Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Federico Castellon, 1971 April 7-14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Sylvan Cole, 2000 June-October. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sylvan Cole and Richard Field. Interview with Sylvan Cole, 1992 May 14. Ruth Fine papers, 1929-2016. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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:
Jacob Kainen papers, 1905-2008, bulk 1940-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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:
Jacob Kainen papers, 1905-2008, bulk 1940-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Federico Castellon conducted 1971 April 7-14, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Castellon speaks of his childhood; his early interest in art; contact with Diego Rivera and the Weyhe Gallery in 1933; studying in Madrid and Paris; his involvement with the Spanish military; teaching at Columbia; traveling in Italy and in the Southwestern U.S.; making his first prints; his involvement with the Associated American Artists Gallery; printmaking methods and techniques; his publications; subject matter and surrealism in his work; his working routine; one-man exhibitions; collecting prints; other printmakers; aesthetics. He recalls Diego Rivera, Carl Zigrosser, Elizabeth Ames, Reeves Lowenthal, Sylvan Cole, Terry Dintenfass, Lawrence Fleischman, the Weyhe Gallery, and the Associated American Artists Gallery.
Biographical / Historical:
Federico Castellon (1914-1971) was a printmaker and painter from Brooklyn, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 16 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' 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.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
An interview of Sylvan Cole conducted 2000 June-October, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art.
The interviews took place over five sessions in New York, New York. Cole discusses the history of Associated American Artists, the gallery for whom he began working in 1946, and its marketing techniques, customer base, and personalities, such as its founder, Reeves Lewenthal. He also traces his own development as a dealer in prints after he left AAA and recalls many artists and other figures in the art world, including Will Barnet, Werner Drewes, Richard Florsheim, Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper, Una Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Jack Levine, William S. Lieberman, Robert Motherwell, and Raphael Soyer.
Biographical / Historical:
Sylvan Cole (1918-2005) was an art dealer and writer of New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 6 min.
Sound quality is fair; beginning and endings of tapes tend to be garbled and low.
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 administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The Sylvan Cole Gallery records and Sylvan Cole papers measure 29.4 linear feet and date from 1935 to 2004, with the bulk of the records dating from 1959 to 2003. The records shed light on the gallery's operations through administrative records, artist files, exhibition and event files, institution and museum files, gallery and dealer files, client and collector files, financial records, and appraisal and legal records. The collection also includes papers of Sylvan Cole, including material generated during his career as president and director of Associated American Artists Gallery; an appraiser of fine-art prints; and an authority on twentieth-century American prints. Some personal material is present as well.
Scope and Contents:
The Sylvan Cole Gallery records and Sylvan Cole papers measure 29.4 linear feeet and date from 1959 to 2004, with one item, A Modern Pilgrim's Print Book, from 1935. The records shed light on the gallery's operations through administrative records, artist files, exhibition and event files, institution and museum files, gallery and dealer files, client and collector files, financial records, and appraisal and legal records. The collection also includes papers of Sylvan Cole, including material generated during his career as president and director of Associated American Artists Gallery; an appraiser of fine-art prints; and an authority on twentieth-century American prints. Some personal material is present as well.
Gallery administrative records consist of correspondence files, organization and membership records, daily planners, files on art conservation and restoration, and an essay by Sylvan Cole titled "Some Observations" about buyers in the commercial print industry. Artist files shed light on the gallery's dealings with artists Raphael Soyer, Martha Bloom, Stuart Davis, Clare Leighton, Ben Shahn, and others through correspondence, biographical summaries and resumes, clippings, price lists, exhibition catalogs and announcements, financial papers, and scattered photos.
Exhibition and event files consist of price lists, announcements, catalogs, press releases, newspaper clippings, and more related to solo and group exhibitions held at Sylvan Cole Gallery and elsewhere that involved either artwork from the Cole Gallery or Sylvan Cole himself. The series also includes materials from art auctions and fairs.
Both institution and museum files as well as gallery and dealer files contain correspondence, printed material, shipping records, exhibition announcements and catalogs, consignment records, invoices, inventories, price lists, and some appraisal records. Galleries and dealer files shed light on the book companies, galleries, and print-dealers that Sylvan Cole and his gallery conducted business with. Client and collector files consist of correspondence, sales records, receipts and invoices, inventories, price lists, and some appraisal records.
Financial records are comprised of sales and consignment records, remittances, paid bills, receipts, and invoices. The collection's appraisal and legal records consist of material documenting laws in New York and at the federal level relevant to fine-art prints and multiples; one file containing the Sylvan Cole Gallery's incorporation records; and records of appraisals performed by Sylvan Cole.
The papers of Sylvan Cole shed light on his career as president and director of Associated American Artists Gallery, a well-known appraiser and authority of fine-art prints, and art lecturer. The papers include correspondence, memos, price lists, and other administrative records from AAAG. Of particular note in this series are letters between Sylvan Cole and lithographer, painter, and sculptor Richard Florsheim as well as material related to the Richard Florsheim Art Fund. Some family and biographical material, membership records, photographs, and clippings are also present.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series.
Series 1: Sylvan Cole Gallery Administrative Records, 1970-2003 (Box 1-3; 2.8 linear feet)
Series 2: Artist Files, 1965-2003 (Box 3-8; 4.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Exhibition and Event Files, 1964-2003 (Box 8-11 ; 3.8 linear feet)
Series 4: Institution and Museum Files, 1976-2004 (Box 12-14; 2.8 linear feet)
Series 5: Gallery and Dealer Files, 1973-2004 (Box 14-18; 3.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Client and Collector Files, 1966-2003 (Box 18-20; 2.8 linear feet)
Series 7: Financial Records,1982-2003 (Box 21-24; 3.6 linear feet)
Series 8: Legal and Appraisal Records, 1967-2003 (Box 24-26, 30-32; 3.2 linear feet)
Series 9: Sylvan Cole Jr. Papers, 1935, 1959-2003 (Box 26-29; 2.4 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
The Sylvan Cole Gallery was founded in 1984 in New York City by Sylvan Cole (1918-2005). The gallery specialized in twentieth-century fine art prints, including lithographs, etchings, screenprints, and woodcuts by European and American artists. Cole started the gallery after his career as the director of the Associated American Artists Gallery (AAAG), an organization that helped transform the commercial print industry in the United States. The Sylvan Cole Gallery exhibited the work of number of artists including Stanley William Hayter, Raphael Soyer, Martha Bloom, Grant Wood, Stuart Davis, and John Taylor Arms. In addition to the individual artists exhibited, the Sylvan Cole Gallery also held group shows of U.S. and European prints; and exhibited at art fairs held in New York, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.
Sylvan Cole, commonly referred to as Sylvan Cole Jr., was born in Manhattan in 1918 to Sylvan Cole Sr. and Ballin Cole. (His family's name was Cohn at the time of his birth.) "Junior" graduated from Cornell University in 1939 and then worked for Sears Roebuck & Co. while getting his master's at Rutgers University. He then served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Shortly after returning from the war, Cole began working at AAAG, ultimately serving as its director and president from 1958 to 1983. While at AAAG, Cole appraised artwork, curated exhibitions, and purchased and sold many prints on behalf of the gallery. He developed a lasting relationship with painter, lithographer, and sculptor Richard Florsheim, and after Florsheim's death in 1979, Cole became involved with the Richard Florsheim Art Fund. Cole was well-known as a primary authority on fine-art prints of the twentieth century when he established his gallery in 1984. Cole wrote about and publicly discussed twentieth-century prints over the next few decades, performed appraisals, and worked with the government and Internal Revenue Service from the 1980s to 1990s on laws and court cases involving prints. He helped establish the International Fine Print Dealers Association and was involved in several other organizations including the Fire Island Fine Arts Project, Friends of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell University, and Appraisers Association of America.
Sylvan Cole's first marriage was with Vivian Vanderpool, and they had three children: Robert, James, and Nancy. Cole's second wife, Lilyan, died in 1988; he then married Mary Myers Cole, who passed away in 2008.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Sylvan Cole conducted by Avis Berman, 2000 June-October.
Provenance:
The Sylvan Cole Gallery records and Sylvan Cole Papers were donated by Sylvan Cole in 2003.
Restrictions:
Sylvan Cole files that pertain to his role as an IRS expert witness from 1985 to 1991 are access restricted. Contact Reference Services for more information. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sylvan Cole Gallery Records and Sylvan Cole Papers, 1935-2004. 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.
Correspondence; photographs; writings and lecture notes; and printed material; and a scrapbook.
Circa 300 personal letters, 1945-1970, to Pollack from painter Richard Florsheim.
Files of correspondence and clippings pertaining to Pollack's career as a curator and photography historian. Most of the files concern Pollack's book "The Picture History of Photography." Other files concern Pollack's work on publications for Harry N. Abrams, Inc., the Worcester Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. Also included are writings and lecture notes; a few letters and clippings from scrapbooks; and miscellany. Correspondents include: Ansel Adams, Gyuia Halasz Brassai, Sylvan Cole, Julio De Diego, Helmut Gernsheim, Philippe Halsman, Dimitrios Harissiadis, Yousuf Karsh, Grace M. Mayer, and Beaumont Newhall.
Personal correspondence, 1954-1976, with Richard Florsheim discussing various career choices and projects, exhibition openings, Florsheim's art dealers, and book projects Florsheim was involved in; project files, 1948-1962, regarding Pollack's position as the New York City-based Public Relations Consultant for the Archives of American Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Guggenheim, and other institutions. Included are letters, news releases, catalogs, announcements and some photographs and clippings of such projects as the International Biennial of Prints and the AAA European art tour trip.
Also included is a scrapbook, 1939-1943, concerning exhibitions and activities of the South Side Community Art Center, Chicago, sponsored by the Illinois Art Project of the WPA-FAP and supervised by Pollack, 1938-1942. The center's purpose was to advance African American art and artists. Included are by-laws; letters from Alain Locke, and Richmond Barthe; photographs of Pollack, Jules Carlen, Horace Pippin, Eldzier Cortor, Canada Lee, Julio de Diego, Jesus Torres, and Eleanor Roosevelt at the dedication of the center, 1941; a typescript of a lecture by Daniel Catton Rich "The Art Museum and the Community Art Center," delivered at the Museum Director's conference, Detroit Institute of Arts, May 1940, newspaper clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs and other printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Pollack (1909-1978) was a photographer, curator, historian, and writer in New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Material on reels 822 and 4886-4887 donated 1974-1977 by Pollack, except for the scrapbook which was donated by Jane de Hart, an art historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who received it from Pollack for her research on African American artists and WPA projects. Material on reels 2385-2390 was lent for microfilming in 1981 by Creilly Pollack, Pollack's widow.
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.
Chronological correspondence documents Mangravite's career as a painter and educator and is with employers, dealers, museums, galleries, collectors, clients, arts and educational organizations, publishers, and other artists. The majority of the letters are written in English, but some are composed in French and Italian as well. Although primarily business correspondence, there is also a significant amount of personal correspondence with friends, colleagues, and former students. The letters often cover both business and personal topics, as Mangravite seemed to form close relationships with many of the people at the galleries and schools with which he was associated. Correspondence dated from 1918 to the 1950s is comprised mostly of incoming letters. Starting in the 1950s, the correspondence includes more outgoing correspondence, usually in the forms of onion skin copies and handwritten drafts. Correspondence is arranged chronologically, except two folders of undated letters, which are arranged alphabetically by last name of writer. A list of major correspondents follows.
A large amount of correspondence is between Mangravite and his dealers, the Dudensing Gallery and the Rehn Galleries, and discusses financial agreements, sales, and accounts. There is also correspondence with other galleries and museums where his paintings were exhibited. Mangravite's mural commissions are also discussed in the correspondence. Also found are invitations to participate in exhibitions, notifications of prize awards and artwork sales, invitations to be on juries for art competitions, or miscellaneous requests from fellow artists, fans, collectors, and clients. Significant events documented here include Mangravite's two Guggenheim Fellowships and his trip to Europe in 1955 to interview famous artists.
Mangravite's long teaching career is also documented in this series. Correspondence is found with Columbia University, Sarah Lawrence College, Avon School, Fieldston School of the Ethical Culture Schools, Potomac School, Dana Hall School, and the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center. Additionally, Mangravite was also a sought-after speaker and his correspondence includes many lecture invitations and requests as well as arrangements for accepted speaking engagements.
Other topics covered in the correspondence concern Mangravite's published or proposed writings, particularly articles and books reviews, most notably for the Saturday Review of Literature and American Magazine of Art. Also, there is some correspondence with publishers regarding book project ideas and manuscripts. Mangravite's membership activities in a variety of artists' organizations, such as the College Art Association, the American Society of Painters, Sculptors and Gravers; the American Artists' Congress, and the American Federation of Arts are well-represented in the correspondence. Of particular interest is Mangravite's response to an artists' rental policy debate during the 1930s, concerning the payment of rental fees for artworks exhibited in shows and galleries.
Major Correspondents
American Artists Congress
American Federation of Arts
American Society of Painters
Arms, John Taylor
Avon School
Barr, Alfred
Barzun, Jacques (Columbia University)
Bear, Donald J.
Benson, Emanuel
Biddle, George
Burchfield, Charles
Canaday, John
Canby, Courtlandt
Chagall, Marc
Clancy, John (Rehn Galleries)
Cole, Sylvan Jr. (Associated American Artists)
College Art Association
Colorado Springs Fine Art Center
Columbia University
d'Harnoncourt, Rene
Dana Hall School
Davis, Stuart
Dudensing, Richard
Fieldston School of the Ethical Culture Schools
Force, Juliana
Gonzales, Xavier
Harper & Brothers Publishers
Knight, Frederick
Larom, Henry V.
Lockwood, Ward
Magafan, Ethel and Jenne and Edward Chavez
Maldarelli, Oronzio
Manso, Leo
Manzella, David
Moe, Henry Allen
Mumford, Lewis
Pearson, Ralph M. (Design Workshop)
Philips, Duncan
Picken, George
Poor, Henry V.
Potomac School
Preston, Carol (Potomac School)
Rehn, Frank K. M.
Rice, Norman (Art Institute of Chicago)
Rich, Daniel Catton (Art Institute of Chicago)
Robinson, Boardman (Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center)
Roosevelt, Willard
Root, Edward W.
Saint-Gaudens, Homer
Sarah Lawrence College
Sculptors and Gravers
Simonson, Lee
Speicher, Gene
Sweet, Frederick A. (Portland Art Museum)
Talbot, William
Thayer, H. Standish
Vander Sluis, George
Watson, Forbes
Watkins, Franklin C.
Weston, Harold
Wilder, Mitchell A. (Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center)
Wyatt, Stanley
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
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:
Peppino Mangravite papers, 1918-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
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:
Adolf Dehn papers, 1912-1981. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
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 audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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:
New York Artists Equity Association records, 1920-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.
