Personal and professional records including correspondence, writings, notes, printed material, subject files, photograph album, and diaries relating to Zigrosser's work as an authority on prints and printmaking and his personal relationships with artists.
Included are: correspondence with family and with over 900 printmakers, painters, sculptors, acquaintances, friends, associates, organizations, museums, publishers, and magazines; general correspondence, notes, clippings, and manuscripts pertaining to The Modern School Magazine; files of correspondence from Zigrosser's work at: the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1932-1971; John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation; Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum, 1946-1971, including correspondence with Frank Lloyd Wright concerning the Guggenheim Memorial Museum; Print Council of America, 1954-1971, regarding exhibitions, council meetings and other matters; and the Tamarind Workshop, 1960-1971.
Of particular interest is material relating to the 1913 Armory Show, including Zigrosser's annotated catalog, notes and sketches. Also included are speeches and notes, 1930-1968; manuscripts for lectures and unpublished materials; memorabilia; a photo album of sculpture by John B. Flannagan; art work, including prints and drawings by Karig Nalbandian, prints by Rockwell Kent, and oversized works of art on paper by Mabel Dwight, Wanda Gag and Kent; family photograph album; journals and pamphlets (covers only); and diaries, 1916-1971, discussing personal and professional events such as art openings, conversations and activities with Rockwell Kent, Alfred Stieglitz, and Georgia O'Keeffe, among others.
Among the correspondents are: the American Artists Group, John Taylor Arms, Art in America magazine, Art Institute of Chicago, Alfred Barr, E. Boyd, Charles Burchfield, Alexander Calder, Fitz Roy Carrington, Federico Castellon, Ed Colker, Howard N. Cook, Crown Publishers, Adolf Dehn, Caroline Durieux, John Bernard Flannagan, Andre Girard, Stanley William Hayter, Edward Hopper, Victoria Hutson Huntley, Independent Citizens Committee for the Arts, Sciences and Professions, R. Sturgis Ingersoll, Frederick Keppel, Rockwell Kent, Fiske Kimball, Misch Kohn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Julius Lankes, Mauricico Lasansky, Merritt Mauzey, Kneeland McNulty, James A. Michener, Marian Mitchell,
Museum of Non-Objective Painting (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum), Karnig Nalbandian, Dorothy Norman, Georgia O'Keeffe, Walter Pach, Harold Paris, Print Club (Philadelphia), Diego Rivera, Ruth Starr Rose, Arnold Ronnebeck, Lessing J. Rosenwald, Andre Ruellan, Carl Oscar Schniewind, Roderick Seidenberg, William Spratling, Benton Spruance, Alfred Stieglitz, Harry Sternberg, Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Kuei Teng, U.S. Office of War Information, Curt Valentin, Heinz Warneke, Edward Weston, Weyhe Gallery, Whitney Museum of American Art, Harry Wickey, and Adja Yunkers.
Biographical / Historical:
Print curator; Philadelphia, Pa.; d. 1975. Graduated Columbia University in literature. Worked with prints in New York City at Keppel and Co. and Weyhe Gallery; print curator at Philadelphia Museum of Art 1940-1963; author of books on prints and art works.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming, 1991, by the University of Pennsylvania Special Collections Department, Van Pelt Library. Zigrosser donated the papers to the University in 1972. Portions of the papers not microfilmed include research files, manuscript materials for published work, family records, and journals.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Rights:
Authorization to publish, quote or reproduce requires written permission from the Curator of Manuscripts, Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Pennsylvania. 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 Colin de Land collection measures 15.15 linear feet and 0.901 GB and dates from 1968 to 2008, with the bulk of the collection dating from the early 1980s through 2003. The majority of the collection consists of photographic material, primarily snapshots, documenting daily life in and around de Land's gallery American Fine Arts, Co., as well as de Land's pesonal life and affairs. There are candid photographs of exhibition openings, day-to-day gallery operations, art fairs, vacations, social gatherings, and New York City street scenes. Also included are some personal objects belonging to de Land and his wife Pat Hearn, as well as two scrapbooks containing items once decorating the walls of de Land's office at American Fine Arts. The collection includes video recordings documenting trips to Cape Cod, Hearn's illness, and occasional art world events.
Scope and Contents:
The Colin de Land collection measures 15.15 linear feet and 0.901 GB and dates from 1968 to 2008, with the bulk of the collection dating from the early 1980s through 2003. The majority of the collection consists of photographic material, primarily snapshots, documenting daily life in and around de Land's gallery American Fine Arts, Co., as well as de Land's pesonal life and affairs. There are candid photographs of exhibition openings, day-to-day gallery operations, art fairs, vacations, social gatherings, and New York City street scenes. Also included are some personal objects belonging to de Land and his wife Pat Hearn, as well as two scrapbooks containing items once decorating the walls of de Land's office at American Fine Arts. The collection includes video recordings documenting trips to Cape Cod, Hearn's illness, and occasional art world events.
The bulk of the collection consists of snapshots, along with their negatives and the envelopes provided by commercial photographic printers. The envelopes are sometimes annotated. The photographs, not typically identified by photographer, were taken by de Land, Hearn, and gallery employees, artists, and visitors. Most of the snapshots provide a candid record of life within de Land's circle, and not formal documentation of gallery exhibitions.
The figures in this collection often occupied blurred boundaries between artist, gallery employee, critic, and friend. Many of the photographs include AFA staff, including Daniel McDonald, Patterson Beckwith, and Craig Wadlin. Also of note are photos showing AFA artists, including John Waters, Mark Dion, Andrea Fraser, Moyra Davey, Dennis Balk, Peter Fend, and Jack Pierson.
In addition to life within the gallery, de Land's cameras also documented a larger art world of the era, candidly showing openings at other galleries, art fairs such as Art Basel, Art Cologne, and the Berlin Artforum, as well as festivals including the Venice Biennale and Documenta, many of which included AFA artists. There is some documentation of the Gramercy International Contemporary Art Fair and The Armory Show. The photographs frequently include de Land and Hearn's friends and fellow art dealers Paul Morris, Matthew Marks, and Carol Greene. Some images include artists that showed at Pat Hearn Art Gallery, such as Mary Heilmann. Collectors, celebrity visitors to the gallery, and critics also occasionally appear in the photographs. There is one 1968 photograph of de Land's mother and a small number of 1970s images of both de Land and Hearn.
In addition to the snapshots, there are a variety of other photographic formats, including digital, in the collection. The contents of the slides are of similar nature to the snapshots. The contact sheet binders offer some formal exhibition installation documentation, but are not exhaustive.
The collection also includes film and video footage. Thirty-five reels of Super-8 motion picture film primarily documents frequent vacations to Cape Cod, as well as the final stages of Hearn's illness and subsequent death. The 31 DV-mini cassettes include similar content, and some footage of opening receptions and other art world events.
Most of the official gallery records are missing, most likely lost in the frequent floods in the gallery basement. Two scrapbooks include material that was often photographed on the walls surrounding de Land's desk at AFA. Additional artifacts include one small painting by artist Charles Clough, inscribed to Hearn, a baseball hat frequently worn by de Land and appearing in many of the snapshots, and one page of an autographed calendar.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in 4 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Photographic Material, 1968-2003, bulk 1980-2003 (14 linear feet; Box 1-14, 0.901 GB; ER01)
Series 2: Scrapbooks, circa 1980s-2003 (0.2 linear feet; Box 19)
Series 3: Video and Film Recordings, circa 1980-2003 (1.1 linear feet; Box 15, 16, 18)
Series 4: Artifacts, 1988-2008 (0.3 linear feet; Box 14, 17, 19)
Biographical / Historical:
Colin de Land (1955-2003) was a gallery owner whose New York City spaces challenged traditional modes of exhibition and art dealing.
Raised in Union City, New Jersey, de Land came to the art world from an academic background, having studied philosophy and linguistics at New York University. In 1984, de Land opened Vox Populi, a largely unrenovated space in the East Village, at 511 East 6th Street. The gallery showed experimental work by emerging artists, including the enigmatic John Dogg, thought to be a collaboration between de Land and artist Richard Prince.
In 1986, De Land opened his longest standing gallery, American Fine Arts, Co. (AFA), in the same space previously occupied by Vox Populi. The gallery moved to SoHo in 1988, first to 40 Wooster Street then to 22 Wooster Street in 1993. During the late 1990s, as most SoHo galleries moved to Chelsea, AFA remained a mainstay of the downtown arts scene. De Land's wife, Pat Hearn, whom he married in 1999 after over a decade together, was also a well known art dealer. Her gallery, Pat Hearn Art Gallery, also moved from the East Village to SoHo, later becoming one of the first to set down roots in Chelsea.
Known for his eccentric fashion and unorthodox business style, de Land cultivated a culture of experimentation within the AFA community. He typically hired young art students or recent graduates, often nurturing their own artistic careers. Along with a group of Cooper Union graduates, many of whom worked at the gallery, he founded the artist collective Art Club 2000. De Land often showed artists working in hybrid media, for example film and photography or music and installation. He was especially interested in ecological and environmental art, as well as work that took as its subject exhibition practice and the act of creating art. He often staged large thematic group shows. Artists who showed at the gallery included Mark Dion, John Waters, Andrea Fraser, Moyra Davey, Dennis Balk, Peter Fend, Tom Burr, James Welling, Mariko Mori, Dan Graham, Jessica Stockholder, Alex Bag, Christian Philipp Muller, and Jack Pierson.
In 1994, de Land and Hearn, along with gallerists Matthew Marks and Paul Morris, established the Gramercy International Contemporary Art Fair. Fashioned after the tradition of inexpensive hotel art fairs, four galleries were invited to exhibit artwork in rooms of the Gramercy Park Hotel, to be sold in a cash and carry model. The fair became an annual event, branching out to other cities, including Miami and Los Angeles, and growing significantly in size in New York. It later became known as The Armory Show.
De Land often carried a point-and-shoot camera and kept several on hand in the gallery. He documented opening receptions, art world social gatherings, concerts, and day-to-day happenings and invited visitors to the gallery and employees to do the same.
After Hearn's death from liver cancer in 2000, de Land became involved with Kembra Pfahler, the performance artist and leader of the rock band The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. De Land took over Hearn's Chelsea gallery, operating it as a second location of AFA. Following his own struggle with cancer, de Land passed away in 2003. AFA remained open, closing at the end of 2004 with a tribute group exhibition to de Land.
Related Materials:
The archival gallery records of Colin de Land's art gallery American Fine Arts, Co. as well as the gallery records of the Pat Hearn Gallery are available at the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in New York. The gallery records there also include a fair amount of de Land's personal papers. Bard also acquired de Land's and Hearn's personal library.
Provenance:
The Colin de Land papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2008 by Dennis Balk, an artist represented by American Fine Arts, Co. and a close friend of de Land.
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 and born-digital records 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.
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Motion pictures (visual works)
Video recordings
Citation:
Colin de Land papers, 1968-2008, bulk 1980-2003. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Association of American Painters and Sculptors (New York, N.Y.) Search this
Extent:
25 Pages (19 cm.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Date:
1938
Scope and Contents:
History of the Armory Show, written and published by Walt Kuhn. "The Armory show of 1913 (International Exhibiton of modern art [was] given under the auspices of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors)..."
Biographical / Historical:
Kuhn was a painter and secretary of the Association of Painters and Sculptors, the organizer of the International Exhibition of Modern Art held 1913 at the 69th St. Armory, NYC, known as the Armory Show.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
New York, 1938.
Provenance:
Donated by David Kasmire, 1993.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Exhibitions Search this
Ledgers detailing the art purchases of John Quinn. Entries include the Association of American Painters and Sculptors listing purchases from the Armory Show, February to June 1913, of works by Cezanne, Renoir, Raymond Villon-Duchamp, Andre Derain, Jules Pascin, Odilon Redon, Walt Kuhn, Jacques Villon and others. Also entered are purchases from Alfred Stieglitz's Photo-Secession Gallery for paintings by Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Severini and Stanton Macdonald-Wright. Purchases from art dealers include M. Knoedler & Co. (for works by Morton Schamberg), Montross Gallery (for works by Arthur B. Davies, Maurice Pendergast, Walt Kuhn, Charles Sheeler, Max Weber), William Macbeth Gallery, Durand Ruel & Sons, and Ambroise Vollard.
Other entries of note include those for Jacob Epstein, one for Tiffany Studios detailing extensive refurbishing and refinishing of numerous items of furniture, and one for the Penguin Club enumerating the cost incurred for the installation of the VORTICIST EXHIBITION.
Biographical / Historical:
Art patron and lawyer; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1986 by Thomas F. Conroy, Quinn's nephew by marriage. Mr. Conroy intends to donate these papers to the New York Public Library where the John Quinn Memorial Collection is housed.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Host Charles Collingwood reports for CBS News from the opening of the Armory Show, 50th anniversary exhibition, April 1963, at the site of the original exhibition, the Armory 69th St. Regiment, New York, N.Y. The anniversary exhibition was organized by the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, and sponsored by the Henry St. Settlement. Collingwood discusses the importance of the original exhibition, negative reviews in the press, huge attendance figures, and the impact on modern art. He interviews Sir Kenneth Clark and Marcel Duchamp. Telecast on the CBS-TV documentary show Eyewitness.
Publication, Distribution, Etc. (Imprint):
New York : CBS News, 1963.
General:
Transferred from 16mm motion picture film to videocassette (VHS). Videocassette later digitized.
Other Title:
Eyewitness (Television program)
Provenance:
Provenance unknown; possibly received with Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute Armory Show 50th anniversary exhibition records, 1965.
Business files, letters, photographs and printed material relating to the the 1913 Armory Show, 50th Anniversary exhibition sponsored by the Henry Street Settlement, of which Margaret Carlton was co-chair. Business files relate to committees, contributions, publicity, and guests. Photographs are of the event and many come from the album "Armory Show 1963."
Letters to Carlton, found in two scrapbooks, are from Charles Collingwood, Leon Kroll, Henri Marceau, V.W. Van Gogh, and Adelaide Taylor. Printed material includes two posters (one signed and numbered by Marcel Duchamp) and exhibition catalogs signed by Duchamp, Stuart Davis, William Zorach, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Margaret Carlton was an exhibition organizer in Woods Hole, Mass.
Provenance:
Donated 1995 by Margaret Gillies Carlton and 2009 by Mary, Ann and Rhona Carlton, daughters of Margaret Gillies Carlton via Jenn Swope, an in-law of the Carlton family.
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:
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Stribling, T. S. (Thomas Sigismund), 1881-1965 (Birthright) Search this
Twain, Mark, 1835-1910 (Man that corrupted Hadleyburg) Search this
Extent:
1.7 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Diaries
Sketches
Illustrated letters
Christmas cards
Photographs
Awards
Place:
Spain -- description and travel
Date:
1891-1986
bulk 1891-1922
Summary:
The papers of painter and illustrator F. Luis Mora measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1986, with the bulk of material dating from 1891 to 1922. The collection includes biographical information, correspondence, 242 monthy pocket diaries by Mora, and printed and photographic materials.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of painter and illustrator F. Luis Mora measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1891 to 1986, with the bulk of material dating from 1891 to 1922. The collection includes biographical information, correspondence, 242 small monthly pocket diaries by Mora, and printed and photographic materials.
Biographical material includes one folder containing Mora's Rothschild Prize certificate.
The correspondence is primarily with galleries regarding sales, the value of artwork, and Mora's murals for the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. There is also correspondence with Mora's family and friends regarding his personal life and a family vacation in Cadiz, Spain. The collection also includes two Christmas cards, several illustrated letters and two invitations to Mora's solo art shows. Some of the correspondence is to and from Mora's first wife, Sophia Compton.
The majority of the writings consists of 242 monthly pocket diaries, which contain brief daily entries and some sketches. Mora writes about his work, memberships in the Salmagundi Club and the National Academy of Design, and teaching at the Art Student League. He also discusses his ideas about painting and his observations of the art scene, including his visit to the 1913 Armory Show. Also included is a handwritten "Editorial" by Mora, probably for election to the Lotos Club.
Printed material includes clippings, brochures, programs, advertisements, exhibition catalogs, books, and magazines. Two books, The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Essays and Stories, by Mark Twain (1917), and Birthright, by T.S. Stribling (1922), both illustrated by Mora, are included, along with over a dozen magazines containing illustrations by Mora.
Photographs include black and white photographs and glass plate negatives of Mora, family and friends, students, and artwork. Black and white pictures of Mora's artwork include his "Thine is Glory" mural (1919), the "National Academy Jury of 1907" painting (1907) and an etching of his daughter, Rosemary. Glass plate negatives are of his first wife, Sophia Compton, her mother Emma, Mora's father Domingo, the painting "Dance of Salome" (1893), Mora's brother-in-law Alfred Compton, his Boston Museum and Chase School of Art classes, and the Perth Amboy Terra Cotta Company, where Mora's father worked.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 5 series. Records are generally arranged alphabetically by subject. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and closed to researchers.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa early 1900s (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1900-1969 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 3: Writings, 1899-1922 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1895-1986 (Boxes 1-2 and OV 3; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 5: Photographic Materials, 1891-1941 (Box 2, MGP 1, MGP 2; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Francis Luis Mora (1974-1940) was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. In 1877, he and his family moved to Catalonia, Spain and in 1880, they moved again to the United States where they eventually settled in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Both his father, Domingo, and his brother, Joseph, were also noted sculptors.
Mora studied at the School of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and at the Art Students League of New York. He was a muralist, oil and watercolor portrait painter, and etcher, though he is best known for his illustrations in magazines such as Century, Harper's, and Ladies' Home Journal. He was a member of the Salmagundi Club and the National Academy of Design and taught at the Art Students League of New York and the Chase School of Art. He and his wife, Sophia ("Sonia") Compton, had a daughter, Rosemary, in 1918. After his wife's death, Mora married May Gosman Safford in 1932. Mora died at the age of 64 in 1940.
Related Archival Materials note:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are the F. Luis Mora Art Works and Photographs (available on microfilm reel 5053) and a F. Luis Mora Letter to William John Wittemore (available on microfilm reel D30, frame 534.)
Provenance:
The F. Luis Mora papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Cornelia Colton, the daughter of Mora's second wife, May Safford, in 1975. Additional papers were donated in 2008 by Gwen Compton, Mora's niece.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Glass plate negatives are housed separately and not served to researchers.
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.
An interview with William Gropper conducted by Ann Uhry Abrams as a part of research for her Ph.D. dissertation, "Catalyst for Change: American Art and Revolution, 1906-1915," Emory University, 1975.
Gropper discusses art classes as a youth in New York, the 1913 Armory show, and working for the New York Tribune as a young adult. He recalls Robert Henri, George Bellows, Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz, Max Weber and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Ann Uhry Abrams is an art historian and professor in Atlanta, Georgia.
Provenance:
Donated 2013 by Ann Uhry Abrams.
Restrictions:
Use of interview requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Greenwich Society of Artists (Greenwich, Conn) Search this
Extent:
0.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1912-1987
Scope and Contents:
Minutes of meetings, 1922-1959; lists of expenses, 1914-1958; a list of exhibitions; form letters; a resume of Dorothy Ochtman; clippings, 1912-1957; exhibition announcements and catalogs, 1912-1958; 7 exhibition entry announcements, 1954-1958; course announcements, 1929-1958; a brochure THE GREENWICH ART SOCIETY: A CHRONICLE OF THE YEARS 1977-1987; and a medal designed by Tiffany from the National Arts Club to the Greenwich Art Society, 1936. Material on the 1913 Armory Show includes an invitation, a photograph of the installation, and a pin.
Biographical / Historical:
Art society. Formerly the Greenwich Society of Artists. Founded 1912. Some members were associated with the "Cos Cob School," and many associated with the development of the American Impressionist movement. Founders and early members included Edward Clark Potter, Leonard Ochtman, Elmer MacRae, William B. Tubby, Joseph Howland Hunt, Sr., Florence W. Gotthold, George Wharton Edwards and Alden Twachtman. Dorothy Ochtman was secretary, 1928-1946, and President, 1947-1948.
Provenance:
Donated 1987 by the Greenwich Art Society through Sue Dunlap, Historian of the Society.
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.
Digitized sound recording, 0.484 GB, of a lecture by sculptor and painter Marcel Duchamp at the Munson-Williams Proctor Institute in Utica, N.Y., in 1963, marking the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1913 Armory Show. Duchamp summarizes the art historical heritage leading up to the Armory Show, including such artists as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Gustave Courbet, Honore Daumier, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Paul Signac, Paul Gaugin, Vincent van Gogh, Albert Pinkham Ryder, James MacNeill Whistler, John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Max Weber, and Mary Cassatt, among others.
Scope and Contents:
Digitized audio recording, 0.484 GB, of a lecture by sculptor and painter Marcel Duchamp at the Munson-Williams Proctor Institute in Utica, N.Y., in 1963, marking the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1913 Armory Show. Duchamp summarizes art's historical heritage leading up to dadaism exhibited at the Armory Show.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) was a French-American painter, sculptor and writer who was born in France but lived most of his adult life in New York City. His work is associated with cubism, dadaism, and conceptual art.
Provenance:
Marcel Duchamp lecture at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute was donated in 2008 by Richard N. Miller, who made the recording.
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 donor Richard N. Miller and Jacqueline Matisse Monnier retain all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that they may own.
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:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
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.
3.8 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on one reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Date:
[ca. 1945-1980]
Scope and Contents:
Research material for the 50th anniversary exhibition of the Armory Show and other exhibitions curated by Trovato; correspondence; writings; sound and video recordings; and printed material.
REEL 2018: Papers mainly relating to the Armory Show-50th Anniversary Exhibition arranged by Trovato for the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, New York, in February 1963. The Armory Show (International Exhibition of Modern Art) was originally organized by the American Painters and Sculptors, 1913. Included are: correspondence; research notes; lists of Armory Show artists with their birth and death dates and the 1963 locations of the works they exhibited in the Armory Show; loan forms; exhibition catalogs; newspaper and magazine clippings; and photos. Also included are exhibition catalogs with introductions written by Trovato and catalogs for exhibitions of his work.
ADDITION: Correspondence; lecture notes; Hamilton College and Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute files containing correspondence, installation photographs and sketches, lectures, and printed material; a video recording, narrated by Trovato, for the exhibition, "Olympics in Art" (l980); a sound recording (reel-to-reel and dup.cassette) of Trovato, Marcel Duchamp and James T. Soby discussing the "Armory Show of l913 Revisited" (l963); wallpaper samples designed by Charles Burchfield; and clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and museum administrator; Clinton, N.Y.
Other Title:
Armory Show - 50th anniversary exhibition.
Provenance:
Material on reel 2018 lent for microfilming 1980 by Joseph S. Trovato, and all except exhibition catalogs subsequently donated 1981 and 1991 with unmicrofilmed material by Trovato's widow, Mrs. Ruth O. Trovato. [Official museum records of the 50th anniversary exhibition were also donated in 1965 and 1981 by the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute and are described separately.] Additional material is expected including photographs of Trovato and his work, exhibition material, painting records, Edward Root research file, Munson-Williams-Proctor files, and printed material.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Correspondence, notes, publications, loan forms, shipping records, and photographs relating to the Museum's exhibition re-creating the 1913 Armory Show. The exhibition was curated by Joseph Trovato, and sponsored by the Henry Street Settlement, N.Y. Included are photographs of the members of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, the organization which sponsored the original exhibition.
Biographical / Historical:
Art museum, founded 1919; Utica, N.Y.
Other Title:
Armory Show - 50th anniversary exhibition records (earlier title)
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives are papers of Joseph Trovato containing additional documentation relating to his work curating the 50th anniversary exhibition of the Armory Show.
Provenance:
Donated 1965 and 1981 by Joseph Trovato.
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 Elmer Livingston MacRae papers related to the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, Inc., (AAPS) measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1899 to circa 2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1912-1916. Elmer Livingston MacRae served as Treasurer of the AAPS when the association organized the International Exhibition of Modern Art, also known as the Armory Show of 1913. The bulk of this collection concerns MacRae's involvement with the AAPS and the Armory Show and includes administrative files, correspondence, exhibition files, financial records, printed materials, and artifacts.
Scope and Contents:
The Elmer Livingston MacRae papers related to the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, Inc., (AAPS) measure 1.8 linear feet and date from 1899 to circa 2013, with the bulk of the material dating from 1912-1916. Elmer Livingston MacRae served as Treasurer of the AAPS when the association organized the International Exhibition of Modern Art, also known as the Armory Show of 1913. The bulk of this collection concerns MacRae's involvement with the AAPS and the Armory Show and includes administrative files, correspondence, exhibition files, financial records, printed materials, and artifacts.
Biographical material includes an old collection inventory from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, two annotated appointment books, and a small handbook with notes.
Correspondence consists of letters addressed to Elmer MacRae from AAPS members such as Arthur B. Davies, Walt Kuhn, and Walter Pach, as well as other various artists, dealers, lenders, and buyers. Most letters concern AAPS business and organizing the Armory Show.
AAPS administration records include the organization's constitution, letterhead, meeting minutes, a report, and a membership list.
The Armory Show exhibition tour files consist of materials related to openings in Chicago and Boston. Materials include lists that track sales of tickets and pamphlets, insurance lists, a contract, an art inventory, and other items.
Financial records consist of AAPS and exhibition expenses in the form of sales lists of artwork, payroll information, shipping and transportation invoices, bills, rescinded dues, cashiers' journals, ledgers, a receipt book, and a checkbook.
Printed material includes copies of Armory Show exhibition catalogs, AAPS pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, clippings, postcards, and a poster.
Artifacts consist of AAPS memorabilia from the exhibition. There are button pins, calling cards, event invitations, mailing cards, signs, tickets, and other miscellany.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 7 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1899-1913, circa 1988 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1911-1915, 1958 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Administration Records, circa 1911-circa 1916 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 4: Armory Show Tour Files, 1913 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 5: Financial Records, 1912-1916 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1911-1959 (0.6 linear feet; Box 2, OV 4-5)
Series 7: Artifacts, 1913, circa 2013 (0.2 linear feet; Box 3)
Biographical / Historical:
Elmer MacRae (1875-1953) was a New York and Connecticut-based painter and served as treasurer of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors when the association organized the 1913 Armory Show.
Elmer Livingston MacRae was born in New York City in 1875. In the late 1890s, MacRae summered in an artist's community in Cos Cob, Connecticut, where he met his wife Emma Constant Holley. He moved full time to Cos Cob in 1899. MacRae became active in the Pastellists group. He was affiliated with the Macbeth and Madison Galleries in New York, where he was on friendly terms with fellow painters Jerome Myers and Walt Kuhn. In 1911, MacRae became a member of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), Inc. From 1912 to 1916, MacRae served as Treasurer of the AAPS, the organization which organized the seminal 1913 Armory Show exhibition of modern American and European art. Formally titled the International Exhibition of Modern Art, the exhibition introduced many Americans to modern art for the first time. The Armory Show began at New York City's 69th Street Armory, then continued on to the Art Institute of Chicago, and Boston's Copley Society of Art. The latter venue did not include the American art due to space constraints.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Walt Kuhn, Walt Kuhn family papers and Armory Show records as well as the Joseph Hirshhorn papers regarding the Elmer MacRae papers.
Provenance:
The Elmer Livingston MacRae papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2016 by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
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.
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Exhibitions Search this
Function:
Arts organizations
Citation:
Elmer Livingston MacRae papers related to the American Association of Painters and Sculptors, 1899-circa 2013, bulk 1912-1916. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
The Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records measure 31 linear feet and date from 1859 to 1984, with the bulk of material dating from 1900 to 1949. Papers contain records of the legendary Armory Show of 1913, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, which introduced modern European painting and sculpture to the American public. Papers also contain records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), the artist-run organization that mounted the Armory Show; records of the New York artists' clubs the Kit Kat Club (founded 1881) and the Penguin Club (founded 1917); and the personal and family papers of New York artist Walt Kuhn (1877-1949), one of the primary organizers of the Armory Show.
Scope and Contents note:
The Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records measure 31 linear feet and date from 1859 to 1984, with the bulk of material dating from 1900 to 1949. Papers contain records of the legendary Armory Show of 1913, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, which introduced modern European painting and sculpture to the American public. Papers also contain records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS), the artist-run organization that mounted the Armory Show; records of the New York artists' clubs the Kit Kat Club (founded 1881) and the Penguin Club (founded 1917); and the personal and family papers of New York artist Walt Kuhn (1877-1949), one of the primary organizers of the Armory Show.
As Secretary for the AAPS, Kuhn retained the bulk of existing records of that organization and of the Armory Show. Minutes and correspondence make up most of the AAPS records (Series 2), as well as documents related to John Quinn's legal brief against a tariff on imported works of living artists. Armory Show Records (Series 1) include personal letters, voluminous business correspondence, a record book, miscellaneous notes, inventories and shipping records, two large scrapbooks, printed materials, a small number of photographs, and retrospective accounts of the show. The printed materials and photographs in Kit Kat Club and Penguin Club Records reflect Kuhn's deep involvement in those clubs.
The Walt Kuhn Family Papers (Series 4) contain records of his artwork, career, travels, personal and professional associations, family members, and work in vaudeville, film, and interior design. Notable among the family papers are illustrated letters and other cartoons; sketches, drawings, watercolors, and prints; candid letters from Walt to Vera Kuhn discussing art scene politics and personalities in New York, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Florida, and the Midwest; general correspondence with artists, dealers, collectors, journalists, writers, models, and fans; notes in index card files containing biographical anecdotes of the Kuhns' many contacts; provenance files that document the origin and fate of Kuhn's paintings, sculptures, and prints; papers relating to Kuhn's exhibitions and his relationships with the Marie Harriman Gallery and Durand-Ruel Gallery; and photographs and drawings depicting Kuhn's early years in Munich, Germany and Fort Lee, New Jersey; trips to Nova Scotia, New England, the Western United States, and Europe; New York and summer studios, among other subjects.
Arrangement:
This collection has been arranged into 4 series, with multiple subseries in Series 1 and 4.
Missing Title
Series 1: Armory Show Records, 1912-1963 (Boxes 1-2, 27-31, 56, OV 36; 3.6 linear feet)
Series 2: Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS) Records, 1911-1914, undated (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 3: Kit Kat Club and Penguin Club Records, 1909-1923, undated (Box 3, 32, 56, OVs 37-38; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 4: Walt Kuhn Family Papers, 1859-1984, undated (Box 3-26, 32-35, 56-57, OVs 39-55, 58; 26.7 linear feet)
In general, documents are arranged chronologically, alphabetically, or by type of material. Copy negatives and copy prints made from documents in this collection have been filed separately from originals, in a folder marked "copy." Duplicates of original records made or obtained by the Kuhns have been filed separately as well.
Existing envelopes are filed in front of correspondence and enclosures directly after. Correspondence in the Armory Show Records and AAPS Records is arranged alphabetically, and correspondents are listed in the box inventory following series descriptions below.
Biographical/Historical note:
Walt Kuhn (1877-1949) was an etcher, lithographer, and watercolorist, as well as being a teacher, an advisor to art collectors, an organizer, and a promoter of modern art. He played a key role in the art scene of New York City in the early 20th century, and was among the small group that organized the infamous Armory Show of 1913, officially known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, held at the 69th Regiment Armory building in New York City. After the Armory Show, Kuhn went on to a distinguished career as a painter. He was best known for his sober oil portraits of show people, clowns, acrobats, and circus performers, but was equally prolific in landscapes, still lifes, and figure and genre drawings.
Walt Kuhn was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1877. After a brief career as a bicycle shop owner in downtown Brooklyn, Kuhn traveled West in 1899 to San Francisco, CA and earned his living as a cartoonist for newspapers such as Wasp. After two years in California, he moved back East and then on to Europe to pursue further art training. He briefly attended the Académie Colarossi studio in Paris, but quickly moved to Munich where he joined the class of Heinrich von Zügel in the Royal Academy.
Kuhn returned to New York City in 1904 and took up an active role in the art scene there, participating in the Salmagundi Club and the Kit Kat Club, teaching at the New York School of Art, and cartooning for Life, Judge, Puck, and other publications. In 1910, he participated in an exhibition of Independent Artists on 35th St. with Robert Henri and met artist Arthur B. Davies.
In 1911, when the National Academy of Design opened their annual exhibition, Kuhn, Henry Fitch Taylor, Elmer MacRae, and Jerome Myers were exhibiting at Clara Potter Davidge's Madison Gallery. To these four young artists, the Academy exhibition was typically lackluster, and the attention it received was unwarranted. Sensing that they were not alone in their attitude, they decided to organize. They invited a dozen other artists to join them, thus forming the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS). The group elected Kuhn Secretary and Arthur B. Davies President, and with the help of attorney and art collector John Quinn, they incorporated and began raising funds for an independent exhibition the following year.
In September of 1912, at Davies' suggestion, Kuhn traveled to Cologne, Germany to view the Sonderbund Internationale Kunst-Austellung. There he saw presented, in overwhelming volume, the work of his European contemporaries and their modern antecedents, the post-impressionists. He immediately began selecting and securing artwork for the upcoming AAPS exhibition. Kuhn traveled through Germany, Holland, France, and England, visiting private collectors, dealers, and artists. In Paris, Kuhn was joined by Davies and American artist and art agent Walter Pach. Kuhn and Davies sailed for New York in November, leaving the details of European arrangements to Pach.
The resulting Armory Show exhibition opened in New York in February 1913, and a selection of the foreign works traveled to Chicago and Boston in March and April. It included approximately 1300 American and European works of art, arranged in the exhibition space to advance the notion that the roots of modernism could be seen in the works of the old masters, from which the dramatically new art of living artists had evolved. Savvy and sensational publicity, combined with strategic word-of-mouth, resulted in attendance figures over 200,000 and over $44 thousand in sales. The Armory Show had demonstrated that modern art had a place in the public taste, that there was a market for it and legitimate critical support as well.
During the first World War, Kuhn stayed in NY and was active in the Kit Kat Club, an artists' club founded in 1881, which provided its members with collective studio space, live models, exhibitions, and an annual costume ball. In 1917, Kuhn founded another group called the Penguin Club, which had similar objectives to the Kit Kat Club, but with Kuhn himself as the gatekeeper. In addition to exhibitions and costume balls, the Penguin Club held summer outings and stag dinners, and maintained collective studio and exhibition space on East 15th Street in Manhattan. Its members included Americans and European artists displaced by the war in Europe. In the 1920s, Kuhn expanded a few sketches he had written for Penguin Balls into full-blown vaudeville productions, some of which were incorporated into larger musical revues such as The Merry Go Round and The 49ers and traveled around the country. Kuhn's theater work continued until 1928, and his fascination with show business continued to influence him throughout his life.
In the 1920s and 1930s, Kuhn gradually achieved recognition for his artwork, with sales to private collectors and dealers including Edith Halpert, Merritt Cutler, Lillie Bliss, John Quinn, and Marie Harriman. Kuhn also promoted other young painters whose work he liked, including Otis Oldfield, Lily Emmet Cushing, John Laurent, Frank di Gioia, and the self-taught Vermont artist Patsy Santo. Sometimes artists would contact him by mail, asking for lessons or advice. His lengthy letters to students offer coaching in technique and subject matter, as well as in the overall problem of success in art.
In 1929, Kuhn moved into the 18th St. studio that he would keep until the end of his life. He kept a rack of costumes in the studio, mostly made by Vera Kuhn, and his models, many of them stage and circus performers, would come and sit for Kuhn's portraits. The same year his painting The White Clown was exhibited at the newly established Museum of Modern Art in New York, bringing intense publicity and sales interest. Around this time, Kuhn began to receive the support of collector Duncan Phillips and curator Juliana Force of the Whitney Museum of American Art, both of whom made purchases and consistently exhibited his work.
Marie Norton Whitney Harriman, second wife of railroad magnate and diplomat W. Averell Harriman, shared a professional liaison with Kuhn that would take many forms and last until his death. Soon after the success of The White Clown, Kuhn established a relationship with the Marie Harriman Gallery, where he participated in group and solo shows during the height of his career. Kuhn also traveled with the Harrimans to Europe in 1931, where the three visited important private collections and acquired many valuable modern paintings for the Harrimans. Their collection, so heavily influenced by Kuhn's ideas about art, would eventually go to the National Gallery of Art.
Kuhn was an artist who understood the art business and never shied away from it. For Kuhn, promoting the ideas and practitioners of a certain brand of modernism was an expression of both aesthetic ideology and pragmatic self-interest. His contribution to the public discourse on modernism situated his own work at the heart of art history and the marketplace. Regardless of his motivations, he was indisputably a key player at a pivotal time in American art, when academic art was riotoulsy overturned to make way for modernism. His paintings are now held in major museum collections around the country, where most of them arrived with bequests from the collectors Kuhn had cultivated so carefully in his lifetime.
Sources consulted for this biography include The Story of the Armory Show (1988) by Milton W. Brown, Walt Kuhn, Painter: His Life and Work (1978) by Philip Rhys Adams, and "Walt Kuhn" by Frank Getlein, in the 1967 catalog of the Kennedy Galleries, Inc.
Related Archival Materials note:
The Archives of American Art holds the papers of Walter Pach, the European representative of the Armory Show.
Provenance:
The Walt Kuhn Family papers and Armory Show records were loaned for microfilming and later donated to the Archives of American Art by Walt Kuhn's daughter Brenda Kuhn in several installments between 1962 and 1979. An additional accession of letters, photographs, and an artifact was purchased by the Archives in 2000. Another addition was donated by Terry DeLapp, Kuhn's dealer, in 2015.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Etchers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Watercolorists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Lithographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Biographical material, correspondence, journals, notebooks, address books, business records, writings, sketchbooks, exhibition announcements and catalogs, clippings, photographs, and subject files relating to the artistic careers of Wood Gaylor and Adelaide Lawson, to Gaylor's work as a fashion pattern desiger, and, more broadly, to the New York art scene from the 1913 Armory Show through the 1930s.
Included are reminiscences and biographical documents; letters and postcards, some illustrated, from family, friends, artists, galleries, museums, and art organizations; letters of condolence to Adelaide upon Gaylor's death and letters to her concerning his work; original holiday and greeting cards to the Gaylors; a page from Wood's 1952 journal recording names of people attending Kenneth Hayes Miller's funeral and journals kept by Adelaide recording books read, plays attended, travels, and other activities, 1906, 1910 and 1915; a notebook kept by Gaylor regarding his work organizing the 1924 Women's Club exhibition in Jacksonville, Florida, listing artists (among them Pop Hart, Marsden Hartley, Picasso, and Kuniyoshi), titles, and prices of works shipped; business records, including receipts for Gaylor's work consigned or sold to the Downtown Gallery, 1929-1934, tax returns, and other business records, 1922-1979; writings by Wood, including speeches, lectures, and articles on American art and commercial patterns, scripts for New York radio station programs, 1932 and 1949, including a discussion with Salons of America members Alexander Brook, Robert Laurent, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, David H. Morrison, and Peggy Bacon, 1932; writings by others, including 19 poems by Lillian Byrnes, the introduction to the Hamiliton Easter Field Memorial Exhibition catalog by Elsa Rogo, and an organizational memo for the Modern Artists of America with annotations by Wood; four sketchbooks by Wood, 1916, 1923, and undated, and four by Adelaide, 1920-1922 and undated, done while traveling through Europe; and loose sketches by Wood and Adelaide.
Also included are exhibition catalogs and announcements of Wood and Adelaide's group and one-person shows, among them the Wanamaker Gallery of Modern Decorative Art, Friends of the Young Artists, 1915, Thumb Box Gallery, 1916, the MacDowell Club, 1918, the Dialis at the Civic Club Gallery, 1922, the Colony Club, 1922, Gallery 134 W. 4th, 1925, Downtown Gallery, 1930 and 1932, First Municipal Art Exhibition, Rockefeller Center, 1934, Kew Gardens Art Center, 1951, and the initial exhibition of the Museum of Art of Ogunquit, 1953; catalogs and announcements for other New York artists at Mrs. H. P. Whitney's Studio, 1917, Hamilton Easter Field Memorial Show at the American Art Galleries, 1922, Rockwell Kent at the M. Knoedler & Co., 1919, Walt Kuhn at the Grand Central Art Galleries, 1927, The Wanamaker Regional Art Exhibition, 1934, Yasuo Kuniyoshi at the Municipal Art Galleries, 1939, Kenneth Hayes Miller Commemoration Exhibit at the Art Students League 1949, a hand lettered announcement for the sale of George Overbury "Pop" Hart's watercolors by the Junior Art Patrons of America, undated, and catalogs from exhibitions held at the Gaylor's Barn; newspaper and magazine clippings, mostly photocopies, 1910-1979; a book, "The Technique of Oil Paintings and other Essays" by Hamilton Easter Field, 1913, and issues of the Pagan, 1918 and the Quill, 1918, containing drawings by Wood; photographs, circa 1887-1977, of Wood, Adelaide, family, homes, friends, travel, exhibitions, works of art and works of art by others, including a photograph of Wood by Emil Ganso, of Adelaide in an art class, possibly at the Art Students League, of Adelaide's art classes at the Gaylor Barn, of Jules Pascin, Hermine L. David-Pascin, Gustaw Gwozdecki, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Katherine Schmidt-Shubert, Robert Laurent, Frank and Alice Osborn and David H. Morrison, the Armory Show, the Carnegie Institute International in Pittsburgh, and the construction and installation of the Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation Collection at the Museum of Art, Ogunquit, Maine; subject files containing, correspondence, business records, writings, printed material, and photographs, on: Samuel Hawk, 1877; Penguin Club, 1917-1919; Wood's trusteeship of the Jules Pascin Estate, 1930-1956; Salons of America, 1923-1953 (including a group photo of Fiorella La Guardia, Holger Cahill, Robert Laurent, David H. Morrison, and Wood from the 1935 exhibition opening at Rockefeller Center); Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation, 1930-1966; New York City Municipal Art Committee, 1934-1937; Armory Show 50th Anniversary Exhibition, 1962-1963; and the New York Society of Women Artists, 1928-1976. The collection also contains biographical documents and correspondence of and relating to the Gaylor's daughter, Isabel Dale Gaylor.
Correspondents include Josephine Baker, Robert J. Coady, Evelyn Cutler, Margaret Di Silver, John and Betty Dos Passos, Hugo Gellert of the Artists Coordination Committee, Edith Halpert, Isabella Howland, Stefan Hirsch, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Robert Laurent, John Howard Lawson, Jonas Lie, Gus Mager, Alice Newton, William Schack, Henry Strater, and Dr. Martin G. Vorhaus among others.
One postcard July 1916, sent from Charleston, South Carolina, from Jules Pascin To Samuel Wood Gaylor.
A circa 100 page typescript of a record of reminiscences on Gaylor's early art career. This is one of 4 parts dictated by Gaylor in 1953. This recording was used as the basis for Jean Lipman's article "Wood Gaylor: Diary of the Carefree Years," published in Art In America, December 1963.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and lithographer Samuel Wood Gaylor (1883-1957) was born in Stamford, Connecticut and studied at the National Academy of Design, New York, under Walt Kuhn. He exhibited at the Armory Show, the Penguin Club, and the Downtown Gallery and participated in many art organizations including the Kit-Kat Club, the Penguin Club, Modern Artists of America, American Society of Painters, Sculptors and Engravers. He served on the board for the Salons of America, the Hamilton Easter Field Art Foundation, the New York City Municipal Art Committee, and the Museum of Art, Ogunquit, Maine.
Provenance:
Material on reel D9 was donated in 1958 by T. J. McCormick. Material on reel D160 was donated in 1964 by Adelaide Lawson Gaylor. The remainder was donated in 1986 by the Gaylors' sons, Wynn L. and Randall Gaylor. 16 items, mostly cards and letters to Gaylor were donated in 2008 by Christine Oaklander in honor of Dr. William Innes Homer, Art Historian and Professor Emeritus at the University of Delaware. Oaklander purchased the letters from Wyn Gaylor. An additional 21 documents, mostly cards and letters to Gaylor, were donated in 2015 by Wynn Gaylor.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm.
Letters; a journal, 1908-1922, 1939-1940; a record of Dawson's painting and sculpture, 1904-1963; and an exhibition catalog.
REEL 64: Letters received including, 11 from Walter Pach of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, 7 from Dudley Crafts Watson as Director of the Milwaukee Art Society, and letters from Jerome Blum, from Chicago journalist Hi Simousy, and from G. G. Wing, president of the Ludington State Bank, for which Dawson painted a mural. Also included is a xerox of a journal, 1908-1922, 1939-1940, in which Dawson comments on: work as a draftman for Holabird and Roche, Chicago, and other architectural firms, meetings with Gertrude Stein, Arthur Davies, Dudley Watson and Walter Pach; the Armory Show, the Montross Gallery Show and the subsequent tour; meetings with Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap. Entries after 1914 record domestic affairs on Dawson's farm in Ludington, with intermittent comments on his painting and sculpture.
REEL 2428: Dawson's record of paintings and sculpture, 1904-1963; and an exhibition catalog of the Milwaukee Art Society, 1914.
Material on reel 64 donated 1969 by Manierre Dawson. Material on reel 2428 donated 1982 by Marianne Gedo, who was doing research on Dawson.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The papers of New York historian Virginia Teague measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1913-1962, with the bulk of materials from 1913-1917. The papers consist of scattered records and papers compiled by Virginia Teague for the intended purpose of writing a history of the 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS). Documents include correspondence, business records, and printed material mostly in connection with the Copley Society and AAPS.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York historian Virginia Teague measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1913-1962, with the bulk of materials from 1913-1917. The papers consist of scattered records and papers compiled by Virginia Teague for the intended purpose of writing a history of the 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS). Documents include correspondence, business records, and printed material mostly in connection with the Copley Society and AAPS.
There are a few letters from Elmer MacRae and Vera Kuhn to Virginia Teague recalling the Armory Show. There is one letter from Art Alliance of America Secretary, Elizabeth Grimball, to Henry Fitch Taylor advocating "preparedness" for artists in the event of international hostilities.
Records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors include meeting minutes, 1913-1915, with agendas, drafts and completed reports of proceedings, checklists of attendees, a hand-written statement by Walt Kuhn, signed by Arthur B. Davies and Elmer McRae, and a mimeograph copy of the AAPS Constitution. Additional correspondence is between Henry Fitch Taylor, George Luks, and James Townsen regarding a review published in American Art News.
Records of the Copley Society are mostly related to the Armory Show. Business records include an exhibition contract and daily sales tallies from the Copley Society, which hosted the Boston venue at Copley Hall. Correspondence is with Walt Kuhn, Arthur B. Davies, John Quinn, Holker Abbott, Edward Warren, L. Flanders, and the law firm of Brandeis, Dunbar & Nutter, and regards a disagreement over sharing revenue generated by the Armory Show exhibition; and letters from General Services Administration and the U.S. Treasury Department regarding customs records for the Armory Show.
Printed material includes catalogs and clippings about the Armory Show.
Biographical / Historical:
Virginia Vanderbilt Teague was a historian in New York, N.Y. and Vermont and was the wife of sculptor and painter R. Lewis Teague. The collection consists of material related to the 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art. The exhibition opened at the 69th Street Regiment, in New York City, in February 1913, and traveled to Chicago's Art Institute of Chicago, in March, and Boston's Copley Hall, in April.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are the Walt Kuhn, Kuhn family and Armory Show records, which contain records of the Association of American Painters and Sculptors kept by Walt Kuhn, Secretary of AAPS. Correspondence (January 1951) between Teague and Vera Kunn in the Walt Kuhn, Kuhn family papers, and Armory Show records in the Archives of American Art shed some light on Teague's intentions to compile a history of the Armory Show and contact she had with others to gather materials.
Provenance:
The Virginia Teague papers relating to the Armory Show were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2010 by Adam and Clover Bergmann, son and daughter of Rudolph Bergmann, Virginia Teague's friend. The papers were found in Bergmann's home after his death in 2009.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to orginal 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 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 historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Citation:
The Virginia Teague papers relating to the Armory Show, 1913-1962. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
