The scattered papers of Madeleine Sharrer measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1968 to 1990. Found are biographical materials including a biographical sketch by Perez Zagorin, and photographs of Sharrer, her works of art, students and their artworks, and a dismantled photo album of works of art.
Scope and Contents:
The scattered papers of Madeleine Sharrer measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1968 to 1990. Found are biographical materials including a biographical sketch by Perez Zagorin, and photographs of Sharrer, her works of art, students and their artworks, and a dismantled photo album of works of art.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Madeleine Ellen Sachs Sharrer Poland (1898–1988) was a painter active in New York, California, and Connecticut, and was the mother of painter Honoré Sharrer.
As a young woman Sharrer studied in Paris at the Acadèmie Colarossi and the Acadèmie de la Grande Chaumière and in New York with Charles Hawthorne and George Luks. Madeline Sharrer was her daughter Honoré's first art teacher, and remained a lifelong professional confidante and advisor to her daughter throughout her life.
Provenance:
Donated 1975 by Reginald Poland, Sharrer's husband, and in 2007 by Perez Zagorin.
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, printmaker, and curator Jacob Kainen measure 33.3 linear feet and date from 1905 to 2009, with the bulk of the material from 1940-2001. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence/subject files including personal correspondence to and from friends and family members and professional correspondence and records concerning Kainen's activities as an artist, curator, teacher, and art collector. The collection also contains biographical material, writings, diaries, calendars, inventories, interview transcripts, printed material, photographs, works of art by other artists, and nine scrapbooks.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of painter, printmaker, and curator Jacob Kainen measure 33.3 linear feet and date from 1905 to 2009, with the bulk of the material from 1940-2001. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence/subject files including personal correspondence to and from friends and family members and professional correspondence and records concerning Kainen's activities as an artist, curator, teacher, and art collector. The collection also contains biographical material, writings, diary and journal entries, calendars, inventories, interview and "dialog" transcripts, printed material, photographs, works of art by other artists, and nine scrapbooks.
Biographical materials include items concerning Kainen's career as a curator and artist, in addition to a useful bibliography, detailed biographical outline, and a copy of an FBI report compiled on him. Also included are five videocassette recordings of Kainen.
Alphabetical correspondence/subject files comprise the bulk of the collection and include both Jacob's and Ruth's correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, artists, art critics, curators, museums, arts organizations, galleries, and many others. There is a significant amount of correspondence with David Acton, the Addison Gallery of Art and Jock Reynolds, William Agee, Australian National Gallery, Baltimore Museum of Art, Avis Berman, the British Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Elizabeth Broun and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bryce Butler, Pheobe Cole, the Corcoran Gallery and School of Art, Richard Field, Ruth Fine, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Newton Frohlich, Gordon Gilkey and the Pacific Northwest College of Art, Arshile Gorky, Piri Halesz, Carol Harrison, Donald Holden, Wilhelmina Holladay, John Baptist Jackson, Jim Jordon, Lou Kantor, Harry Lunn Jr., Middendorf Gallery, National Gallery of Art, Peter Morse, Gerald Nordland, Francis O'Connor, Jerome Pollack, Richard Powell, Ann Purcell, Harry Rand, Martin Ries, Joseph Solman, Leo Steinberg, Prentiss Taylor, Victorino Tejera, Valerie Thornton, Joanne Weber, and numerous family members.
Writings are by and about Jacob Kainen. Kainen's writings include articles, lectures, exhibition catalog essays, notes, travel notebooks, short stories, poems, and written statements about his artistic motivations and justifications. There are writings about Kainen by Avis Berman, Ruth Cole Kainen, and others. The bulk of the numerous diary entries are from Ruth Cole Kainen's diaries, many of which concern Jacob and their family. There are also annotated and revised diary entries. There is one folder of diary entries and one folder of journal entries by Jacob Kainen and two dismantled journal-like notebooks. The papers include daily calendars and travel itineraries from 1972 through 2001.
The papers include transcripts of formal interviews and informal conversations with Jacob Kainen. Transcripts are of informal dinner, telephone, and general conversations between friends, colleagues, artists, and Ruth Cole Kainen. Included are conversations with Avis Berman, Walter Hopps, Harry Rand, Joshua Taylor, and several others. Many of these transcripts were also annnotated by Jacob and Ruth Kainen. Also found are numerous transcripts of more formal interviews with Kainen by art historians, art critics, and students.
There are inventories, appraisals, and lists of sold and not sold paintings, as well as color photographs of some of Kainen's works of art. Also found are inventories of the Kainens' art collection. Printed materials include Kainen's exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings of articles by and about Jacob Kainen, and an exhibition guestbook.
Photographs are of Kainen with his family and friends, at exhibition openings, and working in his studios. Works of art by others includes handmade greeting cards, limited edition prints, and portfolios given to Jacob Kainen. Nine scrapbooks containing news clippings and exhibition publications document the entirety of Kainen's career as an artist.
Arrangement:
The Jacob Kainen papers are arranged into 11 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1938-2001 (Boxes 1, 32; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence/Subject Files, 1936-2003 (Boxes 1-12, 32-33; 11.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings, circa 1920s-2002 (Boxes 12-13, 33; 1.6 linear feet)
Series 4: Diaries, circa 1952-2002 (Boxes 13-18, 33-38; 10.0 linear feet)
Series 5: Calendars, 1953-2008 (Boxes 18-20, 38; 1.7 linear feet)
Series 6: Transcripts, circa 1975-1994 (Boxes 20-21, 38; 1.4 linear feet)
Series 7: Inventories, 1927-2001 (Boxes 21-22; 1.0 linear feet)
Series 8: Printed Material, 1938-2003 (Box 22, 38, OV 31; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 9: Photographs, 1905-2000 (Boxes 22-25, 38, OV 31; 3.3 linear feet)
Series 10: Works of Art by Others, 1942-2000 (Boxes 25-26, OV 31; 1.2 linear foot)
Series 11: Scrapbooks, 1936-1998 (Boxes 27-30, 38; 1.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Jacob Kainen (1909-2001) was a painter, printmaker, and curator who worked primarily in Washington, D.C.
Born on December 7, 1909 in Waterbury, Connecticut, Jacob Kainen moved with his family to New York City in 1918. Kainen studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn from 1927 until 1930, and at the Art Student's League. In the early 1930s, Kainen became involved in social causes and formed close friendships with the early abstractionists, including John Graham, Arshile Gorky, and Stuart Davis. He joined the Artists' Union and a contributor to its journal, Art Front, along with Stuart Davis and Harold Rosenberg. Jacob's participation in the Artists' Union was later investigated by the FBI.
From 1935 until 1942, Kainen worked for the Graphic Arts Division of the Works Progress Administration in New York City and began exhibiting with the New York School. It was during this period that he married Bertha Friedman. Jacob and Bertha had two sons together, Dan and Paul, and divorced in 1968.
In 1942, Kainen made a life-changing decision to leave New York City and move to Washington, D.C. to accept what he thought would be a temporary position as a scientific aide in the Division of Graphic Arts at the Smithsonian Institution. Kainen quickly became Assistant Curator and Curator in 1946. He served as Curator for twenty years, completely reshaping the department and building the graphic arts collection. His print exhibitions brought the work of S.W. Hayter, Josef Albers, Adja Yunkers, Louis Lozowick, Karl Schrag, José Guerrero, Louis Schanker, Werner Drewes, and Boris Margo to Washington audiences - graphic work that might not have been shown that early in the area.
1947 marked the opening of the Washington Workshop Center for the Arts, where Kainen served as a teacher and guide to several important artists, helping to make the workshop a magnet for new talent and instrumental in furthering the careers of several artists. Although Kainen taught Gene Davis and Alma Thomas and introduced Morris Louis to Leon Berkowitz, he never considered himself a member of the "Washington Color School."
In 1949, the Corcoran Gallery of Art held a retrospective of Kainen's prints and three years later Kenneth Noland organized Kainen's first painting retrospective at Catholic University. Kainen's paintings from the 1940s illustrated a shift away from social realism toward abstract expressionism. In 1956, Jacob Kainen received a grant from the American Philosophical society to conduct research in Europe for his monograph on the English woodcut artist, John Baptist Jackson. He traveled to Europe again in 1962 to study paintings and prints from the Mannerist Period.
From 1966 until 1970, Kainen worked as the Curator of prints and drawings at the National Collection of Fine Arts (now the Smithsonian American Art Museum). He married Ruth Cole in February of 1969. Kainen retired from the Smithsonian a year later to devote himself full-time to his art, but continued to serve as a special consultant to the Smithsonian American Art Museum for nineteen years. In 1971 and 1972, Kainen taught painting and the history of printmaking at the University of Maryland. A retrospective of Kainen's paintings was held in 1993 at the National Museum of American Art (SAAM).
Throughout his artistic career, Kainen experimented with different mediums and explored different styles, yet he identified himself as a painter. Jacob Kainen participated in at least twenty-five one man shows and several group exhibitions. His works are in collections across the United States and abroad, including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the British Museum. He worked in his studio up until the time of his death on March 19, 2001 at his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Related Material:
Found among the holdings of the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview of Jacob Kainen conducted by Avis Berman in 1982 for the Archives' "Mark Rothko and His Times" oral history project. Also found are microfilm copies of Bertha Kainen's correspondence with Avis Berman regarding Berman's essay about Jacob Kainen.
Separated Material:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels 565, 2147-2149, and 2200) including correspondence, writings by Kainen, and papers relating to the Smithsonian Institution Loyalty Board's investigation of Jacob Kainen from 1942-1954. Most, but not all, of the loaned materials were included in later gifts. Loaned materials not donated at a later date remain with the lender and are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
Provenance:
Jacob and Ruth Kainen first lent the Archives of American Art material for microfilming from 1973-1981, the bulk of which was included in the later gifts. Papers were then donated in multiple accretions between 1981-2007 by Jacob and Ruth Kainen, and in 2009 from the estate of Ruth Kainen via executor Teresa Covacevich Grana. Also in 2003, eight photographs of Jacob and Ruth Kainen were transferred from the National Portrait Gallery to the Archives of American Art.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
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.
Cecere, Ada Rasario, 1894 or 1898-1971 Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1938-1972
Summary:
The scattered papers of painter and muralist Ada Cecere measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1938 to 1972. Found are letters from artists, galleries, institutions, and museums, and photographs of Cecere's works of art.
Scope and Contents:
The scattered papers of painter and muralist Ada Cecere measure 0.2 linear feet and date from 1938 to 1972. Found are letters from artists, galleries, institutions, and museums, and photographs of Cecere's works of art.
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Ada Rasario Cecere (1898-1983) was a painter, muralist, and designer active in New York City, New York, and Rome, Italy. Ada Rasario was born in New York and studied art in Paris and Rome. She married Gaetano Cecere, a Roman sculptor and together they settled in Manhattan. She was president of the Pen and Brush Society. Cecere died in New York in 1983.
Provenance:
Ada Cecere donated her papers to the Archives of American Art in 1972.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Designers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Files containing correspondence, printed material and miscellany on the Women in the Arts Foundation, Inc., the Artists in Residence Gallery, and Soho 20, all in New York City; 196 photographs of Sleigh's paintings; catalogs, announcements, and clippings concerning Sleigh.
Biographical / Historical:
Sylvia Sleigh is a portrait painter, figure painter, and instructor from New York, New York.
Provenance:
Donated 1979-1983 by Sylvia Sleigh.
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:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Letters, writings and notes, art works, printed material and photographs.
Brief resumes, a genealogy of Van Ness' family and a citation from Beaver Country Day School for "Meritorious Service"; correspondence from family members, colleagues and friends includes 5 letters from Victor D'Amico and the Progressive Education Association regarding her participation in upcoming events; extensive notes and writings by Van Ness and others regarding art education theory and practice and a brief history of Beaver Country Day School written by Van Ness in 1981; teaching files, undated and 1932-1944, containing course outlines, exams and class assignments for courses taught at BCDS;
a notebook describing the dimensions, locations and types of various picture frames; a card file describing paintings by Van Ness; figure drawings, still lifes, contour drawings and charcoal studies done when she was a student; studies of people done in preparation for paintings, portrait sketches and 2 sketches of Van Ness done by her students; photographs of Van Ness, her family, models (for paintings), colleagues and teachers (includes a photo of Philip Hale and Edmund Tarbell, ca. 1905-1980), numerous photos of paintings by Van Ness, ca. 1910-1980, and photos of drawings by her students.
Printed materials include 2 articles by Van Ness on art education published in ART EDUCATION TODAY (1939) and HIGH SCHOOL JOURNAL (1940); exhibition catalogs, announcements, clippings and an essay by Hilla Rebay entitled "The Beauty of Non-Objectivity."
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, educator; Chesnut Hill, Mass. Founder and head of the Art Department at Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill (1921-1949). She studied child and adolescent behavior as applied to art education practice. Through articles, essays and presentations she advocated a more vital and integral role for art education in overall curriculum strategy.
Provenance:
Donated 1983 by Van Ness's daughters Mary Crocker and Silvia Martin.
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.
Topic:
Art -- Study and teaching -- United States Search this
The papers of sculptor and educator Robert M. Cronbach date from 1914-2004 and measure 3.9 linear feet. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, project and commission files, exhibition files, printed material, and photographic material relating to the life and career of Cronbach. The bulk of material is comprised of project and commission files pertaining to sculptures, fountains, and other proposals for public and private spaces.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor and educator Robert M. Cronbach date from 1914-2004 and measure 3.9 linear feet. The papers include biographical material, correspondence, writings, project and commission files, exhibition files, printed material, and photographic material relating to the life and career of Cronbach. The bulk of material is comprised of project and commission files pertaining to sculptures, fountains, and other proposals for public and private spaces.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as seven series
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1925-1996 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1934-2004 (0.7 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 3: Writings, 1929-1970 (4 folders; Box 1)
Series 4: Project and Commission Files, 1932-1990 (1.6 linear feet; Box 1-2, 4, OV 5-10)
Series 5: Exhibition Files, circa 1960-2000 (0.2 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 6: Printed Material, 1914-2001 (1.1 linear feet; Box 2-3)
Series 7: Photographic Material, circa 1930-1995 (2 folders; Box 3)
Biographical / Historical:
Robert M. Cronbach (1908-2001) was a sculptor and teacher in New York, New York. Born in St. Louis, Cronbach studied sculpture at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts before heading east to continue his studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. His sculpture and fountain commissions for many public and private spaces include Temples, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the United Nations. He also created work as part of the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project program. Cronbach taught at Adelphi College in Garden City, New York from 1947-1961 and was an instructor at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, where he also served as chairman of the school's board of governors from 1975-1982.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives of American Art by Robert M. Cronbach in 1992 and in 2016 by Cronbach's daughter, Paula Maria Espinosa. Portions of the collection were lent for microfilming in 1966 by Cronbach and subsequently donated.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- United States Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Robert M. Cronbach papers, 1914-2004. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
The papers of painter and educator Esther Rolick measure 3.7 linear feet and date from 1940 to 1985. The papers document Rolick's career through correspondence with friends and colleagues; writings, including unpublished illustrated books for children; business records; printed material and scrapbooks of clippings and exhibition catalogs; artwork including a sketchbook; photographs of artwork, travels around the world, and personal photographs; and sound recordings of interviews with prominent African American artists.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and educator Esther Rolick measure 3.7 linear feet and date from 1940 to 1985. The papers document Rolick's career through correspondence with friends and colleagues; writings, including unpublished illustrated books for children; business records; printed material and scrapbooks of clippings and exhibition catalogs; artwork including a sketchbook; photographs of artwork, travels around the world, and personal photographs; and sound recordings of interviews with prominent African American artists.
Correspondence includes personal letters from friends and letters related to Rolick's exhibitions. Some of the letters are in Spanish. Writings include poems by Rolick and two unpublished books for children, primarily of illustrations.
Personal business records and professional activity files include financial materials related to Rolick's travels around the world, statements, promissory notes, certificates, and exhibition guestbooks.
Printed material consists mainly of exhibition announcements and catalogs, with some newspaper clippings. Additional printed material can be found in Series 6: Scrapbooks.
Photographs consist primarily of personal photographs, photographs of travels to Bogota, Colombia and Palermo, Italy, and photographs of artwork. Artwork includes oversized sketches by classmates and one small sketchbook of drawings.
Of note are untranscribed interviews conducted by Rolick for her class "Black Music and Art," at Mercy College, circa 1970-1971. Interviewees include Charles Alston, Romare Bearden, Jean Hutson, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Lewis, Hale Woodruff, and artists affiliated with the Cinque Gallery, Weusi Gallery, and SPIRAL artist's group.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged chronologically into eight series.
Series 1: Correspondence, 1946-1985 (1.3 linear feet; Box 1-2)
Series 2: Writings, 1947-1971 (0.1 linear feet; Box 2)
Series 3: Personal Business Records and Professional Activity, 1968-1974 (0.2 linear feet: Box 2)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1944-1980 (0.3 linear feet: Box 2)
Series 5: Photographs, circa 1940-1985 (0.6 linear feet: Box 2-3, 5)
Series 6: Scrapbooks, circa 1944-1972 (0.7 linear feet; Box 3, 5)
Series 7: Artwork, circa 1944-1985 (0.1 linear feet; Box 3, 5, OV)
Series 8: Interviews 1970-1971 (0.4 linear feet; Box 3-4)
Biographical / Historical:
New York realist painter and educator Esther G. Rolick (1922-2008) taught art for two decades at Mercy College, where she helped to develop programs including a class, "Black Music and Art," for which she interviewed prominent Harlem artists and musicians.
Rolick studied at the Art Students League and had her first solo exhibition of drawings at Jacques Seligmann & Co. in 1947. She subsequently participated in exhibitions around the country and internationally in Haiti. In the 1960s she began teaching at Mercy College and helped to develop several innovative programs there. Rolick also traveled extensively and painted in places such as Bogota, Colombia and Palermo, Italy.
Provenance:
The Esther G. Rolick papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Esther Rolick in a series of installments between 1970 and 1985.
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.
Esther G. Rolick papers, 1940-1985. 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.
Use of 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:
Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight papers, 1816, 1914-2008, bulk 1973-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the 2007 processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art. Funding for the 2018 processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Thomas, J. Maurice (John Maurice), 1900 or 1901- Search this
Extent:
5.5 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Audiocassettes
Video recordings
Photographs
Date:
circa 1894-2001
Summary:
The papers of Washington, D.C. painter and art educator Alma Thomas, date from circa 1894-2001 and measure 5.5 linear feet. The papers document Thomas's work as a teacher, and her development and success as a painter of the Washington Color School, through biographical material, letters, notes and writings, personal business records, exhibition files, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, an audio recording, and two video recordings.
Scope and Contents note:
The papers of Washington, D.C. painter and art educator Alma Thomas, date from circa 1894-2001 and measure 5.5 linear feet. The papers document Thomas's work as a teacher, and her development and success as a painter of the Washington Color School, through biographical material, letters, notes and writings, personal business records, exhibition files, printed materials, scrapbooks, photographs, an audio recording, and two video recordings.
Biographical material includes identity cards, chronologies, an audio recording including a biographical account, and scattered documentation of Thomas's education and teaching careers with D.C. Public Schools, Howard University, and Thomas Garrett Settlement in Wilmington, Delaware. Also found are records relating to Thomas's participation in a summer marionette class taught by Tony Sarg in 1934, and a tour of European art centers which Thomas took in 1958.
Letters relate primarily to the exhibition of Thomas's work and related events and are from galleries, museums, other art institutions, colleagues, and friends including Franz Bader, Adelyn Breeskin, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Howard University Gallery of Art, Martha Jackson Gallery, Nathalie J. Cole Johnson, Vincent Melzac, Celine Tabary, and Joshua Taylor.
Notes and writings include four notebooks and autobiographical writings by Thomas, a "Birthday Book," and an annotated engagement calendar. J. Maurice Thomas's writings about Alma Thomas, her research for a bibliography on James Weldon Johnson, and writings by others, including Jacob Kainen, about Alma Thomas, are also found here.
Exhibition files contain a wide variety of documentation for many group and solo exhibitions of Thomas's work from the early 1950s through a 1998-2000 traveling retrospective exhibition, including solo exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1972. The records include letters from Franz Bader Gallery, David Driskell at Fisk University, and Vincent Melzac. Photographs include Thomas with individuals including William Buckner, Jeff Donaldson, David Driskell, James W. Herring, and Vincent Melzac. Also found is a photograph of the 1951 Little Paris Studio Group picturing Lois Mailou Jones, Celine Tabary, Alma Thomas, and others. Two video recordings are of events related to the 1998-2000 retrospective at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art. Records documenting a 1981-1982 exhibition at the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, A Life in Art: Alma Thomas, includes the script of a video written by Adolphus Ealey.
Personal business records include price lists, gift and loan receipts, and files concerning the Art in Embassies Program, the Martha Jackson Gallery, a benefit auction for the Corcoran School of Art, and the designation of the Thomas family home in Washington, D.C. as a historic property.
Eleven scrapbooks document Thomas's teaching career through the activities of the art classes she taught at Shaw Junior High School.
Printed materials include announcements and catalogs for exhibitions and other events; clippings which document Thomas's career and subjects of interest to her; Christmas cards featuring block prints designed by Thomas; and other programs and publications featuring Thomas.
Photographs are of Alma Thomas, family, and friends and colleagues including Sam Gilliam, James V. Herring, and Nathalie V. Cole Johnson; art classes taught by Thomas; Thomas's homes in Columbus, Georgia and Washington, D.C.; and exhibitions not documented in Series 4: Exhibition Files, including photographs of Alma Thomas at an opening at Barnett Aden Gallery with Alonzo Aden and others.
Arrangement note:
The papers have been arranged into 8 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1911-2001 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 2: Letters, circa 1930-2001 (Boxes 1-2; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 3: Notes and Writings, circa 1920s-circa 1998 (Box 2; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 4: Exhibition Files, 1951-2000 (Boxes 2-3, OV 7; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 5: Personal Business Records, circa 1950s-1994 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 6: Printed Material, circa 1908-2000 (Boxes 3-5, OV 7; 1.8 linear feet)
Series 7: Scrapbooks, 1930-1946 (Box 5; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1894-2001 (Boxes 5-6; 0.6 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note:
Washington, D.C. painter and art educator Alma Thomas (1891-1978) was known for her abstract paintings filled with dense patterns of color, and was considered a major artist of the Washington Color School.
Thomas was born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1894, and was the eldest of the four daughters of John Harris Thomas and Amelia Cantey Thomas. The family moved to Washington, D.C. in 1906 and Thomas was first introduced to art classes at Armstrong Technical High School. Following her graduation in 1911 she took a course in kindergarten teaching at the Miner Normal School, and subsequently worked as a substitute teacher in the Washington, D.C. public school system until 1914, when she took a teaching position on the Eastern shore of Maryland. From 1916 to 1923 she taught kindergarten at Thomas Garrett Settlement House in Wilmington, Delaware.
Thomas originally enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C. as a home economics major in 1921, but after studying under Lois Mailou Jones amd James V. Herring in Herring's newly established art department, she earned a Bachelor's degree in Fine Art in 1924, and became the first person to graduate from the program. Thomas then began her teaching career at Shaw Junior High School in Washington, D.C. that lasted from 1924, until her retirement in 1960. During this time she established community arts programs that would encourage her students to develop an appreciation of fine arts. Activities included marionette programs, distribution of student-designed holiday menu cards for dinners given for soldiers at the Tuskegee Veterans' Hospital, art clubs, lectures, and student exhibitions. In 1943 she became the founding vice president of Barnett Aden Gallery, which was established by James V. Herring and Alonzo Aden and was the first integrated gallery in Washington, D.C.
In 1934 Thomas earned an M.A. degree in Art Education from Columbia University. At American University in Washington, D.C., she studied creative painting under Joe Summerford, Robert Gates, and Jacob Kainen from 1950 to 1960, and began to break away from representational painting and experiment more seriously with Abstract Expressionism. In 1958 she participated in a tour of the art centers of Western Europe under the auspices of the Tyler School of Fine Arts at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Following her retirement from teaching in 1960, Thomas devoted herself full-time to painting, and continued to develop her signature style. She was inspired by nature and the desire to express beauty through composition and color, and refused to be constrained by societal expectations related to her race, gender, and age, achieving her greatest success in the last decade of her life. Her work was exhibited at the Dupont Theatre Art Gallery, Franz Bader Gallery, and the Howard University Gallery of Art, before she was honored in 1972 with exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Thomas's work has been exhibited at the White House and can be found in the permanent collections of major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Separated Materials note:
In 1979, J. Maurice Thomas loaned papers for microfilming. Most, but not all, of the loaned material was later donated and is described in this finding aid. Loaned materials not donated at a later date are available on reels 1541-1543 and are not described in the container listing of this finding aid.
Provenance:
J. Maurice Thomas, the artist's sister, loaned portions of the collection for microfilming in 1979. Most, but not all of this material was then later donated in several accretions by J. Maurice Thomas, between 1979 and 2004. Charles Thomas Lewis, Thomas' nephew, gave additional papers in 2010.
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 copies requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
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 copies requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of the Alma Thomas paper is provided by The Walton Family Foundation and The Friends of Alma Thomas
Benjamin, Tritobia Hayes, "What is More Far Reaching Than Beauty?: From Academic Representation to Poetic Abstraction in the Art of Alma Woodsey Thomas"
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 copies requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Alma Thomas papers, circa 1894-2001. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing and digitization of the Alma Thomas paper is provided by The Walton Family Foundation and The Friends of Alma Thomas
Zora Martin-Felton talks about the upcoming exhibition, The Anacostia Story: 1608-1930. In a panel discussion, Dorothy Webb (elementary school reading teacher), Michael Ball (Community Resources Coordinator at RENP - Response to Educational Needs Project), Judy Banks (French teacher), Rebecca Mead (Museum of National History), Mary Johnson (math specialist from RENP), and Bronwyn Jones (elementary school art teacher) dissect the exhibition, The Anacostia Story: 1608-1930, using the perspectives of their disciplines, particularly related to the competency based curriculums. They present their ideas on how to incorporate the exhibition into school curriculum and lesson plans. The audience consists of school teachers. Moderator: Zora Martin-Felton.
Meeting. Part of ACM Education Department Programs Audiovisual Records 1967-2008. AV003270: part one. AV003468: part two. Dated 19770224.
Local Numbers:
ACMA AV003468
Collection Restrictions:
Use of the materials requires an appointment. Some items are not accessible due to obsolete format and playback machinery restrictions. Please contact the archivist at acmarchives@si.edu.
Education Program for School Teachers Related to The Anacostia Story: 1608-1930, Record Group 09-007.7, Anacostia Community Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution.
The collection, which dates from 1969 to 1991 and measures 1.91 linear feet, documents the history of the District of Columbia Art Association, which was founded in 1961 by D.C. public school teachers. The collection is comprised of business documents, correspondence, exhibition catalogs, and artist biographies.
Scope and Contents note:
Administrative: The series consists primarily of articles of incorporation, notices of tax exemptions, employer identification numbers, first board meeting documentation, as well as membership applications.
Correspondence: The series contains correspondence either to or from Mr. Peter L. Robinson, Jr. or Sylvia Jackson both of whom have served as Presidents of the D.C. Art Association.
Exhibitions: The series contains D.C.A.A. exhibition catalogs, artist biographies, miscellaneous invitations, and a brochure published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N.A.S.A.) where Peter L. Robinson, Jr. was employed for over thirty years, and retired as Director of the Graphics and Management Presentations Division.
The series consists of (24) 8x10 photographs, which document D.C.A.A. exhibitions and Robinson's tenure at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (N.A.S.A.)
Arrangement note:
The D.C. Art Association records are arranged into four main categories: Administration, Correspondence, Exhibitions and Photographs. Material in each folder is arranged in chronological order by date ranging from 1969 through 1991.
Biographical/Historical note:
In 1961 the D. C. Art Education Association, later known as the D.C. Art Association, was founded by the District of Columbia public school art teachers. In 1969 the organization increased its membership by enlisting the support of individuals, as well as community based organizations, and cultural institutions, such as the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum in an effort to promote, encourage and stimulate interest in both the fine and visual arts. Through the strong and diligent efforts of many, the D.C. Art Association commonly referred to as D.C.A.A., successfully made invaluable contributions to the arts by organizing exhibitions, lectures and panel discussions, which furthered the awareness and appreciation of the fine arts to the community at large. Many lives have been cultivated and rewarded by the D.C. Art Associations efforts to support professional artists and implement public programming in the community. Although the D.C. Art Association was disbanded its contributions were a vital catalyst in bringing enrichment and cultural awareness to the art community in Washington, D.C. By upholding its motto, "Dedicated to Foster and Promote the Visual Arts through Community Involvement," the D. C. Art Association has enhanced the lives of many by exploring the African American presence in the visual arts.
Related Archival Materials note:
Finding aid to the Edith T. Martin papers
Provenance:
The D.C. Art Association records were donated to the Anacostia Community Museum in April of 2003 by Mr. Peter L. Robinson, Jr., former President and Treasurer of the D.C. Art Association.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for unrestricted research. Use requires an appointment.
Rights:
The D.C. Art Association records are the physical property of the Anacostia Community Museum. Literary and copyright belong to the author/creator or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with the Anacostia Community Museum. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archives.
