Search Results

Author:

Steeds, Lucy  Search this

Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Wien  Search this

Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies  Search this

Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum  Search this

Subject:

Martin, Jean-Hubert 1944-  Search this

Centre Georges Pompidou Exhibitions  Search this

Magiciens de la Terre (Exhibition) (1989 : Paris, France)  Search this

Physical description:

304 p. : ill. (some col.), plan ; 22 cm

Type:

Exhibitions

Interviews

Date:

2013

20th century

Topic:

Art, Modern  Search this

Art and globalization--Exhibitions  Search this

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_1012900

Creator:

Gray, Cleve, 1918-2004  Search this

Subject:

Richter, Hans  Search this

Marin, John  Search this

Lipchitz, Jacques  Search this

Pollock, Jackson  Search this

Grace, Louise N.  Search this

Gray, Francine du Plessix  Search this

Duchamp, Marcel  Search this

Dillenberger, Jane  Search this

Gabo, Naum  Search this

Ernst, Jimmy  Search this

Davis, Jim  Search this

Calder, Alexander  Search this

Barzun, Jacques  Search this

Weber, Nicholas Fox  Search this

Smith, David  Search this

Villon, Jacques  Search this

Pratt Institute  Search this

Rhode Island School of Design  Search this

Neuberger Museum of Art  Search this

Jacques Seligmann & Co  Search this

Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this

Connecticut. Commission on Arts, Tourism, Culture, History and Film  Search this

Princeton University  Search this

Berry-Hill Galleries  Search this

Type:

Poems

Articles

Photographs

Reviews (documents)

Notes

Illustrations

Notebooks

Sketches

Drafts (documents)

Video recordings

Sound recordings

Interviews

Manuscripts

Paintings

Prints

Watercolors

Drawings

Lectures

Citation:

Cleve Gray papers, 1933-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Protest Movements -- United States  Search this

Designers  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9567

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211768

AAA_collcode_grayclev

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211768

Creator:

Jacobson, Marcus, 1930-2001  Search this

Names:

York University (Toronto, Ont.). Art Gallery  Search this

Gu, Wenda, 1955-  Search this

Extent:

4 Letters (hand written)

1 Item (manuscript, hand written)

1 Exhibition catalog (includes essays and photographs)

1 Item (exhibition post card, black and white, 11 x 35 cm)

2 Photographs (color, 20 x 25 cm)

Container:

Box 1

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Letters

Exhibition catalogs

Photographs

Chromogenic color prints

Correspondence

Place:

China

Canada -- Ontario -- Toronto

Date:

1986-1988

Scope and Contents:

This collection was created and collected by the late Dr. Marcus Jacobson. It consists of materials relating to contemporary Chinese artist Gu Wenda, whom Dr. Jacobson supported in Gu's early days (mid-1980s) by purchasing works and trying to interest fellow US and Canadian academics (Dr. Jacobson was a well-known neuroscientist) in Gu's works. This collection includes an original catalogue of Gu's first exhibition in North America at York University in Toronto to which Marcus contributed. Along with a few other items of similar nature including: correspondence from Gu to Dr. Jacobson, a letter from Dr. Jacobson to his art colleagues, and 2 photographs of Gu.

Arrangement:

Organized by document type: correspondence, notes, catalog, photographs.

Biographical / Historical:

Dr. Marcus Jacobson biographical note

Local Numbers:

FSA A2009.05

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

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

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Genre/Form:

Chromogenic color prints

Exhibition catalogs

Correspondence -- 20th century

Citation:

Dr. Marcus Jacobson Papers of 20th Century Contemporary Artist Gu Wenda. FSA.A2009.05. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Identifier:

FSA.A2009.05

Archival Repository:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/dc36ee27eb7-9398-480e-aa4c-87b9317d2069

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-fsa-a2009-05

Creator:

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this

Subject:

Wildenstein, Felix  Search this

Phillips, Duncan  Search this

Hays, Lee  Search this

Untermeyer, Louis  Search this

Zigrosser, Carl  Search this

Robeson, Paul  Search this

DuBois, W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)  Search this

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano)  Search this

Ruggles, Carl  Search this

Stefansson, Vilhjalmur  Search this

Nearing, Helen  Search this

Nearing, Scott  Search this

Pach, Walter  Search this

Rasmussen, Knud  Search this

Reeves, Ruth  Search this

Seeger, Pete  Search this

Daniel, Charles  Search this

Cleland, T. M. (Thomas Maitland)  Search this

Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen)  Search this

Chamberlain, J. E.  Search this

Boyesen, Bayard  Search this

Chase, William Merritt  Search this

Freuchen, Peter  Search this

Gellert, Hugo  Search this

Gottlieb, Harry  Search this

Hartley, Marsden  Search this

FitzGerald, James  Search this

Keller, Charles  Search this

Miller, Kenneth Hayes  Search this

Henri, Robert  Search this

Jones, Dan Burne  Search this

United American Artists  Search this

United Office and Professional Workers of America  Search this

United Scenic Artists  Search this

National Farmers' Union (U.S.)  Search this

National Maritime Union of America  Search this

American Artists' Congress  Search this

Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Artists League of America  Search this

Citizens' Committee for Government Arts Projects  Search this

Farmers Union of the New York Milk Shed  Search this

Federal Art Project  Search this

Federal Writers' Project  Search this

Macbeth Gallery  Search this

International Workers Order  Search this

Type:

Poems

Sketches

Business records

Photographs

Drawings

Citation:

Rockwell Kent papers, circa 1840-1993, bulk 1935-1961. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Designers -- New York (State)  Search this

Mural painting and decoration  Search this

Politics and culture  Search this

Authors -- New York  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States -- Political aspects  Search this

Dairy farms  Search this

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Illustrators -- New York (State)  Search this

Illustration of books  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Art and war  Search this

Commercial art  Search this

World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9557

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211757

AAA_collcode_kentrock

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211757

Creator:

Leo Castelli Gallery  Search this

Subject:

Nauman, Bruce  Search this

Namuth, Hans  Search this

Johns, Jasper  Search this

Power, Alan  Search this

Parker, Raymond  Search this

Panza, Giuseppe  Search this

Paik, Nam June  Search this

Landsman, Stanley  Search this

Koons, Jeff  Search this

Klapheck, Konrad  Search this

Kiesler, Frederick  Search this

Morris, Robert  Search this

Marisol  Search this

Gorgoni, Gianfranco  Search this

Heller, Ben  Search this

Flavin, Dan  Search this

Judd, Donald  Search this

Daphnis, Nassos  Search this

Epstein, Ethel Steuer  Search this

Darboven, Hanne  Search this

Barry, Robert  Search this

Artschwager, Richard  Search this

Castelli, Leo  Search this

Bloom, Barbara  Search this

Chryssa  Search this

Christo  Search this

Lichtenstein, Roy  Search this

Tworkov, Jack  Search this

Warhol, Andy  Search this

Weiner, Lawrence  Search this

Stella, Frank  Search this

Tremaine, Burton  Search this

Tremaine, Emily Hall  Search this

Twombly, Cy  Search this

Rowan, Carolyn  Search this

Ruscha, Edward  Search this

Rowan, Robert  Search this

Powers, Kimiko  Search this

Powers, John  Search this

Rosenquist, James  Search this

Rauschenberg, Robert  Search this

Starn, Doug  Search this

Starn, Mike  Search this

Scull, Ethel  Search this

Scarpitta, Salvatore  Search this

Serra, Richard  Search this

Scull, Robert C.  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Multiples, Inc.  Search this

Ferus Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Ileana Sonnabend (Gallery)  Search this

Jewish Museum (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Castelli-Sonnabend Tapes and Films, Inc.  Search this

Dwan Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Dwan Gallery (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Castelli Graphics (Firm)  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Sidney Janis Gallery  Search this

Amsterdam (Netherlands). Stedelijk Museum  Search this

Type:

Interviews

Video recordings

Sketches

Transcripts

Sound recordings

Notes

Visitors' books

Photographs

Notebooks

Awards

Citation:

Leo Castelli Gallery records, circa 1880-2000, bulk 1957-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- New York (State)New York  Search this

Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- History -- New York (State)New York  Search this

Theme:

Art Gallery Records  Search this

Art Market  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7351

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209504

AAA_collcode_leocast

Theme:

Art Gallery Records

Art Market

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209504

Interviewee:

Lijn, Liliane, 1939-  Search this

Interviewer:

Cummings, Paul  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Citation:

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Liliane Lijn, 1972 Oct. 29. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Theme:

Women  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11900

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212851

AAA_collcode_lijn72

Theme:

Women

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212851

Interviewee:

Tremaine, Emily Hall, 1908-1987  Search this

Interviewer:

Cummings, Paul  Search this

Names:

Mondrian, Piet, 1872-1944  Search this

Extent:

47 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1973 January 24

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Emily Tremaine conducted 1973 January 24, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.

Tremaine discusses her mother's interest in art; A. Everett Austin's influencing her to collect art; education abroad; discovery of Piet Mondrian and his work, "Victory Boogie Woogie; Miller Company collection of architectural paintings; her personal collection; pop artists and art; and life as a collector.

Biographical / Historical:

Emily Tremaine (1908-1987) was an art collector from New York, N.Y. who was born in Butte, Montana.

General:

Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 38 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:

This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- History  Search this

Women art collectors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

This interview received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool.

Identifier:

AAA.tremai73

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ab89a3e5-f0de-401a-b4b9-8a21de0c4759

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-tremai73

Interviewee:

Lijn, Liliane, 1939-  Search this

Interviewer:

Cummings, Paul  Search this

Extent:

98 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1972 Oct. 29

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Liliane Lijn conducted 1972 Oct. 29, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. She discusses growing up in New York City; her early education at Hickory Ridge School; living in Switzerland as a teenager; studying at Sorbonne and the École du Louvre; exhibiting work in Paris, New York, and London; sculptural works with plastics and unusual materials; use of light, projections, and reflections in her sculptures; her "Poem Machines," her influences, including physics and Buddhism; her partner Takis (Panayiotis Vassilakis); and sculpture commissions in the United Kingdom.

Biographical / Historical:

Liliane Lijn (1939- ) is an sculptor and painter from New York, New York. She has lived in London, England since 1966.

General:

Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 58 min.

Provenance:

This interview is part of the Archives' 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:

This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

This interview received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool.

Identifier:

AAA.lijn72

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94678e72f-08da-4a4e-85d8-12db0f1654e1

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-lijn72

Creator:

Frank K.M. Rehn Galleries  Search this

Subject:

Burchfield, Charles Ephraim  Search this

Dasburg, Andrew  Search this

Speicher, Eugene Edward  Search this

Bartlett, Frederic Clay  Search this

Bellows, George  Search this

Coleman, Glenn O.  Search this

Cook, Howard Norton  Search this

Cuthbert, Virginia  Search this

Brook, Alexander  Search this

Chappell, Warren  Search this

Clancy, John C.  Search this

Marsh, Felicia Meyer  Search this

Marsh, Reginald  Search this

Mangravite, Peppino  Search this

Orton, J. Robert  Search this

Pepper, Charles Hovey  Search this

McFee, Henry Lee  Search this

Melchers, Gari  Search this

Hawthorne, Charles Webster  Search this

Henri, Robert  Search this

Gellatly, John  Search this

James, Alexander  Search this

Luks, George Benjamin  Search this

Kroll, Leon  Search this

Hopper, Edward  Search this

Hopper, Jo N. (Josephine Nivison)  Search this

Young, Mahonri Mackintosh  Search this

Winters, Denny Sonke  Search this

Phillips, Duncan  Search this

Tucker, Richard Derby  Search this

Tucker, Allen  Search this

Spalding, John T.  Search this

Russo, Alexander  Search this

Poor, Henry Varnum  Search this

Strater, Henry  Search this

Spruance, Benton  Search this

Sparhawk-Jones, Elizabeth  Search this

Type:

Scrapbooks

Sketchbooks

Photographs

Citation:

Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries records, 1858-1969, bulk 1919-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Theme:

Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this

Art Gallery Records  Search this

Art Market  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9193

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211388

AAA_collcode_franrehg

Theme:

Sketches & Sketchbooks

Art Gallery Records

Art Market

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211388

Creator:

Zabriskie Gallery  Search this

Subject:

Zabriskie, Virginia M.  Search this

Galerie Zabriskie  Search this

Citation:

Zabriskie Gallery records, 1905-2011. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Theme:

Art Gallery Records  Search this

Art Market  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)10983

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214845

AAA_collcode_zabrgall

Theme:

Art Gallery Records

Art Market

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_214845

Creator:

Zabriskie Gallery  Search this

Names:

Galerie Zabriskie  Search this

Zabriskie, Virginia M., 1927-1991  Search this

Extent:

110.5 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1905-2011

Summary:

The Zabriskie Gallery records measure 110.5 linear feet and date from 1905 to 2011. The records document the history of the Zabriskie Gallery through leases, permits, floor plans, and other administrative files; guestbooks; appointment books, notebooks, and other desk diaries; correspondence from New York and Paris galleries, museums, clients, and other correspondence; appraisals, inventories, consigments, and other registrar files; artist files consisting of resumes, correspondence, exhibition material, and photographs of artwork; institution files consisting of correspondence, consignments,and artwork inquiries with museums, galleries, and corporations; exhibition files consisting of loan agreements, press releases, and correspondence related to exhibitions shown at the gallery; invoices, price lists, and other financial records; clippings, press packets, newsletters, and other printed material; photographs, slides, and transparencies of exhibitions and artists works; and correspondence, photographs, awards, and other personal records of Virginia Zabriskie.

Scope and Contents:

The Zabriskie Gallery records measure 110.5 linear feet and date from 1905 to 2011. The records document the history of the Zabriskie Gallery through leases, permits, floor plans, and other administrative files; guestbooks; appointment books, notebooks, and other desk diaries; correspondence from New York and Paris galleries, museums, clients, and other correspondence; appraisals, inventories, consigments, and other registrar files; artist files consisting of resumes, correspondence, exhibition material, and photographs of artwork; institution files consisting of correspondence, consignments,and artwork inquiries with museums, galleries, and corporations; exhibition files consisting of loan agreements, press releases, and correspondence related to exhibitions shown at the gallery; invoices, price lists, and other financial records; clippings, press packets, newsletters, and other printed material; photographs, slides, and transparencies of exhibitions and artists works; and correspondence, photographs, awards, and other personal records of Virginia Zabriskie.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into twelve series.

Series 1: Administrative Files, 1969-2010 (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)

Series 2: Guestbooks, 1954-1995 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)

Series 3: Desk Diaries, 1968-1997 (3.4 linear feet; Boxes 3-7)

Series 4: Correspondence, 1958-2010 (7.3 linear feet; Boxes 7-14)

Series 5: Registrar Files, 1970-2010 (10.0 linear feet; Boxes 14-22, 110-111, OV 112)

Series 6: Artist Files, 1905-2010 (66.7 linear feet; Boxes 22-87, OV 113-114)

Series 7: Institution Files, 1951-2009 (5.5 linear feet; Boxes 88-93)

Series 8: Exhibition Files, 1955-2009 (6.3 linear feet; Boxes 93-99)

Series 9: Financial Records, 1960-2011 (3.7 linear feet; Boxes 99-103)

Series 10: Printed Material, 1948-2010 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 103-104)

Series 11: Photographic Material, 1950-2006 (5.6 linear feet; Boxes 103-108, OV 112)

Series 12: Virginia Zabriskie Personal Records, 1943-2008 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 108-109)

Biographical / Historical:

Zabriskie Gallery was founded by Virignia Zabriskie in 1954 when she purchased the Korman Gallery from Marvin Korman. The gallery featured works from artists such as Robert De Niro Sr., Lester Johnson, Mary Frank, and Pat Adams. Some of the more notable exhibitions included "Surrealism 1936 — Objects, Photographs, Collages and Documents" (1986), "Surrealism and the Book" (1991), and "André Masson in America" (1996). In 1977, Zabriskie opened Galerie Zabriskie in Paris to primarily show photography as there was only one gallery at the time doing so in Paris. Zabriskie closed the Galerie Zabriskie in 1998, but continued to operate the Zabriskie Gallery in New York unitl it closed in 2010.

Virginia Zabriskie (1927-2019) was an American art dealer who worked primarily in New York City and Paris. Zabriskie completed her studies in art history at New York University's Institute of Fine Art. Zabriskie became one of the youngest art dealers in New York in 1954 when she purchased the Korman Gallery. Zabriskie was also a founding member of the Art Dealers Association of America.

Related Materials:

Also included in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Virginia Zabriskie conducted by Paul Cummings, May 28-June 6, 1975.

Provenance:

The Zabriskie Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art in seven installments by Virginia Zabriskie between 1992-2011.

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 born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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:

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- France

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)

Citation:

Zabriskie Gallery Records, 1905-2011. 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.

Identifier:

AAA.zabrgall

See more items in:

Zabriskie Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a1494de5-aa0b-4dfb-ade0-49ac762190b2

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-zabrgall

Interviewee:

Howe, Thomas Carr, 1904-1994  Search this

Interviewer:

Fairbanks, Peter  Search this

Subject:

Karlstrom, Paul J  Search this

Neuhaus, Robert, 1909-  Search this

California Palace of the Legion of Honor  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Citation:

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Thomas Carr Howe and Robert Neuhaus, 1987 Sept 25. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Museum directors -- California -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11619

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215597

AAA_collcode_howe87

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_215597

Artist:

Cornell, Joseph  Search this

Names:

Benton, Elizabeth Cornell  Search this

Cornell, Robert  Search this

Extent:

196.8 Linear feet

186 Nitrate negatives

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Nitrate negatives

Photographic photoprints

Photographs

Place:

New York, New York

Date:

1750-1980, bulk 1930-1972

Summary:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection measures 196.8 linear feet and dates from 1750 to 1980, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1972. Documenting the artistic career and personal life of assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), the collection is primarily made up of two- and three-dimensional source material, the contents of the artists' studio, his record album collection, and his book collection and personal library. The collection also includes diaries and notes, financial and estate papers, exhibition materials, collected artifacts and ephemera, photographs, correspondence, and the papers of Robert Cornell (1910-1965) and Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), the artist's brother and mother.

Scope and Contents:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection measures 196.8 linear feet and dates from 1750 to 1980, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930 to 1972. Documenting the artistic career and personal life of assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972), the collection is primarily made up of two- and three-dimensional source material, the contents of the artists' studio, his record album collection, and his book collection and personal library. The collection also includes diaries and notes, financial and estate papers, exhibition materials, collected artifacts and ephemera, photographs, correspondence, and the papers of Robert Cornell (1910-1965) and Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), the artist's brother and mother.

Correspondence is with collectors, museums, galleries, artists, friends, family, charity organizations, admirers and those admired by Cornell, and World War II European pen pals. Discussions about the appreciation, donation, sale, purchase, and exhibition of Cornell's works are frequent, with the inclusion of shipping and loan documentation or notices of payment installments. Galleries and museums frequently request that Cornell agree to an exhibition, which he often declines, and fans request free works be mailed or affordable works be sold to them. With friends, artists, and those he admired, Cornell discussed topics that fascinate him, included bits of poetry or philosophical musings, sent clippings or a collaged letter, and occasionally discussed a project or work in process. After World War II, when so many were displaced by the war in Europe, Cornell answered ads for pen pals in the "Christian Science Monitor," often responding to requests for clothing or other goods, and sometimes exchanging many letters over several years. Family correspondence is with his mother, sisters, brother, and others, and often notes activities of the day, foods eaten, and general musings, as well as occasionally mentioning a project or artwork. Correspondents of note include Stan Brakhage, Betty Freeman, Charles Henri Ford, Allegra Kent, Yayoi Kusama, Roberto Matta, Marianne Moore, Octavio Paz, Sonia Sekula, Pavel Tchelitchew, Parker Tyler, Dorothea Tanning, and Betsy von Furstenberg, among others.

Cornell was often preoccupied with his thoughts, feelings, memories, a project or thematic "exploration," and jotted notes on seemingly any surface available. Notes and musings are on napkins, the backs of envelopes, newspaper clippings, and paper bags from record and magazine stores. Frequently, an observation would trigger a lengthy nostalgic moment, or a "feé," fairy-like child or girl, would capture his imagination and lead him to thoughts of 18th-century ballerinas and silent film stars. Cornell wrote longer diary notes, sometimes expanding on an earlier notation or emotion, and often wrote when he experienced trouble sleeping or woke early. Drafted letters to imaginary muses or admired individuals are interspersed among diaries, often revealing Cornell's yearnings to find emotional intimacy and human connection. Over time, Cornell revisited his notes and occasionally made further notations about renewed thoughts on a topic, dating the note with "revisited" or "reviewed." Notes are often written in a stream-of-consciousness style, for example, jumping from the mention of a record album or composer, to a ballerina of the same period, a note about a French poet, the memory of childhood, or an observation made earlier in the day, all in the space of a few lines. Notes about artistic processes or meanings behind works or images do occasionally emerge from the tangled, poetic notations. Notes also often provide insights into Cornell's internal emotional state and give clues about his intentions behind an artwork or a particular thematic fixation.

Financial materials document Cornell's professional and personal business activities, including the sale of artworks, annual expenses for supplies and household incidentals, payments and schedules for personal assistants, receipts for donations to charities and nonprofits, and tax documents. There is also information about who worked as assistants, or "helpers," in his later years and where Cornell purchased art supplies. Additionally, specific details are documented through receipts and invoices, such as what kind of paint he purchased. Estate records include preparations made for Cornell's artworks after his death, and clippings about other deceased artist's estates show that he thought often about such arrangements in his later years.

Exhibition files highlight several select solo exhibitions for Cornell, as well as preparations and planning for the "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition" in honor of his brother in 1966. Also included are several early exhibition catalogs and announcements, including "Surréalisme" (January 9-29, 1932) and "Exhibition of Objects (Bibloquet) by Joseph Cornell" (December 6-31, 1939) at the Julien Levy Gallery, and "Romantic Museum: Portraits of Women, Constructions and Arrangements by Joseph Cornell" (December 1946) at the Hugo Gallery.

Film projects and collected film materials consist of files related to Cornell's various experimental film projects: "Aviary," "Cappuccino," "Centuries of June," "Fable for Fountains," "Nymphlight," "Serafina's Garden," and unrealized film scenario "Monsieur Phot." Files include film-making notes, correspondence, and photographs. Cornell's interest in film also led him to collect film-related materials, such as film stills, film posters, and screening programs. Scattered correspondence documents the interest other institutions and individuals had in purchasing and viewing his collection. Though most of his collected film stills and movie posters were donated to the Anthology Film Archives, film stills from "Escape Me Never" (1935) and "The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928) are still within the collection, as well as film-screening programs for Cornell's collection of films.

Writing and design projects document Cornell's work authoring articles and designing issues of specialty dance magazine "Dance Index," and his layouts for popular magazines like "Good Housekeeping," "House and Garden," and "Mademoiselle." Other writing projects include brochures dedicated to opera singers Maria Malibran and Giulia Grisi, "Maria" and "Bel Canto Pet." Materials used for these brochures, such as copper photo engraving plates, are also found. Design work includes a series of Christmas cards created with The Museum of Modern Art as well as traced patterns ("textile tracings") and design clippings from Cornell's time working as a "textile designer" for Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio.

Cornell acquired troves of source material from bookstalls, antique stores, sporting good and department stores, hardware stores, and magazine and record shops. He kept boxes and files of material on admired individuals, such as actresses, artists, dancers, and singers, as well as on art projects or thematic "explorations." Files are on general topics such as American history, scientific phenomena, animals, plants, and humankind, as well as on series of artworks, such as "Castles," "Homage to the Romantic Ballet," and "Medici Slot Machines." Focused "exploration" projects include "Celestial Theatre," "Colombier," "GC 44," and "Switzerland," among others. Materials include photographs, photostats, maps, book fragments, autographed letters, notes, collage clippings and cutouts, collected prints and engravings, box and collage fragments, and scattered artifacts.

Collected ephemera includes large amounts of blank postcards and greeting cards, stamps, collected bus and train tickets, food labels and packaging, decals, and other materials. Artifacts are three-dimensional collected objects and source objects, which include found objects from the streets, dried flowers, and pieces of nature gathered from walks around his neighborhood. Cornell may have gathered materials because they inspired a memory or nostalgic feeling, or because they fit with a bin of other similar objects to select from for an artwork in progress.

Photographs found within the collection are of Cornell at work and as a child with family. Also found are assorted personal and family photographs, photographs of Cornell's attic and garage storage, and photographs of his Utopia Parkway house. Photographs of artwork include few installation photographs, in addition to photographs of Cornell's boxes and collages. Collected photographic materials include vintage photographs, such as tintypes, a cyanotype, stereoscopic glass slides, albumen prints, cabinet cards, and cartes-de-visite. Cornell also collected cased photographs, such as daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and one opalotype. Negatives and photostats were often produced from various prints and even other photographs and used in Cornell's boxes and collages. Images are of men and women, actors, authors, dancers, performers, well-known men and women, royalty, places, and artwork. Photographs of note include those by Hans Namuth of Willem and Lisa de Kooning and of Edward Hopper's bedroom; photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson; a photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron; photographs by Brassai; and a photogravure by Alfred Stieglitz from "Camerawork."

Also found in the collection are works of art by others, including a sketch by Pavel Tchelitchew, as well as artwork by Cornell, such as unfinished collages, Rorschach drawings or ink blots, and childhood artwork. Printed material includes assorted bulletins, flyers, exhibition materials for other artists, journals, and sent printed membership and charity materials. Magazines, including "View," are also included, and often have annotations by Cornell or a note to "cut" or "review" with page numbers. A large amount of magazine and newspaper clippings are in the collection, sometimes collected with a group of like material by Cornell, and at other times simply gathered in heaps. Occasional annotations are also found on the clippings.

Cornell's personal library and book collection includes over 2500 titles, ranging from fiction, poetry, and cinema, to history, science, and travel. Notable among the titles are "Baedeker's" travel guides that Cornell often sourced for his "Hotel" box series, as well as an influential publication by Max Ernst, "La Femme 100 têtes," which includes a typed letter and exhibition flyer tucked within. Books often have annotations, some fairly extensive, by Cornell, and assorted collected items, notes, and correspondence tucked between pages. Pages were often cut by Cornell, either to make photostats and use in a box, or to file with other thematic "explorations." A wide range of authors and topics provide insight into Cornell's interests and to ideas behind artwork and diary notes. Cornell's collection of record albums includes over 145 records. These contain inserted notes and clippings and are often referenced in diary notes Cornell made, noting a recent album or song listened to while at work in his studio.

The papers of Cornell's mother, Helen Storms Cornell, and his brother, Robert Cornell, are also included in the collection. Both lived with Cornell his whole life, spending the most time with him at their home at 3708 Utopia Parkway. Financial materials document shared responsibilities for billing, utilities, household fixes and chores, and expenditures, and Helen kept detailed financial records in a series of ledgers. Robert notes when he borrowed money from Cornell, or when he means to pay Cornell back for the purchase of a typewriter. Activities documented in diaries also occasionally cross paths with Cornell, noting his visitors or an exchange of letters continued after introductions through Cornell. Personal activities, such as Robert's interest in his train collection and his drawing projects and cartoon series, are also documented.

Arrangement:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection is arranged into 15 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1917-1972 (Boxes 1, 98, OV118; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1813, 1934-circa 1973 (Boxes 1-8, 86; 6.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries and Notes, 1940-1976 (Boxes 8-10, 98-99, 135, OV108, OV119; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Personal Business and Estate Records, 1950-1978 (Boxes 10-14; 4.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1932-1973 (Box 14; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Film Projects and Collected Film Materials, circa 1924-1972 (Boxes 14-16, 100, 133; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 7: Writing and Design Projects, circa 1910s, 1936-1962 (Boxes 16-18, 86, 100, 131-132, OV109-OV111, OV120-OV122; 3.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Source Material, 1750-circa 1911, 1926-1972 (Boxes 19-49, 86-92, 96, 100-105, 126-130, 132-137, OV112-OV115, OV125; 42.2 linear feet)

Series 9: Artifacts and Ephemera, 1768, circa 1839-1972 (Boxes 49-52; 3.2 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographic Material, circa 1800s-1972 (Boxes 52-56, 80-86, 93, 106, 128, 133, OV116, OV123-OV124; 7.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Artwork, circa 1810-1972 (Boxes 56-57, 107, OV117; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 12: Printed Material, 1855-1972 (Boxes 57-76, 94-96, 107; 16 linear feet)

Series 13: Book Collection and Personal Library, 1722-1980 (99.8 linear feet)

Series 14: Record Album Collection, circa 1925-1974 (3.2 linear feet)

Series 15: Cornell Family Papers, 1910-1980 (Boxes 77-79, 97, 107; 3.2 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) was a self-taught assemblage and collage artist, and filmmaker, active in New York City. He was born in Nyack, New York on December 24, 1903, and died of heart failure at his home in Queens, New York on December 29, 1972. The oldest of four children, he was born Joseph I. Cornell to his mother, Helen Storms Cornell (1882-1966), and his father, Joseph I. Cornell (1875-1917). Cornell had two younger sisters, Elizabeth ("Betty") Cornell Benton (1905-2000) and Helen ("Sissy") Cornell Jagger (1906-2001), as well as one brother, Robert Cornell (1910-1965), who had cerebral palsy.

Cornell attended the Phillips Academy, a preparatory boarding school in Andover, Massachusetts, beginning shortly after his father's death in 1917. He attended for four years but did not receive a diploma, and soon began work as a textile salesman for the William Whitman Company in Manhattan. His work took him, by foot, through the city, visiting secondhand bookshops on Fourth Avenue, browsing music stores and magazine shops, and catching early shows at the Metropolitan Opera House. He would occasionally wait outside the stage doors for favorite singers and dancers to emerge, requesting signatures on photographs or bits of costumes.

Around 1926, Cornell joined the Christian Science Church, joined by his brother Robert shortly thereafter, and both continued to be lifelong members. Cornell kept a number of books in his personal library on Christian Science teachings and regularly subscribed to "The Christian Science Monitor."

After living in several rental houses in Bayside, New York, Cornell's mother purchased a house for the family in 1929 in Flushing, Queens. Cornell, along with his mother and brother, would live at 3708 Utopia Parkway, for the rest of their lives. His two sisters soon married and moved away, eventually settling in Westhampton, Long Island and in the poultry-farming business.

With no formal art training to speak of, Cornell's first work was a Max Ernst-inspired collage, "Untitled (Schooner)," created in 1931. He was especially inspired by Ernst's collage novel, "La Femme 100 têtes," published in 1929. French artist Odilon Redon was also among the few artists Cornell named as an influence on his art. His first sculptural works were small, cardboard pill boxes with bits of ephemera, costume adornments, and nature hidden inside. Cornell also created a series of glass bell jar works, placing small trinkets and Victorian-era-like compositions within. It was these early collages and bell jar works that were included in Cornell's debut exhibition, "Surréalisme" (January 9-29, 1932), a group show at the Julien Levy Gallery. Cornell designed the announcement for the show and exhibited alongside Max Ernst, Man Ray, Pierre Roy, Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, Eugène Atget, George Platt Lynes, Jean Cocteau, and Salvador Dalí. Months later, Cornell was invited to have his first solo show, "Objects by Joseph Cornell: Minutiae, Glass Bells, Shadow Boxes, Coups d'Oeil, Jouets Surréalistes" (November 26-December 30, 1932), also at the Julien Levy Gallery.

In 1932, after eleven years of work, Cornell was laid off from the William Whitman Company due to the Great Depression. Soon after, he took on more responsibility in the church, working part-time as an attendant in the Christian Science Reading Room in Great Neck, New York. Beginning in 1933, he taught Sunday school classes for three years and in 1935, became the Sunday school librarian. However, his religious activities and artistic ventures continued to remain separate.

In the early 1930s, Cornell progressed from movie lover to filmmaker. When Julien Levy began his New York Film Society in 1933, holding screenings of various experimental films in the gallery, Cornell began buying and collecting films and film stills in earnest. He set up a 16-millimeter projector in his home to screen favorites, such as those by Georges Méliès, D.W. Griffith, and Louis Feuillade. His collection quickly grew to over 2,500 film stills and several hundred films, and included silent era films, such as nature documentaries, goofy newsreels, travelogues, early cartoons, and slapstick comedies, as well as several feature films. In 1933, Cornell wrote a screenplay, or "scenario," entitled "Monsieur Phot." Between 1935 and 1937, Cornell also occasionally created publicity photomontages for Universal and Columbia studios. Of the nearly thirty films Cornell created, periods of activity can generally be separated into two areas: collage films of the late 1930s, consisting of combined elements from films in his own collection, and films he directed in the 1950s, which were collaborations with other filmmakers set in New York City. "Rose Hobart," Cornell's most celebrated collage film, was created and shown in the Julien Levy Gallery in 1936 and includes clipped footage from "East of Borneo." Later films were directed and filmed with cinematographers Stan Brakhage, Rudy Burckhardt, and Larry Jordan.

In 1934, Cornell began a job at the Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio as a "textile designer," a job he held for six years. Continuing to work at his kitchen table in the evenings, Cornell completed his first assemblage box construction, "Untitled (Soap Bubble Set)," in 1936. It was first exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art's show, "Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism" (December 9, 1936-January 17, 1937). This work was also the first to be acquired by a museum, purchased for $60.00 by the Wadsworth Atheneum in Massachusetts in 1938. Cornell's European debut was also in 1938, as one of three Americans represented in the "Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme" (January 17-Febuary 24, 1938) at the Galerie Beaux-Arts in Paris, alongside Man Ray and Anne Clark.

At the end of 1939, Cornell began corresponding with poet Charles Henri Ford, founder of avant-garde magazine "View," Pavel Tchelitchew, and Parker Tyler. After his "Soap Bubble Sets," this period saw the development of Cornell's homages to singers and actresses, including "Untitled (Fortune-Telling Parrot for Carmen Miranda)," the destroyed "Garbo (Greta Garbo in the Legendary Film 'The Crystal Mask,' c. 1845)," and "Dressing Room for Gilles." He also began using photostats of art reproduction prints, as with the print of Jean Antoine-Watteau's painting, "Pierrot" (circa 1719), used in his "Gilles" box.

In the 1940s, the Romantic ballet emerged as Cornell's new topic of interest. Through his friend Pavel Tchelitchew, Cornell was introduced to the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet founders, Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine. Cornell collected dance memorabilia and had a great love of the Romantic ballet. His favorite dancers were primarily ballerinas of the nineteenth century, including Fanny Cerrito, Marie Taglioni, Fanny Elssler, Lucille Grahn, and Carlotta Grisi. Cornell's "Homage to the Romantic Ballet" works largely took the shape of jewel-box style wooden boxes with glass overlays and included bits of velvet, tulle, sequins, crystals, and chiffon, occasionally collected from dancers themselves. His most well-known work of this series is "Taglioni's Jewel Casket" (1940). Cornell also admired several living ballet dancers, including Tamara Toumanova, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Allegra Kent, who would all make their way into Cornell's box works and/or collages. Collecting for the "exploration," "Portrait of Ondine," Cornell's cased portfolio dedication to Fanny Cerrito and her role in the ballet "Ondine," began in the 1940s, though not completed until around 1960.

In late 1940, Cornell quit his job at Traphagen to concentrate on freelance commercial magazine design and editorial work during the day and his artwork at night. That same year, Charles Henri Ford started "View" magazine to promote Surrealists and Neo-Romantics in New York City and often asked Cornell to contribute. Published in the December 1941-January 1942 issue, one of his early contributions was a collage dedication to stage actress Hedy Lamarr: "Enchanted Wanderer: Excerpt from a Journey Album for Hedy Lamarr" (1941). Along with writing the accompanying text, he created a photomontage of Lamarr with her face overlaying the painted portrait of a Renaissance boy by Italian painter Giorgione. Peggy Guggenheim, at the advice of Marcel Duchamp, purchased multiple Cornell works prior to opening her new gallery, Art of This Century. Cornell also befriended Roberto Matta Echaurren, another Surrealist living in exile, who introduced him to Robert Motherwell.

After deciding to fully dedicate his time to his art in early 1940, he set up a studio in his basement. Complete with floor-to-ceiling wooden shelving, he kept his large collection of boxed source material stacked with handwritten labels in cardboard boxes. Themed folders of materials such as "Stamps" or "Maps" were kept in stacks and works in progress and finished works were stored in the basement, garage, and attic. Entering a renewed period of productivity, Cornell embarked on many new and important box projects in 1942. One of the first boxes created in his new basement studio, and the first of the "Penny Arcade" or "Medici Slot Machine" series, was "Medici Slot Machine" (1942), which includes a photostat of "Portrait of Marquess Massimiliano Stampa" (1557) by Sofonisba Anguissola. Another work from this time is the first of his "Castle" or "Palace" series, "Setting for a Fairy Tale" (1942), which uses a photostat of a French building from Jacques Androuet du Cerceau's book, "Les Plus excellents bastiments de France" (1576). "Untitled (Pharmacy)" (circa 1942) was the first of his "Pharmacy" series and included twenty-two apothecary jars. Cornell tended to work in series and created thirteen "Palace" boxes between 1942 and 1951, and ultimately created six "Pharmacy" works.

In 1943, Cornell began working at an electronics company, the Allied Control Company, Inc., to do his part to contribute to the defense effort during the war. He also sent correspondence and care packages to displaced Europeans, who listed their needs in "The Christian Science Monitor." Influenced by World War II, one of his strongest works to emerge in 1943 was "Habitat Group for a Shooting Gallery." Another notable work to come out of this period, "The Crystal Cage (Portrait of Berenice)," was an excerpt from one of his album "explorations" that was published in the January 1943 issue of "View."

Cornell left his job at Allied Control in 1944, but soon began working at the Garden Centre in Flushing, owned by a fellow Christian Scientist. Cornell was often nostalgic for this time in his life, devoting an entire "exploration" of material fondly remembered as "GC 44." He rode a bicycle to work and enjoyed collecting trips gathering dried grasses, driftwood, shells, and other relics of nature on the same bicycle as he rode through the streets of Queens. During this time, he continued to tend to his projects for "Dance Index," a magazine founded in 1942 by Lincoln Kirstein, but taken over by Donald Windham in 1944. Cornell designed several covers for the magazine and was given control of the entire summer 1944 issue, which he devoted to the Romantic ballet. He also devoted a special 1945 issue to Hans Christian Andersen, making great use of the New York Public Library Picture Collection.

Throughout the 1940s, Cornell continued to support himself with commercial design work for magazines like "Vogue," "Good Housekeeping," "Harper's Bazaar," "Town & Country," and "Mademoiselle." In 1946, after thirteen years at the Julien Levy Gallery, he joined the Hugo Gallery. In December 1946, Cornell's solo exhibition, "Romantic Museum at the Hugo Gallery: Portraits of Women by Joseph Cornell," celebrated his favorite movie stars, singers, and ballet dancers, and included his work created for the show, "Untitled (Penny Arcade Portrait of Lauren Bacall)." Cornell's "Greta Garbo" box, as well as "Souvenir for Singleton," an homage to Jennifer Jones and her role in the film "Love Letters," were also included in the show. In late 1948, his West Coast debut was in the exhibition, "Objects by Joseph Cornell," held at the Copley Gallery. The end of the 1940s saw the final issue of "View" magazine in 1947, the closure of the Julien Levy Gallery in April 1949, and Cornell's departure from the Hugo Gallery after his last show in November 1949.

In late 1949, Cornell joined the Charles Egan Gallery, known primarily for showing Abstract Expressionists. At this time, Cornell was working on a new series of boxes known as his "Aviary" works, most of which include a white-painted box with cutouts of birds mounted on wood. Though he had worked on bird-related boxes before, including an "Owl" series in the mid-1940s, his "Fortune Telling Parrot" (1939), and "Object 1941" (1941), these newer works were stripped of French elements and left "clean and abstract" by design. His first show at the Egan Gallery, "Aviary by Joseph Cornell" (December 7, 1949-January 7, 1950), included twenty-six "Aviary" works, nearly all created in 1949. Donald Windham agreed to write the foreword for the exhibition catalog, a single folded sheet, and Cornell gave him one of the boxes in the show, "Cockatoo: Keepsake Parakeet," in appreciation. Through the Egan Gallery, Cornell became friends with a new group of artists, including Franz Kline, Jack Tworkov, and Willem de Kooning. Cornell also held two screenings of a selection of his collected films at Subjects of the Artist, an art school founded by Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, David Hare, and William Baziotes.

In 1950, Cornell's second show at the Egan Gallery, "Night Songs and Other New Work" (December 1, 1950-January 13, 1951), introduced his new "Observatory" series. These works are largely defined by stark, whitewashed spaces with astronomical charts and constellations replacing colorful birds. The Museum of Modern Art purchased its first Cornell work from this show in early 1951, "Central Park Carrousel, in Memoriam" (1950).

For three months in 1951, Cornell was beset by various ailments and had trouble finding the energy to create new work. He worried more for his aging mother and the health of his brother. After a monthlong vacation with his sisters in Westhampton, he returned with renewed interest in Emily Dickinson's poetry. His whitewashed boxes took on a new form in his newest "Dovecote" series, using grids and circular cutouts. The works then transformed into homages to Dickinson, notably "Toward the Blue Peninsula: For Emily Dickinson" (circa 1953), and then to his "Hotel" series. Cornell's "Hotel" boxes include photostats of vintage European ads for hotels collected from vintage travel guides, especially "Baedeker's," adhered to the back walls of the boxes. Another new series of work, his "Juan Gris" series, was dedicated to Cubist artist Juan Gris. Between 1953 and the mid-1960s, Cornell created at least fifteen "Juan Gris" boxes, which often include a cutout of a white cockatoo in a Cubist-collage habitat. Cornell's third and last show at Egan Gallery, "Night Voyage" (February 10-March 28, 1953), included some of these newest works. After leaving Egan Gallery, his work was introduced to Chicago collectors in a solo show at the Frumkin Gallery, "Joseph Cornell: 10 Years of His Art" (April 10-May 7, 1953), which included nearly thirty pieces. Cornell's first museum retrospective was this same show held at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis (July 12-August 30, 1953).

As New York City continued to change, Cornell grew more nostalgic for the city he had explored since the 1920s. The impending closure of the Third Avenue El train prompted him to dream up a film project to capture its last days, resulting in "Gnir Rednow," a reworking of Stan Brakhage's 1955, "Wonder Ring." During this time, Cornell joined the Stable Gallery, run by Eleanor Ward, interacting often with Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Joan Mitchell, remaining there until the end of the 1950s. His astronomy-themed exhibition, "Winter Night Skies" (December 12, 1955-January 13, 1956), included his "Night Skies" series of work with celestial chart fragments, Greek mythological figures, and paint-splattered "windows" representative of star-filled night skies. In 1956, he became aware of ballerina Allegra Kent, and began a series of work devoted to her, the first of which was "Via Parmigianino (Villa Allegra)" (1956), which included a photostat of a painting by Parmigianino, "The Madonna of the Long Neck" (circa 1540). In late 1957, after two years, Cornell had his last show at Stable Gallery, "Joseph Cornell: Selected Works" (December 2-31, 1957), consisting of a series of "Sand Fountain" boxes and "Space Object" or "Celestial Navigation" works. The "Sand Fountain" boxes included different colors of sand meant to flow within, often from the tops into cordial glasses. His "Celestial Navigations" included galaxy-like compositions set within the boxes, with rolling, painted cork balls, metal rings, and constellation charts, sometimes hovering over cordial glasses or clay pipes. This last Stable Gallery show earned him his first published profile, written by Howard Griffin for the December 1957 issue of "Art News." Also in 1957, he won the Kohnstamm Prize for Construction at the Art Institute of Chicago's 62rd Annual Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture.

Towards the end of the 1950s, Cornell spent less time creating new bodies of work, and focused more on revisiting previous series and reviewing piles of collected source material. In 1959, Cornell returned to making collages, frequently sourcing popular magazines. In December 1959, Cornell was awarded $1,500 for his "Orion" collage, entered in the Art Institute of Chicago's "63rd American Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture." Also in December, he was offered a show at Bennington College in Vermont, which he titled, "Bonitas Solstitialis: Selected Works by Joseph Cornell and an exploration of the Colombier" (November 20-December 15, 1959). The show included one of his newest "explorations" of collected material related to "colombier," or pigeon houses.

By 1962, Cornell was working diligently on new collages, using Masonite boards and colorful magazine clippings. He also began creating collages using nude images interspersed with constellation clippings or hazy blue dyes. As in previous decades and art movements, Cornell became acquainted with new artists, spending less time in the city and more time hosting visitors at his Utopia Parkway home. Visitors included artists Walter De Maria, Robert Whitman, Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist, and Robert Indiana. Tony Curtis also became a frequent visitor and friend, introduced by Richard Feigen in 1964. The early 1960s was also the first time Cornell put out an advertisement for assistants in the "Long Island Star-Journal," employing a number of young men and women who helped organize clippings and run errands. Cornell also met Joyce Hunter, a young runaway waitress at a city coffee shop, who would occupy his thoughts and diary notes for the next several years. When she was murdered at the end of 1964, Cornell paid for her funeral. He went on to make several "Penny Arcade" collages in memoriam to her, including, "Penny Arcade (re-autumnal)" (1964).

In 1964, Cornell began friendships with several women including artist Carolee Schneeman, who was his first assistant in the early 1960s. He also met artist Yayoi Kusama through art dealer Gertrude Stein. After becoming friends, she visited him often and they exchanged letters and notes. As he did with other artist friends, Cornell supported her by purchasing several of her early watercolor paintings, and they stayed connected until his death in 1972.

Cornell's life greatly changed in 1965 with the death of his brother, Robert. By this time, his mother lived with his sister in Long Island, and Cornell was alone in the Utopia Parkway house for the first time. He exchanged frequent letters and phone calls with his mother and devoted much time to thinking about Robert and Joyce, often aligning them in his diary notations. Cornell also created a series of collages dedicated to his brother's memory, incorporating photostats of Robert's hundreds of drawings into Cornell's work, as with the later collage, "The Heart on the Sleeve" (1972). Cornell's "Time Transfixed" series of collages were also dedications to Robert's memory, referencing Magritte and Robert's love of trains. He mounted an exhibition, "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition" (January 4-29, 1966), at the Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, where he showed Robert's artwork alongside his newly created collage dedications.

After Robert's death, Cornell relied more heavily on assistants, going through many part-time "helpers." In October 1966, Cornell's mother died, adding her to his constant thoughts and diaries. Though he was still grieving, he was given two major retrospectives in 1967. The first was at the Pasadena Art Museum, put on by James Demetrion and Walter Hopps, "An Exhibiton of Works by Joseph Cornell" (January 9-February 11, 1967). The second retrospective was at the Guggenheim Museum just three months later, "Joseph Cornell" (May 4-June 35, 1967), organized by Diane Waldman. After these shows, he was highlighted in the December 15, 1967 issue of "Life" in the article, "The Enigmatic Bachelor of Utopia Parkway."

In 1968, Cornell was given an "award of merit," which included a medal and $1,000, by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He was also given a medal and $1,000 by the Brandeis University Creative Arts Awards in the painting category, along with an exhibition. Days later, "The New York Times" announced Cornell the winner, along with Donald Judd, of India's first Triennale of Contemporary World Art. The Brandeis exhibition, "Boxes and Collages by Joseph Cornell" (May 20-June 23, 1968), was organized by William Seitz and concentrated on Cornell's more recent 1960s collages. Cornell was also included in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's hundredth anniversary show, "New York Painting and Sculpture: 1940 to 1970" (October 18, 1969-February 1, 1970), where twenty-two of Cornell's boxes were shown in their own gallery. At the end of 1970, Cornell was given a solo show at the Metropolitan, "Collages by Joseph Cornell" (December 10, 1970-January 24, 1971), which included forty-five of his newest collages.

Now preferring to stay closer to his home in Flushing, Cornell was more interested in sharing his art with young adults and children, than an adult audience. He hosted a group of high school students, sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's education department, at his home in conjunction with his collage show (1970-1971). He also showed his work in the art department of Queens College of the City University of New York. Cornell still hosted visitors on occasion, having Yoko Ono and John Lennon at his home at least once. Leila Hadley, Betsy von Furstenberg, and Anne Jackson also made frequent visits. With his deteriorating health, Cornell worried about what would happen to his work after his death and hired lawyer Harry Torczyner to help him plan his estate and get his affairs in order.

In 1972, Cornell had a show at the Cooper Union, a college in New York, specifically for children. He displayed his boxes and collages at child-height and had cherry soda and brownies at the opening reception on February 10. He then held a show at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, also for children: "Children's Preview of the Exhibition of Joseph Cornell – Collages and Boxes (April 18-June 17, 1972). In the winter of 1972, at the request of the Phoenix House drug treatment and prevention program, Cornell contributed to a charity project compiling limited-edition lithographic prints for a portfolio, which included artists like David Hockney, James Rosenquist, and Ellsworth Kelly.

On December 29, 1972, a week after turning sixty-nine, Cornell died of heart failure at his home. He was cremated and interred near the graves of his mother, father, and brother, overlooking the Hudson River in Nyack, New York.

Works Cited:

1. Hartigan, Lynda Roscoe. "Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination." New Haven, Connecticut and London: Yale University Press, 2007. Exhibition Catalog.

2. McShine, Kynaston. "Joseph Cornell." New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1980.

3. San Francisco Cinematheque and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "Joseph Cornell: Films." 2007. Exhibition Program. (Presented in conjunction with SFMOMA's exhibition of "Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination").

4. Schaffner, Ingrid and Lisa Jacobs. "Julien Levy: Portrait of an Art Gallery." Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: The MIT Press, 1998.

5. Solomon, Deborah. "Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell." New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.

Separated Materials:

The Smithsonian Archives of American Art houses the Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972.

Provenance:

The Joseph Cornell Study Center collection was donated to the Smithsonian American Art Museum by Joseph Cornell's sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth Cornell Benton and John A. Benton, in 1978, which prompted the creation of the Joseph Cornell Study Center. Additional materials were donated in installments by the artist's estate, the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, from 1985 to 1997. Elizabeth and John A. Benton originally donated 66 linear feet of three-dimensional and non-textual source material and 50 linear feet of books to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, which were subsequently transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Joseph Cornell Study Center in 1994 and 1995.

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.

Rights:

Unpublished materials are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Occupation:

Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Assemblage (Art)  Search this

Assemblage artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Found objects (Art)  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Celebrities  Search this

Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographic photoprints -- Silver gelatin -- 1900-1950

Photographs -- 1860-1870 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver albumen -- Cartes-de-visite

Photographs -- Daguerreotypes -- 1840-1860

Citation:

Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was generously provided by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.

Identifier:

SAAM.JCSC.1

See more items in:

Joseph Cornell Study Center Collection

Archival Repository:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Research and Scholars Center

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ih7d97fc249-474d-41bf-953d-5305df1e4c06

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-saam-jcsc-1

Creator:

Fendrick Gallery  Search this

Names:

Barbara Fendrick Gallery  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Arneson, Robert, 1930-1992  Search this

Bailey, William, 1930-2020  Search this

Benes, Barton Lidic  Search this

Brush, Daniel  Search this

Castle, Wendell, 1932-2018  Search this

Cottingham, Robert, 1935-  Search this

Drake, James, 1946-  Search this

Dreyfuss, John, 1949-  Search this

Dusenbery, Walter, 1939-  Search this

Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this

Gilliam, Sam, 1933-2022  Search this

Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this

KaskeyRaymond J., 1943-  Search this

Lalanne, Claude  Search this

Lalanne, François Xavier  Search this

Maria da Conceição  Search this

Paley, Albert  Search this

Raffael, Joseph, 1933-  Search this

Summer, Carol  Search this

Tenneson, Joyce, 1945-  Search this

Woodyard, William  Search this

Extent:

106.4 Linear feet

0.008 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Account books

Photographs

Date:

1952-2001

Summary:

The records of the Fendrick Gallery measure 106.4 linear feet and 0.008 GB and span the years 1952 to 2001. The bulk of the collection is comprised of artist's files that document the gallery's relations with and representation of over 300 contemporary artists and sculptors, including Robert Arneson, William Bailey, Daniel Brush, Wendell Castle, Robert Cottingham, James Drake, John Dreyfuss, Walter Dusenbury, Roger Essley, Helen Frankenthaler , Sam Gilliam, Jasper Johns, Raymond Kaskey, Claude and Francois Lalanne, Albert Paley, Joseph Raffael, Carol Summer, and numerous other artists. Also found are subject, exhibition, commission, administrative, and financial files, as well as files documenting the gallery's relationship with other museums and galleries.

Scope and Content Note:

The records of the Fendrick Gallery measure 106.4 linear feet and 0.008 GB and span the years 1952 to 2001. The bulk of the collection is comprised of artist's files that document the gallery's relationships with and representation of over 300 contemporary artists, including Robert Arneson, William Bailey, Daniel Brush, Wendell Castle, Robert Cottingham, James Drake, John Dreyfuss, Walter Dusenbury, Roger Essley, Helen Frankenthaler, Sam Gilliam, Jasper Johns, Raymond Kaskey, Claude and Francois Lalanne, Albert Paley, Joseph Raffael, Carol Summer, and numerous other artists. Also found are subject, exhibition, commission, administrative, and financial files, as well as files documenting the gallery's relationship with other museums and galleries.

Series 1, Artist's Files, measures almost 42 linear feet and dates from 1962-2001. Found here are files documenting the gallery's relationship with over 300 contemporary artists. Files typically contain correspondence, sales receipts, printed materials, exhibition catalogs and announcements, commission information, photographs, slides, and other materials.

Series 2, Albert Paley, 1970-2001, and undated, provides detailed documentation (14.5 linear feet) of the Fendrick gallery's representation of prominent American metal sculptor Albert Paley. The gallery represented Paley from the early 1980s through the early 1990s and devoted a great deal of its resources promoting Paley's work through exhibitions and commissioned sales. Correspondence between the Fendrick Galleries and Paley Studios is found in this series, along with publicity materials, commission proposals and sketches, exhibition materials, and audio-visual and photographic documentation of Paley's work. Researchers should also consult Series 3 for additional documentation of Paley's commissioned projects.

Series 3, Commissioned Works and Projects, 1972-2000, and undated, documents the variety of commissions and special projects the gallery arranged and managed on behalf of its represented artists. Because privately commissioned work and government-sponsored public art projects represented a significant source of revenue for the Fendrick galleries, the gallery devoted a substantial amount of time and resources towards securing these projects. These files contain applications, proposals, sketches, correspondence, photographs and other material arranged by name of project.

Series 4, Exhibition Files, 1961, 1970-1996, and undated, houses files relating to exhibitions organized by Fendrick Gallery. Found here are exhibition announcements, invitations, and catalogs; specific named exhibition files; and files concerning special projects or exhibitions, often jointly curated with other galleries or institutions. The Fendrick gallery was also actively involved in various governmental programs, such as Art in the Embassies Program, and organized traveling exhibits or loaned artwork to them.

The gallery's relationships with other galleries, museums, institutions, and art organizations is documented in Series 5, Museums and Galleries Files, 1952-2000, and undated. Many of the files concern loans, exhibition venues, and joint exhibitions or projects.

Series 6, Subject Files, 1952, 1960-2001, and undated contain numerous files arranged by subject heading. Here, researchers will find information collected and maintained by the gallery on various art medium, artists of interest, exhibition catalogs from museums and other galleries, information about small and fine art presses. Of particular interest are several folders entitled "Fine Art Printers & Publishers." Barbara Fendrick's early years in the art business centered upon exhibiting, promoting, and selling prints produced by young, emerging American artists. The information found here documents her growing personal relationships with some of the most prominent artists and printmakers of this era.

Records documenting administrative, business, operating, and financial affairs are arranged in Series 7, Administrative and Financial Files, 1960-2001, and undated. Found here are records of both the Barbara Fendrick Gallery (New York) and the Fendrick Gallery (Washington, D.C.), as well as files that document Barbara Fendrick's role as art consultant, appraiser, lecturer, exhibition juror, and guest curator. Found are numerous inventory cards, insurance records, consignment files, general correspondence, lists, loan files, notebooks, real estate files, card files on artists and clients, and history files. Of particular interest are the Day Books/Dailies maintained by the New York gallery staff consisting of entries and notes regarding prospective clients and their interests. The Telephone Log Books contain details of telephone conversations with artists, clients, dealers, and other art professionals. Series 7 also houses the financial records of both galleries, including invoices, financial statements, expenses, accounts, and tax records.

Arrangement:

The Fendrick Gallery records were processed to the series, subseries, and folder level. The collection is arranged into seven series. Items within folders, for the most part, were not fully sorted or preserved. When possible, materials were generally arranged at least by year. Within Series 1, Artists' Files, each set of folders for a particular artist are only given span dates. Due to the amount and complexity of material compiled on the artist Albert Paley, his files are arranged into a separate series of their own.

Missing Title

Series 1: Artists Files, 1962-2001, undated (Box 1-42, OV 108-110; 41.5 linear ft.)

Series 2: Albert Paley, 1970-2001, undated (Box 42-54; Box 107, OV 111-113, 117-118, FC 119; 14.6 linear ft., ER01; 0.001 GB)

Series 3: Commissioned Works and Projects, 1972- 2000, undated (Box 54-57; 3.5 linear ft.)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1961, 1970-1996, undated (Box 58-63; 5.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Museums and Galleries Files, 1952-200, undated (Box 64-73; 9.25 linear feet)

Series 6: Subject Files, 1952, 1960-2001, undated (Box 73-88, OV 115-116, FC 120; 15.6 linear ft.)

Series 7: Administrative and Financial Files, undated (Box 88-106; OV, ER02-ER03; 0.008 GB)

Historical Note:

The Fendrick Gallery was established in 1960 as a "by appointment only" gallery out of Barbara Fendrick's Washington, D.C., area home. Initially the gallery promoted contemporary American and European prints by emerging artists and also commissioned print editions by nationally-known artists. During the mid 1960s, the Fendrick Gallery also coordinated and produced art exhibitions on a contract basis for the United States Information Agency. The gallery was responsible for organizing the first large American art exhibition at the Department of State and the Federal Reserve.

In May, 1970 the Fendrick Gallery moved into a three-story townhouse in Georgetown and began presenting regular exhibitions open to the public. The gallery offered many prominent American artists, such as Robert Arneson, Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Louise Nevelson, and Robert Rauschenberg their first solo shows in the nation's capital. The Fendrick Gallery also represented many nationally known sculptors, such as John Dreyfuss, Walter Dusenbery, Raymond Kaskey, and Albert Paley.

Over the years, Fendrick Gallery promoted many emerging artists who were breaking down the barriers between art and craft in the areas of clay, furniture, metal, and book arts. The gallery held the first major show of contemporary ceramics on the East Coast, with the 1976 exhibition, Clay USA. The gallery also received critical acclaim for its exhibitions in the area of "book arts" and held four shows featuring the works of prominent American and international book artists.

In 1987 and 1988, the gallery expanded and opened the Barbara Fendrick Gallery in the Soho section of New York City. The New York location operated as both a gallery space and storage area and was often referred to as "The Warehouse." Both the Fendrick Gallery and the Barbara Fendrick Gallery closed in the summer of 1991, but Barbara Fendrick continues to work as an art consultant, appraiser, exhibition juror, lecturer, and guest curator.

Provenance:

The records of the Fendrick Gallery were donated to the Archives of American Art by Barbara Fendrick in 1999, with an addition to the records in 2001.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research. Use of unmicrofilmed material requires an appointment.

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:

Art -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Furniture designers  Search this

Artists -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this

Sculptors  Search this

Artists' books  Search this

Printmakers  Search this

Metal-workers  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- Washington (D.C.)

Genre/Form:

Account books

Photographs

Citation:

Fendrick Gallery records, 1952-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.fendgall

See more items in:

Fendrick Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c38a61dc-847b-4624-aa9c-0b53206502b3

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-fendgall

Interviewee:

Tremaine, Emily Hall, 1908-1987  Search this

Interviewer:

Cummings, Paul  Search this

Subject:

Mondrian, Piet  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Citation:

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Emily Tremaine, 1973 January 24. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- History  Search this

Women art collectors  Search this

Theme:

Women  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11938

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213174

AAA_collcode_tremai73

Theme:

Women

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213174

Creator:

Johnson, Ellen H.  Search this

Names:

Allen Memorial Art Museum  Search this

American-Scandinavian Foundation  Search this

College Art Association (U.S.)  Search this

Oberlin College -- Faculty  Search this

Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964  Search this

Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906  Search this

Dine, Jim, 1935-  Search this

Hesse, Eva, 1936-1970  Search this

Kensett, John Frederick, 1816-1872  Search this

Milles, Carl, 1875-1955  Search this

Oldenburg, Claes, 1929-  Search this

Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this

Saunders, David  Search this

Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946  Search this

Tacha, Athena, 1936-  Search this

Tworkov, Jack  Search this

Venturi, Robert  Search this

Wilke, Wendell  Search this

Extent:

61.5 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Place:

Ossabaw Island (Ga.)

Date:

1872-2018

bulk 1921-1992

Summary:

The papers of art historian, art critic, author, librarian and educator Ellen Hulda Johnson measure 61.5 linear feet and date from 1872-2018, with the bulk of the material dating from 1921-1992. The papers include biographical materials; personal and family files; personal, professional, and business correspondence; extensive research and writing files; teaching files; subject files; professional and curatorial files; and artists' files. Johnson's papers reflect the full range of her career, interests, and close relationships with many artists. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes letters to Ellen Johnson from others, letters from Johnson to Carl Gerber, and a sketch by Johnson. Materials date from circa 1956-1991.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of art historian, art critic, author, librarian and educator Ellen Hulda Johnson measure 61.5 linear feet and date from 1872-2018, with the bulk of the material dating from 1921-1992. The papers include biographical materials; personal and family files; personal, professional, and business correspondence; extensive research and writing files; teaching files; subject files; professional and curatorial files; and artists' files. Johnson's papers reflect the full range of her career, interests, and close relationships with many artists. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes letters to Ellen Johnson from others, letters from Johnson to Carl Gerber, and a sketch by Johnson. Materials date from circa 1956-1991.

Personal papers consist of biographical materials and personal and family files, including "memorabilia" files compiled by Johnson. Correspondence is a mix of personal, business, and professional correspondence. Significant correspondents include David Saunders (who painted a portrait of Johnson), Claes Oldenburg, Jack Tworkov, Robert Venturi, the American Scandinavian Foundation. A folder of correspondence compiled for the Archives includes letters from Alfred Stieglitz, Wendell Wilkie, Carl Milles, Jim Dine, and Alexander Archipenko.

Extensive and comprehensive writing and research project files include articles, lectures, presentations, manuscripts, notes and notebooks, including her class notebooks from courses she attended in Paris in 1935, and additional notes and notebooks on a wide variety of subjects. The numerous articles, lectures, papers, and drafts were written primarily by Johnson for the College Art Association, the Allen Memorial Art Museum bulletin, and numerous additional publications and presentations; but there are also writings by others included in the research files. Major writing projects and related research files cover Scandinavian art, the Ossabaw Island artist's colony, Cezanne, Eva Hesse, John Frederick Kensett, Claes Oldenburg, Picasso, David Saunders, Athena Tacha, Pop Art, and many other topics. Johnson's research files, manuscripts, correspondence, and photographs for major exhibitions, including one on Eva Hesse (1982) and for her published books including American Artists on Art from 1940-1980 (1982), Claes Oldenburg (1971), Fragments Recalled at 80: The Art Memoirs of Ellen H. Johnson (1993), and Modern Art and Object (1976) are arranged with the writing project files. Johnson's bibliographic index cards are found here as well.

The collection contains extensive teaching files for courses taught by Johnson at Oberlin and as a visiting professor at other institutions; professional and curatorial files reflecting her curatorial career at Allen Memorial Art Museum, as a consultant, jury member, and continuing education courses she later attended, including the Baldwin Lecture Series; and 18 linear feet of artist's files assembled by Johnson.

Arrangement:

The Ellen Hulda Johnson papers are arranged into seven series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Personal Papers, circa 1905-2009 (5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 56-59)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1927-2009 (5.5 linear feet; Boxes 3-7, 60)

Series 3: Writing and Research Projects, 1872, 1932-1994 (15.5 linear feet; Boxes 7-20, 56, 61-62)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1930-1993 (5 linear feet; Boxes 21-25, 62)

Series 5: Teaching Files, 1928-1989 (6 linear feet; Boxes 26-31, 62)

Series 6: Professional and Curatorial Files, 1936-1991 (6 linear feet; Boxes 32-37, 56)

Series 7: Artists Files, 1935-1992 (18.3 linear feet; Boxes 37-55, 62)

Series 8: Unprocessed Addition, 1956-1991 (0.2 linear feet; Box 63)

Biographical / Historical:

Ellen Hulda Johnson (1910-1992) was an art historian, critic, and professor who worked and taught at Oberlin College in Ohio for most of her career.

Ellen Hulda Johnson was born in 1910 in Warren, Pennsylvania. She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in art history at Oberlin in 1933 and 1935. She worked briefly at the Toledo Museum of Art before returning to Oberlin as the art librarian. In 1940 she started Oberlin's art rental program, the first of its kind in the country. She was appointed to the faculty in 1948 and taught nineteenth and twentieth century art, American art from colonial times to the present, contemporary art, and Scandinavian art. She was a member of the Allen Memorial Art Museum's acquisition committee and was appointed honorary curator of modern art in 1973. She remained at Oberlin her entire career, retiring from teaching in 1977.

Johnson was a scholar of Cézanne, Claes Oldenburg, Eva Hesse, Pablo Picasso, Edvard Munch, John F. Kensett and other modern masters, as well as Scandinavian art. In 1962 she wrote the first important article on Claes Oldenburg and, in 1970, assisted curator Athena Tacha commission his first permanent large sculpture (3-Way Plug) for the grounds of the Allen Memorial Art Museum. She was the first to show the black-striped paintings that established Frank Stella's reputation. Her efforts in promoting acquisitions of young contemporary artists helped make the Allen Memorial Art Museum a leading institution in contemporary art. Her Oberlin lectures on modern art became so popular that they had to be held in the college's largest auditorium and influenced generations of students, many of whom went on to signficant positions in the field. A new wing of the museum designed by Robert Venturi opened in 1977 and was named in honor of Johnson.

Johnson was the author of numerous articles, books, and exhibition catalogs including Cezanne (Penquin, 1967); Claes Oldenburg (Penquin, 1971); American Artists on Art from 1940-1980 (Harper and Row, 1982); and Modern Art and the Object (Thames and Hudson, 1976).

In 1968, Johnson purchased the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Weltzheimer house in Oberlin, and spent a considerable part of her time and money restoring the building where she lived the rest of her life. She bequethed the house and her significant art collection to Oberlin upon her death in 1992.

Related Materials:

Papers of Ellen H. Johnson, 1933-1992, are also located at Oberlin College Archives.

Separated Materials:

Shortly after aquisition, the Archives transferred Ellen Hulda Johnson's vertical file (16 linear feet) of clippings, press releases, and exhibition announcements to the library of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.

Provenance:

The Ellen Hulda Johnson papers were donated in 1994, 1998, 2019 and 2021 by the estate of Ellen Hulda Johnson via exectutor Athena Tacha.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington D.C. Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. 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.

Occupation:

Librarians -- Ohio  Search this

Authors -- Ohio  Search this

Art critics -- Ohio  Search this

Art historians -- Ohio -- Oberlin  Search this

Educators -- Ohio -- Oberlin  Search this

Topic:

Art, Scandinavian  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Study and teaching  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Study and teaching  Search this

Pop art  Search this

Women authors  Search this

Women art critics  Search this

Women art historians  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Function:

Artist colonies -- Georgia

Citation:

Ellen Hulda Johnson papers, 1872-2018, bulk 1921-1992. 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.

Identifier:

AAA.johnelle

See more items in:

Ellen Hulda Johnson papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94183bf07-6dce-4777-903c-a590c03214ce

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-johnelle

Artist:

Zhang Yuecheng (1883-1961)  Search this

Medium:

Brass and cloissone

Dimensions:

H x W x D (overall): 7.7 x 2.2 x 2.2 cm (3 1/16 x 7/8 x 7/8 in)

Type:

Tool and Equipment

Origin:

China

Date:

early 20th century

Period:

Modern period

Topic:

casting  Search this

metal  Search this

Modern period (1912 - present)  Search this

China  Search this

Chinese Art  Search this

The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution  Search this

Credit Line:

The Dr. Paul Singer Collection of Chinese Art of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; a joint gift of the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation, Paul Singer, the AMS Foundation for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, and the Children of Arthur M. Sackler

Accession Number:

S2012.9.4739

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

Related Online Resources:

Google Cultural Institute

See more items in:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Data Source:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye30dcfaeaf-c4b0-4bd3-a42e-f3a232c3cef1

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:fsg_S2012.9.4739

Creator:

Cornell, Joseph  Search this

Subject:

Benton, Elizabeth Cornell  Search this

Cornell, Robert  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Citation:

Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Celebrities  Search this

Assemblage (Art)  Search this

Found objects (Art)  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Assemblage artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Theme:

Diaries  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)5790

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208629

AAA_collcode_cornjose

Theme:

Diaries

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208629

Creator:

Spark, Victor D. (Victor David), 1898-1991  Search this

Subject:

Clonney, James Goodwyn  Search this

Prendergast, Maurice Brazil  Search this

Hardy, Jeremiah Pearson  Search this

Copley, John Singleton  Search this

Engelhard, Charles W., Jr.  Search this

Frankenstein, Alfred V. (Alfred Victor)  Search this

Moran, Thomas  Search this

Berliner, Jacob  Search this

Medina, Leon  Search this

Heade, Martin Johnson  Search this

Grigaut, Hubert L.  Search this

Lehman, Robert  Search this

Hardy, Charlotte  Search this

Shinn, Everett  Search this

Sully, Thomas  Search this

Moran, Ruth B.  Search this

Peale, Rembrandt  Search this

San Diego Arts Society  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Citation:

Victor D. Spark papers, circa 1830-1983, bulk 1930-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Art, Modern -- 19th century -- United States  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Theme:

Art Gallery Records  Search this

Art Market  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7451

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209609

AAA_collcode_sparvict

Theme:

Art Gallery Records

Art Market

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209609

Creator:

McCoy, Esther  Search this

Subject:

Rand, Marvin  Search this

Grotz, Dorothy  Search this

Gill, Irving  Search this

Jones, A. Quincy (Archie Quincy)  Search this

Barragán, Luis  Search this

Dreiser, Theodore  Search this

Bradbury, Ray  Search this

Hollein, Hans  Search this

Ain, Gregory  Search this

Ellwood, Craig  Search this

Davidson, Julius Ralph  Search this

Watanabe, Makoto  Search this

Maybeck, Bernard R.  Search this

Neutra, Richard Joseph  Search this

Worlidge, T. (Thomas)  Search this

Schindler, R. M. (Rudolph M.)  Search this

Shulman, Julius  Search this

Soriano, Rafael  Search this

O'Gorman, Juan  Search this

Historic American Buildings Survey  Search this

University of California, Los Angeles. School of Architecture and Urban Planning  Search this

Society of Architectural Historians  Search this

Type:

Diaries

Etchings

Photographs

Sound recordings

Interviews

Video recordings

Slides (photographs)

Transcripts

Drawings

Memoirs

Citation:

Esther McCoy papers, circa 1876-1990, bulk 1938-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Architecture, Modern -- 20th century -- Mexico  Search this

Architects -- Italy  Search this

Architecture, Domestic -- California  Search this

Authors -- California  Search this

Architecture, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this

Architecture, Modern -- 20th century -- Europe  Search this

Architects -- California  Search this

Feminism and art  Search this

Latino and Latin American artists  Search this

Theme:

Latino and Latin American  Search this

Architecture & Design  Search this

Research and writing about art  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)5502

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210977

AAA_collcode_mccoesth

Theme:

Latino and Latin American

Architecture & Design

Research and writing about art

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210977