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Oral history interview with Allan Sekula

Interviewee:
Sekula, Allan  Search this
Interviewer:
Panzer, Mary  Search this
Names:
Artforum  Search this
California Institute of the Arts  Search this
Rhode Island School of Design  Search this
Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.)  Search this
The Ohio State University -- Faculty  Search this
University of California, San Diego  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Antin, David  Search this
Antin, Eleanor  Search this
Ascott, Roy  Search this
Baldessari, John, 1931-  Search this
Barthes, Roland  Search this
Becker, Howard  Search this
Bercovitch, Sacvan  Search this
Beveridge, Karl  Search this
Bo Diddley, 1928-2008  Search this
Brach, Paul, 1924-  Search this
Braderman, Joan  Search this
Burch, Noël, 1932-  Search this
Burn, Ian, 1939-1993  Search this
Captain Beefheart  Search this
Charlesworth, Sarah, 1947-2013  Search this
Chayefsky, Paddy, 1923-1981  Search this
Conde, Carol  Search this
Connell, Brian  Search this
Evans, Walker, 1903-1975  Search this
Farber, Manny  Search this
Feldman, Ronald, 1938-  Search this
Folks, Homer, 1867-1963  Search this
Fox, Terry, 1943-  Search this
Fried, Howard, 1946-  Search this
Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997  Search this
Graham, Dan, 1942-  Search this
Graves, Michael, 1934-2015  Search this
Halleck, DeeDee  Search this
Hanhardt, John G.  Search this
Hassan, Ihab, 1925-2015  Search this
Hayes, Woody, 1913-1987  Search this
Heinecken, Robert, 1931-  Search this
Higgins, Dick, 1938-1998  Search this
Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940  Search this
Kienholz, Edward, 1927-  Search this
Kirschenbaum, Baruch David, 1931-  Search this
Knowles, Alison, 1933-  Search this
Kosuth, Joseph.  Search this
Kozloff, Max  Search this
Kramer, Hilton  Search this
Krauss, Rosalind E.  Search this
König, Kasper  Search this
Liebling, Jerome  Search this
Lifson, Ben  Search this
Little Richard, 1932-  Search this
Lonidier, Fred  Search this
Lord, Catherine, 1949-  Search this
Lunn, Harry, 1933-1998  Search this
Mac Low, Jackson  Search this
Mandel, Mike  Search this
Matta, 1912-2002  Search this
Mayer, Grace M.  Search this
Michelson, Annette  Search this
O'Doherty, Brian  Search this
Pommer, Richard  Search this
Ramsden, Mel  Search this
Raskin, Jef  Search this
Reagan, Ronald  Search this
Rosler, Martha  Search this
Ross, David A., 1949-  Search this
Ruby, Jay  Search this
Ruscha, Edward  Search this
Salle, David, 1952-  Search this
Salvesen, Britt  Search this
Schimmel, Paul  Search this
Segalove, Ilene, 1950-  Search this
Stein, Sally  Search this
Steinmetz, Philip  Search this
Sultan, Larry  Search this
Van Riper, Peter  Search this
Wakoski, Diane  Search this
Wall, Jeff, 1946-  Search this
Extent:
12 Items (Sound recording: 12 sound files (6 hr.,14 min.), digital, wav)
143 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2011 August 20-2012 February 14
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Allan Sekula conducted 2011 August 20-2012 February 14, by Mary Panzer, for the Archives of American Art at Sekula's studio and home in Los Angeles, California and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York.
Sekula speaks of his career and some of the mediums he works in; language and contemporary art; Roland Barthes; his relation to contemporary art; west coast conceptualism; genre switches; realism; documentary photography; Belgium and the industrial revolution; Meunier; minor figures; art history and marginalism; Roberto Matta; World War I; Homer Folks; Fish Story; historic cinema; economic factors of art shows and publication; galleries and the art world; growing up and his family; his father and moving; Ohio; his brothers and sisters; San Pedro; demographics of students at school; sports at school; Vietnam; protests; cross country and swimming; California; fishing; college; U.C. system; declaring a major; John Altoon; Ed Kienholz; exposure to art; visiting museums; Marcuse's classes; Baldessari's classes; course work and student life; student demonstrations; working in a library and exposure to books; father losing his job; science and working as a chemical technician; politics; his uncle committing suicide; moving away from his father; the draft; John Birch; Students for a Democratic Society; his mother; politics of his parents; Aerospace Folk Tales, autodidacts and scholarship; San Diego and Mexico; obtaining a camera and starting to use it; art school; CalArts; UCSD; Meditations on a Triptych; David Salle; Fred Lonidier; Phel Steinmetz; MFA and art training; poets; story of Allen Ginsberg and one of Sekula's sculptures; production and the audience; A Photograph is Worth a Thousand Questions, photography and the burden of tradition; pictorialism; moving to New York; Artforum; October; New York music scene; Captain Beefheart; Bo Diddley; Little Richard; Steichen and aerial photography; origins of October; New Criterion; Art Critic's Grant; teaching at Ohio State; television; technological historians; New York subway and getting a ticket for using French money; RISD lectures; Long Beach; photography; collages; Metro Pictures; New Topographics; School as a Factory; moral choice and the viewer; work method and the audience; Social Criticism and Art Practice; east and west coasts; Ed Ruscha; documentary; film, Los Angeles; cinema and social history; Ohio State Department of Photography and Cinema; Los Angeles Plays Itself; Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador; Ohio State campus, anti-Semitism; Ronald Reagan and protest; influences and colleagues; intellectual genealogy; Michael Graves and Ohio State architecture; Bad Ohio; tenure; University Exposed; AIDS issue of October; The Body and the Archive; making film; Korean War; collectors and images. Sekula also recalls Eleanor Antin, Jeff Wall, Terry Fox, Lewis Hine, Walker Evans, Paul Saltman, Marcuse, Baldessari, Sacvan Bercovitch, Stanley Miller, Jef Raskin, Paul Brach, David Antin, Howard Fried, Peter Van Riper, Alison Knowles, Dick Higgins, Manny Farber, Ihab Hassan, Diane Wakoski, Jackson Mac Low, Martha Rosler, Lenny Neufeld, Joshua Neufeld, David Wing, Brian Connell, Max Kozloff, Ian Burn, Mel Ramsden, Carole Conde, Karl Beveridge, Barry Rosens, Tom Crow, John Copeland, Harry Lunn, Hilton Kramer, Grace Mayer, Carol Duncan, Eva Cockroft, Richard Pommer, Rosalind Krauss, Sally Stein, Paddy Chayefsky, John Hanhardt, Mel Ramsden, Sarah Charlesworth, Jospeh Kosuth, Baruch Kirschenbaum, Robert Heinecken, Brian O'Doherty, Howard Becker, Jay Ruby, Jerry Liebling, Anna Wilkie, Ronald Feldman, John Gibson, David Ross, Britt Salvesen, Larry Sultan, Mike Mandel, Roy Ascott, Ilene Segalove, Paul Schimmel, DeeDee Halleck, Noel Burch, Joan Braderman, Woody Hayes, Thom Andersen, John Quigley, Ron Green, Kasper Koenig, Dan Graham, Jonathan Green, Christa Wolf, Catherine Lord, Ben Lifson, and Annette Michelson.
Biographical / Historical:
Allan Sekula (1951-2013) was a photographer, filmmaker, and writer, based at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Mary Panzer (1955- ) is a historian from New York, New York.
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:
Photographers -- California  Search this
Filmmakers -- California  Search this
Authors -- California  Search this
Topic:
Activism  Search this
Antisemitism  Search this
Architecture  Search this
Art -- Exhibitions -- Economic aspects  Search this
Art -- History  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Conceptual art  Search this
Documentary photography  Search this
Korean War, 1950-1953  Search this
Music -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Photography  Search this
Realism  Search this
World War, 1914-1918  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.sekula11
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d657e5da-cd1b-4366-9fe9-1852a4c5be81
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-sekula11
Online Media:

Barnes Foundation lecture notes

Creator:
Loper, Edward L., 1916-2011  Search this
Names:
Barnes Foundation  Search this
De Mazia, Violette, 1899-  Search this
Extent:
0.1 Linear feet ((on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1963-1964
Scope and Contents:
137 pages of notes covering 33 lectures given by Violette De Mazia at the Barnes Foundation on 19th and 20th century art. These unauthorized notes include the orientation lecture, reading assignements, and class discussions.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, art instructor; Wilmington, Del. Loper studied at the Barnes Foundation.
Provenance:
Edward Loper was given a copy of short hand notes taken in De Mazia's class by an unidentified student. Loper then had one of his students, Janet Neville, type the notes. Neville, who later became Loper's wife, kept a copy of the notes, and they were microfilmed in 1989 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- Pennsylvania -- Merion  Search this
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- History  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania -- Merion  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.lopeedwl
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9dd7fe840-ee38-48f4-88e8-81fd89711215
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-lopeedwl

Lucy R. Lippard papers

Creator:
Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this
Names:
Addison Gallery of American Art  Search this
Alliance for Cultural Democracy  Search this
Art Workers Coalition  Search this
Heresies Collective, Inc.  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Political Art Documentation/Distribution (Organization)  Search this
Printed Matter, Inc.  Search this
Studio International (Firm)  Search this
University of Colorado -- Faculty  Search this
Women's Caucus for Art  Search this
Andre, Carl, 1935-  Search this
Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this
Darboven, Hanne  Search this
Edelson, Mary Beth  Search this
Hammond, Harmony  Search this
Henes, Donna  Search this
Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this
Judd, Donald, 1928-  Search this
LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this
Pearson, Henry, 1914-2006  Search this
Stevens, May  Search this
Extent:
70.5 Linear feet
0.454 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Sound recordings
Interviews
Photographs
Date:
1930s-2010
bulk 1960-1990
Summary:
The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 70.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.

There is a 17.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015 and 2021 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley 50 notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence."Materials date from circa 1965-2010.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York and New Mexico writer, art critic, and curator, Lucy R. Lippard, measure 70.5 linear feet and 0.454 GB and date from the 1930s to 2007, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1960s to the 1990s. Over half of the collection consists of correspondence files documenting Lippard's professional relationships with artists, writers, galleries, art institutions, and political organizations, and her interest in conceptual and minimalist art, feminism and political activism. Also found are Lippard's notes and writings including sound recordings and interviews, teaching and exhibition files, printed and digital material, several works of art, and photographs of artwork and artists. Scattered throughout the collection are a small number of records concerning Lippard's personal life. An addition of 3.0 linear feet donated 2015 includes subject files on feminist and conceptual art as well as land use, development, and local politics and history in New Mexico.

A small amount of biographical material comprises resumes and an address book.

Correspondence files document all aspects of Lippard's professional life including her relationships with artists such as Carl Andre, Judy Chicago, Hanne Darboven, Ray Johnson, Sol LeWitt, and Henry Pearson; feminist artists including Mary Beth Edelson, Harmony Hammond, Donna Henes, and May Stevens; political and art-related activist groups such as Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Art Workers Coalition, Political Art Documentation/Distribution, Printed Matter, and Women's Caucus for Art; galleries and museums including Addison Gallery of American Art and the Museum of Modern Art, and publishers including Art International and Art Forum. The series also traces the development of Lippard's involvement in activist causes including censorship and the rights of artists, Central America and the impact of U.S. policy on the region, and equality and reproductive rights for women, as well as her interest in conceptual and minimalist art. The series includes scattered artwork and photographs of artists.

Writings are primarily by Lippard and include correspondence, manuscript drafts, extensive notes, and publication records for some of her best-known books such as The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood (1966), Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973), Eva Hesse (1976), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990), as well as essays for publications such as Art Forum and Studio International and contributions to exhibition catalogs. Also found are edited transcripts from conferences, symposia and interviews conducted by and of Lippard, some audio recordings of interviews and symposia, including an interview with Donald Judd, and notes and typescripts for lectures and speeches.

A small number of files document Lippard's teaching work during the 1970s and 1980s, primarily at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she taught several courses and seminars.

Exhibition files document Lippard's involvement with exhibitions she helped to organize or curate such as A Different War: Vietnam in Art (1989-1991) 557,087 and 955,000 (1969, 1970), 2,972, 453 (1971) c.7,500 (1973-1974) and those for which she wrote catalog contributions.

Printed material includes a collection of articles written by Lippard and a small amount of material concerning events, such as speaking engagements, in which Lippard was involved. Other printed material reflects Lippard's wide range of artistic, political and activist interests and documents exhibitions and performances and the activities of art-related and political groups. Material includes many exhibition catalogs, announcements, invitations, printed posters, news clippings, journal articles, brochures, pamphlets and other publications.

Artwork includes sixteen items by unidentified artists, including two by children. Photographs consist primarily of photographs of works of art in addition to a small number of photos of exhibition installations.

There is a 17.0 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2015 and 2021 that incudes research files (press clippings, notes, correspondence, ephemera) related to the publications 'Lure of the Local' and 'Undermining' are a significant portion. In addition there are approximetley 50 notebooks ranging from 1965-1996, containing notes and daily tasks. Printed material and ephemera includes promotional materials for talks and public engagements, as well as press clippings of reviews and other news items featuring Lippard. Another significant portion of the addition is labeled "miscellaneous professional correspondence."Materials date from circa 1965-2010.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1960s-circa 1980s (Box 1; 2 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1950s-2006 (Boxes 1-28, 51, OVs 54-63; 28.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1930s-1990s (Boxes 28-41, 51-52, OVs 64-66; 13.24 linear feet, ER01; 0.454 GB)

Series 4: Teaching Files, 1966-1993 (Boxes 41, 52; 0.76 linear feet)

Series 5: Exhibitions, 1960s-1990s (Boxes 42-45, 52, OVs 67-68; 4.2 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1940s-2007 (Boxes 45-49, 52, OVs 69-77; 5.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork and Ephemera, circa 1960s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53; 4 folders)

Series 8: Photographs, 1950s-circa 1990s (Boxes 50, 53, OV 71; 1.0 linear foot)

Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1965-2010, (Boxes 78-94; 17.0 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
New York and New Mexico writer and art critic, Lucy R. Lippard, is the curator of numerous exhibitions and the author of over twenty-four books and other writings that trace the emergence of minimalist and conceptual art and document Lippard's commitment to feminism and political activism.

Born in New York City in 1937, Lippard earned a B.A. from Smith College in 1958 and an M.A. in 1962 from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts. In the 1960s she began writing art criticism for the journals Art International and Artforum. In 1966 she curated the landmark exhibition Eccentric Abstraction at the Fischbach Gallery in New York City. Lippard then curated the first of four defining conceptual art exhibitions that became known as her "numbers" shows, each titled after the populations of the cities in which they took place, with catalogs in the form of a set of 10 x 15 cm index cards. Opening at the Seattle Art Museum in 1969, 557,087 was followed by 955,000 in Vancouver, Canada, a few months later. 2,972,453 was held at the Centro de Arte y Comunicacíon in Buenos Aires in 1971 and c.7500 opened in Valencia, California, in 1973-1974 before traveling to several other venues in the United States and Europe.

Lippard's first book, The Graphic Work of Philip Evergood was published in 1966, followed by Pop Art the same year, and a collection of her early essays, Changing, in 1971. Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object (1973) and From the Center: Feminist Essays on Women's Art (1976) documented the emergence of conceptual art and the early years of feminist art respectively. In 1976 Lippard published her seminal book on the life and work of Eva Hesse.

Between 1977 and 1978 Lippard lived on a farm in Devon, England, and worked on a novel, The First Stone, about the role of politics in the lives of three generations of women. During her walks across the English countryside she became interested in landscape art and conceived of her book Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory which was subsequently published in 1983. Other books include Get the Message?: A Decade Of Art For Social Change (1984), Ad Reinhardt (1985), and Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America (1990). Lippard has also written regular columns on art and politics for the Village Voice, In These Times and Z Magazine, and has been a contributing editor of Art in America.

Lippard was radicalized during a trip to Argentina in 1968 when she was invited to be a juror at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires. On her return to the United States she became heavily involved in anti-war activities and the Art Workers Coalition. She is a co-founder of several feminist and artist organizations including the feminist collective Heresies, which produced Heresies: A Feminist Journal on Art and Politics from 1977-1992, Ad Hoc Women Artists, Alliance for Cultural Democracy, Artists Call Against U.S. Intervention in Central America, Women's Action Coalition, and Women's Art Registry. In 1976 she was a founder of Printed Matter, a New York nonprofit dedicated to producing artists' publications. She also worked closely with Franklin Furnace, an artist-run space devoted to the promotion of artists' books, installation art, and video and performance art, and served on the organization's International Committee.

Lippard has been a visiting professor at the School of Visual Arts, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of Queensland, Australia, and was Eminent Artist in Residence at the University of Wyoming Department of Art in 2015. She has received honorary doctorates in fine arts from Maine College of Art, the Massachusetts College of Art, Moore College of Art, San Francisco Art Institute, and others, and awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts grants in criticism, the Smith College Medal, the ArtTable Award for Distinguished Service to the Visual Arts, and the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies Award for Excellence.

Lippard has lived in New Mexico since 1992 and works as a freelance writer and speaker.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Lucy Lippard conducted in 2011 March 15, by Sue Heinemann, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, funded by a grant from the A G Foundation.
Provenance:
Lucy R. Lippard donated her papers in several increments between 1972-1995, 2006, 2015 and 2021.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. 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:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Artists -- Political activity  Search this
Art criticism  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Women authors  Search this
Women art critics  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Conceptual art  Search this
Minimal art  Search this
Women museum curators  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Photographs
Citation:
Lucy R. Lippard papers, 1930s-2007, bulk 1960s-1990s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.lipplucy
See more items in:
Lucy R. Lippard papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9101c6a69-dde9-42ed-94cc-d03650c249ed
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-lipplucy
Online Media:

Dore Ashton papers

Creator:
Ashton, Dore  Search this
Names:
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art -- Faculty  Search this
New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y.) -- Faculty  Search this
Yale University -- Faculty  Search this
Adams, Pat, 1928-  Search this
Adley, James, 1931-  Search this
Albee, Edward, 1928-  Search this
Albers, Josef  Search this
Arnheim, Rudolf  Search this
Avedon, Richard  Search this
Berthot, Jake, 1939-2014  Search this
Borges, Jacopo Luis  Search this
Congdon, Dennis  Search this
Cornell, Joseph  Search this
Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993  Search this
Driskell, David C.  Search this
Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966  Search this
Guidieri, Remo  Search this
Guston, Philip, 1913-1980  Search this
Hellman, Lillian, 1905-1984  Search this
Herbert, George  Search this
Hiss, Alger  Search this
Howes, Barbara  Search this
Kaprow, Allan  Search this
Licht, Fred, 1928-  Search this
Lindner, Richard, 1901-1978  Search this
Malamud, Bernard  Search this
Miró, Joan, 1893-  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Moy, Seong  Search this
Mumford, Lewis, 1895-1990  Search this
Oldenburg, Claes, 1929-  Search this
Reuterswärd, Carl Fredrik, 1934-  Search this
Sterne, Hedda, 1910-  Search this
Tinguely, Jean, 1925-  Search this
Tobey, Mark  Search this
Tworkov, Jack  Search this
Vasilikos, Vasilēs, 1934-  Search this
Yunkers, Adja, 1900-1983  Search this
Extent:
35.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Diaries
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Transcripts
Date:
circa 1928-2014
1849
Summary:
The papers of Dore Ashton measure 35.6 linear feet and date from circa 1928-2014, with one letter in the Joseph Cornell subject file dating from 1849. The records document Dore Ashton's career as an art critic, historian and educator, with particular depth for the period of 1952 through 1990. The collection contains a small amount of biographical material, as well as correspondence, writings, subject files, printed materials, artwork, and reference photographs of artworks. An addition to the Dore Ashton papers includes biographical material, correspondence, writings, writing project and subject files, teaching files, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographic material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Dore Ashton measure 35.6 linear feet and date from circa 1928-2014, with one letter in the Joseph Cornell subject file dating from 1849. The records document Dore Ashton's career as an art critic, historian and educator, with particular depth for the period of 1952 through 1990. The collection contains a small amount of biographical material, as well as correspondence, writings, subject files, printed materials, artwork, and reference photographs of artworks. An addition to the Dore Ashton papers includes biographical material, correspondence, writings, writing project and subject files, teaching files, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographic material.

The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence with many artists, writers and others, including Pat Adams, James Adley, Rudolf Arnheim, Jake Berthot, Dennis Congdon, George Herbert, Remo Guidieri, Barbara Howes, Fred Licht, Joan Punyet Miro, Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, and Hedda Sterne, among others. Smaller amounts of letters are from Joseph Albers, Edward Albee, Richard Avedon, Richard Diebenkorn, David Driskell, Alberto Giacometti, Philip Guston, Lillian Hellman, Alger Hiss, Bernard Malamud, Joan Miro, Robert Motherwell, Lewis Mumford, Claes Oldenburg, and Vassilis Vassilikos.

Writings consist of transcripts of miscellaneous articles or those written for various publications. Research files include reference or research materials for books, exhibitions, individuals and various topics. Individuals and topics include Jacopo Luis Borges, Allan Kaprow, Richard Lindner, Seong Moy, Jean Tinguely, Mark Tobey, Jack Tworkov, Adja Yunkers; and Dadaism, poetry and symbolism.

The addition to the Dore Ashton papers (Series 8) includes biographical material, correspondence, writings, writing project and subject files, teaching files, printed material, artwork and sketchbooks, and photographic material. Writings make up a significant part of the addition and contain hundreds of manuscripts, as well as lectures, notes, sixty notebooks, ten diaries, and writings by others. Writing project and subject files comprise over half of the addition and encompass a large collection of alphabetical files pertaining to artists, actors, writers, thinkers, and collaborators; work projects including writings, exhibitions, panels, symposia, and lecture series; as well as various other subjects and topics. The addition also contains teaching files related to Ashton's positions at the Cooper Union, the New School for Social Research, and Yale University. The photographic material in this series is also abundant and contains hundreds of original photographs of Ashton throughout all stages of her life, many with friends and family.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1962-1978

Series 2: Correspondence, 1945-2010, undated

Series 3: Writings, 1952-1976, undated

Series 4: Research files, 1849, 1950-1984, 2009, undated

Series 5: Printed Materials, 1931-1981, undated

Series 6: Artwork, 1949, 1952, 1983, undated

Series 7: Photographs of Artwork, circa 1950-2010

Series 8: Addition to the Dore Ashton Papers, circa 1928-2013
Biographical / Historical:
Dore Ashton (1928-) is an art critic, author, and educator living in New York City. She wrote, contributed , and edited more than 30 books. Ashton was born in Newark New Jersey in 1928 and received an MA from Harvard University in 1950. Her many books and articles focus on late 19th and 20th century art and artists. Ashton was associate editor at Art Digest from 1952-1954, and critic for Arts and Architecture at the New York Times, 1955-1960. Starting in 1962 she held several lecturing posts at various institutions including the School of Visual Arts, Cooper Union, and the New School for Social Research. She was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 1964 and a National Endowment for the Humanities grant in 1980. Among Ashton's books are Abstract Art Before Columbus, 1956; Poets and the Past, 1959; A Joseph Cornell Album, 1974; Yes, But…A Critical Study of Philip Guston, 1976, About Rothko, 1983; The New York School: a Cultural Reckoning, 1973; Noguchi East and West, 1992; and David Rankin: The New York Years, 2013. Dore Ashton was the first critic to develop a comprehensive and eye-witness account of the history of the Abstract Expressions.

Ashton married artist Adja Yunkers (1900-1983) in 1953, and they had two daughters Alexandra (known as Sasha) and Marina. In 1985 she married writer Matti Megged (1923-2003).
Related Materials:
Among the holdings of the Archives is an oral history interview with Dore Ashton conducted November 21, 2010 by George W. Sampson, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts Project.

Dore Ashton papers are also located at Emory University Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.
Provenance:
The Dore Ashton papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Dore Ashton May 27, 1982, May 8, 1997, June 2, 2011, and March, 25, 2016.
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.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Women art critics  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women authors  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Art criticism  Search this
Art, Modern  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Artists -- United States  Search this
Genre/Form:
Diaries
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Transcripts
Citation:
Dore Ashton papers, 1849, circa 1928-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.ashtdore
See more items in:
Dore Ashton papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw96b23d022-d02d-4a06-ba62-e34c59ad25ae
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-ashtdore
Online Media:

Peter Howard Selz papers

Creator:
Selz, Peter Howard, 1919-2019  Search this
Names:
College Art Association of America  Search this
Institute of Design (Chicago, Ill.) (Faculty)  Search this
Marlborough Gallery  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Pomona College (Claremont, Calif.)  Search this
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (Calif.)  Search this
University of California, Berkeley. University Art Museum  Search this
Baykam, Bedri, 1957-  Search this
Beckmann, Max, 1884-1950  Search this
Benton, Fletcher, 1931-  Search this
Bergman, Ciel, 1938-  Search this
Bury, Pol, 1922-2005  Search this
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this
Chase-Riboud, Barbara  Search this
Christo, 1935-  Search this
Conner, Bruce, 1933-2008  Search this
Dubuffet, Jean, 1901-  Search this
Feininger, Lyonel, 1871-1956  Search this
Giacometti, Alberto, 1901-1966  Search this
Golub, Leon, 1922-2004  Search this
Graves, Morris, 1910-  Search this
Guston, Philip, 1913-1980  Search this
Hadzi, Dimitri, 1921-2006  Search this
Lebrun, Rico, 1900-1964  Search this
Lindner, Richard, 1901-1978  Search this
Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891-1973  Search this
O'Keeffe, Georgia, 1887-1986  Search this
Onslow-Ford, Gordon  Search this
Paris, Harold, 1925-1979  Search this
Petlin, Irving, 1934-  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad, 1913-1967  Search this
Rothko, Mark, 1903-1970  Search this
Tinguely, Jean, 1925-  Search this
Extent:
31.5 Linear feet
0.696 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Place:
San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.)
Date:
1929-2014
bulk 1950-2005
Summary:
The papers of art historian and writer Peter Howard Selz measure 31.5 linear feet and 0.696 GB and date from 1929 to 2018, with the bulk of the materials from 1950 to 2005. The papers document Selz's long career via correspondence, writings, professional files, project files, membership and association records, artists' research files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed and digital materials, and nine scrapbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian and writer Peter Howard Selz measure 31.5 linear feet and 0.696 GB and date from 1929 to 2018, with the bulk of the materials from 1950 to 2005. The papers document Selz's long career via correspondence, writings, professional files, project files, membership and association records, artists' research files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed and digital materials, and scrapbooks.

Correspondence is with colleagues, artists, museums, and galleries concerning a wide variety of topics, including exhibitions and publications. The bulk of the correspondence consists of alphabetical files (two linear feet) that includes correspondence with artists. Notable correspondents include Pol Bury, Alexander Calder, Gordon Onslow Ford, Alberto Giacometti, Morris Graves, Philip Guston, Dimitri Hadzi, Jacques Lipchitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Ad Reinhardt, Mark Rothko, Jean Tinguely, and others. Eight additional files of chronological correspondence is with curators, arts organizations, and publishers. Additional correspondence is found in the professional files, project files, membership files, artists' research files, and exhibition files.

The bulk of the writings series is comprised of files related to Selz's books and includes typescript drafts and galleys, printed and digital material, correspondence, and publishing contracts. Files are found for Art in Our Times, Art of Engagement, Beyond the Mainstream, and Theories of Modern Art. Other writings consist of drafts of articles, essays, notes, and lectures by Selz. Also included are writings by others, including materials related to Paul Karlstrom's biography of Selz.

Professional files document curatorial and teaching positions at the Chicago Institute of Design, Pomona College, University of California, Berkeley, and the Museum of Modern Art. The series includes contracts, recommendations, syllabi, and correspondence.

Project files document Selz's professional work on specific art projects, panels, and symposiums. There is extensive documentation of Selz's work as project director of Christo's Running Fence, as well as other environmental art work projects by Christo, the Berkeley Art Project, Disney Art Project, "Funk Art" symposium, and the "Art and Politics in the 20th Century" symposium. Project files contain a wide variety of materials, such as correspondence, printed material, financial records, reports, photographs, and other documents. There are 2 tape reels, 1 VHS, and 1 sound cassette.

Membership and association records document Selz's involvement with or membership in various art councils, trustee boards, such as the College Art Association, Art in Chicago Advisory Committee, Bay Area Rapid Transit (B.A.R.T.) Art Council, and the San Francisco Crafts and Folk Art Museum Advisory Board, among others. Materials include meeting minutes, bulletins, correspondence, and memoranda.

Artists' Research Files consist of a wide variety of research materials Selz compiled about artists for lectures, writings, projects, exhibitions, etc. Files vary and may include original and photocopied correspondence, photographic material, resumes, printed and digital material, and writings. There is also 1 sound cassette. Files are found for Bedri Baykam, Max Beckmann, Fletcher Benton, Ciel Bergman, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Bruce Conner, Jean Dubuffet, Lyonel Feininger, Leon Golub, Dimitri Hadzi, Rico Lebrun, Harold Paris, Irving Petlin, among many others.

Exhibition files include catalogs, reviews, clippings, writings, correspondence, and other material documenting exhibitions organized by Selz. Limited materials are found for the MOMA Art Nouveau exhibition. More extensive documentation is found for Seven Decades of Modern Art, 1895-1965, The Joint Show (1967), The American Presidency in Political Cartoons (1976), American Modern Art Between the Two World Wars (1979), German Realism in the Twenties: Artist As Social Critic (1980), Twelve Artists from the German Democratic Republic (1989), a Richard Lindner Retrospective (1996), Spaces of Nature (1999), Color and Fire: Defining Moments in Studio Ceramics, 1950-2000 (2000), and a Nathan Oliviera Retrospective (2002), among others. Some of the materials are in digital format.

Personal business records are related to the Mark Rothko estate and Kate Rothko's legal case against Marlborough Gallery, Inc. Also included in this series are Peter Selz's school transcripts, bequests, royalty statements, house designs, and other material.

Printed materials include clippings, prints of articles written by Peter Selz, exhibition announcements and invitations, and photocopies of artwork images.

There are nine disbound scrapbooks dating from the 1940s up through 2012 containing clippings, exhibition announcements, and photographs of art events, Selz, and artists. This series also includes materials from the 2018 addition that may have previously been compiled in binders.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 10 series. When possible the original order of Peter Selz was maintained. However, multiple accessions were merged and integrated.

Missing Title

Series 1: Correspondence, 1942-2013 (2.3 linear feet; Box 1-3, Box 37)

Series 2: Writings, 1942- circa 2014 (8.3 linear feet; Box 3-10, OV 32, Box 37, 0.035 GB; ER01, ER12)

Series 3: Professional Files, 1949-2012 (1 linear feet; Box 11, Box 37)

Series 4: Project Files, 1962-2015 (2.8 linear feet; Box 12-14, OV 33, Box 37)

Series 5: Membership and Association Records, 1958-2014 (1.1 linear feet; Box 14-15, Box 37)

Series 6: Artists' Research Files, 1955-2014 (7.9 linear feet; Box 15-22, OV 34-35, 0.520 GB; ER02-ER08)

Series 7: Exhibition Files, 1959-2014 (5.2 linear feet; Box 23-27, Box 38, 0.093 GB; ER09-ER11)

Series 8: Personal Business Records, 1929-2014 (1.2 linear feet; Box 28-29, OV 36, Box 38)

Series 9: Printed Material, 1957-2014 (0.3 linear feet; Box 29, Box 38)

Series 10: Scrapbooks, 1947-2018 (1.4 linear feet, Box 29-31, Box 38)
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Howard Selz (1919-2019) was a pioneering historian of modern art, professor, and writer who taught at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1965-1988 and founded and directed the Berkeley Art Museum from 1965-1973.

Selz was born in 1919 in Munich, Germany to Eugene Selz and Edith Drey Selz. In 1936, the family fled Nazi Germany and immigrated to the United States. Selz attended Columbia University from 1937 to 1938 and became a naturalized citizen in 1942. During World War II, Selz served in the U.S. Army in the Office of Strategic Services. He married writer Thalia Cheronis in 1948 but they later divorced in 1965; he married several times afterwards.

After the war, Selz attended and taught at the University of Chicago where he received a Ph. D. in German Expressionism. He spent a year in Paris, 1949-1950, at the Sorbonne and École du Louvre on a Fulbright grant. He received a second Fulbright grant in 1953 to study at the Royal Museums of Art and History in Belgium. From 1953-1955, Selz also taught at the Chicago Institute of Design.

In 1955 Peter Selz accepted a position to chair the art history department at Pomona College in Claremont and relocated to California for a few years. He also became director of the college's art gallery.

In 1958 Selz moved to New York City to become curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art and was there through the transformative mid-1960s. While at MOMA, he organized several significant exhibitions of modern art, including the 1960 Jean Tinguely "Homage to New York," a sculpture that destroyed itself (and started a fire) in the sculpture garden of the museum; New Images of Man (1959), the Art Nouveau show (1960), and the Art of Assemblage (1961). He also launched important retrospectives, including the first Rodin retrospective in the United States and a comprehensive exhibition of Alberto Giacometti's work in 1965.

In 1965, Peter Selz returned to California to become the founding director of the Berkeley Art Museum at the University of California, Berkeley, a position he held until 1973. He organized exhibitions of Funk, film, and ceramicists like Peter Voulkos and Robert Arneson. Peter Selz later became project director for Christo's "Running Fence", the 24.5-mile long fabric fence over the Marin County hills in 1976. He also served concurrently as a professor of art history at UC until retiring in 1988.

Peter Selz was a member of the College Art Association's board of directors for two terms, 1958-1964 and 1966-1971. Selz is a prolific writer, and the author or co-author of numerous books, exhibition catalogs, and articles. Notable books include German Expressionist Painting (1957), Art in a Turbulent Era (1965), Art in Our Times (1981), and Sam Francis (1975).

In 1988 Peter Selz was named emeritus professor at University of California, Berkeley. In 1993 he was on the acquisitions committee of the Museums of Fine Arts, San Francisco. In 2012, Selz curated The Painted Word exhibition. Selz died in 2019 in Albany, California.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds oral history interviews of Peter Selz conducted by Paul J. Karlstrom on July 28, 1982, October 12, 1982, and November 3, 1999.
Provenance:
The Peter Howard Selz papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Peter Selz in multiple installments from 1976 through 2014. Additional papers were donated in 2018 by Gabrielle Selz, Peter Selz's daughter.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copies requires advance notice.
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:
Authors -- California -- Berkeley  Search this
Art historians -- California -- Berkeley  Search this
Topic:
Realism  Search this
Political cartoons  Search this
Pop art  Search this
Environment (Art)  Search this
Painting, Abstract  Search this
Ceramics  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California  Search this
Art -- Political aspects  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Exhibitions  Search this
Art -- Germany  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Citation:
Peter Howard Selz papers, 1929-2018, bulk 1950-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.selzpete
See more items in:
Peter Howard Selz papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ce9d9d14-7599-455d-828d-57077e76ef17
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-selzpete
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Allan Sekula, 2011 August 20-2012 February 14

Interviewee:
Sekula, Allan, 1951-2013  Search this
Interviewer:
Panzer, Mary, 1955-  Search this
Subject:
Altoon, John  Search this
Antin, David  Search this
Antin, Eleanor  Search this
Ascott, Roy  Search this
Braderman, Joan  Search this
Baldessari, John  Search this
Barthes, Roland  Search this
Becker, Howard  Search this
Bercovitch, Sacvan  Search this
Beveridge, Karl  Search this
Bo Diddley  Search this
Brach, Paul  Search this
Burch, Noël  Search this
Burn, Ian  Search this
Captain Beefheart  Search this
Charlesworth, Sarah  Search this
Chayefsky, Paddy  Search this
Conde, Carol  Search this
Connell, Brian  Search this
Evans, Walker  Search this
Farber, Manny  Search this
Feldman, Ronald  Search this
Folks, Homer  Search this
Fox, Terry  Search this
Fried, Howard  Search this
Ginsberg, Allen  Search this
Graham, Dan  Search this
Graves, Michael  Search this
Halleck, DeeDee  Search this
Hanhardt, John G.  Search this
Hassan, Ihab  Search this
Hayes, Woody  Search this
Heinecken, Robert  Search this
Higgins, Dick  Search this
Hine, Lewis Wickes  Search this
Kienholz, Edward  Search this
Kirschenbaum, Baruch David  Search this
Knowles, Alison  Search this
König, Kasper  Search this
Kosuth, Joseph.  Search this
Kozloff, Max  Search this
Kramer, Hilton  Search this
Krauss, Rosalind E.  Search this
Liebling, Jerome  Search this
Lifson, Ben  Search this
Little Richard  Search this
Lonidier, Fred  Search this
Lord, Catherine  Search this
Lunn, Harry  Search this
Mac Low, Jackson  Search this
Mandel, Mike  Search this
Matta  Search this
Mayer, Grace M.  Search this
Michelson, Annette  Search this
O'Doherty, Brian  Search this
Pommer, Richard  Search this
Ramsden, Mel  Search this
Raskin, Jef  Search this
Reagan, Ronald  Search this
Rosler, Martha  Search this
Ross, David A.  Search this
Ruby, Jay  Search this
Ruscha, Edward  Search this
Salle, David  Search this
Salvesen, Britt  Search this
Schimmel, Paul  Search this
Segalove, Ilene  Search this
Stein, Sally  Search this
Steinmetz, Philip  Search this
Sultan, Larry  Search this
Van Riper, Peter  Search this
Wakoski, Diane  Search this
Wall, Jeff  Search this
Artforum  Search this
California Institute of the Arts  Search this
The Ohio State University  Search this
Rhode Island School of Design  Search this
Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.)  Search this
University of California, San Diego  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Allan Sekula, 2011 August 20-2012 February 14. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Activism  Search this
Antisemitism  Search this
Architecture  Search this
Art -- Exhibitions -- Economic aspects  Search this
Art -- History  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Conceptual art  Search this
Documentary photography  Search this
Korean War, 1950-1953  Search this
Music -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Photography  Search this
Realism  Search this
World War, 1914-1918  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)16239
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)370420
AAA_collcode_sekula11
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_370420
Online Media:

Melinda Wortz papers

Creator:
Wortz, Melinda  Search this
Names:
University of California, Irvine -- Faculty  Search this
University of California, Irvine. Department of Studo Art  Search this
University of California, Irvine. Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
Antin, Eleanor  Search this
Baca, Judith Francisca  Search this
Ballatore-Nelson, Sandy  Search this
Barber, Daniel  Search this
Bell, Larry, 1939-  Search this
Christo, 1935-  Search this
DeLap, Tony, 1927-2019  Search this
Dine, Jim, 1935-  Search this
Eversley, Frederick, 1941-  Search this
Harding, Bill  Search this
Irwin, Robert, 1928-  Search this
Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this
Kauffman, Craig, 1932-2010  Search this
Livkin, Rena  Search this
Lodato, Peter  Search this
Marchesi, Cork  Search this
Marck, Marc van der  Search this
McCafferty, Jay David, 1948-  Search this
Moses, Ed, 1926-  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988  Search this
Ox, Jack, 1948-  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this
Rinke, Klaus, 1939-  Search this
Rosler, Martha  Search this
Schwartz, Beth Ames  Search this
Small, Rena  Search this
Sonneman, Eve  Search this
Taylor, Elizabeth, 1932-2011  Search this
Tivey, Hap  Search this
Todd, Liza  Search this
Turrell, James  Search this
Valentine, DeWain, 1936-  Search this
Warner, Elsa  Search this
Wiener, Nina  Search this
Zaimo, Stephen  Search this
Extent:
17.45 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Photographs
Transcripts
Sound recordings
Travel diaries
Place:
Paris (France) -- description and travel
Soviet Union -- description and travel
Date:
1958-1992
Summary:
The papers of California art historian, writer, instructor, and curator, Melinda Wortz (1940-2002) date from 1958-1992, and measure 17.45 linear feet. The collection includes documentation of Wortz's tenure at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where she specialized in collecting and presenting the California "light and space" artists during the 1970s and 1980s. Wortz's papers include biographical information, personal and professional correspondence, interview transcripts and sound recordings, professional and student writings and notes, diaries of five trips abroad, UCI administrative, dossier, and teaching files, general subject and artist files, printed material, several pieces of artwork; and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of California art historian, writer, instructor, and curator, Melinda Wortz (1940-2002) date from 1958-1992, and measure 17.45 linear feet. The collection includes documentation of Wortz's tenure at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where she specialized in collecting and presenting the California Light and Space artists during the 1970s and 1980s. Wortz's papers include biographical information, personal and professional correspondence, interview transcripts and sound recordings, professional and student writings and notes, diaries of five trips abroad, UCI administrative, dossier, and teaching files, general subject and artist files, printed material, several pieces of artwork; and photographs.

Wortz's biographical material includes annotated appointment books and calendars, resumes, and some family, financial, and legal records.

Correspondence files document Wortz's activities beyond her work at UCI, including scattered correspondence with artists such as Eleanor Antin, Daniel Barber, Christo, Craig Kauffman, Cork Marchesi, Martha Rosler, Eve Sonneman, Hap Tivey, and Elsa Warner. Correspondence also relates to arrangements for lectures, juries, panels, symposiums, and other professional activities in which Wortz participated.

Interviews include transcripts of four interviews conducted by Wortz with subjects including Peter Lodato and Dewain Valentine, and a sound recording of an interview with Nina Wiener.

Writings and notes include drafts, and some published copies, of articles and essays written for journals, magazines, and exhibition catalogs; Wortz's dissertation and thesis; notes; student essays and class notes; and scattered writings by others. Included in the published works are copies of Artweek containing articles by Wortz, and drafts and published copies of essays on Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Jasper Johns, Jay McCafferty, Isamu Noguchi, Robert Rauschenberg, Klaus Rinke, Beth Ames Schwartz, and James Turrell.

Diaries document five separate overseas trips to locations including Asia in 1977, Paris in 1978, and the U.S.S.R., where Wortz delivered a paper on Robert Irwin, in 1989.

University of California, Irvine, records include Wortz's administrative files documenting her work on various committees, her directorship of the Fine Arts Gallery, including budget and exhibition records, her work as Chair of Studio Art, and her collaborations with other faculty, including Judy Baca, Sandy Ballatore, Tony Delap, Craig Kauffman, and Rena Small. Wortz's dossier files provide a thorough record of her accomplishments from the late 1970s-1990, and her UCI teaching files document the content of core art courses which she taught at UCI in the 1970s and 1980s.

Subject files provide additional documentation of Wortz's interest in particular artists and subjects, and include scattered correspondence with artists, as well as additional correspondence, reports, printed material, index card files, sound cassettes, and photographs, documenting her interests in art and politics, feminism, religion and spirituality, museum management and training, and other subjects.

Printed material includes announcements, catalogs, journals, newsletters, and material specifically documenting Wortz's activities.

Artwork includes a piece of floor covering from a Jim Dine exhibition, a booklet by Daniel Barber, Flams by Rena Livkin, and several pieces of unidentified artwork.

Photographs include photos of Wortz with her family and with UCI faculty including Tony DeLap, Craig Kauffman, and Ed Moses; photos of events with friends and family, including Hap Tivey's wedding to Liza Todd with Elizabeth Taylor in attendance; photos of artists including Frederick Eversley, Bill Harding, Jack Ox, and Stephen Zaimo; and photos of artwork by artists including Tony DeLap, Barbara Smith, Marc Van Der Marck, and others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as ten series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1966-1988 (0.25 linear feet; Boxes 1, 19)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1967-1992 (1.25 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 18)

Series 3: Interviews, 1971-circa 1980s (6 folders; Boxes 2, 18)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1958-circa 1990 (4.25 linear feet; Boxes 2-6, 19)

Series 5: Diaries, 1977-1989 (6 folders; Box 6)

Series 6: University of California, Irvine, 1960-1991 (4.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-11, OV 20)

Series 7: Subject Files, circa 1960-1990 (4.25 linear feet; Boxes 11-15, 18)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1960s-1980s (1.8 linear feet; Boxes 15-16, 19)

Series 9: Artwork, circa 1960s-circa 1980s (3 folders; Boxes 17, 19)

Series 10: Photographs, 1960s-1980s (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 17, 19)
Biographical / Historical:
California art historian, writer, instructor, and curator, Melinda Wortz (1940-2002), taught at the University of California, Irvine, from 1975, serving as Director of UCI's Fine Arts Gallery and Chair of the Department of Studio Art. Wortz's special area of interest was the work of the California "light and space" artists emerging in Los Angeles in the 1970s.

After attending Stanford University and graduating from Radcliffe College with a bachelors degree in art history, Wortz received her masters degree in art history from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her doctorate in theology and the arts from the Graduate Theological Union at Berkeley. Wortz taught at California State University and the University of California Extension in the early 1970s. At UCI her colleagues included Judy Baca, Sandy Ballatore, Tony Delap, Craig Kauffman, and Rena Small.

Wortz married Edward C. Wortz in the early 1970s, following her divorce from her first husband, Thomas G. Terbell, Jr. Edward Wortz's first career was as a research scientist working on NASA contracts in the air research industry in Colorado and California. Later he was involved in the arts and participated in collaborations with artists including Robert Irwin, Coy Howard, and James Turrell. He worked with Melinda Wortz to develop their personal collection of contemporary art.

Melinda Wortz was a prolific writer who wrote extensively for national art periodicals, including Arts Magazine, and Art News. She also wrote, and served as editor, for the California periodical Artweek from the 1960s to 1990s. She wrote numerous catalogs for artists including Larry Bell, Cork Marchesi, Doug Moran, Beth Ames Schwartz, and James Turrell; and published articles on Dan Flavin, Robert Irwin, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and others. She lectured at Brown University, the Center for Art, Salt Lake City, Contemporary Art Museum, La Jolla, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the San Diego Museum, Wellesley College, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and many other institutions. In 1989 she traveled to the U.S.S.R. to deliver a paper on Robert Irwin at the International Art Critics Association annual meeting.

In addition to her curatorial work at the UCI Fine Arts Gallery, where she organized exhibitions for artists including Alice Aycock, Jonathan Borofsky, Audrey Flack, Jack Ox, and Dennis Oppenheim, Wortz curated exhibitions for University of California sister colleges, Pasadena Art Museum, and others.

Wortz received UCI and National Endowment for the Arts grants in support of her writing, and served on advisory boards of the Contemporary Arts Forum, Los Angeles Institute of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, Robert Rauschenberg's foundation, Advisory Board of Change, Inc., the Pasadena Art Museum, and others.

Wortz was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease at the age of 50 and died in 2002.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Edward C. Wortz, Melinda Wortz's husband, in 1994.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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 historians -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Authors -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Educators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Art museum curators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Gallery directors -- California -- Irvine  Search this
Topic:
Art, American -- California  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Photographs
Transcripts
Sound recordings
Travel diaries
Citation:
Melinda Wortz papers, 1958-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.wortmeli
See more items in:
Melinda Wortz papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw905985e8b-dfa4-4162-a8bb-952942187c9f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wortmeli
Online Media:

Melinda Wortz papers, 1958-1992

Creator:
Wortz, Melinda, 1940-2002  Search this
Subject:
Eversley, Frederick  Search this
Taylor, Elizabeth  Search this
Livkin, Rena  Search this
Turrell, James  Search this
Tivey, Hap  Search this
Baca, Judith Francisca  Search this
DeLap, Tony  Search this
Antin, Eleanor  Search this
Christo  Search this
Dine, Jim  Search this
McCafferty, Jay David  Search this
Sonneman, Eve  Search this
Ox, Jack  Search this
Todd, Liza  Search this
Marck, Marc van der  Search this
Rinke, Klaus  Search this
Rosler, Martha  Search this
Irwin, Robert  Search this
Johns, Jasper  Search this
Valentine, DeWain  Search this
Kauffman, Craig  Search this
Zaimo, Stephen  Search this
Small, Rena  Search this
Warner, Elsa  Search this
Bell, Larry  Search this
Moses, Ed  Search this
Lodato, Peter  Search this
Wiener, Nina  Search this
Schwartz, Beth Ames  Search this
Barber, Daniel  Search this
Noguchi, Isamu  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert  Search this
Harding, Bill  Search this
Marchesi, Cork  Search this
Ballatore-Nelson, Sandy  Search this
University of California, Irvine. Fine Arts Gallery  Search this
University of California, Irvine. Department of Studo Art  Search this
University of California, Irvine  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Photographs
Transcripts
Sound recordings
Travel diaries
Place:
Paris (France) -- description and travel
Soviet Union -- description and travel
Citation:
Melinda Wortz papers, 1958-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American -- California  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)6475
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215662
AAA_collcode_wortmeli
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_215662
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Rafael Ferrer

Interviewee:
Ferrer, Rafael  Search this
Interviewer:
Veloric, Cynthia  Search this
Names:
Nancy Hoffman Gallery  Search this
Philadelphia College of Art  Search this
Philadelphia College of Art -- Faculty  Search this
Syracuse University -- Students  Search this
Granell, Eugenio Fernández, 1912-  Search this
Lewis, Frances  Search this
Lewis, Sydney  Search this
Extent:
4 Sound cassettes (Sound recording)
157 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1990 Sept. 19
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Rafael Ferrer conducted 1990 Sept. 19, by Cynthia Veloric, for the Archives of American Art Philadelphia Project.
Ferrer speaks about his childhood in Puerto Rico; his education in Catholic school and military school; his interest in music including his professional work as a drummer in Latin jazz bands both in Puerto Rico and New York City; studies at Syracuse University and the University of Puerto Rico; his interest in painting; meeting the surrealist Eugenio Granell and Granell's influence, including Ferrer's involvement in the 1950's with surrealists in Puerto Rico and Europe, and a discussion of his feelings on Dada and surrealism; the shift toward conceptual and process art in the 1960's; moving to Philadelphia in the 1960's, teaching at the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts) and exhibiting at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; installations and exhibits in New York City in the late 1960's and 1970's, including his twenty year association with the Nancy Hoffman Gallery; the deflected fountain piece at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the transition to handmade art works and then to painting and figurative works partially inspired by Alex Katz; collectors Sydney and Frances Lewis; and several commissions.
Biographical / Historical:
Rafael Ferrer (1933-) is a painter and conceptual artist from Puerto Rico and Philadelphia, Pa.
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 others.
Restrictions:
Transcript: Patrons must use microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- United States -- Interviews  Search this
Conceptual artists -- Puerto Rico -- Interviews  Search this
Conceptual artists -- United States -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Installations (Art)  Search this
Conceptual art  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Surrealism  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Figurative art  Search this
Art and music  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.ferrer90
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9477dc9e3-e5b1-4861-80c3-98cd8f6fc103
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-ferrer90
Online Media:

Ellen Hulda Johnson papers

Creator:
Johnson, Ellen H.  Search this
Names:
Allen Memorial Art Museum  Search this
American-Scandinavian Foundation  Search this
College Art Association (U.S.)  Search this
Oberlin College -- Faculty  Search this
Archipenko, Alexander, 1887-1964  Search this
Cézanne, Paul, 1839-1906  Search this
Dine, Jim, 1935-  Search this
Hesse, Eva, 1936-1970  Search this
Kensett, John Frederick, 1816-1872  Search this
Milles, Carl, 1875-1955  Search this
Oldenburg, Claes, 1929-  Search this
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this
Saunders, David  Search this
Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946  Search this
Tacha, Athena, 1936-  Search this
Tworkov, Jack  Search this
Venturi, Robert  Search this
Wilke, Wendell  Search this
Extent:
61.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Place:
Ossabaw Island (Ga.)
Date:
1872-2018
bulk 1921-1992
Summary:
The papers of art historian, art critic, author, librarian and educator Ellen Hulda Johnson measure 61.5 linear feet and date from 1872-2018, with the bulk of the material dating from 1921-1992. The papers include biographical materials; personal and family files; personal, professional, and business correspondence; extensive research and writing files; teaching files; subject files; professional and curatorial files; and artists' files. Johnson's papers reflect the full range of her career, interests, and close relationships with many artists. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes letters to Ellen Johnson from others, letters from Johnson to Carl Gerber, and a sketch by Johnson. Materials date from circa 1956-1991.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian, art critic, author, librarian and educator Ellen Hulda Johnson measure 61.5 linear feet and date from 1872-2018, with the bulk of the material dating from 1921-1992. The papers include biographical materials; personal and family files; personal, professional, and business correspondence; extensive research and writing files; teaching files; subject files; professional and curatorial files; and artists' files. Johnson's papers reflect the full range of her career, interests, and close relationships with many artists. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes letters to Ellen Johnson from others, letters from Johnson to Carl Gerber, and a sketch by Johnson. Materials date from circa 1956-1991.

Personal papers consist of biographical materials and personal and family files, including "memorabilia" files compiled by Johnson. Correspondence is a mix of personal, business, and professional correspondence. Significant correspondents include David Saunders (who painted a portrait of Johnson), Claes Oldenburg, Jack Tworkov, Robert Venturi, the American Scandinavian Foundation. A folder of correspondence compiled for the Archives includes letters from Alfred Stieglitz, Wendell Wilkie, Carl Milles, Jim Dine, and Alexander Archipenko.

Extensive and comprehensive writing and research project files include articles, lectures, presentations, manuscripts, notes and notebooks, including her class notebooks from courses she attended in Paris in 1935, and additional notes and notebooks on a wide variety of subjects. The numerous articles, lectures, papers, and drafts were written primarily by Johnson for the College Art Association, the Allen Memorial Art Museum bulletin, and numerous additional publications and presentations; but there are also writings by others included in the research files. Major writing projects and related research files cover Scandinavian art, the Ossabaw Island artist's colony, Cezanne, Eva Hesse, John Frederick Kensett, Claes Oldenburg, Picasso, David Saunders, Athena Tacha, Pop Art, and many other topics. Johnson's research files, manuscripts, correspondence, and photographs for major exhibitions, including one on Eva Hesse (1982) and for her published books including American Artists on Art from 1940-1980 (1982), Claes Oldenburg (1971), Fragments Recalled at 80: The Art Memoirs of Ellen H. Johnson (1993), and Modern Art and Object (1976) are arranged with the writing project files. Johnson's bibliographic index cards are found here as well.

The collection contains extensive teaching files for courses taught by Johnson at Oberlin and as a visiting professor at other institutions; professional and curatorial files reflecting her curatorial career at Allen Memorial Art Museum, as a consultant, jury member, and continuing education courses she later attended, including the Baldwin Lecture Series; and 18 linear feet of artist's files assembled by Johnson.
Arrangement:
The Ellen Hulda Johnson papers are arranged into seven series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Personal Papers, circa 1905-2009 (5 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 56-59)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1927-2009 (5.5 linear feet; Boxes 3-7, 60)

Series 3: Writing and Research Projects, 1872, 1932-1994 (15.5 linear feet; Boxes 7-20, 56, 61-62)

Series 4: Subject Files, 1930-1993 (5 linear feet; Boxes 21-25, 62)

Series 5: Teaching Files, 1928-1989 (6 linear feet; Boxes 26-31, 62)

Series 6: Professional and Curatorial Files, 1936-1991 (6 linear feet; Boxes 32-37, 56)

Series 7: Artists Files, 1935-1992 (18.3 linear feet; Boxes 37-55, 62)

Series 8: Unprocessed Addition, 1956-1991 (0.2 linear feet; Box 63)
Biographical / Historical:
Ellen Hulda Johnson (1910-1992) was an art historian, critic, and professor who worked and taught at Oberlin College in Ohio for most of her career.

Ellen Hulda Johnson was born in 1910 in Warren, Pennsylvania. She received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in art history at Oberlin in 1933 and 1935. She worked briefly at the Toledo Museum of Art before returning to Oberlin as the art librarian. In 1940 she started Oberlin's art rental program, the first of its kind in the country. She was appointed to the faculty in 1948 and taught nineteenth and twentieth century art, American art from colonial times to the present, contemporary art, and Scandinavian art. She was a member of the Allen Memorial Art Museum's acquisition committee and was appointed honorary curator of modern art in 1973. She remained at Oberlin her entire career, retiring from teaching in 1977.

Johnson was a scholar of Cézanne, Claes Oldenburg, Eva Hesse, Pablo Picasso, Edvard Munch, John F. Kensett and other modern masters, as well as Scandinavian art. In 1962 she wrote the first important article on Claes Oldenburg and, in 1970, assisted curator Athena Tacha commission his first permanent large sculpture (3-Way Plug) for the grounds of the Allen Memorial Art Museum. She was the first to show the black-striped paintings that established Frank Stella's reputation. Her efforts in promoting acquisitions of young contemporary artists helped make the Allen Memorial Art Museum a leading institution in contemporary art. Her Oberlin lectures on modern art became so popular that they had to be held in the college's largest auditorium and influenced generations of students, many of whom went on to signficant positions in the field. A new wing of the museum designed by Robert Venturi opened in 1977 and was named in honor of Johnson.

Johnson was the author of numerous articles, books, and exhibition catalogs including Cezanne (Penquin, 1967); Claes Oldenburg (Penquin, 1971); American Artists on Art from 1940-1980 (Harper and Row, 1982); and Modern Art and the Object (Thames and Hudson, 1976).

In 1968, Johnson purchased the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Weltzheimer house in Oberlin, and spent a considerable part of her time and money restoring the building where she lived the rest of her life. She bequethed the house and her significant art collection to Oberlin upon her death in 1992.
Related Materials:
Papers of Ellen H. Johnson, 1933-1992, are also located at Oberlin College Archives.
Separated Materials:
Shortly after aquisition, the Archives transferred Ellen Hulda Johnson's vertical file (16 linear feet) of clippings, press releases, and exhibition announcements to the library of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery.
Provenance:
The Ellen Hulda Johnson papers were donated in 1994, 1998, 2019 and 2021 by the estate of Ellen Hulda Johnson via exectutor Athena Tacha.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington D.C. Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice. 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:
Librarians -- Ohio  Search this
Authors -- Ohio  Search this
Art critics -- Ohio  Search this
Art historians -- Ohio -- Oberlin  Search this
Educators -- Ohio -- Oberlin  Search this
Topic:
Art, Scandinavian  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art, Modern -- 19th century -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Study and teaching  Search this
Pop art  Search this
Women authors  Search this
Women art critics  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Women educators  Search this
Function:
Artist colonies -- Georgia
Citation:
Ellen Hulda Johnson papers, 1872-2018, bulk 1921-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.johnelle
See more items in:
Ellen Hulda Johnson papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94183bf07-6dce-4777-903c-a590c03214ce
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-johnelle
Online Media:

Gregory Battcock papers

Creator:
Battcock, Gregory, 1937-1980  Search this
Names:
Bronx Museum of the Arts  Search this
International Association of Art Critics  Search this
Trylon & perisphere  Search this
William Paterson College of New Jersey -- Faculty  Search this
Battcock, Elizabeth  Search this
Beker, Gisela  Search this
Brown, Cee  Search this
Burton, Scott  Search this
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976 -- Photographs  Search this
Carsman, Jon, 1944-  Search this
Christo, 1935-  Search this
Dalí, Salvador, 1904-1989  Search this
Dreva, Jerry, 1945-1997  Search this
Frank, Peter, 1950-  Search this
George, John  Search this
Glusberg, Jorge  Search this
Goldstein, Al  Search this
Halbert, Jacques  Search this
Hess, Emil, 1889-1945  Search this
Levine, Les, 1935-  Search this
Livingston, Braniff  Search this
McGeehan, Robert, 1933-  Search this
Morley, Malcolm, 1931-  Search this
Nakagawa, Naoto, 1944-  Search this
Neri, Julio  Search this
Paik, Nam June, 1932-2006  Search this
Partch, Harry, 1901-1974  Search this
Peña, Rolando, 1942-  Search this
Picard, Lil  Search this
Pocock, Philip  Search this
Schult, Ha, 1939-  Search this
Van Baron, Judith  Search this
Varble, Stephen  Search this
Warhol, Andy, 1928-  Search this
Wechter, Vivienne Thaul  Search this
Whyte, Ron  Search this
Extent:
10.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Video recordings
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Photographs
Interviews
Date:
1952-circa 1980
Summary:
The papers of New York art critic, writer, educator, and painter, Gregory Battcock, measure 10.6 linear feet and date from 1952 to circa 1980. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, published and unpublished writings, artists' files, personal business records, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographic materials, and artifacts that detail his involvement in both the mainstream and fringe art scenes of the 1970s.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York art critic, writer, educator, and painter, Gregory Battcock, measure 10.6 linear feet and date from 1952 to circa 1980. The collection includes biographical material, correspondence, published and unpublished writings, artists' files, personal business records, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographic materials, and artifacts that detail his involvement in both the mainstream and fringe art scenes of the 1970s.

Biographical materials contain address lists, six appointment books, a diploma and certificate, family history, identification documents, interviews, resumes, obituaries, a William Paterson College of New Jersey teaching file, and membership files for The Bronx Museum, International Association of Art Critics, and other organizations. Correspondence is with Battcock's mother, Elizabeth; friends and colleagues Peter Frank, John George, Al Goldstein, Braniff Livingston, Robert McGeehan, Julio Neri, Judith Van Baron, Ron Whyte, and others regarding social events, reprint permissions, book projects, travel arrangements, real estate, and freelance work.

Writings and notes include personal journal entries, drafts for articles and essays, manuscripts for published and unpublished works including "The Story of Film" and Breaking the Sound Barrier: A Critical Anthology of the New Music, his dissertation titled "Constructivism and Minimal Art: Some Critical, Theoretical and Aesthetic Correlations," book proposals, lectures, limericks, restaurant reviews, notes and writings by Jorge Glusberg and Vivienne Thaul Wechter.

Files for artists contain mostly printed material on Gisela Beker, Cee Brown, Jon Carsman, Christo, Jerry Dreva, Jacques Halbert, Emil Hess, Les Levine, Naoto Nakagawa, Nam Jun Paik, Harry Partch, Lil Picard, Philip Pocock, HA Schult, Andy Warhol, and others. The file for Salvador Dalí contains one video recording. Battcock's personal business records include contracts and payments for his writing, real estate papers, business agreements, papers regarding his father's estate, a loan agreement for Andy Warhol's "Self Portrait," and files detailing the theft of two painting by Malcom Morley from Battcock's residence.

Found in printed materials are clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, flyers, post cards, magazines, press releases, issues of Trylon & Perisphere and Gay magazines, and other material that features Battcock's writings. Additional clippings of Battcock's writings that appeared in the New York Free Press, New York Review of Sex and Politics, Domus, The Soho Weekly News, New York Arts Journal, Gay, and other publications are contained in ten scrapbooks.

Photographs are of Battcock, colleagues and friends, works of art from his personal collection, travel, and artists Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, Nam Jun Paik, Julio Neri, Rolando Peña, Stephen Varble, and Scott Burton. Several keys with a detached keychain labeled 'studio' are in artifacts.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 9 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1958-1980 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1960s-circa 1980 (2.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 12)

Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1966-1980 (2.7 linear feet; Boxes 4-6)

Series 4: Artists' Files, 1960s-1980 (0.6 linear feet; Box 6)

Series 5: Personal Business Records, 1966-1980 (0.5 linear feet; Box 6-7)

Series 6: Printed Materials, 1952-1980 (1.4 linear feet; Boxes 7-8, 12-13)

Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1959-1980 (1.1 linear feet; Boxes 8-9, 12)

Series 8: Photographic Materials, 1960s-1980 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 9-11)

Series 9: Artifacts, circa 1970s (0.1 linear feet; Box 11)
Biographical / Historical:
Gregory Battcock (1937-1980) was an art critic, writer, educator, and painter from New York, N.Y. He attended Michigan State University, the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, and Hunter College for his undergraduate and graduate studies before receiving his Ph.D. from New York University in 1978. His dissertation was titled "Constructivism and Minimal Art: Some Aesthetic, Theoretical and Critical Correlations."

Battcock was a prolific writer and wrote numerous articles as a correspondent for Art & Artists and Domus magazines. His column, "The Last Estate," appeared in Gay magazine as well as other publications. In 1977, Battcock co-founded the short-lived magazine, Trylon & Perisphere, with his close friend, playwright Ron Whyte. Even though only three issues were printed, the magazine exhibited Battcock's predilection for art society gossip, and provocative imagery and prose. E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. published several of Battcock's books including Why Art: Casual Notes on the Aesthetics of the Immediate Past, Breaking the Sound Barrier: A Critical Anthology of the New Music, and Idea Art: A Critical Anthology. In addition to his writing career, Battcock taught fine art at William Paterson College of New Jersey, was art critic for New York Free Press from 1967 to 1970, Editor-in-Chief of Arts Magazine from 1973 to 1975, and appeared in the Andy Warhol films The Illiac Passion, Horse, and Batman Dracula.

Battcock was murdered in Puerto Rico on December 25, 1980. At the time of his death he was working on "The Story of Film," which remains unpublished, and The Art of Performance: A Critical Anthology, which was published posthumously in 1984.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art is an audio interview recorded on December 11, 1969 with Gregory Battcock for the University Roundtable radio series. The recording forms part of the WFUV radio interviews relating to art, 1969-1973 collection.
Provenance:
The Gregory Battcock papers were donated in 1992 by Nancy Mahl, an artist who occupied a studio in Jersey City, N.J. that had formerly been leased by a moving and storage company, and who came upon Battcock's papers in the building. The papers had been shipped to the Jersey City building without the knowledge of Ron Whyte (executor of Battcock's estate) and the Rev. Paul William Bradley, who had arranged to have Battcock's papers stored after his death. Additional papers were donated 2003 by Rev. Paul W. Bradley, who inherited the papers after the death of his partner Ron Whyte.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the 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.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Constructivism (Art)  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Minimal art  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art thefts  Search this
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Photographs
Interviews
Citation:
Gregory Battcock Papers, 1952-circa 1980. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.battgreg
See more items in:
Gregory Battcock papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9173ed1ab-2aac-4e20-85fe-1a96e7acf785
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-battgreg
Online Media:

Christian Brinton papers

Creator:
Brinton, Christian, 1870-1942  Search this
Names:
Chester County Art Association (Chester County, Pa.)  Search this
Extent:
8 Microfilm reels ((12 linear feet))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Date:
1874-1967
Scope and Contents:
Biographical information, including passports, marriage and divorce papers, a copy of Brinton's will, diaries, 1922, 1925, 1926, and 1928, and an autobiography; correspondence with artists and museums; a Chester County Art Association file containing correspondence, catalogs and a scrapbook; and a file containing research notebooks kept by Brinton on art and artists including personal observations; artist files containing notes and printed material; exhibition files from exhibitions Brinton curated or helped curate; writings, manuscripts, and typescripts of Brinton's work; and invitations, printed material and manuscripts from various lectures given by Brinton.
Biographical / Historical:
International curator, art critic; West Chester, Pennsylvania. Born 1870. Died 1942. Co-founded and was the first president of the Chester County Art Association.
Provenance:
Microfilmed in 1987 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art critics -- United States  Search this
Topic:
Art criticism -- United States  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- United States  Search this
Art -- Collectors and collecting  Search this
Curators -- United States  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.brinchri
See more items in:
Christian Brinton papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91ce1dab4-148e-4374-a9be-b0be284f3901
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-brinchri

David Park papers

Creator:
Park, David, 1911-1960  Search this
Names:
Bruno, Phillip A.  Search this
Mills, Paul Chadbourne, 1924-  Search this
Staempfli, George W.  Search this
Extent:
0.6 Linear feet ((microfilmed on 3 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1917-1973
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence; artwork; sketchbooks; photographs and slides; list of works and receipts; a master's thesis; and a calendar.
REEL 849: Lists of works and receipts; master's thesis by Paul Mills, "David Park and the New Figurative Painting," 1962; drawings and sketches; photographs of Park's works.
REELS 3001-3002: Correspondence of David and Lydia Park, 1959-1966, with George W. Staempfli and Phillip A. Bruno of Staempfli Gallery, and with the Park's attorney concerning the estate; 55 original works, in oil, pastel, ink, pencil and watercolor; 3 undated sketchbooks of figure and landscape studies; 51 photographs and slides of paintings by Park; a November 1971 calendar from Santa Barbara Museum of Art announcing the acquisition of Park's THREE NUDES; and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, teacher; California. Park taught at the California School of Fine Arts from 1943-1952. Worked in Bay Area figurative painting style.
Provenance:
Material on reel 849 lent for microfilming 1974 and material on reels 3001-3002 donated 1974 by Lydia Park Moore, widow of Park.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- California  Search this
Art teachers -- California  Search this
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- California  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- San Francisco Bay Area  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.parkdavi
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw95f2adfc0-2ab4-4036-85b3-11519f018540
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-parkdavi

Morris Louis and Morris Louis Estate papers

Artist:
Louis, Morris, 1912-1962  Search this
Names:
André Emmerich Gallery  Search this
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden  Search this
Robert Pierce/Films, Inc.  Search this
Bocour, Leonard, 1910-1993  Search this
Brenner, Marcella, 1912-2007  Search this
Faatz, Anita J. (Anita Josephine)  Search this
Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this
Greenberg, Clement, 1909-1994  Search this
Noland, Kenneth, 1924-2010  Search this
Truitt, Anne, 1921-2004  Search this
Extent:
17.8 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Interviews
Photographs
Date:
circa 1910s-2007
bulk 1965-2000
Summary:
The Morris Louis and Morris Louis Estate papers measure 17.8 linear feet and date from circa 1912-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1965-2000. The collection documents Morris Louis' career as a Color Field painter and founding participant in the Washington Color School, as well as the subsequent administration of his estate by his wife Marcella Brenner. Found within Morris Louis' papers are biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, scattered financial records, notes, writings, printed materials, and a canvas sample. The Morris Louis Estate papers include records of gallery exhibitions, mostly André Emmerich Gallery; artwork inventories; legal records concerning the lawsuit Bernstein v. Brenner; financial records of the sale of Louis' artwork; printed materials; writings about Louis; photographs of exhibition installations and artwork; and project files which include documentation of film projects by Robert Pierce Productions, a catalog raisonne, documentation of PBS documentaries, video recordings of the exhibition "Morris Louis Now", and numerous sound recordings of interviews with artists discussing Morris Louis conducted by Anita Faatz.
Scope and Contents:
The Morris Louis and Morris Louis Estate papers measure 17.8 linear feet and date from circa 1912-2007, with the bulk of the material dating from 1965-2000. The collection documents Morris Louis' career as a Color Field painter and founding participant in the Washington Color School, as well as the subsequent administration of his estate by his wife Marcella Brenner. Found within Morris Louis' papers are biographical materials, correspondence, photographs, scattered financial records, notes, writings, printed materials, and a canvas sample. The Morris Louis Estate papers include records of gallery exhibitions, mostly André Emmerich Gallery; artwork inventories; legal records concerning the lawsuit Bernstein v. Brenner; financial records of the sale of Louis' artwork; printed materials; writings about Louis; photographs of exhibition installations and artwork; and posthumous project files which include documentation of film projects by Robert Pierce Productions, a catalog raisonne, PBS documentaries, video recordings of the exhibition "Morris Louis Now", and numerous sound recordings of interviews with artists, many with transcripts, discussing Morris Louis and conducted by Anita Faatz.

Within the Morris Louis papers (circa 3 linear feet) are scattered biographical materials for Morris Louis and Marcella Brenner. Correspondence is with family friends, artists, and galleries, the bulk of which consists of photocopies. Of note are letters from Helen Frankenthaler, Clement Greenberg, Leonard Bocour, Kenneth Noland, and Anne Truitt. Business records include lists of artwork, receipts for art supplies, and scattered tax records. Six notebooks belonging to Morris Louis contain miscellaneous notes about students, studio rental payments, addresses, travel expenses, and a short list of paintings. There is one notebook of Marcella Brenner's containing notes about expenses and addresses. Also found are printed materials, one canvas sample, and one embossing stamp. Photographs are of Morris Louis, Marcella Brenner, and the Bernstein family.

The majority of the collection (circa 15 linear feet) consists of records created and maintained by Marcella Brenner in the course of managing Louis' estate and posthumous exhibitions and projects. There are numerous gallery exhibition records for many posthumous and retrospective exhibitions between 1965 through 2002, including those held at the Andre Emmerich Gallery, the Hirshhorn Museum, and numerous other U.S. and international galleries and museums. Louis' artwork is documented in highly detailed inventory lists and cards. Legal records document the lawsuit brought by the Bernstein family against Marcella Brenner which began in 1964 and ended in 1970 in favor of Brenner. Financial records document sales.

Printed materials include clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, and other miscellaneous materials. Writings include essays about Louis and manuscript copies of the book Trustee for the Human Race: Litigation over the Morris Louis Paintings written by Ruth S. Blau under contract for Marcella Brenner. Photographs are primarily of artwork depicted in exhibition installations. Project files are found for several posthumous documentary film projects and a catalog raisonne, and include a series of audio recordings of interviews of 27 artists conducted by Anita Faatz in 1970-1971. Artists interviewed include Clement Greenberg, Leonard Bocour, Andre Emmerich, Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Noland, and many others.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 2 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Morris Louis Papers, circa 1910s-1998 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)

Series 2: Morris Louis Estate Papers, 1947-2007 (14.9 linear feet; Boxes 3-19, OV 20)
Biographical / Historical:
Morris Louis (1912-1962) was one of the earliest American Color Field painters, and, along with other Washington, D.C., painters, formed the movement known as the Washington Color School.

Born in Baltimore, M.D., to Russian immigrants Louis Bernstein and Cecelia Luckman, Morris Louis attended the Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts from 1927-1932 and served as president of the Baltimore Artists' Association in 1935. During the Depression, he worked in New York City on the steering committee of the Easel Division of the Federal Arts Projects of the Works Project Administration (WPA). He exhibited Broken Bridge at the WPA Pavilion of the New York World's Fair in 1939.

In 1947, Louis married Marcella (Siegel) Brenner, and moved to Silver Spring, Maryland, a close suburb of Washington, D.C., where he taught private art classes and continued painting, using his apartment bedroom as a studio. In 1948, Louis participated in the Maryland Artists, 16th Annual Exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art, and began using Leonard Bocour's Magna acrylic paint, which he would use exclusively for the rest of his painting career.

In 1952, Morris Louis and Marcella Brenner moved to Washington, D.C. and set up a studio in his home where he would complete his most notable canvases. He began teaching at the Washington Workshop Center for the Arts and met artist Kenneth Noland who was also exploring Color Field painting. Through Noland, Louis met art critic Clement Greenberg in 1953, and they visited artist studios in New York City to study abstract expressionist works, including those by Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson Pollock, and Franz Kline. Louis and Noland were greatly influenced by Frankenthaler's staining technique, and Louis began experimenting with staining methods upon his return to Washington. Clement Greenberg became a life-long advocate for Louis and, in 1954, included Louis in the seminal group exhibition, "Emerging Talent," organized by Greenberg for the Kootz Gallery. In 1960, Andre Emmerich became his dealer in the United States and Lawrence Rubin represented him in Paris.

Using thinned Magna paint and unstretched, unprimed canvases, Louis created his works by rotating the canvas as the paint moved across and soaked in. Between 1958 and 1962 Louis produced three major series of paintings—the Veils, the Unfurleds, and the Stripes. Each series numbered more than one hundred canvases. Louis never documented his exact painting methods and would not allow anyone to watch him work, including his wife. His own worst critic, Louis destroyed many of his paintings that did meet his standards, including a large number of his earliest works and many created between 1954 and 1957. He also designated numerous surviving works for destruction prior to his death.

Louis was diagnosed with lung cancer on July 1, 1962 and died a few months later. The Andre Emmerich Gallery held a previously scheduled exhibition as planned, a month following Louis' death, as a memorial exhibition.
Related Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are the Marcella Brenner journals, 1962-2000. The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) also holds papers of Morris Louis and the Morris Louis Estate in their Morris Louis Study Collection.
Provenance:
The Morris Louis and Morris Louis Estate papers were donated by Marcella Brenner in several installments in 1976, 1986, and 1988. Subsequent donations in 2009 and 2012 were donated by Marcella Brenner via Ann M. Garfinkle, Executor. The Anita Faatz interviews were donated in 1976 by Marcella Brenner.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center. Many of the audio recordings and transcripts of interviews with 26 artists conducted by Anita Faatz in 1970-1971 are access restricted and written permission is required from the person interviewed. Please contact reference services for more information. Any use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- United States  Search this
Topic:
Transcripts  Search this
Washington Color School (Group of artists)  Search this
Law and art -- United States  Search this
Color-field painting  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Abstract expressionism  Search this
Genre/Form:
Video recordings
Sound recordings
Interviews
Photographs
Citation:
Morris Louis and Morris Louis Estate Papers, circa 1910s-2007, bulk 1965-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.louimorr
See more items in:
Morris Louis and Morris Louis Estate papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ecc509be-66ed-4df5-9632-537bc9cf40ed
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-louimorr
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Tony Vevers

Interviewee:
Vevers, Tony  Search this
Interviewer:
Brown, Robert F.  Search this
Names:
City Center Gallery  Search this
Hans Hofmann School (New York, New York)  Search this
Operation Pied Piper  Search this
United States -- Montgomery G.I. Bill  Search this
United States. Army  Search this
Yale University -- Students  Search this
Avery, Milton, 1885-1965  Search this
Blagden, Tom  Search this
Calcagno, Lawrence, 1913-  Search this
Gottlieb, Adolph, 1903-1974  Search this
Halvorsen, Elspeth  Search this
Hartung, Hans, 1904-1989  Search this
Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this
Keller, Deane, 1901-1992  Search this
Kline, Franz, 1910-1962  Search this
Levine, Jack, 1915-2010  Search this
Lippold, Richard, 1915-2002  Search this
Nevelson, Louise, 1899-1988  Search this
Oldenburg, Claes, 1929-  Search this
Pace, Stephen, 1918-2010  Search this
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this
Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946  Search this
Vieira da Silva, 1908-  Search this
Weber, Max, 1881-1961  Search this
Zallinger, Rudolph F.  Search this
Extent:
2 Sound cassettes (Sound recording (2 hr., 49 min.), analog)
58 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Place:
Provincetown (Mass.)
Date:
1998 July 9-August 25
Scope and Contents:
Interview of Tony Vevers, conducted on August 25, 1998, by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Vevers speaks of being sent by his parents to the United States in 1940; secondary schooling in Madison, Connecticut and at the Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecticut (1944); serving in the U.S. Army infantry in Europe, 1944-1946; attending Yale University on the GI Bill and graduating with a BA in painting and drawing, 1950; further art training in Florence, Italy and at the Hans Hofmann School, NYC (1950-1953); his marriage to Elspeth Halvorsen, fellow artist, 1953; his studies in Italy; the unexciting nature of contemporary Italian art; contemporary art in Paris, where Picasso impressed him but work of Hans Hartung and (Marie Elena) Vieira da Silva did not; studying with Hans Hofmann; working at the non-profit City Center Gallery, which was designed to give younger artists exposure through juried exhibitions; and living in poverty in NYC and Provincetown until 1963. Vevers also recalls Tom Blagden, Alfred Stieglitz, Deane Keller, Rudolph Zallinger, Claes Oldenburg, Stephen Pace, Lawrence Calcagno, Hans Hofmann, Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, Jack Levine, Franz Kline, Louise Nevelson, Max Weber, Richard Lippold, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Tony Vevers (1926-2008) was a painter from Provincetown, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 49 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 teachers -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Art, French -- 20th century  Search this
Art, Italian -- 20th century  Search this
Art, Modern  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- Italy  Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown -- Interviews  Search this
Poverty  Search this
World War, 1939-1945 -- United States  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.vevers98
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9895b7c6b-c510-442a-b997-8973a7d9279f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-vevers98
Online Media:

Paul and Nelli Bar Wieghardt papers

Creator:
Wieghardt, Paul, 1897-1969  Search this
Wieghardt, Nelli Bar, 1904-2001  Search this
Names:
Art Institute of Chicago. School  Search this
Bosworth, Francis  Search this
Extent:
1.5 Linear feet ((on 2 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1925-1987
Scope and Contents:
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.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Painters -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Sculptors -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Topic:
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- Illinois -- Chicago  Search this
Refugees  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.wiegpaul
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw91aa09036-a518-4bb8-bcd4-f5eed10a9fc7
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wiegpaul

Christian Brinton scrapbooks

Creator:
Brinton, Christian, 1870-1942  Search this
Extent:
4 Volumes ((on 2 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Volumes
Scrapbooks
Date:
1899-1925
Scope and Contents:
Scrapbooks contain correspondence, clippings, sketches, photographs, and exhibition catalogs. The letters are generally requests for Brinton to lecture, organize an exhibition, or write an article.
Biographical / Historical:
Art critic, curator and collector; West Chester, Pennsylvania and New York, N.Y. Born 1870. Died 1942.
Provenance:
Collected in 1990 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. Microfilmed by the Free Library of Pennsylvania.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art critics -- Pennsylvania -- West Chester  Search this
Topic:
Art criticism -- United States  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching -- United States  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Identifier:
AAA.brinchrs
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw970b9af01-b5d4-4022-b496-26f47422f3dd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-brinchrs

Alan R. Solomon papers

Creator:
Solomon, Alan R., 1920-1970  Search this
Names:
Albright-Knox Art Gallery  Search this
Amsterdam (Netherlands). Stedelijk Museum  Search this
Art Gallery of Ontario  Search this
Artforum  Search this
Biennale di Venezia  Search this
Centro de Artes Visuales (Asunción, Paraguay)  Search this
Cornell University -- Faculty  Search this
Expo 67 (Montréal, Québec)  Search this
Harvard University -- Students  Search this
Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, Mass.)  Search this
Jewish Museum (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Leo Castelli Gallery  Search this
Los Once (Artists' group)  Search this
Pasadena Art Museum  Search this
San Francisco Art Institute  Search this
University of California (System)  Search this
Velvet Underground (Musical group)  Search this
Bontecou, Lee, 1931-  Search this
Castelli, Leo  Search this
Chamberlain, John, 1927-2011  Search this
Childs, Lucinda  Search this
Dine, Jim, 1935-  Search this
Duchamp, Marcel, 1887-1968  Search this
Dunn, Judith  Search this
Fahlström, Öyvind, 1928-1976  Search this
Finkelstein, Nat  Search this
Frankenthaler, Helen, 1928-2011  Search this
Greenberg, Clement, 1909-1994  Search this
Greenberg, Jeanine  Search this
Grisi, Laura  Search this
Hay, Alex  Search this
Hay, Deborah  Search this
Johns, Jasper, 1930-  Search this
Kron, Joan  Search this
Lichtenstein, Roy, 1923-1997  Search this
Louis, Morris, 1912-1962  Search this
MacElroy, Robert R.  Search this
Moore, Peter  Search this
Morris, Robert  Search this
Mulas, Ugo  Search this
Namuth, Hans  Search this
Newman, Barnett, 1905-1970  Search this
Noland, Kenneth, 1924-2010  Search this
Novick, Elizabeth  Search this
Oldenburg, Claes, 1929-  Search this
Oldenburg, Patty  Search this
Paxton, Steve  Search this
Picasso, Pablo, 1881-1973  Search this
Poons, Larry  Search this
Provinciali, Michele  Search this
Rainier, Yvonne  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008  Search this
Redon, Odilon, 1840-1916  Search this
Reed, Lou  Search this
Rosenquist, James, 1933-  Search this
Sabol, Audrey, 1922-  Search this
Schute, Terry  Search this
Scull, Ethel  Search this
Scull, Robert C.  Search this
Segal, George, 1924-2000  Search this
Sisler, Mary  Search this
Sonnabend, Ileana  Search this
Stella, Frank  Search this
Warhol, Andy, 1928-  Search this
Whitman, Robert  Search this
Extent:
9.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Transcripts
Photographs
Interviews
Lithographs
Place:
Italy -- Venice
Date:
1907-1970
bulk 1944-1970
Summary:
The papers of New York art historian, museum director, curator, writer, and educator, Alan R. Solomon, measure 9.9 linear feet and date from 1907-1970, with the bulk of the material dating from 1944-1970. Through biographical material, correspondence, interview transcripts, writings and notes, teaching and study files, subject files, exhibition files, business records, printed material, and photographs, the collection documents Solomon's education, his early teaching appointments at Cornell University, and his subsequent direction of many diverse curatorial and research projects relating to contemporary American art, particularly the transition from Abstract Expressionism to later modern movements, and the thriving New York City art scene.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York art historian, museum director, curator, writer, and educator, Alan R. Solomon, measure 9.9 linear feet and date from 1907-1970, with the bulk of the material dating from 1944-1970. Through biographical material, correspondence, interview transcripts, writings and notes, teaching and study files, subject files, exhibition files, business records, printed material, and photographs, the collection documents Solomon's education, his early teaching appointments at Cornell University, and his subsequent direction of many diverse curatorial and research projects relating to contemporary American art, particularly the transition from Abstract Expressionism to later modern movements, and the thriving New York City art scene.

Biographical material includes résumés, an engagement book, and a monthly planning book from 1965, identification cards, and educational transcripts.

Correspondence documents Solomon's education at Harvard College and Harvard University, and his teaching appointments at Cornell University. Correspondence also provides some documentation of his involvement with museums and arts organizations, including the Jewish Museum, Stedlijk Museum, the San Francisco Art Institute, the University of California, and Centro de Artes Visuales; his submission of writings for publications including Artforum, Art International, and Konstrevy; and his relationships with artists and colleagues including Jim Dine, Joan Kron, Audrey Sabol, and Ileana Sonnabend. Also found is correspondence related to Solomon's work for Mary Sisler, who employed Solomon to sell her collection of artwork by Marcel Duchamp in the late 1960s.

One series comprises transcripts of interviews with many of the artists who were central to the transition from Abstract Expressionism to later modern movements that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, such as Neo-Dada and Pop art. Artists represented in the interviews include Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, Jasper Johns, Barnett Newman, Kenneth Noland, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol.

Solomon's writings include many of his essays for exhibition catalogs, magazines, and journals, and are in a combination of annotated manuscript and published formats. There are writings on Jim Dine, Barnett Newman, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns, and on the new movements in theater and performance art of the 1960s. His writings also document the art history education which informed all of his later work, with the inclusion of papers written as a student and teacher, his honors thesis on Odilon Redon, and his dissertation on Pablo Picasso. This material is supplemented by notes, and teaching and study files, documenting courses taken and taught at Harvard and Cornell universities. Also found is the manuscript of the text for New York: The New Art Scene, accompanied by a partial published copy of the book and photographs by Ugo Mulas.

Solomon's subject files augment several of the other series, comprising material on various art related subjects and individual painters and sculptors, arranged alphabetically. Material found here includes printed matter documenting exhibitions and other events, scattered letters from artists, related writings, and photographs.

One series documents Solomon's involvement with the First New York Theater Rally, which he co-produced with Steve Paxton in 1965. This material includes a drawing each by Jim Dine and Alex Hay, pieces of a combine by Robert Rauschenberg, and photographs of the group including Dine, Hay, and Rauschenberg, as well as Lucinda Childs, Judith Dunn, Deborah Hay, Robert Morris, Claes Oldenburg, the Once Group, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainier, Alan Solomon, and Robert Whitman. The series includes multiple contact sheets of photos of First New York Theater Rally events, by Peter Moore, Elizabeth Novick, and Terry Schute.

Exhibition files document Solomon's role as an organizer and curator for some of his most well-known exhibitions, including American Painting Now (1967) for Expo '67 in Montreal; Andy Warhol (1966) at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston; Dine-Oldenburg-Segal (1967) at the Art Gallery of Ontario and Albright-Knox Gallery; the American exhibition at the 1964 Venice Biennale; Young Italians (1968) at the Institute of Contemporary Art; and Painting in New York 1944-1969, a major retrospective installed for the opening of the new Pasadena Art Museum in fall, 1969. Records include correspondence, lists and notes, financial records, printed material, and photographs of artists and installations, including a series by Ugo Mulas taken at the Venice Biennale.

Solomon's business records include lists, notes, contracts, expense forms, vouchers, purchase orders, and receipts. They provide scattered documentation of exhibition-related expenses and purchases of artwork, as well as Solomon's income from teaching appointments, lectures, honorariums, and writings. Amongst Solomon's general business records is an American Federation of Musicians agreement between the Institute of Contemporary Art and "Louis Reed," with booking agent Andy Warhol, for a performance by the Velvet Underground and Nico, performing as The Exploding Plastic Inevitable on October 29, 1966. This seemingly mundane item documents an event that accompanied Solomon's landmark Warhol exhibition of nearly forty iconic works, and the accompanying show by The Exploding Plastic Inevitable was hailed by the Boston Phoenix newspaper as one of the greatest concerts in Boston history.

Printed material includes announcements, catalogs, and posters for exhibitions and art related events, including two Jasper Johns lithographs for a 1960 exhibition at Galerie Rive Droite, and a 1963 exhibition at Leo Castelli Gallery. Also found are news clippings, press releases, and other publications.

Photographs are of Solomon, artists, friends and colleagues, exhibitions and other events, and artwork. They include snapshots of Solomon, and a series of photographs of him at various events and parties, many taken by Ugo Mulas, as well as a photo taken by Robert Rauschenberg of Ugo Mulas, Michele Provinciali, and Solomon. Additional photos by Ugo Mulas include some which were probably taken for New York: The New Art Scene, and a series of photos of Robert Rauschenberg and others at the Venice Biennale. Photos of artists include Lee Bontecou, John Chamberlain, Jim Dine, Marcel Duchamp, Öyvind Fahlström, Laura Grisi, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Morris Louis, Barnett Newman, Kenneth Noland, Claes and Patty Oldenburg, Larry Poons, James Rosenquist, George Segal, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol and The Factory. Photos of others include Leo Castelli, Clement and Jeanine Greenberg, and Ethel and Robert Scull. Also found are photos of the exhibition Toward a New Abstraction (1963), at The Jewish Museum, photos of Venice, and photos of artwork by many of the above named, and other, artists. In addition to Ugo Mulas, photographers represented in this series include Nat Finkelstein, Robert R. McElroy, and Hans Namuth.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as eleven series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1938-1968 (5 folders; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1930-1970 (0.66 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Interviews, 1965-1969 (0.25 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1945-1969 (1.35 linear feet; Boxes 1-3, 11)

Series 5: Teaching and Study Files, 1944-1958 (0.25 linear feet; Box 3)

Series 6: Subject Files, 1907-1969 (2.92 linear feet; Boxes 3-6, 1, OV 12)

Series 7: First New York Theater Rally, 1963-1965 (0.15 linear feet; Boxes 6, 11)

Series 8: Exhibition Files, 1954-1969 (1.42 linear feet; Boxes 6-7, 11, OV 12)

Series 9: Business Records, 1945-1970 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 7-8)

Series 10: Printed Material, 1914-1970 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 8-9, OV 12)

Series 11: Photographs, circa 1951-circa 1970 (1.7 linear feet; Boxes 9-11, OV 13)
Biographical / Historical:
New York art historian, museum director, art consultant, educator, writer, and curator, Alan R. Solomon (1920-1970), organized over two hundred exhibitions in the course of his career. He was known for his skill in exhibition design, and for bringing the perception and understanding of an art historian to the field of contemporary art.

Solomon was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, and educated at Harvard College and Harvard Graduate School. In 1953, during his 1952-1962 tenure with the Cornell University department of art history, he established the Andrew Dickson White Museum of art. Solomon served as the museum's first director until 1961, whilst simultaneously pursuing his doctorate, which he received from Harvard University in 1962.

In 1962 Solomon was hired by the Jewish Museum in New York, New York, and immediately began to take the institution in a more contemporary direction, mounting Robert Rauschenberg's first retrospective in 1963, and a major Jasper Johns retrospective in 1964. Also, in 1963, Solomon was appointed the United States Commissioner for the 1964 Venice Biennale. He was determined to show "the major new indigenous tendencies, the peculiarly America spirt of the art" in works by two consecutive generations of artists, including Jasper Johns, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, and Robert Rauschenberg. With this in mind, and given the inadequacy of the existing space to house the installation he envisaged, Solomon secured a verbal agreement from Biennale officials to approve additional space for the American exhibition in an annex at the former American Consulate. The agreement was never formalized, however, and a series of administrative problems and controversies over the eligibility of the American submissions threatened to undermine Solomon's efforts. Nevertheless, Robert Rauschenberg became the first American to take the Grand Prize for foreign artist, and the attention garnered by the American exhibition monopolized press coverage of the Biennale. In response, Solomon stated publicly that "it is acknowledged on every hand that New York has replaced Paris as the world art capital."

Solomon subsequently left the Jewish Museum, having engendered resistance to leading the museum in a more experimental direction, away from the traditional Jewish educational aspects of its mission. In the mid-sixties he worked as a consultant and writer for a National Educational Television series entitled "U. S. A. Artists," which drew on artist interviews, many conducted by Solomon. He also wrote the text for Ugo Mulas's classic photographic study, New York: The New Art Scene (1967: Holt Rinehart and Winston).

In 1966 Solomon was hired by the United States Information Agency to organize the United States contribution to the Canadian World Exhibition in Montreal, known as Expo '67. His stunning American Painting Now installation placed large scale paintings by twenty-three artists, including Jim Dine, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg, Robert Rauschenberg, and James Rosenquist, inside Buckminster Fuller's twenty-story Biosphere of Montreal.

Other important exhibitions organized by Solomon included Andy Warhol (1966) at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, which was only the second of two exhibitions dedicated to the artist; Dine-Oldenburg-Segal (1967) at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery; and Young Italians (1968) at the Institute of Contemporary Art.

Solomon was also interested in contemporary theater and organized the First New York Theater Rally with Steve Paxton in 1965, a series of performances which combined new dance and a revival of the Happenings of the early 1960s, in which Claes Oldenburg, Jim Dine and others were involved.

Following a six-week appointment as a senior lecturer at the University of California, Irvine, in spring 1968, Solomon became chairman of the University's art department and director of the art gallery. His last exhibition, Painting in New York, 1944-1969 (1969-1970), was held at the Pasadena Art Museum and closed in January 1970, just a few weeks before Solomon's sudden death at the age of forty-nine.
Provenance:
The Leo Castelli Gallery served as executor of Solomon's estate, and donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in 1974 and 2007.
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 historians -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Painters  Search this
Topic:
Abstract expressionism  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art -- Economic aspects  Search this
Art -- History -- Study and teaching  Search this
Performance art  Search this
Art, Abstract -- United States  Search this
Art -- Exhibitions  Search this
Art -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Theater  Search this
Pop art  Search this
Museum directors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Transcripts
Photographs
Interviews
Lithographs
Citation:
Alan R. Solomon papers, 1907-1970, bulk 1944-1970. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.soloalan
See more items in:
Alan R. Solomon papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw943b0f6a7-bfde-4a32-8bcc-4c9a200251d4
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-soloalan
Online Media:

Emlen Etting papers

Creator:
Etting, Emlen, 1905-1993  Search this
Names:
Lhote, André, 1885-1962  Search this
Extent:
3 Linear feet ((on 4 microfilm reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Date:
1928-1987
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, journal, writings, printed material, scrapbook, and two card files on paintings.
REEL D251: Correspondence; a war journal, July 29 through August 26, 1944, recounting the liberation of Paris; a limited edition book, 1932, GRAVEYARD BY THE SEA (LE CIMETIERE MARIN) by Paul Valéry, in French with English translation and original illustrations by Etting; clippings and critical material; exhibition catalogs and announcements; speeches, broadcasts and writings.
REELS 4158-4159: A manuscript "A Studio in Paris" describing Etting's experiences studying with Andre Lhote in Paris, 1928-1931, and a volume of illustrations for the manuscript; ten volumes of scrapbooks containing photographs, clippings, exhibition invitations and checklists; photographs of works of art, models, exhibition installations, and of Etting's school in Philadelphia; and two card files containing data on Etting's paintings, one compiled by an intern, 1985.
REEL 4340: Three exhibition catalogs and two postcards.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and illustrator; Philadelphia, Pa. Died 1993. During the Second World War, Etting was an official French language announcer in London for the American Broadcast stations in Europe.
Provenance:
Material on reel D251 donated by Etting, 1966. He lent papers on reels 4158-4159 in 1988 as part of AAA's Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project. A few additional items of printed material were donated by Etting (reel 4340), and transferred to NMAA/NPG Library after filming.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Illustrators -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- France -- Paris  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Identifier:
AAA.ettiemle
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw90f8decbd-5075-4bfe-8699-9c61bb866b5d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-ettiemle

Richard Artschwager papers

Creator:
Artschwager, Richard, 1923-  Search this
Names:
Adair Margo Gallery  Search this
Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts  Search this
Cornell University  Search this
Gagosian Gallery  Search this
Galerie Franck + Schulte  Search this
Harvard University  Search this
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art  Search this
Leo Castelli Gallery  Search this
Lorence-Monk Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Museum Ludwig  Search this
Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture  Search this
University of Wisconsin  Search this
Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this
Alloway, Lawrence, 1926-1990  Search this
Castelli, Leo  Search this
Copley, William Nelson, 1919-1996  Search this
Fischl, Eric, 1948-  Search this
Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this
Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this
Katz, Alex, 1927-  Search this
Kimmelman, Michael  Search this
Lawler, Louise  Search this
LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this
Murray, Elizabeth, 1940-  Search this
Namuth, Hans  Search this
Neuendorf, Hans  Search this
Ruscha, Edward  Search this
Schaffner, Ingrid  Search this
Schjeldahl, Peter  Search this
Waters, John, 1946-  Search this
Woodman, Betty, 1930-  Search this
Extent:
5.6 Linear feet
9.33 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Illustrated letters
Transcripts
Sketches
Photographs
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Date:
1959-2013
Summary:
The papers of New York painter and sculptor Richard Artschwager measure 5.6 linear feet and 9.33 GB and date from 1959-2013. The papers include extensive correspondence, recorded talks and a lecture, exhibition files, printed and digital material, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York painter and sculptor Richard Artschwager measure 5.6 linear feet and 9.33 GB and date from 1959-2013. The papers include extensive correspondence, recorded talks and a lecture, exhibition files, printed and digital material, and photographs.

Artschwager's correspondence is with museums, galleries, artists, art historians, academic institutions, and publishers and concerns exhibitions, speaking engagements, and teaching. Frequent correspondents include Lawrence Alloway, Leo Castelli Gallery, Gagosian Gallery, Galerie Franck + Schulte, Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Ivan Karp, Museum Ludwig, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Ingrid Schaffner, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Also found are letters from fellow artists, including William Copley, Eric Fischl, Ray Johnson, Louise Lawler, Sol Lewitt, Ed Ruscha, John Waters, and Betty Woodman. Some letters are annotated or illustrated with sketches by Artschwager.

The collection includes a lecture and recorded talks by Richard Artschwager held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, and the Carpenter Center of the Visual Arts, Harvard University, and other venues. One of the recordings is from the "Conversations with Contemporary Artists" series of the Museum of Modern Art. Also included in this series is a recorded discussion with artists Alex Katz and Elizabeth Murray and art critics Michael Kimmelman and Peter Schjeldahl.

Exhibition files are found for exhibitions held at Adair Margo Gallery, Lorence Monk Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Cornell University, and numerous others, including many in Europe. Files typically contain correspondence, price lists, announcements, printed material, photographs, and a few sound and video recordings.

Printed material includes invitations and announcements as well as posters, reproductions, and brochures, mostly related to Richard Artschwager's exhibitions. Newspaper and magazine clippings document exhibition openings and the critical reception of his work.

There are also a few photographs including images of Leo Castelli by Hans Namuth used by Artschwager in preparing for his portrait of Castelli.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 5 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Correspondence, circa 1970-2013 (Boxes 1-3; 3.0 linear feet, ER01-ER02; 0.555 GB)

Series 2: Talks and Lecture, 1985-2009 (Box 4; 0.8 linear feet, ER03-ER10; 8.77 GB)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1973-2007 (Boxes 4-5; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1959-2012 (Boxes 5-6, OV 7; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographs, circa 1973, 2007 (Box 6, OV 8; 0.1 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Richard Artschwager (1923-2013) lived and worked in New York City and Hudson, New York and was known primarily for his paintings and sculptures. Artschwager was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in New Mexico. As a youth, Artschwager showed a talent for drawing. He studied chemistry and mathematics at Cornell University. In 1944, Artschwager interrupted his studies to enlist in the U.S. Army. After the war, he returned to Cornell to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. Encouraged by his first wife, Elfriede Wejmelka to develop his interest in art, Artschwager moved to New York to study at the Studio School of Amédée Ozenfant. His paintings and drawings from this period were featured in two group shows at the Terrain Gallery in 1957 and at the Art Directions Gallery on Madison Avenue in 1959, where they were recognized by Donald Judd.

In the 1950s, in order to support his family, Artschwager turned to designing and manufacturing modern furniture. His woodworking skills inspired him to create sculptures from utilitarian objects such as tables, chairs, and mirrors. He is best known for the use of building materials Celotex and Formica in his work and for inventing an abstract form he called "blps" reliefs, stencils or decals that were installed randomly in museum, gallery and public spaces. From the mid-1980s to late 1990s, Artschwager designed large scale projects, though he continued to incorporate everyday domestic objects in his sculptures and paintings.

In 1965, Artschwager was given his first one-man exhibition at the Castelli Gallery and he remained with the Gallery for thirty years. He was also represented by Mary Boone, David Nolan, and the Gagosian Gallery. In the 1980s, Artschwager served on the Visual Arts Policy Committee at the National Endowment of the Arts. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts in 1992. He was a visiting artist at New Mexico State University, Soka University, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and the University of Arizona. Artschwager's work was the subject of a major surveys, including the Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Neues Museum, and Serpentine Gallery. He participated in numerous international group shows including the Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel, Germany. The Whitney Museum of American Art honored Artschwager with two travelling retrospective exhibitions in 1988 and 2012. In late 2012, Artschwager had one-man shows at the Gagosian Gallery and David Nolan Gallery.

Richard Artschwager died at the age of 89 years in 2013. He is survived by his wife, Ann Sebring Artschwager and three children from previous marriages.
Related Materials:
Also found among the resources at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Artschwager, March 3-28, 1972, conducted by Paul Cummings.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Richard Artschwager and his wife Ann Artschwager in 2013.
Restrictions:
Use of original material 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 critics  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Illustrated letters
Transcripts
Sketches
Photographs
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Citation:
Richard Artschwager papers, 1959-2013. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.artsrich
See more items in:
Richard Artschwager papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9b1669278-fbd8-48b5-832c-ad4b93ec08bd
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-artsrich
Online Media:

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