The papers of Connecticut painter, educator, photographer, and watercolorist Roger Crossgrove measure 21.1 linear feet and date from 1888 to 2012 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1950 to 2006. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, professional files, teaching files, subject files, exhibition files, printed materials, personal business records, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographic materials.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Connecticut painter, educator, photographer, and watercolorist Roger Crossgrove measure 21.1 linear feet and date from 1888 to 2012 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1950 to 2006. The collection consists of biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, professional files, teaching files, subject files, exhibition files, printed materials, personal business records, artwork, sketchbooks, and photographic materials.
Biographical materials consist of appointment notebooks and planners, awards, calendars, a marriage announcement, and graduate school coursework. Correspondence is with family, friends, colleagues, museums, and galleries. Correspondents include American Artists Group, Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and artists Eric Carle, John Schoenherr, Joseph A. Smith, Antonia Torres, and Alfredo Zalce, among others.
Writings and notes include essays, a thesis by Crossgrove, a play manuscript, notebooks, and notes. There are also writings by Justino Fernandez about contemporary Mexican prints. Professional files contain correspondence, printed materials, and notes related to Crossgrove's involvement with various arts organizations, the Yaddo Fellowship, and other professional activities. Teaching files contain documents compiled during Crossgrove's tenure at the Pratt Institute and the University of Connecticut.
Subject files created by Crossgrove about topics of interest, Mexican art, and artists Milton Avery, Romare Bearden, and others contain clippings, exhibition catalogs, and museum publications. Exhibition files are both general and specific. There are files for Roger Crossgrove Selected Works: Photographs 1978-1993, Three Decades (1961-1990): Works on Paper and Photographs, and numerous additional exhibitions of Crossgrove's work.
Personal business records document loans and sales of Crossgrove's artwork, purchases of artwork, personal ledgers, and expense lists. Printed materials include clippings, invitations, exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, flyers, gallery and museum publications, periodicals, and posters.
Artwork consists of drawings, illustrations, and monotypes by Crossgrove, as well as photographs by Steve Balkin, and artwork by Louis Owens, Vincent Perez, and Warner Pfeiffer. Eighteen sketchbooks contain drawings and notes by Crossgrove. Photographs and negatives are of Crossgrove, artwork, family and friends, and travel.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 12 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1888-2002 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 23, OV 24)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1921-2000s (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-3)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1951-2000 (0.5 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 4: Professional Files, 1951-2009 (2.5 linear feet; Boxes 3-6)
Series 5: Teaching Files, 1953-2009 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 6-7, 23)
Series 6: Subject Files, 1950s-1999 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 7-8, OV 24)
Series 7: Exhibition Files, 1950-2005 (3.0 linear feet; Boxes 8-11)
Series 8: Personal Business Records, 1963-2009 (0.2 linear feet; Box 11, OV 24)
Series 9: Printed Material, 1906-2012 (8.5 linear feet; Boxes 11-20, 23, OV 24)
Series 10: Artwork, 1933-2000 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 20, 23)
Series 11: Sketchbooks, 1950s-1980s (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 20, 22-23)
Series 12: Photographic Material, 1920s-2006 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 21)
Biographical / Historical:
Roger Crossgrove (1921-2016 ) is a painter, photographer, and educator working at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut and who is best known for his monotype watercolors.
Roger Crossgrove was born in Farnam, Nebraska. He attended the University of Nebraska where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1949. In 1950, he spent a year painting in Mexico and later returned to live for another year in 1965. In 1951, he received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois. He also participated in the Yaddo Fellowship in Saratoga Springs, New York for several years beginning in 1957.
From 1953 to 1967, Crossgrove taught at the Pratt Institute's Art School and the Department of Graphic Art and Illustration in Brooklyn, New York, teaching under Albert Christ-Janer for some of that period. He moved to Storrs, Connecticut to teach at the University of Connecticut's School of Fine Arts where he served as head of the Art Department for 20 years. After retiring in 2008, he was awarded Professor Emeritus status and, in 2008, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the university.
Although Crossgrove produced artwork in various mediums over the course of his career, his monotypes are some of his most prolific works. Numerous exhibitions throughout the United States and Mexico have featured Crossgrove's monotypes and other works of art.
Provenance:
The Roger Crossgrove papers were donated by Roger Crossgrove in 2013.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the 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.
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