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Catalog Data

Creator:
Hirsch, Stefan, 1899-1964  Search this
Rogo, Elsa, 1901-1996  Search this
Subject:
Bier, Justus  Search this
Field, Hamilton Easter  Search this
Halpert, Edith Gregor  Search this
Mérida, Carlos  Search this
Mumford, Lewis  Search this
Shahn, Ben  Search this
Anguiano, Raúl  Search this
Albers, Josef  Search this
Bard College  Search this
Bennington College  Search this
Downtown Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs  Search this
Type:
Motion pictures (visual works)
Sound recordings
Etchings
Sketchbooks
Scrapbooks
Glass plate negatives
Transcripts
Place:
Mexico -- photographs
Place of publication, production, or execution:
United States
Physical Description:
19.6 Linear feet
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series: Series 1: Biographical Material, 1899-1986 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1) Series 2: Correspondence, 1920s-1960s (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-4) Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1920-1960s (1.2 linear feet: Boxes 4-5) Series 4: Professional Files, 1912-1966 (2.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-8) Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1927-1957 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 8-9) Series 6: Printed Material, 1851-1964 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 9-12, 19) Series 7: Photographs and Motion Picture Film, circa 1870-1960s (6.9 linear feet; Boxes 12-17, 20, FC 21-29) Series 8: Sketchbooks, circa 1930s-circa 1940s (0.6 linear feet; Box 18) Series 9: Artwork and Artifacts, 1916-1982 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 18-19)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Original film reels and archival negative copies are stored off-site and are closed to researchers.
Summary:
The papers of artists and educators Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo measure 19.6 linear feet and date from 1851 to 1986, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920s to the 1960s. Together, they traveled throughout Mexico and Latin America where they became involved in the social and art scenes. Hirsch and Rogo's artistic, teaching, and journalism careers are documented through biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, professional files, printed materials, photographs and motion picture films, and sketchbooks and other artwork.
Citation:
Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers, 1851-1986, bulk 1920-1960. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Nine reels of 16 mm motion picture film in this collection have been preserved on film and copied to video for research access and are available in the Archives of American Art offices. Projection prints of these films are also available for loan. In addition, the sound recordings have been digitized for research access.
Funding:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Funding for the preservation of the Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo home movies shot in Mexico was provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's 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:
German-born Stefan Hirsch (1899-1964) was a painter and educator. Elsa Rogo (1901-1966) was married to Hirsch and was an artist, educator and journalist. They were active in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and Vermont, and traveled extensively throughout Mexico and Latin America where they documented local arts and crafts, village life, and befriended prominent Mexican artists.
Born in Nurnberg, Germany, Stefan Hirsch grew up in Europe and studied art at the University of Zurich. After settling in the United States in 1919, he took summer courses under Hamilton Easter Field in Ogunquit, Maine. Hirsch developed a Precisionist style combined with Social Realism but much of his work was difficult to restrict to one specific style. Hirsch was a founder and exhibitor at the avant-garde Salons of America which served as an alternative to the Society of Independent Artists. During the 1930s and 1940s, Hirsch participated in the U.S. government's Federal Art Project and painted murals in Aiken, South Carolina and Booneville, Mississippi. Hirsch began his teaching career in 1937 at Bennington College in Vermont, and later accepted a position at Bard College where he served as the chairman of the art department until he retired in 1961.
In 1930, Hirsch married Elsa Rogo. Together, they traveled throughout Mexico and Latin America where they became involved in the social and art scenes. They befriended prominent Mexican artists like Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros. As a journalist, Rogo documented Mexican life, events, and art extensively through photographs. Rogo also served in the U.S. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, established in 1940 to promote cultural diplomacy and solidarity primarily in Latin America. In Taxaco, Mexico, she taught art to school children. Her book, Walls and Volcanos: The Creative Impulse of the Mexican People , was published in 1937.
Stefan Hirsch died in 1964. Elsa Rogo died in 1966.
Language Note:
Collection is in English, Spanish, and German.
Provenance:
Portions of the Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers were donated in 1996 by the Elsa Rogo estate, via Sylvia Siskin, executrix. Additions were donated 2002, 2014, and 2019 by professor James Oles, Art Department, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts on behalf of Sylvia Siskin.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art, Latin American  Search this
Mural painting and decoration, Mexican -- Photographs  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- South Carolina  Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- Mississippi  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Latino and Latin American  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6044
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216012
AAA_collcode_hirsstef
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Latino and Latin American
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216012