Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Online Media

Catalog Data

Creator:
Bisttram, Emil, 1895-1976  Search this
Names:
Public Works of Art Project  Search this
Treasury Relief Art Project  Search this
Extent:
2.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1902-1983
Summary:
The papers of Emil J. Bisttram measure 2.4 linear feet and date from 1902-1983. The papers document Bisttram's life and career through biographical material, business and personal correspondence, writings, professional files, printed material, photographic materials and original artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Emil J. Bisttram measure 2.4 linear feet and date from 1902-1983. The papers document Bisttram's life and career through biographical material, business and personal correspondence, writings, professional files, printed material, photographic materials and original artwork. Biographical material includes resumes, baptismal and naturalization records along with several awards and certificates. Also included are business and personal letters to and from Bisttram, including a letter from Lily and Eero Saarinen, and letters from Raymond Jonson; and correspondence with Public Works of Art Project administrators and others involved in the Treasury Relief Art Project, with galleries, museums, art organizations, and students. Writings consist of book drafts by Bisttram for a book on dynamic symmetry and a book on Bisttram's life and career. Also found is information for a course Bisttram taught as well as overview information on the Bisttram School of Fine Art. Other writings include essays and writings on art and Taos, New Mexico by Emil and Mayrion Bisttram, and writings related to government art programs. The professional files contain correspondence, contracts, reports and receipts related to Bisttram's Treasury Relief Art Program work, exhibitions and the establishment of the Taos school of art including legal and property records; invoices, artwork lists, shipping records and materials related to Bisttram's Guggenheim fellowship application. Also found are printed material related to a selection of Bisttram's exhibitions and the art scene in Taos, N.M. Photographs, slides and negatives depict Bisttram, his artwork and select exhibitions. Original artwork includes approximately 175 drawings and sketches of bodies, animals, many of which use dynamic symmetry shapes and figure proportions.
Arrangement:
The Collection is arranged as seven series. Nitrate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1902-1975 (8 Folders: Box 1) Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1925-1983 (0.5 Linear feet: Box 1) Series 3: Writings, circa 1921-1975 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 1) Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1926-1972 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 1-2) Series 5: Printed Material, 1929-1983 (0.5 Linear feet: Box 2) Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1920-1975 (7 Folders: Box 2) Series 7: Artwork, circa 1921-1934 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 2-3, OV 4)
Biographical / Historical:
Emil J. Bisttram (1895-1976) was a Hungarian American painter and educator living in Taos, New Mexico and New York. Born in Hungary in 1895, Bisttram immigrated to New York City with his family when he was eleven years old. He remained in the city into adulthood studying art at the National Academy of Art and Design, then Cooper Union, Parsons, and The Art Students League developing an early career in commercial art. In 1930 Bisttram visited Taos, N.M. for the first time and fell in love with the area leading him to relocate there after completing a Guggenheim fellowship whereby he studied mural painting with Diego Rivera. Numerous mural commissions would follow throughout his career, including murals for the Department of Justice in Washington D.C., The Taos County Courthouse, New Mexico, and the Federal Courthouse in Roswell, New Mexico. Once settled in Taos, Bisttram became a major figurehead in the Taos art colony and was involved with the local Treasury Relief Art Project, a Works Progress Administration initiative. Additionally, while living in Taos, he opened the Taos School of Art (renamed the Bisttram School of Art in 1943) and co-founded the Transcendental Painting Group in 1938. The school drew students from around the country until its closure in 1965. Bisttram's work brought him recognition and honors throughout the country including exhibitions at the Whitney, Guggenheim and Corcoran Museums. He was known for his modernist work and use of dynamic symmetry, a painting technique.
Provenance:
The records were donated by Mayrion Bisttram, Emil Bisttram's wife, in three accessions in 1963, 1978 and 1983. Papers microfilmed on reel 581 were lent for microfilming in 1973, and some were subsequently donated with the 1983 gift (and refilmed on reels 2892-2894).
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 Mexico -- Taos  Search this
Muralists -- New Mexico  Search this
Topic:
Federal aid to the arts -- Arizona  Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- New Mexico  Search this
Painting, Abstract  Search this
Taos School of Art  Search this
Citation:
Emil J. Bisttram Papers, 1902-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.bistemil
See more items in:
Emil J. Bisttram papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d6950a15-4d27-4f39-aac4-cd68fe261f36
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-bistemil