The papers of New York painter and muralist George Biddle (1885-1973), measure 0.76 linear feet and date from circa 1910-1970. The collection includes a certificate signed by President Harry Truman, transcripts of Biddle's diaries, a manuscript of a memoir about meeting President Franklin Roosevelt, three letters from William Hunt Diederich's daughter, transcripts of letters from Bernard Berenson, sketches and mural studies, and two glass plate negatives.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York painter and muralist George Biddle (1885-1973), measure 0.76 linear feet and date from circa 1910-1970. The collection includes a certificate signed by President Harry Truman, transcripts of Biddle's diaries, a manuscript of a memoir about meeting President Franklin Roosevelt, three letters from William Hunt Diederich's daughter, transcripts of letters from Bernard Berenson, sketches and mural studies, and two glass plate negatives.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series.
Series 1: George Biddle Papers, circa 1910-1970 (0.7 linear feet; Box 1, OVs 2-4, MGP4)
Biographical / Historical:
New York painter and muralist George Biddle (1885-1973) proposed to President Franklin Roosevelt the establishment of a federal relief program for artists during the Depression, and subsequently painted a number of government murals under the auspices of the Federal Art Project, including murals for the Department of Justice in 1935.
Biddle was born to a prominent Philadelphia family and graduated from Harvard College. He studied at the Académie Julian and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and served in the United States Army in World War I, before returning to New York where he had his first series of one-man shows.
In 1933 Biddle wrote to long-time friend President Franklin Roosevelt, to suggest a work relief program that supported mural painters. Although the idea initially met with opposition, Biddle persisted and the resulting art projects of the Works Progress Administration went on to support the production of thousands of paintings in government buildings throughout the country during the Depression.
In 1940 Biddle was invited by the Mexican government to create a mural for the supreme court building in Mexico City. Biddle had visited Mexico in 1928 where he had traveled and sketched with Diego Rivera, and seen firsthand the value of government sponsored art programs.
In addition to his murals, Biddle was also known for his portraits, lithographs, and paintings. His work can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and others. His work has been shown throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico, Japan, and India in over a hundred one-man shows and group exhibitions.
Related Materials:
Originals of the edited diary transcripts in this collection are in the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division. The unedited diary has many more entries than the edited version and includes more details about Biddle's daily life and work, versions of articles by Biddle, and lists of his works of art through 1934.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming, including one of Biddle's original diaries, 1933-1935 (reel D127), records from the Federal Art Project, personal correspondence, articles and talks relating to Artists Equity (reels P17-P18), and a photocopy of Biddle's inventory notebook listing artwork and exhibitions (reel 4909). While the inventory notebook was discarded after microfilming, all other loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The papers on reels P12-P18 were loaned for microfilming in 1954 by the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, PA. George Biddle lent the material on reel D127 in 1963 and donated the rest of the collection to the Archives of American Art between 1966-1970. In 1972, Michael Biddle, George Biddle's son, gifted a photocopy of an inventory notebook that was discarded after microfilming.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The Joan Ludman papers relating to Fairfield Porter measure 4.2 linear feet and are dated circa 1910-2003, bulk 1976-2001. The papers primarily document her research for Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of his Prints (1981) and Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels (2001). There are records concerning "Prints by Fairfield Porter from the Lauris and Daniel J. Mason Collection," a traveling exhibition organized by Ludman. Also found are Ludman's records concerning her authentications of Porter's artwork, and general printed material about Porter. Photographs are of Porter and his work. A 2015 addition includes provenance forms sent to Ludman from artwork owners.
Scope and Content Note:
The Joan Ludman papers relating to Fairfield Porter measure 4.2 linear feet and are dated circa 1910-2003, bulk 1976-2001. The papers primarily document her research for Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of his Prints (1981) and Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels (2001). There are records concerning "Prints by Fairfield Porter from the Lauris and Daniel J. Mason Collection," a traveling exhibition organized by Ludman. Also found are Ludman's records concerning her authentications of Porter's artwork, and general printed material about Porter. Photographs are of Porter and his work. A 2015 addition includes provenance forms sent to Ludman from artwork owners.
The compilation of Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of his Prints and its publication are documented by a variety of records. Research correspondence includes photocopies of Porter's letters from the 1930s to John Wheelwright about linoleum cuts he made for the Socialist publication Poems for a Dime. Letters from Anne Porter concerning the catalogue raisonné are among the miscellaneous correspondence. Also found is a "Log of the Work in Progress on Research and Interviews…" kept by Ludman, along with notes and transcripts of interviews conducted during the course of her research. Printed material concerns Porter's prints, and photographs include those reproduced in the catalogue raisonné.
Ludman's work on Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels is documented by correspondence, a "master index," writings, printed material and photographs. Among the correspondence are questionnaires completed by owners of Porter paintings. Correspondence with Anne Porter includes typed excerpts from letters, 1922-1938, that mention her husband's painting activities. A "master index" summarizing Ludman's research is found among the writings. Printed material mentions or reproduces paintings by Fairfield Porter. Photographs include the images reproduced in the book; there are also snapshots of some early paintings, among them unidentified and unrecorded works.
Exhibition records document "Prints by Fairfield Porter from the Lauris and Daniel J. Mason Collection," a show organized by Joan Ludman that traveled in 1982 and 1983 under the auspices of the Gallery Association of New York State. Printed material provides general background information about Porter and his work. Also found are an article and book review by Fairfield Porter, along with printed material concerning members of his family and a map of Great Spruce Head Island, Maine.
Authentication records consist of letters conveying Mrs. Ludman's opinions about works purported to be by Porter. The majority of photographs are of Fairfield Porter. Also included are Manhattan street scenes photographed by Porter, and views of Joan and Harold Ludman's 1976 visit with Mrs. Porter at the home and studio.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: -- Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of his Prints -- , 1936-2003 (Box 1; 0.4 linear ft.)
Series 2: -- Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels -- , 1933-2003 (Boxes 1-3; 2.6 linear ft.)
Series 3: Exhibition Records, 1982-1983 (Box 4; 4 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1966-2000 (Box 4; 0.2 linear ft.)
Series 5: Authentications, 1991-2001 (Box 4; 2 folders)
Series 6: Photographs, circa1910-1976 (Box 4; 0.1 linear ft.)
Series 7: Addition to the Joan Ludman Papers Relating to Fairfield Porter, circa 1970s-2000s (Boxes 5-6, 0.8 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Joan Ludman, an art historian with expertise in prints, developed a deep interest in the work of Fairfield Porter while living in Westbury, Long Island. She compiled and published a catalogue raisonné of Porter's prints in 1981, and another of his paintings, watercolors, and pastels in 2001. Now retired, Mrs. Ludman lives in Florida.
By the early 1970s, Joan Ludman had amassed a sizeable amount of information about Fairfield Porter and considered writing a biography. Instead, with the help of Anne Porter, the artist's widow, she began researching Porter's prints. The result was Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of his Prints. It was published by Highland House Publishers, Inc., a company established by Mrs. Ludman in order to assure her own standards and control the book's quality and cost.
At the same time she was compiling the catalogue raisonné of Porter's prints, Ludman was collaborating with Lauris Mason on other projects - a catalogue raisonné of George Bellow's lithographs, an anthology of essays, and five selected bibliographies about prints and printmaking. She also organized "Prints from Fairfield Porter from the Lauris and Daniel J. Mason Collection," an exhibition that traveled to several venues in 1982 and 1983.
The Estate of Fairfield Porter donated a substantial number of paintings to the Parrish Art Museum in 1979. The museum agreed to publish a catalogue raisonné, and arrangements were formalized the following year. Twice during the early 1980s, art historians who committed to writing the monograph lost interest. The project languished due to administrative problems and the discouragingly high cost of publishing such a volume. By 1988, it was apparent that the museum could not comply with the agreement. Knowing Joan Ludman's work on the catalogue raisonné of Porter's prints, Mrs. Porter approached her about the catalogue raisonné of his paintings. The highly regarded Fairfield Porter: A Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels was published by Hudson Hills Press, Inc.
Painter Fairfield Porter (1907-1975) was known for portraits, landscapes, and still life paintings. Also a critic and writer, Porter was an editorial associate with Art News in the 1950's, wrote for The Nation, published poetry, and a monograph on Thomas Eakins.
Related Material:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are the Fairfield Porter papers, 1888-2001, and an oral history interview with Fairfield Porter conducted by Paul Cummings in 1968.
Provenance:
The Joan Ludman papers relating to Fairfield Porter were donated to the Archives of American Art by Joan Ludman in 2003 and 2004. Ludman donated additional 0.8 linear feet of papers in 2015.
Restrictions:
Use of original material requires an appointment.
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.
