Search Results

Creator:

T. W. Wood Art Gallery (Montpelier, Vt.)  Search this

T. W. Wood Art Gallery (Montpelier, Vt.)  Search this

Subject:

United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Theme:

Government Sponsorship of the Arts  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9362

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211558

AAA_collcode_twwoodag

Theme:

Government Sponsorship of the Arts

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211558

Creator:

Historical Records Survey (U.S.)  Search this

Historical Records Survey (U.S.)  Search this

Subject:

United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this

United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this

Place:

United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945

United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945

Topic:

Portraits, American  Search this

Portrait painting, American  Search this

New Deal, 1933-1939  Search this

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Federal aid to public welfare  Search this

Art and state  Search this

Theme:

Government Sponsorship of the Arts  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9793

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212230

AAA_collcode_histreco

Theme:

Government Sponsorship of the Arts

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_212230

Creator:

T. W. Wood Art Gallery (Montpelier, Vt.)  Search this

Names:

United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this

Extent:

15 Items ((on partial microfilm reel))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1937

Scope and Contents:

Receipts for paintings and correspondence between the Gallery and the Works Progress Administration about the allocation of WPA paintings.

Biographical / Historical:

Art gallery; Montpelier, Vermont Founded 1891. Collection consists mainly of 2006 oils and watercolors by Thomas Waterman Wood and collection of WPA art, on permanent loan from the U.S. government.

Provenance:

Donated 1978 by Mrs. Paul Sample through art historian Francis S. Grubar. Grubar came across the letters while researching Sample.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial

Identifier:

AAA.twwoodag

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-twwoodag

Creator:

La Tour, Onya, 1896-1976  Search this

Names:

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

Federal Art Project  Search this

Indiana Museum for Modern Art  Search this

Onya La Tour Gallery  Search this

Extent:

7 Microfilm reels

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Microfilm reels

Date:

1928-1969

Scope and Contents:

30 diaries, 1930-1969, some illustrated; files on artists, family members and friends containing correspondence, sketches, biographical information and photographs; correspondence and clippings relating to the Indiana Museum for Modern Art; a scrapbook of sketches by artist friends, mostly by Helen West Heller, photographs, poems and short stories written for her; material relating to the Federal Art Gallery of the WPA, 1936-1937; material relating to the Onya La Tour Gallery, 1938-1939; a proposal for an art gallery in Puerto Rico, and miscellany. Among the correspondents are Rifka Angel, Maurice Becker, David Burliuk, Stuart Davis, Katherine Dreier, John D. Graham, Helen West Heller, Roy Hirshburg, Joseph Konzal, Larry Lebduska, Guy and Genoi Pettit McCoy, Emanuel Romano; Robert Morris, Ann Goldthwaite and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Art collector, dealer, artists' model; Columbus, Ind. La Tour founded the Indiana Museum for Modern Art, Brown County, Indiana, which no longer exists. She was director of the Federal Art Gallery, N.Y., and the Onya La Tour Gallery, N.Y.

Provenance:

Material lent for microfilming 1973 by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The Indianapolis Museum of Art also holds additional papers not included on the microfilm.

Restrictions:

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Occupation:

Gallery directors -- New York (State)  Search this

Art dealers -- Indiana  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this

Federal aid to the arts -- United States  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.latoonya

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-latoonya

Creator:

Weston, Harold, 1894-1972  Search this

Names:

Adirondack Trail Improvement Society  Search this

Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA). Americans-in-Britain Outpost  Search this

Corcoran Gallery of Art  Search this

Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors  Search this

Food for Freedom, Inc.  Search this

Harvard Lampoon (Organization)  Search this

Harvard University -- Students  Search this

International Association of Art. United States Committee  Search this

Montross Gallery  Search this

National Council on the Arts and Government  Search this

National Endowment for the Arts  Search this

New York State Council on the Arts  Search this

Phillips Collection  Search this

Studio House (Phillips Memorial Gallery)  Search this

Carmichael, Leonard, 1898-1973  Search this

Dows, Olin, 1904-1981  Search this

Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990  Search this

Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966  Search this

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962  Search this

Rosenfeld, Paul, 1890-1946  Search this

Sizer, Theodore, 1892-1967  Search this

Weston, Faith  Search this

Extent:

24.3 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Christmas cards

Notes

Etchings

Speeches

Articles

Postcards

Poems

Woodcuts

Sketches

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Glass negatives

Lantern slides

Copper plates

Place:

Adirondack Mountain Reserve (N.Y.)

Date:

1894-1978

bulk 1912-1972

Summary:

The papers of modernist painter and activist Harold Weston (1894-1972) date from 1894 to 1978 and measure 24.3 linear feet. The papers focus on Weston's painting career and his involvement with humanitarian and artistic causes. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, association and organization records, commission and project files, materials relating to Weston's book Freedom in the Wilds, writings, artwork, printed materials, two scrapbooks, and photographs.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of modernist painter and activist Harold Weston (1894-1972) date from 1894 to 1978 and measure 24.3 linear feet. The papers focus on Weston's painting career and his involvement with humanitarian and artistic causes. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, personal business records, association and organization records, commission and project files, materials relating to Weston's book Freedom in the Wilds, writings, artwork, printed materials, two scrapbooks, and photographs. The papers document his involvement with the Committee to Defend America, Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, Food for Freedom, the International Association of the Plastic Arts, National Countil on the Arts and Government, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, Reconstruction Service Committee, and the YMCA in Baghdad.

Biographical materials include biographical sketches and resumes, including a short biography written by Faith Weston in 1969. There are records from his school years at Exeter Academy and Harvard University that include yearbooks, report cards, scholarship information, Harvard Lampoon materials, and a diploma from Harvard. Also found are materials relating to Faith Weston, membership cards, memorials information, passports and travel papers, and wedding wishes.

Correspondence from Harold Weston dates from his school years up until his death in 1972. In letters to his family, Weston discusses his education; his travel and activities in the Middle East during World War I; the Adirondacks; convalescense in France in the mid-1920s; his immediate family life; and exhibitions. Also found are holiday cards designed and printed by Weston. The majority of correspondence is with his father S. Burns Weston, mother Mary, sister Esther, brother Carl, Faith Weston and the Borton family, children Barbara, Bruce, and Haroldine, and others. Also found are letters between Weston and friend Theodore Sizer and Duncan Phillips of the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.

Personal business and financial records relating to Weston's exhibitions include delivery receipts, agreements, hand-drawn gallery plans for exhibitions, lists of exhibitions, framing invoices, legal information, pricelists, records of sales, and lists of works of art. Galleries with which Weston held exhibitions, sold, or lent works of art include Boyer Galleries, Corcoran Gallery, the Gallery in Paoli, Montross Gallery, the Phillips Collection, and Studio House Galleries.

Records relating to Harold Weston's memberships and involvement with professional associations and service organizations are from the Adirondack Trail Improvement Society, the Committee to Defend America, Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, Food for Freedom, International Association of the Plastic Arts/International Arts Association, National Countil on the Arts and Government, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Reconstruction Service Committee, and the Young Men's Christian Association, Baghdad. The files include correspondence, financial records, meetings and membership information, notes, organizational history, photographs, printed materials, programs and activities records, speeches, and writings.

Files that document Weston's Building the United Nations and the Treasury Relief Project sponsored "Procurement Building Murals" are found within the Commissions and Project files series. The files include correspondence, financial information, legal documents, photographs of the works of art and research photos, and printed materials. Correspondence of note includes letters written by Lewis Mumford, Duncan Phillips, Eleanor Roosevelt on behalf of Weston's Building of the United Nations and letters from Leonard Carmichael, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Letters from Olin Dows of the Treasury Relief Art Project are within correspondence relating to the "Procurement Building Murals." Also found are preliminary sketches of the murals.

The Freedom in the Wilds series contains materials relating to the book which combined Weston's autobiography with a history of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. Additional writings and notes are by Harold Weston and others, and include articles, poetry, notes, speech notes and speeches, and lists. Harold Weston's articles include "Persian Caravan Sketches" published in 1921 discussing his travels throughout the Middle East. Other articles are written by Duncan Phillips, Paul Rosenfeld, Barbara Weston, and Faith Weston. Also found are postcards annoted with notes by Harold Weston about his travels.

Artwork inlcudes sketches, etchings, copperplates, and woodcuts. There are copperplates entitled "Shroud" and of the series Building the United Nations for the Harvard Alumni bulletin in 1957; an untitled etching by Weston; sketches including those from Baghdad and watercolor sketches; a woodcut of the 1924 Weston holiday card; and scattered unsigned sketches probably not by Weston.

Printed materials include calendars with notations; clippings; exhibition catalogs and announcements for Weston's exhibitions dating from 1922-1976 and for others; gallery tags or labels for paintings shown in exhibitions; reproductions of illustrations for the Harvard Lampoon and full issues from 1911-1916; materials relating to the Harvard production of Henry IV, for which Weston designed the sets; reproductions of works of art by Weston and by others; school seals; and various art related publications.

There are two scrapbooks compiled by Faith Weston about her husband. The first contains materials relating to Weston's activity with the International Association of the Plastic Arts Conference of 1963, including a letter and photograph of President John F. Kennedy. The second scrapbook dates from 1977 and consists of general clippings relating to Weston's career, dating from 1917 to 1952 with additional materials added by Faith in 1977.

Photographs are of Weston, family members, exhibitions and installations, and works of art by Weston and others. There are also numerous photographs of Weston's travel through the Adirondacks, the Middle East, Europe, and India. Also found are glass plate negatives of works of art painted in France between 1926-1930; scattered glass plate negatives of Baghdad and the Middle East; glass plates belonging to S. Burns Weston of the Adirondacks, circa 1900; and approximately 100 lantern slides of the various Middle Eastern cities and ruins - probably used by Weston to illustrate his talks given in the 1920s.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 11 series. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers:

Series 1: Biographical Information, 1896-1974 (Box 1, 38; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1894-1975 (Box 1-3, 38; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal Business and Financial records, 1912-1977 (Box 4; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 4: Associations and Organizations records, 1916-1972 (Box 4-10, 37-38; 6.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Commissions and Project files, 1935-1965 (Box 10-12, 38, OV 39; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 6: -- Freedom in the Wilds -- records, late 1960s-1976 (Box 12-13; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 7: Writings and Notes, 1912-1975 (Box 13-14; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Artwork and Artifacts, circa 1917-1967 (Box 14, 21; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 9: Printed Material, circa 1900-1978 (Box 15-18, 38; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 10: Scrapbooks, circa 1963-1977 (Box 17-18; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Photographs, circa 1900-1975 (Box 18-20, 22-36, 38; 4.8 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Modernist painter and federal Treasury Relief Art Project artist Harold Weston (1894-1972) worked primarily in New York City and St. Huberts, New York in the Adirondacks. Weston was president of the U.S. Commission of the International Association of Art/Plastic Arts and the Federation of Modern Painters and Scultors. He was also chairman of the National Council on the Arts and Government and active with various political and humanitarian causes.

Harold Weston was born in 1894 in Merion, Pennsylvania into a privileged family. He attended school in Europe as a teenager, where he began to draw and sketch. In 1910, Harold contracted Polio which left him with a weak leg. After graduating from Exeter Academy, Harold entered Harvard University with the class of 1916 and was active in the Delta Upsilon Club and the Harvard Lampoon, for which he illustrated.

Despite his leg, Weston was determined to serve in some form during World War I. He traveled to Baghdad and volunteered with the YMCA. Here he started the Baghdad Art Club and organized exhibitions of soldier art. He remained in the Middle East until 1919 and served as the official painter for the British Army. The colors and the landscape of the region also inspired later works of art.

Upon returning to the United States, Weston built a one-room cabin in the Adirondack Mountains, where he lived and painted. He had his first one-man exhibtition at the Montross Gallery in 1922. In 1923, he married Faith Borton who moved with him to the Adirondacks. His wife inspired his series of "landscape nudes" which treated the body with different techniques that would typically be used in landscape painting. After suffering from a kidney infection in 1925, Weston and his wife moved to Ceres, France to recover. Weston continued to paint and started a family with Faith while in France. In 1930, the family moved back to the United States and lived in Greenwich Village, New York.

From 1936-1938, Harold Weston worked with the federal Treasury Relief Art Project and painted murals in the Procurement Building in Washington, D.C. The murals represent the growth of public buildings during the Great Depression. He took on a second major project to document the contruction of the United Nations in a series of six paintings. Later, the Smithsonian Instution received the paintings as gifts through an independent committee.

In addition to painting, Harold Weston devoted himself to public service by becoming involved in humanitarian causes, artist professional organizations, and federal government support of the arts. Weston served as president or chairman of three different organizations including the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors, the International Association of Art/International Association of the Plastic Art, and the National Council on the Arts and Government. Before the start of World War II, Harold Weston was named the Chairman of Essex County Committee to Defend America, which argued for financial support of the allied forces in World War II. After the start of the war, he helped form the Food for Freedom movement which urged American aid for European and Asian refugees. Similarly, Weston served as Executive Secretary for the Reconstruction Service Committee which was established to assist the rebuilding of Europe.

Later in life, Weston wrote a book Freedom in the Wilds, which combined his own autobiography with a history of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. Harold Weston died on April 10th, 1972 in New York City.

Separated Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel N69-76) including biographic notes, exhibition material, clippings, a presentation album, and commemorative stamps. Some, but not all, of these papers were included in later donations. Materials not donated remain with the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Syracuse University also holds circa 14 linear feet of Harold Weston's papers.

Provenance:

Harold Weston lent the Archives of American Art materials for microfilming in 1969. Faith Borton Weston, Harold Weston's widow, donated the papers in several increments between 1972-1980 and lent materials for microfilming in 1977.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Topic:

Painting, Abstract -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Art and state  Search this

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

World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, American  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Christmas cards

Notes

Etchings

Speeches

Articles

Postcards

Poems

Woodcuts

Sketches

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Glass negatives

Lantern slides

Copper plates

Citation:

Harold Weston papers, 1894-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

AAA.westharo

See more items in:

Harold Weston papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-westharo

Creator:

O'Connor, Francis V.  Search this

Names:

Federal Art Project  Search this

National Endowment for the Arts  Search this

United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this

United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this

Extent:

23.4 Linear feet

0.001 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Date:

1920-2009

Summary:

The papers of New York art historian Francis O'Connor measure 23.4 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from 1920-2009. Found within the papers are artist and exhibition files, questionnaires, transcripts, writings, project files, and printed and digital material that pertain to O'Connor's research and publications on the New Deal and the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York art historian Francis O'Connor measure 23.4 linear feet and date from 1920-2009. Found within the papers are artist and exhibition files, questionnaires, transcripts, writings, project files, and printed and digital material that pertain to O'Connor's research and publications on the New Deal and the Federal Arts Project of the Works Progress Administration.

The "NCFA Library" consists of research materials collected, created, and compiled during the course of O'Connor's research project supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities for his books Federal Support for the Visual Arts (1969) and Art for the Millions (1973). Files contain administrative records, artists' files, and questionnaires and essays that document the administration of New Deal art projects. The files were collated by O'Connor into a set that remains intact.

The publications series consists of additional research and administrative materials specifically related to O'Connor's four publications on the WPA/FAP and New Deal artists: Federal Support for the Visual Arts: The New Deal and Now (1969), New Deal Art Projects: An Anthology of Memoirs (1972), Art for the Millions (1973), and Federal Art Patronage Notes (newsletter, 1974-1984).

New Deal research files are more general research materials collected by or sent to O'Connor in the course of his academic career. These include information on New Deal administrators and state specific WPA projects; photocopies of original WPA activity and reports; and New Deal scholarship, academic symposia, and conferences.

New Deal exhibitions include announcement and catalogs of contemporary New Deal art exhibitions in the U.S. from the 1960s to the 1990s. Project files are related to three publically and privately funded New Deal research projects O'Connor directed or participated in. Printed materials consists of press coverage of federal arts patronage in the United States dating from the 1960s to 2008.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 6 series. There is some overlap in series reflecting O'Connor's original order.

Series 1: NCFA Library, 1920-1974 (6.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-7, OV 28)

Series 2: Publications, 1939-1985 (4.3 linear feet; Boxes 7-11, BV 25-26, OV 27)

Series 3: New Deal Research Files, 1930-2009 (5.6 linear feet; Boxes 11-16)

Series 4: New Deal Exhibitions, 1961-1997 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 17-18)

Series 5: Project Files, 1935-1999 (2 linear feet; Boxes 18-20, ER01; 0.001 GB)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1963-2008 (3.4 linear feet; Boxes 20-24)

Biographical / Historical:

New York art historian and poet Francis O'Connor (1937- ) is best known for his research and writings on the New Deal art programs of the Depression and the Roosevelt Administration. O'Connor received his Ph. D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1965 and taught contemporary European and American art history at the University of Maryland from 1964 to 1970. While at Maryland, he organized the country's first comprehensive exhibition of New Deal art programs since their ending in 1943. From 1967 to 1968, he also headed a research program for the National Endowment for the Arts to analyze the effectiveness of New Deal art patronage, which eventually led to the publication of Federal Support for the Visual Arts: The New Deal and Now (1969), New Deal Art Projects: An Anthology of Memoirs (1972), Art for the Millions (1973).

In addition to his work on New Deal art patronage, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, O'Connor continued to teach and lecture at universities, consulted on federally and privately funded research projects, and published critical essays for exhibition catalogs, anthologies and academic journals. He is a member of the College Art Association, International Association of Art Critics, and founded the Association of Independent Historians of Art in 1982.

Separated Materials:

Bound assemblies of periodicals were transferred to the Smithsonian Art Libraries in 2010, which retained relevant volumes and made final decisions regarding disposition of any remaining items.

Provenance:

The papers were donated by Francis O'Connor to the National Collection of Fine Arts, now the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which subsequently transferred the papers, with O'Connor's permission, to the Archives of American Art in 1974. In 2010, O'Connor donated an additional 15.8 linear feet of papers to the Archives.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic media with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. The Artists' Questionanaires require permission from each artist before publishing, quoting, or reproducing. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Rights:

Artists' questionnaires: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from the individual artist. The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own. Contact Reference Services for more information.

The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Occupation:

Art historians  Search this

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

New Deal, 1933-1939  Search this

Transcripts  Search this

Citation:

Francis V. O'Connor papers, 1920-2009. 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.oconfran

See more items in:

Francis V. O'Connor papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-oconfran

Creator:

Historical Records Survey (U.S.)  Search this

Names:

United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this

United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this

Extent:

4.4 Linear feet ((on 12 microfilm reels))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Place:

United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945

United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945

Date:

1935-1942

Scope and Contents:

Records documenting activities of the Survey to inventory portraits in America done before 1860 in the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Included are research documents; correspondence; interoffice memoranda; survey manuals; press releases; clippings; photographs of works of art; short biographies of sitters and artists; ca. 15,000 of the original survey cards; first drafts of checklists and catalogs; and lists of portraits received too late to be included in the final version of the catalog.

Biographical / Historical:

The Historical Records Survey (HRS) had its origins in the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration. In 1935 it came under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration Federal Writers' Project and eventually was designated as an independent program under Federal Project No. One. The projects, ideally suited for white collar workers, employed individuals to survey, classify and collect historical records. One program of the HRS was to document American portraits (sculpture, prints and paintings) done before 1860.

Provenance:

Lent for microfilming by the Massachusetts State Library, A. Hunter Rineer, State Librarian, Boston, Mass., 1977.

Restrictions:

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Topic:

Portraits, American  Search this

Portrait painting, American  Search this

New Deal, 1933-1939  Search this

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Federal aid to public welfare  Search this

Art and state  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.histreco

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-histreco

Creator:

Historical Records Survey (U.S.)  Search this

Names:

Federal Art Project (N.J.)  Search this

Historical Records Survey (N.J.)  Search this

Historical Records Survey (U.S.). Indian Site Survey  Search this

Indian Site Survey (N.J.)  Search this

Public Works of Art Project  Search this

United States. Dept. of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts  Search this

United States. Dept. of the Treasury. Section of Painting and Sculpture  Search this

United States. Federal Civil Works Administration  Search this

United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this

United States. Works Progress Administration  Search this

Extent:

10 Microfilm reels

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Microfilm reels

Place:

New Jersey -- Antiquities

New Jersey -- Social conditions

United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945

United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945

Date:

1934-1942

Scope and Contents:

Approximately half the records relate to the Historical Records Survey's portrait survey, 1940-1941. The remainder are records of the Indian Site Survey, 1936-1942, a WPA program operating under the Division of Professional Service Projects, and to a lesser degree, the Public Works of Art Project, the Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture, the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project and its predecessor, the Civil Works Administration.

Biographical / Historical:

The New Deal art programs were primarily administered under the Treasury Department and the Works Progress Administration (later the Work Projects Administration) as relief measures for unemployed artists.

The Historical Records Survey (HRS) had its origins in the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration. In 1935 it came under the auspices of the Federal Writers' Project and eventually was designated as an independent program under Federal Project No. One. The projects, ideally suited for white collar workers, employed individuals to survey, classify and collect historical records. One program of the HRS was the survey of American portraits in public buildings. The Indian Site Survey was a WPA-New Jersey state-wide project operating under the Division of Professional and Service Projects, and sponsored by the New Jersey State Museum and the Archeaological Society of New Jersey.

Provenance:

Lent for microfilming 1964 by the New Jersey State Library, Trenton, N.J.

Restrictions:

The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.

Topic:

New Deal, 1933-1939 -- New Jersey  Search this

Federal aid to the arts -- New Jersey  Search this

Art and state -- New Jersey  Search this

Federal aid to public welfare -- New Jersey  Search this

Painting, American  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.histrecs

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-histrecs

Interviewee:

Shuster, Will, 1893-1969  Search this

Shuster, Will, 1893-1969  Search this

Interviewer:

Loomis, Sylvia Glidden  Search this

Subject:

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 Mexico -- Santa Fe  Search this

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

Theme:

New Deal  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)13208

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213829

AAA_collcode_shuste64

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213829

Interviewee:

Shute, Ben E. (Ben Edgar), 1905-1986  Search this

Shute, Ben E. (Ben Edgar), 1905-1986  Search this

Interviewer:

Doud, Richard Keith  Search this

Subject:

Halsey, William  Search this

Bush-Brown, Margaret Lesley  Search this

Harris, Julian H.  Search this

Jackson, Wendell  Search this

Shorter, Edward  Search this

Art Institute of Chicago  Search this

High Museum of Art  Search this

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Theme:

New Deal  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)11769

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213830

AAA_collcode_shute65

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213830

Interviewee:

Siporin, Mitchell, 1910-1976  Search this

Siporin, Mitchell, 1910-1976  Search this

Interviewer:

Swift, Geoffrey  Search this

Subject:

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Painters -- Massachusetts -- Newton -- Interviews  Search this

Theme:

New Deal  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12238

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216598

AAA_collcode_sipori65

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_216598

Creator:

Park, Marlene, 1931-  Search this

Markowitz, Gerald E., 1944-  Search this

Park, Marlene, 1931-  Search this

Subject:

Palmer, William  Search this

Magafan, Ethel  Search this

Markowitz, Gerald E.  Search this

Reisman, Philip  Search this

Rothschild, Lincoln  Search this

Burchfield, Charles Ephraim  Search this

Refregier, Anton  Search this

Van Veen, Stuyvesant  Search this

Solman, Joseph  Search this

Sternberg, Harry  Search this

Walton, Marion  Search this

Alston, Charles Henry  Search this

Bolotowsky, Ilya  Search this

Barnet, Will  Search this

Brooks, James  Search this

Cadmus, Paul  Search this

Cronbach, Robt. (Robert M.)  Search this

Citron, Minna Wright  Search this

Gottlieb, Adolph  Search this

Gellert, Hugo  Search this

Bouché, Louis  Search this

King, Roy E.  Search this

Katz, Leo  Search this

Lanning, Edward P.  Search this

Kotin, Albert  Search this

National Personnel Records Center (U.S.)  Search this

United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Transcripts

Photographs

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Theme:

Government Sponsorship of the Arts  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6277

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)216622

AAA_collcode_parkmarl

Theme:

Government Sponsorship of the Arts

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_216622

Creator:

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this

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

Art and war  Search this

Commercial art  Search this

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

Theme:

Lives of American Artists  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

Interviewee:

Block, Irving, 1910-1986  Search this

Block, Irving, 1910-1986  Search this

Interviewer:

McGlynn, Betty Lochrie Hoag, 1914-2002  Search this

Subject:

New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

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

Art -- Philosophy  Search this

Theme:

New Deal  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12145

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213320

AAA_collcode_block65

Theme:

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213320

Creator:

McCausland, Elizabeth, 1899-1965  Search this

McCausland, Elizabeth, 1899-1965  Search this

Subject:

Hartley, Marsden  Search this

Abbott, Berenice  Search this

Hawthorne, Charles Webster  Search this

Henri, Robert  Search this

Henry, Edward Lamson  Search this

Dove, Arthur Garfield  Search this

Kleinholz, Frank  Search this

Morgan, Barbara Brooks  Search this

Stieglitz, Alfred  Search this

Weegee  Search this

Hine, Lewis Wickes  Search this

Inness, George  Search this

Lawrence, Jacob  Search this

Maurer, Alfred Henry  Search this

Weston, Edward  Search this

American Art Research Council  Search this

Federal Art Project (U.S.)  Search this

United States. Farm Security Administration  Search this

Barnard College  Search this

Type:

Scrapbooks

Prints

Drawings

Photographs

Watercolors

Place:

New York N.Y. -- Pictorial works -- photographs

Topic:

Springfield Republican  Search this

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Art criticism -- United States  Search this

Documentary photography -- United States  Search this

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

Art -- Exhibitions -- United States  Search this

Art -- History -- Study and teaching  Search this

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

Modernism (Art)  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Theme:

Diaries  Search this

Art Theory and Historiography  Search this

Photography  Search this

Women  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7839

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210006

AAA_collcode_mccaeliz

Theme:

Diaries

Art Theory and Historiography

Photography

Women

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210006

Creator:

Koerner, Daniel V., 1909-1977  Search this

Koerner, Daniel V., 1909-1977  Search this

Subject:

Watson, Morris  Search this

Barr, Norman  Search this

Koerner, Daniel  Search this

Kent, Rockwell  Search this

Merrill, Lewis  Search this

Artists' Conference of the Americas (1939 : New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Artists League of America  Search this

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

Federal Art Project  Search this

Federal Arts Bill  Search this

International Artists Organization  Search this

United American Artists  Search this

United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this

Topic:

Caricatures and cartoons  Search this

Art and state  Search this

Trade unions and the arts -- United States  Search this

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Theme:

Lives of American Artists  Search this

New Deal  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)9157

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211351

AAA_collcode_koerdani

Theme:

Lives of American Artists

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211351

Interviewee:

Block, Irving  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

Extent:

43 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1965 April 16

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Irving Block conducted by Betty Hoag on 1965 Apr. 16 for the Archives of American Art.

Biographical / Historical:

Irving Block (1910-1986) was a painter and educator in Los Angeles, California.

General:

Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 58 min.

Provenance:

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:

Art teachers -- California -- Los Angeles -- Interviews  Search this

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

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

Art -- Philosophy  Search this

Function:

Arts organizations

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Identifier:

AAA.block65

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-block65

Creator:

Koerner, Daniel, 1909-1977  Search this

Names:

Artists League of America  Search this

Artists' Conference of the Americas (1939 : New York, N.Y.)  Search this

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

Federal Art Project  Search this

Federal Arts Bill  Search this

International Artists Organization  Search this

United American Artists  Search this

United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this

Barr, Norman, 1908-  Search this

Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971  Search this

Koerner, Daniel, 1909-1977  Search this

Merrill, Lewis  Search this

Watson, Morris, d. 1972  Search this

Extent:

1.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1902-1972

Scope and Contents:

Correspondence; material relating to government support for the arts and to artists' unions and international organizations; cartoons and illustrations; writings; notes; legal documents; clippings; and printed material.

REEL N70-40: Correspondence, 1939-ca. 1948, mostly about alleged government suppression of the arts. Included are 5 letters from Rockwell Kent and 2 from Morris Watson. In addition, there are printed items such as newsletters and bulletins.

REEL 1337: Letters, notes, minutes, address lists, speeches, manuscripts, and printed matter regarding dismissals of WPA-FAP artists, the Woodrum relief bill, support for the Federal Arts Bill (1937-1938), Artists' Union, United American Artists, Artists League of America (and in particular its disaffiliation from the United Office and Professional Workers of America), Artists' Conference of the Americas (1939), and the International Artists Organization (1946-1948). Correspondents include Norman Barr, Lewis Merrill, and Rockwell Kent.

UNMICROFILMED: Original cartoons and illustrations; correspondence; legal documents; writings; notes; clippings; and miscellany.

Biographical / Historical:

Cartoonist, painter; New York, N.Y. Also known as Danotto.

Provenance:

Material on reels N70-40 & 1337 donated 1970-1975 by Daniel Koerner. Unmicrofilmed material donated 1978 by Natalie Nolan and Dr. Cassandra L. Smith, long time friends of Koerner.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Occupation:

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

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

Topic:

Caricatures and cartoons  Search this

Art and state  Search this

Trade unions and the arts -- United States  Search this

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Function:

Arts organizations

Identifier:

AAA.koerdani

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-koerdani

Creator:

McCausland, Elizabeth, 1899-1965  Search this

Names:

American Art Research Council  Search this

Barnard College -- Faculty  Search this

Federal Art Project (U.S.)  Search this

United States. Farm Security Administration  Search this

Abbott, Berenice, 1898-1991  Search this

Dove, Arthur Garfield, 1880-1946  Search this

Hartley, Marsden, 1877-1943  Search this

Hawthorne, Charles Webster, 1872-1930  Search this

Henri, Robert, 1865-1929  Search this

Henry, Edward Lamson, 1841-1919  Search this

Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940  Search this

Inness, George, 1825-1894  Search this

Kleinholz, Frank, 1901-  Search this

Lawrence, Jacob, 1917-2000  Search this

Maurer, Alfred Henry, 1868-1932  Search this

Morgan, Barbara Brooks, 1900-1992  Search this

Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946  Search this

Weegee, 1899-1968  Search this

Weston, Edward, 1886-1958  Search this

Extent:

45 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Prints

Drawings

Photographs

Watercolors

Place:

New York N.Y. -- Pictorial works -- Photographs

Date:

1838-1995

bulk 1920-1960

Summary:

The papers of art critic, writer, and historian Elizabeth McCausland measure 45 linear feet and date from 1838 to 1995, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1960. The collection provides a vast accumulation of research data on various artists and aspects of American art, especially the early American modernists and the Federal Arts Projects. Papers include McCausland's extensive research and writing files, particularly on Marsden Hartley, E. L. Henry, Lewis Hine, George Inness, and Alfred H. Maurer. McCausland's correspondence with artists includes a substantial amount with Arthur Dove and Alfred Stieglitz. Her collaborative work with Berenice Abbott on the Changing New York book and series of photographs is well-documented within the collection. Also found are general writings, subject files, files relating to exhibitions, teaching, and committees, photographs, art work, personal papers, and printed material. Additional McCausland material donated later from the estate of Berenice Abbott include biographical materials, project files, writings, and printed materials.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of art critic, writer, and historian Elizabeth McCausland measure approximately 45 linear feet and date from 1838 to 1995, with the bulk of the material dating from 1920 to 1995. The collection provides a vast accumulation of data on various artists and aspects of American art, especially the early American modernists and the Federal Arts Projects. Papers include McCausland's extensive research and writing files, particularly on Marsden Hartley, E. L. Henry, Lewis Hine, George Inness, and Alfred H. Maurer. McCausland's correspondence with artists includes a substantial amount with Arthur Dove and Alfred Stieglitz. Her collaborative work with Berenice Abbott on the Changing New York book and series of photographs is well-documented within the collection. Also found are general writings, subject files, files relating to exhibitions, teaching, and committees, photographs, art work, personal papers, and printed material. Additional McCausland material from the estate of Berenice Abbott include biographical materials, project files, writings, and printed materials.

McCausland's personal papers consist of appointment books and engagement calendars, scrapbooks, student papers, works printed on her private press, financial records, biographical material, and scattered memorabilia, which together document other aspects of her life apart from her work. Correspondence includes incoming and outgoing letters along with enclosures, dating from McCausland's time as a journalist for The Springfield Republican in the 1920s and 1930s to her time as a freelance writer, art critic, and historian (1940s-1960s) and mostly concerning professional matters. Also included is a substantial amount of correspondence with artists, particularly Arthur Dove and Alfred Stieglitz, and some personal correspondence with her mother. General writings consists primarily of copies of McCausland's speeches and lectures on various art topics in addition to her early poems (dating from the 1930s) and scattered essays and articles.

The most extensive part of the collection is comprised of McCausland's research and writing files pertaining to large research and curatorial projects, such as ones on the artists Alfred H. Maurer and Marsden Hartley (which was begun by the American Art Research Council and subsequently taken over by McCausland), and one for the American Processional exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery in 1950. A wide variety of smaller projects are also well-documented in the series Other Research and Writing Files, including ones on E. L. Henry, Lewis Hine, George Inness, her collaborative work with Berenice Abbott on the Changing New York book and series of photographs. Numerous other artists and art topics are covered as well, such as Arthur Dove, Robert Henri, Jacob Lawrence, Charles Hawthorne, film, and photography. Files for her book Careers in Art (1950), her many speaking and lecture engagements, and editing work are also found in this series. Files consist primarily of correspondence, notes, research material, manuscripts, bibliographies, photographs of works of art, completed research forms for works of art, card index files, and printed material.

Also found are subject files containing printed material, scattered notes and correspondence, and photographs, which may have been used for reference and/or collected in the course of McCausland's research activities; files relating to various exhibitions organized by McCausland from 1939 to 1944, including ones of silk screen prints and modern photography; files relating to courses on art history taught by McCausland, especially the one she taught at Barnard College in 1956; and files stemming from her participation in various art organizations and committees, especially during the time period just before and during the Second World War.

Printed material consists primarily of clippings and tear sheets of McCausland's newspaper articles and columns, which document her contributions to The Springfield Republican from 1923 to 1946, in addition to scattered exhibition catalogs, announcements, books, and miscellaneous publications. Photographs include ones of various artists and works of art, ones from the Farm Security Administration, and ones by photographers, such as Berenice Abbott (including ones from the Federal Art Project book, Changing New York), Barbara Morgan, Weegee, and Edward Weston, among others. Photographs, sometimes annotated or including notes, are scattered throughout her research files. Also included are photographs of McCausland, dating from her childhood. Art work found in the collection includes drawings, prints, and watercolors that were either given to McCausland by the artist or collected by her in the course of her work as an art critic and historian.

Additional material belonging to Elizabeth McCausland and donated by the estate of Berenice Abbott includes biographical material; business and personal correspondence; professional project files and writings, including drafts and research materials related to the book projects Art in America, Conversations with March, and Frank Kleinholz; and printed materials, including reprints of critical essays and articles by McCausland.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 15 series:

Series 1: Personal Papers, 1838, 1920-1951 (Boxes 1-2, 34; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1923-1960 (Boxes 2-5; 2.9 linear feet)

Series 3: General Writings, circa 1930-1954 (Boxes 5-6; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 4: Alfred H. Maurer, 1851-1951, bulk 1948-1950 (Boxes 6-9; 3.7 linear feet)

Series 5: American Processional, 1949-1951 (Boxes 10-11; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 6: Marsden Hartley, 1900-1964, bulk 1944-1964 (Boxes 11-21, OV 37; 10 linear feet)

Series 7: Other Research and Writing Files, 1896, 1926-1958 (Boxes 21-25, 31; 4.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Subject Files, 1927-1954 (Boxes 25-26; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 9: Other Exhibition Files, 1939-1941, 1944 (Box 26; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 10: Teaching Files, 1939-1965 (Box 27; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Committee Files, 1936-1960 (Box 27; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 12: Printed Material, 1923-1953 (Boxes 28-32, 34, OV 38, BV 44-47; 4.6 linear feet)

Series 13: Photographs, circa 1905-1950 (Boxes 32-36, OV 37; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 14: Art Work, 1887-1942 (Boxes 33-34, OV 39-43; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 15: Elizabeth McCausland Material from the Estate of Berenice Abbott, 1920-1995 (Boxes 48-53; 5.4 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Elizabeth McCausland, the art critic and writer, was born in Wichita, Kansas in 1899. She attended Smith College, receiving her Bachelor's degree in 1920 and her Master's in 1922. Beginning in 1923, she worked as a general reporter for The Springfield Republican (Springfield, Massachusetts). After several years, she began to review art exhibitions and soon became an established art critic. In the course of her work, she began to develop friendships with artists, such as Alfred Stieglitz and Arthur Dove. During these early years, she also wrote poetry and designed and printed limited edition publications on her private press.

McCausland moved to New York in 1935, but continued to contribute a weekly art column to The Springfield Republican until it suspended publication in 1946. From the mid-1930s on, she worked primarily as a freelance writer and art critic, contributing articles to publications such as Parnassas, The New Republic, and Magazine of Art. In the latter part of her career, her writings focused more on art history and special studies on artists.

In the late-1930s, McCausland collaborated with the photographer Berenice Abbott on the Federal Art Project book, Changing New York, for which she provided the text to Abbott's now-famous photographs of New York City neighborhoods, architecture, and street scenes. She studied and wrote about photography, including numerous articles on the photographer Lewis Hine (of whose work she organized a retrospective exhibition at the Riverside Museum in 1939), and was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Photography in 1944.

McCausland went on to organize other exhibitions, including a show of contemporary work, "The World of Today" (Berkshire Museum, 1939), shows of silk screen prints (Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, March 1940 and New York State Museum, Summer 1940), and a photography show, "Photography Today" (A.C.A. Gallery, 1944). In the late 1930s, she embarked upon a study of "the status of the artist in America from colonial times to the present, with especial attention to the relation between art and patronage," which continued over twenty years (and was never completed) and for which she received a Guggenheim fellowship in 1943.

In addition to her other writing, during the 1940s, McCausland carried out studies on the artists, E. L. Henry and George Inness, which resulted in exhibitions at the New York State Museum in 1942 and the George Walter Vincent Smith Art Museum in 1946, respectively and publications (a report on Henry and a book on Inness). From 1948 to 1949, she carried out an extensive study of the painter, Alfred H. Maurer, organizing an exhibition, "A. H. Maurer: 1868-1932," which showed at the Walker Art Center and the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1949, and publishing the biography, A. H. Maurer, in 1951. In 1950, she worked as a special consultant on the American Processional exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery and as editor of the accompanying book. Shortly thereafter, she began a study of Marsden Hartley for a monograph, which was published in 1952, and she helped organize the Hartley exhibition at the University of Minnesota that same year. She continued the Hartley study on larger scale for a planned biography and catalogue raisonne; although she continued to work on it off and on for the next decade, the project was never completed.

McCausland published other books, including Careers in the Arts (1951), and undertook other research and consulting projects, such as photo-editing Carl Sandburg's Poems of the Midwest (1946), conducting surveys of art and advertising for an article in Magazine of Art and of art education for Cooper Union Art School, and contributing yearly articles on art to various encyclopedias. At different times throughout her career, she supplemented her income by taking teaching positions. She taught courses on art history at Sarah Lawrence College from 1942 to 1944 and at Barnard College in 1956, as well as courses at the Design Laboratory (1939) and the New School for Social Research (1946). She also gave numerous lectures and speeches on various art topics, and regularly participated in conferences and symposiums. Towards the end of her career, she was publishing less, but was still involved in many projects, most notably the Hartley study.

McCausland was a tireless promoter of the arts, and often an advocate for artists. Even though her work was well-known among certain art circles, she never received the recognition as a writer that she deserved. Nor was she ever able to free herself from the pressure of writing for a living. Continually suffering from poor health, she died on May 14, 1965.

Related Material:

Related material found in the Archives includes a sound recording from a symposium on Marsden Hartley, of which McCausland was a participant, held at the Portland Museum of Art in 1961. The Frank Kleinholz papers contain a recorded interview of McCausland done in 1944-1945 for radio station WNYC. Some of McCausland's correspondence is found in the G. Alan Chidsey papers; Chidsey served as a trustee of the Marsden Hartley estate.

Separated Material:

Material separated from the collection includes some issues of Camera Work (Vol. 30, 47, 49/50), which were combined with other issues in an artificial collection created by the Archives at some earlier point.

Provenance:

Elizabeth McCausland donated the bulk of her papers in several installments from 1956 to 1961. An unknown donor, perhaps her literary executor, donated additional papers sometime after her death in 1965. It appears that McCausland originally donated her research files on Marsden Hartley, measuring 10 linear feet, to the Whitney Museum, who then lent them to the Archives for microfilming in 1966, and donated them sometime thereafter. McCausland originally donated files of newspaper clippings and offprints of her articles to the The New York Public Library, who gave them to the Archives in 1968. Additional McCausland material from the estate of Berenice Abbott was donated to the Archives in 2009.

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:

Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts  Search this

Art criticism -- United States  Search this

Documentary photography -- United States  Search this

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

Art -- Exhibitions -- United States  Search this

Art -- History -- Study and teaching  Search this

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

Modernism (Art)  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Function:

Arts organizations

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Prints

Drawings

Photographs

Watercolors

Citation:

Elizabeth McCausland papers, 1838-1995, bulk 1920-1960. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.mccaeliz

See more items in:

Elizabeth McCausland papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-mccaeliz

Creator:

Labaudt, Lucien Adolphe, 1880-1943  Search this

Labaudt, Marcelle, 1892-1987  Search this

Labaudt, Lucien Adolphe, 1880-1943  Search this

Subject:

Arnautoff, Victor Mikhail  Search this

Moya del Pino, Jose  Search this

Ferier, André  Search this

Gerstle, Wilhelm  Search this

Kent, Adaline Dutton  Search this

Ford, C.  Search this

Oldfield, Otis  Search this

Rivera, Diego  Search this

Sotomayor, Antonio  Search this

Ozenfant, Marthe  Search this

Pflueger, Timothy Ludwig  Search this

Rowan, Edward Beatty  Search this

Macdonald-Wright, Stanton  Search this

Kuhn, Walt  Search this

Biberman, Edward  Search this

Feitelson, Lorser  Search this

Léger, Fernand  Search this

London, Charmian  Search this

Matisse, Henri  Search this

Ozenfant, Amédée  Search this

Federal Art Project (Calif.)  Search this

Lucien Labaudt Art Gallery  Search this

California School of Design  Search this

San Francisco Women Artists  Search this

Topic:

Federal aid to the arts -- California -- San Francisco -- Exhibitions  Search this

Art and state -- California -- San Francisco -- Exhibitions  Search this

Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Costume -- California -- San Francisco  Search this

Muralists  Search this

Theme:

Lives of American Artists  Search this

New Deal  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)7257

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209407

AAA_collcode_labaluci

Theme:

Lives of American Artists

New Deal

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209407