The personal papers of Seattle area painter Kamekichi Tokita (1897-1948) measure 1.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 2010 with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1910 to 1948. The papers include biographical materials, including documents about the closing of the War Relocation Authority's Minidoka Camp in Idaho; correspondence; three diaries written in Japanese documenting Tokita's war time experiences and forced relocation to Minidoka, two earlier notebooks, also written in Japanese, and scattered notes; a few personal business records; printed materials; one scrapbook; sketches; and one family photograph album.
Scope and Contents:
The personal papers of Seattle area painter Kamekichi Tokita (1897-1948) measure 1.5 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to circa 2010 with the bulk of the material dating from circa 1910 to 1948. The papers include biographical materials, including documents about the closing of the War Relocation Authority's Minidoka Camp in Idaho; correspondence; three diaries written in Japanese documenting Tokita's war time experiences and forced relocation to Minidoka, two earlier notebooks, also written in Japanese, and scattered notes; a few personal business records; printed materials; one scrapbook; sketches; and one family photograph album.
Biographical materials include a file on the Public Works of Art Project, a file on the War Relocation Authority and the closing of the Minidoka incarceration camp, an immigration document, and an essay on Tokita written by Shokichi and Elsie Tokita.
Correspondence is primarily professional in nature and concerns exhibitions at the Seattle Museum of Art (previously the Art Institute of Seattle) and other topics. Correspondents include Kenneth Callahan, Henry Gallery, the Seattle Art Museum, and others.
Tokita's writings consist of three diaries, two notebooks, and scattered general writings, most of which are in Japanese. The diaries were kept during World War II and document the family's incarceration at the Minidoka Relocation Camp in Idaho. Included is a transcript of the diaries which were translated from prewar to modern Japanese by Haruo Takasugi and from modern Japanese to English by Naomi Kusunoki-Martin.
Scattered business records include a patent application, records from the Cadillac Hotel, and a claim filed through the Department of Justice. A few published books in English and Japanese are about art and religion. Also found are exhibition catalogs for shows in which Tokita participated and clippings. There is one mixed media scrapbook about Tokita's exhibitions.
Artwork consists of unsigned pencil and watercolor sketches by Tokita. There is also a family photo album containing snapshots and portraits of the Tokita family and friends.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1934-1985 (Box 1; 5 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1920-1944 (Box 1; 8 folders)
Series 3: Diaries and Writings, 1923-circa 1950 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1928-1950 (Box 1; 3 folders)
Series 5: Printed Material, circa 1910-1940 (Box 1-3; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 6: Scrapbook, 1929-1933 (Box 2-3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1910-1940s (Box 2-3; 0.1 linear feet)
Series 8: Photograph Album, circa 1900-1930 (Box 2; 0.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Kamekichi Tokita (1897-1948) was a Japanese American painter and businessman who emigrated from Japan in 1919 and settled in Seattle, Washington. Tokita was a member of the Seattle area progressive artists' collective known as the "Group of Twelve" and widely exhibited his artwork throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Kamekichi Tokita was born in Shizouka City, Japan and immigrated to the United States at the age of twenty-two. He settled in the Japantown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington where he opened the Noto Sign Company with business partner Kenjiro Nomura. Nomura was also an artist and encouraged Tokita's interest in oil painting. They both used the sign shop as their studio after-hours. In 1936, the Noto Sign Company closed and Tokita took over management of the Cadillac Hotel, although he continued to paint commercial signs. Tokita married Haruko Suzuki in 1932 and together they had eight children.
As a child in Japan, Tokita studied calligraphy in China. Although he attended a few art school classes in in the U.S. and went on weekend painting trips with Nomura and other Seattle artists, Tokita is considered to be a largely self-trained artist. Support and recognition came from Dorothy V. Morrison of the Henry Gallery at the University of Washington who wrote to Tokita to inquire whether a "group of Japanese artists in the city" would be interested in exhibiting their work. Although the exhibition of Japanese artists did not happen, Tokita later loaned paintings to the gallery for inclusion in an exhibition sponsored by the American Federation of Arts. Throughout the late 1920s and 1930s Tokita exhibited widely in the Seattle area. In 1935, the Seattle Daily Times touted the work of Tokita and other painters in the "Group of Twelve" that also included Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Walter F. Isaacs, and Ambrose and Viola Patterson, among others.
In 1942, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Kamekichi Tokita and his family (five children at the time), along with the approximately 120,000 Japanese and Japanese American citizens living on the West Coast, were ordered under President Franklin Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 to be forcibly removed to one of several incarceration camps. For the first six months of their imprisonment, the family lived at a temporary Civilian Assembly Center in Puyallup, Washington. They were transferred to the Minidoka Relocation Camp in Hunt, Idaho where they remained until their release in 1945. While incarcerated in Minidoka, Tokita worked as a sign painter and continued to privately paint, using whatever materials he could find, including beaver board. His work was featured in art shows at the camp. Many of his camp scenes are now lost or were given away.
At the end of World War II, Tokita and his family (now seven children) moved back to the Seattle-area. Unable to find housing, the Tokitas lived at a Japanese language school until Tokita was able to re-establish his business. During this period he painted very little. In 1946 Tokita and his wife purchased the New Lucky Hotel in the Chinatown area of Seattle. Shortly thereafter, Tokita fell ill and died in 1948. Many of his works are believed to have been destroyed or lost. Some of his work remains, however, and is among the permanent collections of the Seattle Art Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum.
Note: Much of this biographical note was taken from "A Biographical Resume" written by Shokichi and Elsie Y. Tokita.
Separated Materials:
A watercolor painting on paper by Kamekichi Tokita, Untitled (Still Life), 9 x 12 in. was transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2012.
Provenance:
The Kamekichi Tokita papers were donated by his son, Shokichi Tokita in 1990. He donated a third and final diary in 2017. They were collected as part of the Archives of American Art Northwest Asian American project in Seattle, Washington.
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.
Occupation:
Painters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Japanese Americans Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- Washington (State) -- Seattle Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Northwestern States Search this
Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment -- 1942-1945 -- Diaries Search this
Genre/Form:
Photograph albums
Photographs
Sketches
Scrapbooks
Diaries
Citation:
Kamekichi Tokita papers, circa 1900-circa 2010, bulk circa 1910-1948. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Lichtenstein Endowment and the Terra Endowment.
The Dwinell Grant papers measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1930 to 1988. The papers document Grant's career as a painter and filmmaker through awards and certificates, interviews, resumes, and other biographical material; correspondence with friends, colleagues, and art institutions; manuscripts and other writings; business records with Olympia Gallery and Martin Diamond Fine Arts and Graham Gallery; and brochures, exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material.
Scope and Contents:
The Dwinell Grant papers measure 0.8 linear feet and date from 1930 to 1988. The papers document Grant's career as a painter and filmmaker through awards and certificates, interviews, resumes, and other biographical material; correspondence with friends, colleagues, and art institutions; manuscripts and other writings; business records with Olympia Gallery and Martin Diamond Fine Arts and Graham Gallery; and brochures, exhibition announcements, exhibition catalogs, and other printed material.
Biographical material includes awards and certificates, resumes, a timeline of Grant's life, some autobiographical notes by Grant and two videotapes PROFILE OF DWINELL GRANT from "Profiles in Excellence" conducted by Gary Perdue, and an interview with Grant for ART BEAT. Correspondence is composed of letters to and from Grant with friends, colleagues, and art institutions. Writings include essays Grant wrote for academic courses and typescript writings expressing Grant's thoughts on art and religion. Business records include Grant's dealings with Martin Diamond Fine Arts and Graham Gallery and the Olympia Gallery during the late 1970s and 1980s. Materials include such things as invoices, appraisals, and storage of artwork. Printed material includes press releases, clippings, programs for plays produced at Wittenberg College, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and brochures and fliers concerning Grant's medical and other filmmaking projects.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1940-1988 (0.1 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1930-1988 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1948 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 4: Personal Business Records, 1978-1988 (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1936-1988 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
Biographical / Historical:
Dwinell Grant (1912-1991) was a painter and filmmaker in Pennsylvania. Grant was born and raised in Ohio. He received early art training from his grandfather, Paul E. Henking, and also studied at the Dayton Art Institute and the National Academy of Design. In 1935, he began teaching at Wittenberg College in Ohio. He was primarily influenced by his association with Hilla Rebay and the Museum of Non-Objective Art (the Guggenheim), and from 1944-1948 worked on an unfinished film project for the Guggenheim. In 1947, he began producing medical teaching films and supplemented his income with work on medical books, while continuing to work on his paintings.
Separated Materials:
Also found at the Archives of American Art are materials lent for microfilming (reels 4154-4155) including writings, mostly from the 1980s, expressing Grant's thoughts and philosophies concerning
himself and his art work, sometimes presented in the format of a journal; one album containing photographs of Grant, his family and friends, and nine albums of photographs of works and of gallery installations, annotated with information on sales, experiments with light, including a formula for stereoscopic drawing, notes on abstractfilms, medical illustrations, and dream fantasies; and two sketchbooks containing abstract drawings. Lent materials were returned to Grant and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
The papers were donated to the archives by Dwinell Grant in 1988. Additional material was lent for microfilming by Dwinell Grant in 1988.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Dwinell Grant papers, 1930-1988. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
An interview of William Meyerowitz and Theresa Bernstein conducted in 1978 by David Masters for the Sawyer Free Library, Gloucester, Massachusetts. Meyerowitz speaks of his background in Russia; his early interest in art; his Jewish identity and its effect on his work; immigrating to the United States and meeting Bernstein; the economics of painting; his interest in music; his work in printmaking. Bernstein speaks of the Gloucester environment and its effect on her work.
Biographical / Historical:
William Meyerowitz (1887-1981) was born in Ekaterinoslav, Ukraine, Russia, and moved to New York as a child, later becoming a painter and etcher. He was married to Theresa Bernstein (1890-2002), an art historian and painter born in Poland and raised in Philadelphia. Bernstein was part of the Philadelphia Ten.
Provenance:
Donated 1991 by the Sawyer Free Library.
Restrictions:
Untranscribed; use requires an appointment.
Occupation:
Art historians -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester -- Interviews Search this
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester Search this
Printmakers -- Massachusetts -- Gloucester Search this
An exhibition exploring and examining religious imagery in African American art curated by Deborah Willis. The show was organized by the Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History and Culture and held at the Anacostia Gallery February 14, 1999 through June 15, 1999. This exhibit featured over 60 artists including David C. Driskell, Leslie King-Hammond, Radcliffe Bailey, Chester Higgins, Jr., and Valerie Maynard.
Scope and Contents note:
These records document the planning, organizing, execution, and promotion of the exhibition. Materials include correspondence, artist files, administrative records, education packages and brochures.
Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Please contact the archivist to make an appointment: ACMarchives@si.edu.
Locating the Spirit: Religion and Spirituality in African American Art exhibition records, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Interview of Alfonso A. Ossorio conducted 1968 November 19, by Forrest Selvig, for the Archives of American Art.
Ossorio speaks of his youth and education in England and the United States; attending Harvard; working as a medical illustrator for the Army; coming to New York and becoming acquainted with Jackson Pollock and other New York artists; a mural commission he received for a church in the Philippines; the difficulty of introducing new ideas into Catholic art; traveling to Paris; his association with Jean Dubuffet; changes in his technique; his work in collage; his affiliation with the Signa Gallery; abstract expressionism.
Biographical / Historical:
Alfonso Ossorio (1916-1990) was a painter in Wainscott, New York.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use transcript.
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Collagists -- New York (State) -- Interviews Search this
Ewers, John C. 1982. "The Use of Artifacts and Pictures in the Study of Plains Indian History, Art, and Religion." Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 376 247–266.
Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository.
Collection Citation:
Charles Lang Freer Papers. FSA A.01. National Museum of Asian Art Archives. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Gift of the estate of Charles Lang Freer.
16 Pages (Transcript: (on partial microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound tape reels
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1964 Sept. 1
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Chaim Gross conducted 1964 Sept. 1 by Dorothy Seckler for the Archives of American Art.
Gross speaks of his early sculpture; his inspirations; his treatment of wood; his interest in watercolor; religious subjects in his work, especially Judaic themes; his teaching career; his involvement with the WPA Federal Art Project; his personal collection of paintings and sculpture; working odd jobs when the WPA ended; and his opinions of contemporary sculpture and the future of sculpture.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor; New York, N.Y. Died 1991.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Onassis, Jacqueline Kennedy, 1929-1994 Search this
Extent:
2.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1937-1983
Scope and Contents:
Scrapbooks, correspondence, exhibition files, photographs, and printed materials.
REEL D181: Scrapbooks containing correspondence, clippings, reviews, and photographs relating to the Dayton Art Institute and to the Religious Art Exhibition held there in 1944.
REEL 63: Correspondence concerning a Spaeth Foundation commission to Jacques Lipchitz for a bronze bust of John F. Kennedy. Correspondents include Lipchitz, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
REEL 1201: Correspondence concerning the Spaeth Foundation Religious Art Information Center; a Foundation prospectus; letters from Thomas Merton concerning his book on sacred art; correspondence dealing with the Annual Liturgical Congress Architectural Competition, an exhibition of architectural students' work, the Woodstock Center for Religion and Worship, and other aspects of art and religion.
REEL 1817 and scanned: Photograph of Alexander Brook taken by Peter A. Juley and Son.
UNMICROFILMED: Letters from Alexander Brook, Alexander Calder, William Congdon, Andre Girard, Edward Hopper, Walt Kuhn, Grant Wood, and others; correspondence concerning the American Federation of Arts, the Archives of American Art, Guild Hall, the Spaeth Foundation, UNESCO, and other art organizations; exhibition files of the AFA containing correspondence, printed material, and photographs; files on the "Films on Art" project developed by Otto Spaeth; correspondence and a scrapbook of Otto Spaeth concerning the Liturgical Arts Society; a scrapbook on the Spaeth's art collection; printed material and photographs used in AMERICAN ART MUSEUMS; photographs of paintings by John Singleton Copley, and other works of art and exhibition installations; Correspondence with Daniel Longwell, Harris K. Prior, and Thomas Brown Rudd regarding activities of the American Federation of Arts; Correspondence and clippings, 1963-1966, regarding the Lipchitz bust of JFK; letters, 1981-1983, from critic John Russell, and art collectors, Gertrude Schweitzer, Robert Osborn and Jean de Menil; and an exhibition catalog on Rico Lebrun, 1950; a letter to Otto Spaeth from Gala Dali regarding a loan of the painting "La Naissance du Noveau Monde," 1943; writings about Walt Kuhn, and an illustrated letter to Spaeth from Walt Kuhn.
Biographical / Historical:
Eloise O. Spaeth (1902-1998) was an art collector, writer and art patron from New York, N.Y. She and husband Otto Spaeth founded the Spaeth Foundation.
Provenance:
Material on reels 63 and 1201 lent for microfilming 1971 and 1977 by Eloise Spaeth. Unmicrofilmed material donated 1966-1988 by Spaeth. Material on reel D181 lent for filming 1965 and subsequently donated in 1977.
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.
Subject files are more general in nature and focus on a wide variety of art-related topics, such as American and European art history, advertising, art criticism, art training at the École des Beaux-Arts, artists' studios in New York City, the artist Delacroix, civic art and religion, French arts, German murals, the Guilded Age and Progressive Era, immigration, interior decoration, the Municipal Art Society, pageantry, progressivism, Puvis de Chavannes, and Reverend Phillips Brooks.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Richard Murray research material regarding mural painting in the United States, 1896-2006, bulk 1970-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Richard Murray research material regarding mural painting in the United States, 1896-2006, bulk 1970-2006. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Care and Preservation Fund
A "booklet of drawings from the Bible," containing 10 watercolor, 1 ink, and 1 pencil sketch of biblical scenes; and a clipping on Tack, undated.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and portrait painter; New York, N.Y. Often depicted religious themes and motifs.
Provenance:
Provenance unknown.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art and religion -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painting, Modern -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual materials with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Lipchitz papers and Bruce Bassett papers concerning Jacques Lipchitz, circa 1910-2001, bulk 1941-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by The Jacques and Yulla Lipchitz Foundation, Inc.
Published books include an annotated copy of Modern French Painters by Jan Gordon and Japanese books on art and religion. There are exhibition catalogs for group shows in which Tokita participated including various annual exhibitions held at the the Seattle Art Museum and the Group of Twelve exhibition of 1937. Also found are clippings in English and Japanese, annual reports from the Seattle Art Museum, blank stationery from Tokita's Noto Sign Company, and reproductions of works of art by others.
Arrangement:
The material in this series is grouped together by type of printed material: books, clippings, exhibition catalogs, etc.
Collection 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.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Kamekichi Tokita papers, circa 1900-circa 2010, bulk circa 1910-1948. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool. Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Lichtenstein Endowment and the Terra Endowment.
1.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 4 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Date:
1913-1979
Scope and Contents:
Printed material, correspondence, photographs, a scrapbook, and a journal.
UNMICROFILMED: Ca. 450 letters from Edith to her friends and ca. 50 letters to Edith and Fred from family and friends; clippings and exhibition announcements; address lists; and a short priced list of Edith's paintings.
REEL 75: Letters to Edith and Fred from Louis Eilshemius, Jose Orozco, John Sloan of the Artists and Writers Dinner Club, Holger Cahill of the First Municipal Art Exposition, Edwin Way Teale and professional organizations; clippings about Edith and Fred, particularly Fred's religious paintings, exhibition catalogs and announcements; photographs of Fred; a sketch of Fred by Edith; and a letter from John Kieran, "Why I Want Willkie."
REEL 414: Correspondence, with letters from Anthony Lauck, Isabel Bishop and other friends and art institutions; Fred's journal containing ideas on religion, poems, and observations; a scrapbook, 1913-1946; clippings and articles; a photograph of Edith's portrait of her husband; and an address given by Fred.
REELS 1798 & 1799: Ca. 200 letters from Edith to her friends plus correspondence with Joseph Bates, Jr., Isabel Bishop, John Kieran, Elsie Nagler, and Homer Saint-Gaudens; clippings and exhibition invitations.
Biographical / Historical:
Painters; Massachusetts and Dallas, Tex. Fred Nagler and Edith Kroeger met while studying at the Art Students League in New York. Fred was a painter of religious subjects. Edith was a landscape painter.
Provenance:
Donated by Edith and Fred Nagler, 1968-1979.
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.
Africa, West -- Description and Travel -- 1851-1950
Date:
1923-1986
Scope and Contents:
Photographs, artwork, scrapbooks, and Tulk's autobiography document his career as an artist. Over 160 photographs (ca. 1920's-1980's) depict Tulk and his work. Eighty-three drawings and paintings range from student work at Yale to professional designs for the Rambusch Company and other design firms. Two scrapbooks assembled by Tulk contain reviews and exhibit announcements. His autobiography, describing his two-year residence in West Africa in the 1930's, and a descriptive list of murals painted between 1925-1960 are included among his notes and writings. Letters (1940-1986) are mostly business-related correspondence between Tulk and the Rambusch Company. Clippings (1936-1984) discuss the altar designs Tulk created for ships and camps during World War II and his work for the Rambusch Company. Other materials include a 1985 video-taped interview with Tulk and many copyright certificates for his designs.
Biographical / Historical:
Born in London, England. Tulk received his Bachelors Degree from Yale University in 1923 and his Masters Degree from the University of Guanajualo, Mexico. Mural painting occupied most of his earlier years with commissions in painting, stained glass, and mosaics. He painted over 300 large murals between 1925 and 1954 for theatres, churches, hotels, restaurants, and private homes. During World War II Tulk worked with camouflage and the painting of altar triptychs for U.S. Chaplains in camps and on battleships. From 1960 to 1987 he painted landscapes, portraits, and abstract paintings.
Provenance:
Papers were bequeathed to Tulk's daughter, Sheila Tulk Payne, who donated them to the Archives.
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.
Kington, L. Brent (Louis Brent), 1934-2013 Search this
Extent:
(box 1-3; 1.6 linear ft.)
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1956-2005, undated
Scope and Contents note:
This series provides subject access to records concerning specific aspects of Kington's career. As in Series 1, the majority of the records found here are correspondence and researchers should note that supplementary material relating to any of these subjects may be found in Series 1.
Three folders of material relating to Kintgon's education at Cranbrook Academy of Art contain photographs of artwork by Kington including images of a commission for the Detroit auto show, furniture designs, silverware, and jewelry. Of particular note are several color sketches of jewelry designs done by Kington during his time at Cranbrook.
The series documents Kington's involvement with various professional organizations such as the American Craft Council (ACC), and the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). ACC records include information regarding annual award ceremonies and symposiums, and various awards bestowed on Kington by the organization. SNAG records including minutes of the forming executive committee meetings and information about the founding of the society and annual conferences.
Kington's career as an educator is also documented here through records of arrangements for his conference presentations, his activities as a juror and a visiting artist at various institutions and craft schools, and his administrative and faculty duties as a professor at Southern Illinois University. The folder concerning the Penland School of Crafts, in which Kington participated in 1971, includes Kington's answers to a questionnaire which provide insight into his attitudes towards such opportunities to work alongside other artists.
Letters to Kington from SIU alumni, such as Elizabeth Y. Akamatsu, Phillip Baldwin, Jan Brooks, Harlan W. Butt, Stephen Miller, Noellyn Popos, Rachelle Thiewes and Claudia Widdis, can also be found in this series in addition to postcards from Phillip Baldwin, Robert Ebendorf, Glen Gardner, Paula Garrett, Mary Lee Hu, Arthur Johns, Liza Littlefield, Kris Patzlaff, Sarah Perkins, Mary Ann and Sam Scherr, Jim Wallace and others.
Consignments and sales of Kington's work at galleries such as J.J. Klejman, and The Sculptors Gallery, as well as his relationships with Lee Nordness Galleries, Gilman Galleries, and Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery during the 1960s, are also documented here. Records relating to Lee Nordness Galleries concern the gallery's interest in Kington's works as Nordness expanded his interest in contemporary American objects by "master craftsmen." This material also deals briefly with Kington's representation in the Objects USA crafts exhibition which opened at the Smithsonian Institution in 1969. Records relating to the Theo Portnoy Gallery document Kington's exhibition, The Weathervane: A Kinetic Form (1978), as well as other consignments and sales through the gallery from 1977 to 1981.
Files are arranged alphabetically by subject using the basic arrangement supplied by Kington. In some cases, files have been further broken down and subject headings have been adapted for clarification and ease of access.
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
L. Brent Kington papers, 1944-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Second International Seminar on Craft, Art and Religion
Collection Creator:
Kington, L. Brent (Louis Brent), 1934-2013 Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 30-31
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1978
Collection Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
L. Brent Kington papers, 1944-2012. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Jacques Seligmann & Co. records, 1904-1978, bulk 1913-1974. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of the collection was funded by the Getty Grant Program; digitization of the collection was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Glass plate negatives in this collection were digitized in 2019 with funding provided by the Smithsonian Women's Committee.
