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James Brooks and Charlotte Park papers, 1909-2010, bulk 1930-2010

Creator:
Brooks, James, 1906-1992  Search this
Subject:
Gottlieb, Adolph  Search this
Bolotowsky, Ilya  Search this
Park, Charlotte  Search this
King, William  Search this
Guston, Philip  Search this
New York University  Search this
Southern Methodist University  Search this
United States. Army  Search this
Kootz Gallery (N.Y.)  Search this
Type:
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Interviews
Drawings
Photographs
Diaries
Citation:
James Brooks and Charlotte Park papers, 1909-2010, bulk 1930-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Abstract expressionism  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8955
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211142
AAA_collcode_broojame
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211142
Online Media:

James Brooks and Charlotte Park papers

Creator:
Brooks, James, 1906-1992  Search this
Names:
Kootz Gallery (N.Y.)  Search this
New York University -- Students  Search this
Southern Methodist University -- Students  Search this
United States. Army  Search this
Bolotowsky, Ilya, 1907-1981  Search this
Gottlieb, Adolph, 1903-1974  Search this
Guston, Philip, 1913-1980  Search this
King, William, 1925-2015  Search this
Park, Charlotte  Search this
Extent:
20.1 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Interviews
Drawings
Photographs
Diaries
Date:
1909-2010
bulk 1930-2010
Summary:
The papers of Abstract Expressionist painters James Brooks and Charlotte Park measure 18.7 linear feet and are dated 1909-2010, bulk 1930-2010. Correspondence, subject files, personal business records, printed material, and a sound recording document his painting career, interests, professional and personal activities. Also found are biographical materials, interviews, writings, and art work. The collection also includes papers of his wife, Abstract Expressionist painter Charlotte Park, regarding her painting career, personal life, activities as executor of James Brooks' estate, and some material concerning the James Brooks and Charlotte Park Brooks Foundation. There is a 1.4 linear foot addition to this collection donated in 2017 that includes 58 "week-at-a-glance" appointment books, three journals and one address/ telephone book of Charlotte Park; a hand written chronology with significant dates and notes; postcards and exhibition announcements sent to Charlotte and James; doodles; and a sketch, possibly by Don Kingman.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Abstract Expressionist painters James Brooks and Charlotte Park measure 18.7 linear feet and are dated 1909-2010, bulk 1930-2010. Correspondence, subject files, personal business records, printed material, and a sound recording document his painting career, interests, professional and personal activities. Also found are biographical materials, interviews, writings, and art work. The collection also includes papers of his wife, Abstract Expressionist painter Charlotte Park, regarding her painting career, personal life, activities as executor of James Brooks' estate, and some material concerning the James Brooks and Charlotte Park Brooks Foundation. There is a 1.4 linear foot addition to this collection donated in 2017 that includes 58 "week-at-a-glance" appointment books, three journals and one address/ telephone book of Charlotte Park; a hand written chronology with significant dates and notes; postcards and exhibition announcements sent to Charlotte and James; doodles; and a sketch, possibly by Don Kingman.

Biographical materials include biographical notes and documents such as copies of birth and death certificates, curricula vitae, family history. Educational records are from Southern Methodist University and documentation of flight training courses at New York University. Brooks' military service in World War II is well documented by United States Army records with related correspondence. Also found is extensive documentation of his death and funeral.

Professional and personal correspondence is addressed to Brooks, the couple, and to Charlotte Park during the later years of Brooks' life when she managed his affairs. A significant amount of correspondence is categorized as art, autograph requests, personal, and teaching; also include is general correspondence that overlaps all categories. Art correspondence with museums, galleries, collectors, artists, and friends concerns exhibitions, Brooks' work, and invitations to exhibit, speak, or serve as a juror. Of note is the correspondence with Samuel M. Kootz Gallery. The personal correspondence is mainly social, and teaching correspondence consists largely of requests that he teach in summer programs, serve as a visiting artist/critic.

Six interviews with James Brooks are in the form of published and unpublished transcripts; a seventh is a sound recording with no known transcript. Charlotte Park participates in one interview.

Writings by Brooks are statements about his work and a tribute to Ilya Bolotowsky. Among the writings by others about Brooks are a catalog essay, academic papers, and lecture; also found are a few short pieces on miscellaneous topics. Three diaries include brief entries regarding his work, exhibitions, and activities.

Subject files maintained by Brooks concerning organizations, exhibitions, mural projects, a commission and teaching document his professional activities, relationships and interests. Personal business records concern appraisals, conservation, gifts, insurance, loans, sales, shipping, and storage of artwork. Gallery records include agreements, consignments, lists, and receipts. Also, there are accounts for lettering work and personal income tax returns.

Printed material is mostly exhibition announcements, invitations, catalogs, and checklists, as well as articles and reviews. The majority are about/mention Brooks or include reproductions of his work; some concern artist friends, former students, and others.

Artwork by Brooks consists of pencil and ink drawings, two sketchbooks, and "telephone doodles." Other artists include Adolph Gottlieb (ink drawing of sculpture), Philip Guston (three pencil drawings of Brooks), and William King (two silhouettes of Brooks).

Photographic materials (photographs, digital prints, negatives, slides, and color transparencies) provide extensive documentation of Brooks' artwork and, to a lesser extent, exhibitions.There are pictures of Brooks as a very young boy, though the most views of him date from the 1930s through 1980s, and with friends. Places include Brooks' homes and studios in Montauk, New York and the Springs, East Hampton, New York; travel to Maine, Oregon and California. Views of the Middle East from World War II show Brooks with colleagues, local people engaged in daily activities, and scenery. Also of note are a copy print of "The Irascibles" by Nina Leen, and attendees at the dedication of Flight dining in view of Brook's LaGuardia Ariport mural.

Charlotte Park papers document the professional career and personal life of the Abstract Expressionist painter, art teacher, and wife of James Brooks through correspondence, personal business records, exhibition records, printed material, and photographs. In addition, this series documents artwork in the estate of James Brooks and posthumous exhibitions. Twelve years younger than her husband, Park began handling business matters for him as he aged and developed Alzheimer's disease. She also served as his executor. In the 1990s, a curator assumed management of the artwork and loans for exhibitions. After the James Brooks and Charlotte Park Brooks Foundation was established in 2000, its director handled most business activities. Some copies of Foundation minutes and correspondence are found among Park's papers.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 11 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1924-1995 (Box 1, OV 19; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1928-1995 (Boxes 1-3; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Interviews, 1965-1990 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, 1952-1999 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 5: Diaries, 1975-1984 (Box 3; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 6: Subject Files, 1926-2001 (Boxes 3-5, OV 20; 2.0 linear feet)

Series 7: Personal Business Records, 1932-1992 (Boxes 5-6; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1928-1992 (Boxes 6-11, OV 21-OV 22; 4.8 linear feet)

Series 9: Artwork, 1930s-1992 (Box 11; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1909-2000s (Boxes 11-15; 4.1 linear feet)

Series 11: Charlotte Park papers, 1930s-2010 (Boxes 15-18, OV 23; 3.6 linear feet)

Series 12: Unprocessed Additition, circa 1930-2010 (Boxes 25-26; 1.4 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
James Brooks (1906-1992) and Charlotte Park (1919-2010) were Abstract Expressionist painters in East Hampton, N.Y. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Brooks spent his childhood in Colorado, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Texas. He begn drawing as a young boy, finding inspiration in magazine illustrations and comic strips. Before moving to New York City in 1926, he studied at Southern Methodist University (1923-1924) and at the Dallas Art Institute.

In New York, Brooks studied illustration at the Grand Central Art School. After exposure to museums led him to differentiate between illustration and fine art, Brooks enrolled at Art Students League. During this period he supported himself by doing lettering for magazine advertisements. From 1936-1942 he participated in the WPA Federal Art Project, executing murals at Woodside Library, Queens, New York (destroyed); the Post Office, Little Falls, New Jersey; and his famous Flight at LaGuardia Airport's Marine Air Terminal (painted over in the 1950s and restored in 1980).

During World War II Brooks served in the United States Army as an art correspondent in Cairo. When at the Office of Special Services, Washington, DC, he met Charlotte Park who worked there as a graphic artist and later became his wife. The couple moved to New York City in 1945 and married in 1947. Brooks resumed friendships with artists he knew from the WPA including Philip Guston, Bradley Walker Tomlin, and Jackson Pollock. Brooks and Park were especially close with Pollock and Lee Krasner; after they moved to Long Island, Brooks and Park, soon followed, first to Montauk and later to the Springs, East Hampton, New York.

By the late 1940s, Brooks had turned away from figural painting in the social realist style and moved toward abstraction. In the early 1950s, he was experimenting with enamel, gouache, and diluted oil paints, staining various grounds in ways that produced interesting shapes, adding spontaneous splashes of color over which he painted more deliberately. In the 1960s he switched to acrylics, leading to wider use of color and broader strokes.

Peridot Gallery presented Brooks' first solo exhibition in 1949. He helped organize and participated in the famous Ninth Street Show of 1951, earning critical acclaim. This assured him a place in two of the Museum of Modern Art's most important exhibitions of the period, Twelve Americans (1956) and New American Painting (1958). He showed at the Stable Gallery, Kootz Gallery, Martha Jackson Gallery and others. During his lifetime Brooks enjoyed five traveling retrospective exhibitions.

Prizes and awards included Carnegie Institute's Pittsburgh International Exhibition 5th prize for painting (1952), The Art Institue of Chicago's 62nd American Exhibition Logan Medal and Prize for Painting (1957) and 64th American Exhibition Harris Prize (1961), The National Arts Club Medal (1985), and a citation of appreciation for Flight from The North Beach Club Marine Air Terminal, LaGuardia Airport (1986).

Brooks taught for nearly three decades: drawing at Columbia University (1947-1948) and lettering at Pratt Institute (1948-1955); was a visiting critic, Yale University (1955-1960), University of Pennsylvania (1971-1972), and Cooper Union (1975); and served on the Queens College faculty (1966-1969). In addition, he was an artist-in-residence at The American Academy in Rome (1963), the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1969), and a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant (1973).

Brooks developed Alzheimer's disease around 1985 and died in East Hampton, New York in 1992.

Charlotte Park graduated from the Yale School of Fine Art (1939) and during World War II, when working in Washington, D.C., she met James Brooks. They moved to New York City in 1945, where she studied with Australian artist Wallace Harrison. Park taught children's art classes at several private schools in the early 1950s and at the Museum of Modern Art, 1955-1967.

Park's approach to Abstract Expressionism featured curved or linear shapes with vibrant colors and dynamic brushstrokes. Tanager Gallery presented her first solo show in 1957 and her work was included in numerous group exhibitions from the 1950s through 2000s, mainly in New York City and Long Island. After Park's second solo exhibition, held in 1973 at Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, New York, interest in her work revived; other one-person shows followed at Guild Hall (1979), Ingber Gallery (1980), and paired with James Brooks at Louise Himelfarb Gallery. The National Institute of Arts and Letters honored Park with its Art Award in 1974. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Parrish Art Museum, Guild Hall Museum, Telfair Museum of Art, and in many private collections.

Charlotte Park died in 2010.
Related Materials:
Also among the Archives of American Art's holdings are letters from James Brooks and Sean Scully, 1980-1989 addressed to Theodora ["Teddy"] S. Greenbaum, and an oral history interview with James Brooks conducted by Dorothy Seckler, 1965 June 10 and June 12.
Separated Materials:
Correspondence, interview transcripts, photographs, and printed material were loaned by James Brooks for microfilming in 1969 (reel N69-132). With the exception of an address book, a scrapbook, and a few photographs, Brooks donated almost all of the loan in 1979.
Provenance:
The majority of the collection was donated in 2013 by the James Brooks and Charlotte Brooks Foundation and an additional 1.4 linear feet donated 2017 by the Foundation. In 1979 James Brooks donated most of the material lent for microfilming in 1969.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Abstract expressionism  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sketchbooks
Sound recordings
Transcripts
Interviews
Drawings
Photographs
Diaries
Citation:
James Brooks and Charlotte Park papers, 1909-2010, bulk 1930-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.broojame
See more items in:
James Brooks and Charlotte Park papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw948fd3af3-1ae9-4a9a-af05-4ef35e505b4a
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-broojame
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Ellen Lanyon, 1975 Dec. 5

Interviewee:
Lanyon, Ellen, 1926-2013  Search this
Interviewer:
Crawford, James, 1944-  Search this
Subject:
Berdich, Vera  Search this
Blackshear, Kathleen  Search this
Buehr, George Frederick  Search this
Carleback, Julius  Search this
Ginzel, Roland  Search this
Grooms, Red  Search this
Hirsch, Joseph  Search this
Hoff, Margo  Search this
Lasansky, Mauricio  Search this
Rupprecht, Edgar A.  Search this
Schniewind, Carl Oscar  Search this
Watson, Dudley Crafts  Search this
Abercrombie, Gertrude  Search this
Golub, Leon  Search this
Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting  Search this
Art Institute of Chicago. School  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Ellen Lanyon, 1975 Dec. 5. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women printmakers  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Women muralists  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11523
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214174
AAA_collcode_lanyon75
Theme:
Women
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_214174

Oral history interview with Ellen Lanyon

Interviewee:
Lanyon, Ellen  Search this
Interviewer:
Crawford, James, 1944-  Search this
Names:
Art Institute of Chicago. School  Search this
Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting  Search this
Abercrombie, Gertrude, 1909-1977  Search this
Berdich, Vera, 1915-2003  Search this
Blackshear, Kathleen, 1897-1988  Search this
Buehr, George Frederick, 1905-1983  Search this
Carleback, Julius  Search this
Ginzel, Roland, 1921-  Search this
Golub, Leon, 1922-2004  Search this
Grooms, Red  Search this
Hirsch, Joseph, 1910-1981  Search this
Hoff, Margo  Search this
Lasansky, Mauricio, 1914-  Search this
Rupprecht, Edgar A.  Search this
Schniewind, Carl Oscar, 1900-1957  Search this
Watson, Dudley Crafts, 1885-  Search this
Extent:
5 Sound tapes (5 in.)
229 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound tapes
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1975 Dec. 5
Scope and Contents:
Interview of Ellen Lanyon conducted 1975 December 5-7 and 1976 January 15-16 and 18 by James Crawford for the Archives of American Art.
Lanyon speaks of family background; interests in art and music and collecting objects and antiques; her early art education; remembrances of 1933 Chicago World's Fair; Art Institute of Chicago; Momentum group; Oxbow Summer School of Painting; her work and techniques; exhibitions; Institute of Design; marriage and move to University of Iowa; Iowa art department, Iowa print group; Fulbright to England; travel in France and Italy; return to Chicago; founding of graphic workshop; Hairy Who group; The Imagists; Seven and Up exhibitions; Red Grooms in Chicago; and commissions. She recalls George Buehr, Margo Hoff, Dudley Crafts Watson, Vera Berdich, Joseph Hirsch, Carl Schneiwind, Kathleen Blackshear, Mauricio Lasansky, Gertrude Abercrombie, Julius Carleback, Roland Ginzel, and Edgar Rupprecht. She also discusses her family; changes in medium and style of her artwork; symbolism, and feminism.
Biographical / Historical:
Ellen Lanyon (1926-2013) was a painter and printmaker from Chicago, Illinois.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Muralists -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Printmakers -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration  Search this
Art, American  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women printmakers  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Women muralists  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.lanyon75
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw97fd52325-f0b9-474d-b6fa-40cd5ed41bdd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-lanyon75
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Joshua Binion Cahn, Richard A. Florsheim, and John Kearney, 1971 July 20

Interviewee:
Cahn, Joshua Binion, 1915-1995  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F  Search this
Subject:
Florsheim, Richard A., 1916-1979  Search this
Kearney, John, 1924-  Search this
Walker, Hudson D. (Hudson Dean), 1907-1976  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Joshua Binion Cahn, Richard A. Florsheim, and John Kearney, 1971 July 20. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13305
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212574
AAA_collcode_cahn71
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212574

Gyorgy Kepes papers

Creator:
Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906-2001  Search this
Names:
Center for Advanced Visual Studies  Search this
Illinois Institute of Technology  Search this
Saidenberg Gallery  Search this
Triennale di Milano (Milan, Italy)  Search this
Arnheim, Rudolf  Search this
Bertoia, Harry  Search this
Blee, Michael  Search this
Boghosian, Varujan  Search this
Brazdys, Konslancija  Search this
Burgess, Lowry, 1940-  Search this
Burnham, Jack, 1931-  Search this
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this
Chermayeff, Serge, 1900-  Search this
Dreyfuss, Henry, 1904-1972  Search this
Eames, Charles  Search this
Eames, Ray  Search this
Egawa, Kazuhiko  Search this
Entwhistle, Clive  Search this
Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-  Search this
Gropius, Walter, 1883-1969  Search this
Hayter, Stanley William, 1901-1988  Search this
Hélion, Jean, 1904-1987  Search this
Johnson, Philip, 1906-2005  Search this
Kepes, Juliet  Search this
Kowalski, Piotry  Search this
Lynch, Kevin, 1918-1984  Search this
McLuhan, Marshall, 1911-1980  Search this
Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978  Search this
Moholy-Nagy, László, 1895-1946  Search this
Moholy-Nagy, Sibyl, 1905-  Search this
Nusberg, Lev, 1937-  Search this
Osborn, Robert Chesley, 1904-1994  Search this
Piene, Otto, 1928-  Search this
Read, Herbert Edward, Sir, 1893-1968  Search this
Richards, I. A. (Ivor Armstrong), 1893-1979  Search this
Rickey, George  Search this
Saarinen, Eero, 1910-1961  Search this
Sonfist, Alan  Search this
Steinberg, Saul  Search this
Tacha, Athena, 1936-  Search this
Takis, Vassilakis  Search this
Tange, Kenzō, 1913-  Search this
Thiel, Philip  Search this
Tovish, Harold, 1921-2008  Search this
Tsʻai, Wen-ying, 1928-  Search this
Wolff, Robert Jay, 1905-  Search this
Wurster, William Wilson  Search this
Zvilna, Jēkabs, 1913-1997  Search this
Faculty:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology  Search this
Extent:
21.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Caricatures
Designs
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Sound recordings
Place:
Times Square (New York, N.Y.)
Date:
1909-2003
bulk 1935-1985
Summary:
The papers of Hungarian-born artist, art theorist, and educator, Gyorgy Kepes, measure 21.2 linear feet and date from 1909-2003, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1935-1985. The papers document Kepes's career as an artist and educator, and as founder of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), through biographical material, correspondence, writings by Kepes and others, project files, exhibition files, printed material, sketchbooks, artwork, sound recordings and motion picture films, and photographic material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Hungarian-born artist, art theorist, and educator, Gyorgy Kepes, measure 21.2 linear feet and date from 1909-2003, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1935-1985. The papers document Kepes's career as an artist and educator, and as founder of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), through biographical material, correspondence, writings by Kepes and others, project files, exhibition files, printed material, sketchbooks, artwork, sound recordings and motion picture films, and photographic material.

Correspondence provides a wide range of documentation on all aspects of Kepes's career including his collaborations and friendships with artists, architects, writers, scientists, and fellow educators including Rudolf Arnheim, Alexander Calder, Henry Dreyfuss, Charles and Ray Eames, Clive Entwhistle, R. Buckminster Fuller, Walter Gropius, S. W. Hayter, Jean Hélion, Laszlo and Sibyl Moholy-Nagy, Lev Nussberg, Robert Osborn, George Rickey, Saul Steinberg, Kenzo Tange, Robert Jay Wolff, and Jekabs Zvilna. Correspondence also documents the evolution of Kepes's vision for the Center for Advanced Visual Studies, which he established in 1967, and his subsequent leadership of CAVS at M.I.T. Records document his collaborations with students and fellows including Lowry Burgess, Jack Burnham, Piotry Kowalski, Margaret Mead, Otto Piene, Alan Sonfist, Athena Tacha, Vassilakis Takis, Philip Thiel, Harold Tovish, and Wen-Ying Tsai. Correspondents also include people who contributed to Kepes's Vision + Value series, including Michael Blee, Kazuhiko Egawa, Jean Hélion, and others. Correspondence includes three motion picture films, including what appears to be an early version of Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames.

Writings include notes and manuscripts for articles and essays in which Kepes explored ideas evident in his books The New Landscape and Language of Vision, and submitted to publications such as Daedalus, Design, Domus, and Leonardo. Writings also include manuscripts for lectures, and draft manuscripts documenting Kepes's collaborative work with fellow M.I.T. professor Kevin Lynch on city planning, which culminated in Lynch's research project "The Perceptual Form of the City."

A small group of "Times Square Project" files documents Kepes's proposal for a lightscape in Times Square that was ultimately not realized.

Teaching files include sound recordings of circa five symposia and discussions held at M.I.T., the Illinois Institute of Technology, and elsewhere, some featuring Kepes and including Philip Johnson, Eero Saarinen and others.

Exhibition files include documentation of three exhibitions, including Light as a Creative Medium (1968) and a Kepes exhibition at Saidenberg Gallery (1968). They also record Kepes's involvement in designing the 1968 Triennale di Milano.

Printed material includes a substantial collection of announcements and catalogs for Kepes exhibitions, lectures, and other events, and includes catalogs and announcements for scattered exhibitions of his wife, artist and illustrator, Juliet Kepes. Clippings from newspapers and magazines include articles about Kepes, and contain some copies of published writings and designs by him. The series also includes sound recordings and motion picture films containing original material for a CBS television series "The 21st Century," probably as part of the episode "Art for Tomorrow," which appear to feature M.I.T. fellows Jack Burnham and Vassilakis Takis. Another motion picture film of an Italian documentary "Operazione Cometa" can also be found here.

Two sketchbooks contain pen and ink and painted sketches by Kepes. Artwork by Kepes includes original poster designs, caricatures, and many pencil, and pen and ink sketches and paintings on paper and board, including designs for stained glass. Artwork by others includes ink on mylar sketches by D. Judelson and Konstancija Brazdys, and a sketch by Harold Tovish. Also found are circa seventeen motion picture films and four sound recordings, the majority of which are untitled and by unidentified artists, but include films by M.I.T. fellows Otto Piene, Vassilakis Takis, Philip Thiel, Harold Tovish, Wen-Ying Tsai, and others.

Photographs are of Kepes, Juliet Kepes, and other family members; students, colleagues, and friends, including R. Buckminster Fuller, Serge Chermayeff, Harry Bertoia, Varujan Boghosian, Alexander Calder, Marchall McLuhan, Margaret Mead, Herbert Read, I. A. Richards, Saul Steinberg, and William Wurster; and of Kepes in his studio. There are also photos of exhibition installations in which Kepes's work appeared or which he designed, and photos of his artwork and of images for publications which he wrote or edited. Photos by others include artwork by established artists and work by students, as well as photographs arranged by subjects such as cityscapes, forms found in nature, light patterns, mechanical devices, and photomicrographs. A collection of lantern slides with similar content to the photos of artwork and photos by subject is also found in this series and includes a lantern slide of Picasso creating a design with light.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as eleven series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1940-circa 1980 (0.25 linear feet; Boxes 1, 28)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1936-1984 (5.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-7, 28 OV 33, FCs 39-41)

Series 3: Interviews and Transcripts, 1954-1970 (4 folders; Box 7)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1948-circa 1980s (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 7-8, 28)

Series 5: Times Square Project Files, 1972-1974 (6 folders; Box 9)

Series 6: Teaching Files Sound Recordings, circa 1953-1972 (0.7 linear feet; Box 9)

Series 7: Exhibition Files, 1958-1973 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 9-10)

Series 8: Printed Material, circa 1922-1989 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 10-12, 28-29, OVs 35, 37, FCs 42-49)

Series 9: Sketchbooks, circa 1940s-circa 1970s (2 folders; Box 12)

Series 10: Artwork and Moving Images, circa 1924-2003 (2.5 linear feet; Boxes 12, 13, OVs 33-36, 38, FCs 50-62)

Series 11: Photographs, 1909-1988 (10.4 linear feet; Boxes 13-32)
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, designer, art theorist, and educator, Gyorgy Kepes (1906-2001), was born in Selyp, Hungary, and studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Budapest. He worked with Moholy-Nagy in Berlin and London before joining him at the New Bauhaus (later the Chicago Institute of Design) in 1937.

Kepes taught courses at the New Bauhaus from 1937 to 1945, and published Language of Vision in 1944, summarizing the educational ideas and methods he had developed during his time at the institute. In 1946 he accepted a teaching position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) where he initiated a program in visual design.

In 1956 Kepes published The New Landscape in Art and Science, in which he presented images from nature that were newly accessible due to developments in science and technology, and explored his ideas for a common language between science and the visual arts.

In 1965, these ideas were apparent in Kepes's proposal of an expanded visual arts program at M.I.T., which would "build new as yet undetermined bridges between art and engineering and science," according to the minutes of an M.I.T. Art Committee meeting in March of that year. Kepes's vision dovetailed with M.I.T.'s vested interest in promoting the arts, and faculty and administrators were open to the argument that "The scientific-technical enterprise needs schooling by the artistic sensibilities." In 1967, they appointed Kepes Director of M.I.T.'s Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS).

Kepes retired from the regular faculty at M.I.T. in 1967, to focus on his role as director of CAVS, where he worked to provide artists with opportunities for exploring new artistic forms on a civic scale through a working dialogue with scientists and engineers. Early fellows of the center included Maryanne Amacher, Joan Brigham, Lowry Burgess, Jack Burnham, Piotry Kowalski, Otto Piene, Vassilakis Takis, and Wen-Ying Tsai.

In 1965-1966 Kepes edited a six-volume series entitled Vision + Value, published by George Braziller, Inc. Each volume featured essays that centered around a core theme: The Education of Vision; Structure in Art and Science; The Nature and Art of Motion; Module, Symmetry, Proportion, Rhythm; Sign, Image, Symbol; and Man-Made Object. Contributions came from prominent artists, designers, architects, and scientists of the time including Rudolf Arnheim, Saul Bass, Marcel Breuer, John Cage, R. Buckminster Fuller, Johannes Itten, Marshall McLuhan, and Paul Rand.

Kepes experimented widely with photography, producing abstract images through the application of fluids and objects to photographic paper. He also took commercial work throughout his career, producing designs for all kinds of objects, including books and stained glass windows for churches. He returned to painting in the 1950s, and his development as a painter continued throughout his career at M.I.T., where he remained until his retirement in 1974, and beyond. His paintings, which were abstract and often incorporated organic shapes and hints of landscapes, can be found in museums such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Kepes received many awards during his lifetime, including a Guggenheim Fellowship (1958); the Gold Star Award of the Philadelphia College of Art (1958); the National Association of Art Colleges Annual Award (1968); the California College of Art Award (1968); and the Fine Arts Medal from the American Institute of Architects (1968). In 1973 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an associate member, and became a full academician in 1978. He was a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Related Materials:
Additional papers of Gyorgy Kepes can be found at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Advanced Visual Studies Special Collection.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel 1211) including ninety-eight letters to Kepes from colleagues, 1946-1974. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Gyorgy Kepes lent papers for microfilming in 1974 and donated material to the Archives of American Art in a series of gifts between 1974 and 1993.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Juliet Kepes Stone or Imre Kepes. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
Artists' studios--Photographs  Search this
City planning  Search this
Educators--Massachusetts--Cambridge  Search this
Motion pictures (visual works)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Caricatures
Designs
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Sketches
Sound recordings
Citation:
Gyorgy Kepes papers, 1909-2003, bulk 1935-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.kepegyor
See more items in:
Gyorgy Kepes papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f863f285-f429-48f1-ba6e-fb74702c12ba
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-kepegyor

Jane Peterson papers

Creator:
Peterson, Jane, 1876-1965  Search this
Extent:
0.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1907-1981
Summary:
The papers of painter Jane Peterson measure 0.5 linear feet and date from 1907 to 1981. The collection includes sketches, biographical materials, scattered correspondence, printed material, fragments of two scrapbooks, and writings and notes.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Jane Peterson measure 0.5 linear feet and date from 1907 to 1981. The collection includes sketches, biographical materials, scattered correspondence, printed material, fragments of two scrapbooks, and writings and notes.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Jane Peterson (1876-1965) was a painter active in Chicago, New York, and New England who worked in an Impressionist and Expressionist style. She studied at the Pratt Institute and privately with Frank Brangwyn and G. Sorolla, and had a close friendship with Louis Comfort Tiffany. Peterson traveled widely, and participated in multiple exhibitions throughout the United States and abroad.
Provenance:
The papers were collected by the donor, J. Jonathan Joseph, in the course of research on Peterson. He donated the papers to the Archives of American Art in 1982.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Scrapbooks  Search this
Citation:
Jane Peterson papers, 1907-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.petejane
See more items in:
Jane Peterson papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92cdc4750-b61e-47cd-b52a-5cdd4ccdd9b8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-petejane

Fairfield Porter papers, 1888-2001, bulk 1924-1975

Creator:
Porter, Fairfield, 1907-1975  Search this
Subject:
Schuyler, James  Search this
Schloss, Edith  Search this
Rivers, Larry  Search this
Porter, Ruth W.  Search this
Padgett, Ron  Search this
O'Hara, Frank  Search this
Myers, John Bernard  Search this
Vasilieff, Nicholas  Search this
Stankiewicz, Richard  Search this
Shapiro, David  Search this
Lichtenstein, Roy  Search this
Giardelli, Arthur  Search this
Guest, Barbara  Search this
Evergood, Philip  Search this
Frielicher, Jane  Search this
Downes, Rackstraw  Search this
Elmslie, Kenward  Search this
Button, John  Search this
Day, Lucien B.  Search this
Morse, Carl  Search this
Koch, Kenneth  Search this
Laning, Edward  Search this
Katz, Alex  Search this
Hartl, Léon  Search this
Hess, Thomas B.  Search this
Burkhardt, Rudy  Search this
Brainard, Joe  Search this
Tibor de Nagy Gallery  Search this
Hirschl & Adler Galleries  Search this
Type:
Travel diaries
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Citation:
Fairfield Porter papers, 1888-2001, bulk 1924-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- Southampton  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Poets  Search this
Lithographers -- New York (State)  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8946
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211133
AAA_collcode_portfair
Theme:
Diaries
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211133
Online Media:

Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987, bulk 1960s-1970s

Creator:
White, Charles, 1918-1979  Search this
Subject:
White, Frances Barrett  Search this
Catlett, Elizabeth  Search this
Barthé, Richmond  Search this
Heritage Gallery  Search this
Otis Art Institute  Search this
Belafonte Enterprises  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Citation:
Charles W. White papers, 1933-1987, bulk 1960s-1970s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
African American artists  Search this
African American educators  Search this
African American painters  Search this
African American printmakers  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
African American  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9350
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211546
AAA_collcode_whitchar
Theme:
Diaries
African American
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211546
Online Media:

John Henry Bradley Storrs papers, 1790-2007, bulk 1900-1956

Creator:
Storrs, John Henry Bradley, 1885-1956  Search this
Subject:
Lipchitz, Jacques  Search this
Sheeler, Charles  Search this
Raynal, Maurice  Search this
Rodin, Auguste  Search this
Zorach, William  Search this
Stella, Joseph  Search this
Sterne, Maurice  Search this
Stieglitz, Alfred  Search this
Storrs, Marguerite Deville Chabrol  Search this
Survage, Leopold  Search this
Zorach, Marguerite  Search this
Léger, Fernand  Search this
Hélion, Jean  Search this
Hecht, Zoltan  Search this
Ray, Man  Search this
Eastman, Max  Search this
Duchamp, Marcel  Search this
Biddle, George  Search this
Dreier, Katherine Sophie  Search this
Heap, Jane  Search this
Hartley, Marsden  Search this
Halpert, Edith Gregor  Search this
Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster)  Search this
Bryant, Louise  Search this
Blum, Jerome  Search this
Braque, Georges  Search this
Cret, Paul Philippe  Search this
Calder, Alexander  Search this
Dismorr, Jessica Stewart  Search this
Cole, Walter  Search this
Bennett, Edward H.  Search this
Andersen, Hendrik Christian  Search this
Anderson, Sherwood  Search this
Downtown Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Type:
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Poems
Diaries
Sketches
Video recordings
Sketchbooks
Prints
Portfolios (groups of works)
Citation:
John Henry Bradley Storrs papers, 1790-2007, bulk 1900-1956. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Expatriate artists -- France  Search this
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Painters -- France -- Paris  Search this
Printmakers -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Printmakers -- France -- Paris  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Sculptors -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Sculptors -- France -- Paris  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9484
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211682
AAA_collcode_storjohn
Theme:
Diaries
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211682
Online Media:

Vera Klement papers, 1950-circa 2016

Creator:
Klement, Vera, 1929-2023  Search this
Subject:
Schulze, Franz  Search this
MacDowell Colony  Search this
Type:
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Interviews
Citation:
Vera Klement papers, 1950-circa 2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Women  Search this
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)7275
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209426
AAA_collcode_klemvera
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Women
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209426
Online Media:

William Conger papers, circa 1940s-2018

Creator:
Conger, William, 1937-  Search this
Subject:
De Kooning, Elaine  Search this
Ito, Miyoko  Search this
Klement, Vera  Search this
Mallary, Robert  Search this
Leaf, June  Search this
Type:
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Citation:
William Conger papers, circa 1940s-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, Abstract  Search this
Theme:
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)13657
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)273574
AAA_collcode_congwill
Theme:
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_273574

Aaron Bohrod papers

Creator:
Bohrod, Aaron  Search this
Names:
Milch Galleries  Search this
Ball, F. Carlton, 1911-1992  Search this
Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975  Search this
Coward, Noel, 1899-1973  Search this
Dehn, Adolf, 1895-1968  Search this
Extent:
17.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Drawings
Sound recordings
Motion pictures
Date:
1507-1994
bulk circa 1930-1994
Summary:
The papers of Wisconsin painter, ceramicist, and educator Aaron Bohrod measure 17.8 linear feet and date from 1507 to 1994 with the bulk of the collection dating from circa 1930 to 1994. The collection documents his career through biographical material, correspondence, gallery files, personal business records, writings, printed material, seven scrapbooks, photographs, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Wisconsin painter, ceramicist, and educator Aaron Bohrod measure 17.8 linear feet and date from 1507 to 1994 with the bulk of the collection dating from circa 1930 to 1994. The collection documents his career through biographical material, correspondence, gallery files, personal business records, writings, printed material, seven scrapbooks, photographs, and artwork.

Biographical material includes film and audio recordings of interviews with Bohrod, War Art Unit employment records, awards, an exhibition guest book, architectural plans for Bohrod's studio, and other personal records. Personal and business correspondence is with David Breger, Adolf Dehn, the Hammer Galleries, the Milch Galleries, Thomas Hart Benton, Henri Cadiou, Noel Coward, and many others. Gallery files contain records of Bohrod's business dealings with over 20 galleries and personal business records consist of primarily financial and legal records, as well as project files for his pottery collaboration with F. Carlton Ball and Madison Public Schools. Writings by Bohrod include manuscripts, lectures, and drafts for the book A Decade of Still Life along with several writings by others about Bohrod. Printed materials relate to Bohrod, his artwork, and other art subjects. Photographic materials depict Bohrod, his studio, family and friends, travel, and works of art. Artworks include drawings, prints, and designs by Bohrod, and lithographs and etchings by others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1930-1987 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1, OV 24, FC 25)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1849-1994 (6.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-7, 19)

Series 3: Gallery Files, 1957-1993 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 7-8)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1939-1994 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 8-10)

Series 5: Writings, circa 1948-circa 1979 (0.2 linear feet; Box 10, OV 24)

Series 6: Printed Materials, 1831-1991 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 10-13, 19, OV 24)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1929-1992 (1.3 linear feet; Boxes 13, 18, BVs 20-23)

Series 8: Photographic Materials, circa 1930-1992 (3.8 linear feet; Boxes 13-16, 19, OV 24)

Series 9: Artwork, 1507-circa 1989 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 17, 19)
Biographical / Historical:
Aaron Bohrod (1907-1992) was a painter, ceramicist, and educator in Madison, Wisconsin.

Bohrod was born in Chicago, Illinois to Fannie and George Bohrod, a Russian immigrant grocer and cigar maker. From 1926 to 1928, Bohrod studied at the School of the Chicago Art Institute under John Sloan, Boardman Robinson, and Kenneth Hayes Miller. He married Ruth Bush in 1929. His first New York solo exhibition took place in 1934, and during the next four years, he received two Guggenheim Fellowhsips, which financed his projects to depict Midwestern American towns in paintings. During World War II, Bohrod was an artist and correspondent for the U.S. Corps of Engineers in the Pacific and for Life magazine in Europe.

Bohrod followed John Stuart Curry as artist-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin in Madison from 1948 until his retirement in 1973. In 1950, he began work in pottery with F. Carlton Ball with whom he published A Pottery Sketch Book in 1959. In 1954, Bohrod began a meticulous style of still life painting and published A Decade of Still Life in 1966. These trompe l'oeil paintings also appeared in many magazines, including Life, Fortune, Holiday, and several covers of Time magazine.

Bohrod died in Madison, Wisconsin in 1992.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an interview of Aaron Bohrod conducted by Ralph E. Sandler from 1973 to 1974. The Aaron Bohrod papers are also at Syracuse University.
Provenance:
The Aaron Bohrod papers were donated in 1974 by Aaron Bohrod and in 1996 by Neil Bohrod, Aaron Bohrod's son.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
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:
Painters -- Wisconsin -- Madison  Search this
Ceramicists -- Wisconsin -- Madison  Search this
Educators -- Wisconsin -- Madison  Search this
Topic:
Decorative arts  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Drawings
Sound recordings
Motion pictures
Citation:
Aaron Bohrod papers, 1507-1994, bulk circa 1930-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.bohraaro
See more items in:
Aaron Bohrod papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9da9c9477-772b-4335-8a8f-710b70031ac5
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bohraaro
Online Media:

Vera Klement papers

Creator:
Klement, Vera, 1929-  Search this
Names:
MacDowell Colony  Search this
Schulze, Franz, 1927-2019  Search this
Extent:
3.3 Linear feet
1.36 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Interviews
Date:
1950-circa 2016
Summary:
The papers of painter and educator Vera Klement measure 3.3 linear feet and 1.36 GB and date from 1950 to circa 2016. The papers include scattered correspondence with Franz Schulze and others, writings and notes including digital copies of a memoir, an interview, and a film, personal business records, printed and digital material, fourteen sketchbooks and other works of art, and photographs, including a photo of the MacDowell Colony in 1957.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and educator Vera Klement measure 3.3 linear feet and 1.36 GB and date from 1950 to circa 2016. The papers include scattered correspondence with Franz Schulze and others, writings and notes including digital copies of a memoir, an interview, and a film, personal business records, printed and digital material, fourteen sketchbooks and other works of art, and photographs, including a photo of the MacDowell Colony in 1957.

Of note is Blunt Edge, an unpublished memoir by Klement in born-digital format; a born-digital recording of an oral history by Linda Kramer and Sandra Binion (2010); a born-digital copy of a film entitled Vera Klement: Blunt Edge, by Wonjung Bae; a bound volume, Disorder and Early Sorrow: a Meditation on War and Death in Homage to Picasso's Guernica 1937, by Vera Klement; and a poetry project compiled by Klement entitled Born of Silence.
Arrangement:
Due to its small size the collection is arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Vera Klement (1929-) is a painter and educator in Chicago, Illinois. She is a founding member of "The FIVE."

Vera Klement was born in Danzig, Germany (now Gdańsk, Poland). She came to the United States in 1938 to escape the Nazi regime and settled in New York City. Klement studied at the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture, graduating in 1950. After moving to Chicago in 1965, she taught at the University of Chicago from 1969 to 1995 and is a Professor Emerita. She became a founding member of "The FIVE," a group of artists, who protested what they saw as a regionalist bent in Chicago art during the early 1970s.

Klement continues to live and work in Chicago, Illinois.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Vera Klement conducted for the Archives of American Art's Chicago Art and Artists: Oral History Project. The interviews were conducted by Lanny Silverman, 2015 June 12 and 14, and by Jason Stieber, 2016 May 25.
Provenance:
Vera Klement donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in several installments in 1986, 2004, and 2017.
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 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:
Educators -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sketchbooks
Drawings
Interviews
Citation:
Vera Klement papers, 1950-circa 2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.klemvera
See more items in:
Vera Klement papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw96e173e2a-4a76-43d3-a2da-234c952b61f8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-klemvera

William Conger papers

Creator:
Conger, William  Search this
Names:
De Kooning, Elaine  Search this
Ito, Miyoko, 1918-1983  Search this
Klement, Vera, 1929-  Search this
Leaf, June, 1929-  Search this
Mallary, Robert, 1917-1997  Search this
Extent:
7.3 Linear feet
3.51 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Date:
circa 1940s-2018
Summary:
The papers of painter and educator William Conger measure 7.3 linear feet and 3.51 gigabytes, and date from the 1940s to 2018. The collection documents Conger's career as a painter and details his business dealings and involvement with Chicago's art community through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings including artmaking journals and notes, and personal business records documenting commissions and sales. Also found are exhibition and gallery records including video recordings, printed material on Conger's career and Chicago art history, photographic material picturing Conger and his artwork, and artwork including a sketchbook and preparatory sketches for paintings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and educator William Conger measure 7.3 linear feet and 3.51 gigabytes, and date from the 1940s to 2018. The collection documents Conger's career as a painter and details his business dealings and involvement with Chicago's art community through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings including artmaking journals and notes, and personal business records documenting commissions and sales. Also found are exhibition and gallery records including video recordings, printed material on Conger's career and Chicago art history, photographic material picturing Conger and his artwork, and artwork including a sketchbook and preparatory sketches for paintings.

Biographical material includes biographies and résumés, student awards, and student records. Correspondence is professional and personal in nature and includes letters from Elaine de Kooning, Robert Mallary, June Leaf, Miyoko Ito, James Valerio, Ed Paschke, Richard Loving, Vera Klement, and others. The writings series includes artmaking journals with extensive notes and sketches, as well as numerous articles and reviews by Conger, artists statements and comments on paintings, contributions to art criticism listservs and message boards, lectures, and writings on Conger by others. Personal business records include artwork commissions and grants, artwork inventories and sales and consignment records, as well as information about an art supply company once part owned by Conger, Puresol, Inc..

Exhibition and gallery records include sales and consignment records organized by gallery, as well as exhibition files for select group and solo exhibitions at galleries and museums, as well as a sound recording regarding a 1967 group exhibition, and miscellaneous exhibition documents. Some of the exhibition files include digital video recordings, digital images, and documents. Printed materials include press and exhibition announcements as well as exhibition catalogs, printed material on the subject of Chicago art history, and a CD-ROM showcase of contemporary art featuring Congers' paintings. The photographic material series includes photographs of artwork, installations, and the artist in black and white and color prints, Polaroids, snapshots, slides, transparencies, negatives, and inkjet prints. The artwork series includes a sketchbook and signed mixed media works on paper, as well as loose drawings and preparatory sketches for paintings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1948-1999 (0.2 linear feet: Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1940s-2018 (2.5 linear feet: Boxes 1-3)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1970s-2014 (0.9 linear feet: Boxes 3-4)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1960s-2016 (0.8 linear feet: Boxes 4-5)

Series 5: Exhibition and Gallery Records, circa 1967-2017 (0.5 linear feet: Box 5; 2.54 gigabytes: ER01-ER03)

Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1950s-2017 (0.9 linear feet: Boxes 5-6; 0.97 gigabytes: ER04)

Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1947-2012 (0.9 linear feet: Boxes 6-8)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1940s-2010 (0.7 linear feet: Boxes 7-8)
Biographical / Historical:
William Conger, born 1937 in Dixon, Illinois, is an abstract painter and art educator living in Chicago.

From a young age Conger's interest in art making and a fascination with the masters was encouraged by his mother, an amateur painter who brought him on regular visits to exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago from their home in Evanston, Illinois. Conger received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico where he studied with renowned abstract painters Elaine de Kooning and Raymond Johnson, and later received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Chicago. Conger taught painting throughout the 1970s at DePaul University, then became Professor of Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University from 1985 until he retired as Professor Emeritus in 2006. At Northwestern he taught alongside friend and colleague Ed Paschke. Conger has published writings on art on topics such as psychoanalysis and the masters, the Chicago art scene, and abstract art of the region.

Conger's mature style is an abstract style of painting largely informed by color and form, reminiscent of Wassily Kandinsky, often titled with musical and metaphorical references. He began exhibiting as early as his undergraduate years in the New Mexico Biennial and was included by professor Elaine de Kooning in a 1960 group exhibition at the Great Jones Gallery in New York City. In addition to showing at commercial art galleries Conger has completed a number of public artworks primarily in the Chicago area, including murals and painted sculptures. His work can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the Wichita Art Museum, as well as numerous university museums and corporate collections internationally.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with William Conger in 2015, May 18-20.

William Conger papers relating to his years as a faculty member at Northwestern University are located at Northwestern University Archives.
Provenance:
The William Conger papers were donated in 2007, 2015 and 2019 by William Conger.
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:
Journals and Restricted Correspondence: Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from William Conger. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Educators -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Topic:
Art, Abstract  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Citation:
William Conger Papers, circa 1940s-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.congwill
See more items in:
William Conger papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw914c17b64-8f78-43a8-8400-9acaa0676a89
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-congwill

Oral history interview with Vera Klement

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

Oral history interview with Vera Klement

Interviewee:
Klement, Vera, 1929-  Search this
Interviewer:
Stieber, Jason, 1973-  Search this
Names:
Chicago Art and Artists: Oral History Project  Search this
Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (digital video file (1 hr., 4 min.) Video, digital, wav)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Video recordings
Interviews
Date:
2016 May 25
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Vera Klement conducted 2016 May 25, by Jason Stieber, for the Archives of American Art's Chicago Art and Artists: Oral History Project.
Biographical / Historical:
Vera Klement (1929-2023) was an Expressionist painter in Chicago, Ill.
Jason Stieber (1973- ) is the National Collector for the Archives of American Art.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the papers of Vera Klement.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
Occupation:
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Topic:
Women painters  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.klemen16
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c66a8ed8-4fc3-46d6-a58d-7ba5949ece32
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-klemen16

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

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

Giulio V. Blanc papers

Creator:
Blanc, Giulio V.  Search this
Names:
Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami, Fla.)  Search this
Brito, María (1947-)  Search this
Cano, Margarita, 1932-  Search this
Cano, Pablo  Search this
Carreño, Mario  Search this
Carulla, Ramón, 1938-  Search this
Demi, 1955-  Search this
Garcia, Hernan, 1935-  Search this
Gattorno, Antonio  Search this
Gaztelu, A. (Angel)  Search this
Goldman, Shifra M., 1926-2011  Search this
Gómez-Peña, Guillermo  Search this
Lam, Wifredo  Search this
Larraz, Julio  Search this
Libin, Victoria  Search this
Macia, Carlos A., 1951-1994  Search this
Martínez-Cañas, María  Search this
Riverón, Enrique  Search this
Rodríguez, Arturo, 1956-  Search this
Sánchez, Juan, 1954-  Search this
Sí, Juan  Search this
Trasobares, César  Search this
Vater, Regina  Search this
Vázquez Lucio, Oscar E. (Oscar Edgardo), 1932-  Search this
Interviewee:
Cabrera, Lydia  Search this
Gómez Sicre, José  Search this
Extent:
11 Linear feet
0.001 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Sound recordings
Date:
1920-1995
Summary:
The dates for the Giulio V. Blanc papers range from 1920-1995. Measuring a total of eleven linear feet and 0.001 GB, the collection provides documentation of the art exhibitions Blanc curated during his career, including original writings and exhibition catalogs. The extensive artists files in the collection provide information on numerous Latin American and Caribbean artists. The collection also provides historical information on the life and culture of Cuba.
Scope and Content Note:
The Giulio V. Blanc papers measure approximately 11 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1920 to 1995. Compiled by Blanc since the beginning of his curatorial, writing, and research career in the 1980s, the papers consist primarily of artist files on Cuban, Cuban-American, and Latin American artists (1920-1995 and undated). Also found is biographical information (1994-1995), interviews by Blanc (1984-1987, 1994) and miscellaneous letters from artists and friends (1983-1995 and undated).

The first series, Biographical Files, 1994-1995 includes information about Blanc's career. Series 2: Miscellaneous Letters, 1983-1995, undated, consists of letters from artists and friends on various topics. Series 3: Artist Files, 1920-1995, undated, represents the bulk of the collection (approximately 300 artists in all, 6 linear feet), and contain materials either collected by Blanc or received by Blanc from the artists themselves. These consist of biographical material about the artist, usually two or three paragraphs written by Blanc, scattered resumes and copies of fellowship applications. Also found are newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and letters or correspondence between Blanc and the artists. Of special interest in this series are numerous taped interviews with celebrated Cuban artists and art historians such as José Gómez Sícre, founder and first director of the Art Museum of the Americas, Organization of American States. Gómez-Sícre describes his early career and involvement with acquisitions for the museum's permanent collection as well as his working relationship with Alfred H. Barr, first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Gómez-Sícre's notable book, Pintura Cubana de Hoy, published in Havana in 1944 is included in the files.

Elena Peláez de Medero, another interviewee, discusses her sister, Cuban painter Amelia Peláez (1896-1968). Blanc interviewed Elena Peláez in Miami for his 1988 exhibition Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective. The Peláez file includes Blanc's correspondence with her as well as copies of rare 1930s and 1940s exhibition catalogs from Amelia Peláez's early career. Among the catalogs is a copy of Modern Cuban Painters from the 1944 exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Also found are rare French, German and Spanish newspaper clippings on Peláez dating back to the 1920s. Of interest is a copy of Amado Blanco's 1937 poetry book, Poema desesperado. Published in Havana, the book is dedicated to the memory of Federico García Lorca and includes illustrations by Peláez.

Another prominent artist whom Blanc interviewed was Enrique Riverón (b. 1901) leader of the Cuban vanguardia. He was a member of El Grupo de Montparnasse, a talented group of painters and writers living in the southern district of Paris in the late 1920s, an area noted for its boisterous after-hour activities. The interview was published in the Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts in 1997. Also found in the papers are illustrated letters and greeting cards addressed to Blanc and his parents, Baron Lodovico Blanc and María V. Blanc.

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1977-1995, undated, consists primarily of material Blanc compiled for exhibitions he curated. Found here are letters from museum directors, artists and colleagues, drafts and finished essays for exhibition catalogs, and printed material such as newspaper clippings of art reviews. This series also includes files on exhibitions Blanc did not curate.

Series 5: Subject Files, 1933-1995, undated, are files relating to Cuban art, culture, and society, the Cuban revolution, book projects, Biennials in Havana and São Paulo, the 1988 controversy surrounding the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami, FL) and other topics. Found are letters, drafts of writings, notes, printed material such as newspaper clippings and magazine articles, press releases, and exhibition announcements.

Particularly extensive is the documentation about the 1980s conflict at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture. In April 1988, a fund-raising auction at the 24-year-old 'little Havana' institution resulted in heated disputes that escalated to violence. The works auctioned were by Cuban artists still living on the island. Many in Miami's Cuban community considered these artists to be supporters of the Communist regime and were outraged. One of the disputed works purchased the night of the auction, a drawing by Manuel Mendive, was taken across the street by its successful bidder and burned. In addition, the museum building was damaged by a pipe bomb shortly after the sale. In the National Public Radio news story (available in Blanc's papers on audio cassette) Helen Kohen, critic for the Miami Herald commented, "We're not talking about paintings. We're talking about `my brother's in jail'. That's what we're talking about." The situation intensified quickly; transcending local politics and involving the Treasury and Justice Departments, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses. Ramón Cernuda, the museum vice-president who organized the auction also had his personal collection of Cuban art impounded by the FBI. A second bombing took place in 1989 to protest an exhibition of Cuban artists who came to the U. S. during the early 1980s Mariel boatlift.

The seriousness of the conflicts in the Miami museum prompted the Museum of Modern Art in New York to withdraw an offer to lend three paintings to the Cuban museum for the 1988 exhibition Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective scheduled to open later that year. Curated by Giulio Blanc, it was the first U.S. retrospective of this important Cuban artist and the exhibition helped situate her work. The Cuban Museum of Art in Daytona Beach, an institution that helped start the Miami museum, also withdrew an offer to lend "Amelias". The result was an exhibition devoid of works owned by the Museum of Modern Art, important paintings created after 1963, the year President Kennedy imposed economic sanctions on Cuba.

To publicize the Peláez exhibition and boost attendance, the museum placed a public invitation in the Spanish section of the Miami Herald. The half page ad, also found in the Blanc papers, lists more than 100 intellectuals and professionals who supported the exhibition. Blanc stated in a letter to the Miami Herald, "It is horrifying to think there are those in Miami who would burn a painting for the sake of politics. This was the same reasoning utilized by Joseph Goebbels when he made bonfires of books and paintings by anti-Nazi and `degenerate' artists and writers in 1930s Germany... One can only pity the ignorance of those who play into the hands of the Castro regime by resorting to uncivilized tactics that can only hurt the image of the Cuban-exile community and of Miami in general."

The files concerning the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture contain exhibition announcements, copies of court orders, press releases and correspondence between Blanc and the Museum of Modern Art in New York regarding the museum and the Peláez exhibition. Also included are a great number of newspaper articles printed in two of Miami's major newspapers, the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald which covered the story until it was resolved in the early 1990s. Offering additional information on the controversy are a number of letters addressed to either Blanc or his parents from artists and friends expressing either discontent with the museum's state of affairs or gratitude for the Blanc's financial support during the museum's reconstruction. These provide remarkable insight into a relatively heterogeneous Cuban community.

Series 6: Sound Recordings, 1992, 1994 consists of two untranscribed audio cassette tapes. One is of the 1992 College Art Association's session: Artistic Voices of Latin America: The Aesthetics of Anti-Colonialism held in Chicago, Illinois in which Giulio V. Blanc was a panelist. The other is a rare 1994 interview conducted by Blanc with poet-priest Monseñor Angel Gaztelu, a friend of many Cuban writers and artists, and who presided over Peláez's funeral service in 1968.

The last series, Series 7: Photographs, 1981-1993, undated, includes black and whiteportraits of artists, group shots of Blanc with "Miami Generation" artists María Brito, Pablo Cano, María Martínez-Cañas, Carlos Macía, Arturo Rodríguez, and César Trasobares, and photos of other artists.
Arrangement:
The Giulio V. Blanc papers are arranged into seven series primarily according to type of material. Within each series, materials are arranged chronologically, except for Artist Files and Subject Files which are arranged alphabetically by either name or subject.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Files, 1994-1995, undated (box 1; 3 folders)

Series 2: Miscellaneous Letters, 1983-1995, undated (box 1; 3 folders)

Series 3: Artist Files, 1920-1995, undated (boxes 1-8, ER01; 6 linear ft., 0.001 GB)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1977-1995, undated (box 8; 1 linear foot)

Series 5: Subject Files, 1933-1995, undated (boxes 8-12; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Untranscribed Sound Recordings, 1992-1994 (box 12; 2 folders)

Series 7: Photographs, 1981, 1993, undated (box 12; 2 folders)
Biographical Note:
Cuban born independent curator, critic, art historian and consultant Giulio V. Blanc (1955-1995) specialized in Cuban and Latin American art history and in his lifetime collected a wealth of material on the subject. Through his numerous exhibitions and keen articles appearing in national and international art journals, Blanc became a leading authority on Latin American art and successfully established himself as a link between Cuban and Cuban-American artists and US galleries and museums. The Miami Generation (1983) and Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective (1988) are two significant exhibitions Blanc curated for Miami's Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in addition to the celebrated Wifredo Lam and His Contemporaries, 1938-1952 (1992) for New York's Studio Museum in Harlem. Giulio V. Blanc was among the key figures that catapulted Latin American art onto the mainstream in the early 1980s.

Giulio V. Blanc was born in Havana in 1955 to Baron Lodovico Blanc and María V. Blanc. The Blanc name hails from Italy and the title of Baron was awarded to Alberto Blanc, Lodovico Blanc's grandfather, while he was Secretary of State in 1873 under Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. As young advocates of Cuban culture, the Blanc's collected a number of paintings by Cuban artists but were forced to leave behind the works of Cuban masters such as Carlos Enríquez, Victor Manuel, René Portocarrero, Fidelio Ponce and others to facilitate an uncomplicated exodus from the country during the revolution. Lodovico and María were in their thirties and Giulio was five years old when the family settled in Miami.

Giulio Blanc completed his undergraduate education at Harvard and proceeded to Brown University and the Institute of Fine Arts in New York for graduate work (1979-1980). During his career, he served as an independent curator and consultant to The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami), The Metropolitan Museum (Miami), and The Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (New York) among others. He also lectured on Latin American art history at the Art Museum of the Americas, OAS (Organization of American States), Washington, DC, The University of Miami, and El Museo Nacional de Arte in La Paz, Bolivia. In addition, he worked as a consultant in the Latin American Paintings Department at Sotheby's auction house in New York and served on the editorial board of the magazine Art Nexus. Blanc was pursuing a doctoral degree in art history at the City University of New York before his premature death in 1995 at the age of thirty-nine.

Missing Title

1955 -- Born November 1 in Havana, Cuba to Baron Lodovico and Baroness María V. Blanc, young collectors of Cuban art. The title of Baron was awarded to Alberto Blanc, Lodovico Blanc's grandfather, in 1873 while Alberto was Secretary of State under Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.

1960 -- The Blanc family migrates to the United States because of the escalating revolution. Lodovico and Maria V. Blanc are in their thirties when they flee the island. The works of Cuban painters such as Carlos Enríquez, Victor Manuel, René Portocarrero, Fidelio Ponce and others were left behind to facilitate an uncomplicated exodus.

1976 -- Giulio V. Blanc serves as research assistant for one year at the Tozzer Library, Peabody Museum, Harvard University.

1977 -- Graduates cum laude from Harvard College with a B.A. in Archeology.

1979 -- Graduates from Brown University with a M.A. in Archeology. Was a research assistant until 1980 at the Gallery of the Center for Inter-American Relations, New York city.

1980 -- Receives a certificate in Museum Studies from the Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York University. Curates Emilio Sánchez: Lithographs which opens at the Pagoda, Ransom-Everglades School, Coconut Grove, Florida. Co-curates Cuba in the Nineteenth Century for Miami's Miami-Dade Public Library.

1981 -- Joins the Latin American Paintings Department, Sotheby's Auction House, New York and serves for two years.

1982 -- Co-curates Young Hispanics, USA which opens at the Lehigh University Museum, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and curates Ten Out of Cuba for INTAR Latin American Gallery in New York.

1983 -- Curates Cuban Fantasies at the Kouros Gallery in New York and Pablo Cano en Paris for the 4 Place de Saussaies in Paris, France. Also curates The Miami Generation: Nine Cuban-American Artists for the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in Miami and the Meridian House in Washington, DC.

1984 -- Serves as independent curator and consultant to Miami's Metropolitan Museum and Art Center and The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture; The Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art in New York and other institutions. Lectures at the Art Museum of the Americas (Organization of American States) in Washington, DC; The University of Miami; The Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture (Miami); The Center for the Fine Arts (Miami); Rockland Center for the Arts (West Nyack, NY); and the National Museum of Art, La Paz, Bolivia. Curates Young Collector's of Latin American Art which opened at Miami's Metropolitan Museum and Art Center.

1985 -- Curates Dancing Faces: An Exhibition of Mexican Masks for the Metropolitan Museum and Art Center in Miami and Nuevas Vistas: Latin American Paintings which opens at the Wistariahurst, Holyoke, Massachusetts. Curates Architecture in Cuban Painting, for the Miami Dade Public Library.

1986 -- Receives and M.A. in Art History at New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. Curates Carlos Enríquez for the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, Miami, Florida and Into the Mainstream: Ten Latin American Artists Working in New York for the Jersey City Museum in Jersey City, New Jersey.

1987 -- The exhibition Aurelia Muñoz: Selections, curated by Blanc, opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Miami, Florida. Serves as juror for Expresiones Hispanas: Coors National Hispanic Art Exhibition, Denver, Colorado. Curates Visions of Self: The American Latin Artist for the Miami-Dade Community College gallery.

1988 -- Receives a grant from the NY State Council on the Arts for research on Cuban artist Wifredo Lam for the exhibition at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Enrolls in the art history Ph.D. program at the City University Graduate Center, New York city. First bombing of the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture in Miami takes place. Blanc's Amelia Peláez: A Retrospective successfully opens at the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture despite much controversy.

1989 -- Curates Urgent Dream: New Work by Mario Bencomo at the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MoCHA), New York. Second bombing of the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture, Miami FL.

1990 -- New York correspondent for Arte en Colombia, Bogota. Serves as adjunct lecturer at Queens College (CUNY) for the Fall semester. Curates the exhibition, The Post-Miami Generation for the Inter-American Gallery in Miami, Florida. Co-curates Figurative Perspectives: Six Artists of Latin American Background for the Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY.

1991 -- Visiting scholar at University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Writes a small play, Tía Carmela: A Cuban Tragicomedy, illustrated by Cuban artist and friend Pablo Cano.

1995 -- Dies at the age of forty of AIDS related complications.
Related Materials:
Papers of Giulio V. Blanc, 1930-1982, are also located at the University of Miami Archival Collections.
Provenance:
Margherite Blanc, sister of Giulio V. Blanc, donated her brother's papers in 1998 to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. This collection, along with numerous other Latino collections, was acquired through the 1996 Latino Art Documentation Project in South Florida. Initiated to chronicle the thriving art scene so apparent in the city's galleries, museums, and private collections, the project resulted in numerous acquisitions described in the revised edition of the Papers of Latino and Latin American Artists. Both the project and the publication were made possible, in part, with funding provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Latino Initiatives.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
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:
Art historians -- Florida -- Miami  Search this
Topic:
Cuban American art  Search this
Art, Latin American  Search this
Artists -- Cuba  Search this
Cuban American artists  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Citation:
Giulio V. Blanc papers, 1920-1995. Smithsonian Institution. Archives of American Art.
Identifier:
AAA.blangiul
See more items in:
Giulio V. Blanc papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d3c414b1-dc78-4f66-889d-963690fe0282
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-blangiul
Online Media:

Aaron Bohrod papers, 1507-1994, bulk circa 1930-1994

Creator:
Bohrod, Aaron, 1907-1992  Search this
Subject:
Ball, F. Carlton  Search this
Dehn, Adolf  Search this
Benton, Thomas Hart  Search this
Coward, Noel  Search this
Milch Galleries  Search this
Type:
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Drawings
Sound recordings
Motion pictures
Citation:
Aaron Bohrod papers, 1507-1994, bulk circa 1930-1994. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Decorative arts  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6754
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208879
AAA_collcode_bohraaro
Theme:
Diaries
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208879
Online Media:

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