The collection is arranged as 10 series. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1940-1998 (Boxes 1, 9; 0.7 linear feet) Series 2: Correspondence, 1936-2002 (Boxes 1-2; 1.2 linear feet) Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1943, circa 1960-1997 (Box 2; 0.4 linear feet, ER01-ER03; 2.21 GB) Series 4: Subject Files, 1940-1941, 1951-1997 (Boxes 2-4, 9; 1.8 linear feet) Series 5: Sketches, 1937-1942 (Box 4; 1 folder) Series 6: Sketchbooks, 1939-1995 (Boxes 4-5, 9; 0.5 linear feet) Series 7: Printed Material, circa 1933, 1942-1998 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet) Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1978-1995 (Box 5; 0.1 linear feet) Series 9: Photographs, circa 1917-1997 (Boxes 5-10; 3.0 linear feet) Series 10: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1940-1997, 2008 (Boxes 11-27, OV 28-43; 15.7 linear feet)
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.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings and born-digital records in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Summary:
The papers of sculptor, painter, and educator Sidney Simon measure 23.7 linear feet and 2.21 GB and date from circa 1917-2002, with the bulk of the papers dating from 1940-1997. The collection documents Simon's career through biographical material, correspondence, writings and notes, subject files, sketches, sketchbooks, printed and digital material, and photographs. There is a 15.7 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes exhibition files; commission files; project files; ledgers; photograph albums, slides, transparencies and glass plate negatives of works of art and installations and photographs of Simon, family and others; inventories of works of art; files relating to World War II including personal and professional photographs, blank postcards, sketches, printed material, and personnel information; unidentified CDs and a cassette with a letter from mother; journals with sketches and notes; biographical information including certificates and awards; printed material including catalogs and announcements and articles about Simon; appraisals; correspondence including posthumous letters of condolence; sketchbooks and drawings, including oversized student drawings and drawings for commissions and competitions; interviews with Simon on Hi8 tapes, mini DV; a scrapbook; and a zinc metal plate. Materials date from circa 1940-1997 and 2008.
Citation:
Sidney Simon papers, circa 1917-2008, bulk 1940-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Materials lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reel D210 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
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 has two oral history interviews with Sidney Simon conducted by Paul Cummings in October 17-November 8, 1973 and the Karl E. Fortress taped interviews with artists, [1963-1985]. The Archives of American Art also holds materials lent for microfilming (reel D210) including biographical material, correspondence, sketchbooks, scrapbooks, and photographs of Sidney Simon. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Biography Note:
Sidney Simon (1917-1997) was a sculptor, painter, and educator who worked primarily in New York City and Truro, Massachusetts. Simon was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 14, he won a place as a special student at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1934 and from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1936. Simon also studied at the Barnes Foundation from 1937-1940. Simon received professional recognition early in his career; he was awarded the Prix de Rome Collaborative Prize in 1939 and the Edwin Austin Abbey Fellowship in mural painting in 1945.
Language Note:
Collection is in English.
Provenance:
Sidney Simon lent the Archives of American Art material for microfilming in 1965. Rene Simon, Simon's widow, donated the Sidney Simon papers in 2009. Additional material donated in 2022 by the Renee A. Simon Revocable Trust via trustees Barbara Sussman, Alexa Elam and Susanne Howard.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001