The papers of art historian, collector, educator, and museum administrator John Davis Hatch measure 24.9 linear feet and date from 1790-1995. Within the papers are biographical materials; correspondence; personal business and legal documents; diaries; research, organization, and teaching files; writings; printed materials; photographs; and works of art (mostly sketches) by American artists. Research files regarding artists and specific subjects comprise the bulk of this collection.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art historian, collector, educator, and museum administrator John Davis Hatch measure 24.9 linear feet and date from 1790-1995. Within the papers are biographical materials; correspondence; personal business and legal documents; diaries; research, organization and teaching files; writings; printed materials; photographs; and works of art (mostly sketches) by American artists. Research files regarding artists and specific subjects comprise the bulk of this collection.
Scattered biographical materials include an invitation to the Hatch's anniversary party in 1964, short biographical sketches and resumes, certificates, report cards, a silhouette of the Hatch Family circa 1904, and a typecript of a diary written by Olivia Hatch as a child.
Correspondence includes professional correspondence between Hatch and colleagues; letters from family and friends; and some materials regarding exhibitions from the Hatch Collection. The bulk of correspondence spans Hatch's professional career although there are scattered letters from 1915-1943 from Hatch to his parents. Also found are letters addressed to an unidentified "Henry." Correspondence is also found in the research files.
Personal business and financial records consist of inventories, bills, receipts, and other records for artworks purchased, loaned, or donated by Hatch. Also found are records from the J. D. Hatch Associates Cultural Consultants, a draft of Hatch's will, stock and tax materials, and travel papers and passports.
Scattered diaries and journal fragments and a transcript date from 1925-1965. Thirteen "Daily Reflection Journals" date from 1975-1987.
Research files on artists and subjects are extensive, comprising one-half of the collection. Files are varied and may include primary research materials, correspondence, printed materials, notes, and writings. Some of the artists' letters and other materials dated from 1790-early 1800s may have been purchased by Hatch. Among many other items, there is an illustrated letter written by Oscar Bluemner and photographs of Bluemner; primary research materials dating from the early 1800s on John Vanderlyn including a will, receipts, and correspondence; a letter from Rembrandt Peale dated 1830, and an autograph letter from John Trumbull dated 1790. Also found is an index card file.
Organization files contain files and records related to Hatch's affiliations with many cultural organizations. A small amount of teaching and education files consist of Hatch's notes and lectures from the University of Oregon and the University of Massachusetts, and from his continuing education courses he took at St. John's College. Writings and notes include short essays by Hatch, mostly concerning art, exhibitions and museum administration; book reviews; general notes, lists, and reports.
Printed Materials are comprised of exhibition catalogs and announcements, including those from the American Drawing Annual in the 1940s-1950s; printed articles annotated by Hatch; clippings; pricelists; and published works.
A small number of photographs are of Hatch, some by Dorothy Frazer; of his family and friends; and of artists. The bulk of the photographs are of works of art including those owned by Hatch.
Artwork includes two sketchbooks - one by Kenneth Callahan and another by Lloyd McNeill; and additional drawings and sketches by Julian Scott, Henry Kirke Browne, Kenneth Callahan, Ezra Clark, John Cranch, Jasper Francis Crospey, F. O. C. Darley, C. H. Granger, Seymour J. Guy, George Harvey, Edward Lamson Henry, Henry Inman, as well as unsigned or illegible names.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Information, circa 1900-1980s (Box 1; 8 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1903-1990s (Box 1-3; 2 linear feet)
Series 3: Personal Business and Legal Records, Date (Box 3; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 4: Diaries and Journals, 1925-1987 (Box 3, 23; 1.2 linear feet)
Series 5: Research Files, 1790-1992 (Box 3-13, 20-21, 24; 12.7 linear feet)
Series 6: Organization Files, 1930s-1990s (Box 13-14; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 7: Teaching and Education Files, 1930s-1993 (Box 14-15; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 8: Writings and Notes, 1936-1990s (Box 15; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 9: Printed Material, 1870s-1990s (Box 15-19, 22, 25-26, OV1; 5.9 linear feet)
Series 10: Photographs, circa 1900-1990s (Box 22; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 11: Artwork, 1851-1973 (Box 22; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Art historian, collector, educator, and museum administrator John Davis Hatch (1907-1996) worked in the Boston and New England area, as well as the Pacific Northwest, and New York state. Hatch served as director of the Art Institute of Seattle, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Albany Institute of Art and History, and the Norfolk Museum of Art and Sciences.
John Davis Hatch was born in San Francisco, California in 1907. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were architects and Hatch studied landscape architecture at the University of California, Berkeley. He served as an apprentice to Lockwood de Forest. After abandoning landscape architecture, he accepted a position as director of the Seattle Fine Arts Society (1928-1931) at the age of twenty-one and taught art history courses at the University of Washington.
In 1932, Hatch accepted the position of assistant director of the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. He also directed the federal Public Works of Art Project in New England. Additionally, Hatch served from 1940-1948 as director of the Albany Institute of Art and History and from 1950-1959 of the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences. Hatch worked as an art advisor for exhibitions at five historically African-American colleges in Atlanta and in San Simeon in California. He founded the American Drawing Annual exhibition.
Hatch conducted extensive research on artists Oscar Bluemner and John Vanderlyn, American silverwork, and American drawing. In addition, Hatch collected American drawings and later donated many of works of art from his personal collection to the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. Aside from his early teaching in Washington state, Hatch taught at the University of Massachusetts and the University of Oregon. He was a member of numerous professional arts-related organizations.
In 1939, Hatch married Olivia Stokes with whom he had four children: Sarah, John, Daniel and James. He died in 1996.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds two oral history interviews with John Davis Hatch: June 8, 1964 conducted by H. Wade White and 1979-1980 conducted by Robert F. Brown. Also found is a separately cataloged photograph of Hatch and Henry Francis Taylor from 1933.
Additional research materials complied by Hatch are located in the Albany Institute of History and Art, the Metropolitan Museum, the library of the National Gallery of Art, and the Senate House, Kingston, New York.
Hatch donated two hundred and seventy American drawings to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Separated Material:
Four books annotated by Bluemner, a letter from Bluemner, a letter from A. Stieglitz to Bluemner, photographs of works of art, and exhibition materials were removed from the papers and merged with the Oscar Bluemner papers at the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
John Davis Hatch and the John Davis Hatch estate donated his papers to the Archives of American Art in several installments between 1960-1996. Many of the primary materials relating to John Vanderlyn were acquired by Hatch from a photographer in Kingston, New York who received them from a niece of Vanderlyn. Robert Graham of James Graham and Sons gave Vanderlyn's will to Hatch.
Restrictions:
Use of originals 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.
11.39 Cubic feet (consisting of 25 boxes, 2 folders, 4 oversize folders, 1 map case folder, plus digital images of some collection material.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Examinations (documents)
Speeches
Catalogs
Trade catalogs
Reports
Sales records
Trade literature
Print advertising
Business cards
Programs
Training manuals
Invoices
Publications
Business records
Advertising cards
Advertising mail
Certificates
Business ephemera
Manuals
Sales letters
Awards
Dance cards
Business letters
Commercial correspondence
Ephemera
Illustrations
Photographs
Sermons
Letterheads
Advertising
Printed ephemera
Catalogues
Theater programs
Report cards
Receipts
Advertising fliers
Legal documents
Scrapbooks
Correspondence
Lesson books
Periodicals
School records
Date:
1745-1973
bulk 1840-1930
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Accounting and Bookkeeping forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents note:
Most materials present are records and information related to specific schools and institutions and their operations. There are no complete records for any single organization. K-12 public, private schools are represented, as well as colleges, universities, vocational training, plus home study, correspondence courses, Sunday Schools and some religious instruction. HBCUs are not represented, though there may be a general item or two related to one or more of the HBCU schools. There is a sampling of teaching and learning tools such as workbooks, textbooks, and curriculum guides, plus publications for educators. A portion of the material focuses on administration and the profession of education. Student Services and Engagement covers the social aspects of higher education.
Arrangement note:
Schools is arranged in two subseries.
Institutions
By Name
Administration and Records
Genre
Advertisements
Images
Instruction and Learning: Tools and Resources
Post Family Education Records
Serial Publications for Educators and Administrators
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Schools is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Certificates -- School attendance -- 1930-1940 -- Illinois
Ephemera
Illustrations
Photographs
Sermons
Letterheads
Publications -- Business
Advertising
Printed ephemera
Catalogues
Theater programs
Report cards
Receipts
Advertising fliers
Legal documents
Scrapbooks
Correspondence
Lesson books
Periodicals
School records
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Schools, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Weller, Allen S. (Allen Stuart), 1907-1997 Search this
Extent:
26.3 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketches
Diaries
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Interviews
Date:
1891-1986
Summary:
The Abraham Rattner and Esther Gentle papers measure 26.3 linear feet and date from 1891 through the 1980s. The collection documents Rattner's life and career as an artist through interviews, extensive correspondence, gallery files, studio notebooks, writings, notes, date books and diaries, photographs, and works of art.
Scope and Content Note:
Abraham Rattner's papers provide insight into an important time for twentieth century American art and culture. By studying Rattner's papers, the researcher may view the beginnings of Modernism, the cultural change that pushed the boundaries of artistic and literary traditions and provided new ways in which to express ourselves.
The Abraham Rattner and Esther Gentle papers measure 26.3 linear feet and date from 1891 through the 1980s. The collection documents Rattner's life and career as an artist through interviews, extensive correspondence, gallery files, studio notebooks, writings, notes, date books and diaries, photographs, and works of art.
The biographical files contain documents such as Rattner's birth certificate, travel visas, his senior yearbook from 1912 which shows some of his early art work, and some of his awards. His birth certificate is of particular interest since it shows Rattner's birth date to be 1893 instead of the recognized 1895.
The correspondence offers great insight into the thoughts of many American and European artists and writers during the 1930s and 1940s. Rattner, a prolific writer, expressed many of his own thoughts and concerns through his letters, many of which are included in this collection. The vast amount of correspondence include letters from notable figures such as George Biddle, Kay Boyle, Paul Burlin, Norman Carton, Robert Coates, Stuart Davis, Adolph Dehn, Richard de Rochemont, John Dos Passos, Xavier Gonzales, John Howard Griffin, Ramon Guthrie, Robert Gwathmey, Weeks Hall, Stanley W. Hayter, Jean Helion, Hilaire Hiler, Joseph Hirsch, Stefan Hirsch, Carl Holty, Louis Kronberg, Rico Lebrun, Jacques Lipchitz, Earle Ludgin, Thalia Wescott Malcolm, Henry Miller, Joan Miro, Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt, Channing Peake, Henry Varnum Poor, Felix Ruvolo, Waverly Root, Jack Gage Stark, Frank C. Watkins, and Allen Weller, among others.
Rattner was engaged in a wide range of special art projects, and he kept detailed files on these projects. The projects spanned from 1940 through 1973 and included endeavors such as illustrations for Life magazine, stained-glass designs, mosaic and tapestry projects, as well as special paintings such as Victory--Jerusalem the Golden and The Gallows of Baghdad. Rattner's papers also detail the history of a fresco painted by Paul Gauguin entitled Joan d'Arcwhich Rattner purchased in France in 1925.
Rattner's forty year friendship with the writer Henry Miller is chronicled throughout the collection in the forms of correspondence, writings, printed material, phototographs and artwork. Their correspondence ranges from 1938 through 1978 and offers great insight into their relationship. Rattner and Miller's road trip from New York to New Orleans in 1940-1941 is documented in the series entitled Special Projects. Also included in the collection are printed material, such as biographical material on Miller, Miller's writings, literary announcements and reviews; Miller's writings on Rattner; and photographs of Miller.
The gallery files contain correspondence, receipts, and notes regarding the galleries which represented Rattner. Those galleries included the Rosenberg Gallery, the Downtown Gallery, and the Kennedy Gallery. A small series of exhibition files contain material about exhibitions held outside of Rattner's representative galleries.
Rattner's writings proved to be an outlet for his thoughts on painting, his inspirations, frustrations, and sadness. In addition to painting, Rattner was able to express his creativity through writing poetry. Writing also helped him work through his depression over the death of his first wife Bettina Bedwell.
He also kept finely detailed studio notebooks. The original order has been maintained, and they trace the history of almost each painting, drawing, and study attempted by Rattner. The notebooks often provide information regarding whether the work was sent to a gallery or given as a gift. Sometimes they contain correspondence or writings that reveal the inspiration for a work. They have been arranged in chronological order, according to Rattner's own filing system.
Rattner retained receipts for most of his art expenses. Arranged by decade, these receipts show the type of paint, colors, types of paper and brushes that he used.
Rattner also kept many household files and personal financial records. Household files contain insurance records, warranties and rental agreements, while the financial records contain returned checks and bank statements. Some bank statements from Esther Gentle Reproductions are also included. The household files and financial records are not filmed.
The date books and diaries reveal the aspects of daily life and the personal thoughts of Rattner and Esther Gentle. In many cases, Rattner shared his date books and diaries with Gentle. The early diaries are fascinating, especially the 1939 diary that discloses the Rattners' last days in France before escaping Nazism and returning to the United States.
Rettner's scrapbooks span from 1938 to 1952 and contain newspaper and magazine clippings that mention the artist or his work.
The printed material covers a period from 1930s through the 1980s and includes exhibition catalogs, exhibition announcements, clippings, and miscellaneous material such as an autograph book from 1969 and a map of Israel that shows Rattner's travel route. There is a large amount of unfilmed printed material that is listed in the series description.
Writings by others consists of writings on Rattner and other topics.
The collection contains many photographs taken of Rattner and taken by him, as well as photos of family, friends, his studio, travels, and photographs of Rattner's art. Photographs of notable people include Henry Miller, Joan Miro, John Dos Passos, Archibald MacLeish, and Malcolm Cowley, among others.
The amount of Rattner's art work included in the collection is small, but it is significant because it provides examples of his very early work, dating from 1912-1914. Some later studies are also present, as well as a number of random sketches. Color was very important to Rattner, and some of his color studies from the 1940s are also included. Art work by other artists is comprised of some small paintings by Max Weber, a water color by Henry Miller, a painting by Ken Buryd, as well as some work by unknown artists.
In addition to tracing Rattner's life and career, the collection also documents the lives of Rattner's two wives, Bettina Bedwell and Esther Gentle. Both women had profound effects on Rattner's work. Among Bettina Bedwell's papers are her diary, fashion sketches, and correspondence. Esther Gentle's papers include correspondence, writings, as well as papers documenting her business Esther Gentle Reproductions. There are a small amount of papers relating to Allen Leepa, Rattner's stepson with Esther Gentle.
See index for list of correspondents from various series.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into twenty-four series based primarily on type of document or special project. Though concentrated in its own series, additional correspondence is scattered throughout the collection and may be found in special project files, gallery files, exhibition files, studio notebooks, and scrapbooks. The correspondence has been divided into two subseries, one chronological and the other according to Rattner's subject-oriented filing system. Special art projects have been organized by project, and placed in chronological order. The studio notebooks have also been divided into subseries, and all notebook pages maintain Rattner's original order. The first subseries of notebooks reflects Rattner's numbering system, while the second subseries is arranged chronologically. The vast amount of printed material has been divided into subseries, and all of the unfilmed printed material has been organized chronologically at the end of the series.
Within each series, material is arranged either in chronological order, or in some cases, according to Abraham Rattner's own organizational system.
Oversized materials from various series are housed in oversized folders 33-45 and are noted in the Series Description/Container Listing with see also/see references or in the container columns.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Files, 1893-1978, undated (box 1; 0.2 linear ft.)
Series 2: Interviews, 1957-1975, undated (box 1; 7 folders)
Series 3: Correspondence Files, 1933-1978, undated (boxes 1-5; 4.3 linear ft.)
Series 4: Special Projects, 1940-1987, undated (boxes 5-6, ovs 33-35; 1.5 linear ft.)
Series 5: -- Joan d'Arc -- Fresco painted by Paul Gaugin, 1925-1963, undated (box 7, ov 36; 12 folders)
Series 6: Gallery Files, 1942-1975 (boxes 7-8; 1.5 linear ft.)
Series 7: Exhibition Files, 1963-1978 (boxes 7, 9; 9 folders)
Series 8: Writings, 1940-1972, undated (box 9; 0.9 linear ft.)
Series 9: Studio Notebooks, 1935-1975, undated (boxes 10-11; 1.9 linear ft.)
Series 10: Art Expenses, circa 1940-1970 (boxes 11-13; 0.7 linear ft.)
Series 11: Household Files, 1940-1970, undated (box 13; 0.8 linear ft.)
Series 12: Financial Records, 1933-1963 (boxes 13-14; 0.7 linear ft.)
Series 13: Notes and Lists, 1936-1972, undated (box 14; 0.5 linear ft.)
Series 14: Address Books, 1939-1977, undated (box 15; 1.0 linear ft.)
Series 15: Date Books/Diaries, 1937-1977, undated (boxes 16-17; 1.6 linear ft.)
Series 16: Scrapbooks, 1938-1952 (boxes 18-22; 1.5 linear ft.)
Series 17: Printed Material, 1920s-1980s, undated (boxes 23-26; 3.6 linear ft.)
Series 18: Writings by Others, 1945-circa 1980, undated (box 26; 20 folders)
Series 19: Photographs, 1891-1970s, undated (boxes 27-29; 1.6 linear ft.)
Series 20: Works of Art by Rattner, 1912-1914, 1940-1967, undated (box 30, ovs 37-44; 2.4 linear ft.)
Series 21: Works of Art by Others, undated (box 30, ov 45; 7 folders)
Series 22: Bettina Bedwell Papers, 1932-1947, undated (box 31; 0.4 linear ft.)
Series 23: Esther Gentle Papers, 1921-1984, undated (boxes 31-32; 1.3 linear ft.)
Series 24: Allen Leepa Papers, 1952-1969, undated (box 32; 8 folders)
Biographical Note:
Abraham Rattner was born in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1895. His parents immigrated to the United States to escape antisemitism in Czarist Russia. He was the second of six children, including his eldest brother Louis, younger brothers Manuel (Manny) and Harry, and his younger sisters Rose and Jennie.
Rattner's parents encouraged him to paint at a young age, and as he grew up, painting became a part of his daily life. He graduated from Poughkeepsie High School in 1912 and left to study architecture at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. At night, he took art courses at the Corcoran School of Art. He soon became a full-time art student, and applied for a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He was accepted in 1919 and supported himself by doing illustrations for Philadelphia newspapers.
In 1917, World War I interrupted his studies. Rattner entered the United States Army in France where he became Sergeant of camouflage section, 40th Engineers. Camouflage, reflecting aspects of modern art in its form and pattern, made use of Rattner's artistic skills. During the second battle of the Marne, Rattner injured his back and returned to the States with an ailment that would affect him for the rest of his life.
Rattner returned to the Pennsylvania Academy and was awarded the Cresson scholarship to study art in Europe. He traveled for one year, then settled in Paris for the next twenty years. Those twenty years in Paris became the most formative for Rattner because he was able to study and experiment with Futurism, Cubism, and Expressionism. Post World War I Paris was the center of modern culture for Americans disillusioned by the destruction of the war. Expatriate writers, poets, and artists were searching for a culture that shunned the traditions of the past and exchanged ideas with one another at the lively Paris cafes and salons.
In 1924, Abraham Rattner married Bettina Bedwell, an American art student and fashion illustrator. Bettina became the Paris fashion correspondent for the New York News-Chicago Tribune Syndicate. In 1927, Rattner was a member of the Minotaure group, along with Picasso, Miro, Giacometti, Le Corbusier, Braque, Dali, and Reverdy. He also illustrated an article for Jon Dos Passos in Verve magazine in 1931.
Rattner's first one-man show was in 1935 at the Galerie Bonjean in Paris, which was followed by one-man shows at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York, the Arts Club of Chicago, and the Courvoisier Gallery in San Francisco.
The threat of Hitler and Nazism forced Rattner and his wife to flee Paris in 1939. Arriving in New York in early 1940, Rattner agreed to take a trip by car with the writer Henry Miller. Their route took them from New York to New Iberia, Louisiana via the East coast and Southern states. Their mission was to rediscover America, with Henry Miller writing about their experiences and Rattner sketching the scenery. Rattner's friendship with Henry Miller was an important one that lasted throughout his life.
During the 1940s, Rattner's art was widely exhibited. In 1941, he joined the Rosenberg Gallery in New York, and remained with the gallery for fourteen years. He won awards for his work such as the Temple Gold Medal in 1945 and second prize in the Pepsi-Cola Fourth Annual Art Competition in 1946. In 1947, Bettina Bedwell suddenly died due to a kidney infection, sending Rattner into a spiral of grief and depression. To escape depression, from 1947-1949, he taught at the New School for Social Research in New York.
In 1949, Rattner married Esther Gentle, an artist and business woman who ran an art reproductions business. In 1951, the Rattners moved to Rome where he worked as Artist in Residence at the American Academy. The next year, they moved to Illinois where he was the Artist in Residence at the University of Illinois. Ratter was awarded first prize in 1953 at the 23rd Corcoran Biennial Exhibition and also served as Vice-President of Artists' Equity. In 1956, Rattner was the Distinguished Visiting Professor at Michigan State University, and along with his stepson, Allen Leepa, established an art school on Long Island. In 1957, Rattner left the Rosenberg Gallery to join the Downtown Gallery. He felt he would professionally profit from representation by the well-known Edith Halpert; however, the next twelve years reflected a tumultuous relationship between the artist and the gallery owner.
In 1957, Rattner reached out to other forms of art and design. He experimented with mosaic, tapestry and stained-glass. He designed mosaic columns and tapestries for the Fairmont Temple Anche Chesed in Cleveland and a mosaic for a friary and college in Centerville, Ohio. His stained-glass designs were highly celebrated and respected. His most famous stained-glass piece was the window for the Chicago Loop Synagogue. For this piece, Rattner spent two years traveling to Paris to design and supervise every process involved in the design and installation of the window.
Rattner felt that while his paintings during the 1940s and 1950s were romantic and self-reflective, the 1960s marked a new inspirational period in his work. His painting reflected religious comment, bringing Rattner back in touch with his Jewish heritage, as well as reflecting a sense of social protest. In 1968, Rattner exhibited his painting Victory--Jerusalem the Golden to honor the celebration of Israel's twentieth anniversary of independence. It was also in 1968 that Rattner left the Downtown Gallery for the Kennedy Gallery. In 1969, he painted The Gallows of Baghdad series as a protest to the hanging of nine Jews by Iraqi authorities.
The 1970s marked a time of many exhibitions. In 1976, the National Collection of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. sponsored an exhibition of his designs for stained-glass entitled "...and let there be light". Also, from 1976 through 1977, "Our America" exhibited Rattner's drawings from his 1940 U.S.A. trip with Henry Miller in England and in the United States. In 1977, Michigan State University bestowed upon him the Honorary Degree for Humanity. On February 14, 1978, Abraham Rattner died due to heart failure.
Missing Title
1893 -- Born June 8th in Poughkeepsie, New York.
1912 -- Graduated from Poughkeepsie High School.
1914-1917 -- Student at George Washington University, Corcoran School of Art and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
1917 -- Enlisted in the United States Army in France as Sergeant, camouflage section, 40th Engineers. Fought at Seicheprey, second battle of the Marne, and Chateau-Thierry.
1919 -- Returned to Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Awarded Cresson traveling fellowship to Europe.
1920 -- Traveled in France, Spain, England, Belgium and Holland.
1921 -- Art student in Paris at Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Grand Chaumiere, and Academie Ranson.
1922 -- Lived and painted in Giverny, France.
1923 -- Returned to Paris.
1924 -- Married Bettina Bedwell, Paris fashion correspondent for the New York News-Chicago Tribune news syndicate. Exhibited at Salon d'Automne and Salon des Independants.
1927 -- Member of the Minotaure group in Paris.
1931 -- Illustrated article, "Fire," by John Dos Passos for Verve magazine.
1935 -- First one-person show at Galerie Bonjean, Paris. French government purchased Card Party for Museum of Impressionism, The Louvre.
1936 -- One-person show at Julien Levy Gallery, New York (also 1939, 1941); Arts Club of Chicago; Courvoisier Gallery, San Francisco (also 1941).
1940 -- Returned to the United States following Nazi invasion of France. Traveled with Henry Miller from New York to New Iberia, Louisiana.
1941 -- One-person shows: Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles; Faulkner Memorial Art Gallery, Santa Barbara (also 1943); Paul Rosenberg Gallery, New York (also 1942, 1944, 1946, 1948-1950, 1952, 1956); Studio, New York.
1945 -- Awarded the Temple Gold Medal from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Wrote "An American in Paris" for Magazine of Art.
1946 -- Awarded second prize at the Pepsi-Cola Fourth Annual Art Competition.
1947 -- Death of Bettina Bedwell Rattner.
1948 -- Taught at the New School for Social Research, New York.
1949 -- Married Esther Gentle. Visiting artist at Yale University and at the Brooklyn Museum School. Awarded honorable mention at the Carnegie Institute Exhibition of American Painting.
1950 -- Awarded the Purchase Prize at the University of Illinois Biennial Exhibition.
1951 -- Artist in residence at the American Academy in Rome.
1952 -- Artist in residence at the University of Illinois.
1953 -- Awarded first prize at the 23rd Corcoran Biennial Exhibition. Served as Vice-President of Artists' Equity.
1954 -- Taught at the Art Students League. Panelist at the Design Conference in Aspen, Colorado.
1955 -- Exhibited drawings at the Chicago Art Institute.
1956 -- Distinguished Visiting Professor at Michigan State University. Established an art school in East Hampton and Sag Harbor, Long Island.
1957 -- Designed mosaic columns and tapestries for the Fairmont Temple Anche Chesed in Cleveland. One-person show at Downtown Gallery, New York (also 1958-1967).
1958 -- Designed mosaic wall for St. Leonard's Friary and College in Centerville, Ohio. Designed stained-glass windows for the Flint Institute of Arts, Michigan. Began designs for stained-glass window for the Chicago Loop Synagogue. Exhibited with Alexander Calder at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Elected member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Awarded the Butler Memorial Prize at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
1959 -- Retrospective exhibition circulated by the American Federation of Arts. Exhibited at the Whitney Museum of Art.
1964 -- Exhibited at the Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland.
1968 -- Exhibited painting entitled Victory--Jerusalem the Golden at the celebration of Israel's 20th anniversary of independence.
1969 -- One-person shows: Kennedy Galleries, New York; Galerie Weil, Paris ( Baghdad Hangings), Galerie Belgique, Brussels ( Baghdad Hangings).
1970 -- Film commissioned by ABC-TV entitled "The Long Prayer of Abraham Rattner."
1972 -- Beggar's Opera lithographs exhibited at Circle Gallery, Chicago.
1976 -- Displayed stained-glass on religious themes with the National Collection of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C.
1977 -- "Our America" exhibition in England and the United States. Awarded Honorary Degree for Humanity from Michigan State University.
1978 -- Died on February 14th.
Index: List of Major Correspondents in Various Series:
These correspondents will be found in the following series: Correspondence, Special Projects, Gallery Files, Studio Notebooks, and Scrapbooks: Edward Albee, 1928-
John Anderson, 1904-
Bettina Bedwell, 1889-1947
Carl Beiber
George Belmont
George Biddle, 1885-1973
Kay Boyle, 1902-1992
Brassai, 1899-
Paul Burlin, 1886-1969
McClure Capps "Mac"
Norman Carton, 1908-1980
Jack Chapman
G. Alan Chidsey
Frederick Childs
Robert Coates, "Bob" 1897-1973
Malcolm Cowley, 1898-1989
Salvador Dali 1904-1989
Paul Damaz
Bernard Davis
Stuart Davis, 1894-1964
Adolph Dehn, 1895-1968
Richard de Rochemont
John Dos Passos, 1896-1970
Armand and Suzi D'usseau
Rene Lefebore Foinet
Gisele Freund, 1912-
Emily Genauer, 1911-
Esther Gentle, 1905-1984
Alberto Giacometti, 1901-1966
Xavier Gonzales, 1898-1993
John Howard Griffin
Ramon Guthrie, 1896-1973
Robert Gwathmey 1903-1988
Weeks Hall
Edith Gregor Halpert, 1900-1970
Stanley W. Hayter, 1901-1988
Nathan Hecht
Jean Helion, 1904-1987
William H. Henrick
Henry Herschkvitz
Hilaire Hiler, 1898-1966
Joseph Hirsch "Joe," 1910-1981
Stefan Hirsch, 1889-1964
Carl Holty, 1900-1973
Etienne Hubert
Arno Hummucher
Frederick I. Kann "Fred," 1886-
L.J. Konigsberg "Leib"
Louis Kronberg, 1872-1965
Alexandra Laks
Rico Lebrun (Fredrico), 1900-1964
Allen Leepa, 1919-
Isadore Levy
Julian Levy, 1906-1981
Jacques Lipchitz, 1891-1973
Ward Lockwood, 1894-1963
Jean Louste
Earle Ludgin, 1898-1981
Thalia Wescott Malcolm, 1888-
Reginald Marsh, 1898-1954
Archibald McLeish, 1892-
Henry Miller, 1891-1980
Joan Miro, 1893-1983
Gloria Nardin
Anais Nin, 1903-1977
Bror Julius Olsson Nordfeldt "B.J.O.," 1878-1955
Hugh O'Neill
Channing Peake, 1910-1989
Gabor Peferdi
Irving Penn
Peter Pollack, 1911-1978
Henry Varnum Poor 1888-1970
Andre Raizorkacs
Robert Rey
Maurice Reynal
Raymond Reynal
Hans Richter, 1888-1976
Edward Roditi
Shelden Rodman, 1909-
Waverly Root, 1903-1982
Felix Emmanuele Ruvolo, 1912-
Frank Sedlak
Paul Shapiro
Jack Gage Stark, 1882-1950
Barrie Stavis
Ike Stoeffle
Benjamin Ellis Tepper
David Turnbull
Alfredo Valente
Siegfried Wang
Frank C. Watkins (Franklin Chenault), 1894-1972
Allen Weller, 1907-
Separated Materials note:
Loaned material, including notebooks, writings, and some correspondence, were returned to Abraham Rattner after microfilming. This material is now part of the Abraham Rattner notes collection at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art at St. Petersburg College. Loaned material is available on reels D203-D205, D205A-D205B, and reel 1212, but is not described in this finding aid.
Provenance:
The collection was given to the Archives of American Art in stages by Abraham Rattner 1972-1983, by Esther Gentle 1986-1987, and by Gene Allen in 1992. The donated material that was previously filmed has been integrated and refilmed includes reels D203 and D205C-D205D. The material found on reels D205A-D205B was loaned by Rattner and the material found on reel 1212 was loaned by his sister, Jennie Allen.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use of unmicrofilmed portion requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Research material on Jacob Eichholtz; and letters.
REELS 3668-3678: Beal's research papers for her book on her great grandfather, painter, Jacob Eichholtz. Arranged in subject files and include research notes; correspondence; printed material; typescripts of the text; and two exhibition catalogs. Also includes photographs and negatives of portraits and paintings by Eichholtz; and publications (including the one Beal wrote) on Pennsylvania art and artists.
REEL 1079: 34 letters from Charles Burchfield and 6 letters from Henry Varnum Poor to Beal.
Biographical / Historical:
Art historian, patron; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Jacob Eichholtz was a 19th century painter. Beal is his great granddaughter. She wrote a book about him, JACOB EICHHOLTZ, 1776-1842: PORTRAIT PAINTER OF PENNSYLVANIA, published in 1969.
Related Materials:
Documents of Rebecca J. Beal are also located at LancasterHistory.
Provenance:
Donated 1976 and 1988 by Rebecca J. Beal.
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.
1.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Place:
Ogunquit (Me.) -- Description and Travel
Date:
1866-1939
Scope and Contents:
Biographical material, correspondence, writings, sketchbooks, art works, a scrapbook, printed material, photographs, negatives and videos relating to Charles Woodbury's travels, artwork and teachings.
REEL 1255: Biographical material includes a brief handwritten chronology and an expanded autobiographical account; correspondence is with J. Eastman Chase, George Wharton Edwards, Benjamin Kimball, William James, Hugh H. Breckenridge, Cyrus Dallin, Charles Curran, John Taylor Arms and others; writings include six typescripts of Ogunquit School Saturday morning lectures and criticisms of students' work, and an "exhibition book," containing handwritten lists of paintings exhibited and prices; art work includes drawings, seven sketchbooks, and seven oil paintings; and a scrapbook, containing clippings, photographs, programs, catalogs, announcements and memorabilia.
REEL 1271: Fifteen photographs, ca.1866-1930s, of Woodbury, the exterior and interior of his Ogunquit home, and his studio.
UNMICROFILMED: Correspondence includes numerous letters from Charles and Marcia Woodbury to Woodbury's mother while the couple travelled abroad and in Canada.
Handwritten and typed drafts for the books Paintings and Personal Equations (with notes from this series of lectures) and Putting on Paint and a chapter on The Public; a sketch of an artist at work; two photographs of Woodbury's Ogunquit home; three photographic negatives of Woodbury, seven negatives his outdoor art classes at Ogunquit, and seven of a small child. Artwork includes three oil studies; a sketchbook titled Landskape, 1892. Printed material includes clippings, a photocopy of an article on Woodbury from The American Magazine of Art, and an exhibition announcement.
A VHS video of scenes from Ogunquit, 1939, transferred from 16mm motion picture, and a VHS video published by MIT using the same footage as well as footage of Woodbury's paintings, used as a video exhibit entitled Charles H. Woodbury N.A.: Artist and Teacher, 1864-1940, narrated by Noel Harrison.
Biographical / Historical:
Marine painter, instructor, writer, etcher, illustrator; Ogunquit, Me. Born in Lynn, Mass. Studied engineering at MIT (1882-1886) while continuing to paint and exhibit. Upon graduation he began teaching art. Woodbury married a pupil, Marcia Oakes, in 1890 and travelled often to Europe to paint, frequently to Holland. In 1897, he built a studio in Ogunquit, Maine, and began offering summer classes in 1898.
His successful school turned Ogunquit into a major art colony. Woodbury wrote three books on the subject of teaching art; one with his teaching collaborator, art patron Elizabeth Ward Perkins.
Provenance:
Material on reels 1255 and 1271 was lent for microfilming by Woodbury's son David in August 1977, and was subsequently donated in 1986 by his widow, Ruth, along with unmicrofilmed material, with the exception of the drawings (frames 747-775) and the scrapbook (frames 1333-1471), which she retained. The videos were donated 1989 by Woodbury's grandson, Peter.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm.
The Cass Technical High School yearbooks consist of volumes created by the art department entitled Temper Mental. Found are volumes one through seven dating from 1929 to 1936 and measuring 0.2 linear feet. Volumes may contain original prints, drawings, photographs, reproductions of works of art, writings, and information about the students' yearly activities and awards, and Departmental events.
Scope and Contents:
The Cass Technical High School yearbooks consist of volumes created by the art department entitled Temper Mental. Found are volumes one through seven dating from 1929 to 1936 and measuring 0.2 linear feet. Volumes may contain original prints, drawings, photographs, reproductions of works of art, writings, and information about the students' yearly activities and awards, and Departmental events.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Cass Technical High School is a public high school in Detroit, Michigan founded in 1907.
The yearbooks were kept by Marion Kenney, a metalworking student at Cass. Her name appears in the 1929 issue as the recipient of the first prize in metalwork for the National High School Art Exhibition in Pittsburgh. Among other Cass Tech High School graduates were Harry Bertoia and John Carroll.
Provenance:
Donated 1978 by Marion Kenney Eagen, who attended Cass Technical High School.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The papers of curator Nan Rosenthal measure 26.6 linear feet and 17.1 gigabytes and date from circa 1940-2013. There is a small amount of biographical material; correspondence, mostly letters from her first husband Otto Piene; project and research files encompassing her work as a curator and historian; as well as teaching files; and thousands of slides organized by subject. Among Rosenthal's research and project files are sound recordings and transcripts from dozens of interviews Rosenthal conducted with artists including Howard Hodgkin, Anselm Kiefer, friends and family of Yves Klein, Robert Rauschenberg and friends, George Rickey, Claus Oldenburg, and Sangbin Im. In addition to paper records, the collection also includes a large number of sound recordings, video recordings, and born digital material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of curator Nan Rosenthal measure 26.6 linear feet and 17.1 gigabytes and date from circa 1940-2013. There is a small amount of biographical material; correspondence, mostly letters from her first husband Otto Piene; project and research files encompassing her work as a curator and historian; as well as teaching files; and thousands of slides organized by subject. Among Rosenthal's research and project files are sound recordings and transcripts from dozens of interviews Rosenthal conducted with artists including Howard Hodgkin, Anselm Kiefer, friends and family of Yves Klein, Robert Rauschenberg and friends, George Rickey, Claus Oldenburg, and Sangbin Im. In addition to paper records, the collection also includes a large number of sound recordings, video recordings, and born digital material.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as five series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1950-2010 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1965-2012 (0.7 linear feet)
Series 3: Project and Research Files, circa 1940-2013 (20 linear feet; Box 1-21; 17.1 gigabytes; ER01-ER14)
Series 4: Teaching Files, 1973-2002 (2.2 linear feet; Box 21-24)
Series 5: Slides, 1970s-1990s (3.3 linear feet; Box 24-27)
Biographical / Historical:
Nan Rosenthal (1927-2014) was a curator and art historian in New York City and Washington, D.C. who specialized in twentieth-century modern and contemporary art. Born in New York, Rosenthal attended Smith College before earning her bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College in 1959. After college, she worked as a journalist for a number of publications including Art in America and the New York Post.
Rosenthal received her PhD from Harvard University in 1976, completing her dissertation titled, "The Blue World of Yves Klein." After her graduate studies, Rosenthal taught at Princeton University, New York University, and University of California, Santa Cruz.
In 1985, Rosenthal became a curator of twentieth-century art at the National Gallery of Art. She organized several important exhibitions including The Drawings of Jasper Johns (1990), acquired works by Alberto Giacometti and Barnett Newman, and began the lecture series "Conversations with Artists."
Rosenthal then joined the staff of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1993 as senior consultant of modern and contemporary art, where she organized a number of other important exhibitions including Anselm Kiefer: Works on Paper 1969-1993 (1998), Robert Rauschenberg: Combines (2005), Jasper Johns: Gray (2008), and others featuring Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollack, and Judith Rothschild. She retired from the Metropolitan Museum in 2008.
In addition to her curatorial activities, Rosenthal authored several books and catalogs including George Rickey (1977), Robert Rauschenberg (1990), and Terry Winters: Printed Works (2001).
Rosenthal was married to the German artist Otto Piene from 1965-1973 and went by Nan R. Piene or Nan Rosenthal Piene. She remarried in 1990 to her second husband, Henry Benning Cortesi.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Nan Rosenthal conducted by Judith Olch Richards in 2010.
Provenance:
The collections was donated to the Archives of American Art in 2016 by the Nan Rosenthal and Henry B. Cortesi Estate via executor Katherine C. Armstrong.
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.
Use 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 -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The Federal Art Project, Photographic Division collection dates from circa 1920-1965, with the bulk of the records spanning the active years of the Federal Art Project (FAP), 1935-1942. The collection comprises 12.4 linear feet of mostly photographic prints and negatives that document primarily artwork produced by artists employed by the FAP. A smaller number of photographs also document other programs of the FAP, such as art classes and community centers, exhibitions by children and adults, artwork installed in public buildings, project divisions, and demonstrations of art processes by FAP artists.
Scope and Content Note:
The Federal Art Project (FAP), Photographic Division collection dates from circa 1920-1965, with the bulk of the records spanning the active years of the FAP: 1935-1942. The collection comprises 12.4 linear feet of photographic prints and negatives, including photos of FAP artists and the artwork created by them, and other activities of the FAP in communities throughout New York City and other states. Photographers include Andrew Herman, Sol Horn, David Robbins, Leo Seltzer, and others.
Artist files comprise three-quarters of the collection and consist primarily of photographs of artwork, as well as scattered photos of artists at work, including: Charles Alston, Luis Arenal, Richmond Barthe, John Benson, Andrew Berger, Lucille Blanch, Lucienne Bloch, Ilya Bolotowsky, Luise Brann, Selma Burke, Letterio Calapai, Eugene Chodorow, Francis Criss, Stuart Davis, Adolf Dehn, Virginia Dehn, Jose de Rivera, George Pearse Ennis, Philip Evergood, Eugenie Gershoy, Bertram Goodman, Arshile Gorky, Marion Greenwood, Philip Guston, Donal Hord, Joseph Hovell, William Karp, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Edward Laning, Julian Levi, Audrey McMahon, Elizabeth Olds, Anton Refregier, Will Shuster, William Zorach, and others.
The remainder of the collection consists of files documenting related activities and programs of the FAP, arranged by subject. The bulk of these files document the activities of the New York City FAP, including free art classes and art exhibitions for adults and children, exhibitions at the Harlem Art Center, and the work of FAP branches including the Easel Division, the Graphic Arts Division, and the Poster Division.
Other subjects documented include federal and community art centers in eleven states, most extensively Washington State; other WPA projects such as the Federal Theater Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Writers' Project; buildings decorated with FAP artwork; art processes as demonstrated by FAP artists; special events; and people involved with the FAP, including director Holger Cahill.
One folder contains images that appear to have been taken by Berenice Abbott for the exhibition Changing New York (1935), for the Museum of the City of New York in collaboration with the WPA.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 2 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Artist Files, circa 1920-1965 (Boxes 1-24; 9.6 linear feet)
Series 2: Subject Files, 1934-1956 (Boxes 25-32; 2.8 linear feet)
Historical Note:
The Federal Art Project (FAP) was one of the Depression-era work-relief programs of the Federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). The program was founded in August 1935 to provide employment for artists and to implement visual arts programs in local communities across the country.
Together with the Federal Music Project, the Federal Theater Project, and the Federal Writers' Project, the FAP formed part of the WPA's Federal Project No. 1. The WPA became the Work Projects Administration in 1939 when it fell under the administrative hand of the newly created Federal Works Agency; concurrently the Federal Art Project was officially re-named the Federal Art Program.
Under the direction of Holger Cahill, the goals of the FAP fell into three main areas: production of artwork, art education through art classes and community centers, and art research through the Index of American Design. During the course of the program, artists created murals and other works of art for many non-Federal government buildings such as schools, hospitals, and libraries. Separate photographic divisions were set up in several states, most notably in New York City, to document the work of artists employed by the program, activities in art education such as classes for children and adults, community center outreach programs, and other "Federal 1" projects, including the Federal Theater and Music Projects. Employees of the photographic division were also involved in other assignments, such as creating exhibitions and photo murals.
The Federal Art Project ended in 1943.
Related Material:
Among the holdings of the Archives of American Art are related collections, including the Federal Art Project of the Work Projects Administration records, 1935-1948. Additional FAP records are held by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington D.C.
Provenance:
The collection was anonymously donated to the Archives of American Art in the late 1950s.
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.
The Balcomb and Gertrude Greene papers, circa 1880s-2009, bulk circa 1905-1990, measure 9.8 linear feet. Balcomb Greene's career as a painter, educator, and writer - and to a lesser extent his personal life - is documented by biographical material, letters, subject files,writings, artwork, audio-visual recordings, printed material, and photographs. Documentation about sculptor Gertrude Greene, from 1926 until her death in 1956, consists of printed material, photographs, two letters to her, and a brief handwritten list of paintings and constructions.
Scope and Content Note:
The Balcomb and Gertrude Greene papers, circa 1880s-2009, bulk circa 1905-1990, measure 9.8 linear feet. Balcomb Greene's career as a painter, educator, and writer - and to a lesser extent his personal life - is documented by biographical material, letters, subject files,writings, artwork, audio-visual recordings, printed material, and photographs. Documentation about sculptor Gertrude Greene, from 1926 until her death in 1956, consists of printed material, photographs, two letters to her, and a brief handwritten list of paintings and constructions.
All biographical material relates to Balcomb Greene. Letters are almost exclusively incoming letters; two copies of outgoing letters written by Terryn Greene are included. Those addressed to Balcomb Greene regard articles, his will, an appraisal of a painting by him, and greeting cards with notes from friends. The two letters addressed to Gertrude Greene are photocopies. One from A. E. Gallatin concerns her work selected for the permanent collection of the Museum of Living Art at New York University; the other, a fragment from an unidentified correspondent, is about American Abstract Artists dues and exhibitions. The letters addressed to Terryn Greene concern her husband's career or mention him.
Subject files relate to activities and topics of interest to Greene or aspects of Greene's career; some concern estate matters. Of particular interest are: "Balcomb and Gertrude Greene in the WPA," consisting of Terryn Greene's research correspondence on the subject; and a file documenting a Judith Rothschild Foundation grant for conservation of paintings damaged in the 1996 fire that destroyed Balcomb Greene's studio.
Writings are by Balcomb Greene, Gertrude Greene, and other authors. Balcomb's writings include articles, novels, short stories, poems, journal entries, lecture notes, student writings, and a thesis. Gertrude Greene's writings consist of a handwritten list of paintings and constructions, noting the dimensions, date, and price of each piece. The writings of other authors are about Balcomb and Gertrude Greene. They include notes for an interview, a poem, student papers, and a thesis.
Art work consists of a collage probably by Balcomb Greene, and a sketchbook containing two of his drawings dated January 1976. Another drawing is signed [H?.] R. Balcomb Greene's register of paintings documents each completed painting on a separate sheet containing a small photograph or sketch, title, date of execution, and code or negative number, along with notes relating to exhibitions, loans, and ownership; some sheets bear the notation "destroyed." The register is incomplete, and the surviving portion bears evidence of the 1996 fire that gutted his studio. The least damaged portion documents works from 1941-1948, 1963-1964, and 1980-1982; the remaining part of the register consists of partial pages that are missing titles, dates of execution, or other salient information.
Exhibition catalogs and articles from newspapers and periodicals represent the majority of the printed material about or mentioning Balcomb and Gertrude Greene. In addition, there are articles by Balcomb published in a number of periodicals. Museum publications, annual reports, bulletins and newsletters mention the Greenes. Also found are issues of Art Front, 1934-1938 (Balcomb served on the editorial board and contributed articles), and his well-used copy of Modern Art by Katherine S. Drier.
Audio-visual recordings consist of interviews with Balcomb Greene and a "McCarthy tape" (Balcomb and Terryn helped organize "Montauk's Day for McCarthy"). Among the video recordings is a videocassette of Greene's 1990 memorial service.
Photographs are of art work, events, exhibition installations, miscellaneous subjects, people, and places. Art work of both Balcomb and Gertrude is documented. Among the photographs of people are images of Balcomb Greene, Gertrude Greene, Terryn Greene, family, friends and other individuals (identified and unidentified). Greene family photographs, some surviving from the 19th century, portray three generations. Photographs of events include documentation of the damage caused by the 1996 fire that destroyed Balcomb Greene's studio. Installation photographs document exhibitions that featured Balcomb Greene, the couple, and Gertrude Greene. Of particular interest is a view of Gertrude's contribution to the American Abstract Artists' 1937 show at Squibb Gallery. Miscellaneous subjects are Greene's Rolls Royce and pets. Places recorded include Greene's boyhood homes and churches, the house Balcomb built at Montauk, Gertrude's studio, and travel pictures of Europe and Asia. Also found are a small number of negatives, 35-mm slides, and color transparencies of art work, miscellaneous subjects, and people.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1926-1981 (Box 1; 0.2 linear ft.)
Series 2: Letters, 1936-2005 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 3: Subject Files, 1939-2008 (Box 1; 0.2 linear ft.)
Series 4: Writings, circa 1927-1984 (Boxes 1-3; 2.1 linear ft.)
Series 5: Art Work, 1976 (Box 3; 2 folders)
Series 6: Register of Paintings, undated (Box 3; 0.4 linear ft.)
Series 7: Printed Material, circa 1930-2009 (Boxes 4-7, 11, OV 12; 3.9 linear ft.)
Series 8: Audio-visual Recordings, 1963-1990 (Box 7; 0.3 linear ft.)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1880s-1996 (Boxes 7-11; 2.6 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Balcomb (1904-1990) and his wife Gertrude (1904-1956) were painters in New York, N.Y. John Wesley Greene (known professionally as Balcomb Greene), born May 22, 1904 in Millville, New York, was the youngest child of Reverend Bertram Stillman Greene, a Methodist minister. After his wife died in 1907, Reverend Greene and the children moved several times when he accepted assignments at small town churches in Iowa, South Dakota, and Colorado.
The recipient of a scholarship for sons of Methodist ministers, Greene entered Syracuse University in 1922, intending to become a minister. He studied philosophy, psychology, literature, and art, eventually deciding to pursue a career as a writer. When visiting the Metropolitan Museum during his senior year, Greene was introduced to Gertrude Glass by her cousin. They married soon after his graduation in 1926.
The newlyweds moved to Austria where he had a fellowship to study psychology at the University of Vienna. Greene was very interested in Freud's work and hoped to become his student; although he attended Freud's lectures and met the eminent psychologist once, this ambition was not realized. After returning to New York in 1927, Greene began studying for a master's degree in English literature at Columbia University. He specialized in the novel, and wrote three (none were published). When his thesis about prostitutes as portrayed in seventeenth century literature was submitted, Greene's major professor was on sabbatical; although the subject had been approved, the interim replacement rejected it as unsuitable. Greene left Columbia without obtaining a degree.
Greene then accepted a position at Dartmouth College where he taught literature from 1928-1931. The Greenes spent summers together in the city and visited frequently throughout the academic year. He continued writing and in 1930 began painting. Because there were already two artists named John Green then in New York, Greene soon adopted the name Balcomb (his maternal grandmother's maiden name). Although he was known as Balcomb for the remainder of his life, his name was never changed legally.
Balcomb Greene's first solo exhibition was held at Dartmouth College in 1931. After his resignation from the Dartmouth faculty in 1931, Balcomb and Gertrude spent a year in Paris. She found a studio and set to work. He planned to write, but was distracted by the desire to paint. He began independent study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and in 1932 exhibited his work in Paris. Throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s Greene produced very flat geometric abstractions, adding biomorphic and anthropomorphic forms over time. By the mid-1940s, he found himself bored by pure abstraction and introduced figures, focusing on mass and space rather than line.
Greene quickly established himself as an artist, developed a wide circle of friends and was recognized as a leader of the abstract movement. He and Gertrude were both drawn to political causes that affected artists; along with friends they began the Unemployed Artists' Group (which later became the Artists' Union) and staged public demonstrations demanding government assistance so that artists would not be completely dependent on private patronage. He published articles in Art Front, the magazine of the Artist's Union, and served on its editorial board between 1935 and 1936. Balcomb and Gertrude Greene were among the founding members of American Abstract Artists; he served as the group's first chairman.
Like many artists during the Great Depression, Balcomb Greene found it very difficult to maintain a steady income. During this period he held many different jobs, among them: writing for the sensationalist newspapers Broadway Brevities and Graft, serving on the crew of a schooner searching for pirate gold in the South Pacific, and working at the non-profit Emily Francis Contemporary Gallery. Eventually, he secured a teaching position with the Federal Art Project. He later switched to the mural section where assignments included painting murals for the Williamsburg Housing Project in Brooklyn and the Federal Hall of Medicine at the 1939 World's Fair, and designing a stained glass window for a school in the Bronx.
Because he did not want to support his career by teaching painting, in 1940 Balcomb Greene began graduate work in art history at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. He earned a master's degree in 1942 and that same year began teaching history of art and culture at Carnegie Institute of Technology, a position he held until 1959. Gertrude set up a studio in their Pittsburgh home, but continued to maintain her New York studio, commuting between the two cities until war conditions made the trip too difficult. They returned to New York each summer, and in 1947 bought property on Long Island at Montauk Point where Balcomb constructed a modern house of cement blocks.
In addition to teaching and painting, Greene continued to write. Several articles about art and philosophy appeared between 1936 and 1950 in publications such as Art Front, College Art Journal, Art News, and Art Journal. He also wrote many poems. During his tenure at Carnegie Tech Balcomb Greene worked on but did not complete a book tentatively titled "The Villain and the School" and formulated ideas for another.
While Gertrude was terminally ill with cancer, and after her death in 1956, Balcomb reduced his teaching commitments, staying in Pittsburgh for only one semester each year. After retiring in 1959, he painted at Montauk and traveled. While in Paris, Greene met journalist Terryn Trimpen, whom he married in 1961.
Balcomb Greene was represented by Bertha Schaefer Gallery, Saidenberg Gallery and ACA Gallery, in New York, and by the Harmon-Meek Gallery in Naples, Florida. He exhibited widely, participating in the annual exhibitions of the Whitney Museum of American Art and Art Institute of Chicago, and in group shows at the Walker Art Center, Brooklyn Museum, and other venues. Solo shows included exhibitions at the Forum Gallery, ACA Gallery, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York; Fairweather-Hardin Gallery, Chicago; and the Oceanographic Institute and Harmon-Meeks Gallery in Florida. Greene's work is in the permanent collections of many museums, among them the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
During the last five years of his life, Balcomb Greene was in frail health and unable to paint. He died November 12, 1990 at his Montauk Point home.
Gertrude Glass (who worked as an artist using her married name Gertrude Greene) was the daughter of Siegfried and Berta Glass, prosperous Latvian immigrants who owned a Brooklyn department store. At age 18, Gertrude and an older sister left home and organized a pre-school. From 1924 to 1928, Gertrude attended evening sculpture classes at the newly opened Leonardo Da Vinci Art School, a very traditional school in Manhattan that offered free instruction. Although the school itself was conservative, there Gertrude met and identified with a group of fairly radical students who were interested in the abstract art then emerging.
Glass and Greene were married in 1926 and spent the next year in Vienna. Upon returning to New York, she continued to make sculpture. Once they relocated to New Hampshire Gertrude was able to have her own sculpture studio. New Hampshire did not suit her and she gradually drifted back to the art world of New York. After Balcomb resigned from the Dartmouth faculty in 1931, the couple spent a year in Paris. They met many artists and frequented galleries where they saw the latest contemporary art. Gertrude worked on her sculpture and Balcomb, who had planned to write, began concentrating on painting; this was the only time the two shared a studio. When they moved to Pittsburgh, Gertrude kept her New York studio, expecting to commute regularly between the two cities, but war constraints soon made that plan impractical.
Gertrude Greene was active in liberal political causes, especially ones that affected artists and encouraged the formation of WPA programs to help struggling artists. She was an active member of the Federation of Painters and Sculptors, the Artists' Union, and a founding member of American Abstract Artists. As AAA's first paid employee, Gertrude served as gallery attendant. Before moving to Pittsburgh, both Greenes were very active on AAA committees, worked to further acceptance of abstract art, and picketed on many occasions. Typical of AAA actions was a 1937 demonstration against Museum of Modern Art exhibition policies that gave short shrift to abstract work by American artists.
Gertrude Greene was among the very earliest of American artists - quite possibly the first - to produce non-objective relief sculptures in the early 1930s. Over time, she absorbed Cubist tradition and ideas of the Russian Constructivists, synthesizing them into her own work. By the 1940s, she had become interested in Mondrian and Neo-Plasticism, influences that are reflected in her constructions of the period. Her final sculpture was produced in 1946 and for the remainder of her career she focused exclusively on abstract painting.
She participated in many group exhibitions, the first of which was at Wildenstein Gallery in 1945. Grace Borgenicht Gallery presented the first solo exhibition of Gertrude Greene's work in 1952, and another was held at the Bertha Schaefer Gallery in 1955. In 1982, there was a major retrospective of her work at ACA Gallery. Gertrude Greene's work is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass.
Gertrude Greene's health began deteriorating in 1956; eventually, cancer was diagnosed. Later that year, on November 25, she died at a New York City hospital.
Related material:
Among the Bertha Schaefer papers and gallery records, 1914-1975, owned by the Archives of American Art are 58 letters from Balcomb Greene about sales and exhibitions (reel 271), and a scrapbook containing printed material about him (reel 42).
The holdings of the Archives of American Art include several interviews with Balcomb Greene. In 1972, he was interviewed by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art's oral history program (reel 4210). Greene is included among the Karl E. Fortess taped interviews with artists conducted 1963-1985 (not transcribed). Marian L. Gore's "Art Scene" interviews aired on Los Angeles radio station KPFK, 1962-1964, include one with Balcomb Greene (not transcribed). An interview with Balcomb Greene (transcribed) is among the Brooklyn Museum interviews of artists conducted by Arlene Jacobowitz, circa 1965-1985. The Anne Bowen Parsons collection of interviews on art, 1967-1968, contains an interview with Balcomb Greene (transcribed). Susan C. Larsen's interview with Balcomb Greene is part of oral history interviews relating to the American Abstract Artists Group, 1973-1978 (not transcribed).
Also available at the Archives of American Art is a video recording (VHS videocassette) "Balcomb Greene: 50 Years of Painting, Harmon Gallery," edited and directed by George Mauro, 1982.
Provenance:
Donated in 2009 by Terryn Trimpen Greene, widow of Balcomb Greene.
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.
Topic:
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Biographical and genealogical material; writings; letters; photographs; research material on portraiture in Virginia; and research material on Thomas Sully.
REEL 1093: A card index of portraiture in Virginia, ca. 1730-1944, compiled by Sully, probably for Art Index Division. Information listed includes artist name, subject, size, date painted, owner, and description.
REELS 2524-2525: Biographical and genealogical information; writings and notes; postcards and letters; photographs of Sully and family members; monthly work reports for the Works Progress Administration Art-Index Division of the Virginia Conservation Commission, including clippings, notes, photographs, and correspondence on historical portraits and other art in Virginia. Also included is research material on Thomas Sully and letters from Isabella Sully regarding Robert Sully.
Biographical / Historical:
Historian; Richmond, Va.; b. 1870; d. 1948. Director of the Works Progress Administration Art Index Division in Richmond. Her great uncle was painter Thomas Sully.
Provenance:
Material on reel 1093 lent for microfilming by Virginia State Library. Material on reels 2524-2525 lent for filming 1982 by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The papers of Woodstock area painter, muralist, and designer, Anton Refregier (1905-1979) date from circa 1900 to circa 1990 and measure 35.9 linear feet. The collection records Refregier's early commercial work and murals for the Works Progress Adminstration (WPA) and documents his career through to the 1970s with records of commissions for many public and private buildings, exhibitions in the United States and abroad, teaching positions, essays and publications, and extensive travel, particularly to the Soviet Union and Mexico. The collection contains scattered biographical material, personal and business correspondence, notes and writings, 15 diaries and journals, mural and tapestry files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed material, 10 scrapbooks, artwork including sketches and cartoons for murals, and photographs of Refregier, his friends, family and travels.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Woodstock area painter, muralist, and designer, Anton Refregier (1905-1979) date from circa 1900 to circa 1990 and measure 35.9 linear feet. The collection records Refregier's early commercial work and murals for the Works Progress Adminstration (WPA) and documents his career through to the 1970s with records of commissions for many public and private buildings, exhibitions in the United States and abroad, teaching positions, essays and publications, and extensive travel, particularly to the Soviet Union and Mexico. The collection contains scattered biographical material, personal and business correspondence, notes and writings, diaries and journals, mural and tapestry files, exhibition files, personal business records, printed material, scrapbooks, artwork including sketches and cartoons for murals, and photographs of Refregier, his friends, family and travels.
Biographical material contains legal records such as Refregier's will and marriage and death records, passports, resume material and 2 interview transcripts.
Correspondence, both chronological and alphabetical, constitutes almost a third of the collection and documents all aspects of Refregier's career including his work for the WPA, private commissions, representation by ACA Galleries, his involvement with groups such as the Woodstock Artists Association and his teaching work for institutions such as Bard College. Also documented are his involvement with local political groups and international organizations such as the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship and the World Peace Council, and travels including visits to the Soviet Union. Notable correspondents include Henry Dreyfuss, Philip Evergood, Rockwell Kent, Emmy-Lou Packard, and Byron Randall. Correspondence also includes family letters written primarily by Refregier to Lila Refregier, in addition to greeting cards received by the Refregier family, many of which contain original arwork.
Writings are primarily by Refregier and include drafts of many essays and autobiographical writings, in addition to copies of published works including Natural Figure Drawing, An Artists Journey and Sketches of the Soviet Union.
The collection contains diaries and journals from 12 years in various formats including published and handmade day planners and typed and handwritten journal entries. They include sketches and primarily record travel and daily activities including specific projects such as the New York World's Fair mural (1938-1939).
Mural and Tapestry files document individual commissions bid on and/or completed by Refregier. The creation of the Rincon Annex Post Office mural and subsequent controversies over its subject matter are well-documented here, as are many of Refregier's commissions for banks, hospitals, hotels, shopping centers, and schools.
Exhibition files document at least 15 of Refregier's exhibitions, including his first one-man show at ACA Galleries (1942) and his exhibition of paintings at the Hermitage Museum (1967) in what was then Leningrad.
Personal business records contain addresses of contacts. Scattered records referencing market values for Refregier's work can be found throughout the series in records such as bills and receipts, financial notes and tax records.
Printed material provides extensive coverage of Refregier's entire career through announcements, invitations, catalogs, and news clippings. His interests in art, literature, music, theater and politics are also well-represented in these files.
The collection contains 10 scrapbooks, mostly in fragmented condition, which contain a mixture of photographs, sketches and other artwork, notes and fragments of writings, and printed material. The scrapbooks document a variety of subjects including Refregier's family life, travels to Guatemala and the Soviet Union, and the artist at work.
Artwork consists primarily of artwork by Refregier in the form of mural design sketches and cartoons in various media, including pencil, ink and pastel, in addition to 21 sketchbooks, many of which also contain journal entries and notes. Also found here are prints and reproductions of Refregier's "Peace card" block engravings for every year from 1950-1973, with the exception of 1970.
Photographs document all phases of Refregier's career and include family photographs dating from circa 1900, photos of Refregier in the studio including work for the WPA, Refregier and other artists and individuals at events and parties from the 1940s-1970s, travel snapshots probably taken in Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, and the Soviet Union, and photographs of artwork and installations. Individuals pictured include Julio de Diego, Marion Greenwood, Rockwell Kent, Pablo O'Higgins and David Siqueiros; also, a series of press photographs by Albert A. Freeman pictures Refregier with Howard Fast, Norman Bel Geddes, Marion Greenwood, John Kingsbury, Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Harry Stockwell. One photograph by Eliot Elisofon, 2 by Eugene Morley and 4 by Max Yavno can also be found here.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 11 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1925-1980 (Box 1; 0.25 linear ft.)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1912-circa 1990s (Boxes 1-11, 36, OVs 38, 45; 10.2 linear ft.)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1930s-circa 1970s (Boxes 11-14, OV 45; 3.3 linear ft.)
Series 4: Diaries and Journals, 1923-1979 (Box 15; 0.6 linear ft.)
Series 5: Mural and Tapestry Files, circa 1930s-circa 1970s (Boxes 15-18, 36, OVs 38, 45, 46, RD 42; 3.65 linear ft.)
Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1942-1981 (Boxes 18-19; 0.6 linear ft.)
Series 7: Personal Business Records, 1920s-1980s (Boxes 19-20; 1.8 linear ft.)
Series 8: Printed Material, circa 1920s-1980s (Boxes 21-28, 36; 7.4 linear ft.)
Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1930s-1960s (Boxes 28, 37, BV 47; 1.1 linear ft.)
Series 10: Artwork, circa 1930s-circa 1970s (Boxes 28-30, 36, OVs 40, 41, RDs 42-44; 3.5 linear ft.)
Series 11: Photographic Material, ca. 1900-1980s (Boxes 31-35, 39; 4.5 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
Russian-born Woodstock painter Anton Refregier (1905-1979) immigrated to the United States in 1920. Refregier was well-known for his sometimes controversial social realist murals for the WPA.
After an apprenticeship to the sculptor, Vasilief, in Paris, Anton Refregier attended the Rhode Island School of Design from 1920-1925 and studied with Hans Hofmann in Germany in 1927. He had his first one-man show at ACA Galleries in New York City in 1942 and settled in Woodstock, New York, with his wife, Lila, and three children Anton, Jr., Brigit and Aleksandre, where he became a prominent member of the artist community.
Refregier completed several social realist murals for the federal Works Progress Adminstration (WPA) program, including one at the New York Worlds Fair in 1939 and the controversial Rincon Annex Post Office mural in San Francisco begun in 1941. He also completed interior design installations for businesses such as the nightclub, Cafe Society Uptown, and the restaurant, The Cookery, in New York City. In addition to being an easel and mural painter Refregier worked in tapestry, mosaic, ceramic, and collage, and completed many commissions for hotels, banks, hospitals, restaurants, synagogues, supermarkets and deparment stores throughout the country.
Refregier taught at various institutions including Stanford University, the University of Arkansas, and Bard College and his publications inlcude Natural Figure Drawing (1948), An Artist's Journey (1965), and Sketches of the Soviet Union (1978). He traveled regularly to the Soviet Union to explore and exchange ideas about art and culture and as a representative of the World Peace Council.
Anton Refregier died in Moscow in October 1979 while visiting the Soviet Union. His work can be found in many museums including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Related Material:
Also found in the Archives of American Art are an oral history interview with Anton Refregier, 1964, Nov. 5 by Joseph Trovato; and Papers regarding Anton Refregier mural controversy, 1953.
Provenance:
Donated 1983 by Lila Refregier, widow of Anton Refregier, and in 1992 by Brigit R. Sutton, Refregier's daughter.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
Authorization to quote or reproduce for purposes of publication requires written permission from Bridget R. Sutton via Bridget's son, Tim Sutton. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Federal Art Project. Art Education Division Search this
United States. Work Projects Administration Search this
United States. Works Progress Administration Search this
Extent:
0.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1938-1941
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence, teaching files, artwork and printed material documenting Sylvia Loomis' time teaching in the Arts Education program for the Federal Arts Project.
Biographical / Historical:
Sylvia Loomis was an art teacher in New York, New York.
Related Materials:
Also in the Archives is material lent for microfilming (reel NDA2) including photographs of students in classes at the FAP Art Education program.
Provenance:
The papers were initially lent for microfilming in 1964 by Sylvia Loomis. All but the photographs were subsequently donated in 2014 with additional material by Loomis' daughter, Ilse Gay.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
New School for Social Research (New York, N.Y.) -- Faculty Search this
United States. Works Progress Administration Search this
Extent:
1.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Date:
1916-1975
bulk 1940-1969
Summary:
The Francis Criss papers comprise 1.9 linear feet of material dating from 1916 to 1975 (bulk 1940-1969). The collection documents the painting and teaching career of modernist painter Francis Criss mainly through correspondence, handwritten notes for class lectures, exhibition files, newsclippings, scrapbooks, and photographs. Oversized reproductions of his commercial artwork are also found.
Scope and Content Note:
The Francis Criss papers comprise 1.9 linear feet of material dating from 1916 to 1975 (bulk 1940-1969). The collection documents the painting and teaching career of modernist painter Francis Criss mainly through correspondence, handwritten notes for class lectures, exhibition files, newsclippings, scrapbooks, and photographs. Oversized reproductions of his commercial artwork are also found.
The collection is divided into two separate parts. The first represents the papers originally microfilmed as a loan in 1970 that includes biographical information; teaching and lecture notes compiled by Criss for courses he taught at several New York art schools, including the New School and the School of Visual Arts. Also found is correspondence with museums and magazines, Cornell University, the Henry McCarter Estate, and Theodore L. Shaw; exhibition announcements and catalogs; exhibition files and photographs for the Philadelphia Art Alliance exhibition in 1953 and the Visual Arts Gallery Retrospective in 1966; a record of paintings, murals, and projects; clippings; personal photographs and photographs of works of art.
The second part of the collection represents the portion of the 1976 gift that was not microfilmed in 1970. Found is business and personal correspondence with arts organizations, colleagues, former students, and fellow artists. Also included within this accession are Criss' handwritten notes and syllabi for courses he taught and printed material, such as exhibition announcements, invitations, and catalogs. Photographs are of Criss, his studio, several family members, and photographs of artwork Criss produced between 1935-1964, including those for the U.S. Army Medical Corps.
Also found are three dismantled scrapbooks. Scrapbook #1 documents Criss' later career as a commercial artist in New York City, primarily in the 1940s, a decade in which he experienced his greatest success. This scrapbook contains a series of large scale reproductions of his illustrations. Scrapbooks #2 and #3 also include examples of Criss' commercial work, as well as illustrations by other artists, and Criss' handwritten notes and instructions on drawing and painting techniques. A small series of miscellany includes several ledger pages detailing art supply expenses, a small unidentified collage, a copy of a 1957 appraisal report titled The Role of the School of Visual Arts, and other miscellaneous items.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in two parts. Part 1 represents the papers originally microfilmed as a loan in 1970 on reel N70-34. Part 2 is comprised of the 1976 gift.
Researchers should note that many of the papers filmed as a loan on Reel N70-34 in 1970 were also donated in their original form as part of the 1976 gift. However, certain documents may only be found on the microfilm. For this reason, the Archives maintained and arranged the collection in two separate parts. Part 1 represents the papers originally microfilmed as a loan in 1970 on reel N70-34. Part 2 is comprised of the 1976 gift. The arrangement of the first part of the collection reflects the original order of filming of the loan, with original documents found only on microfilm noted as See or See Also References. The remaining materials donated in 1976 have been arranged into series according to type of material.
Missing Title
Part 1: Papers filmed as a loan on Reel N70-34, 1916-1969 (Box 1, Reel N70-34, 0.4 linear feet)
Part 2: 1976 Gift, 1935-1975, undated (Boxes 2-6, 1.5 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Modernist painter Francis Criss was born in London in 1901 to a Jewish family of Russian descent. At the age of three, his family moved to the United States and settled in Philadelphia. Criss began his art training nine years later at the Graphic Sketch Club and continued his studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Barnes Foundation, the Art Students League in New York, and, later, with private instruction under Jan Matulka. In 1920, Criss was awarded the prestigious Cresson scholarship by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts which allowed him to further his studies in Europe. Around 1931, he began to exhibit paintings in a style that came to define his work -- clean lines, simple forms, and flat color of cityscapes and portraits. Criss' first public success as an artist was his inclusion in the inaugural 1932 Whitney Biennial Exhibition; the museum purchased his painting, Astor Place (1932) for its permanent collection. In 1934, Criss was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to study in Italy.
Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, Criss was involved with the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the American Artists' Congress, which he helped to organize in 1936. He was also a charter member of the "American Group" with artists that included Philip Evergood, Julian Levy, Jack Levine, William Gropper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, the Soyers, Chaim Gross, and Abraham Rattner. Critics described his work as both Surrealist and Precisionist and it is often compared to that of Giorgio De Chirico, George Ault, Charles Demuth and Charles Sheeler.
Criss' career began to wane in the 1940s when he turned his attention to commercial art and teaching in order to support his family. Criss taught painting privately and at the Knox-Albright Museum, Brooklyn Museum Art School, The Art Students League, the New School, and the School of Visual Arts. He rarely returned to his own painting during the remainder of his life. Criss died at the age of 72 in 1973.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel N70-34) including notes, exhibition material, photographs of works of art, clippings and a scrapbook. Lent material was returned to the lender and is described as series 1 of the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
In 1970, Francis Criss loaned portions of his papers to the Archives of American Art for microfilming. In 1976, Criss' daughter, Katherine Criss Cappello, donated most of the previously microfilmed materials with additional papers to the Archives.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of sculptor, graphic artist and educator Peter Fingesten measure 2.7 linear feet and date from 1936-1988. Included are biographical material, correspondence, writings, teaching material, personal business records, photographs, works of art, printed material and a scrapbook.
Correspondence concerns Fingesten's association with Pace University and his writings and lectures. Among the correspondence is a postcard from Ad Reinhardt, circa 1962, commending Fingesten for his articles in the College Art Journal. Writings including diaries, essays, art and exhibition reviews, and manuscripts by Fingesten and others including is a draft of Fingesten's article, "Breast of the Madonna," and related research material. Also included is an illustrated journal written by Carole Forbes and illustrated by Shaunna Dancause, dedicated to Peter, 2019-2022. Teaching material consists of lecture notes and syllabi for courses taught at Pace University. Personal business records include lists of works of art with prices, appraisals, consignments and receipts. Photographs are of Fingesten, his family, friends, and works of art. Works of art consist of seven signed and numbered prints by Fingesten. Printed material includes articles by Fingesten, exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, reviews of Fingesten's writings and books about religion, death, and the ancient world and a folio of reproductions of nine drawings A scrapbook, 1936-1957, (disbound) also includes printed material.
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Fingesten (1916-1987) was a sculptor, graphic artist, and educator in New York. Born Berlin, Germany, Fingesten emigrated to the United States in 1939. He founded the Pace University Art Department in 1950 and served as chairman until 1986.
Provenance:
A small amount of printed material and a postcard from Ad Reinhardt was donated by Peter Fingesten in 1971 and 1976. His widow, Carole C. Fingesten Forbes, donated the remainder in 1989-1995, 2014, 2017 and 2023.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
"Breast of the Madonna" draft and and related research material: Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce requires written permission from Carole Fingesten Forbes. Contact Reference Services for more information.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Search this
The papers of painter and assemblage artist Gary Falk measure 2.5 linear feet and 0.005 GB and date from circa 1955-2013. The papers document his career as an artist in New York through biographical material, including project proposals, student records, and items from his memorial service; a small amount of personal correspondence; four notebooks; exhibition files; printed material; photographs of Falk, Falk with friends, artwork, and travel; digital photographs of artwork; and original artwork, including drawings, collages, and two sketchbooks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and assemblage artist Gary Falk measure 2.5 linear feet and 0.005 GB and date from circa 1955-2013. The papers document his career as an artist in New York through biographical material, including project proposals, student records, and items from his memorial service; a small amount of personal correspondence; four notebooks; exhibition files; printed material; photographs of Falk, Falk with friends, artwork, and travel; digital photographs of artwork; and original artwork, including drawings, collages, and two sketchbooks.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 7 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1966-2013 (0.5 Linear feet; Box 1, 0.005 GB; ER01)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1973-1996 (4 Folders; Box 1)
Series 3: Notebooks, 1979-circa 2004 (4 Folders; Box 1)
Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1977-1988 (0.3 Linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1962-1990 (0.2 Linear feet; Box 2, OV 5)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1955-1990s (0.7 Linear feet; Boxes 2-4)
Series 7: Artwork, 1958-1980s (0.5 Linear feet; Box 3, OVs 5-7)
Biographical / Historical:
Gary Falk (1954-1986) was a painter and assemblage artist from New York, N.Y. Falk developed a personal sign system in his works of art, and often worked in enamel and acrylic on Plexiglas or aluminum.
Falk and his family moved to Bethesda, Maryland, in 1966. He attended the Corcoran School of Art and later graduated from Yale University with a degree in Fine Arts in 1975. After college he moved to New York City and worked as an artist. He had a one-man-show at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in 1983. During the 1980s, he participated in many other group exhibitions, most notably Narrative Forms (1984) at the Museo Rufino Tamayo and SIGNS (1985) at the New Museum. Falk died at the age of 32.
Related Materials:
Also at the Archives of American Art is one sound recording of Ned Rifkin in conversation with Gary Falk, December 5, 1984.
Provenance:
Donated 2005, 2007, 2014, and 2016 by Lillian Falk, Gary Falk's mother.
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. 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.
Topic:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of Los Angeles conceptual sculptor, painter, and photographer Doug Edge measure 2.9 linear feet and date from circa 1951 to 2017. The collection includes exhibition and project files, illustrated journals, writings, printed material, photographic material, and artwork. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes a self published book and notes, dating from 1969-2020.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Los Angeles conceptual sculptor, painter, and photographer Doug Edge measure 2.9 linear feet and date from circa 1951 to 2020. The collection includes exhibition and project files, illustrated journals, writings, printed material, photographic material, and artwork. There is a 0.2 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes a self published book and notes. Materials date from 1969-2020.
Exhibition and project files include correspondence, photographs, slides, transparencies, sketches, writing, clippings, and other printed material related to Edge's exhibitions, projects, and work. This series also includes some biographical material and material related to his student work. Also included in this series are digital videos related to Edge's artwork and exhibitions.
Illustrated journals contain drawings, sketches, writings, plans for work and exhibitions, photographs, etc. Some in the series are primarily image-based, while others have more text.
Writings include a statement written by Doug Edge in 2017 and a transcript, in scroll format, of a lecture by Robert Irwin at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1974.
Printed material includes exhibition announcements; exhibition catalogs; the magazines Eclipse and Forum; clippings; posters; and a copy of James Turrell's syllabus and course materials for a course taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Photographic material includes photographs Edge took on a trip with James Turrell to Monument Valley and Lake Powell; photographs and digital photographs of works of art; and oversized photographs related to his exhibitions.
Artwork includes sketches, drawings, watercolors, silk screen prints, paintings, and other works of art.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in seven series.
Series 1: Exhibition and Project Files, circa 1951-2017 (Box 1; 1 linear foot, ER01; 10 files, 4.36 GB)
Series 2: Illustrated Journals, 1968-2010 (Box 2; 1 linear foot)
Series 3: Writings, 1974, 2017 (Box 3; 2 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1963-1997, 2009-2016 (Boxes 3-4; 0.3 linear feet, OV 5)
Series 5: Photographic Material, 1962-1987, 2003-2017 (Box 4; 2 folders, OV 5, ER02; 138 files, 0.44 GB)
Series 6: Artwork, 1962-1984, 2002, 2007 (Box 4; 1 folder, OV 5)
Series 7: Unprocessed Addition, 1969-2020 (Box 6; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Doug Edge (1942- ) is a conceptual sculptor, painter, and photographer in Los Angeles, California. Edge was a member of the acrylic movement in the late 1960s. He was an original faculty member at the California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts) from 1969 to 1971, and taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara from 1974 to 1985.
Edge began showing his work in the late 1960s and continues to produce and exhibit work. He has shown at Mizuno, Cirrus, Earl McGrath, and Track 16 Galleries, among many others.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Doug Edge in 2017 and 2021.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
5 books illustrated by Soglow; 3 photographs, including 2 of John Sloan's class at the Art Students League, New York City, and 1 of Soglow; 7 cartoons; and 2 drawings.
Biographical / Historical:
Cartoonist; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated by Soglow's widow, Anna Soglow, in 1976.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Cartoonists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- Photographs Search this
The papers of A.G. (Abel George) Warshawsky date from circa 1900 to 1988 and measure 3.8 linear feet. the papers contain biographical materials; scattered correspondence, most of which consists of letters from Warshawsky to his wife Ruth; writings, including versions of Warshawsky's autobiography; printed materials; two scrapbooks; photographs and eight photo albums; twenty-six sketchbooks; and artworks by Warshawsky and others.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of A.G. (Abel George) Warshawsky date from circa 1900 to 1988 and measure 3.8 linear feet. The papers contain biographical materials; scattered correspondence, most of which consists of letters from Warshawsky to his wife Ruth; writings, including versions of Warshawsky's autobiography; printed materials; two scrapbooks; photographs and eight photo albums; twenty-six sketchbooks; and artworks by Warshawsky and others.
Biographical materials consist of passports, an identification card, and a Who's Who entry. Correspondence is scattered and contains letters written by A.G. Warshawsky to his wife Ruth. There are also telegrams of congratulations for the Warshawskys' 1941 marriage and a few letters from museums and institutions regarding Warshawsky's art.
Writings and notes include three versions of Warshawsky's autobiography entitled: "My Brush with Life," "Adventures with Color and Brush," and "Warshawsky's Autobiography." The autobiography concerns his life in Paris, activities, and acquaintances as a young art student in Paris. Also found are other writings about art and a notebook.
Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, xeroxed copies of news clippings and a clippings file concerning Warshawsky's career, published material, and reproductions of works of art. Also found is a printed portfolio comprised of an introduction to Warshawsky and reproductions of his paintings.
There is one original and one xeroxed scrapbook, containing news clippings, and exhibition materials from 1913 to 1960.
Photographs includes eight photo albums and photographs of Warshawsky, of family and friends, and of works of art. The bulk of the photo albums contain photographs of works of art. Two photo albums consist of personal photos of Warshawsky and his wife Ruth in their home in California. Other photographs are of Warshawsky painting in his studio, with his art, and of his wife, family, friends, and artist models.
Twenty-six sketchbooks are primarily in pencil and are undated or unidentified. Some sketchbooks include place names such as Monterey and Carmel, California, Mexico, and Paris.
Additional artwork includes loose sketches and a print by Warshawsky. Also found are prints and drawings by others, including Goya, Edwin Kaufman, and Paul de Lassence.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1923-circa 1940 (3 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1941-1964 (4 folders; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, circa 1930-circa 1950 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1920-1964 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1, 6, OV 12)
Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1913-1960 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1, 9)
Series 6: Photographs, circa 1910-1988 (1.4 linear feet; Box 1-2, 5, 7-8, OV 10)
Series 7: Sketchbooks, circa 1910-circa 1950 (1.0 linear feet; Box 2-3, 5-6)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1900-1951 (0.5 linear feet; Box 3-5, OV 11)
Biographical / Historical:
Impressionist painter A.G. Warshawsky (1883-1962) was active in Paris and Monterey, California.
Abel George "Buck" Warshawsky was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania in 1883. He spent his childhood in Cleveland, Ohio where he studied at the Cleveland Art Institute. Warshawsky moved to New York where he studied at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design. His brother, Alexander also became an artist.
In 1909, Abel Warshawsky left the U.S. for Paris where he remained for thirty years. There, he developed his unique style, combining Impressionism and Realism. He returned to the United States annually, mostly to sell his paintings, but remained active in the Parisian art scene until 1939. He exhibited his works in Cleveland, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Paris.
Before the start of World War II, Warshawsky left Paris and settled in Monterey, California. Warshawsky married Ruth Tate in 1941. He died from heart failure in 1962. His works are in the permanent collections of the Akron Art institute, the Cleveland museum of Art, the Luxembourg Museum, the De Young Museum, the Petit Palais, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Separated Materials:
The Western Reserve Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio holds the Abel G. Warshawsky Family papers.
Provenance:
The bulk of the A.G. Warshawsky papers were donated in 1996 by Froma Goldberg, Warshawsky's niece. In 1978, Ruth Warshawsky donated a typescript copy of her husband's autobiography, "My Brush with Life."
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington D.C. Research Facility. 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.
The papers of New York City photographer, conceptual artist, and musical composer Cosmos Sarchiapone measure 49.2 linear feet and 0.367 GB and date from circa 1860-2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1940-2011. The collection includes biographical material and personal business records; correspondence; extensive writings, including written and recorded music compositions; teaching files; printed material and published sound and video recordings; photographic material; artwork; artifacts; and unpublished sound recordings and born-digital material. Highlights of the collection are more than 40,000 photographic images documenting New York's avant-garde art scene of the 1970s, along with celebrity parties, concerts, exhibition openings and other occasions in the art, music, and theater world. Extensive and somewhat rare printed materials offer users a visual chronical of the downtown art world in the form of posters from the 1970s, including a number of Milton Glaser's, and hundreds of exhibition announcements, theater programs, and playbills.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York City photographer, conceptual artist, and musical composer Cosmos Sarchiapone measure 49.2 linear feet and 0.367 GB and date from circa 1860-2011, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1940-2011. The collection includes biographical material and personal business records; correspondence; extensive writings, including written and recorded music compositions; teaching files; printed material and published sound and video recordings; photographic material; artwork; artifacts; and unpublished sound recordings and born-digital material. Highlights of the collection are more than 40,000 photographic images documenting New York's avant-garde art scene of the 1970s, along with celebrity parties, concerts, exhibition openings and other occasions in the art, music, and theater world. Extensive and somewhat rare printed materials offer users a visual chronical of the downtown art world in the form of posters from the 1970s, including a number of Milton Glaser's, and hundreds of exhibition announcements, theater programs, and playbills.
Biographical material and personal business records include address books, calendars, legal paperwork, life documents, resumes, and other material. Correspondence is both personal and professional in nature. Personal correspondence is between Cosmos and friends, family, and pen pals. Professional correspondence is with curators, publishers, and estates and mostly concerns Cosmos's artwork, photographs, or objects he lent for exhibition or publication.
Writings include general writings and notes, including a book layout for a book never realized; fifteen notebooks containing Cosmos's writings about projects, dreams, and miscellany; music compositions in both written form and on sound recordings; and scattered writings by others, including manuscripts and theater scripts.
Teaching files document photography courses taught by Cosmos at the School of Visual Arts in 1974-1976, and the Parsons School of Design in 1980.
Printed materials and commercially published sound and video recordings in the collection are extensive and reflect Cosmos's unique interests and inspirations, and his tendency to save and collect material discarded or rejected by others. There are books and periodicals featuring Cosmos's work, annotated by Cosmos, or of special significance to Cosmos. There is also a list of books in Cosmos's library. Some of the periodicals concern Push Pin Studios and Milton Glaser. There is a large group of ephemera, such as announcements, catalogs, press releases, programs, playbills, posters, and assorted items covering several decades of New York exhibitions, events, concerts, and performances. There are posters for exhibitions, events, performances, film screenings, and concerts. Some of the clippings and other ephemera may have been removed from scrapbooks or other compilations, and some remain collated and mounted on mat board. Some of the printed materials may have been used by Cosmos as source materials.
Photographic material makes up a significant portion of the collection (14.5 linear feet), and illustrates the breadth of Cosmos's documentation of New York City, capturing the avant-garde art and theater worlds, the people and streets, self-portraits, and numerous other subjects. There are images of named people and people at parties, of exhibitions and performances, of New York City streets and buildings, of a more personal and family nature, of artwork, and of miscellaneous subjects. There are also collected photographs, some of which are vintage. There is a large group of unidentified and unsorted negatives, slides, and contact sheets. Where they existed, labeling and descriptive notes have been preserved with the unidentified materials.
Artwork is also quite extensive (10.5 linear feet) and found in a variety of genre, format, and media. There is also a small subseries of artwork by others. One group of artwork consists of titled or named art projects and series, often executed in the form of series that spanned decades. This group includes Cosmos's Reciprocal project that incorporated his photographic work. For this project, he would photograph notable figures, including John Cage, Robert Scull, and others, and ask them to photograph him. There are also several folders of Cosmos's work focusing on photographer Diane Arbus.
A group of artwork identified as "compilations" consist primarily of photocopies of compiled presentations of documents, photographs, fragments, writings, drawings, printed materials and ephemera, and bits and pieces of Cosmos's titled work. These compilations were prepared by Cosmos for individuals in the art world to whom he was close. The original compilations were then photocopied and presented to the intended receiver. The subseries of compilations contains both originals and photocopied versions that do not always correlate with one another. Also found among the artwork are drawings, illustrations, a few paintings, collages, and sketchbooks by Cosmos. Artwork by others includes an artist book, drawings, a sketchbook, and prints by Milton Glaser, Alex Hay, Douglas Huebler, Marvin Israel, Ray Johnson, Ellsworth Kelly, and Eve Sonneman.
Found within the collection are three dimensional artifacts, including eight cameras and other items Cosmos saved and collected to incorporate into his photographs.
There is a large series of unpublished sound recordings and born-digital material, some of which is clearly identified and labeled, and some of which is unidentified. When known, labeling has been incorporated into the folder titles in the container inventory. Users should note that sound recordings that were clearly identified and associated with other projects were arranged in context with those related materials.
Printed material (series 5), photographic material (series 6), and artwork (series 7), include many photocopies. Cosmos used the photocopy process to make copies of his work to share with others, and as a creative form of art in itself, experimenting with tonality, collage, and the degeneration of images from repeated copying. Photocopies were also made of articles, newspapers, and various source material and ephemera that he collected. Many photocopies have descriptive labeling on the back. For some photographs and projects, photocopies are the only form of documentation located in the collection.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as nine series
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material and Personal Business Records, circa 1949-2011 (1 linear foot; Box 1, 44, OV 49)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1940s-2011 (.7 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1947-2000s (4.2 linear feet; Box 2-6, 44, OV 50-51)
Series 4: Teaching Files, 1970s-1980s (1.9 linear feet; Box 6-8, 44, OV 52)
Series 5: Printed Material, Published Sound, Video Recordings, 1894-2000s (8.3 linear feet; Box 8-13, 44-45, OV 53-73, RD 105)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1860-2000s, bulk 1970-2010 (14.5 linear feet; Box 14-26, 46-47, OV 74-80)
Series 7: Artwork, 1947-2000s (10.5 linear feet; Box 27-34, 47-48, OV 81-104)
Series 8: Artifacts, 1960s-2000s (1.5 linear feet; Box 34-35)
Series 9: Sound Recordings and Born-Digital Material, 1950s-2000s (6.6 linear feet; Box 36-43, 0.367 GB; ER01-ER02)
Biographical / Historical:
Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone (1931-2011) was a documentary photographer, musical composer, and conceptual artist who worked in New York City.
Cosmos Andrew Sarchiapone was named Cosime Sarchiapone at birth, and was also known as Cosmos, Cosmos Savage, and Richard Savage. His parents, Lois and Aldo, had seven children, including twins Cosmos and Damian. Born in Manhattan, Cosmos graduated from the La Guardia High School of Music and Art in New York City in 1948 and from Syracuse University in 1958 with a concentration in music composition and studio art. After college, he studied musical composition with John Cage at the New School in 1961, art history with Meyer Schapiro at Columbia University from 1963-1965, illustration with Marvin Israel from 1966-1971, design with Milton Glaser from 1968-1973, and photography with Diane Arbus from 1970-1971. He taught photography at the School of Visual Arts from 1974-1976, and at Parsons School of Design in 1980. In the early 1970s, he led experimental theater workshops at Columbia-Barnard University.
Between 1968-1969, Cosmos worked with Milton Glaser and Seymour Chwast at their Push Pin Studios, a graphic design and illustration studio.
Sometime between the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Cosmos began photographing New York City, capturing the art and theater worlds, the people and streets, self-portraits, and numerous other subjects. As a freelance photographer for New York magazine (founded by Milton Glaser) and other mass-market publications, Cosmos photographed Andy Warhol and his circle, Halloween parties at the Waldorf, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon convention, the Jesus Joy Jubilee at Carnegie Hall, the Beat Poets' reunion and private parties attended by Hollywood actors and directors, often capturing the overlapping worlds of art, movies and music. Cosmos's photographs have been published in numerous books and publications. His work was featured in several exhibitions in the 1970s, including shows at the Jamie Gallery, the Fine Arts Building, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. But he created the bulk of his work for himself and much of it remains unpublished.
Throughout the 1970s, Cosmos documented the avant-garde art scene in New York City. He captured performances at The Kitchen and La Mama, the offices of New York magazine and Push Pin Studios, Tom O'Horgan's Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, and much more. He photographed performances and installations at 112 Greene Street in SoHo, an interdisciplinary art space that nurtured the experiments of a number of now significant American artists, dancers and musicians, including Chris Burden, Vito Acconci, Suzanne Harris and Phillip Glass, all of whom were photographed by Cosmos. He also photographed numerous images of 112 Greene Street's sister space, Matta-Clark's FOOD, an artist-run eatery at the corner of Prince and Wooster Streets where exotic meals were offered up as both performance art and nourishment. Cosmos used his camera as a way to get close to artists he admired, including Diane Arbus, Milton Glaser, and Marvin Israel.
According to Milton Glaser, "Cosmos was a brilliant photographer who was never without a camera….He was always everywhere. In terms of documentation of that period, there was no one like him."
Cosmos often incorporated aspects of his photography into conceptual art pieces, including two serial works that Cosmos made from fragments of Diane Arbus' discarded photographs, transforming her iconic work. Many of Cosmos's conceptual art pieces often took the form of a series, and were continuously revisited. In Reciprocal, Cosmos photographed figures—including those he admired like John Cage, Meyer Schapiro, Robert Scull, and others—then asked each to photograph him. Many of Cosmos's art projects were based in photographic documentation of his "performances", as in Sheet Music, where he is seen tearing a white sheet outside Bloomingdale's during the 'white sale.' Cosmos's convictions about smoking, its hazards, and the nefarious actions of tobacco companies led to several related projects, among them, Photo Arrest, where Cosmos captured on camera people smoking illegally in hospitals, classrooms, grocery stores, and elevators.
Cosmos created scores for plays and dance performances, including Churchyard by the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1970, and numerous Off-Off Broadway theater productions in the 1960s. He wrote an opera, Vox Humana #3. The opera is about three heroines of history: Antigone, Joan of Arc, and Patty Hearst, and synthesizes a variety of media, including music composition, stage direction, and video (Patty Hearst in Chains), into a four hour performance that was staged at La Mama in 1976 and The Kitchen in 1977.
Cosmos lived at Westbeth Artists' Community from 1970-2011, but had largely withdrawn from the world by the 2000s. Cosmos Sarchiapone died in 2011.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2015 by Tom Sarchiapone, Cosmos Sarchiapone's brother, via Catherine Morris, curator and friend of Cosmos.
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.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate 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:
Composers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
