Jane Freeman Gallery (La Mesa, Calif.) Search this
Extent:
3.3 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Date:
circa 1890-1983
Summary:
The Claude Buck papers measure 3.3 linear feet and date from circa 1890-1983. They detail Buck's time as a painter in New York and California. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, personal business records, printed material and scrapbooks, and photographic material and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The Claude Buck papers measure 3.3 linear feet and date from 1890-1983. Biographical material includes resumes, interview materials, and documents related to Buck's family. Correspondence includes family letters, correspondence regarding business with various organizations including the United States Treasury and Emil Carlsen, and correspondence with other notable figures in Buck's career. Writings include manuscripts, notes, and transcribed dictations by Buck. Personal business records consist of documents related to Buck's portrait commissions and artwork donations and sales, as well as that regarding the Boston Better Business Bureau's investigation into the Harold F. Gilbert Company. Printed material consists of exhibition announcements and catalogs, material pertaining to Estrid Buck's career as a pianist and singer, and news clippings. Scrapbooks, one of which is in braille, include news clippings and personal photographs of Buck and his family. Photographic material includes pictures of Buck's artwork and personal life. Artwork includes sketches, sketchbooks, and an oil painting.
Arrangement:
This collection consists of eight series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1926-1983 (.2 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1907-1982 (.8 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1920-1972 (.2 Linear feet: Box 2)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1919-1972 (.2 Linear feet: Box 2)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1912-1972 (.4 Linear feet: Boxes 2 and 5)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, circa 1908-1972 (.9 Linear feet: Boxes 2, 4, 5, and 6)
Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1890-1979 (.2 Linear feet: Box 2)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1920-1972 (.4 Linear feet: Box 3)
Biographical / Historical:
Claude Buck (1890-1974) was a painter who worked primarily in Chicago and Santa Cruz. He is associated with the symbolist and luministic styles and was born Charles Claude Buck in New York City. At age four Claude began to develop his interest in art after his father, a commercial artist, introduced him to drawing. Buck entered the National Academy of Design at age fourteen taking classes with Emil Carlsen, Frances Jones, and George DeForest Brush. He studied there until he was twenty-two years old, receiving eight prizes in that time.
In 1919 Buck moved to Chicago where he taught at the School of Art Institute and became a leading member of the avant-garde symbolist artists' group known as the Introspectives which he helped to found. Influenced by Edgar Allen Poe and William Blake, Buck often depicted allegorical and literary themes in his artwork. To support himself and his family Buck completed commissions for hyper-realistic portraits. In 1918 Buck married Estrid Terkelsen, a concert singer and pianist, with whom he had twins Robert Byron Buck and Juel Buck Krisvoy-Schiller. In 1930 Buck took on young art student Leslie Binner who he married in 1934 after divorcing Estrid, his wife of 16 years.
In 1949, Claude and Leslie moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains before settling in Santa Barbara in 1959 to be closer to Buck's children and to improve his health. While in Santa Barbara he was a member of the Carmel Art Association and served as president of the Santa Cruz Art League in 1953.
Buck was a member of the Santa Barbara Art Association, and his artwork can be found in the collections of the Santa Cruz Public Library, the Santa Cruz City Museum, the Spencer Museum in Lawrence, Kansas, the Brigham Young University Museum, and the Museum of Elgin in Illinois where he also had a studio in Midlothian. Buck died in Santa Barbara on August 4, 1974.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also hold a manuscript titled "The artist Claude Buck: a biography of two loves...his love for art...his love for Estrid compiled and written by their daughter, Juel, Juel B. K. Schiller" donated by Juel Krisvoy in 1989 to the National Museum of American Art who transferred it to the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
The Claude Buck papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Leslie Buck, Claude's widow, in 1982, Juel Buck Krisvoy-Schiller, Claude's daughter, in 1983, and by Diana V. Link, Claude's niece, in 1982 and 1992. Five works of art were transferred to the National Museum of American Art, including a self-portrait.
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
Claude Buck papers, circa 1890-1983 Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
