The papers of art historian, educator, writer and psychologist Rudolf Arnheim measure 9.6 linear feet and date from 1919 to 1998. The papers document his career in New York, Michigan, and abroad through biographical material, correspondence, writings, lectures, diaries, printed material, and sound recordings.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian, educator, writer and psychologist Rudolf Arnheim measure 9.6 linear feet and date from 1919 to 1998. The papers documents his career in New York, Michigan, and abroad through biographical material, correspondence, writings, lectures, diaries, printed material, and sound recordings.
Biographical material includes a bibliography, biographical sketches, contracts and agreements, sound cassettes of interviews, and other miscellaneous material.
Correspondence is with colleagues, editors, publishers, and universities on various subjects. The bulk of the correspondence is arranged by subject such as architects, art historians, dance, and film. There is correspondence with Harvard University, University of Michigan, Museum of Modern Art, and New School of Social Research, as well as various individuals such as Josef Albers, Gyorgy Kepes, and Alice Sheldon.
Writings and lectures include book reviews, articles, lecture drafts and notes, sound recordings of lectures, manuscripts, and copies of published articles.
Arnheim's diaries date from 1919 to 1987 and discuss his early life as a student in Germany and career as an educator and lecturer. Some diaries include draft writings.
Printed material includes lecture announcements, reviews, clippings, programs, brochures, assorted material from Sarah Lawrence College, and two instructional sound cassettes.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 5 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-1991 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1998 (Boxes 1-5; 4.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Lectures, 1930-1989 (Boxes 5-8; 2.7 linear feet)
Series 4: Diaries, 1919-1987 (Boxes 8-9; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1928-circa 1990 (Boxes 9-11; 1.2 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Rudolf Arnheim (1904-2007) was a writer, educator, art historian and psychologist who was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States where he primarily worked in New York and Massachusetts.
Rudolf Arnheim was born in Berlin, Germany on July 15, 1904. He received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Berlin in 1928. Arnheim worked as a film critic and editor for several magazines and journals after graduation. During this time, he gathered information which would be compiled in his book Film as Art (1932). When the Nazis came into power in 1933, Arnheim moved to Rome where he worked at the Institute for the Educational Film for six years, then moved to London in 1939 and worked as a translator for the British Broadcasting Company.
Arnheim immigrated to the United States in 1940. In 1943, he became a psychology professor at Sarah Lawrence College where he continued to teach until 1968. He also taught at the New School for Social Research during this time. From 1959 to 1960, he was a Fulbright lecturer at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, Japan. After Sarah Lawrence College, Arnheim became a Professor of Psychology of Art at Harvard University, where he stayed until 1974 when he moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife Mary. He was a visiting professor at the University of Michigan from 1974 to roughly 1984.
Among his many publications are Art and Visual Perception, Toward a Psychology of Art, Visual Thinking, Entropy and Art, Picasso's Guernica, and The Power of Center. Arnheim died in Ann Arbor in 2007.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Rudolf Arnheim conducted by Robert F. Brown, May 16, 1972. Additional papers on Rudolf Arnheim related to psychology are available at the Archives of the History of Psychology in Akron, Ohio.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel 3767) including correspondence with German publishers and editors, 1959-1982; Dumont Buchverlag, 1963-1980; Carl Hanser Varlag, 1974-1981; Helmut Diederich, 1974-1981; Franz Rudolf Knubel, 1971-1981; Werner Korbs, 1976-1982; Jurgen Weber, 1972-1981; and others. The originals were returned to Rudolf Arnheim after microfilming and subsequently donated to the Schiller-Nationalmuseum Deutsches Literaturarchiv, Germany. This material is not described in the collection container inventory or the finding aid.
Provenance:
The Rudolf Arnheim papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in several installments between 1974 to 1998 by Rudolf Arnheim. Arnheim also loaned material for microfilming in 1986.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copies requires advance notice.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Una E. Johnson, 1971 Jan. 5-July 29. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Una Johnson conducted 1971 Jan. 5-July 29, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Johnson discusses her tenure as Head Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Brooklyn Museum during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
Biographical / Historical:
Una E. Johnson (1905-1997) was a curator and art historian from Dayton, Iowa. She was Head Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Brooklyn Museum from 1942-1969.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Topic:
Curators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
An interview of Jean Lipman conducted 1973 June 19, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Lipman discusses her education, New York art collectors and art historians, her interest in American folk art, and her editorial roles in association with "Art in America," and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among other topics.
Biographical / Historical:
Jean Lipman (1909-1998) was an artist, art editor and writer from New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 7 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Editors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews Search this
The papers of California and New York painter Ethel Fisher measure 12.5 linear feet and 0.558 GB and date from 1930 to 2017. Included are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, project files, exhibition files, artists' files, personal business records, printed and digital material, artwork and several sketchbooks, a few sound and video recordings, and photographic material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of California and New York painter Ethel Fisher measure 12.5 linear feet and 0.558 GB and date from 1930 to 2017. Included are biographical materials, correspondence, writings, project files, exhibition files, artists' files, personal business records, printed and digital material, artwork and several sketchbooks, a few sound and video recordings, and photographic material.
Biographical material includes Art Students League records, address books and business cards, artist statements and resumes, an interview transcript and sound cassette, and other miscellaneous documents.
Correspondence is with family, friends, colleagues, artists, galleries, and museums. The bulk of the correspondence is with daughter Sandra Fisher and husband Seymour Kott. Notable correspondents include Will Barnet, Keith Coleborn, Elaine Ehrenkranz, Rafael Fernandez, Henry Pearson, and others. There are also greeting cards and postcards, inluding numerous illustrated cards from Fisher to her husband Seymour.
Writings mostly consist of annotated appointment calendars and travel diaries along with some writings by others, such as a travel diary by Keith Coleborn and a graduate thesis by Keri Jones.
Project files include correspondence, grant applications, printed and digital material, and publication agreements for art projects, commissions, studio tours, auctions, and speaking engagements. Notable projects include material on the NBC-TV film Family Ties, art loans for the Showtime movie Town of the Eighties, and teaching material from Brentwood Art Center.
Exhibition files contain exhibition announcements, catalogs, publicity, reviews, correspondence, exhibition lists, price lists of artwork, and other material for Ethel Fisher's group and solo shows.
Artists' files include printed material about and limited correspondence with various artists in which Fisher was interested or with whom she was friends, including Stanley Boxer, Irving Fine, Ilse Getz, Ibram Lassaw, and Paul Thek.
Personal business records include consignments, price lists, loan agreements, receipts, donations, and sales documentation.
Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, announcements, magazines, and clippings about Ethel Fisher and other artists. There are also books inscribed to Fisher.
The artwork series includes sketchbooks, drawings, watercolors, and loose sketches.
Photographic material consists of photographs, digital photographs, slides, and negatives of Ethel Fisher, her artwork, exhibitions, events, family, friends, artists, studios, and travel. There are also "reference photos" of people, places, and objects which Fisher used for her portraits and paintings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-2014 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 1, 13)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1930-2017 (5.4 linear feet; Boxes 1-6, 13, 15)
Series 3: Writings, 1965-2014 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 6-7, 13)
Series 4: Project Files, 1954-2011 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 7, 12, 0.128 GB; ER01)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1945-2006 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 7-8)
Series 6: Artists' Files, 1952-2010 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 8, 12)
Series 7: Personal Business Records, 1959-2017 (0.3 linear feet; Boxes 8, 13)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1940-2016 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 8-9, 12-13)
Series 9: Artwork and Sketchbooks, 1944-2014 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 9, 12-15, OV16)
Series 10: Photographic Materials, 1942-2014 (2.2 linear feet;Boxes 9-11, 14, 0.430 GB; ER02)
Biographical / Historical:
Ethel Fisher (1923-2017) was a painter who lived in Pacific Palisades, California.
Ethel Fisher was born in Galveston, Texas in 1923. She studied art at the University of Houston, University of Texas, and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. After college, she moved to New York City and attended The Art Students League on scholarship from 1943-1946. In New York, she studied with painter Will Barnet, Morris Kantor, and Robert Beverly Hale, and befriended many people in the art world. She married Gene Fisher and their first daughter Sandra was born. Sandra also became a painter and later married artist R. B. Kitaj.
Fisher and her family moved to Miami in 1948 where her daughter Margaret was born. Upon her divorce, Fisher travelled in Europe for about a year before returning to New York City in the early 1960s, where she continued to paint and maintained 2 studios for her artwork. She married art historian Seymour Kott in 1963.
In 1970, Fisher and her husband moved to Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, California. Throughout her career as a painter, Ethel Fisher has had solo and group exhibitions at galleries in Havana, Cuba; West Palm Beach, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; New York City, New York; and San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and continues to paint. In 2003, Fisher had solo exhibit of portraits at Platt Gallery in Los Angeles.
Provenance:
The Ethel Fisher papers were donated by Ethel Fisher in two installments in 1997 and 2015.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Richter, Gisela Marie Augusta, 1882-1972 Search this
Extent:
14.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Photographs
Date:
1915-1977
1898
Summary:
The papers of furniture and interior designer Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings measure 14.4 linear feet and date from 1898 to 1977 with the bulk of material dating from 1915 to 1977. Found within the papers are biographical material, correspondence, writings, project files, printed materials, artwork including 4 sketchbooks, 30 scrapbooks documenting Robsjohn-Gibbings career, and photographs of Robsjohn-Gibbings and his work.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of furniture and interior designer Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings measure 14.4 linear feet and date from 1898 to 1977, with the bulk of material dating from 1915 to 1977. Found within the papers are biographical material, correspondence, writings, project files, printed materials, artwork including 4 sketchbooks, 30 scrapbooks documenting Robsjohn-Gibbings career, and photographs of Robsjohn-Gibbings and his work.
Biographical materials consist of a key to the city of San Francisco, an award certificate, a photograph of a table from Robsjohn-Gibbings' personal art collection, and a ring design.
Correspondence is primarily with Robsjohn-Gibbings' friends, business associates, and scholarly researchers discussing relationships, business commissions, and his professional work. Correspondents of note include illustrators Alan Dunn and Mary Petty, and classical art historian Gisela Richter.
Writings by Robsjohn-Gibbings consist of 13 essays, 2 copies of the draft manuscript The Cuckoo Sings, 2 manuscript drafts of Furniture of Classical Greece, and a notebook of collected inspirational quotations. There is also a translation of a selection of Heinz Kahler's Hadrian und Seine Villa Bei Tivoli.
Project files include photographs and portfolios of 28 commercial and residential commissions; photographs and watercolor renderings of designs produced by Robsjohn-Gibbings Ltd.; photographs and portfolios of designs for Widdicomb Furniture Company; and printed material and research related to the furniture designs for Saridis of Athens. The series also includes portfolios of residences photographed by Ezra Stoller Associates, and photographs and notes for a 25 year Interior Design retrospective exhibition.
Printed material includes published books by Robsjohn-Gibbings, annotated books on Hadrian's Villa and decorative sculpture, catalogs, clippings, press releases, and miscellaneous printed material.
Photographs are of Robsjohn-Gibbings, his friends, his New York office and Athens apartment, and photo shoots for Life and Look magazines.
There are 24 volumes documenting Robsjohn-Gibbings career from 1936 to 1963, an additional 4 volumes of press coverage of his books, and 2 more volumes documenting European art and historical interior design.
Artwork includes 4 sketchbooks of classical Greek and Roman furniture designs rendered in graphite and watercolor by Robsjohn-Gibbings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 8 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1942-1970 (4 folders, Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1940-1976 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1930-1976 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1, BV 12)
Series 4: Project Files, circa 1930-1976 (4 linear feet; Box 1-2, Box 6-8, BV 13-16, OV 42-53, OV 55)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1898-1977 (1.9 linear feet, Box 2-4, Box 9)
Series 6: Photographic Materials, 1915-1976 (0.3 linear feet; Box 4, Box 9, OV 54)
Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1936-1970 (5.9 linear feet, Box 9-11, BV 17-41)
Series 8: Artwork, circa 1930-1976 (0.5 linear feet; Box 4-5, Box 9)
Biographical / Historical:
Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings (1905-1976) was a furniture and interior designer who lived and worked in New York City and Athens, Greece.
Robsjohn-Gibbings was born in England and studied architecture at London University. In 1930, he immigrated to America, and six years later opened his own interior decorating firm, Robsjohn-Gibbings Ltd., on Madison Avenue. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, he was one of the most recognized decorators in America and designed homes for Doris Duke, Alfred Knopf, and Thelma Chrysler Foy. One of his earliest commissions was Hilda Boldt Weber's 43 room Casa Encantada mansion in Bel-Air, for which he created more than 200 custom pieces of furniture between 1934 and 1938.
From 1943 to 1956, Robsjohn-Gibbings was the principal designer for the Widdicomb Furniture Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. These residential furnishings reflected an elegant, simplistic aesthetic and were regularly showcased in the magazines Town and Country, Interior Design, Vogue, and House Beautiful.
He was a critic of the prevailing taste in Bauhaus modernism and Queen Anne, Georgian, and Spanish extravagance and expressed these views on design and aesthetics in the books Goodbye, Mr. Chippendale (1944), Mona Lisa's Moustache (1947), and Homes of the Brave (1953).
In 1960, he and his collaborator, Carlton Pullin, met the Greek furniture makers Susan and Eleftherios Saridis, who commissioned Robsjohn-Gibbings to design a line for their company, Saridis of Athens. These pieces were modeled after classical Greek forms and aesthetics, and are detailed in Robsjohn-Gibbings' Furniture of Classical Greece (1963).
In 1965, Robsjohn-Gibbings moved to Athens, Greece and continued designing residential and commercial spaces until his death in 1976.
Provenance:
Portions of the Terence Robsjohn-Gibbings papers were donated by the artist in 1966. In 1977, Margaret Carson donated a manuscript copy of The Cuckoo Sings. Later in 1977, the bulk of additional material in the collection was donated to the Archives of American Art by Robsjohn-Gibbing's associate and executor, Carlton Pullin.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Furniture designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Interior decorators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of art historian, arts administrator, consultant, and author Richard McLanathan, measure 29.8 linear feet and date from 1901 to 1995, with the bulk of the records dating from the 1940s to 1990s. The collection documents McLanathan's career through correspondence, education records, writings, and lecture files; papers related to his career at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and his directorship at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute; and project files from his consulting work in arts, education, historic preservation, administrative reorganization, funding, and publicity. The collection is primarily composed of correspondence, writings, reports, printed matter, as well as some photographs and audiovisual material.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of art historian, arts administrator, consultant, and author Richard McLanathan, measure 29.8 linear feet and date from 1901 to 1995, with the bulk of the records dating from the 1940s to 1990s. The collection documents McLanathan's career through correspondence with artists, museum professionals, and collectors; records from his education at Harvard, including papers related to the American architect Charles Bulfinch; papers pertaining to various lectures, essay, and book projects; material documenting his career at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and his directorship at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute; and project files from his consulting work in arts, education, historic preservation, and administrative reorganization, funding, and publicity. Also included is a significant amount of material related to McLanathan's post as art curator at the American National Exhibition, Moscow, USSR, in 1959; and his work as writer, researcher, and editor at the National Gallery of art form the late-1960s to late-1970s.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 9 series
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1942-1994 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 1, 30-31, FC 32)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1901-1995, bulk 1940s-1990s (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, 1934-1995 (9.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-10, 31)
Series 4: Association and Membership Records, 1950-1987 (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 11-14, FC 33)
Series 5: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, circa 1946-1976 (2.0 linear feet; Box 14-16)
Series 6: Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, 1958-1963 (1.0 linear feet; Box 16-17)
Series 7: Consulting Projects, 1950s-1991 (10.8 linear feet; Box 17-28, 31)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1930s-1990s (1.0 linear feet; Box 28-29)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1940s-1990s (0.5 linear feet; Box 29)
Biographical / Historical:
Richard McLanathan (1916-1998) was an art historian, curator, museum administrator, consultant, and author in New York and Boston. McLanathan began his career at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, followed by the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, New York before moving on to consulting work for the remainder of his career. He published numerous books and articles, was a key member of several professional and cultural organizations, and consulted on multiple projects for corporations, municipalities, museums, and educational institutions.
McLanathan graduated from high school from The Choate School in 1934, followed by his bachelor's degree and doctorate from Harvard University. While writing his dissertation on the early-American architect Charles Bulfinch, McLanathan was hired as assistant curator of paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA). Other titles he held there include Secretary of the Museum (1949-1956), Editor of Museum Publications (1952-1957), and Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts (1954-1957). Additionally, McLanathan was a member of the art and executive committees for the Boys' Club of Boston (circa 1950-1956).
McLanathan moved to Utica, New York, in 1957, for the position of director at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Museum of Art (MWP) where he organized exhibitions, was responsible for the institute's community arts program, oversaw the planning and completion of a new museum building designed by Philip Johnson, and worked on the restoration of Fountain Elms, a nearby 1850s Tuscan villa. McLanathan was then assigned as curator of the art exhibition at the American National Exhibition, Moscow, USSR, in 1959. This led to additional roles as an American specialist for the State Department in West Germany (1959), Poland (1959), Denmark (1959), and Yugoslavia (1961). Around this time, McLanathan also served on the Commissioner's Committee for the Arts and Museum Resources under the New York State Council of the Arts (1960-1964).
After resigning from MWP in 1961, McLanathan worked primarily as a freelance writer, lecturer, and consultant. His consulting projects included program planning, future development, curriculum development, administrative reorganization, exhibitions, historic preservation, budgeting and funding, and policy development. His clients included the Atlanta Art Association, IBM, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Time-Life, State University of New Mexico, and U. S. Plywood. In the late 1960s, McLanathan began working as a project consultant for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. While there, his projects included Art & Man (1969-1973), A Guide to Civilisation: The Kenneth Clark Films on the Cultural Life of Western Man (1970), East Building, National Gallery: A Profile (1978), and various other writings and films .
As a writer, McLanathan contributed to the Encyclopedia of World Art and Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, and published articles on artists, architecture, art history in general, and museums in the Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, Art News, and Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. The books he wrote include Images of the Universe: Leonardo da Vinci, The Artist as Scientist (1966), The Pageant of Medieval Art and Life (1966), The American Tradition in the Arts (1968), Art in America, A Brief History (1973), The Art of Marguerite Stix (1977), and World Art in American Museums, A Personal Guide (1983).
Provenance:
This collection was donated in two installments by Richard McLanathan, 1994-1995, and by Jane McLanathan, 2005-2007, via her estate's executor.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment, and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Richard McLanathan papers, 1901-1995. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
The processing of this collection received Federal support from the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund, administered by the National Collections Program and the Smithsonian Collections Advisory Committee.
The papers of African American art historian, curator and arts administrator, Lowery Stokes Sims, measure 34.0 linear feet and date from 1967 to 2019. The collection documents Sims's career, and her work towards the inclusion of women artists and artists of color into the mainstream art world. The collection comprises biographical materials, datebooks, correspondence, writings, notebooks, exhibition files, professional files that include Sims's files from the Studio Museum in Harlem, Metropolitan Museum of Art records, research files, files on Robert Colescott, printed materials, photographic materials, and unidentified audiovisual and born-digital materials.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of African American art historian, curator and art administrator, Lowery Stokes Sims, measure 34.0 linear feet and date from 1967 to 2019. The collection documents Sims's career, and her work towards the inclusion of women artists and artists of color into the mainstream art world. The collection comprises biographical materials, datebooks, correspondence, writings, notebooks, exhibition files, professional files that include Sims's files from the Studio Museum in Harlem, Metropolitan Museum of Art records, research files, files on Robert Colescott, printed materials, photographic materials, and unidentified audiovisual and born-digital materials.
Biographical materials contain address books, awards, interviews with Sims, and resumes. Fifty datebooks highlight Sims's daily activities for over four decades. Personal and professional correspondence is with Audrey Flack, Za, Betye Saar, Hale Woodruff, Susan Schwalb, Margo Machida, William McKnight, and others.
Writings include drafts and typescripts on Alma Thomas, Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden, Wifredo Lam, African American and women artists; a transcript of a conversation between Sims and Maren Hassinger; and born digital material of presentations. Also in the collection are 60 notebooks containing personal and professional notes and journal entries.
Exhibition files consist of correspondence, budget records, writings about the exhibition and for the catalog, clippings, exhibition announcements, loan forms, artist biographies, and artwork lists for Living Space: An Exhibition on Low Income Housing (1977), Art as a Verb (1988), Next Generation: Southern Black Aesthetic (1990), and Richard Pousette-Dart, 1916-1992 (1997).
Professional files document Sims's memberships, conferences, projects, and teaching activities, as well as her work at the Studio Museum of Harlem. The Metropolitan Museum of Art records consist of research on the museum's collection of works by African American artists, program and staff files, and snapshots of Sims with colleagues on a trip to Patagonia.
Research files contain printed materials, notes, 32 audiovisual recordings and nine born digital discs, and biographical material on artists Frederick Brown, Elizabeth Catlett, Stuart Davis, Maren Hassinger, Edgar Heap of Birds, Al Loving, Faith Ringgold, Jaune Quick-To-See Smith, Kara Walker, and others. The files on Robert Colescott include a book proposal, artwork lists, exhibition files, four sound recordings of an interview between Colescott and Sims, and research material on related topics.
Printed materials consist of clippings featuring Sims, posters, event programs, a few newsletters and magazines, exhibition catalogs that include essays written by Sims, and three documentary recordings. Photographic materials include prints, negatives, transparencies, photograph albums, and slides of Sims, colleagues and friends, exhibitions and professional events, Russ Thompson and Benny Andrews, Beverly Buchanan, Rick Powel, Vaclav Havel, Jeff Donaldson, Samella Lewis, and others.
The final series consists of nine sound recordings and one born digital disc (CD) that could not be placed into a series as the material is either unlabeled or the labels are illegible.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 13 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1980-circa 2005 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Datebooks, 1975-2017 (4.0 linear feet; Boxes 1-5)
Series 3: Correspondence, 1971-2018 (1.0 linear feet; Boxes 5-6)
Series 4: Writings, circa 1970s-2018 (2.6 linear feet; Boxes 6-8, OV 33)
Series 5: Notebooks, 1975-2016 (2.6 linear feet; Boxes 39-42)
Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1967-2017 (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 9-10, OV 36)
Series 7: Professional Files, 1969-2018 (6.3 linear feet; Boxes 10-16, OV 34)
Series 8: Metropolitan Museum of Art Records, 1972-2008 (6.0 linear feet; Boxes 16-22, OV 38)
Series 9: Research Files, circa 1970-2017 (6.0 linear feet; Boxes 22-28, OV 35)
Series 10: Files on Robert Colescott, 1971-2019 (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 28-30)
Series 11: Printed Materials, 1970s-2017 (1.8 linear feet; Box 30, OV 37)
Series 12: Photographic Materials, 1970s-2018 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 31-32)
Series 13: Unidentified Audio and Born Digital Material, circa 1985-2009 (1 folder; Box 32)
Biographical / Historical:
Lowery Stokes Sims (1949-) is an African American art historian, curator, and arts administrator. Sims began her career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1972 where she became the museum's first African American curator. She left the Met in 1999 for the Studio Museum in Harlem where she served as Executive Director, President, and then Adjunct Curator of the Permanent Collection from 2000 to 2007. From 2007 to 2015, she was curator for the Museum of Art and Design.
Sims was born in Washington D.C. but moved to New York when she was 2 years old. She graduated from Bishop Reilly High School in Queens, N.Y. in 1966. She went on to receive a bachelor of arts degree in art history from Queens College in 1970 and a master of arts degree in art history from Johns Hopkins University in 1972. In 1995, Sims completed her dissertation, published as Wifredo Lam and the International Avant-Garde, 1923-1982 in 2002, to receive her doctoral degree from The Graduate Center, City University of New York.
Sims is a member of the College Art Association, the International Committee of Art Critics, Art Matters Foundation, and has served on the boards of Just Above Midtown (JAM) Gallery, Caribbean Cultural Center, National State Council on the Arts, and the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, among others. She was awarded the Frank Jewett Mather Award for Distinction in Art Criticism in 1991, a Leadership by Example Award from the New York coalition of 100 Black women in 1997, and a Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award from the Queens Museum of Art in 1998. Sims has also lectured at Queens College, the Institute of Fine Art at New York University, the Studio Museum in Harlem, Rutgers University, and Bard College.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview of Lowery Stokes Sims conducted on July 15 and 22, 2010 by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art's Elizabeth Murray Oral History of Women in the Visual Arts project, at Sims' home, in New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2019 by Lowery Stokes Sims as part of the Archives' African American Collecting Initiative funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Restrictions:
Notebooks in Series 5 are access restricted; written permission is required. Contact Reference Services for more information. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art museum curators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of multimedia artist and filmmaker Linda Freeman measure 32.9 linear feet and date from 1971-2015, with the bulk of the material dating from 1990-2011. The collection primarily consists of the production archives of Freeman's video documentary production company L and S Video, producer of 27 short subject documentaries on contemporary American art and artists. Subjects include Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Charles Burchfield, Elizabeth Catlett, Chuck Close, Robert Colescott, Jimmy and Max Ernst, Red Grooms, Jacob Lawrence, Richard Mayhew, Howardena Pindell, Horace Pippin, Faith Ringgold, and Betye and Alison Saar. Additional documentaries on subjects other than single artists include works on Luba artists of Central Africa, the creative process (on Freeman and five other artists featured in other documentaries in the collection), mixed media artists (on Alvin Loving, Flo Oy Wong, and Alison Saar), self-taught artists (on William Hawkins, Bill Traylor, and Grandma Moses), and a six-part series on art subjects for children called I Can Fly.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of multimedia artist and filmmaker Linda Freeman measure 32.9 linear feet and date from 1971-2015, with the bulk of the material dating from 1990-2011. The collection primarily consists of the production archives of Freeman's video documentary production company L and S Video, producer of 27 short subject documentaries on contemporary American art and artists. Subjects include Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Charles Burchfield, Elizabeth Catlett, Chuck Close, Robert Colescott, Jimmy and Max Ernst, Red Grooms, Jacob Lawrence, Richard Mayhew, Howardena Pindell, Horace Pippin, Faith Ringgold, and Betye and Alison Saar. Additional documentaries on subjects other than single artists include works on Luba artists of Central Africa, the creative process (on Freeman and five other artists featured in other documentaries in the collection), mixed media artists (on Alvin Loving, Flo Oy Wong, and Alison Saar), self-taught artists (on William Hawkins, Bill Traylor, and Grandma Moses), and a six-part series on art subjects for children called I Can Fly.
For each documentary, original, unedited footage shot by Freeman of artist interviews, studio footage, and interviews with subject experts is found, featuring curators, gallerists, collectors, and art historians speaking about the documentary subjects. In almost every case, significant original footage is found that was not used in the finished documentary and therefore unique to this collection, especially in the form of original interviews and studio footage.
Footage obtained from third-parties for use in the documentaries is found for several works including the Red Grooms, Luba, Crown Heights, and Romare Bearden documentaries. Notable among third-party material is a copy of Howardena Pindell's video performance work "Free, White, and 21" (1980). Also found are original footage and master material for "Pit Stop," a short fiction film by Robert Colescott, produced by Linda Freeman.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 25 series, with most series representing the records of a single documentary production. Order of series is alphabetical by subject's last name, followed by titles for non-biographical works.
Media within series are typically grouped into three subseries: one for original, unedited footage and transcripts; one for production material, including media artifacts from intermediate stages of production and paper records of the production such as notes and drafts; and finally one for finished documentaries. Footage obtained from third-party sources is arranged with production material. Smaller series are arranged similarly but without formal subseries.
Audio and video tapes are housed separately from paper and digital records to facilitate access to both types of material. Also note that media are listed as items, which may be comprised of multiple tapes or single tapes, or multiple items on a single tape. As a result, physical folders may contain tapes from more than one item, and items can span multiple folders.
Series 1: Emma Amos: Action Lines (1996), 1991-2005 (1.3 linear feet; boxes 1-2, 28)
Series 2: Benny Andrews: The Visible Man (1996), 1991-2000 (1.2 linear feet; boxes 2, 28)
Series 3: Romare Bearden: Visual Jazz (1995), 1971-2000 (2.3 linear feet; boxes 3-4, 28, FC 34-36)
Series 4: Charles Burchfield's World (2004), 2004-2005 (0.3 linear feet; boxes 4, 28)
Series 5: Elizabeth Catlett: Sculpting the Truth (1998), 1998-2000 (1.3 linear feet; boxes 4-5, 28-29)
Series 6: Chuck Close: Close-up (2003), 2003-2006 (0.8 linear feet; boxes 6, 29)
Series 7: Robert Colescott: The One-Two Punch (1992), 1980-2005 (1.7 linear feet; boxes 6-8, 29, 33)
Series 8: "Pit Stop" by Robert Colescott (1995), 1995-1998 (1.1 linear feet; boxes 8, 29, FC 37-38)
Series 9: Jimmy and Max Ernst: Dada's Son (2005), 2005 (0.2 linear feet; boxes 8, 29)
Series 10: Red Grooms: Sculptopictoramatist (2008), 2008 (1.2 linear feet; boxes 9-10, 29)
Series 11: Jacob Lawrence: The Glory of Expression (1993), 1991-2007 (2.3 linear feet; boxes 10-11, 29, 32-33)
Series 12: Richard Mayhew: Spiritual Landscapes (2000), 1999-2000 (0.8 linear feet; boxes 11-12, 29)
Series 13: Howardena Pindell: Atomizing Art (1998), 1991-2005 (0.9 linear feet; boxes 12-13, 29)
Series 14: Horace Pippin: There Will Be Peace (1997), 1997-2000 (0.9 linear feet; boxes 13-14, 29-30)
Series 15: Faith Ringgold: The Last Story Quilt (1992), 1990-2007 (1.9 linear feet; boxes 14-15, 30, 33)
Series 16: Faith Ringgold Paints Crown Heights (1994), 1994-2005 (2.5 linear feet; boxes 15-17, 30, 33)
Series 17: Betye and Alison Saar: Conjure Women of the Arts (1994), 1990-2005 (2.3 linear feet; boxes 17-19, 30, 33)
Series 18: African Art, Women, History: The Luba People of Central Africa (1998), 1990-2000 (1.0 linear feet; boxes 19-20, 30)
Series 19: The Creative Process: Artists At Work (2011), 2006-2011 (0.3 linear feet; boxes 20, 30)
Series 20: I Can Fly Series, 1999-2011 (3.8 linear feet; boxes 20-23, 31)
Series 21: Mixed Media Masters (2008), 1991-2008 (1.0 linear feet; boxes 24, 31)
Series 22: School's Out: Self-Taught Artists (2001), 1995-2001 (1.1 linear feet; boxes 24-25, 31)
Series 23: Women in Their Studios: Jennifer Bartlett and Jackie Winsor (2006), 2005-2006 (0.6 linear feet; boxes 25-26, 31)
Series 24: Other Projects, 1988-2015 (1.6 linear feet; boxes 26-27, 31-32)
Series 25: L and S Video Records, 1990-2008 (0.5 linear feet; boxes 27, 32)
Biographical / Historical:
Linda Freeman(1941- ) is a multimedia artist and filmmaker in New York, New York. Freeman manages L and S Video (established 1987), a company that creates, produces, and distributes documentaries about American Artists.
In a lecture by Freeman at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in October 2000, she describes how she received training in filmmaking at New York University, and set out to create documentaries about contemporary artists who were both widely recognized as important artists and had not yet been the subjects of documentaries. Her first subject was Faith Ringgold, who she approached in 1990 for what would become Faith Ringgold: The Last Story Quilt. Freeman went on to produce 28 documentaries with director and writer David Irving featuring primarily living African American artists, but also women artists, self-taught artists, and mixed-media artists. The documentaries are based on extended interviews with the artists, studio footage of the artists working, and interviews with notable curators, dealers, critics, art historians, and other artists with expertise in the work and career of the subject at hand. Freeman included herself in the documentary The Creative Process: Artists at Work along with footage of other artists from her previous productions that had not been used in her finished works to date.
As an artist, Freeman has shown work in multiple traveling group exhibitions including "Women Call for Peace: Global Vistas," "Our Ancestors Quilt Project," "Women Only! In Their Studios," "Voices in Cloth: Story Quilts," and has had solo exhibitions at the Henry Gallery at Penn State Great Valley and SOHO20 gallery.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2015 by Linda Freeman, L and S Video.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that she may own.
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:
Multimedia artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
An interview with Ericka Beckman conducted 2022 June 28-July 8, by Marina Isgro for the Archives of American Art, at Beckman's studio in New York, NY.
Biographical / Historical:
Ericka Beckman (1951- ) is an artist known for her works in film and installations that hybridize and liquefy genre conventions. She was affiliated with the Pictures Generation and has worked across the Northeastern United States.
Marina Isgro (1986- ) is an art historian and curator; she is currently the Associate Curator of Media and Performance Art at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
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:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the recording is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Installation artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of Suzanne Mullett Smith measure 3.3 linear feet and date from 1913 to 1992. The papers document her career as a painter and art historian through artist statements, a resume, correspondence, personal photographs, sketches and sketchbook, and other professional material; class and course notes, articles, and other writings; clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs and other printed material; research material related to Arthur Dove conisting of correspondence, notes, Master's Thesis, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and photographs of Dove's works.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Suzanne Mullett Smith measure 3.3 linear feet and date from 1913 to 1992. The papers document her career as a painter and art historian through artist statements, a resume, correspondence, personal photographs, sketches and sketchbook, and other professional material; class and course notes, articles, and other writings; clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs and other printed material; research material related to Arthur Dove conisting of correspondence, notes, Master's Thesis, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and photographs of Dove's works.
Professional material includes artists statements and a resume, work with American University and the National Society of Arts and Letters, and correspondence including letters to her husband, Gordon H. Smith. Also included are some of her sketches and sketchbooks and photographs of Smith, Smith with family and friends, and Smith's wedding album.
Writings consist of class notes from Smith's studies at American University and a number of articles written by her. Articles include "A Testimony of Healing," "Art and the War, " and "(Jose Clemente) Orozco Paints."
Printed material consists of newspaper and magazine clippings, a scrapbook of clippings, and exhibition announcements and catalogs.
Research material on Arthur Dove consist of Smith's thesis statement, draft and 1944 version of her Master's thesis, correspondence with Dove, research notes, newspaper and magazine clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, photographs of Dove's works, a catalog of Dove's artwork, and an index card inventory. Also included are a number of microfilm reels of material on Dove.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Professional Activity Files, 1913-1989 (0.8 linear feet; Box 1, 4, OV 6)
Series 2: Writings, 1923-1975 (0.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1923-1992 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 4: Arthur Dove Research Material, 1932-1988 (1.6 linear feet; Boxes 2-5)
Biographical / Historical:
Suzanne Mullett Smith (1913-1989) was an art historian, author, and painter who lived primarily in the Washington, D.C. area. She wrote her 1944 American University Master's Thesis on Arthur Dove, entitled "Arthur G. Dove: A Study in Contemporary Art." In 1976, she completed a revised edition of this thesis.
Provenance:
Material on reels 2425-2426 donated 1972 by Nathaly Baum. Material on reel 1043 lent for microfilming 1976 by Smith, and except for the 1976 revised thesis, was subsequently donated along with the unmicrofilmed material 1992 by Daisy Mullet Smith, Smith's daughter.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
The papers of painter Audrey Flack measure 34.6 linear feet and 0.897 GB and date from 1950-2022. The collection documents Flack's career as an artist through biographical material, correspondence, extensive project files, writings and notes by Flack and others, exhibition catalogs, news and magazine clippings, other printed and digital material, and scrapbooks. Also found are photographs by Audrey Flack as well as photographs of the artist and works of art.
There is an 18.8 unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes project files; correspondence; photographs, slides and negatives of works of art, exhibition installations, events, Flack and others; teaching notes; biographical information including resumes, awards, calendars, address books and identification cards; writings, notes and diaries by Flack; scrapbooks; sketches; financial records; commission applications; contracts; audio visual material including mini-DVs, VHS , DVDs and Super 8 film of interviews and lectures by Flack; and printed material including newspaper clippings, articles and posters. Materials date from circa 1950-2022.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter Audrey Flack measure 34.6 linear feet and 0.897 GB and date from 1950-2022. The collection documents Flack's career as an artist through biographical material, correspondence, extensive project files, writings and notes by Flack and others, exhibition catalogs, news and magazine clippings, other printed and digital material, and scrapbooks. Also found are photographs by Audrey Flack as well as photographs of the artist and works of art.
Biographical material includes curricula vitae, diplomas, an award certificate, and bibliographies of monographs and articles by and about Audrey Flack. Flack's correspondence documents her professional activities and business dealings.
There is correspondence with galleries, museums, arts organizations; architects and foundries; and academic institutions. Included are letters from Arizona State University, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Cooper Union, Guild Hall, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, and the Museum of Modern Art. There are letters from art historians and critics, including Flack's correspondence with Anthony Janson. Letters from publishers and agents pertain to book projects, proposals for articles, and requests to reproduce artwork in monographs or catalogs.
Interviews with Flack from the 1970s through the 1990s are found, recorded on sound and video. Writings and notes include manuscript versions for a book, typescripts of speeches, and a notebook. Also found are audio and video recordings of lectures and talks by Flack discussing her paintings and sculptures. The collection includes extensive project files on Flack's commissioned public works and exhibitions. The files also include correspondence concerning book projects, permission requests, and Flack's participation in art educational programs, and some projects are documented with recorded sound and moving images, two if which are in digital format.
Printed material consists of catalogs of Flack's shows, invitations and announcements to openings, press releases, reproductions of artwork, exhibition posters, clippings, periodicals, and books reflecting Flack's professional activities from the 1950s-2008. Photographs are of portraits by Flack, Flack by herself and with colleagues and students, as well as of the artist's studio. Also found are photographs of artwork.
There is an 18.8 unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2022 that includes project files; correspondence; photographs, slides and negatives of works of art, exhibition installations, events, Flack and others; teaching notes; biographical information including resumes, awards, calendars, address books and identification cards; writings, notes and diaries by Flack; scrapbooks; sketches; financial records; commission applications; contracts; audio visual material including mini-DVs, VHS , DVDs and Super 8 film of interviews and lectures by Flack; and printed material including newspaper clippings, articles and posters. Materials date from circa 1950-2022.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1951-2006 (Box 1; 0.25 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1950-2009 (Boxes 1-3; 2.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Interviews, circa 1970-1998 (Boxes 3-4; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings and Notes, circa 1970-2007 (Boxes 4-6; 2.15 linear feet)
Series 5: Project Files, 1966-circa 2007 (Boxes 6-11, FC 18-21; 5.6 linear feet, ER01-ER02, 0.897 GB)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1950-2008 (Boxes 11-16, OV 17; 4.1 linear feet)
Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1977-2008 (Box 15; 2 folders)
Series 8: Photographs, 1966-2009 (Boxes 15-16; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 9: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1950-2022 (Boxes 22-41, OV 42-43; 18.8 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Audrey Flack (1931-) is a painter and sculptor in New York City and in Long Island, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Cooper Union in 1951 and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Yale University in 1952. In the 1950s, she was part of the New York School that included the Abstract Expressionist painters Franz Kline and Jackson Pollock. By the 1960s, Flack had turned to painting in a realistic manner. She pioneered the technique of incorporating photographic images from contemporary sources such as magazines and newspapers; the art form became known as Photorealism.
Her subjects have included families, celebrities, and public figures. An early work, The Kennedy Motorcade captured President John Kennedy moments before he was assassinated. Flack's paintings have also centered on the varied experiences of women as depicted in her Vanitas series done in the 1970s. Flack was the first Photorealist painter to have a work acquired by the Museum of Modern Art. By the 1980s, Flack was creating sculptures, goddess figures and other mythological deities of various cultures. The sculptures, many of monumental proportions were executed as commissioned works for public spaces. Flack's commissions have included Civitas: Four Visions, South Carolina, Galatea Fountain, South Pasadena, Florida, Islandia, New York City Technical College, and The Art Muse, Tampa, Florida. Further, Audrey Flack has also worked in other media such as photography and printmaking.
Audrey Flack has taught and lectured at colleges and universities in the United States and abroad, including Cooper Union, Pratt Institute of New York, and the Studio Art School International, Florence, Italy. She has been a Visiting Professor at a number of universities, including the University of North Dakota, University of Tennessee, and the University of Pennsylvania. Her paintings, watercolors, and sculptures have been featured in solo and group exhibitions in major museums and galleries. Flack's artwork has also been shown in a number of traveling exhibitions including "Saints and Other Angels: The Religious Paintings of Audrey Flack" sponsored by Cooper Union and "Breaking the Rules: Audrey Flack, A Retrospective, 1950-1990" organized by the J.B. Speed Museum. Flack has been represented by the Louis K. Meisel Gallery, the Vered Gallery, and the Gary Snyder Gallery. Among the many awards and honors she has received are the Honorary Ziegfeld Award, National Art Education Association, an Honorary Doctorate, Lyme Academy of Art, and the U.S. Government National Design for Transportation Award. Audrey Flack has also written two books and numerous articles.
Audrey Flack lives and works in New York and in East Hampton, New York.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Audrey Flack conducted by Robert C. Morgan, February 16, 2009.
Provenance:
The collection was donated by Audrey Flack in 2009 and 2022.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Researchers interested in accessing audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The Michèle Cone papers measure 7.3 linear feet and date from 1959 to 2020. The collection documents Michèle Cone's professional activities as an art critic, educator, and scholar through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, recorded interviews and interview projects, AICA-USA files, professional files with recorded lectures and discussions, writing projects, curatorial projects, teaching files, and photographic materials.
Scope and Contents:
The Michèle Cone papers, 1959-2020, measure 7.3 linear feet and document Michèle Cone's professional activities as an art critic, educator, and scholar through biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, recorded interviews and interview projects, AICA-USA files, professional files with recorded lectures and discussions, writing projects, curatorial projects, teaching files, and photographic materials.
Biographical materials include curriculum vitaes and planning drafts for Cone's website, among other personal materials. Personal and professional correspondence is with arts publications and magazines, museums and galleries, and artists and colleagues, with much written in French. Letters and postcards are from Miguel Cervantes, David Diao, Albert Féraud, Anna Belle Geiger, Francoise Gilot, Grace Glueck, Joseph Nechvatal, Archie Rand, Pierre Restany, Sandy Skoglund, and Maro Gorky and Matthew Spender, among others. Interviews and interview projects include interview transcripts and 28 recordings with artists and colleagues, including Vito Acconci, Leo Castelli, Christo, Robert Gober, Red Grooms, Peter Halley, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Roy Lichtenstein, Allan McCollum, Cady Noland, Pierre Restany, Richard Rogers, Daniel Spoerri, Haim Steinbach, Ben Vautier, and others.
Michèle Cone's time spent as a member of the board of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA-USA) is represented through AICA-USA files, and professional files document Cone's varied professional activities. Cone attended and presented at conferences; gave lectures at galleries, universities, and other organizations; and organized and participated in panel discussions, roundtables, and symposia. Some were recorded on sound cassette and include Roland Barthes, John Cage, Anne D'Harnoncourt, Michel Foucault, Harold Rosenberg, Philippe Sollers, and others. Critical reviews and articles, book projects, essays, museum catalog contributions, an unfinished memoir project, and other scholarly writing activities are found among writing projects, and curatorial projects document planned and proposed exhibitions. Teaching files primarily document Cone's time instructing at the School of Visual Arts in New York, with some material for NYU, and various slides and snapshots of events and artworks are found with photographic materials. The collection also includes assorted unidentified video recordings and born digital files. Researchers should note that some of Michèle Cone's projects continued to evolve into additional projects, speaking engagements, curatorial endeavors, and writings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 10 series.
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1972-2019 (8 folders; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1965-2020 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Interviews and Interview Projects, 1969-2019 (0.8 linear feet; Boxes 1, 7-8)
Series 4: AICA-USA Files, 1989-2009 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 5: Professional Files, 1974-2013 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2, 7-8)
Series 6: Writing Projects, 1959-2019 (2.7 linear feet; Boxes 2-5, OV 9)
Series 7: Curatorial Projects, 1990-2014 (1.2 linear feet; Boxes 5-6, OV 10-11)
Series 8: Teaching Files, 1988-2010 (0.2 linear feet; Box 6)
Series 9: Photographic Materials, circa 1970-1992 (5 folders; Box 6)
Series 10: Unidentified Video Recordings and Born Digital Files, circa 1980s-circa 1990s (0.3 linear feet; Box 6)
Biographical / Historical:
Michèle Cone (1932- ) is a French-born art critic and scholar of 20th century art, especially the art of France under Vichy and Nazi occupation. Cone taught at New York's School of Visual Arts from 1980 to 2008 and received her PhD from NYU in 1988. In addition, she received a Chateaubriand Fellowship in the 1980s to conduct research for her PhD in Paris; was the New York editorial coordinator for the Italian magazine Flash Art; and is also a former board member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA-USA).
Cone's publications include three books: The Roots and Routes of Art in the 20th Century (Horizon Press, 1975); Artists under Vichy: A Case of Prejudice and Persecution (Princeton University Press, 1992), which is a revised version of her doctoral thesis, "Art and Politics in France, 1940-1944" (UMI, 1988); and French Modernisms: Perspectives on Art before, during and after Vichy (Cambridge University Press, 2001). In addition, she has published numerous critical reviews; contributed to anthologies and museum catalogs; written essays for various arts publications; planned and led lectures, panel discussions, roundtables, and symposia; conducted interviews with artists for publication, television programs, and oral history projects; and curated exhibitions.
Related Materials:
The Columbia University Rare Book and Manuscript Library also holds the Michèle C. Cone collection of Artists under Vichy.
Provenance:
The Michèle Cone papers were donated in 2021 by Michèle Cone.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Biographical material relating to John W. Taylor and correspondence relating to Taylor and Andrée Ruellan.
Biographical material includes material relating to Taylor's education, exhibition and membership history. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence, including letters between Ruellan and Taylor, written at times when the couple was apart. Other letters are from the artists Julius Bloch, John Herron, Howard Cook, Adolf and Virginia Dehn, William Eisner, Daniel Gelfand, Boyer Gonzales, Albert Heckman, Jules Heller, Sydney and Bea Laufman, Alex Minewski, Roland Mousseau, Isamu Noguchi, Elsa Schmid, Kendall Shaw, Eugene and Elsie Speicher, Maurice Sterne, Fritzi Striebel, Charmion von Wiegand, and others. There is also extensive correspondence with art dealers Antoinette Kraushaar, Louis Pollack, and Joel Rosenkranz and Janice Conner, and letters from art historians and writers, Marlene Park, Virginia Hersch, Philip Clark Horton, and Peter Bissell.
Biographical / Historical:
John Taylor (1897-1983) painter, etcher, lithographer; Shady, N.Y. Taylor was married to painter Andrée Ruellan, b. 1905; d. 2006;, painter; Shady, New York. When the couple lived with Ruellan's mother, Lucette, in Shady, N.Y., much of the correspondence addresses all three as "the trio", as all three lived together until Lucette's death.
Provenance:
Donated in 2008 by Daniel Gelfand, a friend of Ruellan and Taylor.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
The papers of New York painter, Charles Cajori measure 7.4 linear feet and 0.070 GB and date from 1928-2018. The collection documents Cajori's activities as a painter, educator, and co-founder of the Tanager Gallery, located on the Lower East Side in New York, through biographical material; correspondence; writings and notes; interviews, talks, and panel discussions on art and artists; printed materials; and photographic materials.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of New York painter, Charles Cajori measure 7.4 linear feet and 0.070 GB and date from 1928-2018. The collection documents Cajori's activities as a painter, educator, and co-founder of the Tanager Gallery, located on the Lower East Side in New York, through biographical material; correspondence; writings and notes; interviews, talks, and panel discussions on art and artists; printed materials; and photographic materials.
Biographical material consists of Charles Cajori's high school records, air force records, passports and other travel documents, material related to his 90th birthday celebration, resumes, exhibition lists, a few drawings, obituaries, memorial service information, conservation reports on paintings, and other material.
Correspondence is personal and professional and consists of mostly incoming letters to Cajori from artists, friends, family, art historians, and academic institutions. There are a few letters from Charles Cajori, including draft of his letters. Among the correspondents are Pat Adams, Leland Bell, Bernard Chaet, Cooper Union, Cleve Gray, Barbara Grossman, Louis Finkelstein, Philip Pearlstein, Sidney Simon, Norman Turner, and the University of California at Berkeley. Of interest, are letters from the founders of the Tanager Gallery, such as Lois Dodd, Angelo Ippolito, and William King. Correspondence also documents Cajori's dealings with galleries and museums as well as his involvement in arts organizations; included are letters from American University, Watkins Gallery; Bertha Schaffer Gallery; Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center; Gallery Association of New York; Museum of Modern Art; Roko Gallery; Stable Gallery; and the Whitney Museum of American Art. There are also condolences to Barbara regarding Cajori's death.
Cajori's writings include drafts on painting and drawing that Cajori prepared for classroom lectures and panel discussions; essays on Paul Cézanne and Chaim Soutine; and his account of the founding of the Tanager Gallery. Cajori's writings also include a biographical account and an artist's statement. There are writings by Louis Finkelstein, Andrew Forge, and Mercedes Matter about Cajori's work. Included are several guest registers for Cajori's exhibitions at the David Findlay Gallery, Lohin Geduld Gallery, and the New York Studio School. There are also some class notes and essays that are probably from Cajori's college days, as well as some undated writings that include notes on art and artist statements.
Interviews, talks, and panel discussions include a transcript of an interview with Charles Cajori, audiotaped and videotaped as well as born digital interviews with Charles Cajori, and panel discussions with Cajori and others. Panel discussions with Cajori and others cover such topics as the New York school artists and Chaim Soutine. Many of recordings focus on Cajori's association with the Tanager Gallery, the art scene in New York during the 1950s, and his reflections on art. Also included are miscellaneous videotaped recordings. One panel discussion is digitized.
Printed material contains exhibition catalogs, checklists, announcements, invitations, press releases, clippings, reviews, brochures, and miscellaneous printed material. There are files of printed materials on the New York Studio School as well as Tanager Gallery that include exhibition catalogs and clippings.
Photographic material includes photographs, slides, and negatives of Charles Cajori, his studio, family and friends, black and white and color photographs of works of art, events and exhibition installations.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 6 series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1928-2018 (Box 5; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1929-2015 (Boxes 1-2, 5-6; 1.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings and Notes, 1940-2012 (Boxes 2, 6, 8; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 4: Interviews, Talks, and Panel Discussions, 1983-2012 (Boxes 2-3, 6; 1.3 linear feet, ER01; 0.070 GB)
Series 5: Printed Material, 1943-2018 (Boxes 3-4, 6, 8, OV 9; 2 linear feet)
Series 6: Photographic Material, circa 1928-2015 (Boxes 6-8; 1.6 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Painter and teacher Charles Cajori (1921-2013) worked in New York City and Connecticut.
Born in Palo Alto, California in 1921, Charles Cajori studied painting at Colorado College and the Cleveland Art School. Cajori served in the United States Air Force during World War II. Upon his return, he attended Columbia University and then spent two years at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
Charles Cajori was one of the founding members of the Tanager Gallery, an early artists' cooperative gallery, originally located at 90 East Tenth Street in New York, which provided a venue for contemporary artists to exhibit their work. Through Tanager Gallery, Cajori became acquainted with Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning, and other Abstract Expressionist artists. In 1956, Charles Cajori had his first solo exhibition at the Tanager Gallery and since then, he continuously showed his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad including American University, Bertha Schaeffer Gallery, David Findlay Jr. Gallery, El Museo de Bellas Artes de Caracas, Ingber Gallery, Lohin Geduld Gallery, Mattatuck Museum, New Arts Gallery, Paesaggio Gallery, Sala di Esposizione della Biblioteca Americana, Stable Gallery, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Charles Cajori's work is represented in a number of public and private collections including the Ciba-Geigy Corporation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Academy of Design, Walker Art Center, and the Weatherspoon Museum.
In conjunction with his activities as an artist, Charles Cajori taught painting and drawing at major academic institutions and art schools: Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Cooper Union, Cornell University, the University of California at Berkeley and Queens College (CUNY) where he taught for 20 years. Cajori was a co-founder of the New York Studio School, where he continued to serve on the faculty and the Board.
Charles Cajori received many honors for his work including the 1959 Distinction in the Arts, Yale University; Benjamin Altman, Figure Prize at the National Academy, 1983, 1987; the Childe Hassam Purchase Award by the Institute of Art and Letters Award, 1975-1976, 1980; and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, 1979. Also, Cajori was awarded a Fulbright grant to Italy, 1952-1953, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1981, as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2001.
Charles Cajori was married to the painter Barbara Grossman and they lived in Watertown, Connecticut.
Provenance:
The Charles Cajori papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Charles Cajori in 2011 and by Barbara Grossman in 2015 and 2021.
Restrictions:
This collection is temporarily closed to researchers due to archival processing and digitization. For more information, please contact Reference Services.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Sound recordings
Interviews
Video recordings
Transcripts
Citation:
Charles Cajori papers, 1928-2018. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
