Search Results

Published by:

MelPat Associates, American, 1965 - 1986  Search this

Created by:

C. Melvin Patrick, American, died 1985  Search this

Subject of:

Crispus Attucks, American, 1723 - 1770  Search this

Sojourner Truth, American, 1797 - 1883  Search this

Harriet Tubman, American, 1822 - 1913  Search this

Sarah C. Roberts, American, born 1844  Search this

Susan McKinney Steward, American, 1847 - 1918  Search this

Dred Scott, American, ca 1800 - 1858  Search this

Frederick Douglass, American, 1818 - 1895  Search this

Booker T. Washington, American, 1856 - 1915  Search this

George Washington Carver, American, 1860s - 1943  Search this

W.E.B. Du Bois, American, 1868 - 1963  Search this

Scott Joplin, American, 1867 - 1917  Search this

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican, 1887 - 1940  Search this

James Weldon Johnson, American, 1871 - 1938  Search this

Father Divine, American, ca. 1876 - 1965  Search this

A. Philip Randolph, American, 1889 - 1979  Search this

Adam Clayton Powell Jr., American, 1908 - 1972  Search this

Rosa Parks, American, 1913 - 2005  Search this

Medgar Evers, American, 1925 - 1963  Search this

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., American, 1929 - 1968  Search this

President Lyndon Baines Johnson, American, 1908 - 1973  Search this

Mary McLeod Bethune, American, 1875 - 1955  Search this

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

Congressional Black Caucus, American, founded 1971  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

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

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

Shriners International, American, founded 1870  Search this

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

National Dental Association, American, founded 1913  Search this

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

Democratic Party, American, founded 1828  Search this

Republican Party, American, founded 1854  Search this

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

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, American, founded 1920  Search this

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

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

National Urban League, American, founded 1910  Search this

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

National Medical Association, American, founded 1895  Search this

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

National Council of Negro Women, founded 1935  Search this

Daughters of Isis, American, founded 1910  Search this

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

369th Veterans Association, American  Search this

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, American, founded 1914  Search this

Langston Hughes, American, 1902 - 1967  Search this

Paul Robeson, American, 1898 - 1976  Search this

Ezzard Mack Charles, American, 1921 - 1975  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 × 1 cm)

Type:

magazines (periodicals)

Place made:

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

Date:

1976

Topic:

African American  Search this

Advertising  Search this

Associations and institutions  Search this

Business  Search this

Caricature and cartoons  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

U.S. History, 1969-2001  Search this

U.S. History, Colonial period, 1600-1775  Search this

United States History  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:

2012.167.10

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/fd5e57ffdd9-2ab1-46da-b6e7-10757007351f

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:nmaahc_2012.167.10

Creator:

Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this

Names:

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this

Kleinholz, Frank, 1901-  Search this

Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974  Search this

Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953  Search this

Miró, Joan, 1893-  Search this

Smith, Charles Edward, 1904-1970  Search this

Extent:

11.61 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Watercolors

Sound recordings

Transcripts

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Oil paintings

Photographs

Interviews

Date:

1890-1971

Summary:

The papers of painter Philip Evergood measure 11.61 linear feet and date from 1890 to 1971. Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence; writings, including essays, lectures, speeches, and sound recordings of radio appearances; subject files; personal business records; printed material; scrapbooks; artwork, including oil paintings, sketches, and childhood drawings; and photographs of Evergood, his family and friends, and his work.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter Philip Evergood measure 11.61 linear feet and date from 1890 to 1971. Found within the papers are biographical materials; personal and business correspondence; writings, including essays, lectures, speeches, and sound recordings of radio appearances; subject files; personal business records; printed material; scrapbooks; artwork, including oil paintings, sketches, and childhood drawings; and photographs of Evergood, his family and friends, and his work.

Biographical materials include curriculum vitae, forms, memberships, and the contact information of friends and acquaintances. Correspondence is with business associates and artists, including Charles Edward Smith, Rockwell Kent, Frank Kleinholz, Leon Kroll, Joan Miro, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Writings consist primarily of Evergood's artist statements, essays, lectures and speeches, as well as notes, transcripts, and recordings of broadcast radio shows. Subject files focus on art institutions and organizations, funding opportunities, and political topics of personal interest.

Personal business records include artist lists, contracts with galleries, and banking and estate records. Printed materials include clippings, four clippings scrapbooks, exhibition catalogs, and periodicals with articles featuring Evergood. There are loose sketches and mixed media, including oils and watercolors, of Evergood's artwork. Photographs are of Evergood, his friends and family, and photographs and negatives of his artwork.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1930-1971 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 24, OV 13)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1930-1970 (3.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-4, 24)

Series 3: Writings, 1905-1970 (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 4-5, 24)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1919-1971 (0.7 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1902-1970 (0.5 linear feet; Box 6)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1914-1970 (2.4 linear feet; Boxes 7-9, 11, 24)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1924-1954 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 11-12)

Series 8: Artwork, 1905-1970 (1.5 linear feet; Box 9, OV 14-20, 24, OV 25, RD 23)

Series 9: Photographic Materials, 1890-1970 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 9-10, 24, OV 21-22, 26-27)

Biographical / Historical:

Painter and printmaker Philip Evergood (1901-1973) lived and worked in New York City and Bridgewater, Connecticut and was known as an expressionist and social realist who incorporated elements of the fantastic into his works. A native New Yorker, Evergood's father, Miles Blashki, was a Polish-Australian artist, and his mother, Flora Jane Perry, was English. At his mother's insistence, Evergood attended boarding schools in England and graduated from Eton in 1919. He left Cambridge University to pursue art studies at London's Slade School of Fine Arts and returned to America in 1923 to study with George Luks at the Art Students League.

In 1927, Evergood held his first one man show at New York's Dudensing Gallery and continued to travel back and forth between France, Spain, and America throughout the 1920s. In 1931, he married dancer and actress Julia Cross and found work as a muralist and painter for the WPA Federal Arts Project in the early 1930s. From 1937-1938, he served as president of the New York Artists Union and, along with other social realist painters, joined Herman Baron's stable at the ACA (American Contemporary Art) Gallery, where he exhibited several one man shows during the late 1930s and 1940s.

During the 1940s and 1950s, Evergood was a popular lecturer and taught at art schools, including the Skowhegan School, and began producing large scale lithographs and etchings along with his paintings. While working as a picture framer for additional income, he met the art collector Joseph Hirshhorn who would purchase 10 artworks at their first meeting and become a life long patron. He continued to exhibit his work at the ACA Gallery and the annual contemporary shows of major museums, such as the Carnegie Institute and the Art Institute of Chicago. Evergood exhibited in over 35 exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Whitney Museum in 1960, and died in a house fire in Bridgewater in 1973.

Related Materials:

Also found in the Archives of American Art are Letters from Philip Evergood; Gael Hammer letters relating to Miles and Philip Evergood; an oral history interview with Philip Evergood by Forrest Selvig, December 3, 1968; and Philip Evergood interview with John I.H. Baur, June 1959.

Provenance:

Philip Evergood donated his papers to the Archives in 1971. Additional materials were donated in 1974 by Evergood's wife, Julia Cross Evergood. In 1977, two typescripts of essays were donated by Abram Lerner. A small addition was donated in 2018 by Kendall Taylor, who originally received the material from Julia Cross Evergood.

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 access copy requires advance notice. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Rights:

The Philip Evergood papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Topic:

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

Artists -- Political activity  Search this

Art, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Watercolors

Sound recordings

Transcripts

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Oil paintings

Photographs

Interviews

Citation:

Philip Evergood papers, 1890-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this colleciton was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

Identifier:

AAA.everphil

See more items in:

Philip Evergood papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-everphil

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

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

World War, 1939-1945 -- Civilian relief  Search this

Labor unions  Search this

Art and war  Search this

Commercial art  Search this

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

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9557

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211757

AAA_collcode_kentrock

Theme:

Lives of American Artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211757

Creator:

Hirsch, Stefan, 1899-1964  Search this

Rogo, Elsa, 1901-1996  Search this

Names:

Bard College -- Faculty  Search this

Bennington College -- Faculty  Search this

Downtown Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

United States. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs  Search this

Albers, Josef  Search this

Anguiano, Raúl, 1915-2006  Search this

Bier, Justus, 1899-1990  Search this

Field, Hamilton Easter  Search this

Halpert, Edith Gregor, 1900-1970  Search this

Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990  Search this

Mérida, Carlos, 1891-1984  Search this

Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969  Search this

Extent:

19.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Motion pictures (visual works)

Sound recordings

Etchings

Sketchbooks

Scrapbooks

Glass plate negatives

Transcripts

Place:

Mexico -- Photographs

Date:

1851-1986

bulk 1920-1960

Summary:

The papers of artists and educators Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo measure 19.6 linear feet and date from 1851 to 1986, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920s to the 1960s. Their artistic, teaching, and journalism careers are documented through biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, professional files, printed materials, photographs and motion picture films, and sketchbooks and other artwork.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of artists and educators Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo measure 19.6 linear feet and date from 1851 to 1986, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920s to the 1960s. Their artistic, teaching, and journalism careers are documented through biographical materials, correspondence, writings and notes, professional files, printed materials, photographs and motion picture films, and sketchbooks and other artwork.

Biographical materials include address lists, resumes and biographical sketches, identification cards, material relating to Hirsch's military service, and legal documents. Two sound recordings, one personal and another of Rogo on Spanish National Radio, are also found here.

Correspondence is both professional and personal. Professional correspondence concerns commissions, exhibitions, travel, and teaching. Notable correspondents include Josef Albers, Justus Bier, Downtown Gallery (Edith Halpert), Carlos Mérida, Lewis Mumford, Ben Shahn, and many others. Personal correspondence is largely between Hirsch and Rogo. Writings are found for both Hirsch and Rogo and include notebooks, diary fragments and transcripts, lectures, essays on art, articles, and notes. A manuscript by Hamilton Easter Field is also found and a writing by an unknown author. Professional files document teaching positions, projects, commissions, memberships, and other professional activities undertaken by Hirsch and Rogo. They document Hirsch's teaching career at Bard College, Bennington College, and his mural work in South Carolina and Mississippi. Files concerning Rogo's work with the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs are found here, as well as files documenting their professional and personal travel. These contain a wide variety of materials, such as correspondence, printed material, meeting minutes, photographs, and writings. Also found are scattered files relating to general areas of interest.

Hirsch's and Rogo's business records include contracts concerning Elsa Rogo's book agreements, records settling the estate of the Hirsch family in Nürnberg (Nuremberg), Germany, insurance records, a lease, price lists, and general receipts and invoices. Also found are personal art collection records including a sales agreement and a list of Latin American art owned by Hirsch and Rogo. Printed materials include books, brochures, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs for Stefan Hirsch and others, issues of magazines and other periodicals, copies of published writings by Hirsch and Rogo, and a dismantled printed materials scrapbook.

Photographs are extensive and include personal photos of Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo, their family, friends, and colleagues. Numerous travel photos were taken by Rogo in her role as a journalist in Latin American and the United States. The bulk of the professional travel photos were taken in Mexico in the 1930s to the 1960s and show events, cities, and cultural activities. Also found are glass plate negatives, photographs of works of art, and sixteen reels of motion picture film taken in Mexico, Bard College, and Oqunquit, Maine.

Eighteen sketchbooks are largely unsigned but are likely by Stefan Hirsch. Additional artwork includes sketches and etchings by Hirsch, sketches by Elsa Rogo, and works by others including Raul Anquiano and Efren Villalobos.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1899-1986 (0.6 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1920s-1960s (3.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-4)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1920-1960s (1.2 linear feet: Boxes 4-5)

Series 4: Professional Files, 1912-1966 (2.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-8)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1927-1957 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 8-9)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1851-1964 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 9-12, 19)

Series 7: Photographs and Motion Picture Film, circa 1870-1960s (6.9 linear feet; Boxes 12-17, 20, FC 21-29)

Series 8: Sketchbooks, circa 1930s-circa 1940s (0.6 linear feet; Box 18)

Series 9: Artwork and Artifacts, 1916-1982 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 18-19)

Biographical / Historical:

German-born Stefan Hirsch (1899-1964) was a painter and educator. Elsa Rogo (1901-1966) was married to Hirsch and was an artist, educator and journalist. They were active in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, and Vermont, and traveled extensively throughout Mexico and Latin America where they documented local arts and crafts, village life, and befriended prominent Mexican artists.

Born in Nurnberg, Germany, Stefan Hirsch grew up in Europe and studied art at the University of Zurich. After settling in the United States in 1919, he took summer courses under Hamilton Easter Field in Ogunquit, Maine. Hirsch developed a Precisionist style combined with Social Realism but much of his work was difficult to restrict to one specific style. Hirsch was a founder and exhibitor at the avant-garde Salons of America which served as an alternative to the Society of Independent Artists. During the 1930s and 1940s, Hirsch participated in the U.S. government's Federal Art Project and painted murals in Aiken, South Carolina and Booneville, Mississippi. Hirsch began his teaching career in 1937 at Bennington College in Vermont, and later accepted a position at Bard College where he served as the chairman of the art department until he retired in 1961.

In 1930, Hirsch married Elsa Rogo. Together, they traveled throughout Mexico and Latin America where they became involved in the social and art scenes. They befriended prominent Mexican artists like Diego Rivera and David Siqueiros. As a journalist, Rogo documented Mexican life, events, and art extensively through photographs. Rogo also served in the U.S. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, established in 1940 to promote cultural diplomacy and solidarity primarily in Latin America. In Taxaco, Mexico, she taught art to school children. Her book, Walls and Volcanos: The Creative Impulse of the Mexican People, was published in 1937.

Stefan Hirsch died in 1964. Elsa Rogo died in 1966.

Provenance:

Portions of the Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers were donated in 1996 by the Elsa Rogo estate, via Sylvia Siskin, executrix. Additions were donated 2002, 2014, and 2019 by professor James Oles, Art Department, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts on behalf of Sylvia Siskin.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. Original film reels and archival negative copies are stored off-site and are closed to researchers.

Rights:

The Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Painters -- New York (State)  Search this

Art teachers  Search this

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

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

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

Art, Latin American  Search this

Mural painting and decoration, Mexican -- Photographs  Search this

Mural painting and decoration -- South Carolina  Search this

Mural painting and decoration -- Mississippi  Search this

Genre/Form:

Motion pictures (visual works)

Sound recordings

Etchings

Sketchbooks

Scrapbooks

Glass plate negatives

Transcripts

Citation:

Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers, 1851-1986, bulk 1920s-1960s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund. Funding for the preservation of the Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo home movies shot in Mexico was provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.hirsstef

See more items in:

Stefan Hirsch and Elsa Rogo papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-hirsstef

Creator:

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this

Names:

American Artists' Congress  Search this

Artists League of America  Search this

Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.)  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

International Workers Order  Search this

Macbeth Gallery  Search this

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

National Maritime Union of America  Search this

United American Artists  Search this

United Office and Professional Workers of America  Search this

United Scenic Artists  Search this

Boyesen, Bayard  Search this

Chamberlain, J. E.  Search this

Chase, William Merritt, 1846-1916  Search this

Cleland, T. M. (Thomas Maitland), 1880-1964  Search this

Daniel, Charles, 1878-1971  Search this

Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen), 1862-1928  Search this

DuBois, W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963  Search this

Fitzgerald, James, 1899-1971  Search this

Freuchen, Peter, 1886-1957  Search this

Gellert, Hugo, 1892-1985  Search this

Gottlieb, Harry, 1895-  Search this

Hartley, Marsden, 1877-1943  Search this

Hays, Lee, 1914-1981  Search this

Henri, Robert, 1865-1929  Search this

Jones, Dan Burne  Search this

Keller, Charles, 1914-2006  Search this

Miller, Kenneth Hayes, 1876-1952  Search this

Nearing, Helen  Search this

Nearing, Scott, 1883-1983  Search this

Pach, Walter, 1883-1958  Search this

Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966  Search this

Rasmussen, Knud, 1879-1933  Search this

Reeves, Ruth, 1892-1966  Search this

Robeson, Paul, 1898-1976  Search this

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945  Search this

Ruggles, Carl, 1876-1971  Search this

Seeger, Pete, 1919-2014  Search this

Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, 1879-1962  Search this

Untermeyer, Louis, 1885-1977  Search this

Wildenstein, Felix, 1883-1952  Search this

Zigrosser, Carl, 1891-  Search this

Extent:

88 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Poems

Sketches

Business records

Photographs

Drawings

Date:

circa 1840-1993

bulk 1935-1961

Summary:

The Rockwell Kent papers measure 88.0 linear feet and date from circa 1840 to 1993 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1935 to 1961. The collection provides comprehensive coverage of Kent's career as a painter, illustrator, designer, writer, lecturer, traveler, political activist, and dairy farmer.

Scope and Content Note:

The Rockwell Kent papers measure 88 linear feet and date from circa 1840 to 1993 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1935 to 1961. The collection provides comprehensive coverage of Kent's career as a painter, illustrator, designer, writer, lecturer, traveler, political activist, and dairy farmer.

Circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the papers are highlighted in an article by Garnett McCoy ("The Rockwell Kent Papers," in the Archives of American Art Journal, 12, no. 1 [January 1972]: 1-9), recommended reading for researchers interested in the collection. The collection is remarkably complete, for in the mid 1920s Kent began keeping carbon copies of all outgoing letters, eventually employing a secretary (who became his third wife and continued her office duties for the remainder of Kent's life).

Series 1: Alphabetical Files contain Kent's personal and professional correspondence, along with business records of the dairy farm and associated enterprises; also included are printed matter on a wide variety of topics and promotional literature relating to organizations and causes of interest to him. Voluminous correspondence with his three wives, five children, and other relatives, as well as with literally hundreds of friends, both lifelong and of brief duration, illuminates Kent's private life and contributes to understanding of his complex character. Among the many correspondents of note are: his art teachers William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri, and Kenneth Hayes Miller; fellow artists Tom Cleland, Arthur B. Davies, James Fitzgerald, Hugo Gellert, Harry Gottleib, Marsden Hartley, Charles Keller, and Ruth Reeves; collectors Duncan Phillips and Dan Burne Jones; critics J. E. Chamberlain and Walter Pach; and dealers Charles Daniel, Felix Wildenstein, and Macbeth Galleries. Kent corresponded with such diverse people as Arctic explorers Peter Freuchen, Knud Rasmussen, and Vilhjalmar Steffanson; composer Carl Ruggles and songwriters Lee Hays and Pete Seeger; civil rights pioneers Paul Robeson and Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois; writers Bayard Boyesen, Scott and Helen Nearing, and Louis Untermeyer; and art historian and print curator Carl Zigrosser.

Kent's interest and involvement in the labor movement are reflected in correspondence with officials and members of a wide variety and large number of unions and related organizations, among them: the Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union of America, Farmers' Union of the New York Milk Shed, International Workers Order, National Maritime Union, and United Office and Professional Workers of America. Of special interest is his participation, often in leadership roles, in various attempts to organize artists. Files on the American Artists' Congress, Artists League of America, The Artists Union, United American Artists, and United Scenic Artists contain particularly valuable material on the movement.

A supporter of New Deal efforts to aid artists, Kent was actively interested in the various programs and often was critical of their limitations; he advocated continuing federal aid to artists after the Depression abated. The Kent papers include correspondence with the Federal Arts Project, Federal Fine Arts Project, Federal Writers Project, and the War Department, as well as correspondence with the Citizens' Committee for Government Art Projects and President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the subject.

Kent's professional correspondence documents exhibitions, sales, consignments, and reproduction of prints and paintings. He kept meticulous records of his advertising commissions and illustration work. Detailed correspondence with publishers and printers indicates Kent's involvement in the technical aspects of production and provides a good overview of the publishing industry during the mid-twentieth century.

Business records of Asgaard Farm include records of the dairy and transfer of ownership to its employees, tax and employee information, and documents concerning several related business ventures such as distributor ships for grain, feed, and farm implements.

Series 2: Writings consists of notes, drafts, and completed manuscripts by Rockwell Kent, mainly articles, statements, speeches, poems, introductions, and reviews. The Kent Collection given to Friendship House, Moscow, in 1960, was augmented later by a set of his publications and the illustrated manuscripts of many of his monographs. Also included are a small number of manuscripts by other authors.

Series 3: Artwork consists mainly of drawings and sketches by Kent; also included are works on paper by other artists, many of whom are unidentified, and by children.

Series 4: Printed Matter consists of clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, brochures, broadsides, programs, and newsletters. These include items by and about Kent and his family, as well as articles written and/or illustrated by him, and reviews of his books. There is also material on a variety of subjects and causes of interest to him. Additional printed matter is included among the alphabetical files, mainly as attachments to correspondence.

Series 5: Miscellaneous includes biographical material, legal documents, and memorabilia. Artifacts received with papers include textile samples, a silk scarf, dinnerware, ice bucket, and rubber stamp, all featuring designs by Rockwell Kent. Also with this series are a variety of documents including a phrenological analysis of an ancestor, lists of supplies for expeditions, a hand-drawn map of an unidentified place, and technical notes regarding art materials and techniques.

Series 6: Photographs includes photographs of Kent, his family and friends, travel, and art number that over one thousand. Also included here are several albums of family and travel photographs.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into six series. Series 1 is arranged alphabetically. The arrangement of the remaining series is explained in each series description. Note that sealed materials that became available in 2000 were microfilmed separately on reels 5740-5741, but have integrated into this finding aid.

Series 1: Alphabetical Files, circa 1900-1971, undated (Reels 5153-5249, 5256, 5740-5741)

Series 2: Writings, 1906-1978, undated (Reels 5249-5252, 5741)

Series 3: Art Work, 1910-1972, undated (Reels 5252, 5741)

Series 4: Printed Matter, 1905-1993, undated (Reels 5252-5254)

Series 5: Miscellaneous, 1859-1969, undated (Reels 5254, 5741)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1840-1970, undated (Reels 5254-5255, 5741)

Biographical Note:

Rockwell Kent (1882-1971), an energetic and multitalented man, pursued many interests and careers during his very long and active life. At various times he was an architect, draftsman, carpenter, unskilled laborer, painter, illustrator, printmaker, commercial artist, designer, traveler/explorer, writer, professional lecturer, dairy farmer, and political activist.

While studying architecture at Columbia University, Kent enrolled in William Merritt Chase's summer school at Shinnecock Hills, Long Island. He then redirected his career ambitions toward painting and continued to study with Chase in New York. Kent spent a summer working and living with Abbott H. Thayer in Dublin, New Hampshire, and attended the New York School of Art, where Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller were his teachers.

Critically and financially, Kent was a successful artist. He was very well known for his illustration work--particularly limited editions of the classics, bookplates, and Christmas cards. He was a prolific printmaker, and his prints and paintings were acquired by many major museums and private collectors. During the post-World War II era, Kent's political sympathies resulted in the loss of commissions, and his adherence to artistic conservatism and outspoken opposition to modern art led to disfavor within art circles. After many years of declining reputation in this country and unsuccessful attempts to find a home for the Kent Collection, Kent gave his unsold paintings--the majority of his oeuvre--to the Soviet Union, where he continued to be immensely popular.

An avid traveler, Kent was especially fascinated by remote, Arctic lands and often stayed for extended periods of time to paint, write, and become acquainted with the local inhabitants. Between 1918 and 1935, he wrote and illustrated several popular books about his experiences in Alaska, Tierra del Fuego, and Greenland. In the 1930s and 1940s, Kent was much in demand as a lecturer, making several nationwide tours under the management of a professional lecture bureau; he spoke mainly about his travels, but among his standard lectures were some on "art for the people."

In 1927, Kent purchased Asgaard Farm at AuSable Forks, New York, in the Adirondacks, where he lived for the remainder of his life, operating a modern dairy farm on a modest scale for many years.

As a young man, Kent met Rufus Weeks, became committed to social justice, and joined the Socialist Party. Throughout his life, he supported left-wing causes and was a member or officer of many organizations promoting world peace and harmonious relations with the Soviet Union, civil rights, civil liberties, antifascism, and organized labor. Kent was frequently featured as a celebrity sponsor or speaker at fund-raising events for these causes. In 1948, he ran unsuccessfully as the American Labor Party's candidate for Congress. Kent's unpopular political views eventually led to the dissolution of his dairy business, resulted in a summons to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and prompted the U.S. State Department to deny him a passport, an action that subsequently was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kent wrote two autobiographies, This Is My Own (1940) and It's Me, O Lord (1955). In 1969, he was the subject of an oral history interview conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art.

1882 -- born, Tarrytown, New York

1887 -- death of Rockwell Kent, Sr.

1894-1896 -- attended Cheshire Academy

1895 -- toured Europe with Aunt Jo

1896 -- attended Horace Mann School, New York City

1900-1902 -- studied architecture at Columbia University

1900-1902 -- attended William Merritt Chase's summer school, Shinnecock Hills, Long Island

1903 -- studied with William Merritt Chase, New York City

1904 -- first sale of a painting

1904 -- met Rufus Weeks and attended first Socialist meeting

1905 -- lived and worked with Abbott H. Thayer, Dublin, New Hampshire

1905 -- first painting trip to Monhegan Island, Maine

1907 -- first one-man show, Claussen Galleries, New York City

1908 -- marriage to Kathleen Whiting

1908 -- studied with Robert Henri

1908 -- joined Socialist Party

1909 -- birth of Rockwell, III

1910 -- ran Monhegan Summer School of Art

1910 -- first trip to Newfoundland

1910 -- helped to organize first Independent Exhibition

1911 -- birth of Kathleen

1912 -- moved to Winona, Minnesota

1913 -- birth of Clara

1914 -- settled in Newfoundland

1915 -- deported from Newfoundland

1915 -- birth of Barbara

1917 -- served as full-time organizer and administrator of Independent Exhibition

1918-1919 -- in Alaska with son Rocky

1919 -- purchased Egypt Farm, Arlington, Vermont

1919 -- incorporated self

1920 -- publication of Wilderness

1920 -- birth of Gordon

1922 -- traveled to Tierra del Fuego

1924 -- publication of Voyaging

1925 -- trip to France

1925 -- divorced from Kathleen

1926 -- marriage to Frances Lee

1926 -- traveled to Ireland

1927 -- purchased Asgaard Farm, AuSable, New York

1927 -- editor of Creative Art

1927 -- helped organize National Gallery of Contemporary Art, Washington, D.C.

1929 -- sailed to Greenland on Direction

1930 -- publication of N by E

1932-1933 -- returned to Greenland

1934-1935 -- final trip to Greenland

1935 -- publication of Salamina

1936 -- trip to Puerto Rico

1937 -- trip to Brazil

1937-1938 -- Post Office Department mural commission and controversy over Eskimo-language message interpreted as encouraging Puerto Rican independence

1939 -- divorced from Frances

1939 -- General Electric Co. mural commission for New York World's Fair

1940 -- publication of This Is My Own

1940 -- marriage to Shirley Johnstone (Sally)

1942 -- solo exhibition, Know and Defend America, at Wildenstein Galleries, New York City

1946 -- elected to Executive Committee of American Labor Party

1948 -- congressional candidate, American Labor Party

1948 -- transferred ownership of dairy to remaining employees after boycott resulting from support of Wallace for president

1949 -- attended World Congress for Peace, Paris

1950-1958 -- denied U.S. passport; lawsuit, appeals, and Supreme Court decision reinstating right to travel

1953 -- testified before House Un-American Activities Committee

1955 -- publication of It's Me, O Lord

1958 -- one-man show at Hermitage Museum, Leningrad

1959 -- publication of Of Men and Mountains

1960 -- gift of Kent Collection to Friendship House, Moscow

1960 -- exhibition at Pushkin Museum, Moscow

1963 -- publication of Greenland Journal

1966 -- elected to Academy of Arts of the USSR

1967 -- awarded Lenin Peace Prize, Moscow

1969 -- oral history interview, Archives of American Art

1969 -- home at Asgaard destroyed by fire; papers survived with some water and smoke damage

1969 -- first installment of Rockwell Kent Papers donated to Archives of American Art

1971 -- died, Plattsburgh, New York

1971 -- gift of additional Rockwell Kent Papers to Archives of American Art

1979 -- gift of textile samples to the Archives of American Art

1996 -- gift of additional Rockwell Kent Papers to Archives of American Art

2000 -- death of Sally [Shirley Johnstone] Kent Gorton

2000 -- previously sealed correspondence of wives Frances and Sally (Series 1) opened to researchers

2001 -- gift of additional Rockwell Kent papers to the Archives of American Art from the Estate of Sally Kent [Shirley Johnstone] Gorton

Provenance:

In 1969, Rockwell Kent donated his papers to the Archives of American Art; textile samples were received in 1979, and his widow gave additional papers in 1971 and 1996. Letters to Rockwell Kent from wives Frances and Sally, sealed during Sally Kent Gorton's lifetime, became available for research after her death in 2000, and further material was donated to the Archives of American Art in 2001 by the Estate of Sally Kent [Shirley Johnstone] Gorton.

Restrictions:

The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not microfilmed or digitized requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Rockwell Kent papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Painters -- New York (State)  Search this

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

World War, 1939-1945 -- Civilian relief  Search this

Labor unions  Search this

Art and war  Search this

Commercial art  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Poems

Sketches

Business records

Photographs

Drawings

Citation:

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

Identifier:

AAA.kentrock

See more items in:

Rockwell Kent papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-kentrock

Interviewee:

Tamotsu, Chūzō, 1888-1975  Search this

Interviewer:

Loomis, Sylvia Glidden  Search this

Subject:

Eddy, Stuart  Search this

Force, Juliana  Search this

Knight, Frederic C.  Search this

Mandelman, Beatrice  Search this

Philipp, Robert  Search this

Ribak, Louis  Search this

Rush, Olive  Search this

An American Group (Organization)  Search this

Artists Equity Association  Search this

Federal Art Project  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Asian American artists -- Interviews  Search this

Painting, Japanese  Search this

Art, Oriental.  Search this

Arts, Japanese -- Western influences  Search this

Painting, Asian  Search this

Painters -- New Mexico -- Santa Fe -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11756

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216578

AAA_collcode_tamots64

Theme:

Asian American

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216578

Interviewee:

Graham, F. Wynn  Search this

Interviewer:

Loomis, Sylvia Glidden  Search this

Subject:

Force, Juliana  Search this

Federal Art Project (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

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

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

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11982

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213495

AAA_collcode_graham65

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213495

Interviewee:

Magafan, Ethel, 1915 or 6-1993  Search this

Interviewer:

Trovato, Joseph S., 1912-1983  Search this

Subject:

Federal Art Project (N.Y.)  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Mural painting and decoration -- New York (State)  Search this

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

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

Women artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12460

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213648

AAA_collcode_magafa64

Theme:

New Deal

Women

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213648

Interviewee:

Magnani, Margery Livingston, 1918-1997  Search this

Interviewer:

McChesney, Mary Fuller, 1922-  Search this

Subject:

Federal Art Project (Calif.)  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12253

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213649

AAA_collcode_magnan65

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213649

Interviewee:

Mandelman, Beatrice, 1912-1998  Search this

Interviewer:

Loomis, Sylvia Glidden  Search this

Subject:

Federal Art Project (N.M.)  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Taos School of Art  Search this

Painters -- New Mexico -- Taos -- Interviews  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12139

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213650

AAA_collcode_mandel64

Theme:

New Deal

Women

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213650

Interviewee:

McMahon, Audrey, 1890-1981  Search this

Interviewer:

Phillips, Harlan B. (Harlan Buddington),, 1920-  Search this

Subject:

Bruce, Edward  Search this

Cahill, Holger  Search this

Force, Juliana  Search this

United States  Search this

Federal Art Project (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12044

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213651

AAA_collcode_mcmaho64

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213651

Interviewee:

Macdonald-Wright, Stanton, 1890-1973  Search this

Interviewer:

McGlynn, Betty Lochrie Hoag, 1914-2002  Search this

Subject:

Federal Art Project (Calif.)  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Painting, American  Search this

Painters -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11673

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213786

AAA_collcode_macdon64

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213786

Interviewee:

Glassgold, C. Adolph, 1899-  Search this

Interviewer:

Phillips, Harlan B. (Harlan Buddington),, 1920-  Search this

Subject:

Cahill, Holger  Search this

Defenbacher, D. S. (Daniel S)  Search this

Force, Juliana  Search this

McBride, Henry  Search this

McMahon, Audrey  Search this

Parker, Thomas Cleveland  Search this

Robinson, Edward  Search this

Watson, Forbes  Search this

Federal Art Project  Search this

Index of American Design  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12220

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213489

AAA_collcode_glassg64

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213489

Author:

Beckham, Sue Bridwell  Search this

Subject:

Federal Art Project  Search this

United States Department of the Treasury  Search this

Physical description:

v, 331 leaves : ill

Type:

Manuscripts

In art

Place:

Southern States

Date:

1986

1984

20th century

Topic:

Mural painting and decoration, American  Search this

Mural painting and decoration  Search this

Postal service--Buildings  Search this

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Art and state  Search this

Call number:

ND2611 .B39 1984a

ND2611.B39 1984a

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_271702

Author:

Beckham, Sue Bridwell  Search this

Subject:

Federal Art Project  Search this

Physical description:

xx, 338 p. : ill. ; 24 cm

Type:

Books

In art

Place:

Southern States

Date:

1989

C1989

20th century

Topic:

Mural painting and decoration, American  Search this

Mural painting and decoration  Search this

Postal service--Buildings  Search this

Call number:

ND2611.B4 1989X

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_369799

Creator:

Sternberg, Harry, 1904-2001  Search this

Names:

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

Idyllwild School and Museum for the Arts -- Faculty  Search this

Blume, Peter, 1906-1992  Search this

Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this

Secunda, Arthur  Search this

Siqueiros, David Alfaro  Search this

Walker, Hudson D. (Hudson Dean), 1907-1976  Search this

Warner, Malcolm, 1953-  Search this

Wickey, Harry  Search this

Zigrosser, Carl, 1891-  Search this

Extent:

3.4 Linear feet

0.553 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Video recordings

Notes

Manuscripts

Interviews

Scrapbooks

Drafts (documents)

Sound recordings

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Drawings

Date:

1927-2000

Summary:

The papers of New York City and California painter, printmaker, and teacher Harry Sternberg date from 1927 to 2000 and measure 3.4 linear feet and 0.553 GB. The collection documents Sternberg's career as an artist and art instructor through scattered biographical material, correspondence with friends, artists, collectors, curators, art organizations, universities, and galleries, writings by Sternberg and others, exhibition catalogs and announcements, news clippings, and other printed and digital material. Also found are photographs of Sternberg and his artwork, two sketchbooks and three loose drawings by Sternberg, audio visual recordings, and one scrapbook.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of New York City and California painter, printmaker, and teacher Harry Sternberg date from 1927 to 2000 and measure 3.4 linear feet and 0.553 GB. The collection documents Sternberg's career as an artist and art instructor through scattered biographical material, correspondence with friends, artists, collectors, curators, art organizations, universities, and galleries, writings by Sternberg and others, exhibition catalogs and announcements, news clippings, and other printed and digital material. Also found are photographs of Sternberg and his artwork, two sketchbooks and three loose drawings by Sternberg, audio visual recordings, and one scrapbook.

Biographical material includes an interview of Sternberg conducted by art curator Malcolm Warner, two ledgers documenting business activities, scattered financial and legal documents, and files regarding a few of his projects, including the film "Many Worlds of Art". Sternberg's personal and professional correspondence is with friends, artists, including Harry Wickey, Rockwell Kent, Philip Evergood, and Peter Blume, collectors and curators such as Hudson Walker and Carl Zigrosser, and art organizations, universities, and galleries.

The small number of writings by Sternberg in this collection includes drafts of articles and lectures, a manuscript for a book on etching, and notes. Writings by others consists of draft writings about Sternberg, draft exhibition catalogs, and writings by the artists Arthur Secunda and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Over one-third of this collection is printed material, including exhibition catalogs and announcements, news clippings, books written by Sternberg, school publications, and material regarding art events.

Also found are photographs of Sternberg in his studio, with students, with his wife Mary, and at the Idyllwild School. Other photographs include group photographs of Art Students League faculty as well as photographs of exhibitions, murals, and artwork. The collection also contains original artwork including two sketchbooks and three loose drawings by Sternberg and one scrapbook of news clippings and exhibition materials. Audio and video materials include several interviews of Sternberg and a video copy of his film "Many Worlds of Art".

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 8 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1927-2000 (Box 1, OV 5; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1928-2000 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1940s-2000 (Box 1, 4; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1933-2000 (Box 1-3; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographs, circa 1930s-1998 (Box 3, 4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1928-1980s (Box 3, OV 5; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 7: Audio Visual Material, circa 1980s-2000 (Box 3; 0.5 linear feet, ER01; 0.553 GB)

Series 8: Scrapbook, 1929-1958 (Box 4; 0.2 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Harry Sternberg (1904-2001) was a New York painter, muralist, printmaker, etcher, teacher, and political activist who relocated to California in 1957.

Harry Sternberg was born in 1904 in the Lower East Side of New York City and grew up in Brooklyn. As a child he attended his school art club where he met and became lifelong friends with artists Peter Blume and Philip Reisman. He took free Saturday art classes at the Brooklyn Museum of Art for two years and attended the Art Students League part time from 1922 to 1927 where he studied with George Bridgman. In 1926 he shared a studio with Philip Reisman where they received private instruction in etching from Harry Wickey. Sternberg began exhibiting his etchings and intermittently had drawings published in New Masses, a prominent American Marxist publication. In the late 1920s he became friends with Hudson Walker who also became a major collector of his work. In 1933 Sternberg was hired as instructor of etching, lithography, and composition at the Art Students League and continued teaching there for the next 33 years. Also around this time he became politically active in artist rights organizations, serving on the planning committee to create the American Artists' Congress and later serving as an active member of the Artists Equity Association. In 1935 he became the technical advisor of the Graphic Art Division of the Federal Art Project. From 1937 to 1939 he completed three federal mural commissions. His first mural Carrying the Mail was created for the Sellersville, Pennsylvania post office in 1937. His most famous mural Chicago: Epoch of a Great City was painted for the Lakeview post office in Chicago. It depicts the history of the city and its workers, particularly life for the workers in Chicago's stockyards and steel mills.

During the 1940s Sternberg remained very active in arts organizations, as one of the founders of the National Serigraph Society and a member of the Committee on Art and Education in Society. In 1942 he published the first of five books on printing. Sternberg had his first retrospective in 1953 at ACA Galleries, and in 1957 he taught summer painting courses at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts in California. He continued teaching in the summers there from 1960 to 1967 and 1981 to 1989. Suffering from lung disease, Sternberg moved with his wife, Mary, to Escondido, California in 1966 in hopes that the climate would improve his health. In 1972 he was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. During the 1970s and 1980s Sternberg traveled extensively throughout the US and Mexico where he found new inspiration for his artwork. He continued teaching, exhibiting, and creating new work until his death in 2001.

Related Material:

Also found in the Archives of American Art are the May Konheim papers concerning Harry Sternberg, 1934-1981, and an oral history interview of Harry Sternberg, conducted March 19, 1999, October 8, 1999, and January 7, 2000, by Sally Yard for the Archives of American Art

Provenance:

The Harry Sternberg papers were donated by Sternberg in several installments from 1967 to 2001.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Harry Sternberg papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Painters -- California  Search this

Topic:

Printmakers -- California  Search this

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

Educators -- California  Search this

Painting, American  Search this

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

Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Video recordings

Notes

Manuscripts

Interviews

Scrapbooks

Drafts (documents)

Sound recordings

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Drawings

Citation:

Harry Sternberg papers, 1927-2008. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art

Identifier:

AAA.sterharr

See more items in:

Harry Sternberg papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-sterharr

Creator:

Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978  Search this

Names:

Federal Art Project (Calif.)  Search this

Benjamin, Karl  Search this

Butterfield, Jan  Search this

Hammersley, Frederick, 1919-2009  Search this

Kadish, Reuben, 1913-1992  Search this

Langsner, Jules, 1911-1967  Search this

Longstreet, Stephen, 1907-  Search this

Lundeberg, Helen, 1908-1999  Search this

McCoy, Esther  Search this

McLaughlin, John, 1898-  Search this

Miller, Dorothy Canning, 1904-2003  Search this

Moran, Diane De Gasis  Search this

Rattner, Abraham  Search this

Seldis, Henry  Search this

Sheets, Millard, 1907-1989  Search this

Extent:

15.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sketches

Poetry

Writings

Drawings

Sound recordings

Photographs

Date:

circa 1890s-2002

Summary:

The papers of Los Angeles painters and art instructors Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg measure 15.6 linear feet and date from circa 1890s to 2002. The papers document the careers of the two artists, including their establishment of the Post-surrealism movement in southern California, their work for federal arts programs, and their later abstract artwork. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, exhibition files, printed materials, photographs, and one sound recording.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of Los Angeles painters and art instructors Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg measure 15.6 linear feet and date from circa 1890s to 2002. The papers document the careers of the two artists, including their establishment of the Post-surrealism movement in southern California, their work for federal arts programs, and their later abstract artwork. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, exhibition files, printed materials, photographs, and one sound recording.

Biographical documentation is found for both artists. Lundeberg's early life is documented by school notebooks, yearbooks, diplomas, calendars, awards, and a "memory book." Feitelson's biographical materials include family certificates and documents compiled by Lundeberg regarding Feitelson's funeral. Also found are curriculum vitae and biographical sketches for both artists.

Correspondence is extensive and includes both personal and professional correspondence for both Feitelson and Lundeberg. Materials consist of letters with critics, museums, artists, and friends, including Karl Benjamin, Frederick Hammersley, Reuben Kadish, John McLauglin, Diane Moran, and Abraham Rattner. Of special interest is Feitelson and Lundeberg's correspondence with Museum of Modern Art curator Dorothy Canning Miller.

A small amount of exhibition materials, mostly loan agreements and checklists, are found in the papers documenting exhibitions and loans of their artwork to exhibitions. Personal business records concern the management of their artwork and personal collections. Found here are lists of artwork, price lists, appraisal reports, sales invoices, purchase receipts, tax documents, and a set of index cards for their artwork. There are a few scattered legal documents as well. In addition to personal business records, there is a series of records of the Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg Foundation, established by Lundeberg in 1978.

Scattered research and teaching files are mostly Feitelson's. They document his personal research, teaching activities, and television programs, particularly the program Feitelson on Art. Writings, however, are found for both artists and include artist statements, writings about art and art styles and movements, writings about each artist, and writings about the Federal Arts Program in southern California. Of interest are numerous writings by other contemporary writers and critics, including Jan Butterfield, Jules Langsner, Stephen Longstreet, Esther McCoy, Diane Moran, Henry Seldis, and Millard Sheets.

A small amount of artwork is found within the collection by Feitelson and Lundeberg, mostly sketches and drawings. There is one print by Hans Burkhardt.

Printed materials include newsclippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, lecture announcements, posters, press releases, and printed reproductions of Feitelson's and Lundeberg's artwork. There are also pamphlets produced by the Works Progress Administration Federal Arts Program and Lundeberg's poetry.

Photographs are extensive and include many of Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg, as well as of family, friends, and students. There are four photo albums and numerous photographs of Feitelson's and Lundeberg's artwork, including some exhibition installations.

There is one circa 1957 reel-to-reel sound recording of an episode of Feitelson on Art, focusing on Paul Gauguin.

An addition of 0.2 linear feet received in 2014 includes Feitelson's art history and teaching notes, writings by Feitelson, and photographs and contact sheets of Feitelson and works of art.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 11 series:

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1922-1995 (Boxes 1-2, 19; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1932-1998 (Boxes 2-4; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Exhibition Records, 1936-1989 (Boxes 4-5; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1943-1998 (Boxes 5-6; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 5: Feitelson and Lundeberg Foundation Records, 1978-1997 (Boxes 6-7, 19; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Research and Teaching Materials, 1940s-1960s (Boxes 7-8; 0.75 linear feet)

Series 7: Writings, 1930-1989 (Boxes 8-9; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 8: Artwork, 1920s-1991 (Boxes 9, 19; 9 folders)

Series 9: Printed Materials, 1923-2002 (Boxes 9-11, 20; 2.0 linear feet)

Series 10: Photographs, circa 1890s-1993 (Boxes 11-14, 16-19, and OV 21-22; 4.3 linear feet)

Series 11: Audio Recording, circa 1957 (Box 15; 1 item)

Series 12: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1919-1978 (Box 23; 0.2 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Art instructor and painter Lorser Feitelson (1898-1978) lived and worked in Los Angeles with his wife Helen Lundeberg (1908-1999), also one of southern California's leading painters. Together, Feitelson and Lundeberg founded the movement known as Subjective Classicism, or Post-surrealism. Their work had a great influence on southern California art and they formed many relationships with artists and critics of the area.

Lorser Feitelson was born in Savannah, Georgia on February 11, 1898, and grew up in New York City. By the age of twelve, he was painting in oils, and three years later he began to paint in earnest after attending the Armory Show. At the age of eighteen, Feitelson had his own studio in New York City. Over the next few years, he met other artists, including Arthur Davies, Walter Pach, and John Sloan. From 1919 to 1926, Feitelson lived in Paris and traveled to New York to exhibit; he also spent some time in Italy. In 1927, Feitelson moved to Los Angeles, the city that would remain his home for the rest of his life. There he met his wife and artist, Helen Lundeberg, and married in 1933.

Feitelson taught at the Chouinard Art Institute and the Stickney Memorial School of Art, became involved in the operations of the Centaur Gallery, and helped to found the Stanley Rose Gallery and the Hollywood Gallery of Modern Art. Beginning with the first Post-surrealist exhibition 1934, Feitelson and Lundeberg's work was exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and was included in the Museum of Modern Art's Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism exhibition of 1937. Feitelson continued to create Post-surrealist paintings until 1942. During this same time, Feitelson also served as the Supervisor of Murals, Painting, and Sculpture for the Southern California Works Progress Administration Federal Arts Project.

In 1944, Feitelson began to paint abstract shapes that he referred to as "magical forms." Feitelson continued working in an abstract manner throughout the fifties, and in 1959 was included by Jules Langsner in the exhibition Four Abstract Classicists along with Karl Benjamin, Frederick Hammersley, and John McLaughlin. From this exhibition emerged the term "hard edge" painting, which referred to the presence of geometric shapes and flat pictorial space in the work of these artists. During the final two decades of his life, Feitelson continued to work regularly, and continued to explore abstraction.

Feitelson taught for many years at the Art Center School and was a visiting professor at the University of Illinois, Urbana. He also hosted the television program Feitelson on Art from 1956-1963, as well as serving as a frequent guest on the program Cavalcade of Books to discuss art publications. Lorser Feitelson died in 1978.

Helen Lundeberg was born in Chicago, Illinois on June 24, 1908. At the age of four, her family moved to Pasadena, where she attended Pasadena High School and Junior College. In the spring of 1930, a family friend sponsored Lundeberg's tuition to attend classes at the Stickney Memorial School of Art. That summer Lundeberg met Lorser Feitelson, who had recently taken over the teaching of her construction and composition class. The following year, Lundeberg's work was included in an exhibition for the first time. By 1933, Lundeberg had a solo exhibition at the Stanley Rose Gallery. Throughout the 1930s, Lundeberg painted in a Post-surrealist manner and created some of her best known works including "Double Portrait of the Artist in Time" (1935). She also began working for the California Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project in 1936. Over the next six years, she designed murals for libraries, high schools, and parks. She and Feitelson married in 1933.

During the next five decades, Lundeberg created a distinctive and diverse body of work that included surreal images of floating mountains and falling skies, austere landscapes and architectural forms, and abstract works with brilliant colors. She remained from the 1930s to the time of her death in 1999 one of the leading and most respected figures in southern California art. Her work has been exhibited in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Related Material:

Found in the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Lorser Feitelson conducted by Betty Lochrie Hoag, May 12, 1964; with Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg conducted by Betty Lochrie Hoag, March 17, 1965; and with Helen Lundeberg conducted by Jan Butterfield, July 19 and August 29, 1980. Also found are Lorser Feitelson lectures recorded by Bonnie Trotter, 1973-1974.

Separated Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel LA 1) including a scrapbook of clippings primarily concerning Lorser Feitelson's activities with the federal Works Progress Administration. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

In 1964, Feitelson loaned for microfilming a scrapbook of clippings primarily concerning his activities with the federal Works Progress Administration. The scrapbook was microfilmed on Reel LA1 and returned to Feitelson. It is not included in the container inventory in this finding aid.

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 Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Occupation:

Painters -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketches

Poetry

Writings

Drawings

Sound recordings

Photographs

Citation:

Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg papers, circa 1890s-2002. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation; funding for the digitization of the collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.feitlors

See more items in:

Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-feitlors

Interviewee:

Loper, Edward L., 1916-2011  Search this

Interviewer:

Pacini, Marina  Search this

Subject:

Barnes, Albert C. (Albert Coombs)  Search this

De Mazia, Violette  Search this

Pippin, Horace  Search this

Barnes Foundation  Search this

Carlen Galleries  Search this

Index of American Design  Search this

United States  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

African American artists  Search this

African American painters  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11450

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212164

AAA_collcode_loper89

Theme:

African American

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212164

Interviewee:

Laufman, Sidney, 1891-1985  Search this

Interviewer:

Trovato, Joseph S., 1912-1983  Search this

Subject:

Barr, Alfred H., Jr.  Search this

Henri, Robert  Search this

Federal Art Project (Fla.)  Search this

Federal Art Project (N.Y.)  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

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

Painters -- Florida -- Key West -- Interviews  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11650

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213616

AAA_collcode_laufma64

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213616

Creator:

Zeigler, Lee Woodward, 1868-1952  Search this

Names:

Enoch Pratt Free Library  Search this

Federal Art Project (U.S.)  Search this

Public Works of Art Project  Search this

United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this

Bruce, Edward, 1879-1943  Search this

Cram, Ralph Adams, 1863-1942  Search this

Force, Juliana, 1876-1948  Search this

Grainger, Percy, 1882-1961  Search this

Leiber, Fritz, 1882-1949  Search this

Murray, Oscar H., 1882-1957  Search this

Osgood, Charles Grosvenor, 1871-1964  Search this

Wheeler, Joseph Lewis, 1884-  Search this

Extent:

1 Linear foot

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1911-1968

Scope and Contents:

Biographical material, correspondence files, writings, photographs, and printed material.

Biographical material includes Zeigler's Works Progress Administration identification card, 1936, obituaries, 1952, a biographical sketch, pages from an engagement book, 1914-1917, and an address book.

Correspondence, 1920-1941, relates to Zeigler's freelance painting, mural designs for Tiffany Studios, mural commissions for churches and other public and private commissions, including the Chapel of the Transfiguration Glendale, Oh. (1927-1928), St. Michael's Church, N.Y.C. (1929); Calvary Church, Cincinnati, Oh. (1936-1937), the "Faerie Queene" murals in the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Md. (1933-1941); WPA-FAP projects in New York State (1933-1937), including murals for Washington Hall, West Point Military Academy, the Stony Point Battlefield Museum, Stony Point-on-the Hudson, and the Newburgh Free Academy, Newburgh. Among the correspondents are architects responsible for the designs of the buildings, such as Ralph Adams Cram and O.H. Murray, individuals associated with the execution of the projects, including Charles Osgood and Joseph L. Wheeler; and WPA adminstrators Edward Bruce and Juliana Force.

Printed material includes clippings, ca. 1910-1948, regarding Zeigler's works of art and his involvement in the war effort and local politics; exhibition catalogs and programs, ca. 1925, 1940-1968; and reproductions of Zeigler's illustrations for bookplates, Christmas cards, magazines, including Gunter's Magazine, Harper's Weekly, and Life, ca.1890-1900, and for limited edition books by such authors as Jane Austen, Honore' de Balzac, Amelia E. Barr, Theophile Gautier, Charles Kingsley, and William Stearns Davis, ca.1890-1915.

Photographs consist of three portraits of Zeigler, ca. 1930-1940, and photographs of works by him, ca.1900, 1915, 1993, and by others ca. 1900-1913. Also included are portrait of actor Fritz Leiber, ca. 1900, a snapshot of Percy and Ella Grainger, 1929.

Also included are copyrights for Zeigler's art work, 1911, 1944, 1945, 1979; an unpublished typescript of a short story by Zeigler, "Story of the Son of Roland"; a sketch of a suit of armor created by Zeigler, ca. 1945; a project file regarding a statue of "Ushabti," created by Zeigler, 1923-1924; and a guestbook from an exhibition at the Vanderbilt Galleries, 1941.

Biographical / Historical:

Illustrator, muralist; Baltimore, Md. Studied at the Maryland Institute of Art and was founding member of the Charcoal Club of Baltimore. He began his career as an illustrator and later specialized in mural painting.

Provenance:

Donated 1979 and 1994 by Audrey Z. Archer-Shee; Zeigler's daughter.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Occupation:

Architects  Search this

Illustrators  Search this

Muralists -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this

Topic:

Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- Maryland -- Baltimore  Search this

Mural painting and decoration, American  Search this

Church decoration and ornament -- United States  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.zeiglee

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-zeiglee