Search Results

Artist:

Georgia O'Keeffe, born Sun Prairie, WI 1887-died Santa Fe, NM 1986  Search this

Medium:

oil on canvas

Dimensions:

84 3/8 x 48 1/4 in. (214.3 x 122.4 cm.)

Type:

Painting

Date:

1932

Topic:

Cityscape\New York\New York  Search this

Abstract  Search this

Object\flower\rose  Search this

Architecture Exterior\commercial\skyscraper  Search this

Credit Line:

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Georgia O'Keeffe Foundation

Object number:

1995.3.1

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection

Department:

Painting and Sculpture

Data Source:

Smithsonian American Art Museum

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk74444e28a-17d6-41b2-a02b-f54297dedfa1

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:saam_1995.3.1

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2022-03-15T05:34:06.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_UmGFHnYubEk

Creator:

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this

Subject:

Wildenstein, Felix  Search this

Phillips, Duncan  Search this

Hays, Lee  Search this

Untermeyer, Louis  Search this

Zigrosser, Carl  Search this

Robeson, Paul  Search this

DuBois, W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)  Search this

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano)  Search this

Ruggles, Carl  Search this

Stefansson, Vilhjalmur  Search this

Nearing, Helen  Search this

Nearing, Scott  Search this

Pach, Walter  Search this

Rasmussen, Knud  Search this

Reeves, Ruth  Search this

Seeger, Pete  Search this

Daniel, Charles  Search this

Cleland, T. M. (Thomas Maitland)  Search this

Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen)  Search this

Chamberlain, J. E.  Search this

Boyesen, Bayard  Search this

Chase, William Merritt  Search this

Freuchen, Peter  Search this

Gellert, Hugo  Search this

Gottlieb, Harry  Search this

Hartley, Marsden  Search this

FitzGerald, James  Search this

Keller, Charles  Search this

Miller, Kenneth Hayes  Search this

Henri, Robert  Search this

Jones, Dan Burne  Search this

United American Artists  Search this

United Office and Professional Workers of America  Search this

United Scenic Artists  Search this

National Farmers' Union (U.S.)  Search this

National Maritime Union of America  Search this

American Artists' Congress  Search this

Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Artists League of America  Search this

Citizens' Committee for Government Arts Projects  Search this

Farmers Union of the New York Milk Shed  Search this

Federal Art Project  Search this

Federal Writers' Project  Search this

Macbeth Gallery  Search this

International Workers Order  Search this

Type:

Poems

Sketches

Business records

Photographs

Drawings

Citation:

Rockwell Kent papers, circa 1840-1993, bulk 1935-1961. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Designers -- New York (State)  Search this

Mural painting and decoration  Search this

Politics and culture  Search this

Authors -- New York  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States -- Political aspects  Search this

Dairy farms  Search this

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Illustrators -- New York (State)  Search this

Illustration of books  Search this

Works of art  Search this

Art and war  Search this

Commercial art  Search this

World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9557

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211757

AAA_collcode_kentrock

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211757

Interviewee:

Blaine, Nell Blair Walden, 1922-1996  Search this

Interviewer:

Seckler, Dorothy Gees, 1910-1994  Search this

Subject:

Bell, Leland  Search this

Day, Worden  Search this

Freilicher, Jack  Search this

Freilicher, Jane  Search this

Hofmann, Hans  Search this

Kahn, Wolf  Search this

Kresch, Albert  Search this

Rivers, Larry  Search this

Ross, Alvin  Search this

Solomon, Hyde  Search this

American Abstract Artists  Search this

Jane Street Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Citation:

Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Nell Blaine, 1967 June 15. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women printmakers  Search this

Poliomyelitis  Search this

Artists with disabilities  Search this

Theme:

Women  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12436

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212221

AAA_collcode_blaine67

Theme:

Women

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212221

Interviewee:

Blaine, Nell, 1922-1996  Search this

Interviewer:

Seckler, Dorothy Gees, 1910-1994  Search this

Names:

American Abstract Artists  Search this

Jane Street Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Bell, Leland  Search this

Day, Worden, 1916-1986  Search this

Freilicher, Jack  Search this

Freilicher, Jane, 1924-2014  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Kahn, Wolf, 1927-2020  Search this

Kresch, Albert, 1922-2022  Search this

Rivers, Larry, 1925-2002  Search this

Ross, Alvin, 1920-1975  Search this

Solomon, Hyde, 1911-  Search this

Extent:

86 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1967 June 15

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Nell Blaine conducted 1967 June 15, by Dorothy Seckler, for the Archives of American Art.

Blaine speaks of her family background; her competitive spirit; commercial art; becoming a "disciple" of Hans Hofmann; Hofmann as a teacher; the influence of Arp, Helion, Leger and Mondrian; the American Abstract Artists group; the Jane Street Gallery; jazz musicians; painting in Paris, Italy, Mexico, Greece, England, and elsewhere; her paralysis caused by polio; design work with Alvin H. Ross; her interest in color and light; landscape and figurative paintings; and the contemporary art scene. She recalls Leland Bell, Worden Day, Jane and Jack Freilicher, Wolf Kahn, Albert Kresch, Larry Rivers, Hyde Solomon, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Nell Blaine (1922-1996) was a painter in New York, New York.

General:

Originally recorded 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr.

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:

This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Occupation:

Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women printmakers  Search this

Poliomyelitis  Search this

Artists with disabilities  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

This interview received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative Pool.

Identifier:

AAA.blaine67

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90dab60cd-70c6-4a88-a98b-da4794a49583

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-blaine67

Creator:

Hales, Landy R., 1889-1972  Search this

Extent:

5.5 Cubic feet (15 boxes, 1 map folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photograph albums

Design drawings

Sketches

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Clippings

Date:

1908 - 1969

Summary:

Papers document Landy R. Hales (1889-1972), an inventor and commercial artist who designed window and interior store displays, posters, children's games, and puzzles primarily from 1920s to 1930s in New York City and Baltimore. Of significance is Hales's work for Macy's Department Store. The papers consist of correspondence, patents, business records for several of Hales's companies, photographs, drawings/sketches, prototypes, and newspaper and magazine clippings.

Scope and Contents:

The papers document Hales's career as an inventor and commercial artist as well as his work in games, puzzles, educational tools, and posters. The collection includes sketches and design drawings, photographs, publicity materials, clippings and articles, and game prototypes.

Series 1, Brilliant Sign Company, 1908-1909, consists of stock shares, transferred by Hales to others in the amount of twenty dollars for the Brilliant Sign Company of Baltimore City, Maryland.

Series 2, Landy R. Hales, Inc., 1927-1929, 1944, consists of of invoices, orders, and check stubs from R.H. Macy and Company and Gimbel Brothers, Inc. for work by Landy R. Hales, Inc. for window displays. The orders detail what will be constructed and decorated. The R.H. Macy materials also contain a 1927 souvenir from Macy's Wonderland Christmas. Included in this series is a 1944 United States Treasury Department War Finance Program citation to Landy R. Hales.

Series 3, Hales Layer Poster Corporation, 1922-1969 (bulk 1920s), consists of materials documenting Hales poster company. Hales's formed Hales Layer Poster Corporation in New York State on July 16, 1925 to manufacture, purchase, sell and deal in layer posters and equipment for constructing layer posters in packaged or other forms. The corporation's other directors were Alfred J. Silberstein and Alvin A. Silberman, both of New York. Hales developed a new method of making a poster by placing cut-out pieces of materials such as composition board or wood on a background, then building layers to form three dimensions in the finished product. The first store to use Hales layer posters was Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City. The posters were never sold and were only used in advertising and window displays.

The materials consist of stock shares and values, a certificate of incorporation, branded letterhead, correspondence, an order book (blank forms), a point-of-purchase ad featuring Little Red Riding Hood, a patent for a display device, layer poster instructions, examples of posters, sample card stock, and instructions for the ABCD Ease Game. The display device patent (US 1,563,485) was issued to Hales on December 1, 1925. The invention relates to display devices for commercial advertising arrangements constructed out of layers of veneer or cardboard for reproducing and illustrating articles for sale, magazines, posters or art works. The principal object was to provide a display picture having depth. The correspondence, 1922-1937, 1969 and undated, contains letters with individuals companies, hotels, and department stores primarily in New York City such as B.F. Keith's New York Hippodrome, Saks & Company, Hotel Nassau, Keystone Manufacturing Company, and Rialto Theatre. Much of the correspondence relates to services provided by Hales Layer Poster Corporation. Hales's correspondence with Morris Gest, a theatrical producer who introduced La Chauve-Souris, a touring revue during the early 1900s, to the United States. There is also a letter typewritten by Hales in 1969 to Pablo Picasso about copying Picasso prints using the Hales layer poster method.

The instructions for "how to make" a Hales layer poster are well documented, detailing the step-by-step process and including the use of Hales Studio colors for painting. Specific instructions for the "Tom, Tom Piper's Son" with color guide are found here. A full, unused layer poster kit is in box 14. Additionally, Hales created the ABCD Ease Game, a board game played with dice with the objective to reach "ease." The way to reach "Ease" is through truth, courage, justice, thrift, study, work, loyalty, and honesty. Instructions and prototypes of the gameboard are represented.

Series 4, Hales Manikins, Inc., 1938-1948 and undated, consists of correspondence, a voting trust agreement, board of directors meeting minutes, stock shares, a floor plan for the company, blueprints for rubber figures, and a patent for a manikin and method of making the same (US 2,129,421). Hales Maninikin incorporated in 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland to manufacture, distribute, sell and otherwise deal in manikins and other display advertising figures. The board of directors meeting minutes contain articles of incorporation, by-laws, and minutes.

Series 5, Hales Pictures, Inc., 1937-1938, 1967 and undated, consists of an agreement with Walt Disney Enterprises, sketches by Kay Kamen, Ltd., a press release about Hales Picture Puzzles, and prototypes of Hales Puzzle Pictures. Of note is a copy of the February 1938 Rockefeller Center Magazine. The magazine contains articles about science, technology, publishing, the arts, events at Radio City Music Hall (Disney-related) and television. It offers good documentation of office business machines.

The first series of puzzles Hales introduced in 1937 were four subjects from Walt Disney's characters: Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Pluto, and Donald Duck. The object of the puzzle was to put all of the pieces together in their proper place--some of the puzzle pieces were raised to different levels. After the puzzle was completed, it could be glued to a backboard. There are prototypes for the Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck puzzles. Only the Mickey and Minnie puzzles contain puzzle pieces. The Donald Duck puzzle consists of the box only.

In August 1937, Hales Pictures Inc., entered into a one year agreement with Walt Disney Enterprises that granted Hales the right to reproduce Disney characters for his puzzles and poster pictures. Hales paid Disney the sum of five-hundred dollars as an advance on future royalties. Disney also provided to Hales typical representations of the Disney characters. There are a series of Kay Kamen Ltd., Disney character drawings for Pluto, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse, and Mickey Mouse. These drawings were provided to Hales by Kamen. The Minnie and Mickey Mouse drawings have been heavily annotated and mocked up by Hales for the purposes of creating his signature Hales Puzzle Pictures. Kamen (d. 1949) began his professional career as a retail hat merchant and later entered advertising. In 1932, Kamen contacted Disney, soon signed a contract, and was named the company's sole licensing representative. Through merchandising, Kamen made Disney's mouse star popular.

Series 6, Hales Sign Company, 1909 and undated, consists of examples of promotional and branded pieces for Hales's sign painting business that was located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Series 7, Drawings/Sketches, 1927-1930 and undated, consists of pencil, ink and paint sketches. The bulk of the sketches are Christmas-related, such as the poster study for the Macy's Christmas Wonderland, 1927 and the toy department displays for a bridge, drawbridge, house and tower. Other sketches include Noah's Ark, a matador, the "The Wise Woman of Gotham," Carlin's Amusement Park of Baltimore, Maryland, and resort scenes (tennis, golf and sailing).

Series 8, Photographs, 1925-1935, consists primarily of black-and-white prints documenting Hales's work in his studio and for clients such as Macy's. Some of the photographs were taken by Worsinger Window Service, Hughes Company of Baltimore, Le Don Studio of White Plains, New York; Apeda Studio, Inc. of New York City; Schultze Studio of Brooklyn, New York, and H.C. Campbell Company of Oakland, California.

Series 9, Greeting Cards, undated, consists of examples of greeting cards and postcards, primarily for Christmas, Easter, and Valentines Day, assembled by Hales.

Series 10, Clippings, 1922-1935, consists of loose photocopies and original news and magazine clippings in a bound volume. The clippings primarily relate to Hales's work in New York City, but there are clippings about The Corner Shop at Macy's, and there are copies of illustrations assembled by Hales, specifically the "Best Fifty Small Folio Currier and Ives Prints. " The majority of these he clipped from the New York Sun. Also included are clippings about La Chauve-Souris the touring revue during the early 1900s.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into ten series.

Series 1, Brillant Sign Company, 1908-1909

Series 2, Landy R. Hales, Inc., 1927-1929, 1944

Series 3, Hales Layer Poster Corporation, 1922-1969 (bulk 1920s)

Series 4, Hales Manikins, Inc., 1938-1948 and undated

Series 5, Hales Pictures, Inc., 1937-1938, 1967 and undated

Series 6, Hales Sign Company, 1909 and undated

Series 7, Drawings/Sketches, 1927-1930 and undated

Series 8, Photographs, 1925-1935

Series 9, Greeting Cards, undated

Series 10, Clippings, 1922-1935

Biographical / Historical:

Landy R. Hales was born on September 17, 1889 in Baltimore, Maryland to Landy J. Hales and Fanny Linthicum Hales. Hales grew up in Anne Arundel, Maryland and had one brother, Wesley Hales. Hales began his career with no formal art training and apprenticed as a sign painter in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1908, Hales formed the Brilliant Sign Company in Baltimore to design displays for area businesses. In 1913, Hales married Lenore McCully. They had two children, Elizabeth McCully Hales (b. 1915) and Landy Romain Hales (b. 1921).

During World War I, Hales designed posters for the Liberty Bond Program, created by then Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo (1863-1941). This poster campaign was intended to popularize the bonds, and Hales created posters using his "layer technique," which was a method of making a poster by placing cut-out pieces of materials such as composition board or wood on a background, then building layers to form three dimensions in the finished product. In the early 1920s, Hales moved to New York City to advance his career and expand his opportunities. In New York, Hales specialized in display devices, commercial art, and advertising. An artist-inventor, Hales patented two ideas, a display device (US Patent 1,563,485) and a manikin (US Patent 2,129,421). He founded Landy R. Hales, Inc. (1925), Hales Layer Poster Corporation (1925), Hales Manikins, Inc. (1941), and Hales Pictures, Inc. 1937. In 1937, Hales Pictures Inc., entered into a one-year agreement with Walt Disney Enterprises that granted Hales the right to reproduce Disney characters for his puzzles and poster pictures. During the same year, Hales leased office space at Rockefeller Center.

Hales worked for Morris Gest, a theatrical producer, creating advertising for the Russian show Le Chauve Sourvis which featured the Parade of the Wooden Soldiers. Hales also manufactured and installed mechanical displays in Macy's Christmas windows at 34th Street and worked as an independent contractor for other department stores such as Gimbel Brothers and Saks & Company as well as the Hotel Nassau, Keystone Manufacturing Company, Rialto Theater, Keith's New York Hippodrome, and the Music Box Theatre.

Hales left New York City in 1945 and returned to Maryland, where he did commercial work for Carlin's Amusement Park in Baltimore and created layer posters for himself and family members. Hales died in 1972 at the age of 84.

Related Materials:

Materials at the Archives Center

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Parades:stereographs, circa 1880-1908 (AC0060)

Messmore and Damon Company Records, 1930s-1990s (AC0846)

Hudson Fulton Celebration Parade Photograph Album, 1909 (AC1149)

William L. Bird "Holidays on Display" Collection (AC1288)

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Katharine Landa McNulty Hogben, Frances Helen McNulty Beverage, Margaret Ann McNulty Klipp, Lenore Hales McNulty Frey, and Elizabeth Stuart McNulty on November 27, 2005.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Games  Search this

Display of merchandise  Search this

Toys -- 20th century  Search this

Store decoration  Search this

Parades  Search this

Parade floats  Search this

Show windows  Search this

Packaging  Search this

Parade float designers  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photograph albums

Design drawings

Sketches

Scrapbooks

Photographs -- 20th century

Clippings

Citation:

Landy R. Hales Papers, 1908-1969, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0906

See more items in:

Landy R. Hales Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep851d5a1c1-6cde-4678-93d8-d2dc3f1dfa2d

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0906

Creator:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum  Search this

Type:

Conversations and talks

YouTube Videos

Uploaded:

2021-09-29T05:22:24.000Z

YouTube Category:

Entertainment  Search this

Topic:

Design  Search this

See more by:

cooperhewitt

Data Source:

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

YouTube Channel:

cooperhewitt

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:yt_Qdkgdl6HsKM

Collection Creator:

Fisher, Ethel, 1923-  Search this

Container:

Box 13, Folder 44

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1945

Collection Restrictions:

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 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:

Ethel Fisher papers, 1930-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Ethel Fisher papers

Ethel Fisher papers / Series 9: Artwork and Sketchbooks

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9470e4b64-0209-4769-92a7-932151a7b865

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-fishethe-ref815

Creator:

Abercrombie, Gertrude, 1909-1977  Search this

Names:

Algren, Nelson, 1909-1981  Search this

Armin, Emil, 1883-  Search this

Armour, Richard Willard, 1906-  Search this

De Diego, Julio, 1900-  Search this

Evans, B.  Search this

Huppler, Dudley, 1917-1988  Search this

Karidis, Jerome  Search this

Priebe, Karl J., 1914-1976  Search this

Purdy, Carl  Search this

Purdy, James  Search this

Rollins, Sonny  Search this

Rorem, Ned, 1923-  Search this

Terkel, Studs, 1912-2008  Search this

Van Vechten, Carl, 1880-1964  Search this

Warren, Paul, 1916-  Search this

Wilcox, Wendell  Search this

Wilde, John, 1919-2006  Search this

Wilder, Thornton, 1897-1975  Search this

Extent:

5.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sketchbooks

Diaries

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Sound recordings

Sketches

Photographs

Writings

Date:

circa 1880-1986

bulk 1935-1977

Summary:

The papers of surrealist artist Gertrude Abercrombie date from circa 1880-1986, with the bulk of the material dated 1935-1977, and measure 5.9 linear feet. Found within are biographical material; correspondence (mostly incoming letters) with friends, museums, and galleries; files for artists that interested her; writings and notes, including five journal-type notebooks; scattered personal business records; two sketchbooks by Abercrombie and additional sketches and drawings, some by others; printed material, audio recordings, one scrapbook, photographs, and estate records.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of surrealist artist Gertrude Abercrombie date from circa 1880-1986, with the bulk of the material dated 1935-1977, and measure 5.9 linear feet. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence (mostly incoming letters) with friends, museums, and galleries; artists files; writings and notes, including five journal-type notebooks; scattered personal business records; two sketchbooks by Abercrombie and additional sketches and drawings, some by others; printed material, audio recordings, one scrapbook, photographs, and estate records.

Biographical material consists of biographical notes, Gertrude Abercrombie's will, address books, and a file titled "memorabilia." Personal and professional correspondence consists mainly of incoming letters and some drafts of Gertrude Abercrombie's outgoing letters. Letters from museums and galleries concern loans of paintings and exhibitions. A large amount of the personal correspondence consists of post cards including many antique ones, as well as cards containing original art work by Julio de Diego, Jerry [Jerome] Karidis, Karl Priebe.

Artist files consist of correspondence, printed material, and photographs concerning painters, writers, a jazz musician, and a photographer. The individuals represented are: Dudley Huppler, Jerome Karidis, Karl Priebe, James Purdy, Sonny Rollins, Carl Van Vechten, Wendell Wilcox, John Wilde, and Thornton Wilder.

Writings and notes include reminiscences, miscellaneous writings and notes, and a girlhood diary with brief entries. Five notebooks contain a variety of writings dating from 1953 through 1975, and undated. One volume concerns only her second husband Frank Sandiford.

Business records include a painting catalog on file cards, mailing and guest lists, and miscellaneous sales records. In addition, six notebooks record expenses, sales, inventories, mailing lists, a register of paintings, and a guest book.

There are two sketchbooks, Christmas card designs, sketches and drawings done by Gertrude Abercrombie. There are also prints, drawings, and a painting by Emil Arman, B. Evans, de Diego, and unknown artists.

Printed material consists of articles and clippings about Gertrude Abercrombie, exhibition catalogs, and reproductions. Also included are books by friends inscribed by the authors, among them: Nelson Algren, Richard Armour, Dudley Huppler, James Purdy, Ned Rorem, Paul Warren [pen name of Abercrombie's second husband, Frank Sandiford], Studs Terkel, and Thornton Wilder.

Audio recordings (33-1/3 rpm phonograph alums) are inscribed to Gertrude Abercrombie by the artists. Orlando's album cover, designed by Abercrombie, incorporates one of her paintings.

Records of the Estate of Gertrude Abercrombie and the Gertrude Abercrombie Trust, Donald Baum, Executor, consist mainly of correspondence with the institutions that were offered works of art by Gertrude Abercrombie and from her personal collection. Also included are general correspondence, financial and tax records, and legal documents.

There is one scrapbook dated 1943 containing photographs and printed material.

Photographs are of art work, people, places, and miscellaneous subjects; negatives, slides, and transparencies are included in this series, too. Photographs of art include the work of Gertrude Abercrombie, Karl Priebe, and Charles Sebree. People pictured are Gertrude Abercrombie and family, including her parents, Richard I. Livingston, Dinah Livingston, and Frank Sandiford. There are also 19th and early 20th century photographs of ancestors. Among the images of friends are: Ivan le Lorraine Albright, Arnold Blanch, Dudley Huppler, Doris Lee, Karl Priebe, and Richard Purdy. Photographs of jazz artists include: Louis Armstrong, George Davis, Erroll Garner, Dizzy Gillespie, Earl Hines, Orlando, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Sarah Vaughn, and the Modern Jazz Quartet. Of particular note the portraits of Gertrude Abercrombie and Dizzy Gillespie by Carl Van Vechten.Among the photographs of places are interior views of Gertrude Abercrombie's home and studio, unidentified landscapes, travel pictures of San Francisco and commercially produced stereopticon slides of other locations. Miscellaneous subjects are automobiles, cats, exhibition installations, and a still life setup.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 11 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1902-1976 (Box 1, OV9; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1935-1977 (Boxes 1-2; 1.65 linear ft.)

Series 3: Artist files, circa 1935-1977 (Box 2; 0.25 linear ft.)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, circa 1919-1977 (Box 3; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 5: Business Records, circa 1944-1977 (Box 3; 0.2 linear ft.)

Series 6: Art Work, circa 1939-1975 (Boxes 3, 7; O.2 linear ft.)

Series 7: Printed Material, circa 1906-1977 (Boxes 3-4; 1.6 linear ft.)

Series 8: Audio Recordings, circa 1970-1974 (Box 7; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 9: Estate Records, circa 1976-1986 (Box 5; o.5 linear ft.)

Series 10: Scrapbook, circa 1943(Box 5; 1 folder)

Series 11: Photographs, circa 1880-1978(Boxes 5-7; OV8, 1.0 linear ft.)

Biographical Note:

Surrealist painter Gertrude Abercrombie (1909-1977) lived and worked in Chicago and was a prominent member of Chicago's Hyde Park arts community.

Abercrombie was known for surrealist oil paintings featuring dreamlike landscapes and fantasies. Her wide circle of friends included locally and nationally known artists, writers, and jazz musicians who made her home a popular avant-garde salon. She was the inspiration for Richie Powell's "Gertrude's Bounce" and, appeared as a fictional character in Malcolm, Eustace Chisholm, and as herself in Gertrude of Stony Island Avenue all by James Purdy.

The only child of Tom and Lula Janes [Jane] Abercrombie, Gertrude was born in Austin, Texas in 1909, while her opera singer parents were in town with a traveling company. In 1913, the family relocated to Berlin to further Jane's career, but the outbreak of World War I forced their return to the United States. They lived with Tom Abercrombie's family in Alledo, Illinois, before permanently settling in Chicago.

Gertrude Abercrombie had a facility with language and possessed musical and artistic talents. After graduation from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana with a degree in romance languages in 1929, she studied figure drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for a short time. She then enrolled at the American Arcademy of Art, also in Chicago, for a year long course in commercial art. Her first job was drawing gloves for Mesirow Department Store ads, followed by a stint working as an artist for Sears.

By 1932, Gertrude Abercrombie began painting seriously. The following summer, she participated in an outdoor art fair in downtown Chicago where she made her first sale and received favorable mention in a newspaper review of the event. Abercrombie's work that featured self-portraits and recurring images of personal symbols - trees, horses, owls, keys, shells, doors, stairways, ladders - began to attract attention. Beginning in 1934, Gertrude Abercrombie was employment as a painter in the WPA Federal Art Project in 1934, enabling her to feel validated as an artist and move from the home of her conservative, Christian Scientist parents to her own apartment. The Chicago Society of Artists presented a solo exhibition of Abercrombie's work in 1934, and in 1936 she showed at the Katharine Kuh Gallery (along with Rita Stein and Nicola Ziroli). In 1936 and 1938 Gertrude Abercrombie won prizes at the Art Institute of Chicago's Annual Exhibition of Works by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity.

She left the WPA in 1940 and married lawyer Robert Livingston. Their daughter, Dinah, was born in 1942, and they soon moved to a large Victorian house on South Dorchester St. where Gertude lived for the remainder of her life. The couple divorced in 1948. That same year she married Frank Sandiford, a music critic whose pen name was Paul Warren. An accomplished improvisational pianist, Gertrude Abercrombie became friends with many prominent jazz artists whom she met through Sandiford; in fact, Dizzy Gillespie performed at their wedding. Abercrombie and Sandiford separated in 1964.

The 1940s through 1950s were Gertrude Abercrombie's most productive and prolific period. Although she no longer painted many portraits, he work remained focused on the same themes and symbols. She believed that art was about ideas rather than technique and insisted that "It is always myself that I paint." During this period, Amercrombie exhibited widely in group shows and had solo exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago, Associated American Artists (New York), and Leonard Linn, Inc. (Winnetka, Ill.)

By the late 1950s, Gertrude Abercrombie began a long decline. Alcoholism started to take a toll. She suffered serious financial reverses, and in 1964 separated from Frank Sandiford. Debilitating arthritis eventually landed her in a wheel chair, and she became reclusive. In 1977, very near the end of her life, Gertrude Abercrombie was honored with a well-received retrospective exhibition at the Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago. She was able to attend the reception and enjoy seeing the many old friends who were at the event.

Gertrude Abercrombie died in Chicago in 1977. Her will established The Gertrude Abercrombie Trust that cared for and distributed to various institutions her own paintings and a personal collection of works by other artists to selected institutions, mainly in the Midwest.

Related Material:

A photograph of Gertrude Abercrombie at home with her painting "Slaughter House", was donated by Donald Baum to the National Collection of Fine Arts in 1979 and transferred to the Archives of American Art that same year.

Provenance:

Donald Baum, executor of both the estate and trust of Gertrude Abercrombie, donated the papers to the Archives of American Art in 1978 and 1986.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

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:

Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Surrealism  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketchbooks

Diaries

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Sound recordings

Sketches

Photographs

Writings

Citation:

The Gertrude Abercrombie papers, circa 1880-1986, bulk 1935-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.abergert

See more items in:

Gertrude Abercrombie papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93af9ed86-0dce-4ea7-9cb4-085eb5d48b67

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-abergert

Measurements:

overall: 18 3/4 in x 12 in; 47.625 cm x 30.48 cm

certificate:;

Object Name:

award certificate

Date made:

1987

Subject:

Latino  Search this

Credit Line:

Gift of Sara Sunshine

ID Number:

2015.0209.14

Catalog number:

2015.0209.14

Accession number:

2015.0209

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Retail and Marketing

Advertising

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b2-5084-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1762860

Physical Description:

copper-alloy (overall material)

metal (overall material)

golden (overall color)

Measurements:

overall: 14 1/2 in x 6 5/8 in; 36.83 cm x 16.8275 cm

Object Name:

award

Date made:

1987

Subject:

Latino  Search this

Credit Line:

Gift of Sara Sunshine

ID Number:

2015.0209.15

Catalog number:

2015.0209.15

Accession number:

2015.0209

See more items in:

Work and Industry: Retail and Marketing

Advertising

Exhibition:

American Enterprise

Exhibition Location:

National Museum of American History

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b2-4d38-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_1762861

Artist:

Hamada Shoji (1894-1978)  Search this

Medium:

Stoneware with iron and clear glazes

Dimensions:

Diam (rim): 27 cm (10 5/8 in)

Style:

Mashiko ware

Type:

Vessel

Origin:

Mashiko, Tochigi prefecture, Japan

Date:

early 1960s

Period:

Showa era

Topic:

ceramic  Search this

iris  Search this

Showa era (1926 - 1989)  Search this

Mashiko ware  Search this

Japan  Search this

stoneware  Search this

Japanese Art  Search this

Credit Line:

Gift of Mrs. Ada Appleton

Accession Number:

FSC-P-2206

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

See more items in:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Data Source:

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye397b97447-c7c0-494b-a081-4d21ee0e4937

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:fsg_FSC-P-2206

Creator:

Hirschl & Adler Galleries  Search this

Names:

Coulter, Dorothy, d. 1980  Search this

Feld, Stuart P.  Search this

Woolf, S. J. (Samuel Johnson), 1880-1948  Search this

Extent:

11.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sound recordings

Date:

circa 1921-1990

Scope and Contents:

The bulk of the collection consists of b&w photographic prints and color transparencies, ca. 1960-ca.1995, of paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and folk art, most by nineteenth and twentieth century American artists, sold by Hirschl & Adler Galleries. Scattered records, 1921-199-, include a small amount of correspondence with collectors, dealers and museums; artists' files; exhibition catalogs, invitations, checklists and publications regarding various institutions and art related topics.

Miscellaneous material found includes a file on artist Dorothy Coulter containing correspondence of Stuart Feld of Hirschl & Adler with Coulter and with museums and Coulter's executors regarding the storage, sale, disposition and appraisal of her drawings; printed reproductions and pencil sketches by S.J. Woolf and others; biographical material on Edward Seager, including genealogical notes and a birth certificate; a letter from W.J. Sharp to William Constable; and a sound recording labeled "William Steen, Art and Life of Henry Ray Clark," May 9, 1990.

Biographical / Historical:

Commercial art gallery; New York, N.Y.

Provenance:

Donated 1977 through 1995 by Hirschl & Adler Galleries.

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.

Rights:

Photographs and transparencies: Authorization to publish or reproduce requires written permission from the current owners of the works via Hirschl & Adler Galleries. Contact Reference Services for more information.

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.

Topic:

Art, American -- Photographs  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Identifier:

AAA.hirsadle

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw952ca389e-b09d-4db7-abe8-a3c7fd7b84fc

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-hirsadle

Donor:

Mair, LaVeda  Search this

Creator:

Mair, Francis M., 1916-1991 (commercial artist)  Search this

Names:

Landor Associates  Search this

United States. Naval Training School  Search this

Landor, Walter  Search this

Extent:

56 Cubic feet (104 Boxes, 41 map-folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Beverage labels

Fruit crate labels

Labels

Place:

San Francisco (Calif.)

Date:

1935-1994

Summary:

Client files, administrative files, artwork, and collected food labels from graphic and industrial designer Francis Mair. Mair specialized in beverage labels and packaging during his many years with Landor Associates in San Francisco. Late in his career, he directed Landor's Museum of Packaging History. His prolific freelance career included designs for furniture, decorative arts, letterhead, and corporate images. His personal artwork included alphabets, typefaces, and sketchbooks. Much of his personal artwork is humorous or erotic.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists largely of client files and artwork from Mair's years with Landor Associates and his freelance design work. Mair's specialty was the design of beverage containers, labels, and packaging, and there is a significant body of material produced for West Coast and national breweries and wineries. Mair also managed Landor's Museum of Packaging Antiquities, and there are several boxes of the Museum's administrative files. Of particular interest is Mair's large collection of historical and contemporary wine, liquor, and fruit crate labels (both foreign and domestic). The labels seem to have served as an inspiration and a record of his work, as well as documentation of historical packaging for the Museum. Mair's freelance clients were diverse, though most of them were small businesses and organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to food and beverage labels, these commissions included posters, promotional materials, letterhead and personal announcements, invitations, and cards. Lastly, the collection includes personal artwork and records of entrepreneurial projects (such as the Flexigon, a flexible geometric toy).

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1, Professional Materials, 1956-1991, undated

Series 2, Landor Associates Files, 1946-1993, undated

Series 3, Landor Museum of Packaging Antiquities, 1960-1989, undated

Series 4, Freelance Client Files, 1946-1989, undated

Series 5, United States Naval Training School, Radio Chicago, 1943-1945, undated

Sereis 6, Personal Artwork and Designs, 1935-1994, undated

Series 7, Reference Files, 1950-1985, undated

Series 8, Labels, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Francis Marion Mair was born in Streator, Illinois to Alexander Morrison Mair and Jessie C. Williams on May 5, 1916. He began his career as an artist and designer at the University of Illinois School of Design in Chicago receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting in 1938. That year he joined the United States Navy and where he designed visual aids for the Naval Training School in Chicago, Illinois. Even at this early stage in his career, acute design sense and humor are evident in his work. In 1949, he joined Landor Associates in San Francisco, California where he worked for forty years, retiring in 1989. At Landor, he specialized in designing packaging and labeling for beverages. He also was the director of Landor's Museum of Packaging History which shared quarters with Landor Associates on the Ferryboat Klamath. Throughout his career, Mair took on diverse freelance projects. One of his most successful was the Suva line of rattan furniture and decorative objects for Decorative Imports. Mair published articles in Advertising Age, Industrial Design, Advertising Techniques, and Wines and Vines. Mair died on April 29, 1991 in Contra Costa County, California.

Related Archival Materials:

Materials at the Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Industry on Parade (NMAH.AC.0507)

Reel #167, Sitting Bull's Last Stand, 1953. Peter Meindl, a German woodcarver, making cigar store wooden Indians, New Hampshire.

Walter Landor and Associates (AC0500)

NW Ayer Advertising Agenecy Records (AC0059)

Hills Bros. Coffee Company Records (AC395)

Emmett McBain Afro American Adertising Poster Collection (AC0192)

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana (AC0060)

Marilyn E. Jacklear Memorial Collection of Tobacco Advertisements (AC1224)

Marlboro Oral History and Documentation Project (AC0198)

Related Materials:

A glass final production version of a French's mustard jar and three hand-carved, solid-wood prototypes for this jar are in the Museum's Division of Work and Industry. These were found in Mair's home studio.

Provenance:

Collection donated by LaVeda Mair, April 23, 1996.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Rights:

Copyright for a portion of the collection held by the Smithsonian Institution. Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.

Topic:

advertising -- 20th century  Search this

Beverages -- advertising -- 1940-1990  Search this

Commercial art -- 1940-1990  Search this

Industrial design  Search this

Erotica  Search this

Graphic design  Search this

Labels -- Alcoholic beverages  Search this

Labels -- Crates -- Fruit  Search this

Liquors -- advertising -- 1940-1990  Search this

Nudes  Search this

Nudity  Search this

Packaging  Search this

Rattan furniture  Search this

Toys  Search this

Wine labels  Search this

Wit and humor  Search this

Wit and humor in advertising  Search this

Genre/Form:

Beverage labels

Fruit crate labels

Labels

Citation:

Francis M. Mair Papers, 1938-1990, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Gift of LaVeda Mair.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0548

See more items in:

Francis M. Mair Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84a770482-60c2-4ea2-adc0-0d89a54d2dc9

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0548

Creator:

Conger, William, 1937-  Search this

Subject:

De Kooning, Elaine  Search this

Ito, Miyoko  Search this

Klement, Vera  Search this

Mallary, Robert  Search this

Leaf, June  Search this

Type:

Drawings

Sketchbooks

Video recordings

Citation:

William Conger papers, circa 1940s-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Art, Abstract  Search this

Theme:

Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource  Search this

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)13657

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)273574

AAA_collcode_congwill

Theme:

Chicago's Art-Related Archival Materials: A Terra Foundation Resource

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_273574

Creator:

Conger, William  Search this

Names:

De Kooning, Elaine  Search this

Ito, Miyoko, 1918-1983  Search this

Klement, Vera, 1929-  Search this

Leaf, June, 1929-  Search this

Mallary, Robert, 1917-1997  Search this

Extent:

7.3 Linear feet

3.51 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Drawings

Sketchbooks

Video recordings

Date:

circa 1940s-2018

Summary:

The papers of painter and educator William Conger measure 7.3 linear feet and 3.51 gigabytes, and date from the 1940s to 2018. The collection documents Conger's career as a painter and details his business dealings and involvement with Chicago's art community through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings including artmaking journals and notes, and personal business records documenting commissions and sales. Also found are exhibition and gallery records including video recordings, printed material on Conger's career and Chicago art history, photographic material picturing Conger and his artwork, and artwork including a sketchbook and preparatory sketches for paintings.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter and educator William Conger measure 7.3 linear feet and 3.51 gigabytes, and date from the 1940s to 2018. The collection documents Conger's career as a painter and details his business dealings and involvement with Chicago's art community through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings including artmaking journals and notes, and personal business records documenting commissions and sales. Also found are exhibition and gallery records including video recordings, printed material on Conger's career and Chicago art history, photographic material picturing Conger and his artwork, and artwork including a sketchbook and preparatory sketches for paintings.

Biographical material includes biographies and résumés, student awards, and student records. Correspondence is professional and personal in nature and includes letters from Elaine de Kooning, Robert Mallary, June Leaf, Miyoko Ito, James Valerio, Ed Paschke, Richard Loving, Vera Klement, and others. The writings series includes artmaking journals with extensive notes and sketches, as well as numerous articles and reviews by Conger, artists statements and comments on paintings, contributions to art criticism listservs and message boards, lectures, and writings on Conger by others. Personal business records include artwork commissions and grants, artwork inventories and sales and consignment records, as well as information about an art supply company once part owned by Conger, Puresol, Inc..

Exhibition and gallery records include sales and consignment records organized by gallery, as well as exhibition files for select group and solo exhibitions at galleries and museums, as well as a sound recording regarding a 1967 group exhibition, and miscellaneous exhibition documents. Some of the exhibition files include digital video recordings, digital images, and documents. Printed materials include press and exhibition announcements as well as exhibition catalogs, printed material on the subject of Chicago art history, and a CD-ROM showcase of contemporary art featuring Congers' paintings. The photographic material series includes photographs of artwork, installations, and the artist in black and white and color prints, Polaroids, snapshots, slides, transparencies, negatives, and inkjet prints. The artwork series includes a sketchbook and signed mixed media works on paper, as well as loose drawings and preparatory sketches for paintings.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into eight series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1948-1999 (0.2 linear feet: Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1940s-2018 (2.5 linear feet: Boxes 1-3)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1970s-2014 (0.9 linear feet: Boxes 3-4)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, circa 1960s-2016 (0.8 linear feet: Boxes 4-5)

Series 5: Exhibition and Gallery Records, circa 1967-2017 (0.5 linear feet: Box 5; 2.54 gigabytes: ER01-ER03)

Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1950s-2017 (0.9 linear feet: Boxes 5-6; 0.97 gigabytes: ER04)

Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1947-2012 (0.9 linear feet: Boxes 6-8)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1940s-2010 (0.7 linear feet: Boxes 7-8)

Biographical / Historical:

William Conger, born 1937 in Dixon, Illinois, is an abstract painter and art educator living in Chicago.

From a young age Conger's interest in art making and a fascination with the masters was encouraged by his mother, an amateur painter who brought him on regular visits to exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago from their home in Evanston, Illinois. Conger received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of New Mexico where he studied with renowned abstract painters Elaine de Kooning and Raymond Johnson, and later received his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Chicago. Conger taught painting throughout the 1970s at DePaul University, then became Professor of Art Theory and Practice at Northwestern University from 1985 until he retired as Professor Emeritus in 2006. At Northwestern he taught alongside friend and colleague Ed Paschke. Conger has published writings on art on topics such as psychoanalysis and the masters, the Chicago art scene, and abstract art of the region.

Conger's mature style is an abstract style of painting largely informed by color and form, reminiscent of Wassily Kandinsky, often titled with musical and metaphorical references. He began exhibiting as early as his undergraduate years in the New Mexico Biennial and was included by professor Elaine de Kooning in a 1960 group exhibition at the Great Jones Gallery in New York City. In addition to showing at commercial art galleries Conger has completed a number of public artworks primarily in the Chicago area, including murals and painted sculptures. His work can be found in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and the Wichita Art Museum, as well as numerous university museums and corporate collections internationally.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with William Conger in 2015, May 18-20.

William Conger papers relating to his years as a faculty member at Northwestern University are located at Northwestern University Archives.

Provenance:

The William Conger papers were donated in 2007, 2015 and 2019 by William Conger.

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.

Rights:

Journals and Restricted Correspondence: Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from William Conger. Contact Reference Services for more information.

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:

Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Educators -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Topic:

Art, Abstract  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Sketchbooks

Video recordings

Citation:

William Conger Papers, circa 1940s-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.congwill

See more items in:

William Conger papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw914c17b64-8f78-43a8-8400-9acaa0676a89

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-congwill

Interviewer:

Center for Advertising History, Archives Center  Search this

Ellsworth, Scott, Dr.  Search this

Creator:

Nike, Inc.  Search this

Names:

Adidas  Search this

Asics  Search this

Nike, Inc.  Search this

Wieden & Kennedy  Search this

Interviewee:

Onitsuka  Search this

Bedbury, Scott  Search this

Bowerman, William  Search this

Brown, John A.  Search this

Champ, Janet  Search this

Clarke, Tom  Search this

Clow, Lee  Search this

Conlon, Jerry  Search this

Davenport, Bill  Search this

Dolan, Liz  Search this

Donohue, Richard  Search this

Farris, Nelson  Search this

Hale, Cindy  Search this

Hoffman, Susan  Search this

Jackson, Bo  Search this

Jaqua, John  Search this

Johnson, Jeff  Search this

Kitami, Shoji  Search this

Knight, Phillip  Search this

McConnell, Pam  Search this

Moore, Charlotte  Search this

Moore, Kenny  Search this

Moore, Peter  Search this

Onitsuka, Kimachiro  Search this

Parker, Mark  Search this

Riswold, Jim  Search this

Robinson, Charles  Search this

Sakaguchi, Tokio  Search this

Stobie, Patsy Mest  Search this

Strasser, Robert (marketing executive)  Search this

Thomashow, Mark  Search this

Wieden, Dan  Search this

Extent:

12 Cubic feet (25 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Oral history

Videotapes

Tear sheets

Clippings

Audiotapes

Fliers (printed matter)

Advertising fliers

Commercials

Interviews

Place:

Beaverton (Or.)

Portland (Oregon)

Date:

1958 - 1992

Summary:

The Nike Advertising Oral History and Documentation Collection is the result of a two-year study of advertising of Nike athletic shoes. The effort was supported in part by a grant from Nike, Inc. Thirty-one oral history interviews were conducted with advertising, marketing and product development executives at Asics, Nike, John Brown & Co., Chiat/Day/Mojo and Wieden & Kennedy. A variety of related materials were gathered by the Center for Advertising History staff. The objective of the project was to create a collection that documents, in print and electronic media, the history and development of the company and its advertising campaigns.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of thirty-one oral history interviews conducted by historian Scott Ellsworth with advertising, marketing and product development executives at Asics, Nike, John Brown & Co., Chiat/Day/Mojo and Wieden & Kennedy and related materials collected by the Center for Advertising History staff. There are audiocassettes (original and reference), 1/4" open reel audiotape (master), 3/4" videotapes, and VHS videotapes.

Arrangement:

The collection is rganized into seven series.

Series 1, Research Files, 1979-1992

Subseries 1.1, Materials Compiled by the Center for Advertising History, 1979-1992

Subseries 1.2, Material Compiled by Nike, 1982-1992

Series 2, Interviewee Files, 1990-1992

Series 3, Oral History Interviews, 1990-1992

Subseries 3.1, Original Audiotapes (audio cassette), 1990-1992

Subseries 3.2, Researcher copies (audio cassette), 1990-1992

Subseries 3.3, Preservation masters (1/4 inch audiotape), 1990-1992

Series 4, Television Commercials, 1977-1990 and undated

Subseries 4.1, Master Copies, 1977-1990 and undated

Subseries 4.2, Researcher copies, 1977-1990 and undated

Series 5, Print Advertisements, 1985-1993

Subseries 5.1, Ad Slicks, 1985-1993

Subseries 5.2, Slides, 1989 and undated

Series 6, Trade Catalogues and Photographs, 1958-1982

Series 7, Administrative Files, 1982-1990

Biographical / Historical:

The Nike Advertising Oral History and Documentation Collection is the result of a two-year study of advertising of Nike athletic shoes. The effort was supported in part by a grant from Nike, Inc. Thirty-one oral history interviews were conducted with advertising, marketing and product development executives at Asics, Nike, John Brown & Co., Chiat/Day/Mojo and Wieden & Kennedy. A variety of related materials were gathered by the Center for Advertising History staff. The objective of the project was to create a collection that documents, in print and electronic media, the history and development of the company and its advertising campaigns.

The consistently high quality of this advertising, its award-winning artistic and creative innovations, and its contribution to the fitness movement in America combine to make this a significant chapter in the history of contemporary American advertising.

One aim of the project was to record the process of decision-making in the creation of successful ad campaigns, a process not often documented in the surviving records. Topics addressed in the oral history interviews include the origins of Nike and Nike advertising, the relationship between corporate culture and advertising, the place of advertising in overall marketing strategy, the development of brand image and identity, the nature of the creative process in producing effective advertising images, the use of athletes as endorsers, and Nikes's impact on the popular culture. Well-known campaigns are examined in depth, including Nikes's, use of the Beatles tune "Revolution", the "I Love L.A Spots" produced in conjunction with the 1984 Olympics, the controversial billboards campaign, the award-winning "Bo Knows" spots, and a series of commercials directed by African-American filmmaker Spike Lee. The collection is also a rich source of visual imagery for researchers interested in the portrayal of athletes, women and African-Americans.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Alka-Seltzer Documentation and Oral History Collection, 1953-1986 (AC0184)

N. W. Ayer Advertising Agency Records, 1849-1851, 1869-1996 (AC0059)

Campbell Soup Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project, 1904-1989 (AC0367)

Cover Girl Make-Up Advertising Oral History and Documentation Project, 1959-1990 (AC04374)

Federal Express Oral History and Documentation Project Collection, 1972-1987 (AC0306)

Caroline R. Jones Collection, circa 1942-1996 (AC0552)

Marlboro Oral History and Documentation Project, circa 1926-1986 (AC0198)

Pepsi Generation Oral History and Documentation Collection, 1938-1986 (AC0092)

Rob and Julie Strasser Collection, 1970-1990 (AC0525)

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Nike, Inc. in 1991 and 1992.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research but the master (preservation) tapes are stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.

Rights:

Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Topic:

Women in the advertising industry  Search this

Sports for women  Search this

Sports  Search this

Women in advertising  Search this

Television advertising  Search this

Signs and signboards -- 1970-2000  Search this

Slogans  Search this

Marketing  Search this

Music in advertising  Search this

Commercial art  Search this

Endorsements in advertising  Search this

Broadcast advertising  Search this

Business -- History  Search this

Basketball  Search this

advertising -- History  Search this

Track and field  Search this

Copy writers  Search this

Athletes  Search this

Shoes -- 1970-2000  Search this

Motion picture producers and directors  Search this

African American athletes  Search this

Running -- 1970-2000  Search this

Running shoes -- 1970-2000  Search this

Athletic shoes -- 1970-2000  Search this

Shoe industry -- 1970-2000  Search this

Genre/Form:

Oral history

Videotapes

Tear sheets

Clippings

Audiotapes

Fliers (printed matter)

Advertising fliers

Commercials

Interviews -- 1970-1990

Citation:

Nike Advertising Oral History and Documentation Collection, 1958-1992, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0448

See more items in:

Nike Advertising Oral History and Documentation Collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep82f2adbe0-ae8f-4849-bac5-19e0e1848c55

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0448

Editor:

Hillebrand, Henri  Search this

Physical description:

4 volumes illustrations (some color) 27 cm

Type:

Books

Place:

Europe

Europa

Date:

1971

1973

Topic:

Commercial art  Search this

Commercial artists  Search this

Art publicitaire  Search this

Dessinateurs publicitaires  Search this

Grafikdesigner  Search this

Call number:

NC998.6.E87 G72X

NC998.6.E87 G72X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_10796

Editor:

Hillebrand, Henri  Search this

Physical description:

volumes illustrations (some color) 27 cm

Type:

Books

Place:

United States

États-Unis

Date:

1971

Topic:

Commercial art  Search this

Commercial artists  Search this

Graphic designers  Search this

Dessinateurs publicitaires  Search this

Call number:

NC998.5.A1 G7X

NC998.5.A1 G7X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_10841

Creator:

Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997  Search this

Cone, Michèle C., 1932-  Search this

Type:

Sound Recording

Date:

undated

Citation:

Roy Lichtenstein and Michèle C. Cone. Interview with Roy Lichtenstein, undated. Michèle Cone papers, 1959-2020. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Record number:

(DSI-AAA)25381

See more items in:

Michèle Cone papers, 1959-2020

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25381