This series contains the correspondence of Hugo Gellert. Most of the correspondence is of a professional nature, related to Gellert's activities as an artist, political organizer, and activist. Correspondents include artists, friends, family members, Communist Party and Popular Front leaders, labor union leaders, federal art programs personnel, writers, historians, publishers, Hungarian cultural and political figures, and fellow activists. Significant correspondents in this series include Maurice Becker, William Patterson, Floyd Dell, Philip Evergood, Howard Fast, Mike Gold, Robert Gwathmey, and Rockwell Kent.
Letters from individuals involved in leftist political organizations and activities are common throughout the series. In addition to Gellert's fellow Communists and Socialists, a wide variety of political groups are represented, including those concerned with artists' employment and welfare issues, anti-fascist organizations, organized labor, watchdog groups and defense committees for civil liberties during the McCarthy era, advocates for jailed Mexican artist David Siqueiros, and American civil rights groups. Also found is correspondence with editors of publications for which Gellert supplied illustrations, and letters concerning exhibitions and murals.
Noteworthy items found in correspondence include a lengthy letter written by John Dos Passos enclosed with a circa 1930s letter from Carlo Tresca, a draft of an essay by Carl Sandburg with a 1942 letter, and an original New Year's card by Gellert for 1951. Drafts of outgoing letters from 1946 contain a number of sketches of Australian landscapes by Gellert.
See Appendix for names of selected individuals, organizations, and publications found in Series 2.
Arrangement note:
Letters received are interfiled with drafts of outgoing letters in chronological order. Undated correspondence that can be estimated within a decade is filed at the end of each decade with "circa" dates. Additional undated correspondence is filed at the end of the series. Outgoing drafts are common in correspondence and often have estimated dates.
Additional correspondence is found in the Organizational Records series. Additional cards made by Gellert are filed with Artwork. See series description for further details.
Appendix: Selected Individuals, Organizations, and Publications in Series 2:
The following is an index to selected individuals, publications, and organizations represented in the Correspondence in Series 2. This index is not comprehensive.
Additional correspondence is found with Series 4, Organizational Records, and is described in the container listing for that series. Letters which were mass mailings from dozens of political organizations can also be found in Series 5, Printed Materials.
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): 1935 (Lucille Milner)
American Committee Against Fascist Oppression in Germany: 1934 (Louis Gibarti)
American Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born: 1962 (Annette Provinzano)
American League against War and Fascism: 1937 (Albert Prentis)
American Magazine -- : 1935
American Russian Institute: 1952 (Irene Miller, Holland Roberts)
Americans for Democratic Action: 1956 (Edward D. Hollander)
An American Group: 1940 (to Clifton Woodrum)
Aptheker, Herbert: 1959
Arms, John Taylor: 1952 (see also Series 4)
Artists Conference of the Americas: 1939
Artists League of America: 1942 (Dan Koerner)
Artists' Cooperative Group: 1943 (B. Nuno)
Association des Ecrivants et Artistes Revolutionnaries: 1933 (R. Ginsburger)
Balch, Earle: 1932
Bauch, Solomon "Stan": 1941
Becker, Maurice: 1951-1953, 1961, undated
Berkowitz, Harry: 1954
Bonnett, Clarence E.: 1937
Bramer, Nan: 1952
Breines, Simon: 1947, 1971
Bromsen, Archibald: 1940 (labor lawyer)
Brook, Alex: 1939
Buck, Pearl: 1953
Caswell, Edward: 1960
Chiostergi, Alessandro L.: 1937
Citizen's Committee for Constitutional Liberties: 1962 (Miriam Friedlander)
Citizens Emergency Defence Committee: 1953 (Sam Kanter)
Civil Rights Congress: 1953 (William L. Patterson)
Committee for Social Re-Education: 1934 (Jose Vallon)
Committee to End Sedition Laws: 1955 (Allan D. McNeil)
d'Harnoncourt, Rene: 1946
Davidson, Jo: 1944, 1945 (Independent Voters Committee of Artists, Writers, and Scientists)
Davis, Ben Jr.: 1942, undated
Decker, W.J.: 1956
Dell, Floyd: 1930
Dinnerstein, Harvey: 1960 (catalog)
Direction -- : 1942 (Marguerite Tjader Harris)
Dorner, Hannah: 1943
Dos Passos, John: circa 1930s
Dow, Hume: 1947
Durus, Alfred (a.k.a. Alfred Kemeny): 1935-1936
Einhorn, Nat: 1955
Ellis, Ethel: 1959 (re: Fred Ellis)
Emergency Civil Liberties Committee: 1957-1958
Engel, Michael: 1962 (Audobon Artists)
Evergood, Philip: 1955, 1961 (See also Series 4)
Fast, Howard: 1951, 1954, 1955
Fiene, Ernest: 1939
Fine Arts Federation, NY: 1935
Fitelson, H. William: 1934 (entertainment lawyer, artists guilds)
Foreman, Clark: 1958
Fossum, Sydney: 1943
Friedlander, Miriam: 1962
Gainer, Morris: 1955
Garabedian, John: 1962 (Hudson Guild Theater Workshop)
Garcia, J. Uriel: 1943
Garst, Robert: 1951
Gibarti, Louis: 1934
Ginsburger, R.: 1933
Gold, Mike: see Granich, Mike
Granich, Grace: 1954
Granich, Mike (a.k.a. Mike Gold, born Irving Granich): 1956
Greenbaum, Dorothea: 1940 (Sculptor's Guild)
Gropper, William: 1951
Gwathmey, Robert: 1959, undated
Hall, Rob: 1952
Hardy, Lewis: 1955
Harris, Marguerite Tjader: 1942
Hars, Laszlo: 1953, 1955
Hartley, Paul: 1944 (National Art Foundation)
Hecht, Rosa: 1955
Henri Barbusse Memorial Committee: 1937
Hollander, Edward D.: 1956
International Bureau of Revolutionary Artists: 1935-1936 (Alfred Durus, a.k.a. Alfred Kemeny)
Joint Committee to Defend WPA Workers: 1941, 1942 (Ronald Shilen)
Jones, Alec: 1955, 1958
Kantor, Sam: 1953
Karolyi, Michael, Count: 1941, 1946
Kauffer, Edward McKnight: 1945
Kent, Rockwell: 1937, 1944, 1952-1953 (See also Series 4)
Klonsky, Bob: 1955
Koerner, Dan: 1942
Kohn, Robert D.: 1935 (architect)
Kovalski, Stanislaw: 1955 (Polish embassy)
Ksnyik, Andras: 1978
Laffitte, Jean: 1955
Lie, Jonas: 1939
Lorber, Dr. Herman "Harry": circa 1930s
Mabry, Thomas D.: 1942 (Graphics Div, Office of War Information)
Macagy, Jermayne: 1955
Magyar Jövo -- (Hungarian Daily Journal): 1952 (Alex Rosner), 1953
Mainstream -- : 1962
Maldonado, R.: 1978 (Smithsonian Labor History Project)
Manship, Paul: 1939, undated
Marceau, Henri: 1946
Marquardt, Virginia: 1978
Maruki, Toshiko and Iri: 1960
Masses and Mainstream -- : 1952 (Samuel Sillen), 1954 (Joe)
McNeil, Alan D: 1955
Michelson, Herman: 1934
Milner, Lucile: 1935
Moore, Sam: 1953
Nagy, Janos: 1956
National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors: 1940 (Bianca Todd)
National Council of American Soviet Friendship: 1943 (Hannah Dorner)
National Council of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions: 1952 (Nan Bramer)
National Maritime Union: 1944 (Louis Oguss, M. Hedley Stone)
New Masses -- : 1934 (Sean, Herman Michelson)
New World Review -- : 1952 (Jessica Smith)
New York Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born: 1955 (Alec Jones)
Nuno, B.: 1943
Oguss, Louis: 1944
Oldham, John and Ray: circa 1930s
Ottley, Roi: 1943 (National CIO Committee)
Patrás, Pal: 1955
Patterson, William L.: 1953-1954
People's World -- : 1956 (W.J. Decker)
Perlo, Ellen: 1984
Perrot, Paul: 1960 (Corning Museum)
Philadelphia Forum of Social Sciences: 1955 (Bob Klonsky)
Popper, Lilly: 1953-1954
Prentis, Albert: 1937
Provisional Workers and People's Committee for May Day: 1955 (Morris Gainer), 1960 (Max Rosen)
Putnam and Sons: 1935 (Quintin Rossi)
Reed, Alman: 1955
Reisman, Philip: 1962, circa 1960s
Rickey, George: 1937
Rosen, Max: 1955
Rosner, A.: 1952, 1959
Rosner, Deak: 1955
Rossen, John: 1955
Rossi, Quintin: 1935
Royce, Edward: 1955
Sandburg, Carl: 1942
Sapiro, Aaron: 1932
Schappes Defense Committee: 1941 (Morris U. Shappes)
Schoen, Eugene: 1932, 1934
Schwartz, Morris: 1951
Selsam: 1951
Sequenzia, Sofia: 1983
Shields, T.A. "Art": 1959
Shillen, Ronald: 1942
Siegelbaum, Portia: 1978
Sillen, Samuel: 1952
Smith, Jessica: 1952
Soglow, Otto: 1942
Solomon: Dave: 1954 (New Talents Gallery), 1956
Starobin, Joseph: 1955
Steffens, Lincoln: 1934 (journalist)
Stone, M. Hedley: 1944
Street, Julian Jr.: 1940
Tandy, W. Lou: 1953
Time -- : 192-
Todd, Bianca: 1940 (See also Series 4)
Tresca, Carlo: circa 1930s (anarchist)
Turner, Jeannette S.: 1957-1960
Tyler, Hugh: 1939 (WPA)
Vallon, Jose: 1934
Van Rensselaer, Sylvia: 1944 ("Portrait of America Competition" report)
Weber, Max: 1953 (See also Series 4)
Weyhe Gallery: 1947
Wilson, Steve: 1959 (Progressive Lithographers)
The Worker -- : 1952 (Rob Hall)
World Council of Peace: 1955 (Jean Laffitte)
World -- : 1925
Zigrosser, Carl: 1937
Zorach, Bill: 1942
Zundel, Eugenia: 1957, 1959
Zurier, Rebecca: 1984, circa 1980s
Collection Restrictions:
The collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website.
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:
Hugo Gellert papers, 1916-1986. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
