This small collection of letters to and from painter and arts administrator Olin Dows measures 0.2 linear feet and dates from 1938 to 1949. The letters primarily document his work as director of the Treasury Relief Art Project, as an admistrator for the American Federation of Arts, and his work as a war artist. Much of the correspondence is with arts administrators Edward Bruce and Forbes Watson.
Scope and Content Note:
This small collection of letters to and from painter and arts administrator Olin Dows measures 0.2 linear feet and dates from 1938 to 1949. The letters primarily document his work as director of the Treasury Relief Art Project, as an admistrator for the American Federation of Arts, and his work as a war artist. Much of the correspondence is with arts administrators Edward Bruce and Forbes Watson.
Much of the correspondence is from 1941. Also of note is correspondence relating to the controversy over one of Maurice Sterne's murals for the Justice Department in 1940 and efforts to form a "Corps of Pictorial War Correspondents" in 1942. Some letters include attached documents including exhibition lists, announcements, news clippings, and reports.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 1 series:
Series 1: Olin Dows Letters, 1938-1949 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Olin Dows (1904-1981) was a painter and arts administrator; he primarily lived and worked in Rhinebeck, New York. Dows was born in Irvington-on-Hudson, NY. He graduated from Harvard University in 1926 and also studied at the Yale School of Fine Arts. In 1935 he was appointed director of the Treasury Relief Art Project, funded by the Works Progress Administration. In 1938 he painted a series of murals for the post office in Rhinebeck, NY, and in 1941 painted murals for the post office in Hyde Park, NY. From 1938 to 1941 Dows was on the Board of Directors of the American Federation of Arts. In 1942 he enlisted in the Army Engineers Corps and was commissioned as a war artist, covering the European Theater of Operations. An exhibit of works produced by this project was held in 1944, entitled "The Army at War." Dows was discharged from the army in 1945. A book of his watercolors, Franklin Roosevelt at Hyde Park, was published in 1949.
Related Material:
Also at the Archives of American Art is an interview of Olin Dows conducted on October 31, 1963, by Harlan Phillips.
Provenance:
Letters were donated in 1962 by Olin Dows; the provenance of one letter (on microfilm reel 2803) is unknown.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Olin Dows letters 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.
Photograph negatives of Biddle's murals for the Hall of Justice, Washington, D.C. showing the panels and details of the groups and figures.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Imandt is a photographer from Los Angeles, Calif. Friend of artist George Biddle who executed murals at the Justice Department under Dept. of Treasury's Section of Painting and Sculpture (renamed the Section of Fine Arts in 1938).
Provenance:
Donated 1968 by Robert Imandt.
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.
Apparently paged continuously with one of the editions of the author's The federal city.
Provenance:
Donated by the New York Public Library, Dec. 18, 1957.
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.
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration, American -- Washington (D.C.) Search this
United States. Dept. of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts Search this
United States. Dept. of the Treasury. Section of Painting and Sculpture Search this
Extent:
1 Linear foot ((partially filmed on 1 reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1933-1978
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, writings, clippings, photographs, and financial records.
Unmicrofilmed material: Correspondence regarding Palmer's commissions with the Federal Art Project, Public Works of Art Project, and the Treasury Relief Art Project; an essay by Palmer on gesso painting; financial records; contracts; clippings; photographs of Palmer's murals; and 9 panels entitled "Qualities that Developed the Middle West", submitted to the Section of Fine Arts as entries for the St. Louis Post Office competition, 1939.
Reel 290: Correspondence, financial records; contracts; and printed material emanating from Palmer's mural assignments for the FAP, PWAP, and the Section.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, muralist, educator; Clinton, New York Worked for the federal government on the Federal Art Project in Iowa, for the Public Works of Art Project in New York, and the Treasury Section of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts. Artist-in-residence at Hamilton College, Clinton, New York.
Provenance:
Material on reel 290 lent for microfilming, lender unknown; unmicrofilmed material donated 1981 by Joseph C. Palmer.
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.
