Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Reuben Kadish, 1992 Apr. 15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration, American Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of painter Irving Petlin measure 3.0 linear feet and date from 1952-2014. Materials include correspondence with other artists and collaborators, galleries, friends, and family; notes by Petlin related to his artistic process; exhibition and project files regarding the war in Vietnam and other projects; exhibition catalogs, announcements, and clippings related to Petlin's work and group and solo museum and gallery shows; periodicals related to the art world; books featuring Petlin as an illustrator or inscribed by author or editor friends of Petlin's; sketches by Petlin; an Italian contemporary art award; a piece of the Peace Tower collaboration with Mark di Suvero and other artists; and photographs of Petlin's works, installations, and Petlin in a studio.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Irving Petlin measure 3.0 linear feet and date from 1952-2014. Materials include correspondence with other artists and collaborators, galleries, friends, and family; notes by Petlin related to his artistic process; exhibition and project files regarding the war in Vietnam and other projects; exhibition catalogs, announcements, and clippings related to Petlin's work and group and solo museum and gallery shows; periodicals related to the art world; books featuring Petlin as an illustrator or inscribed by author or editor friends of Petlin's; sketches by Petlin; an Italian contemporary art award; a piece of the Peace Tower collaboration with Mark di Suvero and other artists; and photographs of Petlin's works, installations, and Petlin in a studio.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1968-2002 (0.25 linear feet, Box 1)
Series 2: Writings, 1952-1984 (0.18 linear feet) Box 1)
Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1974-1988 (0.20 linear feet, Box 1)
Series 4: Project Files, 1980-1984, 2007 (0.17 linear feet, Box 1)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1962-2014 (2.09 linear feet Box 1, 2, 3)
Series 6: Artwork, circa 1966-1974 (0.07 linear feet, box 3, 4)
Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1970s-1978 (0.04 linear feet, Box 4)
Biographical / Historical:
Irving Petlin (1934-2018) was a painter in Paris, France; New York, New York; and Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Petlin was born in Chicago to Polish Jewish immigrants, attended the Art Institute of Chicago, and earned a MFA from Yale University. Petlin specialized in the medium of pastel, first gaining recognition in Paris after his service in the United States army. From there he went to Los Angeles, where he was principal organizer of the "Artists Protest Movement Against the War in Vietnam," and the 1966 "Peace Tower," with Mark di Suvero and other artists. Petlin and his wife, Sarah, a poet, moved to New York City for 28 years before returning to Paris. Petlin was heavily influenced by the political landscape around him and was an active member of the Art Workers' Coalition. He used allegory, mythology, and symbolism to illustrate politics and the human condition. He often collaborated on projects with other artists and was inspired by writers and poets. In the last decades of his life, Petlin split his time between his studio in Paris and his family's 18th century farmhouse in Martha's Vineyard continuing his work as an artist and activist.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Irving Petlin conducted by James McElhinney September 13 and 15, 2016.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2019 by Sarah Petlin.
Restrictions:
This collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
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.
Moderated by Amy Shapiro, with speakers Dew U. Care, David Channon, Gary Azon, Sarah Schulman, and Efrain Gonzalez. Original panel scheduled for this date, entitled "Slut Art," was canceled and replaced with open mic on the theme of "Art and War."
Collection Restrictions:
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 born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
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.
Collection Citation:
Artists Talk on Art records, circa 1974-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Ted Gilien conducted 1965 Mar. 3, by Betty Hoag, for the Archives of American Art. Gilien speaks of his background and education; getting on the WPA Federal Art Project; starting out as an assistant mural painter on Ellis Island; his military service in World War II as a combat artist; working in New York City and then in California after World War II; experimenting in screenwriting and novel writing; recurring themes in his paintings; his feelings about the FAP; art criticism; the politics of government support for the arts; camaraderie among artists during the WPA years. He recalls Leonard Bocour, James Dean, and Jack Levine.
Biographical / Historical:
Ted Gilien (1914-1967) was a painter and muralist in New York, N.Y. and Los Angeles, Calif.
General:
An unrelated interview of Charles White (3/9/65) conducted by B. Hoag is also on one tape.
An interview of F. J. Schwankovsky (3/1/65) conducted by B. Hoag is also on one tape.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
An interview of Reuben Kadish conducted 1992 Apr. 15, by Stephen Polcari, for the Archives of American Art. Kadish discusses designing murals for the WPA in the 1930s; working as an artist in the South Pacific for the U.S. Army during World War II; the N.Y. art scene in the 1940s; and his views on government support of the arts and on art censorship. He recalls Jackson Pollock.
Biographical / Historical:
Reuben Kadish (1913-1992) was a painter, sculptor, and mural painter from New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration, American Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of S. Lane Faison conducted 1981 December 14, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Faison discusses his activities during World War II teaching aircraft and ship recognition, gathering information related to art looted by the Nazis, preparing a report that described how Hitler's art collection was formed, and the distribution of unclaimed furniture; the role of the College Art Association during the 1950s-1960s; and his guide to art museums in New England.
Biographical / Historical:
S. Lane Faison (1907-2006) was an art historian in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel and 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 5 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 40 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Massachusetts -- Interviews Search this
Papers relating to Gallatin's art collection, the Museum of Living Art, and other museums and activities.
REELS 507-508: Mainly correspondence. Letters pertain to the Museum of Living Art at New York University; Gallatin's work on the New York Mayor's Committee on National Defense, including many letters from artists regarding war work, 1918-1919; research for bibliographies; family matters; and business affairs. Correspondents include: Oscar Bluemner, Alexander Calder, Warrington Dawson, Robert Delaunay, Charles Demuth, Charles Freer, Walter Gay, William Glackens, Julio Gonzalez, Childe Hassam, Henry McBride, C. R. W. Nevinson, Ben Nicholson, Maxfield Parrish, Joseph & Elizabeth Pennell, Leonce Rosenberg, William Rothenstein, Allan Wade and Elizabeth Wharton.
The Bluemner material includes four letters, a sketch, and a note from Oscar Bluemner to Gallatin. Bluemner writes about the 1932 Whitney Museum show, French and American painters, architecture, and painting.
REEL 1293: 3 scrapbooks which include official press releases and clippings of artists about the opening of the Gallery of Living Art at NYU, and its subsequent acquisitions, exhibitions, change of name to Museum of Living Art, and discontinuance of the Museum and transfer to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Also included are reproductions of some of the works found in the collection, reproductions of photos taken by Gallatin of artists whose works are in this collection, a 1935 Gallery of Living Art Bulletin, and clippings and a portion of the Catalog of the Gallery of Living Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector; New York, N.Y. Gallatin formed one of America's earliest modern art collections, and displayed it as Gallery of Living Art (later Museum of Living Art) at NYU from 1907-1943, when he moved it to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Gallatin was also a painter.
Provenance:
Material on reels 507-508 lent for microfilming in 1973; reel 1293 lent by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Correspondence (143 letters, 1952-1988, many addressed to Jason and Virginia) includes 85 letters from Schoener's uncle, William Zorach and his wife Marguerite, discussing daily events, family matters, and offering advice on Schoener's carreer. There is also a letter from Max Weber thanking Schoener for the handmade cufflinks "that were made by one who loves and creates beauty." Also found is the 1996 publication "An American Artist in World War II: Jason Schoener at Eniwetak" by Nancy Arbuthnot, which recounts the Schoener's experiences and reproduces his paintings from his navy commission during the last year of WWII.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor, ceramist, painter, educator; Oakland, California. Born 1919. Schoener graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art and also studied at Case Western Reserve, the Art Students League of New York, and Columbia University. He and his wife, Virginia, settled in the San Francisco Bay area in 1953. Schoener was a longtime professor at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. During his Navy service in WWII, Schoener produced a series of watercolors which became the subject of a publication by Nancy Prothro Arbuthnot in 1996. He exhibited widely in the U.S. and abroad.
Provenance:
Donated 1996 by Jason and Virginia Schoener.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
Ceramicists -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area Search this
Biographical material, letters, art works, 2 contracts, notes, writings, subject files, scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs document the journalism and portraiture of S.J. Woolf. His subjects included many of the twentieth century's most influential figures.
Scrapbook I contains circa 400 photographs of charcoal portraits of noted figures in politics, business, science, and the arts, drawn by Woolf between 1918 and 1948 for the "New York Times" magazine series "Drawings from Life." The other three scrapbooks contain clippings, 1923-1948, of the brief biographies, written by Woolf from his conversations with his subjects as he drew them, which were published with the drawings. The third scrapbook also includes an original drawing of Alfred E. Smith and Woolf's obituaries.
Birth announcements for Woolf, 1880; a passport, 1929; documents relating to Woolf's work as a war correspondent, 1942-1944; letters, 1847-1903, mentioning musical and theatrical activities of Woolf's relatives including his grandfather Edward Woolf and his great-uncle Benjamin Woolf; letters to Woolf concerning his work, 1910-1949; an essay "My Brownstone Aunts" by Woolf's wife Edith Truman Woolf; 2 essays by Woolf on his career; 5 drawings by Woolf, including portraits of Calvin Coolidge and Alfred Sloan; a caricature of Woolf by "V.D.S."; a cariacture of English actor Farren by Edward Woolf, 1835; a design to decorate a bar by Muriel Hobson; 350 subject files, 1904-1986, containing letters, clippings, and typescripts concerning noted figures in politics, business, science, and the arts, such as Irving Berlin, Albert Einstein, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Mark Twain; and files on the Snyder-Grey trial, 1927, the Bruno Hauptmann execution, 1936, Woolf's book, "Here Am I," 1941-1942, and Woolf's work at the front during both World Wars; 4 scrapbooks, 1900-1948, containing clippings, letters, drawings, war zone passes, and Woolf's birth certificate and photograph; clippings, 1903-1980, including articles about Benjamin Woolf and Edith Truman Woolf; 2 exhibition catalogs, 1919 and 1935; photographs, 1890-1941, of Woolf, his family and colleagues, an art class, an exhibition installation, and works of art.
Biographical / Historical:
S. J. Woolf (1880-1948) was a graphic artist, journalist, illusrator in New York, N.Y. Born into a family long active in the arts, Woolf studied at the Art Students League and at the National Academy of Design. He developed a reputation as a portraitist, primarily drawing celebrities for "Collier's", and, beginning in 1923, combining his portraits with his written accounts of his "personality interviews" for the "New York Times." Woolf also served as a special correspondent during both world wars.
Provenance:
Scrapbooks on reels 4065-4066 lent for microfilming, and remainder donated by Dr. Deborah Hobson, Woolf's granddaughter, through the National Portrait Gallery, which received the papers along with 107 drawings by Woolf of prominent Americans. The papers were transferred to the Archives of American Art, 1988 and 1992.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Correspondence; photographs; drawings; a typescript; lyrics; and clippings.
REEL 110: Correspondence; photos; drawings; publications; and clippings. Most of the correspondence is with Mitchell's wife and his mother; letters from the war period and thereafter describe his activities as an Army artist and college art teacher.
REEL 324: Letters received, 1943-1965, mostly from the War Department regarding his service as an artist war correspondent in World War II; a typescript of "Requiem for Fats" (Fats Navarro) by Mitchell; lyrics for two songs by Mitchell; photographs of his paintings and of himself; 1 sketch; a curriculum vitae; and clippings.
REEL 1874: 15 photographs of Bruce Mitchell, his friends and work, including photographs of Mitchell painting jazz musicians as they perform.
Biographical / Historical:
Army artist, landscape painter, teacher.
Provenance:
Donated 1964-1972 by Olivia Dehn Mitchell, widow of Bruce Handiside Mitchell.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
10 Christmas cards made by artist-servicemen in World War II, published by the American Artists Group, ca. 1942. Artists include: Torcum K. Bedayan, Fred J. Brauer, Robert Burns, Edward A. Chavez, Walter de Wolfe, C.L. Hartman, Jr., Joseph W. McDermott, Archie McLean (2), and Bob Majors.
Biographical / Historical:
Greeting card company. Founded 1934; New York, N.Y. One of its aims was to popularize contemporary American art by publishing fine reproductions of original etchings, lithographs, drawings and paintings on greeting cards.
Provenance:
Donated 1989 by Helen Ransom, who purchased them at a gift shop in the 1940s.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Eight trial photographs of illustrations by Glackens for the book, "Remember the Maine," by Gregory Mason (New York: H. Holt & Co., 1939); and a photocopy of a letter, Dec. 2, 1938, from Glacken's son, Ira, to Ruth Mason, Gregory's wife and agent, discussing the photographs and William's work as a wartime newspaper and magazine illustrator. Also included is a trial photograph of the battleship.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, illustrator; New York, N.Y. Born in Philadelphia, PA. Studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and in Europe.
Provenance:
Donated by Eliot F. Bartlett, who is the son of Ruth Mason, Gregory Mason's wife, 1973.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Notes kept by Reep while assigned to the Italian Front during World War II, November 6, 1944 - May 2, 1945; and a letter from Reep to E. Maurice Bloch, September 25, 1962.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, World War II artist-correspondent.
Provenance:
The material was discovered among the papers and library of art historian E. Maurice Bloch, which Ars Libri, Ltd., a rare book dealer, had purchased. Reep mailed the notes to Bloch in 1962 and had never been successful in getting them back. The Archives was contacted by Ars Libri in 1993, and in turn contacted Reep, who donated the material in 1994.
A tape recording of a lecture delivered by Lamont Moore entitled "Salt Mines and Castles" and 51 accompanying slides. Moore speaks of the history of the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Historic Monuments in War Areas, and its efforts toward recovery of art looted during World War II. The lecture was given at the Belmont Memorial Library, Belmont, Massachusetts for the Belmont Historical Society.
Biographical / Historical:
Lamont Moore (1909-1998) was a historian from New London, N.H. who was involved in the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Historic Monuments in War Areas.
Provenance:
Donated 1983 by Lamont Moore.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
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 in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
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.
Collection Citation:
Yasuo Kuniyoshi papers, 1906-2016, bulk 1920-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by Stephen Diamond, the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, and 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.
To his cousin Constance, 1943 Feb. 7, Biddle writes about being named chairman of the War Department's Art Advisory Board which entailed selecting and sending artists (including himself) to North Africa and Italy to create a pictorial war record. "...not factual reportage," he adds, "but the emotional impact of the war on an artist...I am very interested to [sic] in inducting writers into the set-up. John Steinbeck is one of my Committee and I hope to make up that question with McCloy [assistant Sec. of War] next week."
In the second letter, 1945 Mar. 27, written from San Angel, Mexico, Biddle mostly describes a stabbing accident undergone by his son, Michael; he briefly discusses the gloomy economic situation in Mexico.
Biographical / Historical:
Biddle, a painter, Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., is known as the person responsible for recommending to Franklin Roosevelt a federal art program for artists, giving rise to the Public Works of Art Project and subsequent art projects of the Treasury Department and Works Progress Administration.
Biddle's drawings from World War II were published in Artist At War (New York: The Viking Press, 1944)
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1994 by Helen Zimmermann, who was raised by Constance Biddle and her sister; the letters were among Constance's effects at her death.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The 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 in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection Rights:
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.
Collection Citation:
Richard McLanathan papers, 1901-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
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.
