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Catalog Data

Creator:
Namuth, Hans  Search this
Names:
Exposition universelle et internationale (1958 : Brussels, Belgium)  Search this
Jewish Museum (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts  Search this
Yale University. School of Art and Architecture  Search this
Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this
Boynton, Jack, 1928-2010  Search this
Breuer, Marcel, 1902-  Search this
Cage, John, 1912-1992  Search this
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976 -- Photographs  Search this
Castelli, Leo  Search this
Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990  Search this
Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964  Search this
De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this
Fuller, R. Buckminster (Richard Buckminster), 1895-  Search this
Hartigan, Grace  Search this
Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967  Search this
Johns, Jasper, 1930- -- Photographs  Search this
Karpel, Bernard, 1911-1986  Search this
Koch, Kenneth, 1925-  Search this
Krasner, Lee, 1908-1984 -- Photographs  Search this
Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig, 1886-1969  Search this
Navaretta, Cynthia  Search this
Newman, Arnold, 1918-2006  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988 -- Photographs  Search this
Norman, Dorothy, 1905-1997  Search this
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this
Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956 -- Photographs  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008 -- Photographs  Search this
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970 -- Photographs  Search this
Shaw, Elizabeth Roberts, 1921-  Search this
Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946  Search this
Wyeth, Andrew, 1917-2009 -- Photographs  Search this
Extent:
4.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Photographs
Transcripts
Place:
Massachusetts -- Boston
Date:
1945-1985
Summary:
The papers of New York photographer and filmmaker Hans Namuth measure 4.5 linear feet and date from 1945 to 1985. The bulk of the collection consists of photographs taken by Namuth of New York artists. Also included are papers regarding Namuth's film about Alfred Stieglitz and other professional files.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York photographer and filmmaker Hans Namuth measure 4.5 linear feet and date from 1945 to 1985. The bulk of the collection consists of photographs taken by Namuth of New York artists. Also included are papers regarding Namuth's film about Alfred Stieglitz and other professional files. The first series contains materials related to the planning and production of Namuth's film Alfred Stieglitz, Photographer. Documentation includes articles, correspondence, exhibition materials, grant program request sheets, magazines and catalogs, photo requests, photographs and photographic materials, notes and research, shot lists, script drafts and fragments, interview transcripts, and correspondence. Interviewees include Ansel Adams, Arnold Newman, Aaron Copland, Dorothy Norman, and others. The second series contains various writings and papers relating to Namuth's professional activities, including Namuth's exhibition at the 1958 Brussels World Fair, business and financial records, papers on The Construction of Boston by Kennth Koch, correspondence, a notebook, and various printed materials. Namuth's correspondence is with James Boynton, Bernard Karpel, the Museum of Modern Art, Cynthia Navaretta, Elizabeth Shaw, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and the Yale University School of Art and Architecture. Photographs taken by Hans Namuth depict prominent American (primarily New York-based) artists, architects, writers, musicians, and art critics. Artists are shown in their studios or homes, either at work or posing for the camera, and include Alexander Calder, Stuart Davis, Willem de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Edward Hopper, Jasper Johns, Lee Krasner, Isamu Noguchi, Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, and Andrew Wyeth, among many others. Photographs of other individuals include Marcel Breuer, John Cage, Leo Castelli, Buckminster Fuller, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and others. Also found are photographs of exhibitions, openings, and art-related events from the 1950s and 1960s, such as a traveling Picasso exhibit and a Robert Rauschenberg opening at the Jewish Museum. Most photographs are black and white, but a few color prints are included.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 3 series. Missing Title Series 1: Alfred Stieglitz Film Project, 1945-circa 1981 (Box 1, OV 11; 0.8 linear feet) Series 2: Professional Files, 1953-1985 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet) Series 3: Photographs, 1945-1984 (Box 2-10; 3.4 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Hans Namuth (1915-1990) was a German-American photographer and filmmaker who lived and worked in New York. He was primarily known for his work photographing prominent American artists in the 1950s and 1960s. Namuth was born in Germany but left for France in 1933 after the rise of the Nazi Party. While in France, he struck up a friendship with fellow German Georg Reisner. From 1935 to 1939, Namuth and Reisner worked together as photographers primarily in Paris. His first works to catch the public's attention came from an assignment in Barcelona that accidentally coincided with the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Following a short internment in Nazi-occupied France, Namuth left for the United States. After taking photography classes with Alexey Brodovitch, art director of Harper's Bazaar, Namuth met Jackson Pollock at an exhibition in 1950 and asked to photograph the artist at work. His subsequent photographs of Pollock raised both artists' profiles. Namuth would spend the next three decades photographing major New York artists, architects, and art-related events for commission and for his own studio. He directed a number of films in collaboration with Paul Falkenberg and published several books of photographs. Namuth died in Long Island in 1990.
Related Materials:
Also at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Hans Namuth, Aug. 12-Sept. 8, 1971. Additional Hans Namuth papers are located at the Center for Creative Photography, University of Arizona.
Provenance:
The collection was donated 1972-1985 by Hans Namuth.
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.
Rights:
All Photographs by Hans Namuth: All requests for image reproductions are to be sent to: Assistant Registrar for Rights & Reproductions; Center for Creative Photography. 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:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Musicians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Photographs
Transcripts
Citation:
Hans Namuth photographs and papers, 1945-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.namuhans
See more items in:
Hans Namuth photographs and papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98657f618-8639-4278-8569-19240b164357
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-namuhans