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Oral history interview with Alexis Smith

Creator:
Smith, Alexis, 1949-  Search this
Interviewer:
Drohojowska-Philp, Hunter  Search this
Names:
Holly Solomon Gallery  Search this
Honor Fraser Gallery  Search this
Margo Leavin Gallery  Search this
Mizuno Gallery  Search this
Nicholas Wilder Gallery  Search this
University of California, Irvine -- Students  Search this
University of California, Los Angeles -- Faculty  Search this
Bell, Larry, 1939-  Search this
Burden, Barbara  Search this
Burden, Chris, 1946-  Search this
Celmins, Vija, 1938-  Search this
Chicago, Judy, 1939-  Search this
Coplans, John  Search this
Gehry, Frank O., 1929-  Search this
Grieger, Scott  Search this
Howard, Coy  Search this
Irwin, Robert, 1928-  Search this
Krull, Craig  Search this
Moses, Avilda  Search this
Ruppersberg, Allen, 1944-  Search this
Sedivy, Richard  Search this
Solomon, Jerry  Search this
Extent:
5 Items (Sound recording: 5 sound files (3 hr., 11 min.), digital, wav)
84 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Place:
France -- description and travel
Date:
2014 January 24-April 14
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Alexis Smith conducted 2014 January 24 and April 14, by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, for the Archives of American Art at Smith's studio, in Venice, California.
Ms. Smith discusses growing up in Southern California and her early years living with her parents on the grounds of Metropolitan State Hospital, a mental institution in Norwalk, California; her mother's death when Ms. Smith was 11; the family's time in Whittier and Palm Springs and being raised as an only child by her father; her early interest in French studies and travel to France as a student; her interest in studying art beginning with a John Coplans class at UC Irvine; her time at at UC Irvine in the early days of the university and her growing attraction to the life of an artist; the origin of her name Alexis Smith; and the encouragement of her fellow artists to continue pursuing her cut-up collages from literature, photos, magazines, and Hollywood ephemera. Ms. Smith also describes her time with her artist women's group in the 70s; her husband Scott Grieger; working for Frank Gehry; her showing with the Nicholas Wilder Gallery; her relationship with Chris Burden and her time with him during his period of performance pieces in the 70s; the Riko Mizuno Gallery; her work with terrazzo and its use for installations at the LA Convention Center, Ohio State University, and other installations; the appropriation of text and the assistance of Jerry Solomon utilizing custom frames in her artwork; the impact of women from history, media and literature on her art; her relationship with Coy Howard; the Holly Solomon Gallery; her Jane series; her On the Road series; her installation Snake Path at UC San Diego; her piece for SITE Santa Fe Red Carpet; teaching at UCLA; her installation of the piece Scarlet Letter at Las Vegas Central Library and its subsequent removal; her associations with Margo Leavin Gallery and Honor Fraser gallery; and the loss of her long-time studio space and the challenges of storing her artwork. Ms. Smith also recalls Judy Chicago, Robert Irwin, Vija Celmins, Larry Bell, Barbara Burden, Richard Sedivy, Avilda Moses, Craig Krull, and Allen Ruppersberg among others.
Biographical / Historical:
Alexis Smith (1949- ) is a collage, multimedia, and installation artist in Los Angeles, California. Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is an art critic and writer from Beverly Hills, California.
General:
Originally recorded as 5 sound files. Duration is 3 hr., 11 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Collagists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Installations (Art)  Search this
Multimedia (Art)  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.smith14
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cf7d681a-7826-4d6b-9c1f-4565e032b593
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-smith14
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Allan Sekula

Interviewee:
Sekula, Allan  Search this
Interviewer:
Panzer, Mary  Search this
Names:
Artforum  Search this
California Institute of the Arts  Search this
Rhode Island School of Design  Search this
Students for a Democratic Society (U.S.)  Search this
The Ohio State University -- Faculty  Search this
University of California, San Diego  Search this
Altoon, John, 1925-  Search this
Antin, David  Search this
Antin, Eleanor  Search this
Ascott, Roy  Search this
Baldessari, John, 1931-  Search this
Barthes, Roland  Search this
Becker, Howard  Search this
Bercovitch, Sacvan  Search this
Beveridge, Karl  Search this
Bo Diddley, 1928-2008  Search this
Brach, Paul, 1924-  Search this
Braderman, Joan  Search this
Burch, Noël, 1932-  Search this
Burn, Ian, 1939-1993  Search this
Captain Beefheart  Search this
Charlesworth, Sarah, 1947-2013  Search this
Chayefsky, Paddy, 1923-1981  Search this
Conde, Carol  Search this
Connell, Brian  Search this
Evans, Walker, 1903-1975  Search this
Farber, Manny  Search this
Feldman, Ronald, 1938-  Search this
Folks, Homer, 1867-1963  Search this
Fox, Terry, 1943-  Search this
Fried, Howard, 1946-  Search this
Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997  Search this
Graham, Dan, 1942-  Search this
Graves, Michael, 1934-2015  Search this
Halleck, DeeDee  Search this
Hanhardt, John G.  Search this
Hassan, Ihab, 1925-2015  Search this
Hayes, Woody, 1913-1987  Search this
Heinecken, Robert, 1931-  Search this
Higgins, Dick, 1938-1998  Search this
Hine, Lewis Wickes, 1874-1940  Search this
Kienholz, Edward, 1927-  Search this
Kirschenbaum, Baruch David, 1931-  Search this
Knowles, Alison, 1933-  Search this
Kosuth, Joseph.  Search this
Kozloff, Max  Search this
Kramer, Hilton  Search this
Krauss, Rosalind E.  Search this
König, Kasper  Search this
Liebling, Jerome  Search this
Lifson, Ben  Search this
Little Richard, 1932-  Search this
Lonidier, Fred  Search this
Lord, Catherine, 1949-  Search this
Lunn, Harry, 1933-1998  Search this
Mac Low, Jackson  Search this
Mandel, Mike  Search this
Matta, 1912-2002  Search this
Mayer, Grace M.  Search this
Michelson, Annette  Search this
O'Doherty, Brian  Search this
Pommer, Richard  Search this
Ramsden, Mel  Search this
Raskin, Jef  Search this
Reagan, Ronald  Search this
Rosler, Martha  Search this
Ross, David A., 1949-  Search this
Ruby, Jay  Search this
Ruscha, Edward  Search this
Salle, David, 1952-  Search this
Salvesen, Britt  Search this
Schimmel, Paul  Search this
Segalove, Ilene, 1950-  Search this
Stein, Sally  Search this
Steinmetz, Philip  Search this
Sultan, Larry  Search this
Van Riper, Peter  Search this
Wakoski, Diane  Search this
Wall, Jeff, 1946-  Search this
Extent:
12 Items (Sound recording: 12 sound files (6 hr.,14 min.), digital, wav)
143 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2011 August 20-2012 February 14
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Allan Sekula conducted 2011 August 20-2012 February 14, by Mary Panzer, for the Archives of American Art at Sekula's studio and home in Los Angeles, California and at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York.
Sekula speaks of his career and some of the mediums he works in; language and contemporary art; Roland Barthes; his relation to contemporary art; west coast conceptualism; genre switches; realism; documentary photography; Belgium and the industrial revolution; Meunier; minor figures; art history and marginalism; Roberto Matta; World War I; Homer Folks; Fish Story; historic cinema; economic factors of art shows and publication; galleries and the art world; growing up and his family; his father and moving; Ohio; his brothers and sisters; San Pedro; demographics of students at school; sports at school; Vietnam; protests; cross country and swimming; California; fishing; college; U.C. system; declaring a major; John Altoon; Ed Kienholz; exposure to art; visiting museums; Marcuse's classes; Baldessari's classes; course work and student life; student demonstrations; working in a library and exposure to books; father losing his job; science and working as a chemical technician; politics; his uncle committing suicide; moving away from his father; the draft; John Birch; Students for a Democratic Society; his mother; politics of his parents; Aerospace Folk Tales, autodidacts and scholarship; San Diego and Mexico; obtaining a camera and starting to use it; art school; CalArts; UCSD; Meditations on a Triptych; David Salle; Fred Lonidier; Phel Steinmetz; MFA and art training; poets; story of Allen Ginsberg and one of Sekula's sculptures; production and the audience; A Photograph is Worth a Thousand Questions, photography and the burden of tradition; pictorialism; moving to New York; Artforum; October; New York music scene; Captain Beefheart; Bo Diddley; Little Richard; Steichen and aerial photography; origins of October; New Criterion; Art Critic's Grant; teaching at Ohio State; television; technological historians; New York subway and getting a ticket for using French money; RISD lectures; Long Beach; photography; collages; Metro Pictures; New Topographics; School as a Factory; moral choice and the viewer; work method and the audience; Social Criticism and Art Practice; east and west coasts; Ed Ruscha; documentary; film, Los Angeles; cinema and social history; Ohio State Department of Photography and Cinema; Los Angeles Plays Itself; Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador; Ohio State campus, anti-Semitism; Ronald Reagan and protest; influences and colleagues; intellectual genealogy; Michael Graves and Ohio State architecture; Bad Ohio; tenure; University Exposed; AIDS issue of October; The Body and the Archive; making film; Korean War; collectors and images. Sekula also recalls Eleanor Antin, Jeff Wall, Terry Fox, Lewis Hine, Walker Evans, Paul Saltman, Marcuse, Baldessari, Sacvan Bercovitch, Stanley Miller, Jef Raskin, Paul Brach, David Antin, Howard Fried, Peter Van Riper, Alison Knowles, Dick Higgins, Manny Farber, Ihab Hassan, Diane Wakoski, Jackson Mac Low, Martha Rosler, Lenny Neufeld, Joshua Neufeld, David Wing, Brian Connell, Max Kozloff, Ian Burn, Mel Ramsden, Carole Conde, Karl Beveridge, Barry Rosens, Tom Crow, John Copeland, Harry Lunn, Hilton Kramer, Grace Mayer, Carol Duncan, Eva Cockroft, Richard Pommer, Rosalind Krauss, Sally Stein, Paddy Chayefsky, John Hanhardt, Mel Ramsden, Sarah Charlesworth, Jospeh Kosuth, Baruch Kirschenbaum, Robert Heinecken, Brian O'Doherty, Howard Becker, Jay Ruby, Jerry Liebling, Anna Wilkie, Ronald Feldman, John Gibson, David Ross, Britt Salvesen, Larry Sultan, Mike Mandel, Roy Ascott, Ilene Segalove, Paul Schimmel, DeeDee Halleck, Noel Burch, Joan Braderman, Woody Hayes, Thom Andersen, John Quigley, Ron Green, Kasper Koenig, Dan Graham, Jonathan Green, Christa Wolf, Catherine Lord, Ben Lifson, and Annette Michelson.
Biographical / Historical:
Allan Sekula (1951-2013) was a photographer, filmmaker, and writer, based at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Mary Panzer (1955- ) is a historian from New York, New York.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Photographers -- California  Search this
Filmmakers -- California  Search this
Authors -- California  Search this
Topic:
Activism  Search this
Antisemitism  Search this
Architecture  Search this
Art -- Exhibitions -- Economic aspects  Search this
Art -- History  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Conceptual art  Search this
Documentary photography  Search this
Korean War, 1950-1953  Search this
Music -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Photography  Search this
Realism  Search this
World War, 1914-1918  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.sekula11
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9d657e5da-cd1b-4366-9fe9-1852a4c5be81
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-sekula11
Online Media:

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

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

Con Safo Group, San Antonio, Texas, Organization (see also: Casas, Mel; Martinez, Santos; Reyes, Felipe)

Collection Creator:
Ybarra-Frausto, Tomás, 1938-  Search this
Container:
Box 8, Folder 33
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1971-2000, undated
Scope and Contents note:
(letter to Dr. Guy Bensusan, Associate Professor, University of Arizona, 07/22/1972; Con Safo organizational information: list of needs, meeting notes, mission statement - Brown Paper Report; "General Comments" [by Felipe Reyes?]; clippings; exhibition announcements; catalogs; photographs of Con Safo members; material for TYF's course on Chicano Culture)
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:
Tomás Ybarra-Frausto research material, 1965-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Tomás Ybarra-Frausto research material on Chicano art
Tomás Ybarra-Frausto research material on Chicano art / Series 1: Subject Files
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw94a9f4892-fea3-4b62-8121-7c311caea4da
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-ybartoma-ref550
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  • View Con Safo Group, San Antonio, Texas, Organization (see also: Casas, Mel; Martinez, Santos; Reyes, Felipe) digital asset number 1

Shifting Terrain: Mapping a Transnational American Art History (Friday, October 16 - Session 2)

Creator:
Smithsonian American Art Museum  Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2015-10-16T20:51:24.000Z
YouTube Category:
Education  Search this
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
See more by:
americanartmuseum
Data Source:
Smithsonian American Art Museum
YouTube Channel:
americanartmuseum
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:yt_fTnvzOC9tg4

Jules Langsner papers

Creator:
Langsner, Jules, 1911-1967  Search this
Names:
Art Institute of Chicago  Search this
Art in America  Search this
California Watercolor Society  Search this
Ford Foundation  Search this
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts  Search this
International Association of Art Critics  Search this
Los Angeles County Museum of Art  Search this
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
New York Times  Search this
Pasadena Art Museum  Search this
Santa Barbara Museum of Art  Search this
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum  Search this
University of Southern California -- Faculty  Search this
Adams, Clinton, 1918-2002  Search this
Brice, William, 1921-  Search this
Feitelson, Lorser, 1898-1978  Search this
Feldman, Eddy  Search this
Fogg, Adelaide  Search this
Guston, Musa  Search this
Guston, Philip, 1913-1980  Search this
Harwood, June  Search this
Kadish, Reuben, 1913-1992  Search this
Lebrun, Rico, 1900-1964  Search this
Lundeberg, Helen, 1918-  Search this
Macdonald-Wright, Stanton, 1890-1973  Search this
Perls, Frank, 1910-1975  Search this
Ray, Julie  Search this
Ray, Man, 1890-1976  Search this
Turnbull, William, 2002  Search this
Extent:
4.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Articles
Sound recordings
Essays
Lectures
Drafts (documents)
Manuscripts
Poems
Date:
circa 1910s-1998
bulk 1950-1967
Summary:
The papers of southern California contemporary art curator, critic, and historian Jules Langsner measure 4.4 linear feet and date from circa 1910s-1998, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1950-1967. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; writings normal="1941"> travel, and works of art; and audio recordings of Langsner's lectures and eulogies given at his funeral.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of southern California contemporary art curator, critic, and historian Jules Langsner measure 4.4 linear feet and date from circa 1910s-1998, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1950-1967. Found within the papers are biographical material; correspondence with family, friends, and colleagues; writings by Langsner; exhibition files; printed materials; photographs of Langsner, others, travel, and works of art; and audio recordings of Langsner's lectures and eulogies given at his funeral.

Biographical materials consist of an address book and file, committee files, scattered financial statements, and documents related to the Ford Foundation and other foundations, teaching, and traveling.

The 0.9 linear feet of correspondence is of both a personal and professional nature. A significant portion of the correspondence is between Langsner and publications for which he wrote such as Art News, the New York Times, Meridian Books, Craft Horizons, Art International, and Art in America; galleries and museums where he lectured or curated exhibitions including the Art Institute of Chicago, California Water Color Society, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Pasadena Art Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, and the Fine Arts Patrons of Newport Harbor; colleges and organizations where he taught or was involved with such as the Graham Foundation, University of Southern California, International Association of Art Critics, and Ford Foundation; and artists that he worked with or knew personally including Rico Lebrun, William Turnbull, Man & Julie Ray, Lorser Feitelson, Helen Lundeberg, Adelaide Fogg, and Clinton Adams.

Letters to June Harwood were written while Langsner was traveling in 1964 and 1965 and discuss his travels and their relationship which culminated in marriage in Italy in 1965.

Among the 2.8 linear feet of the writings of Jules Langsner are articles for Art News, Art in America, Art International, Arts & Architecture, Aware, Beverly Hills Times, Craft Horizons, Creative Crafts, Goya Revista De Arte, Yomiuri, and Zodiac. There are also essays, lectures, poems, drafts, notes, jottings of ideas, proposals and published and unpublished manuscripts. There are drafts and unpublished versions of "Painting in the Modern World", and numerous other essays on contemporary art. There are also extensive handwritten notes on his travels, Asian art, European art, and other subjects.

Exhibition files concern "Black and White" (1958), "California Hard-Edge Painting" (1964), the Man Ray Exhibition (1966), and the William Turnbull Exhibition (1966).

Printed materials include miscellaneous flyers, brochures, and news bulletins, and press releases.

Photographs are of people, places, works of art, and exhibitions. There are photographs of Jules Langsner, June Harwood, Philip Guston, Musa Guston, William Brice, Eddy Feldman, Rube Kadish, Stanton MacDonald-Wright, Frank Perls, and unidentified individual people and groups. Photographs of Langsner's travels are of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and other locations. Photographs of exhibitions include California Art Club, "Black and White," "California Painters & Sculptors, 35 & Under," and unidentified exhibitions. Photographs of works of art are by William Turnbull, Jack Zajac, Walter Mix, Marion Aldrich, Roger Majorowicz, and Jasper Johns.

Audio recordings include four untranscribed 7" reel-to-reel audio recordings and one cassette tape. The reel-to-reel tapes are of two lectures by Langsner, You & Art/Berlin Party, and of eulogies given at Langsner's funeral by Clement Greenberg, Henry Seldis, Peter Selz, Richard Brown, Donald Brewer, Tom Leavitt, Lorser Feitelson, Sam Francis, June Wayne, Gifford Phillips, and others. The cassette tape is a copy of eulogies.
Arrangement note:
The collection is arranged as 7 series. Photographs are arranged by subject, otherwise each series is generally arranged chronologically.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1957-circa 1960s (Box 1; 9 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1948-1998 (Boxes 1-2; 0.9 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1934-circa 1960s (Boxes 2-4; 2.8 linear feet)

Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1919, circa 1958-1966 (Box 4; 4 folders)

Series 5: Printed Materials, circa 1960s (Box 5; 2 folders)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1910s-1960s (Box 5; 0.25 linear feet)

Series 7: Audio Recordings, 1954-1967 (Box 5; 0.25 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Jules Langsner (1911-1967) worked primarily in the Los Angeles area as a contemporary art critic, historian, and curator. He curated several seminal exhibitions of contemporary art, including the 1959-1960 show "Four Abstract Classicists" featuring the work of Southern California artists Lorser Feitelson, Karl Benjamin, Frederick Hammersley, and John McLaughlin.

Born Julius Harold Langsner in New York City on May 5, 1911, his family moved to Ontario, California in 1922. The family lived on a farm and opened the Paradise Health Resort which was run by Langsner's father, chiropractor Isadore Langsner, and was popular in Jewish and intellectual circles. In Ontario, Langsner became friends with three of the Pollack family sons, Jackson, Frank, and Sanford, as well as Philip Guston, Reuben Kadish, Leonard Stark, and Don Brown as a teenager. Guston, Kadish, and Jackson Pollock were later mentored by Lorser Feitelston which helped to foster in Langsner an interest in avant-garde painting.

Langsner went on to study philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles. In the early 1940s, Langsner married and had a son, Drew Langsner. He divorced in 1946. In 1944, he enlisted in the United States Army and served as a psychiatric social worker and psychologist during World War II in the United States.

Art & Architecture magazine was the first to publish Langsner's art criticism in 1948. Throughout the 1950s and 60s his work was published widely in Art & Architecture as well as Art News, Art in America, Craft Horizons, Beverly Hills Times, Zodiac, and others. Langsner wrote extensively about art history in both published and unpublished manuscripts, including Painting in the Modern World which he worked on until his death. Additionally, he taught art history classes at the Chouinard Art Institute and University of Southern California and lectured for a variety of organizations and occasions.

Langsner curated several influential exhibitions in southern California, including the "Four Abstract Classicists" exhibition for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1959 and in whose catalog he and Peter Selz coined the term "Hard-Edge painting." He curated the first full-scale retrospective of Man Ray in the United States at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1966.

Langsner received a grant from the Ford Foundation in 1964 that allowed him to travel throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Europe for a year studying regional art and architecture. He wrote notes on his travels and corresponded frequently with June Harwood, a Hard-Edge painter, whom he married in Italy in 1965.

Jules Langsner died unexpectedly of a heart attack on September 29, 1967, in Los Angeles.
Related Archival Materials note:
The papers of Lorser Feitelson and Helen Lundeberg at the Archives of American Art contain a significant amount of writings by Jules Langsner, including exhibition catalog essays.

Papers of Jules Langsner, 1941-1967, are also located at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance:
The Jules Langsner papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in several installments from 1973-1996, and in 2004 by June Harwood Langsner, widow of Jules Langsner. Notes for a lecture given at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1966 and 39 pieces of correspondence were donated in 1982 by the University of California Art Library, Los Angeles, via Librarian Virginia Steele.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Art historians -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Topic:
Works of art  Search this
Painting, Abstract -- California  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art criticism  Search this
Curators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Articles
Sound recordings
Essays
Lectures
Drafts (documents)
Manuscripts
Poems
Citation:
Jules Langsner papers, circa 1910s-1998, bulk 1950-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.langjule
See more items in:
Jules Langsner papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw96ca20c0c-5a91-42e5-9ff4-d5217f7fd266
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-langjule
Online Media:

Melinda Wortz papers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Missing Title

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wortz was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease at the age of 50 and died in 2002.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Edward C. Wortz, Melinda Wortz's husband, in 1994.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Authors -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Educators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Art museum curators -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Gallery directors -- California -- Irvine  Search this
Topic:
Art, American -- California  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California  Search this
Women art historians  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Photographs
Transcripts
Sound recordings
Travel diaries
Citation:
Melinda Wortz papers, 1958-1992. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.wortmeli
See more items in:
Melinda Wortz papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw905985e8b-dfa4-4162-a8bb-952942187c9f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wortmeli
Online Media:

Merle Schipper interviews

Creator:
Schipper, Merle  Search this
Names:
Anderson, John S., 1928-  Search this
Card, Greg S., 1945-  Search this
Cutler-Shaw, Joyce, 1932-  Search this
DeLap, Tony, 1927-2019  Search this
Graham, Robert, 1938-  Search this
Hammersley, Frederick, 1919-2009  Search this
Harden, Marvin, 1935-  Search this
Kauffman, Craig, 1932-2010  Search this
Kent, Claude, 1945-  Search this
Kessler, Charles, 1943-  Search this
Kipper, Harry  Search this
Onslow-Ford, Gordon  Search this
Pashgian, Helen, 1934-  Search this
Phillips, Jay, 1954-1987  Search this
Seliger, Charles, 1926-2009  Search this
Shelton, Peter, 1951-  Search this
Simonian, Judith, 1945-  Search this
Trowbridge, David, 1945-  Search this
Valentine, DeWain, 1936-  Search this
Van Hamersveld, John  Search this
Wight, Frederick Stallknecht, 1902-  Search this
Yokoi, Rita, 1938-  Search this
Extent:
21 Sound cassettes (Sound recording)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound cassettes
Date:
1978-1987
Scope and Contents:
A lecture and interviews of twenty-two Southern California painters and sculptors, conducted and recorded by Los Angeles art critic Merle Schipper.
Interview tapes and Schipper's fragmentary notes are available for Greg S. Card, Tony Delap, Robert Graham, Frederick Hammersley, Marvin Harden, Craig Kauffman, Claude Kent, Charles Kessler, Harry Kipper, Jay Phillips, Charles Seliger, Peter T. Shelton, Judith Simonian, David Trowbridge, and John Van Hamersveld.
Only tapes are available for John Anderson, Joyce Cutler-Shaw, Gordon Onslow-Ford, Helen Pashgian, Frederick Stallknecht Wight and Rita Yokoi. Only Schipper's fragmentary notes are available for the DeWain Valentine interview. A tape of Craig Kauffman's May 9, 1979 lecture at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is also included.
Arrangement:
John Anderson interview is on the Gordon Onslow-Ford tape.
John Van Hamersveld interview is on the Harry Kipper tape.
Frederick Stallknecht Wight interview is on the Joyce Cutler-Shaw tape.
Rita Yokoi interview is on the Helen Pashgian tape.
Biographical / Historical:
California art critic and curator of the Fine Arts Gallery, California State University; b. in 1922.
Provenance:
Donated 1988 by Merle Schipper.
Restrictions:
Untranscribed interviews; use requires an appointment and is limited to AAA's Washington, D.C. office.
Occupation:
Conceptual artists -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Art, Modern -- California  Search this
Painters -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.schimerl2
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw95ec6a57c-5584-428e-b534-e1f33f11d56b
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-schimerl2

Merle Schipper interviews, 1978-1987

Creator:
Schipper, Merle  Search this
Subject:
Graham, Robert  Search this
Harden, Marvin  Search this
Kauffman, Craig  Search this
Kent, Claude  Search this
Kessler, Charles  Search this
Kipper, Harry  Search this
Onslow-Ford, Gordon  Search this
Pashgian, Helen  Search this
Phillips, Jay  Search this
Seliger, Charles  Search this
Shelton, Peter  Search this
Simonian, Judith  Search this
Trowbridge, David  Search this
Valentine, DeWain  Search this
Van Hamersveld, John  Search this
Wight, Frederick Stallknecht  Search this
Yokoi, Rita  Search this
Anderson, John S.  Search this
Card, Greg S.  Search this
Cutler-Shaw, Joyce  Search this
DeLap, Tony  Search this
Hammersley, Frederick  Search this
Citation:
Merle Schipper interviews, 1978-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, Modern -- California  Search this
Painters -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
Research and writing about art  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9603
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211808
AAA_collcode_schimerl2
Theme:
Research and writing about art
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_211808

Melinda Wortz papers, 1958-1992

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

Number 3, 1949: Tiger

Artist:
Jackson Pollock, American, b. Cody, Wyoming, 1912–1956  Search this
Medium:
Oil, enamel, and cigarette fragment on canvas mounted on fiberboard
Dimensions:
62 x 37 1/4 in. (157.5 x 94.6 cm)
Type:
Painting
Date:
1949
Credit Line:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1972
Accession Number:
72.235
See more items in:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
School:
Abstract Expressionism (First Generation)
Data Source:
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/py23a0e72b1-1137-4d13-9ff4-b9e2ed8071e2
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:hmsg_72.235

Myer Shaffer scrapbook

Creator:
Shaffer, Myer, 1911-1983  Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
[ca. 1930-1941]
Scope and Contents:
A scrapbook that contains miscellaneous newpaper/magazine articles, a portrait of the artist, exhibition notices, letters, and articles on art activity in Los Angeles written by Shaffer for the Jewish Community Press between 1937-1938. Other items include a program for the play "We are Children of the People" for which Shaffer painted the scenery and a family portrait.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Los Angeles, Calif.; b. 1912; d. 1973 Shaffer worked with the federal art projects of the 1930s. The destruction of his mural at the Mount Sinai home created controversy in 1938, as did the addition of a clenched fist (communist salute) above his mural at the L.A. Sanitorium (now City of Hope) in Duarte. As a student at the Chouinard School of Art, Shaffer assisted David Alfaro Siqueiros with his mural American Tropical (1933). Shaffer was also an art critic for the Jewish Community Press, 1937-1938.
Provenance:
Donated 1997 by Linda Shaffer, Myer Shaffer's daughter, via Orville Clark, an art historian who studies WPA murals and artists.
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:
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Topic:
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles -- Themes, motives  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.shafmyer
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ab52b1eb-e785-4456-8d1d-fb05cccb27af
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-shafmyer

Merle Schipper Papers

Creator:
Schipper, Merle, 1922-2001  Search this
Names:
ArtScene (periodical)  Search this
Bengston, Billy Al  Search this
Biederman, Charles Joseph, 1906-2004  Search this
Calder, Alexander, 1898-1976  Search this
De Kooning, Willem, 1904-1997  Search this
Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993  Search this
Guston, Philip, 1913-1980  Search this
Holty, Carl, 1900-1973  Search this
Hélion, Jean, 1904-1987  Search this
Mullican, Matt, 1951-  Search this
Noland, Kenneth, 1924-2010  Search this
Orr, Eric, 1939-1998  Search this
Smith, Kiki, 1954-  Search this
Spratling, William, 1900-1967  Search this
Tworkov, Jack  Search this
Extent:
12.1 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Photographs
Prints
Transcripts
Drawings
Place:
France -- Paris -- Photographs
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Social life and customs
Date:
circa 1930s-1999
Summary:
The papers of Los Angeles art historian, art critic, and writer Merle Schipper measure 12.1 linear feet and date from circa 1930s to 1999. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writing and research project files, printed material, writings by others, photographs, and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Los Angeles art historian, art critic, and writer Merle Schipper measure 12.1 linear feet and date from circa 1930s to 1999. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writing and research project files, printed material, writings by others, photographs, and artwork.

Biographical material consists of a notebook planner and professional contact addresses, as well as Schipper's resume and bibliography. Scattered correspondence is both personal and professional with family and colleagues.

Over one-half of the collection consists of Schipper's writing, research, project, and exhibition files. There are drafts, essays, manuscripts, notes, and research documentation about California art and artists, an exhibition of craftsman William Spratling curated by Schipper, Schipper's dissertation and additional projects on Jean Helion, the exhibition Americans in Paris in the 1950s (1997), additional exhibitions, as well as transcripts of interviews with artists. The research files on Helion include an interview transcript with Willem de Kooning about Helion and correspondence with artists about Helion, including Charles Biederman, Alexander Calder, Philip Guston, Carl Holty, Jack Tworkov, and others. Additional exhibition files are found for Visions of Inner Space (1988) and Marmo: The New Italian Stone Age (1989). Artists interviewed by Schipper include Billy Al Bengston, Willem de Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Laddie John Dill, Kenneth Noland, Eric Orr, and others.

Extensive printed materials include clippings and copies of journals and periodicals containing Schipper's writings.

There are a few scattered writings by others about art and artists. Photographs are of Schipper, artists, artwork, and places, including Paris. Artwork includes one original poster print by Kiki Smith and one drawing by Matt Mullican.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 7 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1970s-1998 (5 folders; Box 1)

Series 2: General Correspondence, 1944-circa 1998 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Writing and Research Project Files, circa 1930s-1999 (7.8 linear feet; Boxes 1-9)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1933-1997 (3.1 linear feet; Boxes 9-12, OV14-16)

Series 5: Writings By Others, circa 1944-1991 (0.2 linear feet; Box 12)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1960s-circa 1992 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 12-13)

Series 7: Artwork, 1982-1992 (0.1 linear feet; Box 13, OV16)
Biographical / Historical:
Merle Schipper (1922-2001) was an art historian, writer, and art critic active in Los Angeles, California.

Born in Toronto, Canada, Merle Solway Schipper was naturalized in Los Angeles in 1950 and received a PhD in art history from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1974. Schipper was a familiar figure on the Los Angeles art scene. Her primary scholarly focus grew out of her dissertation research on Jean Helion, but much of her writing attention was devoted to Los Angeles artists and art world events. She was a regular contributor to many art periodicals, including ArtScene, Images and Issues, Artweek, ARTnews, and the Los Angeles Daily News.

As an independent curator, Schipper's research interests led to several exhibitions, including Americans in Paris: the 50s (1979) at California State University, Northridge, Visions of Inner Space (1988) co-curated with Lee Mullican at UCLA's Frederick S. Wight Art Gallery, Marmo: the New Italian Stone Age (1989), Being There/Being Here: Nine Perspectives in New Italian Art (1991), traveling exhibition sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute, and an exhibition of William Spratling for the Craft and Folk Art Museum in 1997. Schipper also taught and lectured at UCLA, USC, CSU Northridge, and Claremont Graduate School.

Merle Schipper died in 2001.
Provenance:
The Merle Schipper papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2002 by the Merle Schipper Estate via Schipper's daughter Amy Schipper Howe.
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.
Occupation:
Art critics -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Art historians -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Authors -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Topic:
Artists -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Photographs
Prints
Transcripts
Drawings
Citation:
Merle Schipper papers, circa 1930s-1999. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.schimerl
See more items in:
Merle Schipper Papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f9def13e-db14-404e-bdeb-bd0882698b5f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-schimerl
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Tobey C. Moss

Interviewee:
Moss, Tobey C., 1928-  Search this
Interviewer:
Drohojowska-Philp, Hunter  Search this
Extent:
4 Items (sound files (2 hrs., 32 min.), digital, wav)
59 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2013 September 12
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Tobey C. Moss, conducted 2013 September 12, by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, for the Archives of American Art at Moss' Gallery in Los Angeles, California.
Moss speaks of growing up in Chicago and moving to Los Angeles to attend UCLA; meeting and marrying her husband, Allen; serving as docent at the LA County Museum of Art; working for Zeitlin & Ver Brugge and then later Stephen White Gallery of Photography; opening her art gallery, Tobey C. Moss Gallery in 1979; her connection and relationships to many of the artists she displayed in her gallery.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Tobey C. Moss (1928- ) is an art dealer in Los Angeles, California. Interviewer Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is an art critic and writer from Beverly Hills, California.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Occupation:
Art dealers -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.moss13
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9713f6bef-b0c1-46e2-868c-62438c8ba2d8
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-moss13
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Paul Soldner

Creator:
Soldner, Paul  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Interviewer:
Riedel, Mija, 1958-  Search this
Names:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Voulkos, Peter, 1924-2002  Search this
Extent:
77 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2003 April 27-28
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Paul Soldner conducted 2003 April 27-28, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Claremont, California.
Soldner describes his "wonderful" childhood; learning early in life that critiques hinder creativity; early interest in photography, including building his own enlargers; making a pottery wheel in high school; he recalls the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago and a wheel throwing demonstration by an "Appalachian potter"; his studies at Bluffton College in Ohio; teaching art in Ohio; his art studies at University of Colorado; working with Peter Voulkos at the Los Angeles County Art Institute [now Otis College of Art and Design] and constructing a studio with Voulkos; the importance of accidents, intuition, and invention in his work; how art movements and Eastern artists have influenced him; clay's durability and expressive qualities; he discusses his teaching philosophy and grading system; for beginners, the importance of producing quantity over quality; his role as the "godfather" of Anderson Ranch in Snowmass, Colorado; how he transformed the Scripps Annual ceramics show; he describes the evolution of his work in ten-year cycles, including his tall pots, raku, and "low-salt fuming" periods; his low-tech inventions; traveling and workshops; his definition of a craftsman; his evolution from pottery to sculpture; encouraging his students to "go farther" and experiment; dealers, galleries, and collectors; his aversion to art criticism; the impact of Eastern and Western religion on art; the importance of "surprise," "playfulness," and "energy" in the work; he compares his work to music; commissions and collaborations; subconscious and environmental influences on his work; and the future direction for contemporary ceramics. Soldner also recalls Katie Horsman, Kenneth Price, Jun Kaneko, Millard Sheets, Kaneshige, Cheever Meaders, Robert Arneson, John Mason, Fred Marer, Louana Lackey, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Interviewee Paul Soldner (1921- ) is a ceramicist of Aspen, Colorado. Interviewer Mija Riedel is a curator, writer of San Francisco, California.
General:
Originally recorded on 5 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 6 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 1 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Ceramics  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.soldne03
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9eb7d7379-bb21-431b-b53b-4560df59b50b
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-soldne03
Online Media:

Oral history interview with John Cederquist

Interviewee:
Cederquist, John  Search this
Interviewer:
Riedel, Mija, 1958-  Search this
Creator:
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Names:
California State University -- Students  Search this
Franklin Parrasch Gallery  Search this
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Oakland Museum  Search this
Saddleback College -- Faculty  Search this
Bennett, Garry Knox, 1934-  Search this
Clark, Garth, 1947-  Search this
Cooke, Edward S., 1954-  Search this
Danto, Arthur Coleman, 1924-  Search this
Gaines, Tom  Search this
Hughes, Robert, 1938-2012  Search this
Makepeace, John  Search this
Maruyama, Wendy, 1952-  Search this
Parrasch, Franklin  Search this
Smith, Roberta  Search this
Snidecor, John  Search this
Straight, Bob  Search this
Straight, Chris  Search this
Turnbull, George  Search this
Zuecher, Gary  Search this
Extent:
11 Items (Sound recording: 11 sound files (4 hr., 54 min.), digital, wav file)
111 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2009 April 14-15
Scope and Contents:
An interview of John Cederquist conducted 2009 April 14-15, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Cederquist's studio, in San Clemente, California.
John Cederquist speaks of his recent series Dollar Bill; his long-standing interest in perspective and use of tool imagery in his work; his childhood in Southern California; his early interest in art through custom car art; high school art instruction and focusing on craft; earning undergraduate and graduate degrees at California State University, Long Beach in the late 1960s and early 1970s; teaching at Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, California, starting in the early 1970s; work in wood and leather; other brief teaching jobs in Southern California universities; early exhibitions; exhibition and demonstrations at Parnham House, Beaminster, England, 1978; starting to teach perspective at Saddleback; Number One; the Egg and the Eye gallery/cafe, Los Angeles, California; Game Table [1982]; Auntie Macassar Goes West, 1987-88; philosophical and aesthetic differences between wood artists on the East and West coasts; exhibition: "Material Evidence: Master Craftsmen Explore ColorCore," Workbench: the Gallery, New York, New York, 1984; "California Woodworking," the Oakland Museum [of California, 1980; Thonet catalog as source material]; influence of animation in film and television; the perceptual and conceptual issues in translating two dimensions into three, and vice versa; the nature of illusion and perception; inclusion of work in an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1989; the influence of How to Wrap Five Eggs: Traditional Japanese Packaging, Hideyuki Oka, Trumbull, Connecticut: Weatherhill, 1967; use of the Thomas Chippendale book (1754) as source material; subtle influence of cubism on Ghost Boy [1992] piece; his choice of furniture as the vehicle for his aesthetic exploration; series Furniture That Builds Itself (1991-2007), and continued influence of cartoons and animation; his choice of different kinds of wood; series How to Wrap Five Crates; series Kimonos and the influence of Japanese aesthetics; When Machines Dream of Hokusai [1995]: Road to Dreamland; series Wave (early to mid-1990s), and Tubular [1990], the first in the series; series Kosode; series This Is Not Lunch; historical Japanese tattoos as a source of inspiration; "Furniture That Builds Itself," Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, New York, 2003; sense of humor and "goofiness" in his work; Flat Foot Floogie Builds a Bench. [2003]; influence of photography on his work; his pieces as functional furniture and the artistic potential therein; social commentary in his recent Kosode pieces; Heavenly Victory; how his pieces get named; "The Art of John Cederquist: Reality of Illusion," Oakland Museum of California, 1999-2000; Breakthrough series: Steamer, early 1990s; Top Drawer (1985); Space Age Wave Machine (1999); use of thick wood instead of veneer; strengths and weaknesses of a university setting for art studies; the importance of being part of the craft movement; the role of Garth Clark's gallery in the movement; the importance of working with the Franklin Parrasch gallery; his admiration for art critic Robert Hughes; the role of online media in art journalism and criticism and journalism. He also recalls Gary Zuercher, Franklin Parrasch, John Snidecor, George Turnbull, John Makepeace, Edward S. Cooke, Garry Knox Bennett, Wendy Maruyama, Tom Gaines, Bob and Chris Straight, Arthur Danto, and Roberta Smith.
Biographical / Historical:
John Cederquist (1946- ) creates fine art furniture and wood sculpture. Cederquist is known for using trompe l'oeil in his work. He was educated at Long Beach State University and teaches at Saddleback College.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 11 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 54 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Cabinetmakers -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Decorative arts  Search this
Furniture designers -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- California -- Interviews  Search this
Woodworkers -- California -- Interviews.  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.cederq09
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e6b8700a-8d69-4730-8c1b-fa580b376816
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-cederq09
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Stephen Prina

Interviewee:
Prina, Stephen, 1954-  Search this
Interviewer:
Drohojowska-Philp, Hunter  Search this
Names:
Harvard University -- Faculty  Search this
Extent:
9 Items (sound files (8 hrs., 5 min.) Audio, digital, wav)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2017 August 7-9
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Stephen Prina conducted 2017 August 7 and 9, by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, for the Archives of American Art, at Prina's residence in Los Angeles, California.
Biographical / Historical:
Stephen Prina (1954- ) is an artist, musician, and professor in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Los Angeles, California. Hunter Drohojowska-Philp is an art critic and writer in Beverly Hills, California.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
Topic:
Artists -- Massachusetts -- Interviews  Search this
Educators -- Massachusetts -- Cambridge -- Interviews  Search this
Musicians -- Massachusetts -- Cambridge -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.prina17
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9335edcdc-6698-412f-8601-942562bca5cc
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-prina17

Millard Sheets papers

Creator:
Sheets, Millard, 1907-1989  Search this
Names:
Dalzell Hatfield Galleries  Search this
Millard Sheets & Associates Designs  Search this
Sheets, Mary Baskerville  Search this
Extent:
27.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Slides (photographs)
Photographs
Date:
circa 1907-2000
Summary:
The Millard Sheets papers comprise 27.6 linear feet of material dating from circa 1907 to 2000 with bulk dates spanning 1956 to 1981. The collection documents Sheets's career as a designer, painter, and muralist, and his personal and professional interests through correspondence, writings, lectures, printed material, drawings, slides, photographs, and ephemera. A small addition donated 2018 by Carolyn Owen-Toole, Sheet's daughter. There is a 4.6 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated 2018 that includes writings; sketchbooks and sketches; photographs and negatives of works of art, images of Millard Sheets and others including family; printed material, including two scrapbooks; and scattered correspondence regarding Sheet's projects.
Scope and Content Note:
The personal papers of Millard Sheets (1907-1990) measure 27.6 linear feet and date from circa 1907-2000, with bulk dates of 1956-1981. The collection reflects Sheets's career as a designer, painter, and muralist, as well as his other personal and professional interests, through correspondence, writings, lectures, clippings, blueprints, drawings, slides, photographs, and ephemera.

The Project Files comprise the largest group of materials in the collection and document design work undertaken by Sheets through his company Millard Sheets & Associates Designs. Sheets and his associates produced concept drawings and blueprints and supervised the construction for a wide range of design projects that ranged in scale from architectural plans for private residences to bid proposals for shopping malls and financial institutions located in California and the Southwest.

Sheets designed interior and exterior plans for over forty Home Savings and Loan bank branches in California. The distinctive modular design which Sheets created and then customized by integrating interior and exterior art elements that highlighted local historical events or natural features became synonymous with the image of Home Savings and Loan. Sheets also teamed up with the architect Edward Durrell Stone to produce a proposal for the Capitol Mall Project, an urban renewal project for the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Sacramento. Researchers will find correspondence, job costs and billing statements, and notes that trace the development of these and other building construction projects. In some instances the documents are supplemented by blueprints, photographs, and/or drawings of the project, but in many cases, visual documentation is missing.

The Project Files also document work done by Millard Sheets on public projects such as the Family of Man mural in the Los Angeles City Hall Annex, a mosaic dome in the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., and the Word of Life mural at the University of Notre Dame, Ind., along with numerous other murals and mosaics created for private individuals and corporations.

The Correspondence Series primarily reflects the interaction between Sheets and his clients, colleagues, and personal acquaintances. These files will prove valuable to researchers who are interested in the way that Sheets's beliefs about the role of art in everyday life impacted the way he conducted business and managed both large and small design projects. The correspondence also reflects Sheets's interest in popular American culture, travel, political issues of the day, and art collecting.

The Membership Files document the wide variety of interests that Sheets maintained through active membership in associations and organizations. The material in this series consists primarily of correspondence, minutes of meetings, and notes which Sheets created or used as he served as a board member or trustee on a number of organizational boards, such as the California Institute of the Arts, the Claremont Colleges, Virginia Steele Scott Foundation, Webb School of California, and Goodwill Industries of Southern California.

Also found in this series is material that documents his interest and participation in various recreational and professional organizations. Sheets maintained a long association with the Economic Roundtable, a group of businessmen who met regularly to give presentations and share discussion on contemporary political and social issues. Sheets was a frequent speaker and his talks given at the Economic Roundtables can be found in Lectures and Speeches, a subseries of the Writings Series.

Included in the Millard Sheets & Associates Designs, Inc. series are records that reflect the day-to-day operations of Sheets's design firm. Found here are chronological copies of correspondence that were sent out, files Sheets maintained on various independent contractors that the design firm frequently used, resumes and letters of recommendation that Sheets received regarding potential employees, as well as records relating to the cost and maintenance of Sheets's office building.

The Teaching and Workshop Files document the instructional activities undertaken by Sheets throughout his career in the arts. Although Sheets became pivotal in establishing a regionally recognized art department at Scripps College in Claremont, California, the files that reflect his academic position there are limited in scope and depth. Researchers will find more substantive the files that he maintained on the numerous art demonstrations and paintings workshops that he conducted privately throughout his career. Sheets traveled extensively around the world through his teaching activities and the files in this series track his path.

Closely related to the Teaching and Workshop Files is the Painting Trips series. The material in these files document Sheets's service as an American Specialist in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the USIS, Department of State. Sheets served two times as a cultural arts representative in Turkey in 1960 and in the former USSR in 1961. Sheets also made numerous trips to South East Asia, which had proved an area of fascination for him since his experiences as a war correspondent in Burma and India in World War II. The files in this series document his painting trips to Tahiti, the Pacific Ocean Rim, and Hawaii. Also found are files that detail his painting activities in Mexico.

The Exhibition Files reflect the records that Sheets maintained regarding his participation in art exhibitions, as well as his files on art shows that he personally directed or organized for public or private groups or organizations. Although Sheets exhibited his work predominantly in the West and Southwest, the files in this series demonstrate that he exhibited both nationally and internationally as well.

Also found within the records for this series are files relating to Sheets's representation of his artwork through established galleries and art agents. The Dalziel Hatfield Galleries of Los Angeles, California, served as his primary agent for most of his painting career. Correspondence between Sheets and the Hatfields provide insight into Sheets's development into a regionally and nationally significant watercolorist and painter. The files relating to the Kennedy Galleries in New York and the Circle Gallery in Chicago reflect Sheets's efforts to maintain a national presence in the arts community.

The Jury Files document Sheets's involvement as a juror in regional, as well, as national shows. The files reveal the great variety of professional watercolor and painting exhibitions in which Sheets participated as either a jury panelist or solo judge.

The Writings Files provide an excellent source for researchers interested in Sheets's philosophical beliefs about the relationship between art and everyday life. His articles, lectures, and speeches predominantly address the role of the artist, the relationships that exist between artists and the community, and the role that art can play in making a fuller, more productive life. Also found in the files of this series are articles written by others about Sheets.

The Biographical Material series provides a short introduction to Millard Sheets. The files consist of the calendars maintained by Sheets and his wife and staff, which were used to coordinate his many commitments and appointments. Also found in the files of this series are family chronologies that were created by Mary Baskerville Sheets. Medical records and resumes provide personal information about Sheets's background and health. A small file of military memorabilia provides information about Sheets's contributions to the war effort in World War II.

The Printed Matter series documents family activities and personalities through publicity clippings. Also found are exhibition catalogs and announcements that Sheets saved regarding other artists. Miscellaneous interests and activities of Sheets are found through magazine articles, brochures, and flyers.

The Photographs series includes photographic documentation for Sheets's artwork, horses, and major projects. A small group of photographs of Sheets are also in this series.

The files in the Artwork series include original drawings by Mary Baskerville Sheets and Millard Sheets.

There is a 4.6 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated 2018 that includes writings; sketchbooks and sketches; photographs and negatives of works of art, images of Millard Sheets and others including family; printed material, including two scrapbooks; and scattered correspondence regarding Sheet's projects.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into fifteen series. Small series, such as Biographical Material are generally based on type of document. Larger series, such as Correspondence or Project Files, are arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent or project. General correspondence has been made into its own series, but other series or subseries may also contain some correspondence. Within particular series, materials have been further divided into subseries which represent particular aspects of the project or event. For example, the Writings Series is further divided into subseries of books and articles, eulogies, and lectures and speeches. An outline listing series and subseries titles and dates follows.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1907-1982, undated (boxes 1-2; 1.25 linear ft.)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1929-1990, undated (boxes 2-4; 2.75 linear ft.)

Series 3: Personal Business Records, 1933-1980, undated (boxes 5-6; 1.25 linear ft.)

Series 4: Membership Files, 1946-1982, undated (boxes 6-8; 2.5 linear ft.)

Series 5: Millard Sheets & Associates Designs, 1934-1982, undated (boxes 8-9; 1.0 linear ft.)

Series 6: Project Files, 1956-1981, undated (boxes 9-18; 8.25 linear ft.)

Series 7: Teaching and Workshop Files, 1932-1982 (box 18; 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 8: Painting Trips, 1959-1980, undated (box 18; 16 folders)

Series 9: Exhibition Files, 1932-1937, 1951-1988, undated (box 19; 0.75 linear ft.)

Series 10: Jury Files, 1941-1982 (boxes 19-20; 42 folders)

Series 11: Writings, 1936-1988, undated (boxes 20-22; 2.5 linear ft.)

Series 12: Printed Matter, 1936-1922, undated (boxes 22-23; 20 folders)

Series 13: Photographs, 1934-1983, undated (box 23; 17 folders)

Series 14: Artwork, circa 1929, undated (box 23; 2 folders)

Series 15: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1930-2000 (boxes 24, 26-30, OV25: 4.6 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
"Your painting is a measure of your mind"-Millard Sheets

Millard Sheets, as one of the founding members of the "California Scene Painters," exerted a lasting influence upon subsequent generations of Western painters. He and the small group of painters who worked in California during the 1930s and 1940s, developed a new style of watercolor painting that was at the forefront of the American watercolor movement of the time, and that later gave rise to a subsequent generation of painters who became known as the California Regionalist school.

Sheets was born in Pomona, California on June 24, 1907. His mother died in childbirth, and his father, John Sheets, unprepared to raise a baby alone, sent Millard to Pomona, California to be raised by his maternal grandparents, Lewis and Emma Owen. Sheets's grandfather proved to be a guiding force in his life, and when Sheets's father remarried and offered Millard the opportunity to return to the Sheets household, Millard chose instead to remain with his grandparents.

Sheets's love of horses can be directly traced back to his childhood years spent living at his grandfather's horse ranch. Millard rode his first horse when he was three years old. Throughout his life, Sheets returned to the theme of horses in his paintings, as well as maintaining a private stable of horses, and raising and breeding racehorses.

His interest in art also began in childhood. When he was still a young boy, his two maternal aunts encouraged him to play with crayons and pencils. Sheets took his first painting lesson from a neighbor at the age of seven, and by 1919 he had already submitted artwork to the copy division of the Los Angeles County Fair fine arts show competition. He submitted a drawing he had copied of a tinted photograph of Lake KIlarney, California. Sheets won first prize in his division.

It was through this competition that Millard met Theodore B. Modra, a Polish artist who had retired to the Pomona area. After giving Sheets a lecture on the evils of copying art, Modra offered to give him art lessons.

Sheets continued to pursue his interest in art and enrolled in the Choinard School of Art in Los Angeles, California. By the time that he graduated in 1929, Sheets had also managed to come to the attention of Dalzell and Ruth Hatfield of the Dalzell Hatfield Galleries in Los Angeles, California. The Hatfields were one of the most influential art dealers in Southern California, and that same year, they sponsored Sheets in his first one-man exhibition in 1929. The exhibition brought Sheets to the attention of Western Coast art critics and launched Sheets on his painting career.

In 1929 Sheets also learned that he had won second place in the annual Edgar B. Davis art competition held in San Antonio, Texas. The award came with a cash prize and Sheets made plans to travel to Europe to study and paint. Shortly before his departure, however, he met an art student, Mary Baskerville, and they began a whirlwind romance. With Baskerville's enthusiastic support for European plans, and with her promise that she would wait for him, Sheets departed for New York and then Europe.

While overseas during 1929 and 1930, Sheets studied under Dorfinant, a master printer in Paris. Through his work at this studio workshop, he met Henri Matisse.

Five months after Millard returned to the California in 1930, Sheets and Mary Baskerville married. Sheets worked as the director of the Fine Arts Exhibition of the Los Angeles County Fair. In 1932 Sheets returned to school to study art and humanities at Scripps College in Claremont, California. After graduating from Scripps, school officials approached Sheets with an offer to set up a separate fine arts program and asked him to chair the new department. This was the beginning of a twenty year association with the school. In 1938, he also became the Director of Art at Claremont Graduate School.

Sheets left the school during the years of World War II to serve as a war-time artist and journalist for Life magazine, and from 1943-1944 was stationed on the Burma-India Front. His experiences in Asia appeared to affect him deeply. In contrast to his earlier works which featured backgrounds with neutral tones and brilliant shades that highlighted and punctuated the compositions, the paintings from the wartime featured somber tones. Sheets remarked of this time:

During the fighting and the time I spent in the C-B-1 theater, I was too shaken and intellectually stunned to do any complete paintings. I made many, many sketches, though, as well as a real effort to remember each scene that particularly affected me. Then, once I returned to America, I painted frantically, for months, exorcising demons. [Lovoos, Janice and Edmund F. Penney, Millard Sheets: One-Man Renaissance, Northland Press, Flagstaff, AZ, 1984]

Sheets returned from the war in 1944 and resumed his position at Scripps College until 1955 when he was approached by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and asked to overhaul the fledgling Los Angeles County Art Institute. Sheets accepted the position and spent the next five years reshaping the mission and format of the school, renaming it the Otis Art Institute. In the years after Sheets left the directorship, the school eventually became part of the Parson's School of Design on the West Coast.

In 1953 Sheets founded the Millard Sheets Designs company. He hired between twenty-five and thirty artisans for large projects, with Susan Hertel, a former student of his, serving as his assistant in all the operations of the design studio. The working staff included engineers, registered architects, draftsmen, and artists, and the projects that the firm produced included murals, mosaics, stained glass, and sculpture for private homes and public and commercial businesses.

The design studio completed several major architectural projects throughout the late 1950s through the mid 1970s, including the design and construction of Cal Aero, a flight training school for the US Air Force, the National American Insurance Company offices for the California financier, Howard Ahmanson, Ahmanson Bank and Trust Company in Beverly Hills, many Home Savings and Loan Association Buildings, private residences, and the Scottish Rite Memorial Temples in Los Angeles and San Francisco, among many other projects.

Sheets also designed and completed mural and mosiac work for numerous public buildings in the Los Angeles area, as well as across the nation. Many of the murals and mosiacs were for those buildings designed by his firm while others were done as independent commissions.

In 1968 Sheets first proposed the murals he designed for the Los Angeles City Hall. His design was approved and he was awarded a commission to complete The Family of Man murals over the two main entrances to the Los Angeles City Hall. The murals were completed in 1971 and installed in 1972. Sheets also designed mosiacs and murals for the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, the Library at Notre Dame University, the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Los Angeles, several Home Savings and Loan Association buildings in the Los Angeles area, the Detroit Public Library, and the Dome of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.

During the early 1960s Sheets participated in the American Specialist Program of the US Department of State. His first assignment was to Turkey in 1960, where he served as a visiting artist. The following year he went to the USSR in the same capacity.

During the early to mid 1950s Sheets became involved with Columbia Pictures and was technical advisor and production designer for a few years.

Millard Sheets was a member of the National Watercolor Society, the American Watercolor Society, the National Academy of Design, the Society of Motion Picture Art Directors, and the Century Association. Sheets actively promoted his own work and was a businessman, an active and prolific artist, instructor, and designer. Millard Sheets died on March 31, 1989 in Gualala, California.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reels LA 10) including a biographical sketch, career resume, and a list of sheets' work prepared in 1964. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Millard Sheets lent material for microfilming in 1965. Mary B. Sheets, Millard's widow, donated the papers to the Archives of American Art in 1992. Carolyn Owen-Toole, Sheet's daughter, gave a small addition of material in 2018.
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.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Art -- California  Search this
Art and society  Search this
Horses -- Breeding  Search this
Watercolorists -- California  Search this
Muralists -- California  Search this
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
Designers -- California  Search this
Genre/Form:
Slides (photographs)
Photographs
Citation:
Millard Sheets papers, circa 1907-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.sheemill
See more items in:
Millard Sheets papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw978141c20-c1e5-41ff-aa5d-6603f62f526f
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-sheemill
Online Media:

Press Kit, The Latin American Spirit: Art and Artists in the United States 1920-1970 Exhibition

Collection Creator:
Casas, Mel, 1929-2014  Search this
Container:
Box 2, Folder 13
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1989
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:
Mel Casas papers, 1963-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Mel Casas papers
Mel Casas papers / Series 4: Printed Materials
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a954399d-4c63-4f51-8bff-f9330bfb278a
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-casamel-ref24
1 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
  • View Press Kit, The Latin American Spirit: Art and Artists in the United States 1920-1970 Exhibition digital asset number 1

Clippings

Collection Creator:
Casas, Mel, 1929-2014  Search this
Container:
Box OV 3, Folder 3
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1987-1998
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:
Mel Casas papers, 1963-1998. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
See more items in:
Mel Casas papers
Mel Casas papers / Series 4: Printed Materials
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9892210c7-a4e0-414f-91e1-630abb620a0b
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-aaa-casamel-ref43
1 Page(s) matching your search term, top most relevant are shown: View entire project in transcription center
  • View Clippings digital asset number 1

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