Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Louis Siegriest, 1975 April 5. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Interview of Louis B. Siegriest, conducted 1975 April 5, by Paul Karlstrom and Nathan Oliveira, for the Archives of American Art, at Mr. Siegriest's home, in Oakland, California. Siegriest and Oliveira speak of his early career; the Society of Six; and the Bay Area figurative school. He recalls Perham Nahl, Bernard "Red" von Eichman, Bob Howard, Frank Van Sloun, Ruth Armer, Constance Macky, Lee Randolph, John Winkler, Maurice del Mue, Maynard Dixon, Willard Cox, Louis Hughes, Seldon Gile, August Gay, Xavier Martinez, Gottardo Piazzoni, Ralph Stackpole, Theodore Wores, Bill Gaw, William Henry Clapp, Terry St. John, Galka Scheyer, Maurice Logan, C.S. Price, Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, Elmer Bischoff, Frank Lobdell, Clifford Still, Diego Rivera, Otis Oldfield, Edna Stoddart, Johan Hagemeyer, and many others.
Biographical / Historical:
Louis Siegriest (1899-1989) was a painter from Oakland, California. Full name is Louis Bassi Siegriest.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 13 min.
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.
Restrictions:
Transcript is available on the Archives of American Art's website.
An interview of Nathan Oliveira conducted 1978 Aug. 9-1981 Dec. 29, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art.
Oliveira speaks of his family background and ancestry; his childhood; his education; the development of his interest in art; working as a bookbinder; his inspirations from the old masters; studying with Max Beckmann and Otis Oldfield; his U.S. Army service; working with Richard Diebenkorn; getting established in galleries as a printmaker; teaching printmaking; his European travels; living in Illinois and its effect on his career; moving to California; and meeting and working with Martha Jackson. He recalls Billy Al Bengston, Ivan Albright, and Willem de Kooning, and discusses de Kooning's influence on him.
Oliveira also speaks of subject matter in his paintings, and his departure from and his later return to the human figure; the relationship between artist and model; the importance and persistence of the figurative tradition in American art; artists he admires. He recalls Keith Boyle and Frank Lobdell.
Biographical / Historical:
Nathan Oliveira (1928-2010) was a painter, printmaker, and sculptor from Stanford, Calif.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels and 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hrs., 39 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
Restrictions:
1978-1980 session; transcript: Transcript available on microfilm.
Five letters, 1925-1926, to "Odette" (Mrs. Helena Marguerita Da Rosa). Oldfield describes his work at the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts and daily activities as an artist. Also included is a photograph of Oldfield, 1913.
Biographical / Historical:
Otis Oldfield (1890-1969) was a painter and teacher from San Francisco, Calif.
Provenance:
Donated 1982 by Mrs. Betty Chidlaw.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- San Francisco Search this
An interview of Otis Oldfield conducted 1965 May 21, by Lewis Ferbraché, for the Archives of American Art, in Oldfield's home in San Francisco, California.
Biographical / Historical:
Otis Oldfield (1890-1969) was a painter in San Francisco, California.
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.
Topic:
Painters -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
8.5 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 11 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1896-1987
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, photographs, exhibition materials, scrapbooks, journals, printed matter, essays, gallery records and other business records, and miscellaneous papers.
REELS 3799-3806: A resume; a travel journal; an address book; appointment books; passports for Marcelle Labaudt; correspondence, including 3 illustrated Christmas cards from Walt Kuhn and letters from Edward Rowan about Lucien Labaudt's murals for the Los Angeles post office for the Section of Fine Arts; notes on costume design, geometry, and metric color scales; writings by Lucien Labaudt, including "Color Constructions--Opticolormetry", 1940; 4 sketchbooks and 70 sketches by Labaudt; prints and drawings by others; scrapbook on history of costume design; announcements; programs; reproductions; printed material concerning Labaudt's California School of Design; records of the San Francisco Women Artists organization; minutes of the Artists' Council kept by Marcelle Labaudt; artist files; guest registers; ledgers 1929 and 1939-1949, and financial records, 1943-1980, for the Lucien Labaudt Art Gallery; clippings; photographs of Labaudt's family, 1911-1981; of works of art, 1913-1968; and stage and costume design.
REEL 1052: Correspondence relating to the Lucien Labaudt Art Gallery and to Lucien and Marcelle; photographs (many undated and unidentified) of a gallery opening, 1950 of Max Hages, two paintings by Fred Martin, and two by R. Kaess; manuscript material; biographical material on artists who exhibited at the gallery; catalogs and announcements; printed material; and clippings.
REEL 1854: Photographs, 1920-1940 of: Labaudt; Labauadt working on Beach Chalet Murals; at the Bohemian Club Grove with C. Ford, Arnautoff, Otis Oldfield, Moya del Pino, Sotomayer, Timothy Pflueger, William Gerstle, and Diego Rivera; with Adeline Kent; with Marcelle and André Ferier; costumes and sets designed by Labaudt; and paintings and murals by Labaudt. Also included are 173 personal and business letters, 1923-1975; sketches; manuscripts, including essays about Labaudt by Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Lorser Feitelson; a scrapbook; business records; catalogs and announcements; clippings and other printed matter. Correspondents include: Edward Biberman, Lorser Feitelson, Walt Kuhn, Fernand Leger, Charmain London (Mrs. Jack), Henri Matisse, Marthe and Amedee Ozenfant, Timothy L. Pflueger and Edward Rowan.
UNMICROFILMED: Biographical material regarding Marcelle Labaudt's education; correspondence, 1901-1979, with friends and associates, including Alvyne Maisonneuve, Yliane Remy, Henry and Ann Varnum Poor, Charmian London, Millard Sheets and Richard Diebenkorn (1 letter, 1950); Marcelle Labaudt's travel diary kept on a trip to France, undated; art works, undated, including a sketchbook and illustrated letter by Lucien and an unsigned print; exhibition catalogs and clippings regarding the Lucien Labaudt Art Gallery; photographs, slides and negatives, 1896-1976, of friends, family and art works, and an album of photographs of Lucien's works of art.
Biographical / Historical:
Lucien Labaudt was a painter, muralist, costume and set designer. He also ran a commercial art school called the California School of Design. After his death in 1943, on assignment as a war artist correspondent, his wife, Marcelle Labaudt, established the Lucien Labaudt Art Gallery in San Francisco, California. She specialized in giving younger or relatively unknown artists their first exhibitions and operated the gallery until 1980.
Provenance:
Donated by Marcelle Labaudt 1974-1976, and after her death by her estate through her step-sister and executor, Simone M. Berges, 1984. After Berges' death in 1988, an additional installment was received via Berges' sister-in-law, Jill Alexander.
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.
Business correspondence; manuscript material; 2 financial log books kept by Oldfield and his widow, 1927-1974; 3 photo albums, one with photos of Oldfield, Ralph Stackpole and Homer Groninger, and 2 albums of works, 1924-1948; loose photos of works, of Oldfield, Yun Gee, Ralph Stackpole, Rinaldo Cuneo, Helen Oldfield, Marcel Roche and others, 1921-1957; 3 scrapbooks, 1910-1940, including catalogs and announcements, manuscript and printed material, clippings, and correspondence with Beatrice Judd Ryan, Mildred Taylor, Alice Chittenden, Lucien Labaudt and Maynard Dixon; clippings; and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, teacher; San Francisco, California. Oldfield went to Paris in 1909 where he studied briefly at the Academie Julian. He remained in France until 1924, serving in the French army during World War I, and after the war was exhibiting at the Salon des Independents and the Salon d' Automne. He taught at the California School of Fine Arts, 1925-1942, and became known for his talents as a bookbinder as well as painter. He taught at the California College of Arts and Crafts, 1945-1951 and privately until his death.
Provenance:
Material lent for microfilming 1975 by Helen Oldfield, widow of Oldfield.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Painters -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California -- San Francisco Search this
The collection documents the career of Bolivian born painter and illustrator, Antonio Sotomayor, his interest in Latin American art and artists, and his association with the San Francisco arts community. Materials found in the collection include letters, writings, sketches and sketchbooks, printed material and photographs.
Scope and Content Note:
The collection documents the career of Bolivian born painter and illustrator, Antonio Sotomayor, his interest in Latin American art and artists, and his association with the San Francisco arts community.
The collection consists primarily of correspondence, writings, artwork, printed material, and photographs documenting Sotomayor's career, his interest in Latin American art and artists, and his association with the San Francisco arts community.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as six series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1931-1988, undated (box 1, 21 folders)
Series 2: Writings, 1932-1946, undated (box 1, 11 folders)
Series 3: Artwork, 1935, undated (box 1, 23 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1935-1987 (boxes 1-2, 12 folders)
Series 5: Photographs, circa 1920-1984, undated (box 2, 13 folders)
Series 6: Oversized Material, 1941, 1958, undated (2 OV folders)
Biographical Note:
Antonio Sotomayor was born in Bolvia and came to San Francisco in 1923. He was educated at the Escuela de Belleas Arts in La Paz and the Hopkins Institute of Art in San Francisco. Primarily known for his murals and paintings, Sotomayor was also an illustrator, caricaturist, designer, ceramicist, and educator. Over the course of his career his work was exhibited in the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and South America and he became known as the popular "artist laureate" of San Francisco where he lived with his wife, Grace. He died of cancer in 1985 at the age of 82.
Provenance:
The Antonio Sotomayor papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Grace Sotomayor in 1998.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Patrons must use microfilm copy.
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 -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Cartoonists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
Muralists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
The Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records measure 31 linear feet and date from 1859 to 1984, with the bulk of material dating from 1900 to 1949. Papers contain records of the legendary Armory Show of 1913, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, which introduced modern European painting and sculpture to the American public. Papers also contain records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), the artist-run organization that mounted the Armory Show; records of the New York artists' clubs the Kit Kat Club (founded 1881) and the Penguin Club (founded 1917); and the personal and family papers of New York artist Walt Kuhn (1877-1949), one of the primary organizers of the Armory Show.
Scope and Contents note:
The Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records measure 31 linear feet and date from 1859 to 1984, with the bulk of material dating from 1900 to 1949. Papers contain records of the legendary Armory Show of 1913, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, which introduced modern European painting and sculpture to the American public. Papers also contain records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), the artist-run organization that mounted the Armory Show; records of the New York artists' clubs the Kit Kat Club (founded 1881) and the Penguin Club (founded 1917); and the personal and family papers of New York artist Walt Kuhn (1877-1949), one of the primary organizers of the Armory Show.
As Secretary for the AAPS, Kuhn retained the bulk of existing records of that organization and of the Armory Show. Minutes and correspondence make up most of the AAPS records (Series 2), as well as documents related to John Quinn's legal brief against a tariff on imported works of living artists. Armory Show Records (Series 1) include personal letters, voluminous business correspondence, a record book, miscellaneous notes, inventories and shipping records, two large scrapbooks, printed materials, a small number of photographs, and retrospective accounts of the show. The printed materials and photographs in Kit Kat Club and Penguin Club Records reflect Kuhn's deep involvement in those clubs.
The Walt Kuhn Family Papers (Series 4) contain records of his artwork, career, travels, personal and professional associations, family members, and work in vaudeville, film, and interior design. Notable among the family papers are illustrated letters and other cartoons; sketches, drawings, watercolors, and prints; candid letters from Walt to Vera Kuhn discussing art scene politics and personalities in New York, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Florida, and the Midwest; general correspondence with artists, dealers, collectors, journalists, writers, models, and fans; notes in index card files containing biographical anecdotes of the Kuhns' many contacts; provenance files that document the origin and fate of Kuhn's paintings, sculptures, and prints; papers relating to Kuhn's exhibitions and his relationships with the Marie Harriman Gallery and Durand-Ruel Gallery; and photographs and drawings depicting Kuhn's early years in Munich, Germany and Fort Lee, New Jersey; trips to Nova Scotia, New England, the Western United States, and Europe; New York and summer studios, among other subjects.
Arrangement:
This collection has been arranged into 4 series, with multiple subseries in Series 1 and 4.
Missing Title
Series 1: Armory Show Records, 1912-1963 (Boxes 1-2, 27-31, 56, OV 36; 3.6 linear feet)
Series 2: Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS) Records, 1911-1914, undated (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Kit Kat Club and Penguin Club Records, 1909-1923, undated (Box 3, 32, 56, OVs 37-38; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Walt Kuhn Family Papers, 1859-1984, undated (Box 3-26, 32-35, 56-57, OVs 39-55, 58; 26.7 linear feet)
In general, documents are arranged chronologically, alphabetically, or by type of material. Copy negatives and copy prints made from documents in this collection have been filed separately from originals, in a folder marked "copy." Duplicates of original records made or obtained by the Kuhns have been filed separately as well.
Existing envelopes are filed in front of correspondence and enclosures directly after. Correspondence in the Armory Show Records and AAPS Records is arranged alphabetically, and correspondents are listed in the box inventory following series descriptions below.
Biographical/Historical note:
Walt Kuhn (1877-1949) was an etcher, lithographer, and watercolorist, as well as being a teacher, an advisor to art collectors, an organizer, and a promoter of modern art. He played a key role in the art scene of New York City in the early 20th century, and was among the small group that organized the infamous Armory Show of 1913, officially known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, held at the 69th Regiment Armory building in New York City. After the Armory Show, Kuhn went on to a distinguished career as a painter. He was best known for his sober oil portraits of show people, clowns, acrobats, and circus performers, but was equally prolific in landscapes, still lifes, and figure and genre drawings.
Walt Kuhn was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1877. After a brief career as a bicycle shop owner in downtown Brooklyn, Kuhn traveled West in 1899 to San Francisco, CA and earned his living as a cartoonist for newspapers such as Wasp. After two years in California, he moved back East and then on to Europe to pursue further art training. He briefly attended the Académie Colarossi studio in Paris, but quickly moved to Munich where he joined the class of Heinrich von Zügel in the Royal Academy.
Kuhn returned to New York City in 1904 and took up an active role in the art scene there, participating in the Salmagundi Club and the Kit Kat Club, teaching at the New York School of Art, and cartooning for Life, Judge, Puck, and other publications. In 1910, he participated in an exhibition of Independent Artists on 35th St. with Robert Henri and met artist Arthur B. Davies.
In 1911, when the National Academy of Design opened their annual exhibition, Kuhn, Henry Fitch Taylor, Elmer MacRae, and Jerome Myers were exhibiting at Clara Potter Davidge's Madison Gallery. To these four young artists, the Academy exhibition was typically lackluster, and the attention it received was unwarranted. Sensing that they were not alone in their attitude, they decided to organize. They invited a dozen other artists to join them, thus forming the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS). The group elected Kuhn Secretary and Arthur B. Davies President, and with the help of attorney and art collector John Quinn, they incorporated and began raising funds for an independent exhibition the following year.
In September of 1912, at Davies' suggestion, Kuhn traveled to Cologne, Germany to view the Sonderbund Internationale Kunst-Austellung. There he saw presented, in overwhelming volume, the work of his European contemporaries and their modern antecedents, the post-impressionists. He immediately began selecting and securing artwork for the upcoming AAPS exhibition. Kuhn traveled through Germany, Holland, France, and England, visiting private collectors, dealers, and artists. In Paris, Kuhn was joined by Davies and American artist and art agent Walter Pach. Kuhn and Davies sailed for New York in November, leaving the details of European arrangements to Pach.
The resulting Armory Show exhibition opened in New York in February 1913, and a selection of the foreign works traveled to Chicago and Boston in March and April. It included approximately 1300 American and European works of art, arranged in the exhibition space to advance the notion that the roots of modernism could be seen in the works of the old masters, from which the dramatically new art of living artists had evolved. Savvy and sensational publicity, combined with strategic word-of-mouth, resulted in attendance figures over 200,000 and over $44 thousand in sales. The Armory Show had demonstrated that modern art had a place in the public taste, that there was a market for it and legitimate critical support as well.
During the first World War, Kuhn stayed in NY and was active in the Kit Kat Club, an artists' club founded in 1881, which provided its members with collective studio space, live models, exhibitions, and an annual costume ball. In 1917, Kuhn founded another group called the Penguin Club, which had similar objectives to the Kit Kat Club, but with Kuhn himself as the gatekeeper. In addition to exhibitions and costume balls, the Penguin Club held summer outings and stag dinners, and maintained collective studio and exhibition space on East 15th Street in Manhattan. Its members included Americans and European artists displaced by the war in Europe. In the 1920s, Kuhn expanded a few sketches he had written for Penguin Balls into full-blown vaudeville productions, some of which were incorporated into larger musical revues such as The Merry Go Round and The 49ers and traveled around the country. Kuhn's theater work continued until 1928, and his fascination with show business continued to influence him throughout his life.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Kuhn gradually achieved recognition for his artwork, with sales to private collectors and dealers including Edith Halpert, Merritt Cutler, Lillie Bliss, John Quinn, and Marie Harriman. Kuhn also promoted other young painters whose work he liked, including Otis Oldfield, Lily Emmet Cushing, John Laurent, Frank di Gioia, and the self-taught Vermont artist Patsy Santo. Sometimes artists would contact him by mail, asking for lessons or advice. His lengthy letters to students offer coaching in technique and subject matter, as well as in the overall problem of success in art.
In 1929, Kuhn moved into the 18th St. studio that he would keep until the end of his life. He kept a rack of costumes in the studio, mostly made by Vera Kuhn, and his models, many of them stage and circus performers, would come and sit for Kuhn's portraits. The same year his painting The White Clown was exhibited at the newly established Museum of Modern Art in New York, bringing intense publicity and sales interest. Around this time, Kuhn began to receive the support of collector Duncan Phillips and curator Juliana Force of the Whitney Museum of American Art, both of whom made purchases and consistently exhibited his work.
Marie Norton Whitney Harriman, second wife of railroad magnate and diplomat W. Averell Harriman, shared a professional liaison with Kuhn that would take many forms and last until his death. Soon after the success of The White Clown, Kuhn established a relationship with the Marie Harriman Gallery, where he participated in group and solo shows during the height of his career. Kuhn also traveled with the Harrimans to Europe in 1931, where the three visited important private collections and acquired many valuable modern paintings for the Harrimans. Their collection, so heavily influenced by Kuhn's ideas about art, would eventually go to the National Gallery of Art.
Kuhn was an artist who understood the art business and never shied away from it. For Kuhn, promoting the ideas and practitioners of a certain brand of modernism was an expression of both aesthetic ideology and pragmatic self-interest. His contribution to the public discourse on modernism situated his own work at the heart of art history and the marketplace. Regardless of his motivations, he was indisputably a key player at a pivotal time in American art, when academic art was riotoulsy overturned to make way for modernism. His paintings are now held in major museum collections around the country, where most of them arrived with bequests from the collectors Kuhn had cultivated so carefully in his lifetime.
Sources consulted for this biography include The Story of the Armory Show (1988) by Milton W. Brown, Walt Kuhn, Painter: His Life and Work (1978) by Philip Rhys Adams, and "Walt Kuhn" by Frank Getlein, in the 1967 catalog of the Kennedy Galleries, Inc.
Related Archival Materials note:
The Archives of American Art holds the papers of Walter Pach, the European representative of the Armory Show.
Provenance:
The Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records were loaned for microfilming and later donated to the Archives of American Art by Walt Kuhn's daughter Brenda Kuhn in several installments between 1962 and 1979. An additional accession of letters, photographs, and an artifact was purchased by the Archives in 2000. Another addition was donated by Terry DeLapp, Kuhn's dealer, in 2015.
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.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. 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:
Etchers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Watercolorists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Lithographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Leo Holub conducted 1997 July 3, by Paul Karlstrom, for the Archives of American Art, in San Francisco, Calif.
Holub discusses his background, being born in Arkansas, moving to New Mexico, and then to Oakland, Calif. (1923); early educational experiences in Oakland, and later at the Art Institute of Chicago; seeing Edward Weston's photographic work at an exhibition in Chicago, and admiring Weston's nude studies of Charis Wilson; his return to the Bay Area; his studio on Montgomery St. (Monkey Block); meeting painter Matthew Barnes, who had assisted Diego Rivera with his murals at the California School of Fine Arts (CSFA), 1931-1932; his experiences as a student at CSFA- its program and instructors which included Maurice Sterne, Gottardo Piazzoni, Lee Randolph, Dick Hackett, Otis Oldfield, William Gaw, Spencer Mackey, and Victor Arnautoff; fellow students including Hassel Smith, Ed Corbett, and Florence Michelson (his future wife); and his beginning awareness of modernism.
Holub discusses his involvement with the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939); apprenticeship with industrial designer Joe Sinel and the advent of the product design era; his founding of Design Development Associates, and staying only a year before moving to Grass Valley, Calif. for his son's health; his return to the Bay Area, succeeding Emmy Lou Packard at the San Francisco Planning Office graphic arts dept.; working at the housing agency and redevelopment agency and as chief designer for the Bay Area Rapid Transit report.
He recalls his encounter with Ansel Adams at the 1955 Yosemite workshop where Holub produced a pictorial map of Yosemite; Adam's "zone system" of exposing for shadows and developing for highlights; going on to teach at CSFA (1955-1957), where Imogen Cunningham was a guest instructor; Minor White replacing him; his ten years at Stanford University's planning office (1960-1970); his campus views "Stanford Scene" that were used by the university to appeal for more space for the art dept., and his shows at Stanford's art gallery in 1964 and at the Washington, D.C. home of Vice President Walter Mondale in 1980.
Biographical / Historical:
Leo Holub (1916-2010) was a photographer, lithographer, and teacher from San Francisco, Calif.
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.
Topic:
Photographers -- California -- San Francisco -- Interviews Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California Search this
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945 -- California -- San Francisco
Date:
1936-1937
Scope and Contents:
Twenty volumes of the publication, CALIFORNIA ART RESEARCH, containing monographs on artists whose principal residence was San Francisco.
REEL NDA/Cal 1: Artists include Robert Aitken, Arthur Atkins, Albert Bierstadt, Ray Boynton, Anne Bremer, Henry J. Breuer, Giuseppe Cadenasso, Emil Carlsen, M. Earl Cummings, Rinaldo Cuneo, Charles Dickman, Maynard Dixon, Charles Grant, Armin Hansen, H. W. Hansen, Thomas Hill, Christian Jorgensen, Amedee Joullin, William Keith, Constance Macky, Xavier Martinez, Arthur Mathews, Francis McComas, Arthur C. Nahl, Charles C. Nahl, Hugo W. A. Nahl, Perham W. Nahl, Virgil T. Nahl, Ernest Peixotto, Charles R. Peters, Gottardo Piazzoni, Horatio Nelson Poole, Arthur Putnam, Joseph Raphael, Mary C. Richardson, Julian Rix, Charles D. Robinson, Toby Rosenthal, Will Sparks,Jules Tavernier, Douglas Tilden, Domenico Tojetti, Frank Van Sloun, Thaddeus Welch, Virgil Williams, Evelyn A. Withrow, and Theodore Wores.
REEL NDA/Cal 2: Artists include Rowena M. Abdy, Gertrude Albright, Hermann O. Albright, Maxine Albro, Victor Arnautoff, Matthew R. Barne s, Frank Bergman, Jane Berlandina, Ray Bethers, Beniamino Bufano, Margaret Bruton, Chee Chin, Ruth Cravath, Helen Forbes, Euphemia C. Fortune, William Gaw, Edith Hamlin, William Hesthal, Clark Hobart, Charles Howard, John G. Howard, John L. Howard, Robert Boardman Howard, Adaline Kent, Dong Kingman, Lucien Labaudt, Spencer Mackey, Jo Mora, Jose Moya del Pino, Chiura Obata, Otis Oldfield, Julius Pommer, George B. Post, Dorothy W. Puccinelli, Raimondo Puccinelli, Lee F. Randolph, Andree Rexroth, Matteo Sandona, Geneve R. Sargeant, Sergey J. Scherbakoff,Jacques Schnier, Yoshida Sekido, Joseph M. Sheridan,Ralph Stackpole, and Bernard Zakheim.
Biographical / Historical:
Publication of the Works Progress Administration; San Francisco, Calif. Sponsored by Dr. Walter Heil of the M.H. de Young Museum. Was originally a joint project of the WPA-Statistical projects division and the WPA-Federal Art Project in order to disseminate information about artists and art in the San Francisco region.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
San Francisco, WPA Project 2874, 1936-1937.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Artists -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Topic:
New Deal, 1933-1939 -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the arts -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Federal aid to the public welfare -- California -- San Francisco Search this
Art and state -- California -- San Francisco Search this
An interview of Olga Burroughs conducted 1964 October 25, by Mary McChesney.
Burroughs speaks of the founding of the Sacramento Art Center; the government's support for the Center; and artists who were affiliated with it, including Dong Kingman, Otis Oldfield and Beniamino Bufano.
Biographical / Historical:
Olga Burroughs was an art administrator in Sacramento, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 30 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Federal Art Project. Photographic Division Search this
Container:
Box 17, Folder 34
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1935-circa 1942
Collection 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.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection, circa 1920-1965, bulk 1935-1942. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and The Walton Family Foundation
Correspondence is between Spohn and his colleagues, including two letters from Alexander Calder, eight letters from Mark Rothko, and twenty-eight letters from Clyfford Still.
See Appendix for an alphabetical list of correspondents from Series 2.2.
Appendix: Alphabetical List of Correspondents in 2.2:
Abend, George and Kitty Parker Abend (artists): 1950-1960 (4 letters)
Abingdon Square Painters: 1958 (1 letter)
Addison Gallery of American Art: 1958 (2 letters)
American Artists' Congress: 1938 (1 letter)
American Library of Color Slides: 1941 (1 letter)
Anderson, Claude J. K.: 1958 (1 letter)
Anderson, Wendell (poet): 1955-1956 (2 letters)
Archives of American Art: 1964 (4 letters)
Art Academy of Cincinnati: 1958-1959 (3 letters)
Art Association of Newport: 1958 (1 letter)
Art Career School: 1958 (1 letter)
Artists Equity Association: 1950 (1 letter)
Arts and Architecture: 1963 (1 letter)
Art Students League: 1958-1964 (2 letters)
Art Times: 1959 (1 letter)
Art Workshop of the Rivington Neighborhood Asociation, Inc.: 1958 (1 letter)
Ashton, Dore: 1969 (1 letter)
Ayer, Phyllis: 1956 (1 letter)
Bachels, Andrew: 1969 (1 letter)
Barnett, Rici: 1973 (1 letter)
Barron, John N.: 1966 (1 letter)
Beasley, David and Viola: 1963-1978 (11 letters)
Bender: Albert M. Bender Memorial Trust: 1947-1951 (2 letters)
Bethers, Peggy: 1940 (1 letter)
Blesh, Rudi: 1960 (1 letter)
Board of Education, City of New York: 1958-1965 (2 letters)
Booth, James W. (family friend): 1943-1956 (7 letters)
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture: 1966 (1 letter)
Brown, Lesley: 1955 (1 letter)
Burke, Bob: 1971 (1 letter)
Burnham, Janet B.: 1950 (1 letter)
Bute, Janey: 1971 (1 letter)
Calcagno, Lawrence: 1969-1977 (5 letters)
Calder, Alexander: 1970-1972 (2 letters)
California Palace of the Legion of Honor: 1964 (1 letter)
California School of Fine Arts: 1955-1964 (2 letters)
California: University of California at Berkeley: 1940 (1 letter)
California: University of California at Santa Clara: 1975-1976 (2 letters)
Carewe, Sylvia: 1969 (1 letter)
Carr, James F.: 1967 (1 letter)
Chase Manhattan Bank: 1971 (2 letters)
Chisholm, Stuart (landscape architect): 1925 (1 letter)
Clayton, Janice: undated and 1965-1974 (6 letters)
Clifton, Jim and Mary (owners of a Spohn painting): 1956 (1 letter)
College Art Association: 1949 (1 letter)
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center: 1952-1970 (4 letters)
Cooke, Regina: 1955 (1 letter)
Cooley, Anne: 1941 (1 letter)
Corbett, Ed and Steff, and Rosamond Tirana: undated and 1951-1977(47 letters, including a 1962 wedding announcement for Corbett and Tirana, and a letter dated Mar 21, 1963 enclosing a photograph of Ed with an amputated foot)
Craig, Jeanne: 1963 (2 letters)
Crawford, Jane and Ernie: 1958 (3 letters)
Crehan, Hub and Anne: 1960 (1 letter)
Crewe, Sylvia: 1969 (1 letter)
Crews, Judson and Mildred (publishers of poetry magazine in Taos): 1952-1969 (4 letters)
Cumming, Ann (and Jennifer Sutcliffe): 1956 (1 letter)
Cunningham, Ben: 1950 (1 letter)
D'Arcangelo, Allan and Sylvia: 1965 (1 letter)
Dasburg, Andrew: 1961 (1 letter)
DePuy, John: 1964 (1 letter)
Diebenkorn, Richard: 1951 (1 letter)
Dilexi Gallery (L. James Newman): 1965 (1 letter)
Dixon, Budd (J.B.) and Peggy: 1954-1970 (5 letters)
Gallery of Modern Art, Taos, N.M.: 1972 (1 letter)
Garcia, Enos: 1954 (1 letter)
Georgiadis, Alex: 1951 (1 letter)
Gettell, Mrs. Richard Glenn: 1958 (an invitation to meet Col. George Lincoln)
Gluck, Heidi: 1977 (1 letter)
Gomez, Dorothy Massey (mother of anthropologist Bill Massey): 1950 (1 letter)
Gomez, Joe: undated and 1971 (2 letters)
Grant, Bob: 1953-1972 (2 letters)
Grant, Carolyn: 1969 (1 letter)
Great Neck Board of Education: 1960 (1 letter)
Grimm, Marjorie: 1973 (1 letter)
Grossmann, Nancy: 1966 (1 letter)
Guggenheim: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation: 1953-1954 (2 letters)
Harwood Foundation: 1953-1956 (2 letters)
Harris, Roger: 1973 (1 letter)
Hawley, W. R.: 1977 (1 letter enclosing an exhibition catalog "Unemployed Wizards")
Heischman, R. L.: undated (1 letter)
Hill, Dorothy: 1967 (2 letters)
Hocks, Fred: 1952 (1 letter)
Howard, Ellen and Galen: 1957 (1 letter)
Howard, Robert Boardman and Adaline Kent (San Francisco sculptors): 1951-1955 (2 letters)
Howard, Madge Knight and Charles H.: 1946-1954 (21 letters)
Hultburg, John and Lynne: 1959-1974 (5 letters)
Huntsville Museum of Art: see Braunstein/Quay Gallery
Hurst, Tricia: 1977 (1 letter)
Hutchinson, Mrs. D. H.: 1925 (1 letter)
Illinois: University of Illinois at Urbana: 1952 (2 letters)
Jackson: Martha Jackson Gallery: 1965 (1 letter)
Jacobson, Art (artist) and Ursula: 1950-1960 (9 letters)
Jonson Gallery: 1969-1970 (2 letters)
Kadish, Reuben: 1958 (1 letter)
Kahl: Leone Kahl Gallery: 1964 (1 letter)
Karnes, Marion Watson: undated and 1947-1954 (80 letters from Spohn)
Keeney, James: 1963 (1 letter)
Kieve, Rudolph: 1971 (3 letters)
King, Vivie and Rufus: 1977 (1 letter)
Kingman, Dong: undated calling card
Kuhlman, Walt: 1957 (2 letters)
Kultberg, Lynne and John: 1965 (1 letter)
Labaudt, Lucien: 1943 (1 letter)
Labaudt, Marcelle: 1956 (1 letter)
Landgren, Paula: undated (1 letter)
Lannan, J. Patrick (The Susquehanna Corporation/ The Lannan Foundation): 1966-1971 (4 letters); see Personal Business Records for correspondence pertaining to the Foundation's support of Spohn, 1961-1962
LaPlante, John (Stanford University): 1949 (1 letter)
Lazarus, Rosalind: 1960 (1 letter)
LeBow-Gould Associates: 1958 (3 letters)
Lee, Martha: 1957 (1 letter)
Lehman, Margarett: 1957 (1 letter)
Letter Shop: 1956 (1 letter)
Library of Congress Copyright Office: 1932 (1 letter concerning the trisection of an arbitrary angle)
Lippincott, Janet (artist): 1955-1956 (5 letters)
Lockwood, Ward: 1952 (1 letter)
MacAgy, Douglas and Betty: undated and 1945-1973 (13 letters)
MacAgy, Jermayne (Jerry): 1945-1948 (2 letters)
Macdowell Colony: 1975 (1 letter)
Machcinski, Barbara: 1971 (1 letter)
MacIntyre, Carlyle F.: 1945 (1 letter)
Maes, Virginia: 1941 (1 letter)
Mare, Doris and Emil: 1969 (1 letter)
Marse, John J.: 1962 (1 letter)
Marter, Joan: 1977 (3 letters)
Martin, Agnes: 1958-1975 (3 letters)
Massey, Ellen DeSelms: 1940 (2 letters)
McCarthy, Francis Joseph (AIA): 1950 (1 change of address card)
McChesney, Mary (Fuller) and Mac: 1952-1977 (62 letters, including one dated May 21, 1968 decorated with a lizard skin, one dated Jun 08, 1973 enclosing a wooden Yalalag Indian good luck charm, and one dated May 26, 1976 enclosing a photograph of group and McChesney art work at Temko mansion in Berkeley)
McCormick, Herbert: 1951 (1 letter)
McDonald, Katharyn: 1963-1964 (2 letters)
Merlin Development Company: 1962 (1 letter)
Merrick, Barbara: 1975 (1 letter)
Meyer, Fleur Cowler: 1968 (1 letter)
Miller, Dorothy (Museum of Modern Art): 1952-1977 (8 letters)
Moore Dry Dock Company: 1942 (2 letters)
Murphy, Jack W. and Dori (owners of some of Spohn's work): 1951-1976 (7 letters)
Mygatt, Tony: 1954 (1 letter)
National Collection of Fine Arts: 1977 (1 letter)
Neininger, Urban and Jeanne: 1950-1976 (48 letters)
New Mexico Highlands University: 1958-1969 (3 letters)
New Mexico: Museum of New Mexico Art Gallery: 1952-1957 (3 letters)
New Mexico: University of New Mexico at Albuquerque: 1957-1970 (2 letters)
New York City Transit Authority: 1962-1963 (2 letters)
New York Saucer Information Bureau: 1962-1965 (2 letters)
New York University: 1958-1960 (3 letters)
Oakland Museum (Terry St. John): 1970-1977 (33 letters)
O'Connor, Francis V.: 1979 (1 letter)
Ohio State University: 1958 (1 letter)
Oldfield, Otis: 1942 (1 letter of recommendation for Spohn for Albert M. Bender Grants-in-Aid)
Olmsted, Frederick: 1943 (1 letter)
Oregon: University of Oregon: 1974-1975 (2 letters)
Ortman, George: 1964 (2 letters)
Otto, Curtis, Roberta, and Adrienne: 1957 (1 letter)
Oxford University Press: 1949 (1 letter)
Parrett, Fred C.: undated and 1954 (2 letters)
Peale, Norman Vincent (office of): 1975 (1 letter)
Pepsi-Cola Annual Art Competition: 1947 (2 letters)
Peterson, Arline? and Pete: 1955-1957 (2 letters)
Petrovo, Miriam: 1961-1971 (11 letters)
Pitney, Peggy and Ed: 1948 (1 letter)
Queens College: 1958 (2 letters)
Ramsay, Anna R.: 1954 (1 letter)
Rankine, Vivie (Mrs. Paul Scott Rankine): 1964-1981 (5 letters)
Remington, Deborah: 1963 (1 letter)
Reminick, Harry: 1954 (1 letter)
Reynal, Jeanne: 1941 (an invitation to a reception for Arshile Gorky) and 1952 (1 letter)
Ribak, Louis and Bea: 1954-1976 (5 letters)
Richards, Tally: 1971-1980 (5 letters)
Ridiman, Bob: 1963-1970 (4 letters)
Rogoway, Marjorie and Rog: undated and 1953-1968 (15 letters)
Rosebury, Amy and Ted: 1954 (1 letter)
Rosen, Michael: 1970-1974 (4 letters)
Roswell Museum and Art Center: 1977-1978 (6 letters)
Rothko Foundation: 1971-1975 (4 letters)
Rothko, Mark and Mell: 1946-1958 (8 letters)
Rusnell, Wesley: 1972-1979 (13 letters)
Sachs Gallery: undated and 1968 (2 letters)
St. John's College: 1969 (1 letter)
Salzer, Oscar: 1955 (1 letter)
Sanders, Una and John: 1975-1977 (6 letters)
Sands, Louis: 1948 (1 letter)
San Francisco Art Association: 1939-1955 (19 letters)
San Francisco Museum of Art: 1949-1977 (18 letters)
Saxe, Suzanne: 1972-1973 (2 letters)
Scarpitta, Pat and Sal: 1968 (1 letter)
Schneiderwirth, Joan (friend of Ed Corbett): 1955 (1 letter)
School of Visual Arts: 1964-1970 (86 letters)
Schubart, Pauline: 1950 (1 letter)
Shoemaker, Peter (former student of Spohn): 1955-1958 (5 letters)
Shiras, Mary: 1958-1965 (10 letters)
Sihvonen, Oli: 1953-1977 (66 letters)
Slivka, David: 1954 (1 letter)
Smith, Hassel: 1948 (1 letter)
Spoerri, John: 1965-1977 (10 letters)
Stables Art Gallery (Leone Kahl, director): 1956-1965 (14 letters)
Stanford University: 1946 (1 letter)
Stephens, Dick and Carolyn: 1960-1965 (3 letters)
Stevens: Arthur Stevens Book Club: 1968 (1 letter)
Still, Clyfford: 1948-1968 (28 letters, including one dated Nov 1950 to Ed Corbett, and one dated Nov 29, 1963 enclosing a hand-drawn map to Still's home)
Strehler, Allen (Sociologist): 1954 (1 letter)
Summers, Al: 1952 (1 letter)
Sutcliffe, Jennifer (beautiful English girl who passed through Taos with Ann Cumming): 1956 (2 letters)
Sznajderman, Marius: 1967 (1 letter)
Taggart, Bill, Sandy, and Sean: 1968 (1 letter)
Taos Artist's Association (Taos Art Association): 1956-1964 (6 letters)
Taos Realty: 1968-1969 (3 letters)
Tatarsky, Hy and Muriel: 1952-1957 (2 letters)
Tatarsky, Stephanie: 1963-1964 (7 letters)
Taylor, Gene: 1925 (letter of introduction to Erskine Gwynne)
Temianka, Henri: 1941 (1 letter)
Tensan, Keith and Gene: 1957 (1 letter)
Terrain Gallery: 1960 (1 letter)
Terry Art Institute: 1951-1952 (7 letters)
Third Street Gallery (Helen Kaye, Director): 1950 (1 letter)
Thomas, Corine (owner of a Spohn painting): 1954-1957 (7 letters)
Tirana, Rosamond: undated and 1958-1962 (10 letters); see Corbett, Edward for additional letters
Van Duren, Allan and Betsy: 1953 (1 letter)
Van Ingen, Pat: 1973 (2 letters)
Varda, Yantoo?: 1949 (1 letter)
Visual Arts Gallery: 1967 (2 letters)
Vollmer, George A.: 1945-1948 (3 letters)
Von Herberg, Charlotte: 1950-1958 (2 letters)
Wakefield, Ruth Cravath: 1943 (1 letter of recommendation for Spohn)
Wandell, Walt and Doreen: 1958 (1 letter)
Wasley, Emily (aunt) and Sarah Rhoads (cousin): 1946-1955 (14 letters)
Wehrer, Anne: 1974 (1 letter)
Whaley, Bill: 1974 (1 letter)
White, Minor: 1963 (1 letter)
Who's Who In American Art: 1952-1969 (5 letters)
Who's Who In The Midwest: 1959 (1 letter)
Who's Who In The West: 1959 (1 letter)
Willard, Charlotte: 1960-1967 (3 letters)
Williams, Matilda A.: 1958 (1 letter)
Wilmans, Margery and Steve: 1974 (1 letter)
Winston, James W.: 1941 (1 letter)
Wise: Howard Wise Gallery: 1962 (1 letter)
Woelffer, Emerson and Diana: 1955-1958 (5 letters)
Wood, Ralph: 1960-1970 (5 letters)
Wright, Dorothy: 1926 (1 letter)
Wurlitzer: Helene Wurlitzer Foundation: 1954-1957 (3 letters)
Young-Hunter, Mrs. John: 1959 (1 letter)
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use of unfilmed material requires an appointment.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Clay Spohn Papers, circa 1862-1985, bulk 1890-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Bulliet, C. J. (Clarence Joseph), 1883-1952 Search this
Container:
Box 18, Folder 63
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1888-1959
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
The C. J. Bulliet papers, circa 1888-1959. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Correspondence in this series is primarily between Walt Kuhn and his professional and personal contacts and spans his entire career. Correspondents include family members, fellow artists, students, dealers, museum and gallery staff, collectors, friends, fans, critics and colleagues. Copies of outgoing correspondence are often present and are interfiled chronologically. Also included is scattered correspondence of Vera and Brenda Kuhn, and correspondence written after Kuhn died that documents his family's efforts to exhibit, sell, and donate his work.
The content of the correspondence ranges from personal and candid to purely transactional. Artists, collectors, dealers, and critics involved in the creation of significant works of art and collections in the early 20th century are represented. An alphabetical index of selected correspondents in this series is provided in the appendix. Another resource for accessing correspondence are the card files in Series 4.8: Notes and Writings, where correspondence with various contacts was indexed by the Kuhns and filed alphabetically by name.
In 1938, Walt and Vera Kuhn wrote and self-published the pamphlet, "The Story of the Armory Show" and sent it gratis to hundreds of interested parties. Among the correspondence from that year are many heartfelt reponses from fellow artists and other witnesses to the 1913 event, including Charles Sheeler, William Glackens, Stuart Davis, André Derain, Henri Roché, Walter Pach, and J.H. du Bois to name just a few.
Kuhn regularly instructed students through the mail with lengthy letters about painting techniques and methods. San Francisco painter Otis Oldfield is represented by over 100 lengthy letters in this subseries. Kuhn's letters to Oldfield, returned at Kuhn's request in 1945 for a publication project that was never realized, are interfiled. Other correspondence students include Patsy Santo, Frank di Gioia, Watson Bidwell, John Bernhardt, John Laurent, Goldie Paley, and Eric Lundgren. See the appendix for dates.
Types of material include letters (sometimes illustrated), postcards, invitations, announcements, and Christmas cards, which are sometimes made of original artwork. Enclosures are often found, such as photographs, clippings, tracings of art work, writings, receipts, passes and membership cards. Some letters indicate enclosures that were previously separated and can be found in other series.
Significant writings enclosed with correspondence include an early vaudeville script written by Kuhn and his friend, Archibald Macnab (1923); drafts of articles about Kuhn by the poet Genevieve Taggard (1931), critic Alan Burroughs (1930), and patron Eloise Spaeth (1950); and an unpublished history of the 1913 Armory Show by Paul Bird (1938). Photographs and photographic postcards are also found throughout the series. Included are photo postcards from Spain and France (1925), and from Arizona and California (1928); and photographs related to Kuhn's work for the Union Pacific Railroad Company (1936, 1938).
Additional correspondence can be found throughout the collection. See individual series descriptions for details.
See Appendix for a list of selected correspondents in Series 4.3.
Appendix: Selected Correspondents in Series 4.3:
The following is a selective list of correspondents represented in Series 4.3: General Correspondence, with cross-references to correspondence in 4.4: Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files and 4.5: Provenance Files. It is not comprehensive. An effort has been made to index regionally and nationally known artists, Kuhn's patrons and students, models, art historians, writers, museum and gallery staff, dealers, and persons known to be well-represented in other collections at the Archives of American Art. Cross-references to existing letters in other parts of the Kuhn papers and Armory Show records are included selectively. Correspondents who have not been indexed include family members, neighbors, business contacts from his theater and vaudeville work of the early 1920s, and from his railroad car design work from 1936 to 1948.
Barr, Alfred H. Jr. (Museum of Modern Art): 1929, 1934, 1945 (5 letters)
Barrie, Erwin S. (Grand Central Art Galleries): 1927, 1951 (5 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Barrington, Lewis: 1932
Barry, Bobby (see Provenance Files, "Portrait of Bobby Barry")
Bartlett, Frederic Clay, Jr.: 1939-1940, 1942-1943, 1945, 1947 (7 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Bartley, Louise: 1931
Baur, John I.H. (Brooklyn Museum): 1946 (see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Beals, Ralph A. (New York Public Library): 1949
Bear, Donald (Santa Barbara Museum of Art): 1936-1938, 1945, 1948, 1949 (6 items including Christmas cards with original prints; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Beerbohm, Marvin (Detroit School of Art): 1938
Bell, Janet M. (John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art): 1952 (4 letters)
Belmont, Eleanor R.: 1935 Benjamin, Ruth: 1940
Bernays, Edward L. (see also Doris E. Fleischman): 1928, 1935-1937 (4 letters)
Bernhardt, John: 1948-1950 (4 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files, 1947)
Frankenstein, Alfred V. ( -- San Francisco Chronicle -- ): 1940 (2 letters)
Frankfurter, Alfred M.: 1938, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1950 (10 letters)
Fraser, Joseph T. (Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts): 1947, 1951 (3 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Free, Karl R.: 1935
Freeman, Anna (Whitney Museum of American Art): 1938 (2 letters)
Frey, Erwin F.: 1943, 1945, 1947 (4 letters)
Frueh, Alfred: 1925, 1953 (2 letters)
Freund, Frank E.W.: 1932, 1934-1935, 1938 (7 letters)
Friede, Donald S. (Boni and Liveright Publishers): 1927
Frink, Angelika W.: 1941 (see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Gallagher, Edward J.: 1952
Gallatin, Albert E.: 1927, 1928 (3 letters)
Gardner, Paul (William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art): 1936, 1938-1945, 1947-1950 (26 items including Christmas card with original print; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Gardner, Mrs. William (see Owen)
Garrett, Garet: 1928
Garrett, Alice (Mrs. John Work): 1938, 1939 (5 items, including Christmas card with original photograph)
Gates, Margaret (Studio House, Philips Memorial Gallery): 1935
Genauer, Emily (New York World Telegram): 1947
Gest, J.H. (Cincinnati Museum Association): 1928 (3 letters)
Gise, Margaret (Marie Harriman Gallery): 1938 (see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files and Provenance Files, "Girl in Shako" and "Guide")
Glackens, William and Edith: 1938
Glackens, Edith: 1938, 1941, 1943, 1949, 1950 (7 items, including outgoing letters of condolence when William Glackens died, and response from Edith with account of his last day)
Godwin, Black-More (Toledo Museum of Art): 1932 (2 letters)
Goodrich, Lloyd (Whitney Museum of American Art; see Provenance Files, "Man with Ship Model")
Goodyear, A. Conger: 1934, 1938, 1941, 1949 (5 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files, and Provenance Files, "Dryad" and "Man From Eden")
Goodyear, Mary (Mrs. A. Conger, also Mrs. John W. Ames): 1936-1942, 1947, 1949, 1954 (44 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Grace Horne Galleries (see M.E. Brown, Littlefield; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Graham, John D.: 1937
Greason, Donald (Deerfield Academy): 1942 (discussing Harry Whitney)
Grossman, Ted (Edwin Booth): 1938, 1940, 1941, 1945, 1948, 1951, 1952 (13 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Grumman, Paul H. (Joslyn Memorial Art Museum): 1943
Hagen, Oskar: 1938, 1939 (2 letters)
Hagerman, Percy (Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center): 1949
Hale, Dorothea: 1928
Hale, Robert B. (Metropolitan Museum of Art): 1950-1951 (2 letters)
Halpert, Edith (Downtown Gallery): 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 (7 letters; New Year card 1928 printed with collage of Walt Kuhn)
Keppel, Frederick P. (Carnegie Corporation): 1938 (2 letters)
Kerr, George F. (Society of Illustrators): 1930 (2 letters)
Kimball, Fiske (The Pennsylvania Museum): 1928, 1939 (2 letters)
Kingman, Eugene (Joslyn Memorial Art Museum): 1951 (4 letters)
Kirsch, Dwight (University of Nebraska Department of Art): 1941, 1943-1944, 1946, 1950, 1953 (9 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Kirstein, Lincoln (Museum of Modern Art): 1932
Kissel, Eleanora: 1928
Kistler, Aline ( -- San Francisco Chronicle -- , -- The San Franciscan -- , M.H. de Young Memorial Museum): 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933 (6 letters)
Klopfer, Donald S. (Random House, Inc.): 1940
Kohl, Dorothy (Philadelphia Art Alliance): 1945 (3 letters)
Komroff, Manuel: 1938
Kravis, Hal: 1936, 1941 (3 letters)
Kunstverein München E.V.: 1930
Kurtzworth, Harry Muir (Los Angeles Art Association, California Academy of the Fine Arts): 1938 (2 letters)
Lahr, Bert: 1948 (see also Provenance Files, "Portrait of Bert Lahr")
Labaudt, Lucien: 1929, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938 (5 items including Christmas card; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Lamb, James E.: 1928, 1930, 1935, 1937 (4 letters)
Larcada, Dick: 1963
Laurent, John: 1947-1950, undated (12 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Laurent, Mimi (Mrs. Robert): 1952
Laurent, Robert (Indiana University): 1923, 1949, 1953 (8 letters; see also Provenance Files, "Black Butterfly")
Lea, Lida Gorwin; 1935-1938, 1942 (8 letters, including Christmas card with original print; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Mencken, H.L.: 1945, 1946, 1947 (3 letters; see also Series 4.8: Notes and Writings)
Merrick, James Kirk (Philadelphia Art Alliance): 1945
Messer, Thomas M. (American Federation of Arts): 1952-1954 (5 letters)
Metcalf, Thomas N. (Boston Museum of Modern Art, Inc.): 1938, 1940 (2 letters)
Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1949, 1956 (5 letters; see also Hale, F.H. Taylor, Wehle)
Mellon, Minna (Mrs. Paul): 1946
Millay, Edna St. Vincent (typed copy): 1947 (see also Engen Boissevain in Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Miller, Dorothy C. (Museum of Modern Art): 1943
Miller, Lulu F. (The Hackley Gallery of Fine Arts): 1928
Milliken, William M.: 1936 (2 letters)
Minnigerode, C. Powell (Corcoran Gallery of Art): 1928 (2 letters)
Montclair Art Museum: 1928, 1932 (2 letters)
Montgomery, Gertrude: 1928
More, Hermon (Whitney Museum of American Art): 1933, 1935, 1943, 1948-1950 (8 letters)
Morgan, Agnes: 1938
Morison, David (Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation): 1930
Morley, Grace: 1936, 1937-1939, 1943 (11 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Morse, John (see Provenance Files, "Man and Sea Beach")
Muguruza Otaño, Pedro: 1928
Museum of Art of Ogonquit: 1953 (see also Strater)
Museum of Modern Art (see Barr, Catlin, Haven, Hawkins, Kirstein, D. Miller, Pelles, A. Porter)
Nadelman, Viola M. (Mrs. Elie): 1947
Nankivell, Frank: 1934-1935 (Christmas cards with signed prints)
National Arts Club: 1932
Newhall, Beaumont (Museum of Modern Art): 1938
Nichols, Hobart (National Academy of Design): 1948
Nichols, J.C. (William Rockhill Nelson Trust): 1948
North, Henry Ringling (Ringling Brothers): 1941 (2 letters)
Norton Gallery and School of Art (see Hunter)
Norton, Ralph H. (Norton Gallery and School of Art): 1948
O'Connor, John Jr. (Carnegie Institute): 1943, 1945-1946, 1948 (8 letters)
Oldfield, Otis: 1928-1946, 1948-1949, 1951-1952, undated (111 letters; 1931, 1941, undated include Chritmas cards with print; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
O'Neil, John (University of Oklahoma): 1946
Owen, Ronnie (Mrs. William Gardner): 1941-1942, 1944-1946, 1948-1949 (15 letters)
Owens, Virginia B.( -- Christian Science Monitor -- ): 1943 (2 letters)
Roullier, Alice F. (Arts Club of Chicago): 1925, 1927, 1933, 1941 (8 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Rousseau, Théodore: 1935
Rumsey, Mary H. (Mrs. C.C.): 1930, 1934-1936, 1938, 1940, 1945, 1949, undated (11 items including Christmas card and receipts for paintings sold)
Ryan, Beatrice Judd (Beaux Arts Galerie): 1928, 1929 (4 letters)
Saint-Gaudens, Homer (Carnegie Institute): 1931, 1933, 1940, 1946-1949 (18 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Saklatwalla, Ann: 1944-1945 (2 letters; see also Provenance Files, "Bareback Rider")
Saklatwalla, B.D.: 1928, 1930-1936, 1941 (2 letters, 7 Christmas cards containing prints, 1931 print signed Jean Crotti)
Salinger, Jehanne Bietry: 1928-1930, 1933, 1935, 1946-1948 (includes signed print by Harry Wickey; 17 letters)
Salons of America: 1923, 1924
Salpeter, Harry ( -- Esquire -- ): 1936-1938 (6 letters)
Sanborn, Robert Alden: 1945
Sands, Mary (Museum of Modern Art): 1930
Sanger, Helen: 1948-1950, 1953, 1963 (16 letters)
Sanger, Margaret (American Birth Control League, Inc.): 1928
Santa Barbara Museum of Art (see Bear, Steele, Story; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Santo, Patsy: 1937-1946, 1948-1949, 1953 (103 letters, some illustrated)
Sardi Gina, Anne (Marie Harriman Gallery): 1941-1942, 1947, 1949 (6 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files and Provenance Files, "Girl in Shako" and "Guide")
Schulte, Antoinette: 1932-1938 (8 items, including Christmas card with original print)
Seiberling, Frank Jr. (Toledo Museum of Art): 1943, 1946 (3 letters)
Seymour Halpern Associates: 1945
Shapiro, Meyer: 1938
Sharkey, Alice M. (Whitney Museum of American Art): 1944
Shaw, Marjorie: 1930 (Christmas card with woodblock print)
Sheeler, Charles: 1938 (See also Series 4.2: Walt Kuhn Letters to Family)
Shostac, Percy (Labor Division, Greater New York Fund): 1941
Shyrock, Burnett H.: 1938 (4 letters)
Siple, Walter H. (Cincinnati Art Museum): 1938, 1942, 1945 (4 letters)
Skeoch, Mary E.: 1934-1936, 1938 (8 letters)
Skira, Alfred: 1932 (5 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files, 1933)
Smith, Adele (Studio House, Philips Memorial Gallery, Museum of Modern Art Gallery of Washington): 1935, 1938, 1939 (5 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Smith, Cecil: 1937-1938 (3 letters)
Smith, Gordon M. (Currier Gallery of Art): 1950
Smoluchowska, Donia (Arden Gallery, Marie Harriman Gallery): 1929, 1932 (3 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Teigen, Peter (Princeton University School of Architecture): 1928, 1929 (2 letters)
Thayer, Ellen ( -- The Dial -- ): 1927, 1928 (2 letters)
Thompson, Mark B.: 1934, 1935, 1937 (3 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Thorp, George G. (American Federation of Arts): 1947
Toledo Museum of Art (see Godwin, Rivière, Seiberling)
Toler, Sidney: 1941
Todd, Bianca: 1929, 1933, 1934 (3 items including Christmas cards with original prints)
Trovato, Joseph (Munson-Williams-Proctor-Institute): 1946, 1949 (2 letters)
Tucker, Allen: 1938
Turney, Winthrop: 1924
Tyson, Carroll: 1934
Underwood, Gilbert Stanley (architect): 1938, 1948 (5 letters)
Valentiner, Dr. W.R. (Detroit Institute of Arts): 1945
Valez, Dr. Xavier de: 1934
Venendi, Mario: 1949 (3 letters)
Vidar, Frede: 1936
Vreeland, Mr. and Mrs. Francis (Toby and Marion): 1934-1938 (6 letters)
Wadsworth, Alice (Mrs. James W.): 1940, 1941, 1942, 1945 (8 letters)
Waida, Robert: 1928
Waldron, James M. K. (Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery): 1936, 1937, 1961 (3 letters)
Walker, Maynard: 1946, 1948-1949, 1951-1952, 1955, 1961 (10 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files and Provenance Files, "Guide" and "Veteran Acrobat")
Ward, William: 1949
Washburn, Gordon B. (Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art): 1945
Watkins, C. Law (Studio House, Phillips Memorial Gallery): 1933 (2 letters)
Watson, John (for John Quinn): 1914, 1921 (2 letters), 1938
Whitney, Harry: 1942 (see also Greason and Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Whitney Studio Galleries (see also Force): 1929
Whitney Museum of American Art (see Force, Free, More, Freeman, Sharkey, Goodrich)
Wilder, Mitchell A. (Colorado Springs): 1946-1953 (75 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Wilenski, R.H.: 1938, 1939, 1945-1946 (8 letters)
Williams, Adele (Women's club of Richmond): 1930
Williamson, Ada (Philadelphia Art Alliance): 1927, 1928, 1945, 1949 (19 letters; see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts (see Bissell)
Wilson, Henry J.: 1950
Winser, Beatrice: 1935, 1940 (7 letters)
Woelfle, Arthur M.: 1914 (see also Selected Gallery and Exhibition Files)
Woelfle, Georgiana: 1936, 1937, 1963 (3 letters)
Wood, Stanley: 1928
Zayas, Marius de: 1934, 1939, 1947, 1948 (10 letters)
Zügel, Heinrich von: 1904
Collection 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.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records, 1859-1984. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Getty Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
