Series 1: Notes, 1981-2004 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and sculptor Jules Olitski (1922-2007) lived and worked from New York City; Meredith, New Hampshire; and Islamorada, Florida and was known for his color field abstractions and painted metal sculptures. Born Jevel Demikovsky in Snovsk, Russia (now Shchors, Ukraine), Olitski's father was politically executed months after his birth, and his mother and grandmother moved with him to the United States in 1923. Showing an early propensity for art, Olitski trained at both New York's National Academy of Design and the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and furthered his art studies in Paris. After returning to New York, Olitski received a master's in art education from NYU in 1954 and subsequently taught at C.W. Post College (1956-1963) and Bennington College (1963-1967).
His first solo show of abstract impastos at the Alexander Iolas Gallery in 1958 caught the attention of art critic Clement Greenberg, who continued to champion him throughout his career. In the 1960s, Olitski came to prominence with color field paintings that used stain and spray methods to emphasize the broad, flat plane of the canvas. By the 1970s, he began producing and painting large scale abstract aluminum sculptures and returned to painting in the more textured style he had used in the 1950s.
Olitski, along with Roy Lichtenstein, Helen Frankenthaler, and Ellsworth Kelly, was selected to represent the United States at the 1966 Venice Biennale and was also the first living artist invited to exhibit a one-person show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1969. A prolific artist, he exhibited in over 150 solo shows and was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1994. Olinski continued painting and exhibiting new abstractions of monochrome landscapes late into his career and died of cancer in New York.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Jules Olitski papers.
Provenance:
The notes were donated in 2014 by Olitski's wife, Joan Olitski, also known as Kristina.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Illustrated letters
Citation:
Jules Olitski notes to Joan Olitski, 1981-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of artist and educator Jules Olitski measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1950-2012. The collection sheds light on Olitski's career through writing files that consist of drafts, edits, and some correspondence; printed material such as newspaper clippings and articles, exhibition material, and published writings; portrait photographs of the artist; and sound and video recordings from interviews and lectures.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of artist and educator Jules Olitski measure 3.2 linear feet and date from 1950-2012. The collection sheds light on Olitski's career through writing files that consist of drafts, edits, and some correspondence; printed material such as newspaper clippings and articles, exhibition material, and published writings; portrait photographs of the artist; and sound and video recordings from interviews and lectures.
The majority of the collection consists of printed material that provides comprehensive coverage of Olitski's career including announcements, catalogs, and newspaper clippings from Olitski's exhibitions at galleries and museums. Sound and video recordings are of interviews with Olitski related to exhibitions of his work and of lectures given by Olitski at Brown University, the University of Miami, and the National Museum of American History, and other locations. The bulk of these recordings date from the 1990s.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as four series.
Series 1: Writing Files, 1965-1976 (Box 1; 10 folders)
Series 2: Printed Material, 1950-2012 (Box 1-3; 2.3 linear feet)
Series 3: Photographs, 1967-2006 (Box 3; 7 folders)
Series 4: Recorded Interviews and Lectures, 1977-2003 (Box 3-4; .7 linear feeet)
Biographical / Historical:
Jules Olitski (1922-2007) was a painter, sculptor, and educator in New York, New York, who established himself as one of the leaders of the abstract expressionist movement in the United States during the 1950s-1960s.
Olitski was born in the Ukraine, and moved to New York in 1923 after his father, a commissar, was executed. By 1935, Olitski had developed an interest in art and was awarded a scholarship at the Pratt Institute where he began taking classes in 1939. Soon after he attended the National Academy of Design until 1942 when he enlisted in the United States Army.
In 1949 Olitski studied sculpture with Ossip Zadkine in the Zadkine School of Sculpture in France, and the next year attended the Academia de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris. He then moved back to the United States for his higher education, earning a master's degree from New York University. Olitski became an associate professor of art at the State University of New York, New Paltz in 1954. He held several more teaching positions throughout the 1950s and 1960s in New York and Vermont.
From the 1970s-2000s Olitski received honorary degrees from Keen State College, Hartford Art School, and Southern New Hampshire University, and held solo shows at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Knoedler Contemporary Art in New York, La Musee de Valence in France, and the Drabinsky Friedland Gallery in Toronto. He also participated in several major group exhibitions around the world including American Drawings, 1964 (1964) at the Solomon Guggenheim Museum, New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940-1970 (1970) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Green Mountain Boys - Caro, Feeley, Noland and Olitski at Bennington in the 1960's (1998), and exhibited elsewhere in Vermont and New York, and many other locations.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2012 and 2013 by the Olitski Family Estate via Lauren Olitski Poster, director of the estate and Olitsky's daughter.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Jules Olitski papers, 1950-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
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