The collection is arranged as 13 series. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1919-2008 (2.5 linear feet; Box 1-3, 31, 33, 37) Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1900-2009 (3.1 linear feet; Box 3-6, 37) Series 3: Diaries, 1909-2008 (2.1 linear feet; Box 6-8, 37) Series 4: Writings, Lectures, and Notes, circa 1940-2009 (0.6 linear feet; Box 8-9, 37) Series 5: Teaching Files, circa 1950-1993 (0.2 linear feet; Box 9) Series 6: Graphic Design Projects, circa 1945-1980 (0.4 linear feet; Box 9-10, 31) Series 7: Personal Business and Financial Records, 1897-2008 (3.2 linear feet; Box 10-13, 24, 33, 35, 37) Series 8: Estate Records, 1898-2001 (0.7 linear feet; Box 13, 24, 37) Series 9: Printed Material, 1945, 2011 (3.6 linear feet; Box 13-17, 31, 37, 42, OV45) Series 10: Scrapbooks, circa 1890-1960s (3.3 linear feet; Box 17-18, 25-29) Series 11: Photographs, circa 1860s-2007 (10.7 linear feet; Box 18-23, 29-31, 37-43) Series 12: Artwork and Artifacts, 1934-2009 (3.2 linear feet; Box 22, 31-32, 35, 38, 42, 44, OV46-56) Series 13:Unprocessed Addition, undated (0.3 linear feet; Box 66)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Summary:
The papers of Los Angeles Abstract Classicist painter and educator Frederick Hammersley measure 35.05 linear feet and date from circa 1860-2009, bulk 1940-2009. The papers contain biographical materials, 32 diaries, family and professional correspondence, personal business and financial records, estate records, writings, graphic design projects, teaching files, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, and works of art. There is a 0.3 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2020 that includes photographs of Hammersley's family, and most significantly for research, a study in pencil and a "model for making cubes," a paper document that can be stored flat and folded into a cube shape.
Citation:
Frederick Hammersley papers, circa 1860-2009, bulk 1940-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
The bulk of the collection was digitized in 2013-2014 and is available on the Archives of American Art's website. Materials which have not been scanned include blank pages, duplicates, negatives and slides, blank versos of photographs, and sensitive financial records. Additional papers donated in 2015 and 2018 have not been digitized.
Funding:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation and the Frederick Hammersley Foundation.
Use Note:
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.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Tamara Webster papers relating to Frederick Hammersley.
Biography Note:
Painter, graphic designer, and educator Frederick Hammersley (1919-2009) spent most of his career in Los Angeles and New Mexico. He is closely associated with the hard-edge abstraction painting style of the Abstract Classicists of Southern California.
Language Note:
The collection is in English and Swedish.
Provenance:
Frederick Hammersley donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in nine accessions from 1974 to 2008. The Frederick Hammersley Foundation donated additional papers in 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2020 via Executive Director, Kathleen Shields.
Digitization Note:
This site provides access to the papers of Frederick Hammersley in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2016, and total 40,076 images.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
