Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Online Media

Catalog Data

Creator:
Bisttram, Emil, 1895-1976  Search this
Subject:
Public Works of Art Project  Search this
Treasury Relief Art Project  Search this
Place of publication, production, or execution:
Other
Physical Description:
2.4 Linear feet
Arrangement:
The Collection is arranged as seven series. Nitrate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1902-1975 (8 Folders: Box 1) Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1925-1983 (0.5 Linear feet: Box 1) Series 3: Writings, circa 1921-1975 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 1) Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1926-1972 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 1-2) Series 5: Printed Material, 1929-1983 (0.5 Linear feet: Box 2) Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1920-1975 (7 Folders: Box 2) Series 7: Artwork, circa 1921-1934 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 2-3, OV 4)
Access Note / Rights:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Summary:
The papers of Emil J. Bisttram measure 2.4 linear feet and date from 1902-1983. The papers document Bisttram's life and career through biographical material, business and personal correspondence, writings, professional files, printed material, photographic materials and original artwork.
Citation:
Emil J. Bisttram papers, circa 1902-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
35mm microfilm reels 79, 581, 2787, and 2892-2894 available for use at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Location of Originals:
REEL 581 (selected papers): Originals returned to lender, Emil J. Bisttram, after microfilming.
Funding:
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.
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.
Biography Note:
Emil J. Bisttram (1895-1976) was a Hungarian American painter and educator living in Taos, New Mexico and New York. Born in Hungary in 1895, Bisttram immigrated to New York City with his family when he was eleven years old. He remained in the city into adulthood studying art at the National Academy of Art and Design, then Cooper Union, Parsons, and The Art Students League developing an early career in commercial art. In 1930 Bisttram visited Taos, N.M. for the first time and fell in love with the area leading him to relocate there after completing a Guggenheim fellowship whereby he studied mural painting with Diego Rivera. Numerous mural commissions would follow throughout his career, including murals for the Department of Justice in Washington D.C., The Taos County Courthouse, New Mexico, and the Federal Courthouse in Roswell, New Mexico. Once settled in Taos, Bisttram became a major figurehead in the Taos art colony and was involved with the local Treasury Relief Art Project, a Works Progress Administration initiative. Additionally, while living in Taos, he opened the Taos School of Art (renamed the Bisttram School of Art in 1943) and co-founded the Transcendental Painting Group in 1938. The school drew students from around the country until its closure in 1965.
Bisttram's work brought him recognition and honors throughout the country including exhibitions at the Whitney, Guggenheim and Corcoran Museums. He was known for his modernist work and use of dynamic symmetry, a painting technique.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
The records were donated by Mayrion Bisttram, Emil Bisttram's wife, in three accessions in 1963, 1978 and 1983. Papers microfilmed on reel 581 were lent for microfilming in 1973, and some were subsequently donated with the 1983 gift (and refilmed on reels 2892-2894).
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Federal aid to the arts -- Arizona  Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- New Mexico  Search this
Painting, Abstract  Search this
Taos School of Art  Search this
Theme:
New Deal  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9018
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211207
AAA_collcode_bistemil
Theme:
New Deal
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211207