Biographical accounts, letters, notes, writings, art work, scrapbooks, printed material, and photographs document the careers of William Meyerowitz and his wife Theresa Bernstein, both painters and printmakers.
REELS D285-D285a: Letters, 1918-1967, from patrons and colleagues, including John Taylor Arms, Edwin Blashfield, Maxim Karolik, Duncan Phillips, and John Weichsel; exhibition announcements and catalogs, 1920-1967; 35 photographs of art works; a scrapbook, 1923-1944, containing exhibition announcements and catalogs, a clipping, and a photograph of an art work; 16 drawings; 3 prints; a list of Bernstein's work; 2 poems; a 4-page typescript "Reflections on the Art Status" by Bernstein; a typescript concerning painting in America by Oscar Bluemner; miscellaneous manuscripts, undated and 1964; 2 receipts for gifts of art work, 1927 and 1957; and a copy of the by-laws of the Cape Ann Arts Council, 1955.
REEL N69-137: Three exhibition catalogs, 1969, for works of Meyerowitz and Bernstein.
REEL 4866: Biographical accounts; 2 award certificates for Bernstein; letters, 1921-1978, from patrons and colleagues, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Homer Saint-Gaudens, and Lynd Ward; 3 lists of Bernstein's works; 7 poems; a manuscript "On Portraiture"; a typescript by Bernstein about Meyerowitz' work; 22 drawings; 1 print; a scrapbook of clippings, 1915-1918; a scrapbook, undated and 1931, containing a clipping, a photograph of an art work, and exhibition catalogs; clippings, 1929-1978; a reprint "On the Need of Art" by Meyerowitz, 1944; exhibition announcements and catalogs, 1921-1977; reproductions of art works; a card advertising a summer art course taught by Meyerowitz and Bernstein; 10 photographs of the artists, 1930-1962; and 19 photographs of art works.
Biographical / Historical:
Painters and printmakers; New York, N.Y. William Meyerowitz was born in Russia in either 1889 or 1898. Moving to New York in 1908, he studied at the National Academy of Design from 1912-1916. He married Theresa Bernstein in 1918, and travelled in Europe from 1922-1923. During his exhibition at the Corcoran in 1930, he met Oliver Wendell Holmes, who became a patron and a subject for later work. Theresa Bernstein was born in Philadelphia and studied at the Philadelphia School of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and continued her studies at the Art Students League in New York. She died on Feb. 13, 2002, and was generally believed to be 111, though she could have been as old as 116.
Provenance:
Donated 1966-1978 by Mr. and Mrs. William Meyerowitz. Microfilmed 1994 with funding provided by the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, the Goldie-Anna Charitable Trust, the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, and the Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The records of New York based Audubon Artists, a national exhibiting organization of painters, sculptors, and graphic artists, measure 6.7 linear feet and date from 1944-2001. The collection documents the organization's adoption of its constitution and first major expansion in the mid-1940s, and its subsequent growth to the present day. The records include correspondence with artist members, administrative files, exhibition files, financial records, printed material including an almost complete run of annual exhibition catalogs and prospectuses, and photographs of artwork, juries, and other groups involved in the annual exhibitions from the 1970s to 1999.
Scope and Contents:
The records of New York based Audubon Artists, a national exhibiting organization of painters, sculptors, and graphic artists, measure 6.7 linear feet and date from 1944-2001. The collection documents the organization's adoption of its constitution and first major expansion in the mid-1940s, and its subsequent growth to the present day. The records include correspondence with artist members, administrative files, exhibition files, financial records, printed material including an almost complete run of annual exhibition catalogs and prospectuses, and photographs of artwork, juries, and other groups involved in the annual exhibitions from the 1970s to 1999.
Administration and correspondence files document all aspects of the organization's activities and include founding documents; records of individual officers including presidents Domenico Facci, Joseph Domareki, Mark Freeman, Hughie Lee-Smith, Renee McKay and Frederic Whitaker, and historians Michael Engel and Jan Gary; correspondence with members and prospective members including artists such as John Taylor Arms, Thomas Hart Benton, Peter Blume, Stuart Davis, Walt Disney, Lyonel Feininger, Malvina Hoffman, William Meyerowitz, Henry Varnum Poor, Stow Wengenroth, and Stark Young; agenda, meeting minutes and reports to the Executive Board; and the correspondence and related records of various committees.
Exhibition files document a variety of activities related to exhibition planning, and include correspondence, entry forms, information on juries and awards, and lists of selected artwork and award winners.
Financial records include scattered treasurer correspondence and notes, records of bills paid, and some reports, investment and tax records from the 1960s-1990s.
Printed material includes an early brochure issued in 1944, and a brochure on the organization's history by Jan Gary, as well as annual exhibition catalogs and/or prospectuses from 1944 to 2000.
Photographic material consists of copy prints and negatives of photographic material used in the annual exhibition catalogs, including photos of artwork, juries and scattered exhibition installations.
Arrangement:
Before processing, much of the collection was unsorted, and there was little indication of original record keeping practices for a large portion of the material. Some of the earlier material from the 1940s had been sorted by name or activity and where possible this arrangement has been maintained. Researcherss should be aware, however, that similar types of material such as correspondence, financial, and administrative records, can be found in various places throughout the collection, particularly throughout Series 1. The collection is arranged as 5 series.
Series 1: Administration and Correspondence Files, 1944-2000 (2.43 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, OV 8)
Series 2: Exhibition Files, 1944-1999 (0.67 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 3: Financial Records, 1962-1999 (0.5 linear feet; Box 4)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1944-2001 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 4-6)
Series 5: Photographic Material, circa 1969-1999 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 6-8)
Biographical / Historical:
Audubon Artists, a national exhibiting society of painters, sculptors, and graphic artists, was founded in New York, New York, in 1940. The organization took its name from the homestead of John James Audubon where it met in December, 1941, to discuss a less regional name than the one it had initially adopted: Professional Arts Group of Washington Heights. The group's association with Audubon, however, begins and ends with the name.
Audubon Artists held its first exhibition at 8th Street Gallery in Apri-May, 1942, with an exhibiting group of 22 members. In 1943 the group was able to attract a wider pool of recognized professional artists, and by 1944 the membership had increased to 60 and the organization issued its first annual exhibition catalog with the newly adopted eagle and palette emblem.
A reorganization meeting took place on March 27, 1944, to address the growing responsibilities for the annual exhibition. President Frederic Whitaker subsequently oversaw the creation of the original consitution, the credo and the 1946 incorporation of the organization, and led a membership campaign designed to attract nationally renowned artists of various aesthetic persuasions and gain the organization more prestige.
Since then, Audubon Artists has continued to hold an annual exhibition in a variety of locations throughout New York City, including the National Academy of Design, National Arts Club, and the Salmagundi Club. The latter has been the exhibition's preferred home since 1997, and with circa 350 members Audubon Artists remains a thriving organization dedicated to "artistic progress" today.
Provenance:
The records were donated by Audubon Artists in 1978 (via Mark Freeman, president) and 2001 (via David Pena, president).
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Audubon Artists records are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
