Long Point Gallery (Provincetown, Mass.) Search this
Extent:
2.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Date:
circa 1940-2015
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Nora Speyer and Sideo Fromboluti measure 2.5 linear feet and date from the early 1940s until the 2010s. The collection documents Speyer's and Fromboluti's lives and works through biographical material, correspondence, writings, sketchbooks, artworks, photographic materials, personal business records, clippings and other printed materials, and audio-visual materials. Also found is biographical mrelating to Speyer's family, including her mother, sculptor Tillie Speyer, her brother James, a prominent museum curator, and her sister Darthea, a prominent gallerist in Paris. Also present are documents relating to the Speyer family's art collections.
Correspondence is primarily between Nora and family, with a smattering of other personal and professional correspondence. Photographic materials document both Speyer and Fromboluti at home and in their studios, while traveling, and with friends and family in New York, Woodstock, and Providence, where the couple were founding members of the Long Point Gallery. Also included are photographs, some in digital format, of their respective artworks and exhibitions. The collection includes one notebook and scattered unpublished writings by Nora and two sketchbooks and an unpublished memoir by Sideo. Printed material consists primarily of invitation cards and catalogues for exhibitions, along with publications about their collection of antiquities and a signed portfolio of prints by various Long Point Gallery artists. A small number of VHS tapes document a lecture by Fromboluti, an interview with fellow Long Point Gallery founder Robert Motherwell, and a Long Point Gallery dinner.
Biographical / Historical:
Nora Speyer (1923- ) and her husband Sideo Fromboluti (1921- ) are painters based in New York, NY and Wellfleet, Massachusetts and two of the founding members of Long Point Gallery in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Provenance:
Donated in 2022 by Iona Fromboluti-Wirls, the artists' daughter.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
An interview of Ruth Cobb conducted 1971 October 26, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art. Cobb speaks of her childhood and the development of her interest in art; her education; going into advertising art; doing freelance work; her interest in watercolor; her husband, Lawrence Kupferman, and their mural work together; her work in acrylic; her philosophy of art; her influences; and the Boston art scene. She recalls Jack Levine.
Biographical / Historical:
Ruth Cobb (1914-2008) was a painter from Newton Centre, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 3 min.
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 others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Jack Tworkov papers measure 9.7 linear feet and are dated 1926-1993. Tworkov's work as a painter and influential teacher, as well as his personal life, are documented by extensive journals and substantive correspondence that record his ideas about art and teaching, and illuminate his relationships with friends, colleagues, and students. Many sketchbooks, writings, interviews, photographs, and moving images are also included.
Scope and Content Note:
The Jack Tworkov papers measure 9.7 linear feet and are dated 1926-1993, with the bulk from the period 1931-1982. Tworkov's work as a painter and influential teacher, as well as his personal life, are documented by extensive journals and substantive correspondence that record his ideas about art and teaching, and illuminate his relationships with friends, colleagues, and students. Many sketchbooks, writings, interviews, photographs, and moving images are also included.
Biographical material includes Tworkov's citizenship certificate, awards, diplomas, a copy of Jack Tworkov: Video Portrait, produced by Electronic Arts Intermix, and a motion picture film, USA Artists: Jack Tworkov, produced by National Education Television.
Correspondence consists largely of incoming letters. It is both professional and personal in nature and often combines both spheres. Correspondents include artists Jennifer Bartlett, William H. Calfee, Giorgio Cavallon and Linda Lindeberg, Grace Hartigan, Helene Herzbrun (also named Helene McKinsey), Karl Knaths, Joe Summerford, Joan Thorne, and Adja Yunkers; cartoonist Robert C. Osborn; collectors Donald M. Blinken and David A. Praeger (who was also Tworkov's lawyer); illustrator Roger Dovoisin; critics Dore Ashton and Andrew Forge; critic and poet John Ashbury; galleries that represented Tworkov: Egan Gallery, Leo Castelli, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, Poindexter Gallery, Stable Gallery and Zabriskie Gallery; and many museums, arts organizations, colleges and universities.
Interviews with Tworkov include one with Ricky Demarco videotaped in 1979 and two conducted on video by Twokov's daughter Helen in 1975. The remaining interviews are sound recordings, one conducted by Grace Alexander for the show Artists in New York in 1967, one conducted by Michael Newman in 1980, and the remainder by unidentified interviewers. None have transcripts.
All writings are by Tworkov and include poems, an artist's statement, and documentation for two children's books by Tworkov illustrated by Roger Duvoisin. Two additional notebooks contain miscellaneous notes, teaching notes, and some specific to identified courses. Lectures exist as untranscribed sound recordings.
Tworkov's journals (33 volumes) span a period of 35 years, from 1947 until 1982, with the final entry dated a few weeks before his death. They record his reflections on painting, his challenges as a painter, aesthetics, the role of the artist in society, Jewish identity, painters he admired (especially Cézanne and Edwin Dickinson), politics, and teaching. They also recount everyday life: the comings and goings of friends and family members, social engagements, professional activities, illness, and travel.
The lone subject file concerns Mark Rothko and includes a photograph of Rothko and the guest list for the dedication of the Rothko Chapel in Houston.
Artwork consists of a small number of sketches by Tworkov in pencil and ink. Tworkov's sketchbooks (28 volumes) contain sketches and some finished drawings. Most are in pencil, but scattered throughout are a few pencil sketches embellished with colored marker or pastel, and a small number in ink.
Photographs are of people, places and events. Most photographs are of Tworkov alone and with others including Giogio Cavallon, though most friends and students are unidentified. Of note are views of Tworkov producing a series of prints at Tamarind Institute. Also found is an informal portrait of Wally Tworkov. Events recorded include the jurying of "Exhibition Momentum" in Chicago, 1956. Among the places shown are Tworkov's studios at Black Mountain College and in Provincetown. When known, photographers are noted; among them are Paul Katz, Herbert Matter, Arnold Newman, Renate Ponsold, Theo Westenberger, Dennis Wheeler, and Howard Wise.
A separate series of audiovisual recordings was established for those recordings that could not be readily identified to be arranged in other series. They consist of three videocassettes (2 VHS and 1 miniDV).
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1933-1981 (Boxes 1, 9, 11, FC 13; 0.7 linear ft.)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1926-1993 (Boxes 1-5; 3.8 linear ft.)
Series 3: Interviews, 1978-1982 (Boxes 5, 9-10; 1 linear ft.)
Series 4: Writings, Notes, and Lectures, 1955-1982 (Boxes 5, 9; 0.5 linear ft.)
Series 5: Journals, 1947-1982 (Boxes 5-7; 2.0 linear ft.)
Series 6: Subject File, 1961-1977 (Box 7; 1 folder)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1952-1981 (Box 7, OV 12; 0.1 linear ft.)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1950s-1960s (Box 7: 3 folders)
Series 9: Sketchbooks, circa 1950s-1960s (Boxes 7-8, 11; 1.0 linear ft.)
Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1941-1981 (Boxes 8-9; 0.5 linear ft.)
Series 11: Audiovisual Recordings, 1961-1975 (Box 9; 0.1 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
New York School painter Jack Tworkov (1900-1982), best known for his Abstract Expressionist paintings and as a highly regarded teacher, lived and worked in New York City and Provincetown, MA.
At age 13, Tworkov (born Yakov Tworkovsky) emigrated from Poland with his mother and sister to join his father already in the United States. In America, they chose to use the name of distant relatives, the Bernsteins, who were their sponsors. Eventually, Jack and his sister, Janice, reclaimed and shortened their name to Tworkov; later, she adopted the name of their hometown in Poland and became the painter Janice Biala.
As a high school student in New York City, Tworkov attended drawing classes. After graduating from Columbia University, where he had been an English major and considered becoming a writer, Tworkov instead turned to art. He studied with Ivan Olinsky at the National Academy of Design between 1923 and 1925, and from 1925 to 1926 attended painting classes taught by Guy Péne Du Bois and Boardman Robinson at the Art Students League. During his college years, Tworkov began visiting museums and became a great admirer of Cézanne. Tworkov's early paintings - still life, landscapes, and portraits - showed the influence of European modernism and Cézanne.
Tworkov spent his first summer in Provincetown while still a student and subsequently returned to study with Ross Moffet. In Provincetown he met and was greatly influenced by Karl Knaths and developed a lifelong friendship with Edwin Dickinson. By 1929, Tworkov was painting there year round. Over the years, Tworkov and his family continued to return for long stretches, and in 1958 he purchased a house in Provincetown.
During the Great Depression, Tworkov participated in the Treasury Department's Public Works of Art Project until 1934, and then moved to the easel division of the WPA Federal Art Project. He felt uncomfortable with the growing ideological and political influences on art and found it depressing to paint for the WPA rather than for himself, so he left the WPA in 1941. Tworkov, who had studied mechanical drawing while in high school, spent most of the War years employed as a tool designer and draftsman at an engineering firm with government contracts.
By the 1940s, Tworkov was painting in the Abstract Expressionist style. Between 1948 and 1953, he leased a studio on Fourth Avenue that adjoined that of his friend Willem de Kooning. During this time, they mutually influenced each other as they developed into mature Abstract Expressionists. At Yale in the 1960s, Tworkov became close friends with fellow student Josef Albers. Alber's influence on Tworkov resulted in a turn to geometric compositions of small, systematic, and repetitive strokes defined by a grid. He experimented with diagonal compositions, and later geometric work that featured large areas of color and soft texture.
Tworkov's first teaching experience was during 1930-1931 when he served as a part-time painting instructor at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. His teaching career began in earnest when he joined the faculties of Queens College, 1948-1955, and Pratt Institute, 1955-1958. During the summers he taught at various schools, most notably Black Mountain College's 1952 summer session. Tworkov was a visiting artist at the Yale University School of Art and Architecture, 1961-1963, and became chairman of its Art Department from 1963 until his retirement in 1969. In retirement he lived in Provincetown and was a visiting artist for both short and extended periods at various universities and art schools.
An avid reader of literature and poetry, Tworkov also wrote poems and essays. He published essays in It Is, Art Digest, and Art In America; his most notable piece, "The Wandering Soutine," appeared in Art News, November 1950. Tworkov also kept a journal for 35 years (1947-1982) that recorded his thoughts on a wide range of subjects concerning professional, personal, and philosophical issues, as well as details of everyday life.
Tworkov was among the founders of the Artists' Club or The Club in 1949, and for a decade actively participated in the stimulating discussions for which the group was known. In 1968 he helped to establish the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. Its residency program enabled younger artists and writers to advance their careers and kept Provincetown's historic artists' colony active year round.
He was the recipient of the William A. Clark Award and Corcoran Gold Medal from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, 1963; Skowhegan School of Art's Painter of the Year Award, 1974; and Distinguished Teaching of Art Award from College Art Association, 1976. Tworkov was appointed to serve on the Massachusetts Art Commission, 1970-1971, and in 1981 was named a Fellow of The Cleveland Museum of Art and of the Rhode Island School of Design.
Following his second divorce in 1935, Rachel (Wally) Wolodarsky became Tworkov's third wife and their marriage endured. They had two daughters. Hermine Ford (b. 1939) is an artist married to fellow painter Robert Moskowitz. Helen Tworkov (b. 1943) is the founder of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and the author of a book about yoga.
Tworkov remained physically and intellectually active after a diagnosis of bone cancer around 1980, and continued to paint until shortly before his death in Provincetown on September 4, 1982.
Related Material:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are two oral history interviews with Jack Tworkov, one conducted by Dorothy Seckler, Aug. 17, 1962, and another by Gerald Silk, May 22, 1981. There is also a small collection of three letters written by Jack Tworkov to friend Troy-Jjohn Bramberger.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel N70-38 and 62) including writings by Tworkov, notebooks, notes for teaching and talks, notes on art and miscellaneous subjects, poems, artist's statements, biographical data, the transcript of a 1970 interview with Tworkov conducted by Phyllis Tuchman, and a few letters and drafts of letters, 1950-1963. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Jack Tworkov lent the Archives of American Art papers for microfilming in 1970-1971. Jack Tworkov's daughters, Hermine Ford and Helen Tworkov, donated the rest of the collection in 2009, which included some of the material from the original loan.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
Reels N70-38 and 62: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Helen Tworkov or Hermine Ford. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The papers of New York painter, illustrator, and printmaker Nell Blaine measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1879 (a single publication), and 1940-1985. The collection provides scattered documentation of Blaine's life and career through biographical material, correspondence, writings, business records, printed material, scattered artwork, and photographs. Also included in the collection are papers relating to the estate of Blaine's friend, Howard Griffin.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York painter, illustrator, and printmaker Nell Blaine measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1879 (a single publication), and 1940-1985. The collection provides scattered documentation of Blaine's life, career, and relationships within the art world through biographical material, correspondence, writings, business records, printed material, scattered artwork, and photographs depicting Blaine's exhibitions, friends, homes, studios, and artwork. Also included in the collection are papers relating to the estate of Blaine's friend, Howard Griffin. A large proportion of the collection consists of photocopies of original papers and is annotated with Blaine's notes explaining the context and significance of many of the papers.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1950s-1985 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1879, 1940-1985 (0.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1940s-1980s (0.1; Box 2)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1949-1983 (0.4 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1940s-1980s (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 2-3, OV 5)
Series 6: Artwork, circa 1950s-1984 (0.1 Linear feet; Box 3, OV 5)
Series 7: Photographs, 1940s-1980s (0.4 Linear feet; Boxes 3-4)
Biographical / Historical:
Nell Blaine (1922-1996) was a painter, printmaker, and illustrator from Richmond, Virginia, who was active in New York City, New York, and Gloucester Massachusetts. Blaine's early work was abstract, and later evolved to figurative and landscape painting.
Blaine was born in 1922 with severe visual impairments. She received corrective surgery as a child and quickly found a desire to draw and paint what she was finally able to see. Her art education began at the Richmond School of Art and later moved to New York City where she studied under Hans Hofmann. By 1943 Blaine had joined the American Abstract Artists group as the group's youngest member at the age of 21. This association led to her first solo exhibition at Jane Street Gallery, an early artists' cooperative, in 1945. Blaine was a founding member of the Greenwich Village gallery, and her circle of friends included New York artists and poets such as John Ashbery, Leland Bell, Rudy Burckhardt, Willem de Kooning, Robert De Niro Sr., Jane Freilicher, Kenneth Koch, Lee Krasner, Frank O'Hara, and Louisa Matthiasdottir. From 1943-1949 Blaine was married to musician Bob Bass. Blaine exhibited solo at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery in 1953 and was represented by the Poindexter Gallery and the Fischbach Gallery.
In the 1950s, Blaine moved to Paris where she lived with friends including Larry Rivers. She was also a close friend of poet and art writer Howard Griffin, and illustrated a limited edition of his Four Poems and served as executrix of his estate.
In 1959, Blaine contracted polio while traveling in Greece. She used a wheelchair for the rest of her life but was able to resume painting after intense rehabilitation to regain the use of her hands.
By the mid-1970s Blaine had moved to Gloucester, Massachusetts where she maintained a summer home for the rest of her life, while also sharing an apartment and studio in New York with artist Carolyn Harris, who was her partner for over thirty years.
Nell Blaine died in 1996 in New York City.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are an interview of Nell Blaine conducted 1967 June 15, by Dorothy Seckler, and the Nell Blaine letters to Robert A. Wilson, 1963-1995.
Additional papers of Nell Blaine are also held by Harvard University.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of scrapbooks loaned for microfilming on reel D311. Loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Nell Blaine loaned a portion of her papers for microfilming on reel D311. She later donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 1980 and 1985. The Howard Griffin papers included in the collection were received by Blaine as executrix of Griffin's estate.
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
Printmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester Search this
Printmakers -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester Search this
Illustrators -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester Search this
Nell Blaine papers, 1879, 1940-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of this collection received Federal support from the Collections Care Initiative Fund, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative and the National Collections Program. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided in part by the Terra Foundation for American Art and The Walton Family Foundation.
Motion picture produced by Nancy Raine; directed by Nancy Raine and Richard Leacock; cinemotography by Richard Leacock; edited by Marisa Silver.Presents Morgan at age 77, showing her at work in her studio, her paintings, an exhibition of her work, fishing and swimming, and discussing her life and painting.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Cambridge, Mass.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
Cambridge, Mass. : University Film Study Center and the Boston Film and Video Foundation [production companies] : Morgan Film Project [distributor], c1980.
Provenance:
Donated 1984 by Nancy Raine.
Rights:
Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from Nancy Raine. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The papers of painter and educator Edwin Ambrose Webster measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1821 to 1968. Found within the papers are biographical material; business and personal correspondence; writings; teaching and research files, including information on Webster's participation in the 1913 Armory show; printed material; artwork; and photographic materials of Webster, his family and friends, and his work.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and educator Edwin Ambrose Webster measure 2.2 linear feet and date from 1821 to 1968. Found within the papers are biographical material; business and personal correspondence; writings; teaching and research files, including information on Webster's participation in the 1913 Armory show; printed material; artwork; and photographic materials of Webster, his family and friends, and his work.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1821-1930 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1900-1940 (2 folders; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, 1910-1930 (3 folders; Box 1)
Series 4: Teaching Files, 1930-1933 (5 folders; Box 1)
Series 5: Printed Materials, 1911-1939 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 5-6)
Series 6: Artwork, 1890-1930 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, Artifacts 4, 7)
Series 7: Photographic Materials, 1875-1930 (8 folders; Box 1)
Series 8: Karl Rodgers Research Files, 1940-1968 (6 folders; Box 1)
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and educator Edwin Ambrose Webster (1869-1935) lived and worked in Provincetown, Massachusetts and was known for his vibrant landscapes and for opening the first modernist art school in Provincetown.
Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Webster began his art studies at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts under Frank Benson and Edmund Tarbell, where he received a three year scholarship to study abroad at the Academie Julian. There, he studied under Jean Laurens and Jean-Joseph Constant and was awarded several additional student prizes for his work. Upon his return, Webster established himself as a founding member of the burgeoning art colony in Provincetown, opening his Summer School of Art in 1900, which he operated for the next thirty five years.
Alongside his teaching duties, Webster continued to develop a modernist style and was invited to exhibit in the 1913 Armory Show. In 1918, he traveled to France to study Cubism under Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger, and upon his return to Provincetown, began incorporating these techniques into his paintings as well as into his lectures and classes. As an active organizer within the art colony, Webster helped to found the Provincetown Art Association in 1914 and served as its director from 1917 to 1919. In 1916, he also hosted the first exhibition of the woodblock carving group, the Provincetown Printers, at his studio. Webster died at his Provincetown home in 1935.
Provenance:
The papers were donated in 1974 by the wife of Mrs. Webster's nephew, Mrs. Karl F. Rodgers. Additional materials were donated by Mrs. Rodgers in 1975.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Edwin Ambrose Webster papers, 1821-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Hamilton, Edward W. D. (Edward Wilbur Dean), 1864-1943 Search this
Extent:
0.11 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1876-1943
Summary:
The papers of painter Edward W. D. Hamilton date from 1876-1943 and measure 0.11 linear feet. The collection provides scattered documentation of Hamilton's career through an 1876 diploma from grammar school, an 1882 award for "Best Set of Works" from the Normal Art School, Boston, Massachusetts, a resume, a 1942 letter of appreciation from the Alumni of the Massachusetts School of Art, a photograph of art students, and printed material including a 1929 exhibition catalog and news clippings, including an obituary.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Edward W. D. Hamilton date from 1876-1943 and measure 0.11 linear feet. The collection provides scattered documentation of Hamilton's career through an 1876 diploma from grammar school, an 1882 award for "Best Set of Works" from the Normal Art School, Boston, Massachusetts, a resume, a 1942 letter of appreciation from the Alumni of the Massachusetts School of Art, a photograph of art students, and printed material including a 1929 exhibition catalog and news clippings, including an obituary.
Arrangement:
Because of the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Edward W. D. Hamilton (1864-1943) was a portrait painter active in Barton and Kingston, Massachusetts and an educator who taught at the Massachusetts School of Art, Boston. His year of birth is also given as 1862.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Elizabeth Risdon, niece of Edward Hamilton, in 1981 and 1982.
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.
The papers of Boston-based portrait painter Elizabeth Piutti-Barth measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1975 to 1953. Found is a lecture, printed material, and photographs of Piutti-Barth, her family, friends, subjects, homes and studios, and works of art.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Boston-based portrait painter Elizabeth Piutti-Barth measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1975 to 1953. Found is a lecture, printed material, and photographs of Piutti-Barth, her family, friends, subjects, homes and studios, and works of art.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Elizabeth Piutti-Barth (1872-1959) was a portrait painter in Boston, Massachusetts.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Erica Cawley, the daughter of Elizabeth Piutt-Barth, in 1982.
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:
Portrait painters -- Massachusetts -- Boston Search this
The papers of painter Max Bohm measure 5.6 linear feet and date from 1873-1970, with the bulk of the material dating from 1880-1959. Biographical material includes a file concerning the Provincetown artist's club The Beachcombers. Also found is detailed family correspondence, as well as general correspondence that includes exchanges with patron Mary Beecher Longyear and dealer William Macbeth. The papers contain scattered business records; five diaries written by Bohm's wife Zella; other notes and writings; art work including fifteen sketchbooks, loose drawings, and oil paintings; printed material; and photographs of Bohm, his family, and colleagues including artists attending a Salmagundi dinner. There is also a motion picture film Six Foot Art, in Which Max Bohm, Member of the National Academy Tells How He Does It.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Max Bohm measure 5.6 linear feet and date from 1873-1970, with the bulk of the material dating from 1880-1959. Biographical material includes a file concerning the Provincetown artist's club The Beachcombers. Also found within the papers is detailed family correspondence, as well as general correspondence that includes exchanges with patron Mary Beecher Longyear and dealer William Macbeth. Also found are scattered business records; five diaries written by Bohm's wife Zella; other notes and writings; art work including sketchbooks, loose drawings, and oil paintings; printed material; and photographs of Bohm, his family, and colleagues including artists attending a Salmagundi dinner. There is also a motion picture film Six Foot Art, in Which Max Bohm, Member of the National Academy Tells How He Does It.
Family correspondence consists of letters exchanged between various Bohm family members during their long periods of separation. Decades of almost daily exchanges of letters offer detailed descriptions of Bohm's activities in pursuit of notoriety as an artist including his frequent travels in Europe and the United States, attendance of art-related and other cultural events, and his thoughts about art, philosophy, and his strong opposition to German aggression in World War I. The often affectionate letters from Bohm's wife Zella describe her concerns over finances and raising the children during Bohm's frequent absences, but also include descriptions of their summers in coastal France.
Professional correspondence consists of scattered letters discussing art-related business with colleagues including Bohm's longtime patron and Christian Science advocate, Mary Beecher Longyear, and Macbeth Gallery owners Robert and William Macbeth.
Scattered business records include price lists for art work, banking records, and miscellaneous receipts.
Five diaries and loose diary pages written by Bohm's wife Zella contain detailed descriptions of daily activities and her observations and thoughts, some drawings, notes, and financial notations. Some of the diaries contain annotations by her daughter, Esther.
Notes and writings include notebooks containing original short stories and miscellaneous sketches by Bohm, lists of art work, miscellaneous notes including several written by Esther Bohm, and miscellaneous writings by and about Bohm including his typescript "An Artist's Philosophy."
Art work consists of fifteen sketchbooks, miscellaneous drawings including a self-portrait, and oil paintings on board and on unstretched canvases including Bohm's studies of works by Titian and Van Dyke, and a painting of a young Esther Bohm looking at the sea. Works by others include a batik design on silk by Zella Bohm, a watercolor by Bohm's aunt, Anna Stuhr Weitz, and an oil portrait of Zella by her granddaughter.
Printed material primarily consists of clippings generated by Bohm's participation in the Paris Salons, in addition to several exhibition announcements and catalogs for Bohm and for others, and reproductions of art work by Bohm and others. There are also 2 copies of a silent, black and white Pathé newsreel titled Six Foot Art, in Which Max Bohm, Member of the National Academy Tells How He Does It on 16mm and 35mm film reels.
Photographs are of Bohm and his family, colleagues including Clyde du Vernet Hunt in his studio and a Salmagundi Club "Get Together" dinner, views of the town of Etaples, France, and of works of art by Bohm and others.
Arrangement:
The papers have been organized into 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1898-1970 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1, OV 8)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1880-1955 (3.3 linear feet; Boxes 1-4, 7)
Series 3: Business Records, 1910-1930 (0.2 linear feet; Box 4)
Series 4: Diaries, 1887-1916 (0.2 linear feet; Box 4)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1882-circa 1970 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 4, 7)
Series 6: Art Work, 1873-1951 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 4-5, 7, OVs 8-10)
Series 7: Printed Material and Motion Picture Film, 1886-1957 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 5-7, FC 11-12)
Series 8: Photographs, 1886-1959 (0.2 linear feet; Boxes 6-7)
Biographical / Historical:
Max Bohm was born on January 21, 1868, in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Henry and Emilie Bohm.
Bohm began his study of art in 1887 when he accompanied his aunt, Anna Stuhr, on the first of several voyages to France. He studied in artist communities in Brittany and in Paris at the Académie Julian with Boulanger, Lefebvre, and Benjamin Constant. He also traveled to Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany.
In 1895, Bohm attended an open school of painting in Etaples on the coast of France, and during the winter months he taught painting at a school in London, England. His painting En Mer was awarded the Gold Medal by the Paris Salon of 1897.
While teaching in Etaples in 1898, Bohm married one of his pupils, Zella Newcomb, an art teacher from Carlton College in Minnesota. In 1900, the Bohms traveled to Italy for several months before returning to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Bohm established a studio. After trying to find affordable studio and living space in New York City, Bohm moved his family back to France in 1902. Bohm established a studio in Paris for two years and during the summer months his wife and children moved to the less expensive and cooler coastal towns of France. Bohm continued to display his work in the annual Paris Salons.
From 1905 until the summer of 1908, the Bohm family lived primarily in England. In 1909, Bohm entered and won the Cleveland Court House mural competition, prompting the family to return to the United States for several months. They returned to Paris the following year, where Bohm established a studio and worked on the Cleveland Court House mural. Again, Bohm's wife and children would live in French coastal towns, while Bohm was on extended visits to Paris, London, or the United States.
Sometime around 1911, Bohm became acquainted with Mrs. Mary Beecher Longyear, a wealthy follower of Mary Baker Eddy and Christian Science. Over the next decade, Mrs. Longyear commissioned many works by Bohm and supported his career. In May of 1912 Bohm's mural, First New England Town Meeting, was installed in the new Cleveland Court House and arrangements were made with Macbeth Galleries to exhibit Bohm's work. Late in 1913, Bohm became involved with the Pan-Pacific International Exposition where his painting Promenade won the Gold Medal in 1915.
During World War I, the Bohm family fled France and temporarily settled in Tuckahoe, New York, and Bohm made frequent visits to his patron, Mrs. Longyear, in Boston. In 1916, the Knoedler Gallery exhibited Bohm's murals for Mrs. Longyear's music room. Also during this time, the family enjoyed spending summers in Provincetown, where Bohm joined The Beachcombers, an organization of artists.
In 1919, the Bohms built a house in Bronxville, New York, for easy access to New York City, while simultaneously purchasing a cottage in Provincetown. While the house was being constructed, Zella and the children became boarders in the home of painter Spencer Nichols, who also lived in Bronxville. During this year, Max Bohm, Jr., entered Harvard University while Mrs. Longyear continued to provide commissions for Max Bohm's art work.
Between 1922 and 1923, Bohm had exhibitions in Greenwich, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., and at the Grand Central Galleries, with his painting En Mer being exhibited at the National Academy of Design.
Max Bohm died on September 19, 1923 in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 420-421) including biographical material, scattered letters, notes and writings, drawings, clippings, exhibition catalogs, booklets, a scrapbooks, and photographs of Bohm, his family, colleagues, and residences. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
The original Six Foot Art film was also transferred to 16mm and 35mm film reels in the 1970s, but is not in the collection.
Provenance:
Kathryn Esther Locke and Elizabeth Schwarz, the artist's daughters, lent the material on microfilm reels 420-421 and donated papers in 1972.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Joseph Solman, 1981 May 6-8. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Oberteuffer, Karl A. (Karl Amiard), 1908-1958 Search this
Names:
United States. Department of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet ((57 items))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1933-1958
Scope and Contents:
Letters, including many from officials of the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts and the Public Building Administration about Oberteuffer's involvement in government art projects. Also included are photographs, clippings, and exhibition catalogs.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and ethcer; Gloucester, Mass.
Provenance:
Donor unknown.
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.
Occupation:
Etchers -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester Search this
Correspondence, writings, photographs, art works, exhibition catalogs and clippings.
Correspondence includes letters from Mr. and Mrs. E.B. White and John Dos Passos. Material on Helen includes photographs of installations of her work and of her, reproductions of her work, clippings, exhibition material, part of a journal kept in France (published by Scribner's) and a handwritten copy of part of the same journal. Material on Jerry includes photographs of his work and of him, clippings, a scrapbook of letters and clippings, exhibition material, and proofs and original drawings by him for a book.
ADDITION: Biographical and genealogical information; correspondence between Helen and Jerry; numerous letters from Wells Sawyer and some from Helen's mother, Kathleen; letters from colleagues and friends, including MacKinlay Kantor, 1960; exhibition announcements and catalogs; price lists for Helen's work and bills for her supplies; notes and a poem from Jerry to Helen; draft of a speech by Helen; impressions of her by a graphologist; booklet of poems by Robert Nathan inscribed to the Farnsworths; photographs of Helen and Jerry and of the Farnsworth Art School in Florida; and clippings.
ADDITION II: Helen's journals and copies of those at George Arents Library, Syracuse University, and other mss. and publications by Helen; letters to Helen from her brother, Bailey Middlebrooks Sawyer; childhood journals; juvenilia; early work; sketches and drawings; exhibition material; greeting cards; clippings; photographs of work; joint exhibition material and Farnsworth School of Art material for Jerry and Helen; and a batik cloth.
Biographical / Historical:
Artists and writers; North Truro, Mass. and Sarasota, Fla. Helen, born 1898 in Washington, D.C., was the daughter of painter Wells Sawyer, and used the name Helen Sawyer as her professional name. [She died Dec. 10, 1999 at the age of 102 in Sarasota, Fla.]
Provenance:
Donated 1972-1993 by Jerry and Helen Sawyer Farnsworth. Wells Sawyer papers received with the collection have been removed and described separately. An additional 4 ft. of papers, including ca. 2.5 ft. of Wells Sawyer papers were donated in 1996 by Helen; the Wells Sawyer related material in this donation has yet to be separated.
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.
The papers of German American painter and educator Karl Zerbe measure 5.1 linear feet and date from 1928 to 1996. The papers document Zerbe's career through biographical material, writings and journals, art gallery records, financial records, printed material, photographs, documentary film materials, and home movies.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of German American painter and educator Karl Zerbe measure 5.1 linear feet and date from 1928 to 1996. The papers document Zerbe's career through biographical material, writings and journals, art gallery records, financial records, printed material, photographs, documentary film materials, and home movies.
The collection consists of papers related to Zerbe's estate, exhibitions, and associations, along with ephemera such as address books and awards; daily journals used by both Zerbe and his wife, Marion; biographical essays written about Zerbe, and some painting descriptions. Also included are papers related to the various galleries Zerbe dealt with such as the Downtown Gallery, Foster Harmon Gallery, Nordness Gallery, and Robert C. Vose Gallery. Financial records include cash books, receipts, invoices, and papers related to loans of art work. Printed material consists of mostly exhibition-related documentation, but also includes articles and clippings that cover a variety of art topics, a leaflet on modern art distributed by the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1948, artist cards, and auction lists. Images depict Zerbe's personal life, studio, artwork, and encaustic painting technique.
This collection also contains 2.4 linear feet of moving image material. Included are home movies and travel films, as well as videocassettes containing raw footage, rough cuts, and the final version of "Expressions of Life," a one hour documentary for television on the life and work of Karl Zerbe. Documentation on this project also includes interview transcripts with Zerbe and others, a production script, and production notes. The documentary was written by Ernest Kolowrat, 1986, Peter J. Barton Productions.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 8 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1944-1991 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1994 (7 folders; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, 1938-1974 (9 folders; Box 1-2)
Series 4: Gallery Files, 1939-1996 (0.8 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 5: Financial Records, 1942-1979 (7 folders; Box 2-3)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1941-1986 (0.8 linear feet; Box 3)
Series 7: Photographs, 1928-1972 (1 linear foot; Box 3-4, OV 6)
Series 8: Moving Images, 1954-2002 (2.4 linear feet; Box 4-5, FC 7-20)
Biographical / Historical:
Karl Zerbe (1903-1972) was a German American expressionist painter and art educator in Boston, Massachusetts and Tallahassee, Florida.
Born in Berlin, Zerbe split his childhood between France and Germany until 1920 when he began working in an architect's office. At that time, Zerbe began studying at the Debschitz Art School in Munich, and then at the Munich Academy of Art. In 1922, Zerbe had his first one-man show at the Gurlitt Gallery in Berlin. With assistance from the city of Munich, he then studied in Italy for three years. During this time, he consistently displayed his work in group and solo exhibitions throughout Europe. His art was first shown in the United States at the Golz Gallery in New York in 1933, and Zerbe moved to Boston not long after. He worked for seventeen years in Boston including time as head of the Department of Painting in the Boston Museum School. After Boston, Zerbe, along with his wife, Marion, and daughter, Maria, moved to Florida where he took the position of head of the Department of Painting at Florida State University at Tallahassee.
Zerbe received honors for his life-long dedication and contribution to art by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Carnegie Institute, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Tallahassee Area Chamber of Commerce, and the state of Florida.
Provenance:
This collection was donated by Karl Zerbe's daughter, Maria Zerbe Norton, in 2010.
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.
Karl Zerbe papers, 1928-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
A visit with Edwin Dickinson [videorecording] / produced by Dorothea Weeden ; filmed and edited by Don Kendall, 1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Wellfleet -- Interviews Search this
