The Biesel Family papers measure 2.9 linear feet and date from circa 1859-1983, with bulk dates from 1919-1983. The papers document the careers of a Chicago family of artists, which included Charles Biesel, his son Fred Biesel and Fred Biesel's wife Frances Strain Biesel. Materials include biographical summaries, Fred and Frances Biesel's personal and professional correspondence, writings, and professional records documenting Fred Biesel's involvement with the Federal Arts Project and Frances Biesel's tenure as the director of the Renissance Society at the University of Chicago. Also found are scrapbooks with news clippings, printed materials, photographs of the Biesel family and their artwork, and artwork in the form of handmade Christmas cards, sketchbooks and loose figure sketches and small paintings.
Scope and Contents:
The Biesel Family papers measure 2.9 linear feet and date from circa 1859-1983, with bulk dates from 1919-1983. The papers document the careers of a Chicago family of artists, which included Charles Biesel, his son Fred Biesel and Fred Biesel's wife Frances Strain Biesel. Included in the papers are biographical material; correspondence; writings; professional files; personal business records; printed material; scrapbooks; photographic material and artwork. Correspondence contains letters to Frances and Fred Biesel regarding exhibiting artwork, project consultation, club membership and speaking engagements. Writings contains a notebook with addresses and price list notes; lecture notes and essay drafts by Fred Biesel on printmaking and art movements such as modernism and cubism, as well as essay typescripts and lectures by others. Also found is a short story about a meeting with Charles Biesel. Professional Files contain correspondence, funding proposals, business records and other materials related to the Biesel's management and participation in various organizations and project such as The Renaissance Society and Artist Union Chicago in Frances Biesel's case and Fred Biesel's involvement with the WPA's Federal Art Project's Illinois chapter, as well as his time as an art professor. The personal business records series contains Charles Biesel's deed lists, and printed material includes several exhibition catalogs related to the Biesel family and other artists, along with clippings and materials related to the Federal Arts Program. The papers also include two scrapbooks of clippings, photographs of the Biesel family, their friends and art associations, artwork, and exhibitions. Artwork is in the form of sketches, etchings, handmade christmas cards and small paintings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1949-1961 (2 Folders: Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1927-1963 (0.1 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1921-1960 (0.1 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 4: Professional Files, circa 1939-1962 (0.5 Linear feet: Box 1)
Series 5: Personal Business, circa 1928-1961 (2 Folders: Box 1)
Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1897-1983 (1.5 Linear feet: Box 1-3)
Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1915-1931 (0.1 Linear feet: Box 3, OV 1)
Series 8: Photographic Material, circa 1919-1960 (0.3 Linear feet: Box 3)
Series 9: Artwork, circa 1876-1945 (0.4 Linear feet: Box 4)
Biographical / Historical:
The Biesel Family papers measure 2.9 linear feet and date from circa 1859-1983, with bulk dates from 1919-1983. The Biesel Family were a family of artists comprised of Charles Biesel, his son Fred Biesel, and Fred's wife Frances Strain Biesel.
Charles Biesel (1865-1945) was a marine painter who spent time apprenticing and working with the American Lithography Company in New York and Philadelphia before relocating to Newport, Rhode Island where he co-founded the Newport Art Association in 1912. In 1918, Charles Biesel moved to Chicago where he lived at the 57th street artist colony and was a member of the Arts Club of Chicago and the Chicago Society of Artists. He also helped found the Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists where he served as the organization's first secretary. Biesel exhibited work in several solo exhibitions across the United States; as well as with a group of other Chicago painters who exhibited work annually at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Fred Biesel (1893-1954) was a painter and art administrator born in Philadelphia in 1893 and raised in Newport, Rhode Island where he went on to study at the Rhode Island School of Design from 1913 to 1915. After serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve from 1916 to 1919, Biesel followed his father to Chicago and continued studying at the Art Institute of Chicago where he met his wife Francis Strain and painter John Sloan who wound up influencing them significantly and becoming a lifelong friend. Biesel exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Society of Artists, and the Society of Independent Artists. He also participated in museum exhibitions in Rhode Island, New York, New Mexico, and New Jersey. From 1935–1943, Biesel worked under the Federal Art Project, and served as director of Illinois Art and Craft Project from 1941–1943, as well as on the faculty of the Layton Art School in Milwaukee 1946–1953.
Frances Strain Biesel (1898-1962) was a painter and director of the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago. A native of Chicago, Frances Strain Biesel was an important figure in the art scene of 1920s-1930s Chicago where she was involved in almost every independent exhibition and exhibition group that emerged during that time. Two of these groups included the Chicago No-Jury Society of Artists and the Ten Artists of Chicago, a collective characterized by their commitment to modernist ideals. Her work has been shown across the country, including the Chicago Society of Artists, the Whitney Museum and the Newark Museum.
Provenance:
Microfilmed material was donated in 1985 by Garnett Biesel, son of Fred and Frances Biesel. He later donated unmicrofilmed material in 1990, after it had been used in preparation for the book The Federal Art Project in Illinois, 1935-1943 (1990), by George Mavigliano and Richard Lawson.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Biesel Family Papers, circa 1859-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
An interview of William Walker conducted 1991 June 12-14, by Victor Sorell, for the Archives of American Art.
Walker discusses his childhood in Birmingham, Alabama and Chicago, Illinois; painting murals in Memphis; the Chicago Mural Group, the Wall of Respect in Chicago, the Wall of Dignity in Detroit and other murals; subject matter and use of black historical figures such as Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Elijah Muhammad; use of narrative; public response to the murals; and artists he worked with including Eugene Edaw, Mark Rogovin, John Weber and Mitchell Caton.
Biographical / Historical:
William Walker (1927- ) is an Afroican American mural painter from Chicago, Illinois.
General:
Originally recorded 3 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 8 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Levy, Beatrice S. (Beatrice Sophia), 1892-1974 Search this
Extent:
0.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Date:
1922-1977
Scope and Contents:
Biographical data; correspondence, mostly letters and greeting cards received, 1926-1958, ca. 50 items, including an etching by Beatrice S. Levy dated 1932,; the last chapter ("Reanimating the Life of the World" pgs. 198-252) of a doctoral thesis by Ethel Joyce Hammer, ATTITUDES TOWARDS ART IN THE 1920'S IN CHICAGO (1975); a 3 p. undated price list for wood carvings, watercolors and oil paintings by Armin; a notebook, 1937-1971, containing a few poems, copies of letters, notes on painting techniques, curriculum vitae, and a lists of oils, 1917-1970, watercolors, 1914-1971, pastels, 1964-1965, prints, ca. 1921-1966, and carvings, 1920-1971 by Armin (title of work, size, date and buyer information is often included); 2 sketchbooks, 1916 and 1919 (22 x 10 cm. or smaller) containing pencil & watercolor sketches of people and landscapes, signed and dated; a scrapbook containing clippings, 1920's; 18 exhibition announcements, invitations and catalogs, 1931-1977; ca. 150 magazine articles and newspaper clippings, 1920-1967 and undated; and 6 photographs of Armin, 1945, 1963? and undated.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Chicago, Illinois. Died 1971.
Provenance:
Donated 1985 by Hilda D. Armin, widow of Emil Armin.
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.
Levy, Beatrice S. (Beatrice Sophia), 1892-1974 Search this
Extent:
1.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1890-1974
Scope and Contents:
The Beatrice S. Levy papers measure 1.9 linear feet and date from 1890-1974. Included are biographical material, correspondence, writings, works of art, photographs, and printed material.
Biographical material includes awards, a confirmation certificate, and a diploma. Correspondence is with Levy's family and art organizations. Writings consist of numerous diaries by Levy. Works of art include a sketchbook, sketches and etches. Loose photographs and three photograph albums contain images of Levy, family, friends, and travels. Also included is a picto-viewer with images of her works. Printed material relates to Art News and Levy's work.
Biographical / Historical:
Beatrice Levy was an etcher in Chicago, Ill. and La Jolla, Calif. Levy studied at the Art Institute of Chicago under Ralph Clarkson and with Charles W. Hawthorne in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She had a studio in Chicago's 57th Street Art Colony. Her work was exhibited at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition (1915), the Century of Progress in Chicago (1933-1934), and the New York's World's Fair (1939). Levy was President of the Chicago Society of Artists, Supervisor of the Works Progress Administration Art Project Gallery, and Supervisor of the Easel Painting Division in 1936 for the Federal Art Project. In 1950 she moved to California, where she taught at the La Jolla Museum School of Arts and Crafts (1961-1962) and continued to exhibit her work.
Provenance:
Donated 2018 by Heather Peck, granddaughter of Dorothy Stratton, a friend of Beatrice Levy. Material microfilmed on reel 4190 (frames 773-1023) was originally part of a larger collection of material given to the University of Louisville (Kentucky) by Samuel Steinfeld, a cousin of Beatrice Levy. The University of Louisville transferred this group of papers to the Art Institute of Chicago, who in turn donated them to the Archives of American Art in 1986. Samuel Steinfeld donated additional material on reel 4190 (frames1024-1311) in 1986.
The records of the B. C. Holland Gallery measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1942-1991 (bulk dates 1959-1965). Founded in Chicago, Illinois by Bud C. Holland and Noah Goldowsky, the collection documents over 98 artists associated with the gallery. Documentation includes invoices, correspondence between artists and gallery owners, price lists, exhibition catalogs and print materials, magazine and newspaper clippings, photographs, and slides, and some business records of the gallery.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the B. C. Holland Gallery measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1942-1991 (bulk dates 1959-1965). Founded in Chicago, Illinois by Bud C. Holland and Noah Goldowsky, the collection documents over 98 artists associated with the gallery. Documentation includes invoices, correspondence between artists and gallery owners, price lists, exhibition catalogues and print materials, magazine and newspaper clippings, photographs, and slides, and some business records of the gallery.
Artists of note include: Harry Bouras, Paul Burlin, Mary Callery, Elaine de Kooning, Willem de Kooning, Jean Dubuffet, Edward Dugmore, Roland Ginzel (including 2 ink drawings), Michael Goldberg, Robert Goodnough, Joseph Goto, Philip Guston, Julius Hatofsky, Richard Hunt (includes 18 files and a landscape plan of John J. Madden Clinic sculpture installation), Lester Johnson, Ellen Lanyon, Alfred Leslie, Jacques Lipchitz, Michael Loew, Knox Martin, Dennis Oppenheim, Stephen Pace, Milton Resnick, Larry Rivers, Aaron Siskind, George Spaventa, Saul Steinberg, Jack Tworkov, and Estaban Vicente.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Artist files, 1942-1991 (2.1 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, OV 3)
Series 2: Business records, 1961-1963 (1 folder; Box 2)
Biographical / Historical:
B. C. Holland Gallery (1957-1994) was founded by Bud C. Holland and Noah Goldowsky, and was initially known as the Holland-Goldowsky Gallery. It held exhibitions and sold artwork for Chicago artists and many artists of the New York School. Holland bought out his partner and renamed the gallery the B. C. Holland Gallery in August 1961. The gallery closed upon Holland's death in 1994.
Bud C. Holland entered the jewelry business, after serving in WWII as a bomber pilot, where he began collecting artwork. He opened his first art gallery in 1957. During the 1960s pop trend, Holland was drawn towards abstract expressionism and other art forms, which he focused on in his gallery. He began selling his collection when he was diagnosed with cancer, and died at 72 in Chicago, Illinois, 29 December 1994.
Provenance:
The B. C. Holland Gallery records were donated to the Archives of American Art by Bud C. Holland's widow, Claire Y. Holland, in 1995.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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.
Topic:
Artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview of Anne Rorimer conducted 2010 November 15-16, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, at Rorimer's home, in Chicago, Illinois.
Rorimer speaks of her family background; her early life and education in New York City; her father, James Rorimer, and his influence as director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; college life at Bryn Mawr; how she became interested in modern art; her internship at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London after college; her master's degree thesis on Tony Smith; her job as a curator at the Albright-Knox Gallery and then at the Art Institute of Chicago; memorable exhibitions at the AIC throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including the annual "American Exhibition," "Europe in the Seventies: Aspects of Recent Art," (1977), and "Idea and Image in Recent Art" (1974); her close relationship with Anne D'Harnoncourt; how she left the AIC in 1984 to write, "New Art in the '60s and 70s: Redefining Reality," (2001); her role in acquisitions of contemporary art at the AIC; her thoughts on art education; her work with collectors; the process of getting her book published and reactions to it; her curatorial projects in the 1980s and early 1990s that focused on conceptual art; her relationship with artists like Michael Asher and Daniel Buren; her extensive book collection; her thoughts on being a freelance curator and writer. She recalls Whitney Stoddard, Robert Beverly Hale, Theodoros Stamos, Leo Castelli, Henry Geldzahler, Anne D'Harnoncourt, Renee Marcuse, Bates Lowry, Tony Smith, Marcia Tucker, A. James Speyer, Bruce Nauman, Lawrence Weiner, Vito Acconci, William Wegman, Robert Morris, Lucy R. Lippard, Katharine Kuh, Sol Lewitt, John Maxon, Eva Hesse, Muriel Newman, Judith Kirschner, Dan Graham, Benjamin Buchloh, and Marcel Broodthaers.
Biographical / Historical:
Anne Rorimer (1944-) is a curator and art historian in Chicago, Illinois. Judith Olch Richards (1947-) is a former executive director of iCI in New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 4 memory cards. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 5 hr., 36 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews Search this
Letters, scrapbooks, and printed material documenting the development of the Shapiro's art collection. Correspondence, primarily from dealers, museums, art organizations and artists, includes letters from Enrico Baj, Aaron Bohrod (recommending Ben Shahn as a muralist), George Buehr, Jose Luis Cuevas, Leon Golub, Margo Hoff, Miyoko Ito, Sidney Janis, Ellen Lanyon, Pierre Matisse, Ida Meyer-Chagall (discussing her father's work), Abbott Pattison, Irving Petlin, Abraham Rattner, and Kay Sage Tanguy (discussing her husband's work). Printed material consists of 11 exhibition announcements and catalogs (1952-1984), and clippings (1965-1985).
Four scrapbooks (1943-1955) contain clippings, some dealing with the "Art to Live With" program, exhibition catalogs, a letter from Richard Daley (1958), a 3-page typescript "Surrealism Then and Now" by Doris Lane Butler (1958), press releases (1959), and a letter from R. J. Nedved of the Illinois Society of Architects (1967).
Biographical / Historical:
Born 1904. Died 1996. Joseph Shapiro began collecting in 1942 and was drawn to works in the Surrealist tradition. While establishing one of the most important art collections in Chicago, Shapiro and his wife Jory enjoyed personal friendships with artists and used their collection to educate and increase public appreciation of modern art in Chicago. Shapiro was a founder of the Museum of Contemporary Art and served on its board as President from 1967 until 1974.
Provenance:
Material on reel 3759 (fr. 1-320) donated 1986; and material on fr. 323-569 lent for microfilming 1986 all by Joseph R. Shapiro.
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 art historian, dealer, critic, and curator Katharine Kuh measure 12 linear feet and date from 1875-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930-1994. The collection documents Kuh's career as a pioneer modernist art historian and as the first woman curator of European Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues; personal business records; artwork by various artists; a travel journal; writings by Kuh and others; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs of Kuh and others; and audio recordings of Kuh's lectures and of Daniel Catton Rich reading poetry.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art historian, dealer, critic, and curator Katharine Kuh measure 12 linear feet and date from 1875-1994, with the bulk of the material dating from 1930-1994. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends and colleagues; personal business records; artwork by various artists; a travel journal; writings by Kuh and others; scrapbooks; printed material; photographs of Kuh and others; and audio recordings of Kuh's lectures and of Daniel Catton Rich reading poetry.
Biographical material consists of copies of Kuh's birth certificate, resumés, passports, award certificates, honorary diplomas, and address books listing information about several prominent artists and colleagues.
Four linear feet of correspondence offers excellent documentation of Kuh's interest in art history, her travels, her career at the Art Institute of Chicago, her work as a corporate art advisor, and as an author. There are letters from her mother Olga Woolf, friends, and colleagues. There is extensive correspondence with various staff members of the Art Institute of Chicago, the First National Bank of Chicago, and The Saturday Review. Also of interest are letters from artists and collectors, several of whom became life-long friends including Walter and Louise Arensberg, Cosmo Campoli, Serge Chermayeff, Richard Cox, Worden Day, Claire Falkenstein, Fred Friendly, Leon Golub, Joseph Goto, David Hare, Denise Brown Hare, Jean Hélion, Ray Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Len Lye, Wallace Putnam, Kurt Seligmann, Shelby Shackelford, Hedda Sterne, and Clyfford Still. Many letters are illustrated with original artwork in various media.
There are also scattered letters from various artists and other prominent individuals including Josef Albers, George Biddle, Marcel Breuer, Joseph Cornell, Stuart Davis, Edwin Dickinson, Joseph Hirshhorn, Daniel Catton Rich, and Dorothea Tanning.
Personal business records include a list of artwork, Olga Woolf's will, inventories of Kuh's personal art collection, miscellaneous contracts and deeds of gift, receipts for the sale of artwork, files concerning business-related travel, and miscellaneous receipts.
Artwork in the collection represents a wide range of artist friends and media, such as drawings, watercolors, paintings, collages, and prints. Included are works by various artists including lithographs by David Hare and a watercolor set, Technics and Creativity, designed and autographed by Jasper Johns for the Museum of Modern Art, 1970.
Notes and writings include annotated engagement calendars, travel journals for Germany, a guest book for the Kuh Memorial gathering, and many writings and notes by Kuh for lectures and articles concerning art history topics. Of interest are minutes/notes from meetings for art festivals, conferences, and the "Conversations with Artists Program (1961). Also found are writings by others about Kuh and other art history topics.
Six scrapbooks contain clippings that document the height of Kuh's career as a gallery director and museum curator. Scrapbook 6 contains clippings about Fernand Léger, the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1953.
Additional printed material includes clippings about Kuh and her interests, a comprehensive collection of clippings of Kuh's articles for The Saturday Review, exhibition announcements and catalogs, calendars of events, programs, brochures, books including Poems by Kuh as a child, and reproductions of artwork. Of particular interest are the early and exhibition catalogs from the Katharine Kuh Gallery, and rare catalogs for artists including Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Stanley William Hayter, Hans Hofmann, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Franz Kline, Le Corbusier, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Pablo Picasso.
Photographs provide important documentation of the life and career of Katharine Kuh and are of Kuh, family members, friends, colleagues, events, residences, and artwork. Several of the photographs of Kuh were taken by Will Barnet and Marcel Breuer and there is a notable pair of photo booth portraits of Kuh and a young Ansel Adams. There are also group photographs showing Angelica Archipenko with Kuh; designer Klaus Grabe; painters José Chavez Morado and Pablo O'Higgins in San Miguel, Mexico; Kuh at the Venice Biennale with friends and colleagues including Peggy Guggenheim, Frances Perkins, Daniel Catton Rich, and Harry Winston; and "The Pre-Depressionists" including Lorser Feitelson, Robert Inverarity, Helen Lundeberg, Arthur Millier, Myron Chester Nutting, and Muriel Tyler Nutting.
Photographs of exhibition installations and openings include views of the Katharine Kuh Gallery; Fernand Léger, Man Ray, and László Moholy-Nagy at the Art Institute of Chicago; and Philip Guston, Jimmy Ernst, Seymour H. Knox, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York. There are also photographs depicting three men posing as Léger's "Three Musicians" and the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to the Art Institute of Chicago. There is a photograph by Peter Pollack of an elk skull used as a model by Georgia O'Keeffe.
Additional photographs of friends and colleagues include Ivan Albright, Alfred Barr, Alexander Calder, Marc Chagall, Willem De Kooning, Edwin Dickinson, Marcel Duchamp, Claire Falkenstein, Alberto Giacometti, poet Robert Graves with Len Lye, Philip Johnson, Gyorgy and Juliet Kepes, Carlos Mérida, José Orozco, Hasan Ozbekhan, Pablo Picasso, Carl Sandberg, Ben Shahn, Otto Spaeth, Hedda Sterne, Adlai Stevenson, Clyfford Still, Mark Tobey, and composer Victor Young.
Photographs of artwork include totem poles in Alaska; work by various artists including Claire Falkenstein, Paul Klee, and Hedda Sterne; and work donated to the Guggenheim Museum.
Four audio recordings on cassette are of Katharine Kuh's lectures, including one about assembling corporate collections, and of Daniel Catton Rich reading his own poetry. There is also a recording of the Second Annual Dialogue between Broadcasters and Museum Educators.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series. Undated correspondence, artwork, and photographs of individual artists are arranged alphabetically. Otherwise, each series is arranged chronologically.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1945-1992 (Box 1; 16 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1908-1994 (Boxes 1-5, 13-14, OV 15; 4.0 linear feet)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1941-1989 (Box 5; 19 folders)
Series 4: Artwork, 1931-1986 (Boxes 5, 13-14, OVs 15-23; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 5: Notes and Writings, 1914-1994 (Boxes 5-7; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, 1935-1953 (Box 7; 8 folders)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1916-1992 (Boxes 7-10, 13, OV 22; 3.0 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, 1875-1993 (Boxes 10-13; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 9: Audio Recordings, 1977 (Box 12; 1 folder)
Biographical Note:
Katharine Kuh (1904-1994) worked primarily in the Chicago area as an modern art historian, dealer, critic, curator, writer, and consultant. She operated the Katharine Kuh Gallery from 1935-1943 and was the first woman curator of European and Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Katharine Kuh (née Woolf) was born on July 15, 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of the three daughters of Olga Weiner and Morris Woolf, a silk importer. In 1909, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois. While traveling with her family in Europe in 1914, Katharine contracted polio, causing her to spend the next decade in a body brace. During this time of restricted movement, she developed an interest in art history through the collecting of old master prints.
After her recovery, Katharine Woolf attended Vassar College where one of her professors, Alfred Barr, encouraged her to study modern art. She graduated from Vassar in 1925 and received a master's degree in art history from the University of Chicago in 1929. Later that year, she moved to New York to pursue a Ph.D. in Renaissance and medieval art at New York University.
In 1930, Katharine Woolf returned to Chicago and married businessman George Kuh and began to teach art history courses in the suburbs of Chicago. After divorcing George Kuh in 1935, she opened the Katharine Kuh Gallery, the first gallery devoted to avant-garde art in Chicago. It was also the first gallery to exhibit photography and typographical design as art forms, and featured the work of Ansel Adams, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Wassily Kandinsky, Fernand Léger, and Man Ray, among others. From 1938 to1940, Kuh was the Visiting Professor of Art at the University School of Fine Arts, San Miguel, Mexico.
After the Katharine Kuh Gallery closed in 1943, Kuh was hired by museum director Daniel Catton Rich to fill a position in public relations at the Art Institute of Chicago. During the following years, Kuh edited the museum's Quarterly publication, took charge of the museum's Gallery of Interpretive Art, and began a long term relationship with Rich. In 1946, Kuh was sent on a special mission for the U. S. Office of Indian Affairs to make a detailed study of Native American totemic carvings in Alaska.
In 1949, Kuh persuaded Mr. and Mrs. Walter Arensberg of Los Angeles to exhibit their collection of modern art, creating the first post-war exhibition of modern art in Chicago. She published her first book Art Has Many Faces in 1951, and in the following year, she began writing art criticism for The Saturday Review. In 1954, Kuh was appointed the first woman curator of European Art and Sculpture at the Art Institute. She assembled the American contribution for the Venice Biennale in 1956 and during these years, Kuh helped acquire many of the works of modern art currently in the museum's collection.
A year following Daniel Catton Rich's 1958 resignation from the Art Institute of Chicago, Kuh also resigned and pursued a career in New York as an art collection advisor, most notably for the First National Bank of Chicago. In 1959, Kuh was made art critic for The Saturday Review, and she continued to publish books, including The Artist's Voice in 1962, Break-Up: The Core of Modern Art in 1965, and The Open Eye: In Pursuit of Art in 1971.
Katharine Kuh died on January 10, 1994 in New York City.
Provenance:
The Katharine Kuh papers were donated in several installments from 1971 to 1989 by Katharine Kuh and in 1994 by her estate. Artwork was donated in 1995 by Kuh's former employer, the Art Institute of Chicago.
Restrictions:
Authorization to quote, publish or reproduce requires written permission until 2019. Contact the Archives of American Art Reference Services department for additional 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.
Correspondence, mostly from Nelli Bar Wieghardt to Francis Bosworth relating to the Wieghardt's years as refugees and their attempt to settle in the United States; notebooks on art history and class materials compiled by Paul Wieghardt; biographical records; clippings which include early reviews from German and French papers; photographs of Paul Wieghardt teaching, installation views and of Paul and Nelli Bar Wieghardt's art work.
Biographical / Historical:
Paul Wieghardt (1897-1969) was a painter and sculptor in Chicago, Ill. and Philadelphia, Pa. Paul was a painter and his wife Nelli Bar was a sculptor. They taught at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Evanston Art Center.
Provenance:
Microfilmed in 1987 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. Lent for microfilming by Nelli Bar Wieghardt.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Biographical writings and U.S. Army papers, 1940-1961; letters, 1945-1946, from Shopen to his wife, Sylvia; business correspondence, 1932-1984; art works, including a print, a watercolor, 54 sketches and 2 sketchbooks by Shopen, a print by Arthur B. Davies, and 2 prints by Otto Schneider; a scrapbook kept while art critic for the CHICAGO DAILY NEWS, 1953-1956, containing letters and clippings of reviews; receipts; an address book; writings and notes on art and a notebook of quotes; subject files on the War Department and Shopen's teaching position at the University of Illinois; printed material, 1946-1957; and photographs, slides and negatives of Shopen, friends, family, and works of art.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, art critic, educator; Chicago, Ill. full name is George Kenneth Shopen
Provenance:
Donated 1988 by Timothy Shopen, Kenneth Shopen's son.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
Letters, post cards, and original Christmas cards from artist Ralph Fabri to Pontius; and a several of Fabri's exhibition catalogs and announcements.
Biographical / Historical:
Educator; Chicago, Ill. Fabri was a painter, writer, sculptor, and educator and lived in New York City. He died in 1975.
Provenance:
The donor, Dale Pontius, is a friend of Ralph Fabri.
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.
Correspondence; financial records; writings; photographs; sketches; inventories of art works; and printed materials.
REELS 1703-1704: Correspondence, 1948-1974, between Earle Ludgin and artist Forrest Bess, and 2 letters from Betty Parsons Gallery to Bess. Some letters contain clippings and photographs of Bess and of his work. [These letters also appear on microfilm reel 3458].
REELS 3821-3824: Correspondence, 1934-1979, with artists, musicians, writers, and other individuals involved in the arts, including ca. 1,200 letters received and carbon copies of letters sent. Ivan Albright, Leonard Baskin, Forrest Bess, Maurizio Bonora, Richard Bowman, Judith Brown, Copeland Burg, Alexander Calder, Pablo Casals, Marvin Cone, Peter Dews, Edwin Dickinson, Peter Fink, Dorothy Hood, Edward Hopper, Lincoln Kirstein, Norman Laliberte, Kirk Newman, Seiji Ozawa, Dan Palumbo, Alton Pickens, Abraham and Esther Rattner, Daniel Catton Rich, Kurt and Arlette Seligmann, Ben Shahn, Margaret Tomkins, Alice Valenstein, and Max Weber are correspondents.
Business correspondence and records, 1930-1981, regarding the Ludgin art collection consists of ca. 1,000 items, and includes documentation on the purchase, outgoing loan, insurance, shipment, etc. of art works. Also included are 3 inventories of the art collection, undated, 1951, and 1981.
Also included are typescript "With Both Eyes Open" by Earle Ludgin as a catalog introduction for the exhibition, THE LUDGIN COLLECTION OF CONTEMPORARY PAINTINGS, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1954; 6 photographs of an exhibition opening, sent to Ludgin by Kurt Seligmann, 1949; a photograph of Copeland Burg; a photograph of Kurt Seligmann and Father Bruckberger; 2 contact sheets containing photographs of Earle Ludgin by Peter Fink; 12 photographs of art installations at Earle Ludgin and Co. offices and at the Corcoran Gallery of Art;
color photographs of pages from Ivan Albright's sketchbook of flesh wounds (sketchbook is owned by the Art Institute of Chicago); and 38 photographs, ca. 370 slides, and a few negatives of art work in the Ludgin collection; printed materials, 1941-1979, including news releases, newpaper clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements (ca. 50 items); 11 rough pencil sketches on Earle Ludgin memo paper, some of which appear to be art installation plans; and a half-tone plate of RECLINING FIGURE by Henry Moore.
Biographical / Historical:
Collectors; Chicago, Illinois. Earle Ludgin, an advertising executive, and his wife Mary, began collecting art in the early 1930's and continued for almost 50 years, amassing an important contemporary American art collection.
Provenance:
Material on reels 1703-1704 (also filmed on reel 3458) donated 1979 by Earle Ludgin; material on reels 3821-3824 donated 1985 by Donald Ludgin, son of Mary and Earle Ludgin.
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 -- Collectors and collecting -- United States Search this
Records of activities of Exhibition Momentum, 1948-1964, including correspondence; meeting minutes; drafts of statements of purpose, history and press releases; newspaper clippings, publicity material; typescript of Daniel Joseph's masters thesis, "Career and Social Protest: An Analysis of a Chicago Art Group," The University of Chicago, Dec. 1950, and Joseph's research material for his thesis including transcripts of interviews and panel discussions and typescripts of letters, 1949-1950; and financial records, 1956-1957. Three binders, 1948-1950, 1951-1953, and 1956 and 1964, contain minutes of meetings regarding the constitution, possible exhibitions, juried shows, selection of committees and officers, membership rules, and statements of purpose, correspondence, writings by members and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Art group; Chicago, Ill. Organized in 1948 to protest exhibition policies of the Art Institute of Chicago. Disbanded in 1964.
Provenance:
Records on reel 4700, frames 14-500 were lent for microfilming in 1991 by Danielle Fox Brinner, daughter of Charles Cox, the last secretary of Exhibition Momentum, and subsequently donated by Brinner in 2004. Records on frames 503 to the end of the reel were donated 1991 by Carol Block, widow[?] of Eugene Block, treasurer of Exhibition Momentum. Typescipts of Daniel Joseph's research material for his thesis, donated by Gabriel P. Weisberg, through Richard Wattenmaker, 1994.
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 -- Illinois -- Chicago Search this
Art -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Exhibitions Search this
Biographical documents; correspondence; art works; scrapbooks; photographs; and printed material.
A passport, 1928; 7 biographical sketches; correspondence, primarily to Chapin's wife and to friend, David McCosh; lists of paintings; a list of guests; 2 illustrated notebooks; price lists; receipts for works of art, 1948-1974; a proof of a lithograph; 2 drawings; 2 sketchbooks, one by Vivian Chapin, 1960; a scrapbook, 1950-1966, containing clippings and an exhibition catalog, 1958; a scrapbook containing clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, 4 letters, and photographs; printed materials; and photographs of Chapin, his associates, and his work.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, lithographer, teacher; Chicago, Illinois. Studied at Art Institute of Chicago 1922-1929, travelled in Europe with David McCosh 1929, returning to study lithography with Bolton Brown. Chapin taught at the Art Institute of Chicago, 1929-1945, Grant Wood's school, 1932, and was director of the Institute's Summer School at Saugatuck, 1932-1940. He was artist-in-residence at University of Georgia, 1952.
Related Materials:
REEL 875: Also in the Archives on microfilm only are papers lent for microfilming in 1974 (reel 875), comprising biographical data; business and personal correspondence, 1930-1964, including one or more letters each from Ivan Albright, Edward Hopper, Edmund Kurtz, Abbott Pattison, Peppino Mangravite, and James Wines; three sketchbooks; loose sketches and two Christmas card designs; writings and talks by Chapin; a scrapbook of clippings, sketches, photographs, and memorabilia, 1917-1921; photos of his family and his works; exhibition catalogs and announcements, 1933-1974; clippings, 1928-1968; bills and receipts; a typescript of a conversation between Vivian Chapin and artist Douglas Wilson, 1956; and miscellany.
Francis Chapin sketchbooks also located at: Art Institute of Chicago, Ryerson Library.
Provenance:
Material on reel 875 lent for microfilming 1974 by Chapin's wife. Chapin's son Todd donated additional material 1986.
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.
The C. J. (Clarence Joseph) Bulliet papers measure 34.6 linear feet and are dated circa 1888-1959. Biographical materials, correspondence, writings, subject and artist files, printed material, photographs, and artwork document the career of the influential Chicago art critic and writer. The records contain extensive information about art and artists in Chicago and the Midwest from the early to mid-twentieth century.
Scope and Content Note:
The C. J. Bulliet papers measure 34.6 linear feet and are dated circa 1888-1959. Biographical materials, correspondence, writings, subject and artist files, printed material, photographs, and artwork document the career of the influential Chicago art critic and writer. The records contain extensive information about art and artists in Chicago and the Midwest from the early to mid-twentieth century.
Biographical materials, circa 1888-1952, about C. J. Bulliet and his artist wife, Katherine Adams Bulliet, include Adams family genealogy, biographical notes, inventory and notes about Bulliet's art collection, miscellaneous items, and photographs. Photographs include portraits of C. J. Bulliet as a young child, and photographs around the time of his graduation from Indiana University. Other photographs are group shots of Bulliet with Mrs. Bulliet, Millard Sheets, Mr. and Mrs. Peyton Boswell, Jr., James Chapin, the Chicago Daily News staff, and other Chicago art critics.
Correspondence, 1901-1942, documents Bulliet's professional and personal life. Professional correspondence provides a good overview of the art scene, activities, and attitudes in Chicago during the 1930s and 1940s. Many letters from newspaper readers contain both positive and negative reactions to his columns. Personal correspondence consists mainly of letters Bulliet wrote to his wife while on the road with Robert Mantell and his Shakespeare company. Other personal correspondence is with friends and relatives, and includes some letters addressed to Katherine Adams Bulliet.
Writings, 1929-1951, consist of notes, drafts, and final manuscripts of published and unpublished articles and essays, books, fiction and poems, lectures, and reviews by C. J. Bulliet. A small number of manuscripts are by other authors.
Artist files, 1919-1952, document a wide variety of artists from the Renaissance through the mid-twentieth century. Artists represented are American, European, and Asian; of particular interest are files relating to Chicago area artists, both well known and obscure. They consist largely of photographs of works of art and a small number of photographs of artists. A small percentage includes correspondence, notes and drafts of texts by Bulliet, printed material, and a few original prints.
Subject files, 1909-1952, concern topics that interested Bulliet. They consist mainly of photographs and printed material, with a small amount of correspondence.
Printed material, 1909-1959, by Bulliet consists of newspaper articles and columns, books, and reviews of art, books, and music. Items produced by others include books, clippings, museum and art school publications, periodicals, and press releases. Exhibition related items, consisting of announcements, invitations, catalogs, checklists, and prospectuses, are categorized by venues - Chicago and elsewhere.
Art work, 1916-1948, mainly by Chicago area artists, consists of prints, drawings, and a sketchbook, most likely given to Bulliet by the artists themselves.
Arrangement:
Series 2: Correspondence, Series 4: Artist Files, Series 5: Subject Files, and Series 7: Artwork are arranged alphabetically. Other series, organized by record type, are arranged chronologically within each category, as noted in the series descriptions/container listing below.
The collection is arranged into 7 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1888-1952 (Box 1; 6 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1901-1952 (Boxes 1-2; 2 linear ft.)
Series 3: Writings, 1929-1951 (Boxes 3-4; 2 linear ft.)
Series 4: Artist Files, 1919-1952 (Boxes 5-24; 20 linear ft.)
Series 5: Subject Files, 1909-1952 (Boxes 25-27, 37; 2.3 linear ft.)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1909-1959 (Boxes 27-34, 36-37; 7.7 linear ft.)
Series 7: Artwork, 1916-1948 (Boxes 35, 38, OV 39; 0.6 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Known for his support of modernism, C. J. Bulliet spent the majority of his long newspaper career in Chicago. Born Clarence Joseph Bulleit in Corydon, Indiana, he studied English, astronomy, and mathematics at Indiana University. After graduating in 1905, he became a member of the Indiana University Total Eclipse Expedition to Spain in its search for a planet within Mercury's orbit. During World War I the spelling of the name Bulliet was changed to avoid any connection with Germany.
Upon returning to the United States, Bulliet began his newspaper career as a reporter for the Louisville Herald, soon moved to the Indianapolis Star as a police reporter, and eventually was named its drama critic. Between 1912 and 1921, he traveled extensively throughout the country as a press agent for Shakespearean actor Robert B. Mantell. During this period, he published his first book, a biography titled Robert Mantell's Romance. World War I interrupted Mantell's tour for two years, during which time Bulliet was press representative for D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation. He returned to the Louisville Herald for two years before moving to Chicago.
In 1923, the Chicago Evening Post established "The Art World Magazine," a weekly tabloid section reporting local, national, and international art news. C.J. Bulliet became the magazine's first (and only) editor. In addition, he served as the paper's drama critic. When the Chicago Evening Post was sold in 1932, becoming the Chicago Daily News, Bulliet was appointed its art critic. Although Bulliet was an experienced reporter, writer, and editor with a broad general knowledge of theater and drama, he had virtually no background in art or art history. An avid reader, he was determined to learn as much as he could, and managed to make himself an expert in a relatively short time. From 1924 until his death in 1952, C. J. Bulliet was the most important art critic in Chicago. His strong support of modernism and the gossipy, entertaining style of his columns made him a popular and controversial figure with great local influence on public opinion, exhibitions, and patronage. In addition to his work on the Chicago newspapers, C. J. Bulliet contributed articles to Art Digest, the New York Times, and other national publications.
Once established as an art editor and critic, C. J. Bulliet began writing extensively on art, and published many books on the subject for general readers. The first, Apples and Madonnas: Emotional Expression in Modern Art (1927), was extremely well-received and remained in print through many editions. Other titles include: Tour of the Exhibition of the Works of Alexander Archipenko (1927), The Courtezan Olympia: An Intimate Survey of Artists and their Mistress-Models (1930), Art Masterpieces: In a Century of Progress Fine Art Exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago (1933), Paintings, An Introduction to Art (1934); The Significant Moderns and Their Pictures (1936), Masterpieces of Italian Art (1939), French Art from David to Matisse: As Set Forth in 20 Masterpieces of the French Exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago (1941), Art Treasures from Vienna (1949), and The Story of Lent in Art (1951). He published books on other subjects, as well. In addition to his 1918 biography of Robert B. Mantell, they are: Venus Castina: Famous Female Impersonators, Celestial and Human (1933) and How Grand Opera Came to Chicago (1940-1941).
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives in 1984 by C. J. Bulliet's son, Lender J. Bulliet. Additional records were given by Rockford College, Rockford, Illinois, in 1987.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers 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.
An interview of Edwin Bergman conducted by Patricia Erens.
Bergman speaks of his family background and youth in Chicago; early philanthropic activities in Jewish organizations; beginning his art collection; other collectors he has been associated with; meeting Joseph Cornell, getting to know him and collecting his work; his philosophy of collecting; the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and its history; his service on the Museum's board of trustees; why, in his opinion, there are so many Jewish collectors in Chicago; his civic activities.
Biographical / Historical:
Art collector; Chicago, Ill.
Provenance:
Donated 1986 by the American Jewish Committee.
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.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Illinois -- Chicago Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- Illinois -- Chicago -- Interviews Search this
Files on artwork by Baum, exhibition and loan files, photographs of artwork by others, personal correspondence, and an audio recording.
Files on Baum's artwork, organized chronologically, include photographs and slides of works, as well as titles, dates, locations if known, and occasional printed material and correspondence regarding loans or purchases. Exhibition and loan files are organized chronologically and include printed material and correspondence with the Betsy Rosenfeld Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago and various Chicago Imagist group shows, among others. Other files include photographs and slides of artwork by other artists.
Personal correspondence includes letters and postcards from Baum's children, and his friends, most of them Chicago artists, including Miriam Brofsky, Glen Davies, Gabrielle Edgecomb, Hans Gallas, Phil Hanson, Miyoko Ito, Jin Soo Kim, June Leaf, Jim Nutt, Barbara Rossi, Darthea Speyer, Sue Taylor, Ken Warneke, Karl Wirsum and others. Many of the letters are illustrated or contain objects. Also included is a radio program about Baum's assemblage houses produced by Wisconsin Public Radio, 1988.
Biographical / Historical:
Don Baum (1922-2008) was a sculptor, assemblage artist, and curator in Chicago, Ill. Baum was considered part of the Hairy Who and the Chicago Imagists.
Provenance:
Donated 1995 by Don Baum and in 2009 by Maria Baum, Don Baum's daughter.
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.
