Lassaw, Ibram, 1913-2003 -- Photographs Search this
Extent:
1.3 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Poetry
Date:
1921-1977
Summary:
The papers of abstract artist Alice Trumbull Mason date from 1921 to 1977 and measure 1.3 linear feet. The collection documents her career as a painter, particularly her role as one of the founders of the American Abstract Artists group, through biographical materials; correspondence with family, friends, fellow artists, art galleries, museums, and organizations; writings and notes, including notebooks of poetry and other creative writings; a small amount of printed material; photographs of Mason, friends, and her artwork; and original artwork, including five sketchbooks.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of abstract artist Alice Trumbull Mason date from 1921 to 1977 and measure 1.3 linear feet. The collection documents her career as a painter, particularly her role as one of the founders of the American Abstract Artists group, through biographical materials; correspondence with family, friends, fellow artists, art galleries, museums, and organizations; writings and notes, including notebooks of poetry and other creative writings; a small amount of printed material; photographs of Mason, friends, and her artwork; and original artwork, including five sketchbooks.
Biographical material consists of resumes, passports, exhibition files, as well as documentation of her membership and active participation in art organizations, including her work as an officer in the American Abstract Artists group. Also found here are scattered personal financial and legal records. Personal and professional correspondence is with family members, including many detailed letters between her and her husband Warwood, fellow artists, including Paul Kelpe, art organizations, curators, museums, galleries, and others. Professional correspondence generally discusses selection of exhibition and awards, sale of artwork, and art events. Writings and notes, mostly from the 1920s and 1930s, consist of Mason's notes on art history and her creative writings, including poetry and "abstract writing." Also found are a few writings about abstract art and various notes and lists.
Printed material includes news clippings on topics of interest to Mason, and other miscellaneous items such as brochures, and exhibition announcements. Photographs include several portraits of Mason with her artwork, photographs of friends including artist Ibram Lassaw, photographs of an American Abstract Artists exhibition, and artwork by her and others. Original artwork found in this collection includes five sketchbooks belonging to Mason, including two that document her travels through Greece and Italy, and other loose drawings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 6 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1925-1968 (Box 1, OV 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1922-1977 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1921-1965 (Box 1; 6 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1936-1974 (Box 1; 2 folders)
Series 5: Photographs, 1920s-1967 (Box 1, OV 3; 5 folders)
Series 6: Artwork, 1924-1963 (Box 1-2, OV 3; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Alice Trumbull Mason was born in 1904 in Litchfield, Connecticut. Her mother, Anne Leavenworth Train, was an accomplished artist before she met Alice's father, William Trumbull, a descendent of the Revolutionary War era painter, John Trumbull. Alice spent much of her childhood in Europe with her family. From 1921 to 1922 they lived in Florence and Rome where she studied at the British Academy. In 1923 she continued her studies with painter Charles W. Hawthorne at the National Academy of Design in New York and from 1927 to 1928 attended courses at the Grand Central Art Galleries taught by Arshile Gorky. Gorky inspired her interest in abstract painting, and Mason painted her first non-objective works in 1929. In 1928 she returned to Italy and Greece and was greatly influenced by ancient art, Byzantium, and Italian primitives. She married Warwood Mason, a merchant seaman, in 1930 and her daughter Emily was born in 1932 and her son Jonathan in 1933. During this period she stopped painting and devoted her creative energy to writing poetry inspired by American avant-garde writers.
Mason began painting again in 1934 and was recognized as a key figure of American abstraction. In 1935 she met and became close friends with fellow artist Ibram Lassaw, and they, along with several other artists, began to meet on a regular basis which led to the first American Abstract Artists group exhibition in 1937. Mason remained very active in the group and served as treasurer in 1939, secretary from 1940 to 1945, and president from 1959 to 1963. She was also an activist for abstract art, protesting the decisions of the Museum of Modern Art several times for excluding abstract artists from exhibitions. During the 1940s her paintings and concept of "architectural abstraction" was influenced by the arrival of Piet Mondrian in New York. Also in the 1940s she had two one-woman shows, but throughout her career she felt there was a bias against women in the New York art world and most often she participated in AAA group shows. Her work would be viewed as an important bridge for future abstract and conceptualist artists. In 1958 her son died, and though she continued to paint and participate in exhibitions, she never recovered from this tragedy and in the late 1960s withdrew into seclusion until her death in 1971.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is a collection of interviews by Ruth Bowman of members of the American Abstract Artists group conducted between 1963-1965, that includes an interview with Alice Trumbull Mason. The Archives of American Art also houses 2.3 linear feet of the records of the American Abstract Artists group.
Separated Material:
A portion of the material donated by Alice Trumbull Mason in 1969 relating to her involvement with the American Abstract Artists was separated and filed with the American Abstract Artists records at the Archives of American Art. Files of news clippings and exhibition catalogs were transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery Library after microfilming.
Provenance:
A portion of this collection was donated by Alice Trumbull Mason in 1969. Additional material was donated from 1972 to 1977 by Mason's daughter, Emily Mason Kahn.
Restrictions:
The collection is partially microfilmed. Use of material not microfilmed 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.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Artwork by Alice Trumbull Mason includes loose drawings and five sketchbooks, most of which date from the 1920s when she was studying painting and traveling in Europe. Loose drawings are of her family, various abstract images, architecture, landscapes, and other studies. A sketchbook dating from circa 1925 to 1928 includes portraits, seated figures, and anatomy drawings. Two sketchbooks dating from 1928 to 1929 document her trips to Italy and Greece, and include descriptions and dates for each drawing. Other sketchbooks from the 1920s include various sketches similar to those found in the loose drawings. This series also includes a signed etching by Mason's friend Letterio Calapai and a small painting by her granddaughter, Cecily Kahn.
Arrangement note:
Microfilm reel and frame numbers are noted at folder headings.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is partially microfilmed. Use of material not microfilmed 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:
Alice Trumbull Mason papers, 1921-1977. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Film footage shot primarily by Roy Galloway of family activities and world travels. Galloway was an employee of National Carbon Co. in Calcutta, India, where he, his wife and, eventually, four children lived an American expatriate life. On home leaves they often travelled to other locales on their way to or on their return the United States. In the U.S. they often stayed at Sherwood Forest, a resort community in Maryland, and visited family in other locations. Home movie footage in India includes the Galloways and their first born, a daughter, relocating to India (visit to New Orleans, travel by ocean liner, arrival at Calcutta, Independence day, street scenes); birthdays (one with Chinese dollmaker); christenings; Christmas; swim club (Tetje Royal Calcutta Swimming Club). Footage taken in and around Calcutta includes Durga Puja, Kali Temple, Calcutta water front; American Men's Club, locust swarms, holy man, Camper Down sports meet, Jeriwalla Plant and tiger shoot from elephants. Travel footage includes visiting Darjeeling, Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Benares, Kashmir, Dal Lake (houseboats and water taxis), Srinagar (rug factory), Kashmir, Ceylon, Turkey (Istanbul), Himalayas (flying in the Pilatus Porter aircraft used to supply Hillary expedition), Nepal (Kathamandu), Switzerland (Geneva), France (Nice), Holland, Italy (Naples, Sorrento, Pompeii, Capri, Florence, Genoa), Russia (Moscow, Lenin grad), Belgium (Brussels Fair), Greece (Crete, Rhodes, Delos, Mykonos, Athens), Austria (Vienna), Germany (Heidelberg), Spain, Denmark (Copenhagen); Sweden (Stockholm), England (London, Marlborough Hall, Stratford-on-Avon, Anne Hathaway cottage, Stonehenge), Mexico, New York City (zoo, Times Square), Nova Scotia (Halifax), Hong Kong, Japan, Hawaii, Egypt (Alexandria), Suez Canal, Burma, Thailand, and Lebanon (Beirut). Footage also includes Chesapeake Bay bridge; Washington College graduation; Bennington, VT; travel on the ship SS Biancamano and a solar eclipse.
Supplementary materials: partial annotation by Roy Galloway.
Legacy keywords: Domestic and family life ; Domestic relations ; Transportation ; Resorts ; Architecture ; Tourism ; Rites and ceremonies
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Local Numbers:
HSFA 2011.16.1
Related Materials:
8mm film shot in southeast Asia by Roy Galloway in 1940s is in the Screen Archive South East, United Kingdom.
Provenance:
Received from Fred Galloway in 2011.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Genre/Form:
Travelogues (Motion pictures)
silent films
Citation:
Roy Galloway travel films and home movies, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
1 Film reel (25 minutes, color silent; 910 feet, 16mm)
Type:
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
1977
Scope and Contents:
Edited film chronicling travel through the Greek Islands includng scenic views, ancient ruins and landmarks. Locations filmed include Hadrian's Arch, Temple of Zeus, Acropolis, Parthenon.
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
Floyd Henry Wells films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Edited film is an amateur travel film documenting a journey by car from Geneva, Switzerland to Bombay, India via Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. Principal stops on the tour include: Trieste, Italy; Thessaloniki, Greece; Istanbul, Turkey; the archaeological sites of Palmyra and Baalbeck, Syria; Jerusalem, Israel; Isfahan and Baluchistan, Iran; Delhi, Benares and Agra, India and the Hindu caves of Ajanta and Ellor, India. Scenes of Yugoslavian coutryside show men fishing with wicker baskets and nets, woman spinning wool using spindle, men and women making adobe bricks and laying them out to dry and historical architecture. Scenes in Thessaloniki, Greece include street activities, ox carts, a wheel maker and women and children in local dress. Scenes in Turkey include mosques, minarets, port of Istanbul, city streets, the Hagia Sophia, crossing the Bosporus to Asia Minor, flocks of sheep, camels, women gathering water at a well, village market,strolling water seller and the Christian caves/churches of Gorem at Urgup. Scenes in Syria include Aleppo, basilica of St. Simeon and the ruins of Palmyra and Baalbeck. Scenes in Jordan include the Roman ruins. Scenes in Israel include Jerusalam street activities and swimming in the Dead Sea. Scenes in Iraq include the Shiite Golden Mosque (Al-Askariya Mosque) in Samarra, desert with shepherds, camel trains and Iraqi playing a violin-like instrument. Scenes in Iran include the tiled mosque of Isfahan (Great Royal Mosque), fortified citadel of Bam constructed with mud and nomadic peoples. Scenes in Pakistan include landscapes of the desert and terraced farming near Indus River, crossing the Indus and street life in an unidentified city featuring snake charmers and mongoose-baiting. Scenes in India include women carrying peat or dung on their heads, laden oxcarts on the way to market, threshing grain, collecting cotton, musicians, bats, cobra swimming in an irrigation ditch and the Taj Mahal in Agra. Also included are shots of the cars and rally participants.
Local Number:
HSFA 1997.10.24
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
John and Mariella Rowe films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Photographs taken by Alixa Naff between 1957 and the early 1970s on trips to England, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, and open reel audio tapes of interviews regarding Syrian-Lebanese folklore that Naff conducted in 1965 in the Lebanese Village of Rashaya al-Wadi. Comprising this collection are images of cities, structures, art, people, activities, and scenery, and two folders of Dr. Naff's notes relating to the recorded interviews. Photographic formats include 35mm slides, black and white prints, and 35mm negatives. Naff annotated many of the slide mounts or verso of prints with descriptions and identifications.
Biographical Note:
Alixa Naff began collecting Arab folklore in 1962 when she visited 16 communities in the U.S. and eastern Canada. After earning her MA and PhD, she taught at California State University, Chico, and at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Naff left academia in 1977 to research and collect material relating to the Arab immigrant experience (particularly Syrian and Lebanese immigrants from the turn of the 20th century). In 1984, with prompting from Richard Ahlborn, curator of the Smithsonian Institution Community Life Division (now the Department of Cultural Affairs), Naff donated her collection of Arab immigrant material. Naff eventually became the archivist of the "Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection", named in honor of her parents, at National Museum of American History Archives Center.
Local Call Number(s):
NAA Photo Lot 2011-02
Location of Other Archival Materials:
One reel of 8mm film of Zahle, Lebanon was donated with this collection. It has been relocated to the Human Studies Film Archives.
Archives Center, National Museum of American History holds the Faris and Yamna Naff Arab American Collection and several other Naff accessions.
The National Anthropological Archives also holds a 1950 map of Cairo donated by Alixa Naff (MS 7449).
Restrictions:
Negatives are not available for viewing. Some restrictions on open reel audio tapes.
Photo Lot 2011-02, Alixa Naff photographs of Europe, the Middle East and the Mediterranean and audio tapes on Mediterranean folklore, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
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 is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
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 is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
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 is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
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 is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
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 is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
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 is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
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 is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
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 is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. The original glass plate is available for inspection if necessary in the Archives Center. A limited number of fragile glass negatives and positives in the collection can be viewed directly in the Archives Center by prior appointment. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
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.
