The papers of New York sculptor, painter, educator, and video artist, Benedict Tatti (1917-1993) measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1936-2011, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945-1993. Papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, project files, subject files, exhibition files, writings, notes, and lists, printed materials, and photographs. Exhibition files and printed material, such as catalogues and checklists provide an overview of Tatti's activities as a sculptor and video artist. Also, photographs of artwork are a rich source of provenance-related information on Tatti's sculptures.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of New York sculptor, painter, educator, and video artist, Benedict Tatti (1917-1993) measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1936-2011, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1945-1993. Papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, project files, subject files, exhibition files, writings, notes, and lists, printed materials, and photographs. Exhibition files and printed material, such as catalogues and checklists provide an overview of Tatti's activities as a sculptor and video artist. Also, photographs of artwork are a rich source of provenance-related information on Tatti's sculptures.
Biographical materials include curriculum vitae, Who's Who in American Art, memberships, and awards. Correspondence is primarily from colleagues, dealers, collectors, and representatives of museums, galleries, and arts organizations. There are a few outgoing letters from Benedict Tatti, including a handmade holiday card. Among the notable correspondents are Jane Canfield, Lloyd Goodrich, Louis Slobodkin, and William Zorach. Also found is a small portion of Adele Tatti's correspondence relating to her late husband's artwork.
Project files contain Tatti's commissions for Eutectic-Castolin Institute, Staten Island Community College, Statue of Liberty Restoration, and the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts; application proposals to Creative Artists Public Service program (CAPS); and the artist's invention of the rewind reel adapter. Subject files include Tatti's memberships and activities in professional associations, e.g., American Medallic Sculpture Association, American Numismatic Society, and Audubon Artists; Tatti's Artist-in-Residence proposals for the Television Lab, WNET 13; and his involvement in educational video presentations. Exhibition files consist of scattered materials on Tatti's shows at the Anthology Film Archives; Burr Galleries; Galerie Claude Bernard; The Kitchen, Mercer Arts Gallery; Northeast Harbor Gallery; and Roko Gallery.
Writings, notes, and lists include writings by Benedict Tatti; writings about Benedict Tatti, including a statement on the artist by Isamu Noguchi; and lists compiled by Adele Tatti relating to her late husband's work. Artwork contains Tatti's sketch of a sculpture for the Northeast Harbor Museum and sketches of medal designs. Printed material consists of announcements, brochures, invitations, exhibition catalogues and checklists, clippings, periodicals, newsletters, reproductions, other printed matter, and monographs. Photographs include black and white prints of portrait shots of Benedict Tatti, Tatti in his studio and with others, video equipment and Tatti's video art; also found are color photographs of Tatti's sculptures and design maquettes.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 9 series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1936-1993 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1945-2008 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 3: Project Files, 1966-2005 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 4: Subject Files, circa 1950s-2008 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1945-1992 (Box 1; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 6: Writings, Notes, and Lists, circa 1940s-2009 (Box 1; 4 folders)
Series 7: Artwork, 1970-circa 1990s (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1937-1976 (Boxes 1-2; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 9: Photographs (circa 1936-1970s), circa 1964-2010 (Box 3; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Benedict Tatti (1917-1993) worked in New York as a sculptor, painter, educator, and video artist.
Born in New York in 1917, Tatti began his art education at Haaren High School. He continued his studies at the Roerich Museum with Louis Slobodkin, the Art Students League with William Zorach and Ossip Zadkine, and the Leonardo da Vinci School of Art under Attillio Piccirelli. Later in his career, he attended the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts. During World War II, Tatti served in the United States Army Air Force, where he spent three years assigned to variety of projects. In 1948, Benedict Tatti married Adele Rosenberg in New York City.
Throughout his career, Tatti continuously experimented with various media. From 1952-1963, Tatti executed sculptural models of architectural and consumer products for the industrial designers, Raymond Loewy Associates; later he became a color consultant for the firm. In the 1960s, influenced by the Abstract Expressionists, Tatti turned from carving directly in wood and stone to creating assemblage sculptures, using bronze metal and other industrial materials. During this period, Tatti spent summers on Monhegan Island in Maine, where he developed his water coloring techniques. In 1963, Tatti was hired to teach sculpture at the High School of Art and Design in New York, a position that he held for fifteen years.
In the 1970s, Tatti, with no previous background in video work developed technology for video imaging. He became an associate member of the Kitchen at the Mercer Arts Center exhibiting his video sculptures along with other early innovators of this new art form. In 1975, he invented a rewind reel adapter device. Despite health problems, Tatti continued to work and exhibit into the 1980s. He assisted his brother, Alexander Tatti and his nephew, Steven Tatti on the restoration of the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island, which was completed in 1985.
Benedict Tatti received solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries in the United States and abroad, including the Burr Gallery, Claude Bernard Galleries, Metropolitan Museum of Art, under the Artists for Victory Program, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Art, Northeast Gallery, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Roko Gallery. Also, Tatti's work was regularly featured in annual exhibitions of several arts organizations: American Society of Contemporary Artists, Annual Avant Garde Festival, Audubon Artists, Brooklyn Society of Artists, and Painters and Sculptors Society of New Jersey. His awards included the National Soldier Art Competition at the National Gallery of Art (1945); Artist-in-Residence, National Center of Experiments TV, San Francisco, California, (1969); and the Creative Artists Public Service (CAPS), (1972). Tatti's artwork is in the permanent collections of the American Numismatic Society, Art Students League, Dumbarton Oaks, Monhegan Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and the Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts.
Benedict Tatti died on July 30, 1993.
Provenance:
The Benedict Tatti papers were donated by Adele Tatti, widow of Benedict Tatti, in 2010.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Benedict Tatti papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Occupation:
Video artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Notes
Awards
Lists
Christmas cards
Photographs
Designs
Sketches
Citation:
Benedict Tatti, 1936-2011, bulk 1945-1993. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Howard F. Bowker Papers, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History. National Numismatic Collection Search this
Extent:
17 cu. ft. (17 record storage boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Brochures
Clippings
Floor plans
Black-and-white negatives
Color negatives
Black-and-white photographs
Color transparencies
Color photographs
Date:
1906-1999
Descriptive Entry:
These records primarily document the curatorial and professional activities of Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli and his wife, Elvira E. Clain-Stefanelli, and to a lesser extent
the activities of curators Stuart M. Mosher, Richard G. Doty, and Cora Lee C. Gillilland. The records date back to when the National Numismatic Collection was known as the
Division of Numismatics, and prior to 1947 when the collections were created and maintained by the Division of History.
Material includes correspondence, memoranda, and notes pertaining to exhibition planning, inventory projects, coin and medal acquisitions, conferences, staff publications,
care of numismatic collections, and annual reports; articles, news releases, and newspaper clippings about the Clain-Stefanellis; contracts; scripts and floor plans for the
Hall of Numismatics; exhibition brochures; photographs of the Clain-Stefanellis at special events; information on medal programs; publications and lecture papers authored
by the Clain-Stefanellis; research and work progress reports; correspondence with organizations such as the American Numismatics Association, American Bankers Association,
and the Federation Internationale de la Medaille; and awards presented to the Clain-Stefanellis. Also includes records documenting the Josiah K. Lilly, Jr., Collection of
gold coins and the Willis H. DuPont Collection of Russian coinage.
National Museum of American History. National Numismatic Collection Search this
Extent:
26.91 cu. ft. (26 record storage boxes) (1 tall document box) (3 oversize folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Floor plans
Manuscripts
Clippings
Brochures
Illustrations
Posters
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white photographs
Color transparencies
Date:
circa 1921-1989
Descriptive Entry:
This record unit consists of correspondence and memoranda pertaining to publications, exhibitions, acquisitions, numismatic conferences in foreign countries, and materials
on loan; annual reports of the Division of Numismatics; budgetary files; American Numismatic Association convention information; exhibition scripts for the Hall of Monetary
History and Medallic Art; policies regarding United States Treasury Department coinage laws, purchases, and transfers; blueprints and floor plans for the Hall of Numismatics;
staff publications; correspondence with coin dealers, the American Bankers Association, and the Federation Internationale de la Medaille; and reports on counterfeit money.
The records also include photographs of numismatic exhibits at USNM, the exhibition History of Machines and Banking, coinage and early minting machines, and various United
States mints; the Clain-Stefanellis' research notes, manuscripts, and published articles; historical information on United States mints; copies of congressional numismatic
joint resolutions, acts, and bills; domestic coin exchange charts; information on the Willis H. DuPont Collection and the Josiah K. Lilly, Jr., Collection; exhibition brochures;
historical information on the National Institute; and staff publications.
Historical Note:
The origins of the National Numismatic Collection date back to the early years of the Smithsonian Institution. When James Smithson died, among his personal effects
were several coins and medals, including one with his likeness.
In 1862, the National Institute began sending its numismatic collection to the Institution. The Smithsonian also acquired numismatic objects from the 1876 Philadelphia
Centennial Exposition. George Brown Goode, Assistant Secretary in charge of United States National Museum (USNM) and an avid collector of coins and medals, promoted the early
growth of numismatic holdings at the Smithsonian. In 1881, he organized the numismatic objects as a Section in the Department of Arts and Industries, Division of Anthropology.
By 1886 the Section had been eliminated and its objects assigned to the custody of A. Howard Clark, Curator of the Section of Historical Relics. They then fell under its successors:
the Section of Historical Collections, Department of Arts and Industries, 1889-1897, the Division of History and Biography, Department of Anthropology, 1897-1904, and the
Division of History, 1904-1948. Between 1897 and 1947, numerous collections were received, such as the George Bunker Glover bequest of Far Eastern coins and the United States
Mint Collection.
In 1947, the Section of Numismatics was created in the Division of History, and the next year, the Section was given divisional status in the new Department of History.
That same year Stuart M. Mosher succeeded the retiring Curator in charge, Theodore T. Belote, as Associate Curator of the Division of Numismatics, a position he held until
his death in 1956. Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli became Curator at that time, and, shortly after his appointment, Elvira Eliza Clain-Stefanelli, joined the Division as Assistant
Curator.
As a result of museum reorganizations, the Division of Numismatics was affiliated with the Departments of Civil History, 1957-1968, Applied Arts, 1969-1977, and National
History, 1978-1979. In 1980, the Division was organized as the National Numismatic Collection in the National Museum of American History (NMAH), reporting to the Director.
In 1981, the Clain-Stefanellis were made Historians of the National Numismatic Collection, followed by the 1984 appointment of Cora Lee C. Gillilland as Curator. Important
acquisitions included the Willis H. DuPont Collection of Russian coins and the Josiah K. Lilly, Jr., Collection of gold coins ranging from ancient to modern times.
The National Numismatic Collection researches the history of numismatics worldwide, beginning with the earliest types of money, with the primary goal of presenting social,
economic, and political history through money; the organization of monetary systems; the effect of money on events in history; and the value of the figurative language of
coins and paper currency as witness to the art and culture of a society. The National Numismatic Collection primarily collects ancient and contemporary coinage, paper currency,
medals and decorations, financial documents, minting equipment, and tokens.
Curators and staff included Theodore T. Belote, Curator in charge of numismatic collections, 1919-1948; Stuart M. Mosher, Associate Curator of Numismatics, 1948-1956; Vladimir
Clain-Stefanelli, Curator of the Division of Numismatics, 1956-1979, Curator, 1980, and Historian, 1981-1982, of the National Numismatic Collection; Elvira Eliza Clain-Stefanelli,
Assistant Curator, 1957-1961, Associate Curator, 1961-1968, Curator, 1969-1979, of Numismatics, and Curator, 1980, and Historian, 1981-1985, of the National Numismatic Collection;
and Cora Lee C. Gillilland, Curator of the National Numismatic Collection, 1984- .
Restrictions:
Boxes 14 and 22 contain materials restricted indefinitely; see finding aid. Contact reference staff for details.
