Search Results

Interviewee:

Cole, Sylvan  Search this

Interviewer:

Berman, Avis  Search this

Names:

Associated American Artists  Search this

Barnet, Will, 1911-2012  Search this

Drewes, Werner, 1899-1985  Search this

Florsheim, Richard A., 1916-1979  Search this

Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this

Hockney, David  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967  Search this

Johnson, Una E.  Search this

Kainen, Jacob  Search this

Levine, Jack, 1915-2010  Search this

Lewenthal, Reeves, 1909-1987  Search this

Lieberman, William Slattery, 1924-  Search this

Motherwell, Robert  Search this

Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987  Search this

Extent:

83 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2000 June-October

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Sylvan Cole conducted 2000 June-October, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art.

The interviews took place over five sessions in New York, New York. Cole discusses the history of Associated American Artists, the gallery for whom he began working in 1946, and its marketing techniques, customer base, and personalities, such as its founder, Reeves Lewenthal. He also traces his own development as a dealer in prints after he left AAA and recalls many artists and other figures in the art world, including Will Barnet, Werner Drewes, Richard Florsheim, Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Hans Hofmann, Edward Hopper, Una Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Jack Levine, William S. Lieberman, Robert Motherwell, and Raphael Soyer.

Biographical / Historical:

Sylvan Cole (1918-2005) was an art dealer and writer of New York, New York.

General:

Originally recorded on 5 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 6 min.

Sound quality is fair; beginning and endings of tapes tend to be garbled and low.

Provenance:

This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Occupation:

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

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

Topic:

Prints -- Marketing  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.cole00

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw926720f24-6e33-49a1-843c-f73c0aeeaec8

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-cole00

Creator:

Schwartz, Sanford, 1946-  Search this

Names:

Alexandre Gallery  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966 -- Photographs  Search this

King, William, 1925-2015  Search this

Stout, Myron, 1908-1987  Search this

Extent:

0.7 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Sketches

Date:

1948-2011

Summary:

The papers of exhibition curator Sanford Schwartz measure 0.7 linear feet and date from 1948-2011. The papers document the preparation and organization of two exhibitions curated by Schwartz, the Myron Stout retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1980, and The Early Work of William King at Alexandre Gallery in New York City in 2007. Materials regarding Provincetown, Massachusetts painter Myron Stout (1908-1987) include correspondence with Stout and lenders to the exhibition; notes, writings, and sketches by Schwartz pertaining to the exhibition; and photographs of Stout, including one with Hans Hofmann teaching in Provincetown in 1948. Material regarding sculptor William King (1925-1990) includes correspondence between Schwartz and King, exhibition research and notes, photographs of artwork, and printed material.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of exhibition curator Sanford Schwartz measure 0.7 linear feet and date from 1948-2011. The papers document the preparation and organization of two exhibitions curated by Schwartz, the Myron Stout retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1980, and The Early Work of William King at Alexandre Gallery in New York City in 2007. Materials regarding Provincetown, Massachusetts painter Myron Stout (1908-1987) include correspondence with Stout and lenders to the exhibition; notes, writings, and sketches by Schwartz pertaining to the exhibition; and photographs of Stout, including one with Hans Hofmann teaching in Provincetown in 1948. Material regarding sculptor William King (1925-1990) includes correspondence between Schwartz and King, exhibition research and notes, photographs of artwork, and printed material.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as two series.

Series 1: Research Material Regarding Myron Stout, 1948-1985 (Box 1, OV 3; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 2: Research Material Regarding William King, 1960-2011 (Boxes 1-2; 0.4 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Sanford Schwartz (1946- ) is an exhibition curator in New York, New York.

Provenance:

Donated to the Archives of American art by Sanford Schwartz in 1980 and 2017.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.

Rights:

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

Occupation:

Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown  Search this

Topic:

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

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

Painting, American  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Sketches

Citation:

Sanford Schwartz papers, 1948-2011. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.schwsanf

See more items in:

Sanford Schwartz papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw974d53f7e-f675-4a6c-8531-8e0e184afd4a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-schwsanf

Interviewee:

Kohlmeyer, Ida, 1912-1997  Search this

Interviewer:

Berman, Avis  Search this

Names:

Glade, Luba B.  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this

Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980  Search this

Sweeney, James Johnson, 1900-  Search this

Trivigno, Pat, 1922-  Search this

White , Ruth  Search this

Extent:

177 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1989 May 17-20

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Ida Kohlmeyer conducted 1989 May 17-20, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art.

Kohlmeyer discusses how she became an artist, her training, her marriage, the New Orleans art scene, her teaching and students, her work in sculpture, and the "Clusters and Circus" series. She recalls Pat Trivigno, Mark Rothko, Hans Hofmann, Clyfford Still, James Johnson Sweeney, Luba Glade, and Ruth White.

Biographical / Historical:

Ida Kohlmeyer (1912-1997) was a painter from New Orleans, La.

General:

Originally recorded on 4 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 8 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr.

Provenance:

This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others. Funding for this interview provided by the Lannan Foundation.

Restrictions:

For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.

Occupation:

Painters -- Louisiana -- New Orleans  Search this

Educators -- Louisiana -- New Orleans  Search this

Sculptors -- Louisiana -- New Orleans  Search this

Topic:

Art, American  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for this interview was provided by the Lannan Foundation.

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

Identifier:

AAA.kohlme89

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw997d588d5-2290-41c3-b7da-8e0f728e1576

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-kohlme89

Creator:

Kiesler, Lillian, 1910?-2001  Search this

Names:

Anthology Film Archives  Search this

Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts  Search this

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation  Search this

Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

University of Iowa, Museum of Art  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Adnan, Etel  Search this

Andres, Jo  Search this

Arnaud, Leopold, 1895-1984  Search this

Bartos, Armand P., 1910-  Search this

Bultman, Fritz, 1919-1985  Search this

Buscemi, Steve, 1958-  Search this

Castelli, Leo  Search this

Copley, Alfred L.  Search this

Diller, Burgoyne, 1906-1965  Search this

Dlugoszewski, Lucia, 1931-2000  Search this

Dorazio, Piero, 1927-  Search this

Dorazio, Virginia Dortch  Search this

Dreier, Katherine Sophie, 1877-1952  Search this

Dubuffet, Jean, 1901-  Search this

Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this

Hawkins, Erick  Search this

Hodges, Alice  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Holtzman, Harry  Search this

Howe, George, 1886-1955  Search this

Kamler, Richard  Search this

Kiesler, Frederick  Search this

MacIver, Loren, 1909-  Search this

Meredith, Burgess, 1907-1997  Search this

Milius, Tom  Search this

Miller, Henry, 1891-  Search this

Mondrian, Piet, 1872-1944  Search this

Montgomery, Chandler  Search this

Owen, Jane Blaffer, 1915-2010  Search this

Purdy, James  Search this

Takaezu, Toshiko  Search this

Tawney, Lenore  Search this

Zogbaum, Wilfrid, 1915-1965  Search this

Extent:

49.1 Linear feet

0.001 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Scrapbooks

Sound recordings

Diaries

Interviews

Scripts (documents)

Motion pictures (visual works)

Date:

circa 1910s-2003

bulk 1958-2000

Summary:

The papers of New York artist Lillian Kiesler and architect and sculptor Frederick Kiesler measure 49.1 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from circa 1910s-2003, with the bulk of the material from 1958-2000. The collection documents their personal and professional lives and the legacy of Frederick Kiesler's work through biographical material, correspondence, legal, financial and business records, teaching files, exhibition and performance files, artwork, subject files, printed and digital material, writings and interviews, monographs, photographic material, and sound and video recordings. Also found are papers related to Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann and the papers of artist Alice Hodges.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of artist, performer, and arts educator Lillian Kiesler and sculptor, architect, set designer, educator, and writer Frederick Kiesler measure 49.1 linear feet and 0.001 GB and date from circa 1910s-2003, with the bulk of the material from 1958-2000. The collection documents their personal and professional lives and the legacy of Frederick Kiesler's work through biographical material, correspondence, legal, financial and business records, teaching files, exhibition and performance files, artwork, subject files, printed and digital material, writings and interviews, monographs, photographic material, and sound and video recordings. Also found are papers related to Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann and the papers of artist Alice Hodges.

The collection is arranged into two series: the Lillian Kiesler Papers (Series 1) and the Frederick Kiesler Papers (Series 2). Measuring 41.1 linear feet, the Lillian Kiesler Papers (Series 1) make up the bulk of the collection and document her personal life and professional career as an artist, actor, teacher, arts benefactor and promoter of Frederick Kiesler's legacy. The series spans her lifetime, although most of the material is dated after 1965. Among her papers are biographical materials, correspondence, legal and financial records, teaching files, exhibition and performance files, artwork, subject files, printed material, monographs, papers related to Frederick Kiesler and his legacy, papers of and related to Hans Hofmann, papers of Alice Hodges, photographic material, and sound and video recordings.

Found among Lillian Kiesler's personal papers are address books, numerous calendars and appointment books, and diaries and journals. Her correspondence is extensive and contains business correspondence with John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The University of Iowa Museum of Art, and Erick Hawkins Dance Foundation, and personal letters and greeting cards from friends, family, artists, scholars, and researchers, including Etel Adnan, Alcopley, Fritz Bultman, Steve Buscemi, Mike Diamond, Burgoyne Diller, Lucia Dlugoszewski, Piero Dorazio, Jean Dubuffet, Jay Gottlieb, Erick Hawkins, Burgess Meredith, Henry Miller, James Purdy, and Herrel Thomas. Of interest is a letter from Harry Holtzman postmarked March 13, 1935 describing his initial meeting with Mondrian, and a letter from E.B. Gordon describing Henry Miller in Paris.

Materials related to Lillian Kiesler's estate and last wishes can also be found, as well as teaching plans, student work, and writings by Lillian Kiesler's mentor and friend, New York University professor Chandler Montgomery. Various printed material, correspondence, scripts, and rehearsal schedules from Lillian Kiesler's exhibitions and performances are also found, and among the directors, artists and writers represented are Jo Andres, Steve Buscemi, Cindy Lugar, Tim Miller and James Purdy. Artwork contains photographs by Bob Del Fredici, drawings by Piero Dorazio, and notes to Frederick Kiesler from Lillian Kiesler.

Subject files about artists, friends, colleagues, performances, and organizations in which she supported, such as the Anthology Film Archives, include printed materials and research materials. Signed exhibition catalogs of Loren MacIver, Dina Ghen, Lenore Tawney, and Toshiko Takaezu, and a reprint article inscribed by Alcopley can be found, as well as numerous inscribed monographs, including books inscribed by Max Weiler and Piero Dorazio, an inscribed first edition of Henry Miller's Black Spring (1936), and a 1937 monograph by Harry Holtzman titled American Abstract Artists.

Series 1 also includes materials related to her husband Frederick Kiesler, papers of and related to Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann, and the personal papers of artist Alice Hodges. The Papers Related to Frederick Kiesler were primarily created or compiled by Lillian Kiesler and document her work on behalf of Frederick Kiesler's legacy. Of interest are letters from Frederick Kiesler to Lillian Kiesler and Alice Hodges; a bound volume of correspondence to Piero Dorazio; an inventory of objects in the Frederick Kiesler estate; photographs of artwork; an interview (sound recordings and transcript) with Lillian Kiesler about Frederick Kiesler for "Music of the Age," included on the tape is a portion of a Frederick Kiesler interview (1965); a recording of Lillian Kiesler interviewing Richard Kamler about Frederick Kiesler; and Frederick Kiesler's dialogue with Leo Castelli (undated).

Lillian Kiesler was a student of Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) in New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts, as well as an enthusiastic volunteer promoter and assistant to The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts. The bulk of the papers of and related to Hans Hofmann were created or compiled by Lillian Kielser and are about Hofmann's career and legacy. However, also found are some papers of Hans Hofmann, including letters from Hofmann to Lillian Kiesler and Alice Hodges describing his artwork, life in Provincetown, and issues with The Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts, typed and handwritten lectures given by Hofmann, Hofmann's 1941 address to the American Abstract Artists (AAA), three boxes of card files on students of the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts in New York City and Provincetown, and photographs of Hofmann and his house in Provincetown taken by Wilfrid Zogbaum and Tom Milius.

The artist Alice Hodges (b. unknown-1965) was a close friend of Lillian Kiesler, a former secretary to Frederick Kiesler, and a student of Hans Hofmann. Included among her personal papers is some correspondence from Hans Hofmann and Katherine Drier and numerous postcards from Hodges and Lillian Kiesler's trip to Europe in 1950, posters and printed material from her exhibitions, an oversized scrapbook chronicling Lillian Kiesler's teaching career, records from the United States Treasury War Bond Art Auction in 1945, original artwork and greeting cards made by Hodges and Lillian Kiesler, and 31 rolled negative strips in metal canisters of Frederick Kiesler sculptures, Provincetown and Hans Hofmann, Wellfleet, Empire State Music Festival (1955), and travels to Colorado and Europe, some of which may be printed and found in this subseries.

Photographs found in the Lillian Kiesler Papers are mostly black and white and color snapshots of Lillian Kiesler's friends and family at events and at home, including candid photos of Hans Hofmann, Alice Hodges, Frederick Kiesler, and Alcopley. Slides prepared by Lillian Kiesler for a lecture on Frederick Kiesler and her lecture notes on index cards are found. Sound and video recordings include recordings of productions in which Lillian Kiesler performed, and music, film, or live stage performances written, directed, or performed by friends.

Measuring 7.1 linear feet, Frederick Kiesler's personal papers (Series 2) document his professional career and date from 1923-1992. Biographical materials include his curriculum vitae, four passports, and numerous appointment books and notes from late in his life. Correspondence with architects, publishers, editors, universities, museums, galleries, manufacturers, artists and friends includes letters from L. Alcopley, Leopold Arnaud, Armand P. Bartos, Piero and Virginia Dorazio, George Howe, Kay Johnson, Jane Owen, and others. There are also photocopied letters from Katherine Dreier, Marcel Duchamp, and Piet Mondrian. Business and financial records from the 1940s to mid-1960s comprise a significant bulk of this series and are primarily tax returns and receipts and statements used to file tax returns. Materials on the publication of "Inside the Endless House" (1966), the International Theatre Exposition (in German) in 1924 and other exhibits from shortly after his death are found, as well as student artwork and papers from Kiesler's classes in the mid-1950s. A bound copy of the "Bibliography of Writings of and About Frederick Kiesler" compiled by Lillian Kiesler is found, as well as printed material about Frederick Kiesler and a handful of photographs of artwork.

Users should note that Lillian Kiesler's and Frederick Kiesler's papers contain similar types of material that often overlap in subject matter, especially among the Papers Related to Frederick Kiesler (Subseries 1.10) in Series 1 and the Frederick Kiesler Papers (Series 2). This collection contains limited material related to Lillian Kiesler prior to the 1940s and Frederick Kiesler prior to his arrival in the United States in 1926.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into two series. Each series is divided into several subseries, with the arrangement described in detail in the series descriptions.

Missing Title

Series 1: Lillian Kiesler papers, circa 1910s-2003 (Box 1-39, 47-52, OV 53-57; 41.1 linear feet, ER01; 0.001 GB)

Series 2: Frederick Kiesler papers, 1923-1992 (Box 40-46, OV 53; 7.1 linear feet)

Biographical Note:

Frederick Kiesler (1890-1965) was a sculptor, architect, set designer, educator, and writer active in New York and Connecticutt. Lillian Kiesler (1911-2001) was a performer, arts educator, and painter married to Frederick Kiesler. She was also active in the administration of the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts.

Frederick Kiesler was born in Romania in 1890, although he gave various other dates for his birth and regularly cited Vienna as his birthplace. He arrived in the United States with his wife Steffi in 1926 for the International Theatre Exposition at Steinway Hall in New York City. They stayed in the United States and were granted citizenship in 1936.

Kiesler secured a teaching position at Columbia University's School of Architecture in 1930, and from 1934 through 1957 he was the scenic design director at The Juilliard School of Music. He also lectured at Yale University from 1950-1952. Often labeled a Surrealist, Kiesler's work was experimental and frequently described as ahead of its time. He published, lectured, and participated in numerous exhibitions throughout his career. He is known for his theory of "coreallism;" "The Space House" (1933), a full-scale model of a single family home; an installation designed for Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century gallery in 1942; "The Endless House" drawings and model (1950); "The Universal Theatre" (1961) model; and the Shrine of the Book (1965), a building to exhibit the Dead Sea Scrolls in Jerusalem. He died in New York City in December 1965.

Lillian Olinsey met architect and sculptor Frederick Kiesler in 1934. After years of friendship, they were married in 1964, a year and a half before Frederick's death in 1965.

Lillian Kiesler studied art at the Art Students League, Cooper Union, and the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts, where she also assisted Hofmann and the school administration. She taught art to children and young adults for twenty years in New York City. From 1945 to 1955, she taught at the Greenwich House Art workshops and the Woodward School, followed by the Brooklyn Museum (1948-1958), Barnard School (1953-1963), New York University School of Education (1955-1966), and Juilliard School of Visual Arts (1963-1965). Lillian was involved in the performing arts and between the late 1970s through the 1990s she performed in New York City with numerous directors, notably Jo Andres, Steve Buscemi, Richard Foreman, John Jesurun, Cindy Lubar, and Tim Miller. She frequently performed with her close friend, painter Maryette Charlton, who was the executor of the Lillian Kiesler estate.

Lillian Kiesler tirelessly promoted Frederick Kiesler's work and legacy after his death in 1965. From the late 1980s through the 1990s, she delivered lectures about his work at universities and museums, gave interviews, corresponded with researchers, and organized his papers to donate to the Harvard Theatre Collection, Yale School of Art and Architecture, and the Archives of American Art. In 1997, she helped found the Frederick and Lillian Kiesler Foundation in Vienna, Austria. She endowed the Austrian Frederick Kiesler Prize, an award given to a notable contributor to the field of architecture. The first recipient was Frank Gehry in 1998. Lillian Kiesler passed away in 2001 in New York City.

Related Material:

The holdings of the Archives of American Art include the Hans Hofmann Papers, 1904-1978 and the Maryette Charlton Papers, 1929-1998. Additional Frederick Kiesler papers are available at the Museum of Modern Art, the Harvard Theater Collection, and the Yale School of Art and Architecture.

Separated Material:

Some of the materials related to Frederick Kiesler were initially loaned for microfilming on reels 57 and 127-128. This material is not described in the container listing of this finding aid. Most, but not all, of the loaned material was later donated and has been merged with the other accretions.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Lillian Kiesler and Maryette Charlton, executrix of her estate, in several accessions between 1980-2002. Some of the papers related to Frederick Kiesler were originally loaned for microfilming in 1971, most of which was later donated in 1980. Additional papers related to Frederick Kiesler were donated in 1993. Papers related to Hans Hofmann were given in 1981. Lillian Kiesler's papers were donated in 2000 by Lillian Kiesler, and in 2002, by Maryette Charlton.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:

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

Occupation:

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

Set designers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

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

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

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

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

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

Topic:

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

Exhibition designers  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Women educators  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women performance artists  Search this

Function:

Art schools -- Massachusetts

Art Schools -- New York (State)

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Sound recordings

Diaries

Interviews

Scripts (documents)

Motion pictures (visual works)

Citation:

Lillian and Frederick Kiesler papers, circa 1910s-2003, bulk 1958-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.kieslill

See more items in:

Lillian and Frederick Kiesler papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92be035c5-5063-4d6e-8ac2-5f08c17ef915

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-kieslill

Interviewee:

Ferrara, Jackie  Search this

Interviewer:

Berman, Avis  Search this

Creator:

United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Names:

Michigan State University -- Students  Search this

United States. General Services Administration. Design Excellence and the Arts Oral History Project  Search this

Wayne State University -- Students  Search this

Addams, Charles, 1912-1988  Search this

Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this

Beauchamp, Robert, 1923-  Search this

Bellamy, Richard  Search this

DeLap, Tony, 1927-2019  Search this

Eisenhauer, Lette  Search this

Ferrara, Don  Search this

Forst, Miles, 1923-  Search this

Frank, Mary, 1933-  Search this

Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this

Gallo, Frank, 1933-  Search this

Graves, Nancy Stevenson, 1940-1995  Search this

Gross, Sally  Search this

Hesse, Eva, 1936-1970  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Judd, Donald, 1928-1994  Search this

LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this

Marcus, Marcia, 1928-  Search this

Motherwell, Robert  Search this

Oldenburg, Claes, 1929-  Search this

Protetch, Max  Search this

Rockburne, Dorothea  Search this

Rosenquist, James, 1933-  Search this

Samaras, Lucas, 1936-  Search this

Smithson, Robert  Search this

Extent:

3 Items (Sound recording: 3 sound files (5 hr., 12 min.), digital, WMA files)

115 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

2009 January 16-February 13

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Jackie Ferrara conducted 2009 January 16-February 13, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's U.S. General Services Administration, Design Excellence and the Arts oral history project, at the Ferrara's home, in New York, New York.

Ferrara speaks of growing up in Detroit, Michigan; her early interest in mathematics and its ever present role in her work; attending Michigan State University for one year; taking fashion drawing classes at Wayne State University and her supposed lack of drawing skills; an early interest in pottery and leather making; moving to New York City in 1951 on a night train from Detroit; working at the Henry Street Playhouse and its influential role on her art; her relationship with Robert Beauchamp and her friendship with many artists in Provincetown, Massachusetts; early works, including the cotton batting works and the rope works, most of which were destroyed; her dislike of traveling and her use of imagination for inspiration; participating in the performances and happenings of Claes Oldenburg; her friendship with Robert Smithson and his influence on her later works; working with Max Protetch; never teaching art because she herself did not attend art school; her creation process of her wood and stone pieces, including their conception in early drawings; having a positive attitude towards her pieces being rebuilt because of decay; quickly moving into public art in the late 1970s, early 1980s; living and working in the same loft in New York for over 40 years; the helpful role the women's movement played in her successful career though she did not participate; receiving art grants to enable her to work for a year or two without having to find an odd job to support herself; various public art projects around the country, how they came to be, creating the works and their significance to her. Ferrara also recalls Charlotte Tokayer, Don Ferrara, Alvin Nikolai, Richard Bellamy, Mary and Paul Frank, Miles and Barbara Forst, Sally Gross, Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell, Helen Frankenthaler, Nat Halprin, Lucas Samara, Letty Lou Eisenhauer, James Rosenquist, Marcia Marcus, Charles Addams, Eva Hesse, Frank Gallo, Tony DeLap, Dorothea Rockburne, Time Doyle, Sol LeWitt, Donald Judd, Carl Andre, Nancy Graves, Marty Greenbaum, Abe Sachs, Mel Bochner, Jan Groover, Alice Aycock, Alice Adams, Jackie Windsor, Scott Burton, Siah Armajani, Michelle Stuart, Lucy Lippard, Zaha Hadid, Max Hutcinson, Andrea Blum, and others.

Biographical / Historical:

Jackie Ferrara (1929- ) is a sculptor. Ferrara works with the built environment in her designs for courtyards and architectural structures.

Provenance:

This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.

Restrictions:

Audio: ACCESS RESTRICTED; Use requires written permission.

Occupation:

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

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

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women sculptors  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

Funding for this interview was provided by the U.S. General Services Administration, Design Excellence and the Arts.

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

Identifier:

AAA.ferrar09

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9efd0b315-7933-452d-945c-e6f5dc917f90

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-ferrar09

Interviewee:

Kuh, Katharine  Search this

Interviewer:

Berman, Avis  Search this

Creator:

Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project  Search this

Names:

Art Institute of Chicago  Search this

Black Mountain College (Black Mountain, N.C.)  Search this

First National Bank of Chicago -- Art collections  Search this

Katharine Kuh Gallery (Chicago, Ill.)  Search this

Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project  Search this

Vassar College  Search this

Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this

Albers, Josef  Search this

Albright, Ivan, 1897-1983  Search this

Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964  Search this

Arensberg, Louise S. (Louise Stevenson), 1879-1953  Search this

Arensberg, Walter, 1878-1954  Search this

Avery, Milton, 1885-1965  Search this

Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981  Search this

Berenson, Bernard, 1865-1959  Search this

Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964  Search this

De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this

Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this

Ernst, Max, 1891-1976  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906-2001  Search this

Klee, Paul, 1879-1940  Search this

Léger, Fernand, 1881-1955  Search this

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

Moholy-Nagy, László, 1895-1946  Search this

Mérida, Carlos, 1891-1984  Search this

Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970  Search this

Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988  Search this

Paepcke, Walter Paul, 1896-1960  Search this

Porter, Eliot, 1901-1990  Search this

Ray, Man, 1890-1976  Search this

Rich, Daniel Catton, 1904-1976  Search this

Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this

Smith, David, 1906-1965  Search this

Stamos, Theodoros, 1922-1997  Search this

Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946  Search this

Still, Clyfford, 1904-1980  Search this

Tamayo, Rufino, 1899-  Search this

Tobey, Mark  Search this

Tworkov, Jack  Search this

Weston, Edward, 1886-1958  Search this

Extent:

313 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1982 Mar. 18-1983 Mar. 24

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Katharine Kuh conducted 1982 Mar. 18-1983 Mar. 24, by Avis Berman, for the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and His Times oral history project.

Kuh speaks of her invalid childhood in Chicago, the development of her interest in art, classes in art history at Vassar College, and her career as curator of modern art at the Art Institute of Chicago. She recalls in particular the "Sanity in Art" movement against modern art in Chicago. Kuh describes her relationship with Mark Rothko and Rothko's relationships with Mark Tobey, Clyfford Still, Kate Rothko, Theodoros Stamos, Milton Avery, Stanley Kunitz, and Hans Hofmann.

Kuh discusses her parents, the family silk business, travelling in Europe as a child, life in Chicago, the effects of polio and other illnesses on her interests, and her student years at Vassar College. She remembers visiting Bernard Berenson in Italy with her family and again with Daniel Catton Rich, with whom she worked very closely at the Art Institute of Chicago. She speaks of the Katharine Kuh Gallery, which she started in the mid-1930s and its place in the vanguard of the Chicago art scene.

Kuh remembers the effects of the stock market crash on her personal situation, her marriage to businessman George Kuh, distaste for life in the suburbs, and her divorce. She discusses the Katharine Kuh Gallery and the actions taken against her business by members of the reactionary "Sanity in Art" movement (including a very funny anecdote concerning Carlos Merida). She speaks of the classes in modern art that she taught at her gallery and of some of the artists she exhibited there, including the photographers Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, and Edward Weston.

Kuh remembers the McCarthy era and the political conservatism in Chicago, including her testimony on behalf of Bill Zimmerman, Acting Commissioner of Indian Affairs. She criticizes blockbuster exhibitions and the changes in the role of a museum curator. She reminisces about building the collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and the art education program she ran there, and recalls Stuart Davis, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Gyorgy Kepes, and Ivan Albright.

Kuh remembers Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Duchamp, as well as the collectors Walter Paepcke and Walter and Louise Arensberg (whose collection she surveyed in their home for an exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago).

Kuh focuses on her memories of Mark Rothko, recalling when they met, their friendship, his manner of working, his feelings about his work, and his worries towards the end of his life. She talks about Clyfford Still, Barnett Newman, and Mark Tobey. Some parts of this tape repeat what she said earlier.

Kuh continues discussing Rothko, particularly his Houston chapel murals and the retrospective exhibition at MOMA in 1961. She remembers visiting Rothko's studio and describes his working methods. She relates Rothko's views on other artists, including Milton Avery, Clyfford Still, Turner, Robert Motherwell, and Adolf Gottlieb; parts repeat things said before. Kuh also discusses Rothko's wife and daughter.

Kuh recounts building the collection at the Art Institute of Chicago and speaks of the museum staff, trustees, and donors. She remembers Alfred Barr at MOMA.

Kuh continues speaking about the Art Institute of Chicago, describing the circumstances of her resignation and subsequent move to New York. She talks of knowing Peggy Guggenheim, Max Ernst, and Fernand Leger.

Kuh describes her work as a consultant to college museums and her writings. She discusses the field of art criticism and her career as art editor at Saturday Review. She recalls Clyfford Still's retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and his death.

Kuh describes her work as a collector for the First National Bank of Chicago.

Kuh recounts more about her work at Saturday Review and her resignation. She goes into great detail about her travels in Alaska and British Columbia surveying Northwest Indian art for a government report. She speaks again about the McCarthy era.

Kuh speaks again about the Katharine Kuh Gallery and the artists she exhibited there, including Josef Albers (and his Black Mountain College), Alexander Archipenko, Stuart Davis, Paul Klee, Alexander Calder, and Man Ray.

Kuh continues her discussion of artists she exhibited at the Katharine Kuh Gallery, including Mark Tobey, Paul Klee, and Isamu Noguchi.

Kuh continues talking about artists she exhibited at the Katharine Kuh Gallery, including David Smith, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Eliot Porter, Rufino Tamayo, and Jack Tworkov.

Biographical / Historical:

Katharine Kuh (1904-1994) was an art consultant, curator, and critic from Chicago and New York City.

General:

Originally recorded on 16 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 31 digital wav files. Duration is 21 hrs., 52 min.

Provenance:

This interview was conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's Mark Rothko and his Times oral history project, with funding provided by the Mark Rothko Foundation.

Others interviewed on the project (by various interviewers) include: Sonia Allen, Sally Avery, Ben-Zion, Bernard Braddon, Ernest Briggs, Rhys Caparn, Elaine de Kooning, Herbert Ferber, Esther Gottlieb, Juliette Hays, Sidney Janis, Buffie Johnson, Jacob Kainen, Louis Kaufman, Jack Kufeld, Stanley Kunitz, Joseph Liss, Dorothy Miller, Betty Parsons, Wallace Putnam, Rebecca Reis, Maurice Roth, Sidney Schectman, Aaron Siskind, Joseph Solman, Hedda Sterne, Jack Tworkov, Esteban Vicente and Ed Weinstein. Each has been cataloged separately.

Restrictions:

Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.

Rights:

Authorization to quote or reproduce for the purposes of publication requires written permission from Avis Berman. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Occupation:

Art critics -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

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

Art museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art museum curators -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Topic:

Abstract expressionism  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Sponsor:

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

Identifier:

AAA.kuh82

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw941cbbacd-01e0-402c-828e-c3909d220c9b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-kuh82

Interviewee:

Sander, Ludwig, 1906-  Search this

Interviewer:

Cummings, Paul  Search this

Names:

Club (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Extent:

78 Pages (Transcript)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Sound recordings

Interviews

Date:

1969 February 4-12

Scope and Contents:

An interview of Ludwig Sander conducted 1969 February 4-12, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Sander speaks of his early exposure to art and music in New York; his travels in Europe; studying with Alexander Archipenko at the Art Students League; studying with Hans Hofmann in Munich and Positano; painting and teaching in Woodstock; his U.S. Army service; The Club and its factions; his experiences with the Whitney and with the Museum of Modern Art; his painting techniques; his exhibitions.

Biographical / Historical:

Ludwig Sander (1906-1975) was a painter from New York, N.Y.

General:

Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 16 min.

Provenance:

These interviews are part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.

Restrictions:

Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.

Topic:

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

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Identifier:

AAA.sander69

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw95f1844ab-0b5f-499d-b5ad-ba1eb68d4780

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-sander69

Creator:

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Names:

Whitney Studio Club  Search this

Whitney Studio Galleries  Search this

Baziotes, William, 1912-1963  Search this

Bellows, George, 1882-1925  Search this

Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975  Search this

Bloom, Hyman, 1913-  Search this

Burchfield, Charles Ephraim, 1893-1967  Search this

Burlin, Paul, 1886-1969  Search this

Cadmus, Paul, 1904-1999  Search this

Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926  Search this

Curry, John Steuart, 1897-1946  Search this

Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964  Search this

De Creeft, José, 1884-1982  Search this

Dickinson, Edwin Walter, 1891-1978  Search this

Eilshemius, Louis M. (Louis Michel), 1864-1941  Search this

Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this

Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956  Search this

Gatch, Lee, 1902-1968  Search this

Glackens, William J., 1870-1938  Search this

Gorky, Arshile, 1904-1948  Search this

Graves, Morris, 1910-  Search this

Gross, Chaim, 1904-1991  Search this

Grosz, George, 1893-1959  Search this

Harnett, William Michael, 1848-1892  Search this

Hartley, Marsden, 1877-1943  Search this

Henri, Robert, 1865-1929  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967  Search this

Inness, George, 1825-1894  Search this

Karfiol, Bernard, 1886-1952  Search this

Kuhn, Walt, 1877-1949  Search this

Kuniyoshi, Yasuo, 1889-1953  Search this

Lachaise, Gaston, 1882-1935  Search this

Lawson, Ernest, 1873-1939  Search this

MacIver, Loren, 1909-1998  Search this

Marin, John, 1870-1953  Search this

Marsh, Reginald, 1898-1954  Search this

Motherwell, Robert  Search this

Mount, William Sidney, 1807-1868  Search this

Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this

O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986  Search this

Pereira, I. Rice (Irene Rice), 1902-1971  Search this

Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956  Search this

Prendergast, Maurice Brazil, 1858-1924  Search this

Pène Du Bois, Guy, 1884-1958  Search this

Reder, Bernard, 1897-1963  Search this

Rimmer, William, 1816-1879  Search this

Rivers, Larry, 1925-2002  Search this

Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this

Ryder, Albert Pinkham, 1847-1917  Search this

Schnakenberg, H. E. (Henry Ernest), 1892-1970  Search this

Sheeler, Charles, 1883-1965  Search this

Sloan, John, 1871-1951  Search this

Smith, David, 1906-1965  Search this

Stella, Joseph, 1877-1946  Search this

Tobey, Mark  Search this

Twachtman, John Henry, 1853-1902  Search this

Tworkov, Jack  Search this

Walkowitz, Abraham, 1880-1965  Search this

Weber, Max, 1881-1961  Search this

Wyant, A. H. (Alexander Helwig), 1836-1892  Search this

Young, Mahonri Mackintosh, 1877-1957  Search this

Zorach, William, 1887-1966  Search this

Extent:

78 Microfilm reels

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Microfilm reels

Date:

1914-1966

Scope and Contents:

REELS N591-N597: Photographs of the Museum, Juliana Force, Herman Moore; scrapbooks on the Whitney Studio Club, Whitney Studio Galleries and the Museum, 1927-1965.

REELS N599-N604: Notebooks of Edwin W. Dickinson; photographs and provenance information for works by Philip Evergood; a catalog of information and some photographs of Chinese ink drawings and other works by Reginald Marsh; and photographs and information on Bernard Reder, Jack Tworkov, Max Weber (portions also microfilmed on reel NY59-8 (fr. 497-658), reel NY59-9 (fr. 1-51), and William Zorach.

REELS N604-N609: Exhibition catalogs, 1946-1966, for artists and groups shows at the Museum, including Robert Feke, William Rimmer, Ralph Blakelock, Albert Maurer, Albert Pinkham Ryder, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Thomas Cole, Max Weber, Arshile Gorky, Mark Tobey, John Sloan, Loren MacIver, I. Rice Pereira, George Grosz, Reginald Marsh, Charles Burchfield, Morris Graves, Theodore Roszak, John Marin, Hans Hofmann, Bradley Tomlin, Stuart Davis, Milton Avery, Lee Gatch, Jose De Creeft, Maurice Prendergast, Edward Hopper, Hyman Bloom, Robert E. Jones, Balcomb Greene, Karl Zerbe, Arthur G. Dove, William Zorach, Philip Evergood, Bernard Reder, Herbert Feber, Oliver O'Connor Barrett,Arthur B. Davies, Jose De Rivera, Paul Burlin, Joseph Stella, Jack Tworkov, Ivan Albright, Stuart Davis, Edwin Dickinson, John Quidor, and Niles Spencer.

REELS N646-N694: Artists' files on: Oliver O'Connor Barrett,William Baziotes, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Peter Blume, James Brooks, Patrick Henry Bruce, Charles Burchfield, Paul Burlin, David Burliuk, Paul Cadmus, Mary Cassatt, Thomas Cole, Glenn Coleman, Jon Corbino, John Steuart Curry, Jo Davidson, Arthur B. Davies, Jose DeCreeft, Charles Demuth, Jose De Rivera, Arthur Dove, Guy Pène du Bois, Stuart Davis, Frank Duveneck, Ralph Earl, Eastman Johnson, The Eight, Philip Evergood, Robert Feke, Lyonel Feininger, Ernest Fiene, George Fuller, Lee Gatch, William Glackens, Arshile Gorky, Balcomb Greene, Chaim Gross, George Grosz, William Harnett, Marsden Hartley, Childe Hassam, John Heliker, Robert Henri, Hans Hofmann, George Inness, Leon Kelly, Franz Kline, Karl Knaths, Leon Kroll, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Gaston Lachaise, Robert Laurent, Ernest Lawson, Jack Levine, Seymour Lipton, George B. Luks,

Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Loren MacIver, John Marin, Reginald Marsh, Alfred Maurer, K. H. Miller, Robert Motherwell, William Mount, Jerome Myers, Louise Nevelson, Georgia O'Keeffe (portions also microfilmed on reels NY59-13 (fr. 98-115, 406-424, 586-685), reel NY59-14 (entire), and reel NY59-15 (fr. 1-140, 145-153), I. Rice Pereira, Bernard Perlin, Joseph Pollett, Jackson Pollock, Reginald Pollack, Henry V. Poor, Richard Pousette-Dart, Maurice Prendergast, Abraham Rattner, Bernard Reder, Ad Reinhardt, William Rimmer, Larry Rivers, Hugo Robus, Theodore Roszak, Mark Rothko, Concetta Scarvaglione, Henry Schnakenberg, Ben Shahn, John Sloan, David Smith, Eugene Speicher, Theodoros Stamos, Joseph Stella, Maurice Sterne, Mark Tobey, Bradley Tomlin,Trajan, Allen Tucker, John Twachtman, Jack Tworkov, Abraham Walkowitz (also on reel NY/59-15) , Max Weber, James M. Whistler, Gertrude Whitney, Grant Wood, Alexander Wyant, Mahonri Young, and William Zorach.

REELS NWH 1-NWH 7: Artist files on Charles Sheeler, Bernard Karfiol, Louis Eilshemius; scatterred records of the Whitney Studio Club and Museum, 1914-1945, including minutes, Oct. 15, 1930, and Whitney Studio ledgers, 1928-1931; catalogs of one-man shows, 1932-1945; catalogs of annual painting exhibitions, 1932-1940, sculpture, watercolor and drawing exhibitions, 1933-1945, and group exhibitions, 1932-1945; and clippings, Oct. 1935-1936.

REELS NY59/8 (fr. 256-end)-NY59/10: Files on Max Weber, including biographical material, lists of work, and miscellany. Also found (NY59/8 frames 354-383) are ca.20 letters from Weber to Abraham Walkowitz, 1907-1924.

Biographical / Historical:

Whitney Museum of American Art is an American art museum in New York, New York. Founded by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney and formally opened in 1931. Previous to its opening as a museum it was known as the Whitney Studio Club (1914-28) and Whitney Studio Galleries (1928-30).

Provenance:

The Weber files on reels NY59/8-10 were lent for microfilming 1959 by the Whitney Museum of American Art; the remainder was lent 1964-1967; additional material from the Museum was lent at the same time, and subsequently donated, including the papers of Lloyd Goodrich, Juliana Force, Thomas B. Clarke, the American Art Research Council, and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney; these have each been cataloged separately. Portions of Weber, and O'Keeffe material that was microfilmed in 1959 were refilmed in 1967.

Restrictions:

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

Topic:

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

Artists -- Exhibitions -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Function:

Art museums -- New York (State)

Identifier:

AAA.whitmuse

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw990da7b91-a3b8-4ace-b8ba-b5c08cfe3284

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-whitmuse

Author:

Hofmann, Hans 1880-1966  Search this

Bannard, Walter Darby 1934-  Search this

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston  Search this

Subject:

Hofmann, Hans 1880-1966  Search this

Physical description:

128 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 27 cm

Type:

Books

Date:

1976

C1976

Call number:

N40.1.H73B2

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_94452

Creator:

André Emmerich Gallery  Search this

Names:

Galerie André Emmerich  Search this

Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co.  Search this

Sotheby's (Firm)  Search this

Caro, Anthony, 1924-  Search this

Emmerich, André  Search this

Francis, Sam, 1923-1994  Search this

Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this

Greenberg, Clement, 1909-1994  Search this

Hockney, David  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Louis, Morris, 1912-1962  Search this

Noland, Kenneth, 1924-2010  Search this

Olitski, Jules, 1922-2007  Search this

Pepper, Beverly  Search this

Extent:

311.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Visitors' books

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Scrapbooks

Etchings

Date:

circa 1929-2009

Summary:

The André Emmerich Gallery records and André Emmerich papers measure 311.4 linear feet and date from 1929 to 2009. The collection documents the business of the André Emmerich Gallery as well as André Emmerich's life and activities related to the business of selling art. Gallery records include correspondence; appointment books; administrative and subject files; exhibition files; artist files and accounts; inventory, sales, purchase, and consignment records; chronological files; financial and legal records; printed materials; original artwork; photographic and audiovisual materials. Also found are personal papers and records relating to André Emmerich. A small addition received in 2014 includes general correspondence, administrative files, exhibition files, artists' files, inventory records, consignment records, printed material, photographic materials, and André Emmerich personal papers and records.

Scope and Content Note:

The André Emmerich Gallery records and André Emmerich papers measure 311.4 linear feet and date from 1929 to 2009. The collection documents the business of the André Emmerich Gallery as well as André Emmerich's life and activities related to the business of selling art. Gallery records include correspondence; appointment books; administrative and subject files; exhibition files; artist files and accounts; inventory, sales, purchase, and consignment records; chronological files; financial and legal records; printed materials; original artwork; photographic and audiovisual materials. Also found are personal papers and records relating to André Emmerich.

The records document the gallery's daily business operations, exhibitions, and relationships with artists, dealers, clients, galleries, and museums. Artists particularly well-represented throughout the collection include Anthony Caro, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Hans Hofmann, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, and Beverly Pepper.

Records pre-dating the gallery's establishment in 1954 are primarily newspaper and magazine clippings related to artists, personal photographs and photographs of artists, an original etching, and some of André Emmerich's personal records including biographical materials, correspondence, writings, and legal and financial records. Records post-dating the gallery's closure in 1998 are primarily residual business records related to the final disposition of artwork, clippings, photographs of André Emmerich and gallery staff, biographical materials, personal correspondence, writings, legal and financial records, and condolences received by Emmerich's wife upon his death in 2007.

Correspondence is primarily with galleries, museums and clients about business matters. Correspondence files also cover topics such as appraisals, authentications, offers of sale, artists seeking representation, image requests, job applications and recommendations. Also included are the New York gallery's copies of correspondence between the New York staff and the Zurich staff.

André Emmerich's appointment books document appointments, notes, and reminders about Emmerich's business and personal activities. Four appointment books relating to the birth of Emmerich's three sons and second marriage were kept by the family. The appointment books are access restricted and require written permission to use.

Administrative files include corporate records establishing the Andre Emmerich gallery's structure, records documenting the gallery's daily operations, advertising and publicity material, and records about the Sotheby's acquisition. There are also materials related to Top Gallant Farm, from its establishment to its closure. Travel records relate to André Emmerich's business trips and vacations along with some files on the travels of a several staff members at the gallery. Files about the operations of the Galerie André Emmerich in Zurich, Switzerland are included in the series as well.

Subject files relate to Emmerich's gallery business as well as personal and political interests, such as antiquities, art fairs and exhibitions, lecture research, art associations, and sculpture parks. There are several files on the art critic Clement Greenberg and former president of Gay Men's Health Crisis, Nathan Kolodner, who was also an art dealer and director of the Andre Emmerich Gallery.

Exhibition files contain numerous exhibition catalogs and printed materials related to exhibitions held or organized by the André Emmerich Gallery in Manhattan and Galerie André Emmerich in Zurich. The files contain materials ranging such as exhibition invitations, posters, printed materials, press releases, and guest books. Photographs of exhibitions can be found in the Photographic Materials series.

Artist files include biographical materials, clippings, correspondence, mailing lists, price lists, printed materials, and occasionally lectures, writings, and audiovisual materials for many of the artists represented or shown by André Emmerich Gallery. The General Correspondence files might contain duplicates or expanded versions of some of the correspondence. Photographs of artists can be found in the Photographic Materials series.

Artist accounts comprise account statements prepared periodically by the gallery documenting each artist's expenses and sales. Ledgers and general accounting files can be found in the Other Financial and Legal Records series.

Inventory records include inventory cards describing artwork entering and leaving the gallery and files containing various gallery inventories. Artist inventory cards, representing artists from both the New York and Zurich galleries, list the artist, title, date, media and measurements of an artwork. The cards also indicate whether the work was ultimately sold, returned to the artist, consigned, etc., and divided into categories accordingly. Inventory files show various gallery inventories.

Sales records document gallery sales and include paid invoices, records relating to Zurich sales, general sales records such as price lists and canceled sales, and Sotheby's Parke-Bernet auction reports. There are gaps in sales invoices in 1961-1964 and 1969-1971.

Purchase records include correspondence and invoices related to purchases and offers; annotated invoices for works of art bought by the gallery; André Emmerich, Inc. related purchase records; "Non-Modern" art related purchase records.

Consignment records include correspondence and consignment agreements documenting consignments to and from the André Emmerich Gallery; consignments from other galleries to André Emmerich, Inc.; and general consignment records.

Chronological files include copies of invoices or cover letters documenting the movement of artwork into and out of the gallery through sales, consignments, loans, and approvals. Records dating January through August 1968, January through March 1969, and September 1969 through July 1971 are missing.

Financial and legal records include client and partner account statements, resale and exempt organization certificates, accounting ledgers, and legal files related to disputes involving or of interest to the gallery.

Printed materials include auction catalogs and reports, books, and clippings describing André Emmerich, the galleries in New York and Zurich, Top Gallant Farm, and the art world. Also included is a large scrapbook created by the gallery containing clippings and gallery announcements dated 1955-1958. Clippings relating to particular artists can be found in the Artists Files series.

There are two pieces of original artwork in the collection. One is a 1974 print of a 1933 composite etching by Esther Dick Gottlieb, Adolphe Gottlieb, Edgar Levy, Lucille Corcos Levy, David Smith, and Dorothy Dehner Smith. The second is a 1998 lithograph by Louise Bourgeoise, called The Face of the Critic. The artist gave the lithograph as a gift in honor of Robert Hughes and the Archives of American Art and is numbered 61 out of a series of 300.

Photographic materials include prints, slides, negatives, and transparencies. Subjects include artists, André Emmerich, gallery installations, Top Gallant Farm, events, artists' studios, gallery staff, gallery space, and artwork. Photographs which show André Emmerich are indicated as such in the finding aid.

Audiovisual materials includes videocassettes and one audiocassette related to the art world. Videocassettes related to specific artists can be found in the Artists Files series. Videocassettes related to André Emmerich can be found in the André Emmerich Personal Papers and Records series. Videocassettes related to Top Gallant Farm and Sotheby's can be found in the Administrative Files series.

Personal papers and records relating to André Emmerich include biographical materials, personal correspondence, writings and lectures, and legal and financial records. The biographical materials include an address book, interviews and identifying documents. Writings include articles, edits, dissertations, lectures, etc. There are also some miscellaneous correspondence which is organized chronologically.

The small addition received in 2014 includes general correspondence, administrative files, exhibition files, artists' files, inventory records, consignment records, printed material, photographic materials, and André Emmerich personal papers and records.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 19 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: General Correspondence Files, 1958-2006 (boxes 1-18, OV 314-315; 18.2 linear feet)

Series 2: André Emmerich Appointment Books, 1954-2007 (boxes 19, 325, 326; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 3: Administrative Files, 1954-2003 (boxes 20-31, 306, OV 314, OV 316-319; 11 linear feet)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1958-1967, 1971-2000 (boxes 31-32, 306, OV 318, OV 320; 2 linear feet)

Series 5: Exhibition Files, circa 1954-1998 (boxes 32-40, 306, 307, OV 318-322; 8.5 linear feet)

Series 6: Artists Files, 1929-1932, 1938-2007 (boxes 40-68, 307, 308, OV 320-323; 28 linear feet)

Series 7: Artist Accounts, 1958-1998 (boxes 68-81; 13.5 linear feet)

Series 8: Inventory Records, circa 1954-2000(boxes 82-128; 46.5 linear feet)

Series 9: Sales Records, 1959-1998 (boxes 128-168; 40 linear feet)

Series 10: Purchase Records, 1961-1966, 1972-1994 (boxes 168-170; 2 linear feet)

Series 11: Consignment Records, 1961-2002 (boxes 170-177; 7.7 linear feet)

Series 12: Chronological File of Incoming and Outgoing Artwork, 1968-1998 (boxes 178-185; 8 linear feet)

Series 13: Other Financial and Legal Records, 1956-1999 (boxes 186-202; 16.5 linear feet)

Series 14: Printed Materials, 1955-1960, 1965-2008 (boxes 202-204, 308, 309; 3 linear feet)

Series 15: Original Artwork, 1933, 1974, 1998 (box 205, 310; 0.7 linear feet (2 folders))

Series 16: Photographic Materials, circa 1930-1935, 1941-1998, circa 2005 (Boxes 205-296, 311-313, OV 324; 92.8 linear feet)

Series 17: General Audio and Video Recordings, 1985, 1990-1995 (Boxes 297-298; 1.3 linear feet)

Series 18: André Emmerich Personal Papers and Records, 1937-1940, 1946-2008 (Boxes 298-305, OV 321, OV 323; 7.7 linear feet)

Series 19: Addition to the The André Emmerich Gallery records and André Emmerich papers, 1956-2009 (Boxes 328-329, OV 330; 2.1 linear feet)

Historical Note:

André Emmerich (1924-2007) was one of America's most noted contemporary art dealers and opened the André Emmerich Gallery in New York in 1954. The gallery showcased contemporary art, particularly Color Field painting and monumental sculpture.

André Emmerich was born on October 11, 1924 in Frankfurt, Germany. From age 7 he was raised in Amsterdam before emigrating with his family to New York City in 1940. He studied at Oberlin College and developed an interest in pre-Columbian art and antiquities. After graduation, he spent ten years in Paris working as a writer and editor before returning to New York. He married Constance Emmerich and the couple had three sons, Adam, Noah, and Toby.

In 1954 Emmerich opened the André Emmerich Gallery at 18 East 77th Street and initially specialized in contemporary American and European art and pre-Columbian antiquities. In 1956, the gallery moved to 17 East 64th Street, and in 1959 to the Fuller Building at 41 East 57th Street. Emmerich wrote two books about pre-Columbian art, Art Before Columbus in 1963 and Sweat of the Sun, Tears of the Moon: Gold and Silver in Pre-Columbian Art in 1965.

In 1961, Emmerich learned that French and Company, a gallery advised by art critic Clement Greenberg, was closing its department of contemporary art. French and Company had represented Color Field painters Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Jules Olitski. Emmerich immediately invited Louis and Noland to be represented by his gallery. In 1966 he extended the invitation to Olitski as well, and Helen Frankenthaler joined soon after. The gallery's reputation as one of the earliest and most important promoters of Color Field painters was launched.

In addition to Color Field painters, the gallery represented, among others, Pierre Alechinsky, Karel Appel, Milton Avery, Herbert Ferber, Sam Francis, John Graham, Al Held, David Hockney, Hans Hofmann, John Hoyland, Judy Pfaff, Miriam Schapiro, and Anne Truitt.

Until January 1983, sales of pre-Columbian art primarily went through an entity called André Emmerich Inc. (AE Inc.), while sales of contemporary went through the André Emmerich Gallery Inc. (AEG). In 1983, the two entities were merged and operated under the name André Emmerich Gallery Inc.

In 1971, Emmerich began operating a downtown gallery at 420 West Broadway, in SoHo, in space shared with Leo Castelli, Virginia Dwan, and Ileana Sonnabend. In 1972, Emmerich opened a branch of his gallery in Zurich. He incorporated the Galerie André Emmerich Gmbh primarily for the purpose of leasing gallery space in Zurich. Until February 1974, sales of Pre-Columbian art in Zurich were made by an entity called André Emmerich Gallery Inc., New York Filiale Zurich. The Galerie André Emmerich Gmbh was officially liquidated in May 1982. The Filiale was formally closed in October 1996. Galerie André Emmerich also enjoyed a short-lived joint venture with Gimpel & Hanover.

André Emmerich served as president of the Art Dealers Association of America from 1972-1974 and again from 1991-1994.

Emmerich opened a private 150 acre sculpture park, Top Gallant Farm, on his estate in Pawling, New York, in 1982, where he stored and exhibited monumental sculptures by artists his gallery represented including Anthony Caro, Beverly Pepper, Alexander Liberman, Alexander Calder, Mark di Suvero, George Rickey, and Keith Haring. David Hockney painted waves onto floor of the property's swimming pool in 1986. Emmerich operated the sculpture park until 1996.

Emmerich sold his gallery to Sotheby's in 1996. He continued to be affiliated with the gallery until Sotheby's closed the gallery in 1998. Emmerich then began work on his memoir, My Life With Art, excerpts of which have been published in Art News, the Wall Street Journal, and The New Criterion.

Andre Emmerich died in New York 2007 and is survived by his second wife, Susanne Emmerich.

Related Material:

Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with André Emmerich conducted by Mona Hadler on January 18, 1993.

Provenance:

The André Emmerich Gallery records and André Emmerich papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by André Emmerich in eight accretions between 1999 and 2002. Two additional accretions were donated by Emmerich's wife Susanne in 2008 and 2009; and by James Yohe, executive director (1990-1999), in 2009 and 2014.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Access of diaries and appointment books required written permission.

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:

Sculpture, Abstract  Search this

Color-field painting  Search this

Art -- Economic aspects  Search this

Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)

Art galleries, Commercial -- Switzerland

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Visitors' books

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Scrapbooks

Etchings

Citation:

André Emmerich Gallery records and André Emmerich papers, circa 1929-2009. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Leon Levy Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.andremmg

See more items in:

André Emmerich Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw995f3b4aa-1b0f-46f4-8b5d-e0bf1191a740

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-andremmg

Creator:

Richenburg, Robert  Search this

Names:

Club (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Ozenfant School of Fine Arts -- Students  Search this

Pratt Institute  Search this

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum  Search this

Tibor de Nagy Gallery  Search this

United States. Veterans Administration  Search this

Amgott, Madeline  Search this

Ashton, Dore  Search this

Cavallon, Giorgio, 1904-1989  Search this

Cherry, Herman  Search this

Geist, Sidney  Search this

Grad, Bonnie Lee, 1949-  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Kline, Franz, 1910-1962  Search this

Lassaw, Ernestine  Search this

Lassaw, Ibram, 1913-2003  Search this

Matter, Mercedes  Search this

Moulton, Lynne  Search this

Ortiz, Rafael Montanez  Search this

Pavia, Philip, 1915-2005  Search this

Rebay, Hilla, 1890-1967  Search this

Slivka, David, 1913-  Search this

Extent:

5.3 Linear feet

4.32 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Illustrated letters

Sound recordings

Greeting cards

Video recordings

Photographs

Interviews

Date:

circa 1910s-2008

Summary:

The Robert Richenburg papers, circa 1910s-2008, measure 5.3 linear feet and 4.32 GB. Biographical material, correspondence, subject files, writings, sound and video recordings, printed material, and photographs document the professional career and personal life of the educator and New York School painter and sculptor best known for his Abstract Expressionist paintings.

Scope and Content Note:

The Robert Richenburg papers, circa 1910s-2008, measure 5.3 linear feet and 4.32 GB. Biographical material, correspondence, subject files, writings, audio/visual recordings, printed material, and photographs document the professional career and personal life of the educator and New York School painter and sculptor best known for his Abstract Expressionist paintings.

Biographical material includes educational records from high school through his studies at the Ozenfant School of Fine Arts using G.I. benefits. Birth, marriage,and death certificates are also found, along with Richenburg family memorabilia. There is a digital video recording of Robert Richenburg's memorial service.

Correspondence consists mostly of family letters, including some illustrated letters and many handmade cards featuring original artwork. Condolence letters addressed to Marggy Kerr are from friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbors, and acquaintances.

Subject files contain various combinations of correspondence, printed material, photographs, writings and notes relating to Richenburg's professional career and personal life. They document exhibitions, gallery representation, gifts of art work to museums and individuals, memberships, teaching activities, former students, friendships, and other aspects of his life. Files of significant interest are: The Club, Tina Dicky and Madeline Amgott, Former Students (particularly Raphael Montanez Ortiz), Bonnie L. Grad and Lynne Moulton, Hans Hofmann, Ibram Lassaw, Philip Pavia, Pratt Institute, Hilla Rebay and the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, Tibor De Nagy Gallery, and Veterans Administration.

Writings by Richenburg consist of notes, reviews, artist's statements, and the text of a speech. Also included are quotations compiled over the years by Marggy Kerr of Richenburg's comments on art and life. Among the writings by others are student papers, reviews, and poems.

Sound and visual recordings include interviews with Robert Richenburg, often conducted as research for exhibitions. Videocassettes document events such as panel discussions, and artist gatherings; a few were produced in conjunction with museum exhibitions. Also found are videotapes by video artist Raphael Montanez Ortiz, Richenburg's friend and former student.

Printed material includes items that are specifically about Robert Richenburg as well as items that incidentally mention him. The majority consist of exhibition catalogs and announcements.

Photographs show art work by Richenburg, exhibition openings and other events, and a variety of people and places. Among the events recorded is the "Artists Roundtable on Art of the '50s." Moderated by Dore Ashton, the panel included Herman Cherry, Sidney Geist, Ibram Lassaw, Mercedes Matter, and David Slivka. There are photographs of Richenburg's boyhood home in Roslindale, MA, and his house in Ithaca, NY. He is pictured with others including family members, dealers, and curators. Of particular interest are photographs of Richenburg in Provincetown, MA, 1952-1953, with friends, including: Giorgio Cavallon, Franz Kline, Ibram and Ernestine Lassaw, and Philip and Marcia Pavia. World War II photographs consist of images of art work (not by Richenburg), Richenburg and other individuals taken in France and England; a number include views of Shrivenham American University.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1910s-2006 (Box 1; 0.1 linear ft., ER01; 1.66 GB)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-2007 (Box 1; 0.4 linear ft.)

Series 3: Subject Files, 1942-2008 (Boxes 1-3, OV 7; 2.25 linear ft.)

Series 4: Writings, circa 1950-2006 (Box 3; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 5: Sound and Video Recordings, 1996-2006 (Boxes 3-4; 0.75 linear ft., ER02; 2.66 GB)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1947-2008 (Boxes 4-5; 1.25 linear ft.)

Series 7: Photographs, circa 1923-2006 (Boxes 5-6; 0.45 linear ft.)

Biographical Note:

Robert Bartlett Richenburg (1917-2006) was a painter and educator in New York City, Ithaca, New York, and East Hampton, New York.

At age 13, Bob Richenburg's artistic talent earned him a place in a daily class for Boston Public School students at the Museum of Fine Arts. Most classes focused on copying; of far greater benefit to the young art student was the opportunity to wander through the museum and look at art nearly every day of his high school career.

Richenburg's father was an architect who also ran a stained glass lampshade business; neither endeavor was profitable, so the family endured very hard times during the Depression. To help support the family, after school and on weekends, Bob delivered ice and coal with an older brother, a job he continued while attending night school courses in liberal arts at Boston University. He studied at George Washington University in Washington, DC, 1937-1939, often working as many as four part-time jobs to cover tuition and living expenses; during summers and school vacations, he returned to Boston to work with his brother. Due to his difficult financial situation, Richenburg's college career ended before he earned a degree.

After learning that the Corcoran School of Art charged no tuition, Richenburg returned to Washington in 1940 to study painting and sculpture. Although uninformed about the art world, he realized that New York was a better place for an aspiring artist. In 1941, he began studying with George Grosz and Reginald Marsh at the Art Students League. On his own, he studied materials and techniques and copied paintings at the Metropolitan Museum Art.

With war looming and the near certainty of being drafted, Robert Richenburg and Libby Chic Peltyn (always called Chic) married in November 1942; two weeks later, he entered the army. Richenburg spent three years in England and France as a combat engineer, transporting explosives and instructing troops in the demolition of mines and booby traps. In England, he managed a photo lab and taught drawing in the fine arts section of Shrivenham American University, a school run by the U. S. Army.

Once discharged, Richenburg returned to New York and took advantage of the G.I. Bill to continue studying painting (and for the subsistence allowance that provided modest support for his family - son Ronald was born in 1947). Richenburg studied at the Ozenfant School, 1947-1949, where he developed a life-long friendship with fellow student Ibram Lassaw.

He continued his art education with Hans Hofmann in New York and Provincetown, 1949-1951. During this period, Richenburg taught drawing, painting, and art history classes sponsored by the Extension Division of City College of New York and held at venues such as Brooklyn's Central YMCA, and branches of the New York Public Library. Richenburg quickly discovered that he liked teaching and enjoyed the students.

In 1951, Richenburg joined the Pratt Institute faculty and taught studio courses at night; soon, he was teaching full time during the day. Richenburg began to achieve recognition as the youngest of the Abstract Expressionists and by the early 1960s his career was well established. Tibor De Nagy Gallery in New York and Dwan Gallery in California represented Richenburg, and a number of paintings were sold to museums and private collectors. As Richenburg experimented with new ideas and materials, his work began changing. He was a popular instructor at Pratt with several promising students who also began experimenting. In 1964, when the unorthodox work of one student in particular caught the attention of Pratt administrators, Richenburg was asked to change his approach to teaching. This roused student protests, and press coverage focused on the specific situation and academic freedom in general. He chose to resign rather than alter his teaching philosophy.

Richenburg secured a position at Cornell University. The confluence of his absence from New York City and the ascendance of Pop Art were damaging, and his career was derailed when De Nagy and Dwan dropped him from their rosters a few years later. After it was clear that he would not secure tenure at Cornell, Richenburg returned to New York in 1967 and began teaching at Hunter College. Daily life in New York was harder than he remembered and, for him, the City had lost its allure.

When offered the chairmanship of the Ithaca College art department, the Richenburgs were delighted to return to tranquil Ithaca, New York. Chic died in 1977, and Bob remained at Ithaca College until retiring in 1983. In addition full-time teaching and handling administrative activities as department chairman, Richenburg made time to work in his studio practically every day. He created a large body of work in a wide variety of media and styles, moving on to new ideas and experiments after exhausting his possibilities or interest.

Beginning in 1949 with a loan exhibition organized by The Museum of Non-Objective Art, Richenburg participated in a wide range of group shows. His first solo exhibition was held in 1953 at the Hendler Gallery, Philadelphia. Over the years, he enjoyed other solo exhibitions at venues such as: David Findlay Jr. Fine Art, Dwan Gallery, Hansa Gallery, Ithaca College Museum of Art, McCormick Gallery, Rose Art Museum (Brandeis University), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Sidney Mishkin Gallery (Baruch College), and Tibor De Nagy Gallery. In the 1960s and 1970s, Richenburg's work was seldom shown, but from the mid-1980s onward there has been renewed interest.

Richenburg's work is represented in the permanent collections of many museums including Hirshhorn Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art. In addition, his work was acquired by many highly regarded private collectors including Larry Aldrich, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Joseph H. Hirshhorn, J. Patrick Lannon, and James A. Michener.

Robert Richenburg and Margaret (Marggy) Kerr, a painter and sculptor living in Ithaca, were married in 1980. Ms. Kerr is known for "brick rugs" made from cut bricks forming designs for site specific sculpture and garden walks. Richenburg became close to his stepfamily of three children, Marggy's grandchildren and her mother. After he retired from Ithaca College, Bob and Marggy moved to Springs in East Hampton, New York.

Although Richenburg suffered from Parkinson's disease during the last six years of his life, he continued to work in his home studio until physically unable to produce art. He died on October 10, 2006.

Related Material:

An oral history interview of Robert Richenburg was conducted by Dorothy Seckler for the Archives of American Art, circa 1968.

Provenance:

Donated in 2008 by Margaret Kerr, widow of Robert Richenburg, on behalf of herself and his son Ronald Richenburg.

Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual material with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.

Rights:

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

Topic:

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

Abstract expressionism  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- East Hampton  Search this

New York school of art  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Illustrated letters

Sound recordings

Greeting cards

Video recordings

Photographs

Interviews

Citation:

Robert Richenburg papers, circa 1910s-2008. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.richrobe

See more items in:

Robert Richenburg papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93e889f0b-1cd4-42d6-906f-68bace36808d

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-richrobe

Creator:

Ownby, Haynes, 1929-  Search this

Names:

Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts (Provincetown, Mass.)  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Stout, Myron, 1908-1987  Search this

Extent:

10.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sound recordings

Videorecordings

Date:

circa 1946-2008

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter Hanes Ownby (1929-2001) measure 10.1 linear feet and date from circa 1946-2008. Included are project, grant and exhibition files; material regarding the Hofmann school; material regarding Myron Stout; personal and professional letters to Ownby; drafts of letters; writings by Ownby and others; journals, notebooks and trip logs; calendars; photographs and slides of works of art, places, people (including a photo album) and events; interviews with Ownby on VHS; audio cassettes of interviews and talks; biographical material; printed material; and few sketches.

Biographical / Historical:

Haynes Ownby (1929-2001) was a painter and writer in Provincetown, Massachusetts and was a student of Hans Hofmann. In addition to being a painter, Haynes invented a game, wrote and produced a play, and edited writings of artist Myron Stout.

Provenance:

Donated in 2022 by JoAnn Heiser, Executor, Haynes Ownby estate.

Restrictions:

This collection is closed for processing. Contact References Services for more information.

Rights:

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

Occupation:

Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown  Search this

Authors -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sound recordings

Videorecordings

Identifier:

AAA.ownbhayn

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a6282dcb-b8d9-414e-ab9e-60c6367b4fe8

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-ownbhayn

Creator:

Artists Equity Association  Search this

Artist:

Weber, Max, 1881-1961  Search this

Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Sternberg, Harry, 1904-2001  Search this

Feininger, T. Lux  Search this

Gross, Chaim, 1904-1991  Search this

Avery, Milton, 1885-1965  Search this

Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969  Search this

Advertiser:

Maidenform, Inc.  Search this

Names:

Astor Hotel (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Series Creator:

Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this

Extent:

1 Item (Ink on paper, approx 10 x 8 in.)

Container:

Box 1, Folder 49

Type:

Archival materials

Books

Lithographs

Date:

1951

Scope and Contents:

An artist's book with a spiral plastic binding, composed of original lithographs, most of them serving as advertisements. Participating artists include Milton Avery, T. Lux Feininger, Chaim Gross, Hans Hofmann, Reginald Marsh, Ben Shahn, Raphael Soyer, and Max Weber. Of special interest are a Maidenform brassiere ad by Harry Sternberg; a nude female figure with a 19th century camera for Pagano photographs and illustrations, and the Danby Furniture Co. by Helen Ratkai; etc.

Local Numbers:

AC0060-0000375-01.tif - AC0060-0000375-59.tif (AC Scan Nos.)

General:

In Box 1, Folder 49, Hotels series.

From the acknowledgment page: "This is Volume II of IMPROVISATIONS. IMPROVISATIONS was first conceived in 1950 from an idea by Julio de Diego as a medium for advertisers in sympathy with the ideals of Artists Equity Association. As in IMPROVISATIONS 1950, the member-artists who illustrated this journal were selected by the advertisers and were given complete freedom of expression. Each page was designed by the artist directly on the litho plate, thus making this a collection of original lithographs."

Series Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.

Series Rights:

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

Topic:

Masquerades  Search this

Artists' books  Search this

Nude in art  Search this

Cameras  Search this

Genre/Form:

Books

Lithographs -- 1950-1960

Series Citation:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Hotels, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Sponsor:

Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).

See more items in:

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Hotels

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Hotels / 1: American Hotels / Astor, Hotel, New York, New York

Archival Repository:

Archives Center, National Museum of American History

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c547e442-151b-4d41-ab85-fd723021d60f

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0060-s01-01-hotels-ref542

Creator:

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Subject:

Spingarn, Amy  Search this

Citation:

Hans Hofmann letter to Amy Spingarn, 1938 Dec. 18. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)8153

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)210324

AAA_collcode_hofmhanl

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_210324

Creator:

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Subject:

Dickey, Tina  Search this

Amgott, Madeline  Search this

Mauer, Alfred  Search this

Hawthorne, Charles Webster  Search this

Hofmann, Maria  Search this

Hofmann, Renate Schmitz  Search this

Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts (Provincetown, Mass.)  Search this

Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts  Search this

Type:

Video recordings

Sound recordings

Scrapbooks

Transcripts

Interviews

Photographs

Citation:

Hans Hofmann papers, circa 1904-2011. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Motion pictures (visual works)  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Art -- Philosophy  Search this

Authors -- Massachusetts  Search this

Abstract expressionism  Search this

Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Study and teaching  Search this

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

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)5966

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)227882

AAA_collcode_hofmhans

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_227882

Creator:

LaSelle, Toni, 1901-2002  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Subject:

Hofmann, Maria  Search this

Citation:

Toni LaSelle letters from Hans and Maria Hofmann, 1949-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)6029

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)237772

AAA_collcode_lasetoni

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_237772

Creator:

Kootz Gallery  Search this

Names:

Baziotes, William, 1912-1963 -- Photographs  Search this

Braque, Georges, 1882-1963  Search this

Hare, David, 1917-1992  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966 -- Photographs  Search this

Kootz, Samuel M., 1898-1982  Search this

Marca-Relli, Conrad, 1913-2000 -- Photographs  Search this

Mathieu, Georges, 1921- -- Photographs  Search this

Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973 -- Photographs  Search this

Pierre Soulages, 1919- -- Photographs  Search this

Ronald, William, 1926- -- Photographs  Search this

Sugai, Kumi, 1919 -- Photographs  Search this

Extent:

7.1 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Signatures (names)

Notes

Date:

1923-1966

Summary:

The records of modernist New York City Kootz Gallery measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1923-1966. They consist of scattered correspondence and exhibition files; photograph files of artists, including ones for Picasso, William Baziotes, and Hans Hofmann, among many others; 23 scrapbooks; photographs and slides of the gallery and exhibitions; and scattered personal papers of Samuel M. Kootz.

Scope and Contents note:

The records of modernist New York City Kootz Gallery measure 7.1 linear feet and date from 1923-1966. They consist of scattered correspondence and exhibition files; photograph files of artists, including ones for Picasso, William Baziotes, and Hans Hofmann, among many others; 23 scrapbooks, photographs and slides of the gallery and exhibitions; and scattered personal papers of Samuel M. Kootz.

There are two folders of scattered routine incoming letters. Three folders of exhibition files contain limited documentation of the 1952 Kootz Gallery exhibition "To South America," and printed material related to the 1951 exhibition "Art for a Synagogue" held at the Synagogue of Congregation B'nai Israel in Millburn, New Jersey.

Artists' Photograph Files contain mostly photographs of 52 artists, their artwork, and their exhibitions. In addition to photographs, there is one folder of artists' autographs. Pablo Picasso and Hans Hofmann's close friendship with Kootz is reflected in this series, as numerous informal personal photos are found in their respective files. A few folders also contain documents, such as transcript notes for a lecture and other writings by Hans Hofmann and a brief review of the work of Georges Braque and David Hare.

Printed Material consists of exhibition announcements and catalogs, advertisements, and newspaper and magazine clippings on the gallery and artists associated with the gallery. There are catalogs for Kootz Gallery exhibitions, including "The Intrasubjectives" show of 1949.

Twenty-three scrapbooks date from 1931 through 1966 and include exhibition announcements, catalogs, photographs, clippings, and miscellaneous printed material. Scrapbook 1, 1947-1948, focuses on Pablo Picasso. Scrapbooks 2-21 document approximately one year of Kootz Gallery events and press coverage from 1945 to 1966, and Scrapbooks 22-23, 1950-1958, focus on architectural models and exhibitions.

Photographic material includes photographs, transparencies, and slides of Kootz Gallery New York and Kootz Gallery Provincetown; interior design photographs showcasing Kootz Gallery artwork hanging in office and residential spaces; group and unidentified exhibitions; group and unidentified artists/artwork; and informal photographs of Samuel Kootz and of his wife, Jane.

Samuel Kootz Personal Papers consist of a cocktail party invitation and a copy of the 1923 Phi Epsilon Pi Quarterly, Vol. 6, No. 1.

Arrangement note:

The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Correspondence, 1950-1962 (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 2: Exhibition Files, circa 1944-1966 (Box 1; 3 folders)

Series 3: Artists Photographs Files, 1936-1966 (Boxes 1-2, 5; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, circa 1944-1966 (Boxes 2, 5; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1931-1966 (Box 3, BV 6-23; 4 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1944-1966 (Boxes 4-5; 11 folders)

Series 7: Samuel Kootz Personal Papers, circa 1923-1957 (Box 4; 2 folders)

Biographical/Historical note:

Samuel M. Kootz officially opened the Kootz Gallery in 1945 in New York City. In 1953, he opened a satellite gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts that closed one year later.

Samuel M. Kootz (1898-1982) received his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1921 and practiced law briefly before moving to New York City to accept a job as an advertising account executive. While still in law school, he began visiting New York art galleries and was particularly drawn to works by modern artists that were showing at the Stieglitz Gallery and the Charles Daniel Gallery. In 1930, he independently published his first book, Modern American Painters and began to regularly contribute articles on painting and photography to various periodicals, including The Times. In 1942, he curated an abstract expressionist showcase for Macy's and published New Frontiers in American Painting one year later. Kootz's second book was one of the first to examine the emerging abstract expressionist movement and marked the beginning of his full transition into the art world.

In 1944, Kootz resigned from his advertising job to represent Robert Motherwell and William Baziotes as a professional art dealer. He officially opened the Kootz Gallery opened in 1945 and showcased the work of both American and European abstract expressionists, including Hans Hofmann and Adolph Gottlieb. In 1946, during the Kootz Gallery's preparation for Pablo Picasso's first one man exhibition in America, Picasso became quite friendly with Kootz and his wife Jane. Upon the artist's suggestion, Kootz agreed to close his gallery and represent Picasso and his other artists as a private dealer. Although this was a successful venture, Kootz missed the structure of an office and decided to reopen his gallery on Madison Avenue in 1949. The gallery's first show at the new location was "The Intrasubjectives," a term Kootz had coined for abstract expressionists. The exhibition included four artists from his stable, William Baziotes, Robert Motherwell, Adolph Gottlieb, and Hans Hofmann, along with Jackson Pollock, Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, Mark Rothko, Ad Reinhardt, Morris Graves, Mark Tobey, and Bradley Walker Tomlin.

In 1953, Kootz opened a satellite gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts that was managed and operated by gallerist Nathan Halper. In 1954, they mutually agreed to dissolve their partnership and Kootz focused his energies on his New York gallery, which grew to include Herbert Ferber, David Hare, Philippe Hosiasson, Ibram Lassaw, Conrad Marca-Relli, Georges Mathieu, Raymond Parker, William Ronald, Gerard Schneider, Emil Schumacher, and Pierre Soulages.

A number of factors, including competition from new galleries, commoditization of art by investment collectors, and the public's interest in emerging pop art, influenced Kootz's decision to close his gallery in 1966.

Related Archival Materials note:

Also found among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are oral history interviews with Samuel M. Kootz by John Morse on March 2, 1960 and by Dorothy Seckler on April 13, 1964. Records of Kootz Gallery are also interspersed among the records of Nathan Halper's galleries.

Separated Materials note:

Records loaned for microfilming in 1965 included eight articles from the publication Modern Artists in America (1951) which were not included in the later donation and are now available on microfilm reel NY65-1.

Provenance:

Samuel M. Kootz donated the gallery records in two increments in 1971. Nearly all of the same records had been loaned in 1965 for microfilming.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment. All scrapbooks are restricted due to their fragile condition; #1-#5 have been digitized and are available on the Archives of American Art's website, and #6-#23 are only available for use on microfilm reels 1318-1320 and 1322-1323.

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:

Artists -- United States -- Exhibitions  Search this

Function:

Art galleries, Commercial -- New York (State)

Genre/Form:

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Signatures (names)

Notes

Citation:

Kootz Gallery records, 1923-1966. 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.kootgall

See more items in:

Kootz Gallery records

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91262a00c-472d-46e1-8583-68bf078f849f

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-kootgall

Creator:

Lansner, Fay  Search this

Names:

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Extent:

0.2 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1948-1975

Summary:

The scattered papers of painter and tapestry artist Fay Lansner measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1948 to 1975. Found are biographical materials including two photographs of Lansner, and printed material.

Scope and Contents:

The scattered papers of painter and tapissier Fay Lansner measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1948 to 1975. Found are biographical materials including two photographs of Lansner, and printed material.

Arrangement:

Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical:

Faye Lansner (1912-2010) was a painter and tapissier in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City, New York. She studied at Temple University, Columbia University, Art Students League, and Hans Hofmann School from 1948 to 1950, and also studied in Paris with Fernand Leger. In addition to her artistic career, Lansner co-founded Women in the Arts (WIA), an organization that sought to change public and institutional attitudes toward women artists.

Provenance:

Fay Lansner donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 1973.

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Rights:

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

Occupation:

Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

Tapissiers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this

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

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Women textile artists  Search this

Citation:

Fay Lansner papers, 1948-1975. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Processing of this collection received support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.

Identifier:

AAA.lansfay

See more items in:

Fay Lansner papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9302efb83-ee22-428a-829a-d71910375ba7

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-lansfay

Creator:

Kuh, Katharine  Search this

Names:

Albright-Knox Art Gallery  Search this

Art Institute of Chicago -- Faculty  Search this

Biennale di Venezia  Search this

Katharine Kuh Gallery (Chicago, Ill.)  Search this

Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984  Search this

Albers, Josef  Search this

Albright, Ivan, 1897-1983  Search this

Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964  Search this

Arensberg, Louise S. (Louise Stevenson), 1879-1953  Search this

Arensberg, Walter, 1878-1954  Search this

Arp, Jean, 1887-1966  Search this

Barnet, Will, 1911-  Search this

Barr, Alfred H., Jr., 1902-1981  Search this

Biddle, George, 1885-1973  Search this

Breuer, Marcel, 1902-  Search this

Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this

Campoli, Cosmo  Search this

Chagall, Marc, 1887-1985  Search this

Chavez Morado, José, 1909-2002  Search this

Chermayeff, Serge, 1900-  Search this

Cornell, Joseph  Search this

Cox, Richard  Search this

Davis, Stuart, 1892-1964  Search this

Day, Worden, 1916-1986  Search this

De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this

Dickinson, Edwin Walter, 1891-1978  Search this

Dubuffet, Jean, 1901-  Search this

Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this

Elizabeth, Queen of Great Britain, II, 1926-  Search this

Ernst, Jimmy, 1920-1984  Search this

Falkenstein, Claire, 1908-1997  Search this

Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978  Search this

Friendly, Fred W.  Search this

Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966  Search this

Golub, Leon, 1922-2004  Search this

Goto, Joseph, 1920-  Search this

Grabe, Klaus  Search this

Graves, Robert, 1895-1985  Search this

Guggenheim, Peggy, 1898-1979  Search this

Guston, Philip, 1913-1980  Search this

Hare, David, 1917-  Search this

Hare, Denise Browne  Search this

Hayter, Stanley William, 1901-1988  Search this

Hirshhorn, Joseph  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Hélion, Jean, 1904-1987  Search this

Inverarity, Robert Bruce, 1909-1999  Search this

Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this

Johnson, Philip, 1906-2005  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this

Kandinsky, Wassily, 1866-1944  Search this

Kepes, Gyorgy, 1906-2001  Search this

Kepes, Juliet  Search this

Klee, Paul, 1879-1940  Search this

Kline, Franz, 1910-1962  Search this

Knox, Seymour H., 1898-1990  Search this

Le Corbusier, 1887-1965  Search this

Lundeberg, Helen, 1908-1999  Search this

Lye, Len, 1901-1980  Search this

Léger, Fernand, 1881-1955  Search this

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

Millier, Arthur, 1893-  Search this

Moholy-Nagy, László, 1895-1946  Search this

Motherwell, Robert  Search this

Mérida, Carlos, 1891-1984  Search this

Nutting, Muriel Leone Tyler, b. 1892  Search this

Nutting, Myron Chester, 1890-1972  Search this

O'Higgins, Pablo, 1904-  Search this

Orozco, José Clemente, 1883-1949  Search this

Ozbekhan, Hasan, 1921-2007  Search this

Perkins, Frances  Search this

Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this

Putnam, Wallace, 1899-1989  Search this

Ray, Man, 1890-1976  Search this

Rich, Daniel Catton, 1904-1976  Search this

Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this

Sandberg, Carl  Search this

Seligmann, Kurt, 1900-1962  Search this

Shackelford, Shelby  Search this

Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969  Search this

Spaeth, Otto, d. 1966  Search this

Sterne, Hedda, 1916-  Search this

Stevenson, Adlai E. (Adlai Ewing), 1900-1965  Search this

Still, Clyfford, 1904-  Search this

Tanning, Dorothea, 1910-2012  Search this

Tobey, Mark  Search this

Winston, Harry Lewis  Search this

Woolf, Olga  Search this

Young, Victor  Search this

Photographer:

Pollack, Peter, 1909-1978  Search this

Extent:

12 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Illustrated letters

Resumes

Travel diaries

Minutes

Calendars

Visitors' books

Photographs

Paintings

Awards

Drawings

Sound recordings

Collages

Scrapbooks

Lithographs

Prints

Wills

Watercolors

Poetry

Lecture notes

Lectures

Sales records

Date:

1875-1994

bulk 1930-1994

Summary:

The papers of art historian, dealer, critic, and curator Katharine Kuh measure 12 linear feet and date from 1875-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930-1994. The collection documents Kuh's career as a pioneer modernist art historian and as the first woman curator of European Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues; personal business records; artwork by various artists; a travel journal; writings by Kuh and others; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs of Kuh and others; and audio recordings of Kuh's lectures and of Daniel Catton Rich reading poetry.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of art historian, dealer, critic, and curator Katharine Kuh measure 12 linear feet and date from 1875-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930-1994. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues; personal business records; artwork by various artists; a travel journal; writings by Kuh and others; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs of Kuh and others; and audio recordings of Kuh's lectures and of Daniel Catton Rich reading poetry.

Biographical material consists of copies of Kuh's birth certificate, resumés, passports, award certificates, honorary diplomas, and address books listing information about several prominent artists and colleagues.

Four linear feet of correspondence offers excellent documentation of Kuh's interest in art history, her travels, her career at the Art Institute of Chicago, her work as a corporate art advisor, and as an author. There are letters from her mother Olga Woolf, friends, and colleagues. There is extensive correspondence with various staff members of the Art Institute of Chicago, the First National Bank of Chicago, and The Saturday Review. Also of interest are letters from artists and collectors, several of whom became life-long friends including Walter and Louise Arensberg, Cosmo Campoli, Serge Chermayeff, Richard Cox, Worden Day, Claire Falkenstein, Fred Friendly, Leon Golub, Joseph Goto, David Hare, Denise Brown Hare, Jean Hélion, Ray Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Len Lye, Wallace Putnam, Kurt Seligmann, Shelby Shackelford, Hedda Sterne, and Clyfford Still. Many letters are illustrated with original artwork in various media.

There are also scattered letters from various artists and other prominent individuals including Josef Albers, George Biddle, Marcel Breuer, Joseph Cornell, Stuart Davis, Edwin Dickinson, Joseph Hirshhorn, Daniel Catton Rich, and Dorothea Tanning.

Personal business records include a list of artwork, Olga Woolf's will, inventories of Kuh's personal art collection, miscellaneous contracts and deeds of gift, receipts for the sale of artwork, files concerning business-related travel, and miscellaneous receipts.

Artwork in the collection represents a wide range of artist friends and media, such as drawings, watercolors, paintings, collages, and prints. Included are works by various artists including lithographs by David Hare and a watercolor set, Technics and Creativity, designed and autographed by Jasper Johns for the Museum of Modern Art, 1970.

Notes and writings include annotated engagement calendars, travel journals for Germany, a guest book for the Kuh Memorial gathering, and many writings and notes by Kuh for lectures and articles concerning art history topics. Of interest are minutes/notes from meetings for art festivals, conferences, and the "Conversations with Artists Program (1961). Also found are writings by others about Kuh and other art history topics.

Six scrapbooks contain clippings that document the height of Kuh's career as a gallery director and museum curator. Scrapbook 6 contains clippings about Fernand Léger, the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1953.

Additional printed material includes clippings about Kuh and her interests, a comprehensive collection of clippings of Kuh's articles for The Saturday Review, exhibition announcements and catalogs, calendars of events, programs, brochures, books including Poems by Kuh as a child, and reproductions of artwork. Of particular interest are the early and exhibition catalogs from the Katharine Kuh Gallery, and rare catalogs for artists including Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Stanley William Hayter, Hans Hofmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Franz Kline, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Pablo Picasso.

Photographs provide important documentation of the life and career of Katharine Kuh and are of Kuh, family members, friends, colleagues, events, residences, and artwork. Several of the photographs of Kuh were taken by Will Barnet and Marcel Breuer and there is a notable pair of photo booth portraits of Kuh and a young Ansel Adams. There are also group photographs showing Angelica Archipenko with Kuh; designer Klaus Grabe; painters José Chavez Morado and Pablo O'Higgins in San Miguel, Mexico; Kuh at the Venice Biennale with friends and colleagues including Peggy Guggenheim, Frances Perkins, Daniel Catton Rich, and Harry Winston; and "The Pre-Depressionists" including Lorser Feitelson, Robert Inverarity, Helen Lundeberg, Arthur Millier, Myron Chester Nutting, and Muriel Tyler Nutting.

Photographs of exhibition installations and openings include views of the Katharine Kuh Gallery; Fernand Léger, Man Ray, and László Moholy-Nagy at the Art Institute of Chicago; and Philip Guston, Jimmy Ernst, Seymour H. Knox, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. There are also photographs depicting three men posing as Léger's "Three Musicians" and the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the Art Institute of Chicago. There is a photograph by Peter Pollack of an elk skull used as a model by Georgia O'Keeffe.

Additional photographs of friends and colleagues include Ivan Albright, Alfred Barr, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Willem De Kooning, Edwin Dickinson, Marcel Duchamp, Claire Falkenstein, Alberto Giacometti, poet Robert Graves with Len Lye, Philip Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Carlos Mérida, José Orozco, Hasan Ozbekhan, Pablo Picasso, Carl Sandberg, Ben Shahn, Otto Spaeth, Hedda Sterne, Adlai Stevenson, Clyfford Still, Mark Tobey, and composer Victor Young.

Photographs of artwork include totem poles in Alaska; work by various artists including Claire Falkenstein, Paul Klee, and Hedda Sterne; and work donated to the Guggenheim Museum.

Four audio recordings on cassette are of Katharine Kuh's lectures, including one about assembling corporate collections, and of Daniel Catton Rich reading his own poetry. There is also a recording of the Second Annual Dialogue between Broadcasters and Museum Educators.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series. Undated correspondence, artwork, and photographs of individual artists are arranged alphabetically. Otherwise, each series is arranged chronologically.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1945-1992 (Box 1; 16 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1908-1994 (Boxes 1-5, 13-14, OV 15; 4.0 linear feet)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1941-1989 (Box 5; 19 folders)

Series 4: Artwork, 1931-1986 (Boxes 5, 13-14, OVs 15-23; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1914-1994 (Boxes 5-7; 1.7 linear feet)

Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1935-1953 (Box 7; 8 folders)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1916-1992 (Boxes 7-10, 13, OV 22; 3.0 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographs, 1875-1993 (Boxes 10-13; 1.2 linear feet)

Series 9: Audio Recordings, 1977 (Box 12; 1 folder)

Biographical Note:

Katharine Kuh (1904-1994) worked primarily in the Chicago area as an modern art historian, dealer, critic, curator, writer, and consultant. She operated the Katharine Kuh Gallery from 1935-1943 and was the first woman curator of European and Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Katharine Kuh (née Woolf) was born on July 15, 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of the three daughters of Olga Weiner and Morris Woolf, a silk importer. In 1909, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. While traveling with her family in Europe in 1914, Katharine contracted polio, causing her to spend the next decade in a body brace. During this time of restricted movement, she developed an interest in art history through the collecting of old master prints.

After her recovery, Katharine Woolf attended Vassar College where one of her professors, Alfred Barr, encouraged her to study modern art. She graduated from Vassar in 1925 and received a master's degree in art history from the University of Chicago in 1929. Later that year, she moved to New York to pursue a Ph.D. in Renaissance and medieval art at New York University.

In 1930, Katharine Woolf returned to Chicago and married businessman George Kuh and began to teach art history courses in the suburbs of Chicago. After divorcing George Kuh in 1935, she opened the Katharine Kuh Gallery, the first gallery devoted to avant-garde art in Chicago. It was also the first gallery to exhibit photography and typographical design as art forms, and featured the work of Ansel Adams, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Wassily Kandinsky, Fernand Léger, and Man Ray, among others. From 1938 to1940, Kuh was the Visiting Professor of Art at the University School of Fine Arts, San Miguel, Mexico.

After the Katharine Kuh Gallery closed in 1943, Kuh was hired by museum director Daniel Catton Rich to fill a position in public relations at the Art Institute of Chicago. During the following years, Kuh edited the museum's Quarterly publication, took charge of the museum's Gallery of Interpretive Art, and began a long term relationship with Rich. In 1946, Kuh was sent on a special mission for the U. S. Office of Indian Affairs to make a detailed study of Native American totemic carvings in Alaska.

In 1949, Kuh persuaded Mr. and Mrs. Walter Arensberg of Los Angeles to exhibit their collection of modern art, creating the first post-war exhibition of modern art in Chicago. She published her first book Art Has Many Faces in 1951, and in the following year, she began writing art criticism for The Saturday Review. In 1954, Kuh was appointed the first woman curator of European Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute. She assembled the American contribution for the Venice Biennale in 1956 and during these years, Kuh helped acquire many of the works of modern art currently in the museum's collection.

A year following Daniel Catton Rich's 1958 resignation from the Art Institute of Chicago, Kuh also resigned and pursued a career in New York as an art collection advisor, most notably for the First National Bank of Chicago. In 1959, Kuh was made art critic for The Saturday Review, and she continued to publish books, including The Artist's Voice in 1962, Break-Up: The Core of Modern Art in 1965, and The Open Eye: In Pursuit of Art in 1971.

Katharine Kuh died on January 10, 1994 in New York City.

Provenance:

The Katharine Kuh papers were donated in several installments from 1971 to 1989 by Katharine Kuh and in 1994 by her estate. Artwork was donated in 1995 by Kuh's former employer, the Art Institute of Chicago.

Restrictions:

Authorization to quote, publish or reproduce requires written permission until 2019. Contact the Archives of American Art Reference Services department for additional 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:

Authors -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Art historians -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Art dealers -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Art critics -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Curators -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Art consultants -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this

Topic:

Art, Abstract -- United States  Search this

Art, American  Search this

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

Women art dealers  Search this

Women art historians  Search this

Women museum curators  Search this

Women authors  Search this

Women art critics  Search this

Function:

Art festivals

Genre/Form:

Illustrated letters

Resumes

Travel diaries

Minutes

Calendars

Visitors' books

Photographs

Paintings

Awards

Drawings

Sound recordings

Collages

Scrapbooks

Lithographs

Prints

Wills

Watercolors

Poetry

Lecture notes

Lectures

Sales records

Citation:

Katharine Kuh papers, 1875-1994, bulk 1930-1994. 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.kuhkath

See more items in:

Katharine Kuh papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw987a0763e-de6c-4f9e-b143-4875b3a2244a

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-kuhkath

Creator:

Manry, Lenita, 1902-1969  Search this

Names:

Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts (Provincetown, Mass.)  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Extent:

0.2 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

circa 1920-1968

Summary:

The scattered papers of painter and arts administrator Lenita Manry measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1920 to 1968. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, notes, portraits of Manry, and printed material. Of note are records from Manry's time at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts which include lectures and writings by Hofmann, Manry's class notes and drawings, and printed material from the school.

Scope and Contents:

The scattered papers of painter and arts administrator Lenita Manry measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1920 to 1968. Found are biographical materials, correspondence, notes, portraits of Manry, and printed material. Of note are records from Manry's time at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts which include lectures and writings by Hofmann, Manry's class notes and drawings, and printed material from the school.

Arrangement:

Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.

Biographical / Historical:

Lenita Manry (1902-1968) was a painter in New York City, New York and an arts administrator in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Originally from Texas, Manry moved to New York City and began a career as a model before focusing on her art. She was a student of Hans Hofmann and later became assistant director of the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

Provenance:

Philip Davis, lawyer for the estate of Lenita Manry, donated the papers to the Archives of American Art in 1971.

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.

Rights:

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

Occupation:

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

Artists' models -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown  Search this

Topic:

Women artists  Search this

Women painters  Search this

Citation:

Lenita Manry papers, circa 1920-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.manrleni

See more items in:

Lenita Manry papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw92f8d18dc-9e18-4ea9-88be-70d6faeb554d

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-manrleni