Search Results

Interviewee:

Vignelli, Massimo  Search this

Interviewer:

Riedel, Mija, 1958-  Search this

Creator:

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

Names:

Benetton (Firm)  Search this

Container Corporation of America  Search this

Herman Miller, Inc.  Search this

Knoll Associates, inc.  Search this

Metron Orts- und Regionalplanung  Search this

Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this

New York City Transit Authority  Search this

New York Herald. (New York.)  Search this

Rochester Institute of Technology  Search this

Sansoni (Firm)  Search this

Steelcase, Inc.  Search this

United States Postal Service  Search this

United States. National Park Service  Search this

Venini International  Search this

Vignelli Associates  Search this

De Carlo, Giancarlo, 1919-2005  Search this

Domus  Search this

Eames, Charles  Search this

Eames, Ray  Search this

Eckerstrom, Ralph E. (Ralph Eugene), 1921-  Search this

Eco, Umberto  Search this

Frau, Poltrona  Search this

Gardella, Ignazio  Search this

Graves, Michael, 1934-2015  Search this

Kacik, Walter  Search this

Kahn, Louis I., 1901-1974  Search this

Le Corbusier, 1887-1965  Search this

Loos, Adolf, 1870-1933  Search this

Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig, 1886-1969  Search this

Pagano, Giuseppe, 1896-1945  Search this

Pomodoro, Arnaldo, 1926-  Search this

Ponti, Gio, 1891-1979  Search this

Rams, Dieter  Search this

Scarpa, Carlo, 1906-1978  Search this

Terragni, Giuseppe, 1904-1943  Search this

Toscani, Oliviero  Search this

Venturi, Robert  Search this

Vignelli, Lella  Search this

Zevi, Bruno, 1918-2000  Search this

Extent:

9 Items (Sound recording: 9 sound files (6 hr., 52 min.))

153 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Interviews

Sound recordings

Date:

2011 June 6-7

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Massimo Vignelli conducted 2011 June 6-7, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Vignelli's home and office, in New York, New York.

Vignelli speaks of his youth and early start in art design and architecture; his early work at Catiglione architects at the age of 16; his father; his education; meeting his favorite architects; his influences; architecture and design magazines; organic and rationalist architecture in Italy; influence of Ignazio Gardella; Adolf Loos' idea of spoon to the city; European, American, and Italian architecture; education in Milan; his work with Venini Glass; Italian design; his early graphic work; design and vulgarity; marriage and working with Lella Vignelli; graphic design work at the Container Corporation; concept of design as a whole; his work on corporate identities; his establishment of Vignelli Associates; introduction and use of Helvetica in the United States; working with Knoll; choosing clients; design and culture; his work on St. Peter's Lutheran Church; design work for the United States National Parks newspaper design and layout; Unimark; timelessness and design; working with Poltrona Frau, Zero Labor design; major influences; his work for the United States Postal Service; connectivity and context in architecture; his clothing designs and historical perspectives on clothing; postmodernism; his work on the New York Subway; design work before and after computers; Japanese architecture and design; his work as a teacher; Oliviero Toscani and working for Benetton; America and international design; modernism and the office building; modern design and furniture; a timeline of his career; the Vignelli Center at RIT and archiving. Vignelli also recalls, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Giuseppe Terragni, Giuseppe Pagano, Domus, Gió Ponti, Metron, Bruno Zevi, Ignazio Gardella, Ray and Charles Eames, Giancarlo De Carlo, Venini Glass, Carlo Scarpa, Ralph Eckerstrom, Umberto Eco, Sansoni Publishing House, Vignelli Associates, Walter Kacik, Helvetica, Knoll, St. Peter's Lutheran Church, National Parks, New York Herald, Unimark, Lella Vignelli, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Poltrona Frau, Dieter Rams, Louis Kahn, Stendig Calendar, A to Z, Salon de Mobile, Michael Graves, Robert Venturi, Oliviero Toscani, Benetton, Herman Miller, Steelcase, and the Vignelli Center.

Biographical / Historical:

Massimo Vignelli (1931- ) is a designer in New York, New York. Mija Riedel (1958- ) is an independent scholar in San Francisco, California.

General:

Originally recorded as 9 sound files. Duration is 6 hr., 52 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 administrators.

Occupation:

Architects  Search this

Topic:

Architectural design  Search this

Architecture, American  Search this

Architecture -- Europe  Search this

Architecture, Italian  Search this

Architecture -- Italy  Search this

Architecture, Japanese  Search this

Architecture -- United States  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Costume design  Search this

Design  Search this

Designers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Furniture design  Search this

Postmodernism  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Sponsor:

Funding for this interview was provided by the Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America.

Identifier:

AAA.vignel11

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-vignel11

Interviewee:

Jeakins, Dorothy  Search this

Interviewer:

McGlynn, Betty Hoag  Search this

Creator:

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Names:

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Macdonald-Wright, Stanton, 1890-1973  Search this

Extent:

1 Sound tape reel (Sound recording, 5 in.)

14 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sound tape reels

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1964 June 19

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Dorothy Jeakins conducted 1964 June 19, by Betty Hoag for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts Project.

Biographical / Historical:

Printmaker, illustrator; California.

General:

An unrelated interview of Frank Stevens conducted by B. Hoag is also on this 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:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Costume designers  Search this

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Printmakers -- California -- Interviews  Search this

Illustrators -- California -- Interviews  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Identifier:

AAA.jeakin64

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-jeakin64

Interviewee:

Bischoff, Ilse, 1901-1990  Search this

Interviewer:

Brown, Robert F.  Search this

Names:

Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) -- Students  Search this

Parsons School of Design -- Students  Search this

Cadmus, Paul, 1904-1999  Search this

French, Jared, 1905-1988  Search this

Read, Helen Appleton, 1897-1974  Search this

Zorach, William, 1887-1966  Search this

Extent:

26 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1982 January 27

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Ilse Bischoff conducted 1982 January 27, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.

Bischoff speaks of her upbringing in a wealthy German family in New York; her study of costume design in Paris and at the Parsons School of Design, New York City; her training at the Art Students League, and with William Zorach. She recalls her friendships with Helen Appleton Read, Paul Cadmus and Jared French.

Biographical / Historical:

Ilse Bischoff (1901-1990) was an illustrator, painter, and collector. Birthdate also cited as 1903. Full name Ilse Marthe Bischoff. Born in New York City, Bischoff studied at the Art Students League and in Europe. Later, she worked as an illustrator of childrens' books and collected German porcelain.

General:

Originally recorded 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 56 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.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

Painters -- Vermont -- Interviews  Search this

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for the digital preservation of this interview was provided by a grant from the Save America's Treasures Program of the National Park Service.

Identifier:

AAA.bischo82

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-bischo82

Creator:

Booth, Virginia  Search this

Names:

Lord & Taylor  Search this

Davies, Donald  Search this

McCardell, Claire  Search this

Potter, Clare  Search this

Extent:

3 Cubic feet (6 boxes, 3 oversize folders)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Correspondence

Design drawings

Date:

1936-1999, undated

Summary:

Papers relating to Virginia "Jimmie" Booth's career as a buyer for Lord and Taylor, where she worked for Dorothy Shaver. Papers include correspondence; photographs; original drawings by designer Clare Potter; printed material including articles, magazine advertising and catalogs; a scrapbook of clippings and memorabilia.

Scope and Contents:

Collection primarily documents Booth's career as a buyer for Lord & Taylor. It includes correspondence, photographs, drawings, clippings, and a scrapbook. There are materials relating to American born designers Claire McCardell (May 24, 1905- March 22, 1958) and Clare Potter (July 7, 1903- January 5, 1999). There is also information relating to European designers including Irish born Sybil Connolly (January 24, 1921- May 6, 1998) and Swedish born Countess Ebba Von Eckermann (April 19, 1921-February 2, 2018). In addition, materials relating to textile manufacturing and weaving, particularily in Ireland, can also be found among the materials. The collection is arranged in seven series: Series 1, Personal Papers, 1936-1999, undated; Series 2, Hillandale Handweavers, 1948-1949, 1972, undated; Series 3, Lord & Taylor Country Clothes Shop, 1950s-1960s, undated; Series 4, Irish Materials, 1958-1999, undated; Series 5, American Designers, 1944-2000, undated; Series 6, European Designers and Textile Manufacturers, 1955-1997, undated; and Series 7, Miscellaneous, 1962.

Arrangement:

Collection is organized into seven series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1936-1999, undated

Series 2: Hillandale Handweavers, 1948-1949, 1972, undated

Series 3: Lord & Taylor Country Clothes Shop, 1950s-1960s, undated

Series 4: Irish Materials, 1958-1999, undated

Series 5: American Designers, 1944-2000, undated

Series 6: European Designers and Textile Manufacturers, 1955-1997, undated

Series 7: Miscellaneous, 1962

Biographical / Historical:

Virginia Wagoner Booth, known as Jimmie Booth, was born June 20, 1922 in Bronxville, New York, the daughter of John and Josephine Wagoner. She studied printing and engineering at Syracuse University. An engineer with Pratt & Whitney during World War II, she entered the fashion world as a bridal consultant at G. Fox in Hartford in 1945.

In 1952 Dorothy Shaver, of Lord & Taylor, hired Booth for the Hartford store and asked her to develop and manage The Country Clothes Shop in the 5th Avenue store in New York. There, Booth collaborated with and promoted such American designers as Clare Potter, Bonnie Cashin, and Claire McCardell. Booth also worked extensively with European designers.

Married to H. Robert Booth (Bob) Booth of Hillandale Handweavers, Jimmie promoted the use of both American and European hand-loomed fabrics by her designers. She frequently modeled the fashions herself. Her casual, yet elegant, style is the epitome of "the American Look" still popular today.

In 1998, Jimmie Booth, Dorothy Shaver, and other creators of The American Look were saluted in the exhibition, "Designing Women: American Style 1940-1960" at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford.

In addition to her design work, Booth was a violinist with the Hartford Symphony in the 1940s, and later became the chef at the Brooklyn, Connecticut, Golden Lamb Buttery, which she and her husband, H. Robert Booth (Bob), owned and operated. She died January 2011 at the age of eighty-nine in Hartford, Connecticut.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Dorothy Shaver Papers NMAH.AC0631

Carolyn and Donald Grepke Paper Doll Collection NMAH.AC0752

Estelle Ellis Collection NMAH.AC0423

Joseph Magnin Poster Collection NMAH.AC0355

Ming-Ju Sun Garfinckel's Fashion Drawings NMAH.AC0897

Henry Booth Collection, NMAH.AC0726

Priscilla of Boston Collection NMAH.AC0557

California Shop Records NMAH.AC0572

National Cotton Council of America Photographs and Films NMAH.AC01177

Division of Costume Audiovisual Collection NMAH.AC0801

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana NMAH.AC0060

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Virginia "Jimmie" Booth, in May 2000.

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research use.

Rights:

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

Topic:

Costume design  Search this

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks -- 20th century

Photographs -- 1940-1970

Correspondence -- 20th century

Design drawings

Citation:

Virginia "Jimmie" Booth Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.0729

See more items in:

Virginia "Jimmie" Booth collection

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0729

Photographer:

Halsman, Philippe  Search this

Names:

Potter, Clare  Search this

Collection Creator:

Booth, Virginia  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (10 x 8 in.)

Type:

Archival materials

Contact sheets

Photographs

Scope and Contents:

Contact sheet of 11 exposures on #120 film, with one frame cut out.

Restrictions:

When processing is completed, unrestricted research use on site by appointment. Photographs must be handled with cotton gloves unless protected by sleeves.

Collection Rights:

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

Topic:

Costume design  Search this

Genre/Form:

Contact sheets

Photographs -- 1950-2000 -- Black-and-white photoprints -- Silver gelatin

Collection Citation:

Virginia "Jimmie" Booth Collection, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

See more items in:

Virginia "Jimmie" Booth collection

Virginia "Jimmie" Booth collection / Series 5: American Designers / Clare Potter, photographs in her home, includes Halsman contact sheet

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0729-ref597

Artist:

Red Grooms, born 7 Jun 1937  Search this

Sitter:

Red Grooms, born 7 Jun 1937  Search this

Mimi Gross Grooms, 1940  Search this

Unidentified Sitters  Search this

Medium:

Painted plywood, cardboard, paper and wire

Dimensions:

71.7 x 165.7 x 72.2 cm (28 ¼ x 65 ¼ x 28 ½ in.)

Type:

Sculpture

Date:

1965-1966

Topic:

Artwork  Search this

Interior\Studio\Art  Search this

Home Furnishings  Search this

Mimi Gross Grooms: Visual Arts\Artist  Search this

Mimi Gross Grooms: Female  Search this

Red Grooms: Visual Arts\Artist  Search this

Red Grooms: Male  Search this

Red Grooms: Visual Arts\Artist\Sculptor  Search this

Red Grooms: Visual Arts\Artist\Printmaker  Search this

Red Grooms: Visual Arts\Artist\Painter  Search this

Red Grooms: Visual Arts\Artist\Printmaker\Lithographer  Search this

Portrait  Search this

Credit Line:

Owner: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution

Object number:

72.143 HMSG

Restrictions & Rights:

Usage conditions apply

Copyright:

© 2013 Red Grooms/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Photography by Lee Stalsworth

See more items in:

Catalog of American Portraits

Data Source:

Catalog of American Portraits

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm44b80ac24-645d-4239-b0d2-97ea3a7aab46

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:npg_72.143_HMSG

Creator:

Jefferson, Yvonne Runtz  Search this

Jefferson, Maceo  Search this

Donor:

Cargill, Thomas  Search this

Cargill, Darlene Johnson  Search this

Names:

Washingtonians, The.  Search this

Extent:

8 Cubic feet (26 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Hymnals

Programs

Correspondence

Legal records

Marriage certificates

Business records

78 rpm records

Passports

Sheet music

Music

Photographs

Contracts

Clippings

Birth certificates

Date:

1800s-1974

Scope and Contents:

The collection documents the life and career of jazz musician, arranger, songwriter, and bandleader Maceo Jefferson. It includes biographical documents such as birth and marriaige certificates and passports; letters, mostly relating to the music business and including carbon copies of letters sent by Jefferson; photographs, many inscribed, including photographs of performers from the early jazz era; a hymnal used by Jefferson; several pieces of published sheet music written by Jefferson; concert programs, including a hand-made one for a concert given inside a Nazi internment camp where Jefferson was detained for two years; lyrics to songs; some business records, many in French; legal records; recordings, including 78 rpm records; and music manuscripts, which comprise roughly three fourths of the collection. Additionally, Jefferson's wife, Yvonne Runtz Jefferson, was a costume designer, and there are photographs relating to her work in the collection.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into seven series.

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1891-1978, undated

Series 2: Correspondence, 1909-1976, undated

Series 3: Business Records and Performance Materials, 1932-1971, undated

Series 4: Legal Records, 1920s-1970s, undated

Series 5: Music Manuscripts, Published Sheet Music, and Folios, 1891-1972, undated

Subseries 5.1: Jefferson Compositions, 1920-1972, undated

Subseries 5.2: Compositions by Other Composers, 1921-1971, undated

Subseries 5.3: Sheet Music, 1891-1970, undated

Subseries 5.4: Folios, Songbooks and Instruction, 1870s-1950s

Series 6: Photographs, 1800s-1960s

Series 7: Recordings, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Maceo Buchannan Jefferson was born on July 14, 1898 in Beaufort, South Carolina to Reverend Paul William Jefferson and Julia Rose Singleton. The oldest of five children, Jefferson showed an early aptitude for both banjo and guitar. He enlisted in the Navy on April 6, 1917 and was released from service on December 24, 1919. According to the 1920 census, Jefferson lived in Portsmouth Monroe Ward, Portsmouth, Virginia as a laborer with the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. During this time, he played with Gus Perry at the Limelight's Nightclub. Jefferson then moved to Norfolk, Virginia for two years before moving to Washington, DC. As noted in his resume, while in the District of Columbia Jeffersone, he performed with the J. R. Branson Orchestra in a dance hall on U Street and the Roscoe Lee Orchestra at the Better Old Club. He married Riccolin E. Sutherland on October 21, 1922. Jefferson spent another two years in a nightclub in Washington, where he met Duke Ellington and joined his band, the Washingtonians. By early 1923, Jefferson had joined Wilber Sweatman, and worked in a succession of nightclubs and theaters in New York, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. He also accompanied singer Ethel Waters on a recording session for Columbia Records. In 1926, he joined the Lew Leslie Blackbirds Plantation Orchestra and went on a European tour in 1927 with the band and singer Florence Mills. Jefferson joined Leon Abbey's band in 1928, and eventually relocated to Paris, France. During this time, he performed with several jazz bands and musicians including Louis Armstrong before returning to New York where he played in Willie "The Lion" Smith's band and toured with W. C. Handy. The late 1930s and 1940s found him back in France where he married a Parisian woman, Yvonne Josephine Stephanie Runtz, in 1937. Jefferson toured with different bands in France, England, Scotland, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, and Italy until the end of May 1940. In June, he drove a truck for the American Hospital of Paris to the base hospital of Angouleme for which he received no salary. From August to November, Jefferson worked for the American Red Cross as a driver transporting the sick and, injured, and distributing medicine and food. Jefferson resumed his musical career arranging, composing, copying, and playing music from December 1940-December 1941. His career took a dramatic turn when the Nazis, under the Vichy government, imprisoned him, three days after the United States declared war on Germany. Jefferson spent twenty-seven months in prison camp stalag 122 in Compiegne, France and while imprisoned led an orchestra. In 1944, the Nazis released and sent Jefferson back to the United States where he lived in New York before relocating to Bridgeport, Connecticut. In the latter part of his life and musical career, he focused on composition and developing new arrangements for old songs. He never fully regained his health after his time in the concentration camp. Jefferson died on June 15, 1974 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Related Materials:

Materials in the Archives Center

Duke Ellington Collection (AC0301)

Duncan Schiedt Jazz Collection (AC1323)

W. C. Handy Collection (AC0132)

Gottlieb and Bodansky Family Papers (AC1245)

Provenance:

Donated to the Archives Center in 2015 by Jefferson's grand-nephew Thomas Cargill and his wife Darlene Johnson Cargill.

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

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.

Occupation:

Composers  Search this

Composers -- 20th century  Search this

Topic:

World War, 1939-1945  Search this

Music -- 20th century  Search this

Concentration camps -- France  Search this

Jazz musicians  Search this

Banjoists  Search this

Genre/Form:

Hymnals

Programs -- Concerts -- 20th century

Correspondence -- 20th century

Legal records -- 20th century

Marriage certificates

Business records -- 20th century

78 rpm records

Passports

Sheet music -- 20th century

Music -- Manuscripts

Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 20th century

Contracts -- 20th century

Clippings -- 20th century

Birth certificates

Citation:

Maceo Jefferson Papers, 1898-1974, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

Identifier:

NMAH.AC.1370

See more items in:

Maceo Jefferson Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1370

Designer:

Gernreich, Rudi  Search this

Measurements:

overall, flat: 9 in x 22 1/2 in; 22.86 cm x 57.15 cm

overall, mounted: 9 in x 18 1/2 in x 10 in; 22.86 cm x 46.99 cm x 25.4 cm

Object Name:

Skirt, 2-Piece

Other Terms:

Skirt, 2-Piece; Lower Body; Main Dress; Unisex

Date made:

1970

Subject:

Fashion  Search this

Gender  Search this

Avant-garde (Aesthetics)  Search this

Gay liberation movement  Search this

Credit Line:

Estate of Rudi Gernreich

ID Number:

1986.0013.43

Accession number:

1986.0013

Catalog number:

1986.0013.43

See more items in:

Cultural and Community Life: Costume

Clothing & Accessories

Data Source:

National Museum of American History

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b4-321a-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmah_375161

Creator:

Schaeffer, Rudolph  Search this

Names:

East & West Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this

Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design  Search this

Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this

Cunningham, Imogen, 1883-1976 -- Photographs  Search this

Frey, Caroline  Search this

Frey, Fred  Search this

Tobey, Mark  Search this

Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959 -- Photographs  Search this

Extent:

13.3 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Diaries

Christmas cards

Designs

Interviews

Sketchbooks

Sketches

Sound recordings

Transcripts

Place:

Japan -- Description and Travel

Date:

1880s-1997

Summary:

The collection measures 13.3 linear feet, dates from the 1880s-1997 and documents the life and varied career of Rudolph Schaeffer, artist, designer, teacher, writer, collector of Asian art, and pioneer in the field of color study who founded the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design in San Francisco in 1926. The papers include biographical information, correspondence, subject files, writings, diaries, journals, artwork, scrapbooks, sound recordings, and photographs.

Scope and Content Note:

The collection measures 13.3 linear feet, dates from the 1880s-1997, and documents the life and varied career of Rudolph Schaeffer, artist, designer, teacher, writer, collector of Asian art, and pioneer in the field of color study who founded the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design in San Francisco in 1926. The papers include biographical information, correspondence, subject files, writings, diaries, journals, artwork, scrapbooks, sound recordings, and photographs.

Correspondence documents Schaeffer's personal and professional activities as well as the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design. Subject files contain various combinations of correspondence, photographs, printed material, and drawings reflecting Schaeffer's activities, projects, and interests. Within the subject files is correspondence with artists, including Mark Tobey. Extensive writings include manuscripts for published and unpublished articles and drafts, notes, and manuscripts of several unpublished books including Collected Lectures of Rudolph Schaeffer on Color and Design, Color and Design, Prismatic Color Theory, and Rhythmo-Chromatics, all undated. Diaries include a volume recording Schaeffer's 1936 trip to Japan. 42 volumes of journals, compiled between 1954 and 1987, contain entries on a wide range of subjects including lists of errands, invitation lists, class notes, drafts of letters, notes including staff assignments and staff meetings, autobiographical notes and reminiscences, and musings on religion and philosophy.

The Artwork series houses artwork by Schaeffer and his students. Found are hand-made Christmas cards, designs, sketches, and sketchbooks. Seven scrapbooks document Rudolph Schaeffer's career, his school and former students, and the San Francisco art scene. They contain printed material, photographs, letters, and a small amount of artwork. Volume 3 is devoted to East West Gallery, and volume 7 documents Rudolph Schaeffer's 90th Birthday and the 50th Anniversary of the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design.

Most untranscribed sound recordings (audio cassettes and reels) are of lectures by Schaeffer and others delivered at the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design.

Miscellaneous records includes a series of hand-baticked fabric samples from the Wiener Werkstatte, as well as transcripts of an oral history with Schaeffer and other interviews.

Printed material concerns the career of Rudolph Schaeffer, his school and former students, the San Francisco art scene, and general art topics. Included are articles and a book by Schaeffer, catalogs and other items produced by the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design, and miscellaneous items about or mentioning Schaeffer and his school. Items of note are announcements of courses taught by Schaeffer in Piedmont and San Francisco prior to the opening of his school, and theatre programs from productions with sets and some costumes designed by Schaeffer in the early 1920s.

Photographs are of artwork, people, places, events, stage designs, and miscellaneous subjects. Artwork includes some designs by Rudolph Schaeffer; people include Schaeffer, his family, friends, and students. Of particular note are a photograph of Frank Lloyd Wright's visit to the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design, and one of Rudolph Schaeffer and Imogen Cunningham. Places include interior and exterior views of the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design at its St. Anne Street and Mariposa Street locations. Also included are photographs by Ansel Adams of the home of Ed and Caroline Fey.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 10 series:

Series 1: Biographical Information, 1900-1988 (Box 1; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1906-1989 (Box 1, 19; 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 3: Subject Files, 1907-1988 (Boxes 1-2, OV 16; 1.3 linear ft.)

Series 4: Writings, circa 1910-1987 (Boxes 2-6, 15, 19, 21; 4.2 linear ft.)

Series 5: Artwork, 1911-1957 (Boxes 6-15, 19, 21 OV 17; 0.6 linear ft.)

Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1933-1976 (Boxes 6, 14, 19; 0.6 linear ft.)

Series 7: Sound Recordings, 1949-1986 (Boxes 11-13; 1.2 linear ft.)

Series 8: Miscellaneous Records, 1905-1986 (Box 7, 19, 22; 0.8 linear ft.)

Series 9: Printed Material, 1906-1994 (Boxes 7-8, 15, 19, 22; 1.2 linear ft.)

Series 10: Photographs, 1880s-circa 1988 (Boxes 8-10,15, 20, 22, OV 18; 1.8 linear ft.)

Biographical Note:

Rudolph Schaeffer (1886-1988), a proponent of the Arts and Crafts movement, aspired to unite technology, science, and lifestyle in order to live in harmony with nature. An individual with many talents and interests, he was best known for his work in the field of color study and as a teacher and the founder of the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design in San Francisco.

Born on a farm in Clare, Michigan in 1886, Rudolph Schaeffer displayed musical and artistic talent from a young age. Although he initially wanted to become a professional musician, he began focusing more on art when his musical abilities were compromised by an improperly set broken wrist. Schaeffer received his first formal art training as a high school student and then attended the Thomas Normal Training School in Detroit, where he studied music, art, and design. He continued studying independently, developing interests in calligraphy and metal craft.

In 1907, Schaeffer taught manual training courses in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. The following summer he traveled to Paris and London. While in London he saw an exhibition of Josef Hoffman's modern interiors that had a great impact on his own design ideas. He then returned to Michigan and taught in schools close to home. In 1909, Schaeffer attended a design course in Minneapolis taught by A. E. Batchelder, director of Throop Polytechnic Institute in Pasadena. Both Batchelder and his course were strong influences on Schaeffer, as was Ralph Johnot, a proponent of Arthur Wesley Dow's design principles. In 1910 Schaeffer joined the faculty of Throop Polytechnic Institute, where he remained for five years.

The U. S. Commission on Education selected Schaeffer to be part of a delegation of twenty-five American teachers sent to Munich for several months in 1914 to investigate the exemplary industrial design curriculum offered in their secondary schools. Schaeffer subsequently expected to begin teaching at the Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles at the start of the 1914 school year, but World War I erupted while he was in Germany and his return to the United States was delayed so long that another teacher had to be hired to fill his place.

In 1915 Schaeffer was a manual training instructor at the California College of Arts and Crafts (formerly the Hopkins School), and taught design and metal crafts at the University of California Berkeley. For a number of years afterwards, he did free lance design work, taught private classes, and ran a small summer school in his Piedmont studio. Schaeffer was a visiting professor at Stanford University in 1918 when he was drafted and sent to drafting and surveying courses by the Army. Between 1917 and 1924 Schaeffer was on the faculty of the California College of Arts and Crafts where he taught design, color, handicrafts, and interior design. During this period he developed a new approach to teaching color and design based on the prismatic color wheel.

During the early 1920s Schaeffer worked as a set designer and as Art Director of Greek Theatre at the University of California at Berkeley, Schaeffer began applying prismatic color theory to set and costume design. He also designed sets for productions in Detroit. In 1925, Schaeffer saw the Paris Exposition and researched interior and stage design while in France.

The Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design which, in its early days was called the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Rhythmo-Chromatic Design, opened on St. Anne Street in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1926. In 1951 the school then moved to Union Street on Telegraph Hill where it remained for nearly a decade. In 1960, the school purchased a former boys' school on Mariposa Street, Portero Hill. Rudolph Schaeffer lived in a small cottage built for him at the rear of the property where he designed and tended a remarkable "Peace Garden."

The Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design was best known for its courses in color and interior design. Schaeffer was the first person in the United States to teach prismatic color theory, is credited with being the first to use the term "interior design" rather than "interior decoration" and the first to incorporate the use of models into interior design coursework. In 1959 the school's courses were expanded from 2 to 3-year programs and a diploma was awarded. Former students include many successful interior designers, textile designers, furniture designers, industrial designers, commercial artists, color consultants, teachers, and master flower arrangers.

In addition to the interior design and color diploma courses, the school offered a summer session, classes for children, a brief lecture series for the general public, and a wide variety of classes including advertising art, architecture and design, art history, art in public schools, calligraphy, color design, color for television, color for weavers, color theory, design, drawing, environmental aesthetics, fashion design, fashion illustration, flower arrangement, industrial design, interior design, Notan, sculpture, space planning, textile design, and weaving. Always struggling financially and sometimes lacking adequate enrollment, the school nevertheless managed to stay open for nearly 60 years. In 1984, the Board of Directors voted to remove Schaeffer from the board and close the school. Two years earlier the board had forced Schaeffer to retire, appointed him Director Emeritus, and brought in a new director charged with making the institution financially solvent, reorganizing the curriculum, and working toward accreditation. Unable to separate himself from the school (though he had done so legally when it was incorporated in 1953), Schaeffer balked and refused to cooperate with plans for revitalizing the institution.

One of the aims of the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design was to interpret Asian esthetic principles. To this end the East West Gallery was established at the school in 1950. A membership organization, it offered exhibitions, lectures, concerts, and other programs that encouraged cultural integration. Exhibitions alternated between East (Asian art and artifacts from Rudolph Schaeffer's collection or other sources) and West (student work or work of local artists illustrating the influence of the Asian esthetic on contemporary art and design). East West Gallery was a membership organization, the first space of its kind in San Francisco for Asian art and operated in each of the school's locations.

In addition to running the school Schaeffer was involved in many other activities. He wrote several articles about flower arrangement, color, and color theory that were published in popular magazines. In 1935, he published Flower Arrangement Folio I (said to be the first on the subject published in this country) and in 1942 edited and wrote the introduction to Sunset's Flower Arrangement Book by Nell True Welch. Over a period of many years, he worked on several monographs on color, design, and "rhythmo-chromatics." None were ever published.

A sought-after speaker on the subjects of color, interior design, flower arrangement, and myriad other art topics, Schaeffer frequently served as a juror for art exhibitions and flower shows. From the 1930s on, the San Francisco department store Emporium used his services as a color consultant, as did Dutch Boy paints, and numerous textile and clothing manufacturers. Builders also asked Schaeffer to select interior and exterior colors for suburban housing developments.

Schaeffer worked on planning and designing the decorative arts exhibition at the 1939-40 Golden Gate International Exposition. In 1943-44, he participated in the Red Cross's Arts and Skills program, using color therapy with shell-shocked soldiers in a psychiatric unit.

The Rudolph Schaeffer Collection of Asian Art began as a collection of ceramics, both historical and contemporary examples chosen for their form and color, which he used for flower arrangements and in set-ups for still life classes. It soon expanded to include color prints, paintings, screens, and other works of art and portions were exhibited frequently in the East West Gallery. Selections from this collection were exhibited in Kansas City in 1960 and at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in 1976.

The City of San Francisco declared June 26, 1986, Schaeffer's 100th birthday, "Rudolph Schaeffer Day" and it was observed with great fanfare. He died at home on March 5, 1988, a few months before his 102nd birthday.

Provenance:

The Rudolph Schaeffer papers were donated in 1991 by Rudolph Schaeffer and the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design administrator Peter Docili, and in 1999 and 2000 by James Alexander, a friend of both Schaeffer and Docili, who had been storing portions of Docili's estate after his death in 1998, with the assistance of Frances Valesco, a fiber artist and researcher. An addition was received in 2007 by William Woodworth, a close friend and caretaker of Schaeffer's and in 2017 and 2018 by Frances Valesco.

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. Use of archival audiovisual recordings requires advance notice.

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 teachers -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Topic:

Artists -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Designers -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Art -- Collectors and collecting -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Art, Asian  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Artists -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Authors -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Color -- Study and teaching  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Diaries

Christmas cards

Designs

Interviews

Sketchbooks

Sketches

Sound recordings

Transcripts

Citation:

Rudolph Schaeffer papers, 1880s-1997. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.scharudo

See more items in:

Rudolph Schaeffer papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-scharudo

Published by:

Vocational Guidance Manuals, Inc., American  Search this

Vocational Guidance Manuals, Inc., American  Search this

Written by:

Alida Vreeland, American, born ca. 1900  Search this

Owned by:

Loïs Mailou Jones, American, 1905 - 1998  Search this

Signed by:

Loïs Mailou Jones, American, 1905 - 1998  Search this

Medium:

ink on paper

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 8 7/8 × 5 7/8 × 1/4 in. (22.5 × 14.9 × 0.6 cm)

Type:

paperbacks

Date:

1946

Topic:

African American  Search this

Art  Search this

Business  Search this

Costume design  Search this

Design  Search this

Education  Search this

Fashion design  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

Object number:

2016.26.5.34

Restrictions & Rights:

Unknown - Restrictions Possible

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Documents and Published Materials-Published Works

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5f0831053-30c5-40f9-b920-754fd2c2cdad

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2016.26.5.34

Published by:

MelPat Associates, American, 1965 - 1986  Search this

Created by:

C. Melvin Patrick, American, died 1985  Search this

Subject of:

Universal Network Television, American, founded 1950  Search this

Alex Haley, American, 1921 - 1992  Search this

Percy Ellis Sutton, American, 1920 - 2009  Search this

Columbia Records, American, founded 1888  Search this

Brown & Williamson, American, born 1894  Search this

Lambda Kappa Mu Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1937  Search this

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry  Search this

National Association of Market Developers, American, founded 1953  Search this

National Medical Association, American, founded 1895  Search this

Prince Hall Freemasonry, founded 1784  Search this

Chi Delta Mu Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1913  Search this

National Newspaper Publishers Association, American, founded 1827  Search this

Roy Wilkins, American, 1901 - 1981  Search this

National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., American, founded 1935  Search this

National Association of Black Social Workers, American, founded 1968  Search this

National Pan-Hellenic Council, American, founded 1930  Search this

Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1932  Search this

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, American, founded 1914  Search this

National Medical Association, American, founded 1895  Search this

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, American, founded 1914  Search this

National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., American, founded 1906  Search this

National Urban League, American, founded 1910  Search this

National Dental Association, American, founded 1913  Search this

National United Church Ushers Association of America, Inc., American, founded 1919  Search this

Eta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1943  Search this

National Medical Association, American, founded 1895  Search this

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, American, founded 1913  Search this

President Jimmy Carter, American, born 1924  Search this

Shriners International, American, founded 1870  Search this

Daughters of Isis, American, founded 1910  Search this

Opportunities Industrialization Center of America, Inc., American, founded 1964  Search this

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1906  Search this

National Urban League Guild, American, founded 1946  Search this

Tuskegee Airmen, 1941 - 1946  Search this

Congressional Black Caucus, American, founded 1971  Search this

Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks of the World, American, founded 1898  Search this

National Council of Negro Women, founded 1935  Search this

Muhammad Ali, American, 1942 - 2016  Search this

369th Veterans Association, American  Search this

Southern Christian Leadership Conference, American, founded 1957  Search this

Prince Hall Freemasonry, founded 1784  Search this

National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., American, founded 1935  Search this

Northside Center for Child Development, Inc., founded 1946  Search this

Medium:

ink on paper

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 10 13/16 × 8 7/16 × 5/16 in. (27.5 × 21.4 × 0.8 cm)

Type:

magazines (periodicals)

Place made:

Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

Place depicted:

Martha's Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Date:

1977

Topic:

African American  Search this

Advertising  Search this

Associations and institutions  Search this

Business  Search this

Communities  Search this

Fraternal organizations  Search this

Fraternities  Search this

Government  Search this

HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)  Search this

Journalism  Search this

Labor  Search this

Mass media  Search this

Men  Search this

Political organizations  Search this

Politics  Search this

Professional organizations  Search this

Religious groups  Search this

Social life and customs  Search this

Sororities  Search this

Tennis  Search this

U.S. History, 1969-2001  Search this

Urban life  Search this

Women  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Anne B. Patrick and the family of Hilda E. Stokely

Object number:

2012.167.11

Restrictions & Rights:

Public domain

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Documents and Published Materials-Published Works

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5a191f832-64ab-4d62-81fe-a2bc53493bea

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2012.167.11

Published by:

MelPat Associates, American, 1965 - 1986  Search this

Created by:

C. Melvin Patrick, American, died 1985  Search this

Subject of:

C. Melvin Patrick, American, died 1985  Search this

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909  Search this

National Urban League, American, founded 1910  Search this

National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, American, founded 1969  Search this

Howard University, American, founded 1867  Search this

Medgar Evers College, American, founded 1970  Search this

The Links, Incorporated, American, founded 1946  Search this

Morehouse College, American, founded 1867  Search this

369th Veterans Association, American  Search this

Prince Hall Freemasonry, founded 1784  Search this

National Association of Market Developers, American, founded 1953  Search this

Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1932  Search this

Carats, Inc., American, founded 1959  Search this

National Medical Association, American, founded 1895  Search this

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, American, founded 1920  Search this

Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1929  Search this

Chi Delta Mu Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1913  Search this

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1911  Search this

Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., founded 1922  Search this

National Bar Association, American, founded 1925  Search this

National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., American, founded 1935  Search this

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1911  Search this

Shriners International, American, founded 1870  Search this

Cora Walker, American, 1922 - 2006  Search this

Clara Hale, American, 1905 - 1992  Search this

Alice Kornegay, American, died 1996  Search this

One Hundred Black Men, Inc., American, founded 1963  Search this

Dorothy Pitman Hughes, American, born 1938  Search this

National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association, Inc., American, founded 1924  Search this

Medium:

ink on paper

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 10 13/16 × 8 7/16 × 5/16 in. (27.5 × 21.4 × 0.8 cm)

Type:

magazines (periodicals)

Place made:

Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

Place depicted:

Martha's Vineyard, Oak Bluffs, Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America

Date:

1986

Topic:

African American  Search this

Advertising  Search this

Associations and institutions  Search this

Business  Search this

Communities  Search this

Fraternal organizations  Search this

Fraternities  Search this

Funeral customs and rites  Search this

Government  Search this

HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)  Search this

Journalism  Search this

Mass media  Search this

Men  Search this

Political organizations  Search this

Politics  Search this

Professional organizations  Search this

Religious groups  Search this

Sororities  Search this

U.S. History, 1969-2001  Search this

Urban life  Search this

Women  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Anne B. Patrick and the family of Hilda E. Stokely

Object number:

2012.167.20

Restrictions & Rights:

Public domain

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Documents and Published Materials-Published Works

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5847f7048-f171-4bf3-95e2-5945542a67c4

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2012.167.20

Published by:

MelPat Associates, American, 1965 - 1986  Search this

Created by:

C. Melvin Patrick, American, died 1985  Search this

Subject of:

National Association of Broadcasters, American  Search this

Opportunities Industrialization Center of America, Inc., American, founded 1964  Search this

National Pan-Hellenic Council, American, founded 1930  Search this

National Association of Black Social Workers, American, founded 1968  Search this

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1911  Search this

The Girl Friends, Inc., American, founded 1927  Search this

Duke Ellington, American, 1899 - 1974  Search this

National Medical Association, American, founded 1895  Search this

Prince Hall Freemasonry, founded 1784  Search this

National Newspaper Publishers Association, American, founded 1827  Search this

Chi Delta Mu Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1913  Search this

John Albert Morsell, American, 1912 - 1974  Search this

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909  Search this

Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1932  Search this

Lambda Kappa Mu Sorority, Inc., American, founded 1937  Search this

National Insurance Association, American, founded 1921  Search this

National Urban League, American, founded 1910  Search this

National United Church Ushers Association of America, Inc., American, founded 1919  Search this

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., American, founded 1906  Search this

National Dental Association, American, founded 1913  Search this

CBS Broadcasting, Inc., American, founded 1927  Search this

American Bridge Association, American, founded 1932  Search this

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, American, founded 1913  Search this

National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa, Inc., American, founded 1906  Search this

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, American, founded 1914  Search this

Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks of the World, American, founded 1898  Search this

Nettie B. Smith, American  Search this

National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc., American, founded 1935  Search this

National Medical Association, American, founded 1895  Search this

National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association, Inc., American, founded 1924  Search this

John Warren Davis, American, 1888 - 1980  Search this

Shriners International, American, founded 1870  Search this

Congressional Black Caucus, American, founded 1971  Search this

National Business League, American, founded 1900  Search this

National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees, American, founded 1913  Search this

369th Veterans Association, American  Search this

Association for the Study of African American Life and History, American, founded 1915  Search this

National Council of Negro Women, founded 1935  Search this

Clifton Herman Johnson, American, 1921 - 2008  Search this

Medium:

ink on paper

Dimensions:

H x W x D: 10 13/16 × 8 7/16 × 3/8 in. (27.5 × 21.4 × 0.9 cm)

Type:

magazines (periodicals)

Place made:

Harlem, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America

Date:

1975

Topic:

African American  Search this

Advertising  Search this

Associations and institutions  Search this

Business  Search this

Calypso (Music)  Search this

Communities  Search this

Fraternal organizations  Search this

Fraternities  Search this

Funeral customs and rites  Search this

Government  Search this

HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)  Search this

Journalism  Search this

Labor  Search this

Law  Search this

Mass media  Search this

Men  Search this

Political organizations  Search this

Politics  Search this

Professional organizations  Search this

Religious groups  Search this

Sororities  Search this

Television  Search this

U.S. History, 1969-2001  Search this

Urban life  Search this

Women  Search this

Credit Line:

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Anne B. Patrick and the family of Hilda E. Stokely

Object number:

2012.167.9

Restrictions & Rights:

Public domain

See more items in:

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification:

Documents and Published Materials-Published Works

Movement:

Colonization movement

Data Source:

National Museum of African American History and Culture

GUID:

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5c80d5f1b-2384-44ae-91b1-bb42a6fc4395

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2012.167.9

Author:

Lynam, Ruth  Search this

Physical description:

256 p. : ill. ; 31 cm

Type:

Biography

Place:

France

Paris

Paris (France)

Date:

1972

Topic:

Costume design--History  Search this

Fashion--History  Search this

Costume designers  Search this

Call number:

TT507 .L96X

TT507.L96X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_25771

Collection Creator:

Grepke, Donald, 1932-  Search this

Grepke, Carolyn, 1937-1995  Search this

Container:

Box 88, Folder 6

Type:

Archival materials

Collection Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

The Carolyn and Donald Grepke Paper Doll Collection, 1800s-1998, undated, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.

See more items in:

The Carolyn and Donald Grepke Paper Doll Collection

The Carolyn and Donald Grepke Paper Doll Collection / Series 8: Clothing and Fashion / 8.3: Designers

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0752-ref953

Creator:

Bowditch, Nancy Douglas, 1890-1979  Search this

Subject:

Pearmain, William Robert  Search this

Parrish, Stephen  Search this

Kent, Rockwell  Search this

Clemens, Jane Lampton  Search this

Thayer, Abbott Handerson  Search this

Faulkner, Barry  Search this

Brush, George de Forest  Search this

White, Nelson C.  Search this

Type:

Biographies

Paintings

Diaries

Sound recordings

Sketches

Scrapbooks

Notes

Photographs

Topic:

Designers -- New Hampshire  Search this

Authors -- New Hampshire  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6782

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208908

AAA_collcode_bowdnanc

Theme:

Women

Lives of American Artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208908

Creator:

Stewart, Regina Serniak, 1942-  Search this

Subject:

Facci, Domenico  Search this

Candell, Victor  Search this

Blackburn, Robert Hamilton  Search this

McMurtry, Larry  Search this

Kennedy, Edward Moore  Search this

Kuniyoshi, Sara Mazo  Search this

Stewart, Jack  Search this

New York Artists Equity Association  Search this

Type:

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Topic:

Women artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Costume designers  Search this

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

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)15834

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)292285

AAA_collcode_stewregi

Theme:

Women

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_292285

Creator:

Sanford, Marion, 1904-1987  Search this

Chapin, Cornelia Van Auken, 1893-1972  Search this

Subject:

Chapin, Cornelia  Search this

Hernández, Mateo  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Photographs

Motion pictures (visual works)

Scrapbooks

Video recordings

Interviews

Drawings

Topic:

Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

Sculpture -- Technique  Search this

Women sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Bas-relief  Search this

Sculpture, American -- 20th century  Search this

Artists' studios  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6270

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216613

AAA_collcode_sanfmari

Theme:

Women

Lives of American Artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216613

Creator:

Tooker, George, 1920-2011  Search this

Names:

Bachinski, Walter  Search this

Bishop, Isabel, 1902-1988  Search this

Cadmus, Paul, 1904-1999  Search this

Christopher, William R, 1924-1973  Search this

Dix, Otto, 1891-1969  Search this

French, Jared, 1905-1988  Search this

French, Margaret  Search this

Ginzburg, Ralph  Search this

Gonzalez, Xavier, 1898-1993  Search this

Isaacson, Robert  Search this

Kirstein, Fidelma  Search this

Kirstein, Lincoln, 1907-  Search this

Laning, Edward, 1906-1981  Search this

Lynes, George Platt, 1907-1955  Search this

Nordness, Lee  Search this

Perlin, Bernard, 1918-  Search this

Peterson, Joan, 1933-  Search this

Stamos, Theodoros, 1922-1997  Search this

Wescott, Glenway, 1901-  Search this

Wheeler, Monroe, 1899-  Search this

Extent:

5.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sketchbooks

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Date:

circa 1851-2010

Summary:

The papers of painter George Tooker measure 5.1 linear feet and date from circa 1851 to 2010. The papers document Tooker's personal and professional life through biographical material, correspondence, project files, gallery files, exhibition files, printed material, artwork and one sketchbook, and numerous photographs, including some taken by noted photographer George Platt Lynes.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter George Tooker measure 5.1 linear feet and date from circa 1851 to 2010. The papers document Tooker's personal and professional life through biographical material, correspondence, project files, gallery files, exhibition files, printed material, artwork and one sketchbook, and numerous photographs, including some taken by noted photographer George Platt Lynes.

Biographical material consists of membership and travel documents, writings on and by Tooker on his circle, an address book, resume, and papers regarding Tooker's education. Also included are biographical material related to Tooker's partner William Christopher who passed in 1973. A 1978 interview with Vermont Public radio on two sound reels is also featured.

Correspondence is with friends, colleagues, and organizations. Correspondents include Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Walter Bachinski, William Christopher, Otto Dix, Jared and Margaret French, Ralph Ginzburg, Xavier Gonzalez, Robert Isaacson, Edward Laning, Lincoln Kirstein, Lee Nordness, Bernard Perlin, Joan Peterson, Theodore Stamos, Bridget Tichenor, and others. Also included are family correspondence and correspondence regarding the Estate of William Christopher.

Project files document Tooker's commissions including the set and costume design for Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera The Saint of Bleecker Street and Tooker's participation in the selection of candidates for the Vestris Prize for Choreography. Files contain correspondence, business documents, printed ephemera, sketches, photographs, three volumes of vocal scores, and textile samples.

Gallery records include business correspondence and consignments with various key galleries in Tooker's career spanning the 1960s to the end of his career including D.C. Moore Gallery, Marisa Del Re Gallery, and Durlacher Bros..

Exhibition records include documents regarding the organization of several select exhibitions in Tooker's career incuding an early retrospective at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (1974) and a later traveling retrospective from 2008-2009.

Printed material consists of invitations, press releases, news clippings and exhibition catalogs documenting the careers of both George Tooker and William Christopher.

Artwork includes numerous sketchbooks, loose drawings, and sketches from Tooker's studies at the Art Students' League in the mid 1940s, in addition to an early ex-libris print created by Tooker in his youth. Also included is a sketchbook by William Christopher, as well as a study for the work The Subway, in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Photographic materials depict Tooker's family life as well as his early artistic collaborations depicted in a number of black and white photographs taken by George Platt Lynes and PaJaMa in the mid to late 1940s. A majority of the photographs depict artists and friends, among them: George Tooker and his companion William Christopher, Paul Cadmus, Jared and Margaret French, Lincoln and Fidelma Kirstein, Glenway Wescott, Monroe Wheeler, and Bridget Tichenor. Other photographs are of Tooker building his home, gardening, and working in his studio in Hartland, Vermont. Also included are installation views from the exhibition Painting in the United States (1949) at the Carnegie Institute in Pennsylvania. There are also a fair amount of photographs, transparencies, slides and negatives documenting artwork from both the studios of George Tooker and his late partner William Christopher.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1920-2005 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 1, 5)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1932-2010 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, Oversize 7)

Series 3: Project Files, circa 1935-1968 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 2-3, 6)

Series 4: Gallery Records, circa 1960-2009 (0.3 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, circa 1967-2009 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 1, 3)

Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1851-2010 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 3, 5)

Series 7: Artwork and Sketchbook, circa 1932-2009 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 3, 5, 8)

Series 8: Photographs, circa 1900-2010 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 4-5, 8)

Biographical / Historical:

George Tooker (1920-2011) was a painter based in Hartland, Vermont and New York, New York. Tooker was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 5, 1920 to George Clair Tooker and Angela Montejo Roura. He graduated from preparatory school at Phillips Academy, Andover in 1938 and received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Harvard University in 1942. Tooker studied drawing and painting under Reginald Marsh, Kenneth Hayes Miller, and Harry Sternberg at the Art Students' League from circa 1944 to 1945.

Tooker became acquainted with American painter Paul Cadmus while studying at the Art Students' League. Cadmus introduced Tooker to a circle of artists and writers living and working in New York and Europe in the mid to late 1940s that included George Platt Lynes, Jared and Margaret French, Monroe Wheeler, Glenway Westcott, and Lincoln and Fidelma Kirstein. He lived and worked with his partner and fellow artist William Christopher in New York City and later Hartland, VT.

In 1953, Tooker was commissioned by writer and philanthropist Lincoln Kirstein to design the sets and costumes for The Saint of Bleecker Street, an opera by Gian-Carlo Menotti. In 1966, the Wasemquia Charitable Trust sponsored the Vestris Prize for Choreography in cooperation with the Boston Ballet Company and Tooker was invited by trustee Henry H. Crapo to participate on the Committee of Judges for the Vestris Prize. In 1968, NASA commissioned Tooker to produce drawings and one painting documenting the development of spacecraft at the Goddard Space Flight Center located in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Tooker's paintings are found in numerous art museums and galleries including the Whitney Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, DC Moore Gallery, Robert Isaacson Gallery, and the Venice Biennale. In 1968, Tooker's paintings were featured in the art magazine, Avant-Garde.

Related Materials:

Available in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with George Tooker conducted in 1966 by Grace G. Alexander for radio station WNYC, New York City.

Materials related to the George Tooker papers can be found the William Christopher papers at the Archives of American Art.

Provenance:

George Tooker donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1973. A subsequent addition was donated in 2018 by Aaron Watkins, the executor to George Tooker's estate.

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:

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 -- Vermont  Search this

Printmakers -- Vermont  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketchbooks

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Citation:

George Tooker papers, circa 1851-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.tookgeor

See more items in:

George Tooker papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-tookgeor

Collection Creator:

Tooker, George, 1920-2011  Search this

Extent:

0.3 Linear feet (Boxes 2-3, 6)

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

circa 1935-1968

Scope and Contents:

Project files document Tooker's commissions including the set and costume design for Gian-Carlo Menotti's opera The Saint of Bleecker Street and Tooker's participation in the selection of candidates for the Vestris Prize for Choreography. Files contain correspondence, business documents, printed ephemera, sketches, photographs, three volumes of vocal scores, and textile samples.

Collection 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.

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:

George Tooker papers, circa 1851-2010. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.tookgeor, Series 3

See more items in:

George Tooker papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-tookgeor-ref39