Photographs are of people, events, places, works of art, and miscellaneous subjects.
Photographs of people include Hofmann alone, with Miz, and with students and others. They are mostly undated and are arranged in rough chronological order. Among the pictures of Hans and Miz Hofmann are several of them wearing oriental costumes, circa 1920s. Those of Hofmann with students and others are mostly unidentified (the one exception is a view labeled "Fred Hauck, Janet Chase, Herr Hofmann, Warren Cheney, Molly Bennett at Upper Angora Lake above Lake Tahoe, California, August, 1930" in the folder titled "Hans Hofmann with Others"). Several photographs in this category are over or under exposed, obscuring faces. A small leather album stamped with the title "Snap Shots Hancock, N.Y." contains 15 photographs of Hans, Miz, students, and friends. Photographs of identified individuals are Georg Hampton, Effie Bell Rogers, and Cornelia Ryder; only first names are provided for the few group shots that are identified.
Photographs of events record some of the "Forum 49" events held at Gallery 200 and include Fritz Bultman, Adolph Gottlieb, Hemley, Hans Hofmann, Weldon Kees, Karl Knaths, Blanche Lazell, and Judith Rothschild. Exhibition installation views and photographs of openings are of the Venice Biennale, 1960; Galerie im Künstlerhaus, Munich, 1962; Museum of Modern Art, "Recent Acquisitions: Painting and Sculpture," 1966; and an unidentified exhibition in Germany. Also documented are ceremonies at which Hofmann was awarded honorary degrees: University of California, Berkeley, 1964, includes many views with Glenn and Kay Wessels, and Monica and John Haley at the San Francisco airport; and Pratt Institute Founder's Day, 1965.
Many of Hofmann's paintings are visible in the photographs of places. Views of Hofmann's New York studio, 1966, include paintings and images of Renate Schmitz Hofmann. Travel pictures are of Italy, Mexico, California[?], and unidentified locations.
Photographs of works by Hans Hofmann include the New York School of Printing mural, and "Summer" and "Rhapsody" from his Renate series. Also part of this subseries are Renate Schmitz Hofmann's 1974 gift of 313 35-mm color slides of paintaings executed between 1935 and 1965. Other artists are Detre, Georg Hampton, M. Wolfegg Hofmann, Sterling Poindexter, Myron S. Stout, L. Vivin (represented in Hofmann's personal art collection), Glenn Wessels, and Fritz Winter. Teaching materials are photographs of Old Masters paintings, drawings, and Classical sculpture, some marked to indicate line, form, or proportion; many are stamped "staatlich genehigt, Schule für bildende Kunst, Hans Hofmann, München."
Oversize photographs include portraits of Hofmann by Sid Grossman, Arnold Newman, Irving Penn, and Leon Schnall; Miz was photographed by Ruth Jacobi-Roth and Marvin Lazarus. With the exception of a nude study by Lee Krasner, student works are unidentified.
Arrangement:
Photographic materials are organized by subject. Glass plate negative housed separately and closed to researchers. The series is arranged as 5 subseries:
Missing Title
6.1: People, 1920s-1965
6.2: Events, 1949-1966
6.3: Places, 1920s-1967
6.4: Works of Art, 1930-1965
6.5: Miscellaneous Subjects, 1941-1948
Collection Restrictions:
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Collection Rights:
Max Spoerri interview: Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from Max Spoerri. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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Collection Citation:
Hans Hofmann papers, circa 1904-2011, bulk 1945-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
