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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:

Seated Woman

Artist:
Nicholas Vasilieff, 1892 - 1970  Search this
Sitter:
Unidentified Woman  Search this
Medium:
Pencil on wove paper
Dimensions:
Sheet (estimate): 30.3 x 22.9cm (11 15/16 x 9")
Type:
Drawing
Date:
1925
Topic:
Unidentified Woman: Female  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
Owner: National Gallery of Art
Object number:
2002.98.200 NGA
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Catalog of American Portraits
Data Source:
Catalog of American Portraits
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm490edae5b-384b-4469-a0d2-758a1bfeb333
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_2002.98.200_NGA

Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers, 1916-1965

Creator:
Sawyer, Esther Hoyt  Search this
Subject:
Vasilieff, Nicholas  Search this
Dickinson, Edwin Walter  Search this
Milles, Carl  Search this
Citation:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers, 1916-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)8689
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210869
AAA_collcode_sawyesth
Theme:
Women
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210869

Bertha Schaefer papers and gallery records, 1909-1975, bulk 1940-1965

Creator:
Schaefer, Bertha, 1895-1971  Search this
Subject:
Duchamp, Marcel  Search this
Greene, Balcomb  Search this
Barnet, Will  Search this
Picasso, Pablo  Search this
Ben-Zion  Search this
Vasilieff, Nicholas  Search this
Pollock, Jackson  Search this
Zóbel, Fernando  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad  Search this
New Bertha Schaefer Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Bertha Schaefer Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Type:
Scrapbooks
Sketches
Citation:
Bertha Schaefer papers and gallery records, 1909-1975, bulk 1940-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Interior decoration  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theme:
Art Gallery Records  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9497
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211695
AAA_collcode_schabert
Theme:
Art Gallery Records
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211695
Online Media:

Woman from the Rockport

Artist:
Nicholas Vasilieff, 1892 - 1970  Search this
Sitter:
Unidentified Woman  Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
86.4cm x 60.9cm (34" x 24"), Accurate
Type:
Painting
Date:
c. 1945
Topic:
Unidentified Woman: Female  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
Owner: State University Of New York At New Paltz
Object number:
55.3
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
Catalog of American Portraits
Data Source:
Catalog of American Portraits
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm446a69e68-5e11-48a2-a0c1-bb1660412d50
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_55.3

Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers

Creator:
Sawyer, Esther Hoyt  Search this
Names:
Dickinson, Edwin Walter, 1891-1978  Search this
Milles, Carl, 1875-1955  Search this
Vasilieff, Nicholas  Search this
Extent:
1.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1916-1965
Summary:
The papers of painter and arts patron Esther Hoyt Sawyer measure 1.2 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1965. The bulk of the papers consist of over 500 letters to Sawyer from Edwin Dickinson, Carl Milles, and Nicholas Vasilieff. Also found are scattered letters from others including Olga Milles, Loja Saarinen, and museums regarding Sawyer's paintings by others. Other materials include personal photographs and printed materials.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and arts patron Esther Hoyt Sawyer measure 1.2 linear feet and date from 1916 to 1965. The bulk of the papers consist of over 500 letters to Sawyer from Edwin Dickinson, Carl Milles, and Nicholas Vasilieff. Also found are scattered letters from others including Olga Milles, Loja Saarinen, and museums regarding Sawyer's paintings by others. Other materials include personal photographs and printed materials.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer (1890-1971) was a painter and art patron in Buffalo, New York. She studied at the Albright Art Gallery School and the Art Students League. She collected art and purchased Edwin Dickinson's first sold painting and they maintained a long friendship. She was a founding member of the Patteran Society and was a member of the 45 Group.
Provenance:
Donated 1966 by Esther Hoyt Sawyer.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art patrons -- New York (State) -- Buffalo  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Citation:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer papers, 1916-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.sawyesth
See more items in:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9bc65632c-a677-4baa-9666-8d73b4e0123c
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-sawyesth

Vasilieff, Nicholas and Magda, Letters

Collection Creator:
Sawyer, Esther Hoyt  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 18
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1946-1949
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer papers, 1916-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers / Series 1: Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b9db1c67-8dba-489a-bd4b-ddc294ad34c4
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-sawyesth-ref20

Vasilieff, Nicholas and Magda, Letters

Collection Creator:
Sawyer, Esther Hoyt  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 19-20
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1950-1959
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer papers, 1916-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers / Series 1: Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cddb59f2-7171-47a8-a502-b52d76f6c440
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-sawyesth-ref21

Vasilieff, Nicholas and Magda, Letters

Collection Creator:
Sawyer, Esther Hoyt  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 21
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1960-1965
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer papers, 1916-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers / Series 1: Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92e79a3ac-0887-443f-ae91-46912273cc7c
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-sawyesth-ref22

Vasilieff, Nicholas and Magda, Printed Material

Collection Creator:
Sawyer, Esther Hoyt  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 22
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1953-1963
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer papers, 1916-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers
Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers / Series 1: Esther Hoyt Sawyer Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw987a8f773-19c0-431b-8859-1660643f6623
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-sawyesth-ref23

Bertha Schaefer papers and gallery records

Creator:
Schaefer, Bertha, 1895-1971  Search this
Names:
Bertha Schaefer Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
New Bertha Schaefer Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Barnet, Will, 1911-2012  Search this
Ben-Zion, 1897–1987  Search this
Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this
Greene, Balcomb, 1904-1990  Search this
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this
Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this
Vasilieff, Nicholas  Search this
Zóbel, Fernando  Search this
Extent:
4.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Sketches
Date:
1909-1975
bulk 1940-1965
Summary:
The Bertha Schaefer papers and gallery records measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1909-1975, with the bulk of the material dating from 1940-1965. The collection documents the Bertha Schaefer Gallery as well as Bertha Schaefer, the interior designer, through correspondence with artists and galleries, artist files, client files, exhibition material, printed material, financial material, biographical material, photographs, and six scrapbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The Bertha Schaefer papers and gallery records measure 4.6 linear feet and date from 1909-1975, with the bulk of the material dating from 1940-1965. The collection documents the Bertha Schaefer Gallery as well as Bertha Schaefer, the interior designer, through correspondence with artists and galleries, artist files, client files, exhibition material, printed material, financial material, biographical material, photographs, and six scrapbooks. Also found here are oversized blue prints and sketched plans of interior design projects, as well as a number of oversized photographic prints and stereo slides. Correspondence contains handwritten notes by many notable artists, including Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Ad Reinhardt, and Fernando Zobel, with a bulk of the letters from Balcomb Greene.

Separated into three series, the Bertha Schaefer Gallery records document the artists represented by and function of the Bertha Schaefer Gallery. The Bertha Schaefer papers pertain to Bertha Schaefer as an interior designer through a large number of photographic materials and client files. Six scrapbooks document artists Will Barnet, Ben-Zion, Balcomb Greene, and Nicolai Vasilieff, as well as the Bertha Schaefer gallery and the New Bertha Schaefer Gallery.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 3 series. Records are generally arranged by material type and chronologically thereafter.

Missing Title

Series 1: Bertha Schaefer Gallery Records, 1909-1971 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Bertha Schaefer Papers, 1914-1971 (2.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 6-7, OV 8-9)

Series 3: Scrapbooks, 1944-1975 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 3-5)
Biographical / Historical:
Bertha Schaefer (1895-1971) was an interior designer and director of the Bertha Schaefer Gallery in New York, New York. Schaefer was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi to Emil and Julia (Marx) Schaefer. She received her B.A. on June 1, 1914 from Mississippi State College for Women, and received a diploma for interior decorating from the Parsons School of Design in New York City. In 1924, after living in Paris for 5 months, she opened Bertha Schaefer Interiors in New York. In 1944, she opened the Bertha Schaefer Gallery of Contemporary Art, which featured American and European paintings and sculpture. "The Modern House Comes Alive" (1947-1948) is one of the key exhibitions she created. Schaefer designed furniture for Joe Singer of M. Singer and Sons Furniture Company in New York, 1950-1961.

Schaefer won design awards from the Museum of Modern Art (1952) and the Decorators Club of New York (1959). In 1958, she was given an award of recognition from the U.S. Department of State for her gallery's assistance in the American program for the Brussels Universal and International Exhibition, and an outstanding achievement in interior design award from the American Institute of Interior Designers. She was a member of several design organizations, including: the American Institute of Decorators, the Home Lighting Forum, the Illuminating Engineers Society, the American Federation of the Arts, and the Art Dealers Association of America. She was the president of the Decorators Club of New York from 1947-1948 and 1955-1957.

Schaefer was one of the first people to use fluorescent lighting in domestic spaces, with Percy Block as her first client, in 1939. In honor of Edison's birthday in 1953, she designed a bathroom for General Electric, applying new developments in lighting. She died on May 24, 1971, after which the gallery was renamed the New Bertha Schaefer Gallery.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Bertha Schaefer conducted by Paul Cummings, April 20-22, 1970.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming. Reel N69-115 is comprised of papers concerning Alfred H. Maurer, including a scrapbook about Maurer from 1946 to 1969. Reel N70-60 contains material concerning Hale Woodruff, including correspondence, sketches and drawings, articles, photographs, catalogs, announcements, clipping, notes kept while a student of Diego Rivera, and a scrapbook. Lent material was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The Bertha Schaefer papers and gallery records were donated in several installments from 1969 to 1974 by Bertha Schaefer and Bertha Schaefer Gallery Inc. She also loaned material for microfilming in 1970. Paul Creamer donated three scrapbooks from the Bertha Schaefer Gallery and the New Bertha Schaefer Gallery in 1979. Additional material was donated in 1984 by Syracuse University.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Gallery directors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Interior designers  Search this
Topic:
Interior decoration  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Function:
Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Sketches
Citation:
Bertha Schaefer papers and gallery records, 1909-1975, bulk 1940-1965. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.schabert
See more items in:
Bertha Schaefer papers and gallery records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9837e3fbe-5623-4258-9014-b2d8c0ac6857
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-schabert

Fairfield Porter papers

Creator:
Porter, Fairfield  Search this
Names:
Hirschl & Adler Galleries  Search this
Tibor de Nagy Gallery  Search this
Brainard, Joe, 1942-  Search this
Burkhardt, Rudy  Search this
Button, John, 1929-1982  Search this
Day, Lucien B., 1916-  Search this
Downes, Rackstraw  Search this
Elmslie, Kenward  Search this
Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this
Frielicher, Jane  Search this
Giardelli, Arthur  Search this
Guest, Barbara  Search this
Hartl, Léon, 1889-  Search this
Hess, Thomas B.  Search this
Katz, Alex, 1927-  Search this
Koch, Kenneth, 1925-  Search this
Laning, Edward, 1906-1981  Search this
Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997  Search this
Morse, Carl  Search this
Myers, John Bernard  Search this
O'Hara, Frank, 1926-1966  Search this
Padgett, Ron  Search this
Porter, Ruth W., 1875-1942  Search this
Rivers, Larry, 1925-  Search this
Schloss, Edith, 1919-  Search this
Schuyler, James  Search this
Shapiro, David, 1947-  Search this
Stankiewicz, Richard, 1922-  Search this
Vasilieff, Nicholas  Search this
Extent:
9.3 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Travel diaries
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Date:
1888-2001
bulk 1924-1975
Summary:
The papers of New York-based painter, lithographer, art critic, and poet Fairfield Porter measure 9.3 linear feet and date from 1888 to 2001, with the bulk of material dating from 1924 to 1975. Papers document Porter's life and career through correspondence, writings, business records, printed materials, photographs, and artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of New York-based painter, lithographer, art critic, and poet Fairfield Porter measure 9.3 linear feet and date from 1888 to 2001, with the bulk of material dating from 1924 to 1975. The collection includes a biographical chronology; certificates, awards, and diplomas; letters to Fairfield and Anne Porter; scattered outgoing correspondence; and reviews, essays, notes, poems, and translations written by Porter and others. Among the writings are poetry manuscripts written by several New York School Poets including Frank O'Hara, James Schuyler, and Kenneth Koch. Also found are gallery records, inventories and appraisals, financial records, exhibition catalogs, clippings, posters, and records of Anne Porter's efforts to place his collection and document and publish his work after his death. Photographs of Porter, his homes, and his family are also present, as well as sketchbooks, loose sketches, and drawings spanning his entire career.

Significant correspondence is present from the Porters' many poet friends, including Kenneth Koch, James Schuyler, Ron Padgett, Kenward Elmslie, Barbara Guest, Carl Morse, David Shapiro, and others. Among the letters are poetry manuscripts by Koch, Morse, Schuyler, Padgett, and Shapiro. Some letters are actually written in verse, especially those from Kenneth Koch.

Artists with letters in the collection include Joe Brainard, Rudy Burkhardt, John Button, Lucien Day, Rackstraw Downes, Philip Evergood, Jane Frielicher, Arthur Giardelli, Leon Hartl, Alex Katz, Edward Laning, Roy Lichtenstein, Larry Rivers, Richard Stankiewicz, Nicolas Vasilieff, among others. Other art world figures represented include John Bernard Myers, curator at the Tibor de Nagy gallery (New York), and Tom Hess, editor of ArtNews. Artwork found within the correspondence includes an illustrated letter from Ron Padgett and an original print on a holiday card by Edith Schloss.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into the following nine series. See the series descriptions below for more information about the content of each series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1916-1975 (Box 1 and 11; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1918-1996 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings by Fairfield Porter, 1924-1975 (Box 2; 0.6)

Series 4: Writings by Others, 1888-1992 (Boxes 2-3; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1944-1996 (Boxes 3-4; 1 linear foot)

Series 6: Anne Porter's Posthumous Projects, 1980-1988 (Box 4; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Materials, 1934-2001 (Boxes 4-6 and 11; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1880-1990 (Boxes 6 and 11; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 9: Artwork, 1918-1975 (Boxes 7-10 and 12-17; 2.2 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Fairfield Porter was born near Chicago in 1907, the fourth of five children of James and Ruth Furness Porter. His father was an architect, his mother a poet from a literary family, and Porter grew up in an environment where art and literature were highly valued. His father designed the family homes in Winnetka, Illinois and on Great Spruce Head Island, an island in Maine that he purchased for the family in 1912. Fairfield Porter spent summers there from the age of six, and views of the island, its structures, and neighboring towns were the subjects of many paintings.

Porter attended Harvard from 1924 to 1928, studying fine art with Arthur Pope and philosophy with Alfred North Whitehead. After graduating from Harvard, Porter moved to New York City and took studio classes at the Art Students League from 1928 until 1930, studying with Boardman Robinson and Thomas Hart Benton, and immersing himself in the art and radical politics of Greenwich Village. In the 1940s, he studied at Parson's School of Design with art restorer Jacques Maroger, adopting the Maroger recipe for an oil medium in his own painting.

To further his education as an artist, Porter traveled to Europe in 1931, where he spent time with expatriate art theorist Bernard Berenson and his circle. When he returned to New York, he allied himself with progressive, socialist organizations, and like many of his contemporaries, worked at creating socially relevant art. He did artwork for the John Reed Club, a communist group; taught drawing classes for Rebel Arts, a socialist arts organization; wrote for their magazine, Arise!; and created a mural for the Queens branch of the Socialist Party. Living in the Chicago area for several years in the 1930s, he illustrated chapbooks for the socialist poet John Wheelwright's Poems for a Dime and Poems for Two Bits series. Porter's financial contributions to the radical Chicago publication Living Marxism kept it afloat for several years.

In 1932, Porter married Anne Channing, a poet from Boston, and they settled in New York. The Porters had five children, and their first son, born in 1934, suffered from a severe form of autism. In the next decade, they had two more sons, and spent three years in Porter's hometown of Winnetka, where he had his first solo exhibition of paintings. When they returned to New York in 1939, the Porters became friends with Edwin Denby, Rudy Burkhardt, and Elaine and Willem de Kooning. Porter became an earnest admirer of Willem de Kooning's artwork and was among the first to review and purchase it.

In 1949, the Porters moved to the small, seaside town of Southampton, New York. Their two daughters were born in 1950 and 1956. Like the family home on Great Spruce Head Island, Southampton became the setting of many of Porter's paintings. In fact, almost all of his mature paintings depict family homes, surrounding landscapes, family members, and friends. Porter was an individualistic painter who embraced figurative art in the late 1940s and 1950s, when abstract expressionism was the prevailing aesthetic trend. Porter once made a comment that his commitment to figurative painting was made just to spite art critic Clement Greenberg, a respected critic and ideologue who had championed abstract expressionism and denigrated realism as passé.

Porter established his reputation as a painter and as a writer in the 1950s. John Bernard Myers of the vanguard Tibor de Nagy gallery gave Porter his first New York exhibition in 1951 and represented him for the next twenty years. That same year Tom Hess, editor of ArtNews, hired Porter to write art features and reviews. Porter went on to contribute to ArtNews until 1967 and also became art editor for The Nation beginning in 1959, the same year his article on Willem de Kooning won the Longview Foundation Award in art criticism. As a critic, Porter visited countless galleries and studios, and he gained a reputation for writing about art with the understanding and vested interest of an artist, and with the same independence from fashionable ideas that he demonstrated in his artwork.

The 1950s and 1960s were prolific years for Porter's writing and art, and saw the development of his critical ideas and the maturation of his painting. Porter enjoyed an elder status among a circle of younger artists such as Jane Freilicher, Larry Rivers, and Alex Katz, and their many poet friends, now known as the New York School of Poetry: Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, James Schuyler, Kenneth Koch, Barbara Guest, and others. Porter himself wrote poetry and was published in the 1950s, sometimes alongside poems by his wife, who had been publishing poetry since the 1930s (twice in the vanguard Chicago journal, Poetry). The Porters' correspondence is laced with poems they and their friends sent back and forth, often about and dedicated to each other.

Besides his annual exhibitions at Tibor de Nagy and later Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Porter exhibited regularly at the Whitney, and had one-man exhibitions at many museums including the Rhode Island School of Design (1959), The University of Alabama (1963), Cleveland Museum of Art (his first retrospective, 1966), Trinity College (1967), the Parrish Art Museum (1971), the Maryland Institute of Art (1973), and the 1968 Venice Biennale. He also had residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (1964) and Amherst College (1969). Porter died in 1975 at age 68. A full-scale retrospective of his artwork was held at the Boston Museum of Fine Art, Boston in 1983, and a study center and permanent home for his artwork was established at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton through a donation made by Anne Porter. A posthumous collection of his poems was published by Tibor de Nagy Editions in 1985, and a catalogue raisonnée, edited by Joan Ludman, was published in 2001.

This biography relies heavily on information found in Justin Spring's biography of Porter, Fairfield Porter: A Life in Art (Yale University Press, 2000).
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds an oral history of Fairfield Porter conducted by Paul Cummings in 1968.
Provenance:
The papers of Fairfield Porter were given to the Archives of American Art by the artist's wife, Anne Porter, in five separate accessions between 1977 and 1997.
Restrictions:
The bulk of this collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not digitized requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- Southampton  Search this
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
Genre/Form:
Travel diaries
Sketches
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Citation:
Fairfield Porter papers, 1888-2001 (bulk 1924-1975). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.portfair
See more items in:
Fairfield Porter papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c9535998-330e-4c23-9f84-9c4dff3569e5
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-portfair
Online Media:

Vasilieff, Nicholas

Collection Creator:
Porter, Fairfield  Search this
Container:
Box 1, Folder 103
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1951-1954
Collection Restrictions:
The bulk of this collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not digitized requires an appointment.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Fairfield Porter papers, 1888-2001 (bulk 1924-1975). Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Fairfield Porter papers
Fairfield Porter papers / Series 2: Correspondence / Incoming Letters to Anne and Fairfield Porter from:
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw993f29ad2-1beb-4e0d-a414-62736659c540
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-portfair-ref127

Artists' Equity Association - Printed Material

Collection Creator:
Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953  Search this
Container:
Box 3, Folder 5
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1949-2002
Collection Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Yasuo Kuniyoshi papers, 1906-2016, bulk 1920-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Yasuo Kuniyoshi papers
Yasuo Kuniyoshi papers / Series 4: Organization Records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f2238403-8ce5-443e-b1af-0df645f8fb4b
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-kuniyasu-ref1185
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  • View Artists' Equity Association - Printed Material digital asset number 1

Vasilieff, Nicholas

Collection Creator:
Burckhardt, Rudy, 1914-1999  Search this
Container:
Box 13, Folder 9
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1950-1975
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that she may own in the following material: photographs taken by Rudy Burckhardt.
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.
Collection Citation:
Rudy Burckhardt papers, 1934-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Rudy Burckhardt papers
Rudy Burckhardt papers / Series 2: Photographic Materials
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9260d73ee-c594-403a-8d09-47270c77c8d6
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-burcrudy-ref272

Vasilieff, Nicholas, 3771CY: At the Opera

Collection Creator:
Richard York Gallery  Search this
Container:
Box 59, Folder 82
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1992-1994, 2002
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Richard York Gallery records, circa 1865-2005, bulk 1981-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Richard York Gallery records
Richard York Gallery records / Series 2: Artists' Artwork Files / 2.1: General
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d7405123-f403-4cbd-91b4-6b6193bf90ad
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-richyorg-ref5991

Vasilieff, Nicholas, 3772CY: Olympia

Collection Creator:
Richard York Gallery  Search this
Container:
Box 59, Folder 83
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1992-1994, 2002
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Richard York Gallery records, circa 1865-2005, bulk 1981-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Richard York Gallery records
Richard York Gallery records / Series 2: Artists' Artwork Files / 2.1: General
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e84d74c0-4bc3-41d4-9632-3e9dc3a8ccbd
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-richyorg-ref5992

Vasilieff, Nicholas, 3773CY: Untitled Still Life

Collection Creator:
Richard York Gallery  Search this
Container:
Box 59, Folder 84
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1992-1994, 2002
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Richard York Gallery records, circa 1865-2005, bulk 1981-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Richard York Gallery records
Richard York Gallery records / Series 2: Artists' Artwork Files / 2.1: General
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9add7bb8d-ec17-4baa-880a-47771dc3e418
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-richyorg-ref5993

Vasilieff, Nicholas, 4143LY: Woman and Child

Collection Creator:
Richard York Gallery  Search this
Container:
Box 59, Folder 85
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1994, 2002
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Richard York Gallery records, circa 1865-2005, bulk 1981-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Richard York Gallery records
Richard York Gallery records / Series 2: Artists' Artwork Files / 2.1: General
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f0705322-51c8-42a5-abd7-2e6e1c956ff2
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-richyorg-ref5994

Vasilieff, Nicholas, 4144LY: Gypsies

Collection Creator:
Richard York Gallery  Search this
Container:
Box 59, Folder 86
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1994, 2002
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Richard York Gallery records, circa 1865-2005, bulk 1981-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Richard York Gallery records
Richard York Gallery records / Series 2: Artists' Artwork Files / 2.1: General
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e33ea02c-2d2e-4441-a0ab-61399fc97f00
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-richyorg-ref5995

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