Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
94 documents - page 3 of 5

Arnold Mesches papers

Creator:
Mesches, Arnold, 1923-  Search this
Names:
New York University  Search this
Ciment, Jill, 1953-  Search this
Danto, Arthur Coleman, 1924-  Search this
Marshall, Kerry James, 1955-  Search this
Miami Dade College  Search this
Miller, Henry, 1891-  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969  Search this
Siqueiros, David Alfaro, 1896-1974  Search this
Storr, Robert  Search this
Wayne, June, 1918-2011  Search this
Zinn, Howard, 1922-2010  Search this
Extent:
13.6 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Collages
Diaries
Drawings
Sketches
Date:
1939-2015
Summary:
The papers of New York City and Gainesville, Florida based painter Arnold Mesches (1923-2016) measure 13.6 linear feet and date from 1939-2015. The collection documents Mesches' politically-engaged career and work process through biographical material, correspondence, writings, gallery and exhibition files, project files, subject files, teaching files, personal business records, printed material, and photographic material. Project files comprise a bulk of the collection and include grant files, activism files, project notebooks, and over 100 art project files containing drawings, source material, and photographic material for individual artworks.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of New York City and Gainesville, Florida based painter Arnold Mesches (1923-2016) measure 13.6 linear feet and date from 1939-2015. The collection documents Mesches' politically engaged career and work process through biographical material, correspondence, writings, gallery and exhibition files, project files, subject files, teaching files, personal business records, printed material, and photographic material.

Biographical material includes addresses, family papers, interview transcripts, life documents, identification cards, a residency file, resumes, biographical statements, and travel records. Correspondence is both personal and professional in nature and is with wife, novelist Jill Ciment, family, friends, artists, museums, galleries, and magazines. Notable correspondents include Arthur Danto, Robert Storr, June Wayne, and Howard Zinn. Single items of correspondence are from Kerry James Marshall, Henry Miller, Robert Motherwell, and Ben Shahn.

Writings include manuscripts of unpublished novels and short stories, autobiographical writings, recordings of dreams, introductions to artists, a journal, memorials, project proposals, statements on art and politics, notes from Mesches' psychotherapy sessions, as well as numerous outlines, fragments, and notes.

Gallery and exhibition files document dozens of Mesches' gallery and museum exhibitions, including his 2013 retrospective at Miami Dade College, Arnold Mesches: A Life's Work.

Project files consist of grant files, activism files, project notebooks, and art projects. Activism files pertain to the Los Angeles Peace Tower, Arts Coalition for Freedom of Expression, and the pardon of muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. Project notebooks contain preliminary sketches, technical notes including color palette and paint formulas, Polaroids of in-process works, and source material. Over 100 art project files further detail individual works, and include preliminary drawings in pen, pencil and charcoal, as well as collages, source material, and Polaroids. Several of Mesches' serial works are well represented here, including Anomie, Comings Attractions, and The FBI Files.

Subject files consist of a sequence of alphabetical files maintained by Mesches as reference material. Teaching files document posts at New York University and other institutions and include course descriptions, lists of materials, course notes, newsletters, reference articles, and correspondence.

Personal business records include documentation related to donations, Mesches' estate, gallery representation, inventories, properties, artwork shipment, supplies, and website design.

Printed material documents Mesches' career as both political illustrator and fine artist. Found here are brochures, leaflets, and Frontier and The Nation magazines featuring illustrations by Mesches. Calendars, newsletters, clippings, announcements, exhibition catalogs, and press releases document Mesches' gallery and museum exhibitions.

Photographic material includes hundreds of photographic prints, contact sheets, slides, and negatives of Arnold Mesches, Mesches' family and friends, studio, and artworks from his seven decade long career.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as ten series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1960s-2012 (0.2 linear feet, Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1949-2014 (0.8 linear feet, Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, 1958-2013 (1.1 linear feet, Box 2-3)

Series 4: Gallery and Exhibition Files, 1979-2015 (0.8 linear feet, Box 3)

Series 5: Project Files, 1950s-2014 (5.3 linear feet, Box 3-8, 15, OV 16-19)

Series 6: Subject Files, 1939-2000s (1.3 linear feet, Box 8-9)

Series 7: Teaching Files, 1992-2004 (0.2 linear feet, Box 9-10)

Series 8: Personal Business Records, 1983-2015 (0.5 linear feet, Box 10)

Series 9: Printed Material, 1950s-2000s (1.5 linear feet, Box 10-11, 15, OV 20)

Series 10: Photographic Material, 1940s-2010s (1.9 linear feet, Box 12-15)
Biographical / Historical:
Arnold Mesches (1923-2016) was a painter in New York, New York and Gainesville, Florida. Born in the Bronx and raised in upstate Dunkirk, New York, Mesches studied advertising design in high school before moving to Los Angeles in 1943 to study art at the Jepson Art Institute and Chouinard Art Institute.

Mesches began his career as a scenic painter for Hollywood while honing his own style as a fine artist and illustrator influenced by the political landscape and social realism. As a result of his political activity and involvement in the Communist Party, the FBI opened a file on Mesches in the 1950s, and began tracking his activities. The file, obtained by Mesches through a Freedom of Information Act request in 1999, became the basis for one of his most famous series, The FBI Files.

Throughout his life, Mesches was a socially-oriented figurative painter working in an expressionist style, mining the daily news and the current political landscape for subject matter, including the Cold War, the trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and the Vietnam War. Mesches was also one of the organizers of the 1966 Peace Tower artwork in Los Angeles and contributed illustrations to Frontier magazine throughout the 1950s, and The Nation magazine from 1960s-1980s.

In the early 1980s, Mesches relocated to New York City with wife, novelist Jill Ciment.

Mesches held several teaching posts over the course of his career, including at the New School, New York University, and the University of Florida.
Provenance:
Donated to the Archives of American Art in 2017 by Jill Ciment, Mesches' widow.
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:
Painters -- California -- Los Angeles  Search this
Painters -- Florida  Search this
Topic:
Art -- Political aspects  Search this
Art -- Study and teaching  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Painting -- Technique  Search this
Politics in art  Search this
Interviews  Search this
Photographs  Search this
Transcripts  Search this
Genre/Form:
Collages
Diaries
Drawings
Sketches
Citation:
Arnold Mesches papers, 1939-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.mescarno
See more items in:
Arnold Mesches papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9415d73fe-0b7a-41fc-a1a6-7ac35ec38ac6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-mescarno
Online Media:

Helen L. Kohen papers

Creator:
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Names:
Alexander, Jane  Search this
Alfonzo, Carlos, 1950-1991  Search this
Algaze, Mario Arturo, 1947-  Search this
Anthony, Carol  Search this
Bedia, José, 1959-  Search this
Blaine, Michael  Search this
Blazer, Wendy  Search this
Brito, María (1947-)  Search this
Cano, Margarita, 1932-  Search this
Cano, Pablo  Search this
Carulla, Ramón, 1938-  Search this
Castagliola, Maria E., 1946-  Search this
Corone, Matthew  Search this
Couper, James M., 1937-  Search this
Cubiles, Miguel  Search this
De Monte, Claudia, 1947-  Search this
Delehanty, Suzanne, 1944-  Search this
Demi, 1955-  Search this
Duval-Carrié, Edouard, 1954-  Search this
Eisenstaedt, Alfred  Search this
Fernández, Agustin, 1928-  Search this
Frohnmayer, John  Search this
García, Fernando A., 1945-  Search this
Gelfman, Lynn Golub  Search this
Gillman, Barbara Seitlin, 1937-  Search this
González, Juan, 1942-1993  Search this
Gottlieb-Roberts, Marilyn Patricia, 1939-  Search this
Gutierrez, M. (Marta)  Search this
Henderson, Shirley  Search this
Jones, Pat  Search this
Juarez, Roberto, 1952-  Search this
Kardin, Janet  Search this
Kuitca, Guillermo, 1961-  Search this
Lanza, Bianca  Search this
Leibovitz, Annie, 1949-  Search this
Marisol, 1930-2016  Search this
Morgan, Andrew Wesley, 1922-  Search this
Muñoz, Celia Alvarez, 1937-  Search this
Orr-Cahall, Christina, 1947-  Search this
Paik, Nam June, 1932-  Search this
Paparelli, Janet  Search this
Pellon, Gina  Search this
Riverón, Enrique  Search this
Riverón, Noella  Search this
Rodriguez, Vivian  Search this
Rodríguez, Arturo, 1956-  Search this
Rojo, Damian  Search this
Rubell, Jason  Search this
Rubio, Lydia, 1946-  Search this
Salinas, Baruj  Search this
Sanchez, Emilio, 1921-1999  Search this
Schaaf, William  Search this
Scharf, Kenny  Search this
Scull, Haydée  Search this
Scull, Sahara  Search this
Shapiro, Joel  Search this
Slobodkina, Esphyr, 1908-2002  Search this
Spitzer, David D.  Search this
Strasser, Barbara  Search this
Sullivan, G. L.  Search this
Trasobares, César  Search this
Valdez-Fauli, Dora  Search this
Extent:
1 Linear foot
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1978-1996
Summary:
The papers of Miami art critic Helen Kohen date from 1978 through 1996 and contain letters, postcards, exhibition announcements and invitations, seventy-six untranscribed interviews of artists, dealers, and collectors in the Miami area, and two event recordings.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of art historian and critic Helen L. Kohen measure one linear foot and date from 1976 through 1996. They consist primarily of letters, postcards, exhibition announcements and invitations from artists in the Miami area. Also found are eighty-two mini cassette tapes of seventy-six interviews Kohen conducted with art dealers, collectors, contemporary artists, and others in the Miami area as research and background for her newspaper column and other articles. Also included are two event recordings.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into five series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Correspondence, 1954, 1984-1993, undated (Box 1, 10 folders)

Series 2: Printed Material, 1979-1996, undated (Box 1, 3 folders)

Series 3: Photographs, 1969, 1974, 1980-1994 (Box 1, 1 folder)

Series 4: Miscellany, 1983-1992, undated (Box 1 , 1 folder)

Series 5: Taped Interviews, 1986-1996, undated (Box 1, 1 folder and 82 micro-cassettes)
Biographical Note:
Art historian and critic Helen L. Kohen has authored numerous articles on contemporary art focusing on the formation of the art culture in Miami since the early 1980s. Helen L. Kohen is art critic emeritus for the The Miami Herald newspaper in Miami, Florida.
Provenance:
Helen L. Kohen donated her papers to the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution in 1997.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- Florida -- Miami  Search this
Topic:
Artists -- Haiti  Search this
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Women art critics  Search this
Cuban American artists  Search this
Artists -- Florida -- Miami -- Interviews  Search this
Artists -- Florida -- Miami  Search this
Art -- Florida -- Miami  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.kohehele
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e19f1645-ef4e-4dee-a68c-7a8f32c62220
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-kohehele

Warshaw Collection of Business Americana

Creator:
Warshaw, Isadore, 1900-1969  Search this
Extent:
1,150 Cubic feet (approximately. Series 1 contains approximately 1108 cubic feet consisting of approximately 2050 boxes, approximately 326 oversize boxes, and map case material. Additional material in Series 2-4 is unquantified. With also, some digital images of select collection materials.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Posters
Letterheads
Advertisements
Maps
Business ephemera
Calendars
Trade cards
Broadsides
Ephemera
Stationery
Advertising cards
Sheet music
Photomechanical prints
Sales catalogs
Chromolithographs
Place:
business ephemera -- Adirondack Mountains (N.Y.)
Albany (N.Y.)
Date:
circa 1708-1977
Scope and Contents:
The Warshaw Collection consists of approximately 1,150 cubic feet of material currently contained in approximately 2,050 vertical document boxes, approximately 326 flat oversize boxes, 34 map case drawers of oversize materials, 56 volumes of photographic photo prints, 17 boxes of 4 x 5 color transparencies and black and white photonegatives, 11 boxes of stereographs, and a videodisc. It consists of a large body of business ephemera. Ephemera is used to refer to the transient everyday items which are usually printed on paper however in some cases fabric, leather and wood have been used. This material is manufactured for a specific limited use and then meant to be thrown away. The collection also contains samples of ephemera that were meant to be saved for a short period of time and discarded later such as stock certificates. This material dates from the late eighteenth century to about 1977, but the bulk of the material is late from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The largest advertising history collection in the Archives Center, the Warshaw Collection is organized into five major categories: I. Business Ephemera -- - Vertical Files, II. Business Ephemera - - Oversize, III. Other Collection Divisions, IV. Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers and V. Photographic Reference Materials. Scope and content notes and a detailed description of the contents for all of these divisions are found in the following sections of the register.

Series 1: Business Ephemera, circa 1724-1977, makes up the largest portion of the collection. It is divided into 538 subject and geographic categories created by Mr. Warshaw and is contained in 2,050 vertical document boxes. Materials include vast numbers of advertising cards, scraps, stock cards, trade catalogs, price lists, menus, pamphlets, labels, lithographs, photographs, business letterheads, bills, receipts, greeting cards, post cards, calendars, printed advertisements, periodicals, newspaper clippings, broadsides, shipping documents, handbills, premiums, promotional items, announcements, business cards, packaging and point of purchase displays.

II. BUSINESS EPHEMERA - - OVERSIZE FILES, ca. 1850-1960, consists of approximatley 326 flat oversize boxes and 34 map case drawers of materials. Materials include posters, newspapers, point of purchase displays, packaging, printed advertisements, periodical illustrations, lithographs, labels, shipping documents, promotional items, trade catalogs, pattern sheets, maps, art reproductions, fashion design drawings, membership certificates and price lists. The material is organized by the same subject and geographical categories as materials in the vertical document boxes.

III. OTHER COLLECTION DIVISIONS, ca. 1790-1957, represents a significant accumulation of one type of material rather than a mix of various types of ephemera. Materials generally relate to one subject. Most of the material is stored in flat oversize boxes. Materials include cinema lobby cards, fire insurance maps, photographs and scrapbooks of liquor and wine labels.

IV. ISADORE WARSHAW PERSONAL PAPERS, ca. 1917-1966, consists of three document boxes of materials relating to how Mr. Warshaw maintained the collection as a business. Most of this material is correspondence sent to him in response to his research inquiries. A smaller portion of the material is printed advertisements and circulars created by Mr. Warshaw to advertise his services and the collection. Magazine articles, letterhead stationery and photographs make up the remainder of the material.

V. PHOTOGRAPHIC REFERENCE MATERIAL, consists of photographs, slides and transparencies of items found in the collection. These materials were created for a number of purposes. Some were created in response to requests by researcher for images to be used in publications, exhibitions, and for other purposes. Others were created as a quick reference source for researchers. Several thousand photographic images from the Warshaw Collection were also transferred to an experimental videodisc by the Institution's Office of Photographic and Printing Services (OPPS). The videodisc is available for viewing on equipment in the Archives Center.

Use of the prints, slides, and videodisc reduces wear and tear on the collection, permits rapid searching through many images, and assures the researcher - - in most cases that a photographic negative of transparency already exists, and that copies can be reproduced relatively quickly and inexpensively. Searching the collection's photographic reproductions is especially appropriate for researchers who want to see general images of subjects such as "women in advertising" or an advertisement from a particular year.

The Warshaw Collection originally contained books, three-dimensional objects and food crate labels. Those books that did not directly relate to the collection were transferred to the Smithsonian Libraries. Remaining publications are stored in the Business Ephemera-Vertical Files document boxes within the appropriate subject category.

Mr. Warshaw collected three-dimensional objects to illustrate packaging, to convey information about product content, shape and size, and to document advertising in three-dimensional forms. Such items included hair product packaging, games, patent medicine containers, cosmetics, tobacco tins, food containers, and liquor bottles. There were also a number of objects, mostly made of glass, tin, and wood, including trays and stained glass signs advertising products such as patent medicine, tobacco, phonographs, refrigerators, stoves, hair products, meat, agricultural tools and implements, whiskey, bakery goods, and beer. Some of these objects were framed. All these objects have been transferred to the appropriate divisions in the Museum. Information on the locations of these items can be obtained in the Archives Center reference room.

Food crate labels were once an important advertising device. Used to develop loyalty to particular growers, these labels were appealing because of the commercial artwork. Some of the labels were mounted on wood. These labels also were transferred to a curatorial unit. The un-mounted labels are in the "foods" section of the Business Ephemera - - Vertical Files.

Research Strengths and Limitations

The strength of the Warshaw Collection lies in its size, its variety, and its extraordinarily rich visual imagery. These images illustrate how Americans perceived themselves or wished to be perceived, how they saw others, their work patterns, their recreation habits, and other aspects of American culture from the late eighteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. They provide an alternative source to written and printed historical materials, sometimes conveying information about values and practices not otherwise documented. These images stand as a powerful reminder that the origins of modern, visual mass communications go much farther back than the invention of television.

Most of the imagery, of course, is a vision of American life as seen through the eyes of advertising agencies and of the businesses they represented. Researchers working with the collection find it an especially rich source for examining the dynamic relationship between advertising and American culture over the centuries.

There are some problems, however, interpreting American culture through these materials. Most of the advertisements in the collection represent Anglo-American mainstream culture. African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and members of other ethnic groups are only occasionally depicted in the advertisements. Much of this imagery is stereotypical and fails to recognize ethnic groups as consumers. Despite these limitations the ethnic imagery offers penetrating insights into American culture and its changing values and tastes. The Archives Center's Ethnic Imagery Project has identified thousands of items within the Warshaw Collection, and in other Center collections, which depict race and ethnicity. The Project also is seeking to expand the range of such imagery within the Center's collections to provide a better rounded view of how Americans see themselves and each other.

There are few indications in the collection of consumer response. The materials mostly consist of end products, what customers received. Testimonials and celebrity endorsements are among the materials but do not constitute a large portion of it, nor do they appear in every subject category. There is also little documentation on the success or failure of advertisements. Evidence about advertisers' decisions to use specific advertisements is extremely rare.

There is no complete history of any one company represented in the collection. For many of the businesses, the material consists of fragments of the advertising materials created to sell their products or services. Biographical information on founders or the early developments of the company may be included on letterhead stationery or bills and receipts but not always. Occasionally one finds company publications that discuss the history of the business. These were usually produced for anniversaries and more often for larger companies that had existed for a long time, such as Proctor & Gamble.

Most of the businesses represented in the Collection were east of the Mississippi River. This is probably due to the collecting possibilities for Mr. Warshaw. It also may be due to the concentration of many industries in this region.

Despite its limitations, the Warshaw Collection is the most heavily used collection in the Archives Center. Researchers in the Collection often find information unavailable elsewhere. Researchers in the Collection have included academic historians, Smithsonian curatorial staff , and outside museum staff interested in the collection for exhibition purposes. Smithsonian Shops buyers and others interested in motifs for licensed products, collectors and hobbyists find the collection a rich source for such research.
Series 1: Business Ephemera:
Dates -- circa 1544-1988

Contents -- Series 1: Business Ephemera1.1: Subject Categories1.2: Geographical Categories
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions:
Dates -- circa 1850-1957

Contents -- Series 2: Other Collection Divisions2.1: Business Records [Obsolete as of 2017]2.2: Cinema Lobby Cards2.3: Fire Insurance Maps2.4: Liquor and Wine Labels and Advertisements2.5: Photographs2.6: Stereographs2.7: Sheet Music2.8: Rewards and Wanted Posters
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers:
Dates -- circa 1917-1966

Contents -- Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers3.1: Correspondence3.2: Secondary Writings about Warshaw and the Collection3.3: Business Materials3.4: Miscellaneous
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material:
Dates -- undated

Contents -- Series 4: Photographic Reference Material4.1: Photoprints4.2: 35mm color slides4.3: Color transparencies4.4: Videodisc
Arrangement note:
The collection is divided into four series.

Series 1: Business Ephemera

Series 2: Other Collection Divisions

Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers

Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Biographical / Historical:
The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana is the result of the foresight and energy of Isadore Warshaw. Warshaw believed that the history of America was closely tied to the history of American business. He observed, however, that the business community often looked to the future rather than the past and tended not to retain historical company records. As a result, a number of businesses had no coherent record of their past. Warshaw realized that these records could be of value one day.

"Sonny" Warshaw, as he was known to family and friends, was born June 12, 1900 and reared in Albany, New York, the second youngest of ten children of Rubin and Ray (Mackler) Warshaw. Although he received little formal education, he started in business as a book scout in 1915 searching for rare publications for dealers and collectors. Later he became a rare book dealer and collector himself. His hobbies included sketching and painting, and several pieces of this self-taught artist's work were exhibited in local banks.

Warshaw's interest in collecting business ephemera began in 1928 when an important event inspired him. In the process of searching for books, he often ran across various pieces of ephemera. In these posters, labels, ledgers, invoices, calendars, business cards, correspondence on letterhead stationery, and advertising cards, he could see the romantic side of big business. One day he ran across an invoice signed by John Forsythe, founder of a New York haberdashery, and sent it to the store. In reponse, he received a thank-you note along with an invitation to select six shirts in appreciation for the item he found. This combination of events encouraged Warshaw to begin a lifelong mission. He opened an office at 61 Columbia Street in Albany, New York, announcing to the business community that he had their history and would make it available.

In 1942, Isadore Warshaw moved from Albany to New York City where he opened an office at 752 West End Avenue. In 1944, he married Augusta Levy, a former buyer for a group of women's ready-to-wear shops in Miami, Florida. They had no children. A portion of their apartment was used as an office where Mrs. Warshaw handled all the correspondence. The Warshaws lived with the fear of a fire destroying the collection because this was their sole source of income. Insurance companies informed them that in order to insure the collection, each piece would have to be counted. As a result, the collection was never insured. A fire did occur once in the building but only a small portion of their vast holdings suffered from smoke damage.

Warshaw spent a great deal of time at the New York Public Library, museums, and historical societies, gathering ideas and information relating to his business pursuits. He never referred to his time spent researching and collecting as a hobby. As his business began to grow, he relied on as many as forty scouts across the country to hunt for material. He acquired material from companies going out of business, buildings about to be demolished, garage sales, auctions, antique shows, stamp dealers and collectors, old safes, small country merchants, and bookstores. He also advertised in catalogues for the book industry throughout the country.

Warshaw's approach at first was to purchase pieces of Americana in hope of finding a buyer. He mailed thousands of advertisements to his five hundred corporate clients. Rejected items went to a brownstone building that he referred to as his warehouse. Warshaw later discovered that there was more profit in renting materials or selling reproduction rights to the very materials he had once carted away. Companies rented objects or entire packaged displays to commemorate anniversaries, for sales conventions, annual reports, trade shows, lectures, and window displays. A few of his major clients included Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Steel Company, the Riegel Paper Company, the American Can Company, and the Western Electric Company. Reward posters and gold-rush prints were used as props for TV westerns.

Warshaw used the collection to do various kinds of research for a number of businesses. Sometimes he investigated the history of a firm to supply it with founding dates. He found evidence of expansion and product diversification in various documents in the collection. For example, company records showed that Procter and Gamble began as a soap and candle manufacturer before it expanded to a wide variety of products.

Warshaw also had clients outside the business community. Members of the legal profession relied on his collection for various purposes. Lawyers contacted him when they wanted to convert personal property from estates to cash, and he also served as an expert witness, providing evidence in disputes involving trademarks, copyrights, and slogans.

American Heritage, Life, and other publications wishing to illustrate articles found graphics in the collection. Warshaw swapped items with local libraries and historical societies. Joseph N. Kane used the collection to document information for his book, Famous First Facts. Commenting on the many uses of his collection, Warshaw stated:

I have been fortunate. As a collector of things that now document the rapid growth of industry, I have been able to find wide use for my collection. People are beginning to realize that while the romance of war, fashion and science, for instance, is well preserved in swords, wax dolls, and fascinating models...the romance of business in the form of ledgers, sample books, posters, and tin cans tends to perish in debris. Now people come to me to illustrate histories and to get pictures of things as they were.

As Warshaw aged, he began to look for a buyer for the collection. Ralph M. Hower, at one time a professor of business at Harvard, recommended that the collection be purchased and indexed by the Baker Library at Harvard's Business School. He regarded it as a wealth of evidence on such topics specialization, diversification, and integration of business firms and the location of trade and industry.

Discussions about the Warshaw Collection among the staff of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (then the Museum of History and Technology) began in 1961. The primary reason for the Museum's interest in purchasing the collection was to prevent the dispersal of a unique resource that could never be assembled again. In the opinions of Smithsonian staff, it provided evidence of things that could be found nowhere else.

Although negotiations for buying the collection and bringing it to the Museum began in 1966, the collection was not actually purchased and transported to the Museum until August 1967. Warshaw had moved his business several times and at the time of the sale, it was located in three rooms on the second floor of 270 West 96th Street in New York. Packing the collection took four days and it was transported to Washington by two tractor trailers.

When the collection arrived at the Museum, it consisted primarily of advertising ephemera. There were also a number of three-dimensional objects, including shoes, clothing, jewelry, furs, ashtrays, coffee and tobacco tins, carpets, patent medicines, cosmetics, hair products, paperweights, whiskey bottles, and food packages. The collection was divided into hundreds of subject headings created by Warshaw. Some of Warshaw's personal papers revealing his business transactions were included, as well as advertisements used by Warshaw to solicit business from manufacturers and retailers. Most of the rest of Warshaw's own papers were destroyed by Mrs. Warshaw when she left New York in 1973.

Following the sale of the collection to the Museum, Warshaw found himself unable to relinquish his life's work. He continued to do research for a number of old clients, relying on such sources as the public library, historical societies, collectors, and dealers in this type of material. In the process he acquired additional material. The volume of this portion of the collection was equal to the size of a station wagon. It was offered to the Museum by Mrs. Warshaw in 1971, and Museum staff went to the New Jersey home of Mrs. Warshaw's brother to pick up the new collection in November 1971.

Curators from the Museum were encouraged to spend time with the collection after its arrival to determine its content in their subject areas. At that time the collection was stored in shirt boxes. Efforts were made to put the materials in vertical document boxes, keeping them in the subject categories created by Warshaw. As time went on, it was clear that the method used by Warshaw was not adequate for research use. Warshaw located materials by hunch rather than by system and there was little cross-referencing in the collection. Not only was it inaccessible to outside researchers, but many of the objects were fragile and required more protection than they had in their original storage containers.

When the Archives Center was established in 1982, it was intended to be a repository for documents and other archival material in the Museum, assuring proper storage and a place where researchers could come to use collections.

The Warshaw Collection was one of the greatest concerns of the Archives Center because of its heavy use. In 1983 the Archives Center and the Division of Conservation worked together to develop a plan to integrate archival principles with conservation methods and techniques, thus taking the first steps in creating a re-housing project.

The first part of the re-housing project began with a survey of the collection to analyze content and condition of the materials. Faith Zieske, a conservator, conducted the survey. She chose a standard statistical analytical method, randomly using 70 vertical document boxes as samples, to analyze the entire collection. Zieske consulted both the Library of Congress Preservation Office and the conservation staff of the Folger Shakespeare Library. A plan was then developed for implementing the survey. After examining the results of the survey, Zieske developed a phased plan for reorganizing and preserving the collection.

Conservation technician Carolyn Long and museum specialist Lorene Mayo began the pilot project in the summer of 1983, testing recommendations made in the survey. During this period Long wrote guidelines for handling the collection. Long and Mayo also developed new storage containers for housing objects of unusual shape.

As the re-housing project developed, finding aids were created for the processed portions of the collection. This was a crucial step that allowed staff and researchers to find items without actually going through the collection. Archives Center staff continue to develop means of making the collection more accessible to researchers who come to the Museum to use the collection, as well as to increase awareness of the existence of the collection in the research community outside the Museum.

List of Sources

"Cashing In On Old Office Records." Business Week, (December 6, 1958).

"A Glimpse at Industrial Advertising of the 80's." Industrial Marketing, (February 1946).

Interview by Vanessa Broussard-Simmons with Mrs. Augusta Levy Warshaw and Correspondence in Control File for Warshaw Collection.

Kahn, Joseph. "Trademark Detective: The Colorful Past of American Business is the 'Beat' of a Sleuth Who has Pioneered a New Kind of History." The Rotarian, ( December 2, 1957) .

Kramer, A. Stanley. "What's Old on Madison?" Madison Avenue. (March 1961).

Menuez, Caroline Bird. "There's Gold in Your Attic." Esquire, (1946).
General:
Several specific companies or proprietors repeatedly appear in various subseries of this collection. These records were dispersed through many subseries and prior arrangement efforts, including those done by the collector as well as post-acquisition staff, which focused on a category or business name of the vendors rather than retaining the record source original provenance and order. As of 2016, there is not a plan to cull through the collection and reconstitute such records, however if such an effort was made, it would likely result in reasonably comprehensive business records for several entities. A few have been noted here but an exhaustive survey of the collection in regards to the this trend of dispersal has not been conducted.

Jacob House (occasionally with variant spellings), which often account for some of the earliest business record within the Warshaw Business Americana Collection, particularly those documents dating in the 1700s and early 1800s.

Luddington, F.L. ... (see Hardware)

Stemmeler...(see Whiskey...)

[Note to be completed, NB 2016-10-18]
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center

Archives Center Collection of Business Americana (AC0404)
Provenance:
The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060, was purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogs restricted due to fragile condition. Researchers should consult microfilm in NMAH library for 1880-1983 editions, drawer 692.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Insurance, Fire -- Maps  Search this
Periodicals  Search this
Fires -- Insurance  Search this
Genre/Form:
Posters
Letterheads
Advertisements
Maps
Business ephemera
Calendars
Trade cards
Broadsides
Ephemera
Stationery
Advertising cards
Sheet music
Photomechanical prints
Sales catalogs
Chromolithographs
Citation:
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.0060
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep84ef31afc-ceb9-48ed-be87-c53687e41549
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-0060
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Demi

Interviewee:
Demi, 1955-  Search this
Interviewer:
Franco, Josh T. (1985-)  Search this
Names:
Pandemic Oral History Project  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (video files (21 min.) Video, digital, mp4)
6 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Video recordings
Date:
2020 September 2
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Demi conducted 2020 September 2, by Josh Franco, for the Archives of American Art's Pandemic Oral History Project at Demi's home in Miami, Florida.
Biographical / Historical:
Demi (1955-) is a painter in Miami, Florida. Demi (who uses only her first name) is a self-taught artist born in Cuba. Her husband is the painter Arturo Rodriguez.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds an interview of Demi conducted 1997 November 20, by Juan A. Martínez and the Demi and Arturo Rodríguez papers.
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 audio 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 audio recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- Florida -- Miami  Search this
Topic:
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Cuban American art  Search this
Cuban American artists  Search this
Self-taught artists  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Pandemics  Search this
COVID-19 (Disease)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Video recordings
Identifier:
AAA.demi20
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9f0230471-ea12-4b7c-b1a1-419542616732
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-demi20
Online Media:

Interview with Reyna Youngerman for Artists Point of View radio program series

Creator:
Youngerman, Reyna Ullmann, 1902-1992  Search this
Heymann, Ann W.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1984 December 13
Citation:
Reyna Ullmann Youngerman and Ann W. Heymann. Interview with Reyna Youngerman for Artists Point of View radio program series, 1984 December 13. Ann W. Heymann interviews of artists, 1974-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25522
See more items in:
Ann W. Heymann interviews of artists, 1974-1985
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25522

Interview with Terri Fandler for Artist's point of view radio series

Creator:
Fandler, Terri  Search this
Heymann, Ann W.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1985 April 4
Citation:
Terri Fandler and Ann W. Heymann. Interview with Terri Fandler for Artist's point of view radio series, 1985 April 4. Ann W. Heymann interviews of artists, 1974-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25494
See more items in:
Ann W. Heymann interviews of artists, 1974-1985
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25494

Interview with Jana Bemova for Artist's point of view radio series

Creator:
Bemova, Jana  Search this
Heymann, Ann W.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1985 January 1
Citation:
Jana Bemova and Ann W. Heymann. Interview with Jana Bemova for Artist's point of view radio series, 1985 January 1. Ann W. Heymann interviews of artists, 1974-1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25479
See more items in:
Ann W. Heymann interviews of artists, 1974-1985
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25479

Interview with Mel Edwards and Lowery Sims

Creator:
Edwards, Melvin, 1937-  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Subject:
Sims, Lowery Stokes  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1994 September 4
Citation:
Melvin Edwards and Helen L. Kohen. Interview with Mel Edwards and Lowery Sims, 1994 September 4. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25187
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25187

Interviews about South Florida Art Center

Creator:
Schneiderman, Ellie, 1939-2020  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1994 February 28
Citation:
Ellie Schneiderman and Helen L. Kohen. Interviews about South Florida Art Center, 1994 February 28. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25184
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25184

Interview with Kenny Scharf

Creator:
Scharf, Kenny, 1958-  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1995 April 10
Citation:
Kenny Scharf and Helen L. Kohen. Interview with Kenny Scharf, 1995 April 10. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25171
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25171

Interview with Dora Valdez-Fauli

Creator:
Valdez-Fauli, Dora  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1992 July 31
Citation:
Dora Valdez-Fauli and Helen L. Kohen. Interview with Dora Valdez-Fauli, 1992 July 31. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25176
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25176

Interview with Carlos Alfonzo

Creator:
Alfonzo, Carlos, 1950-1991  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1988 May 24
Citation:
Carlos Alfonzo and Helen L. Kohen. Interview with Carlos Alfonzo, 1988 May 24. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25110
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25110

Interview with Louis Grachos

Creator:
Grachos, Louis  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1994 August 2
Citation:
Louis Grachos and Helen L. Kohen. Interview with Louis Grachos, 1994 August 2. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25133
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25133

Interview with Jean Greer

Creator:
Greer, Jean  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
unknown
Citation:
Jean Greer and Helen L. Kohen. Interview with Jean Greer, unknown. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25139
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25139

Interview with Pat Jones

Creator:
Jones, Pat  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1992 October 16
Citation:
Pat Jones and Helen L. Kohen. Interview with Pat Jones, 1992 October 16. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25142
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25142

Interview with Pat Jones

Creator:
Jones, Pat  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1993 August 3
Citation:
Pat Jones and Helen L. Kohen. Interview with Pat Jones, 1993 August 3. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25143
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25143

Interview with Virginia Miller

Creator:
Miller, Virginia  Search this
Kohen, Helen L.  Search this
Type:
Sound Recording
Date:
1992 May 22
Citation:
Virginia Miller and Helen L. Kohen. Interview with Virginia Miller, 1992 May 22. Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Record number:
(DSI-AAA)25155
See more items in:
Helen L. Kohen papers, 1978-1996
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_item_25155

Oral history interview with William Douglas Carlson

Interviewee:
Carlson, William, 1950-  Search this
Creator:
Riedel, Mija, 1958-  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Names:
Alfred University -- Students  Search this
Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) -- Students  Search this
Cleveland Institute of Art -- Students  Search this
Lowe Art Museum  Search this
Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America  Search this
Pilchuck Glass Center (Stanwood, Wash.)  Search this
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign -- Faculty  Search this
University of Miami -- Faculty  Search this
Billeci, Andre  Search this
Carpenter, James, 1949-  Search this
Chihuly, Dale, 1941-  Search this
Dailey, Dan, 1947-  Search this
Daley, William, 1925-2022  Search this
Fereighi, Christine  Search this
Heizer, Michael, 1944-  Search this
Heller, Doug, 1946-  Search this
Hilton, Eric  Search this
Marquis, Richard, 1945-  Search this
Marx, Bonnie  Search this
Matta-Clark, Gordon, 1943-1978  Search this
Serra, Richard, 1938-  Search this
Smith, Terry, 1960 June 15-  Search this
Stella, Frank  Search this
Young, Brent  Search this
Extent:
7 Items (Sound recording: 7 sound files (4 hr., 6 min.), digital, wav)
89 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
2009 June 24-25
Scope and Contents:
An interview of William Douglas Carlson conducted 2009 June 24-25, by Mija Riedel, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, at Carlson's home, in Miami, Florida.
Carlson discusses his move to the University of Miami in 2003 after 27 years at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign; his recent site-specific installation Procellous Wall at the Lowe Art Museum in Coral Gables, Florida; the change in his work since his move to Miami, finishing a series of pieces that began in 2000 dealing with language, and his sense of being in a transitional period with his work; growing up in a small town in Ohio, and his early use of adhesives, the field his father worked in, as the spur for his later work in laminating glass; classes at the Art Students League in New York City and Woodstock, New York; attending the Cleveland Institute of Art; spending the summer of 1971 in Stanwood, Washington, helping set up the Pilchuck Glass School, then returning to set up a glass program at the Cleveland Institute of Art with Christine Federighi; the lure of glass, and the danger that its beauty can overshadow artistic substance, which led in part to his decision to mix it with other materials; the influence of minimalism and of Russian constructivism, architecture and modern design; graduate studies at Alfred University, Alfred, New York; accepting a teaching job at the University of Illinois in 1976; work with lamination and expanding scale in his work; use of Vitrolite; large-scale installation work, beginning in the early 1980s, including Optional Refractions and Allele; reflection on the deliberate, design-focused nature of his work; his language series beginning in 2000; the series Pragnanz; philosophy of teaching; the value of intensive learning environments such as craft schools compared with the cross pollination of ideas available at a larger university; the imperative for craft to integrate new materials, technology, and ideas while retaining the importance of the hand; the role of galleries and collectors, and involvement in larger art and craft venues, including the May Show and SOFA; his stint as a judge in a barbecued rib cook-off; the effect of seminal exhibitions such as like "Objects: USA," [1969] and "Poetry of the Physical" (1986) in setting a standard of professionalism for and providing visibility to makers; impact of his international travel; a turn away from pure design and towards a more poetic ambiance in the language series; the use of projected light and his use of cast prismatic shadows in his installation The Nature of Things in Jacksonville, Florida; the issue of scale in his work; artists whose work he admires, including Frank Stella, Richard Serra, Michael Heizer, Tony Smith, Gordon Matta-Clark, William Daley; studio glass as an international movement; involvement with various craft organizations, and wrestling with the definition of a craft artist; preparations to move to Massachusetts and spend some contemplative time thinking about and working on new directions. He recalls Brent Young, Dale Chihuly, Jamie Carpenter, Christine Federighi, Richard Marquis, Eric Hilton, Andre Billeci, Dan Dailey, Doug Heller and Bonnie Marx.
Biographical / Historical:
William Douglas Carlson (1950- ) is a glass artist and educator in Miami, Florida. Carlson was educated at Alfred University.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound discs. Reformatted in 2010 as 7 digital wav files. Duration is 4 hr., 6 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Topic:
Constructivism (Art)  Search this
Glass artists -- Florida -- Interviews  Search this
Minimal art  Search this
Glass art  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.carlso09
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw963a88957-6508-4454-b9bd-78ea07a54bf0
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-carlso09
Online Media:

Oral history interview with María Brito

Interviewee:
Brito, María (1947-)  Search this
Interviewer:
Martínez, Juan A.  Search this
Extent:
115 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Sound recordings
Date:
1997 October 25
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Cuban born sculptor María Brito conducted 1997 October 25, by Juan A. Martínez, in Brito's home/studio, Miami, Florida, for the Archives of American Art.
Brito speaks of her birthplace, Havana, Cuba, and her early art education at the Edison School; her travels to Miami as part of the Peter Pan Project in 1961; her art studies at the Miami-Dade Community College and the University of Miami. She also comments on the Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art (MOCHA) in New York, The Decade Show, her first exhibition in Miami at Gallery 24 in 1980, and other exhibitions.
Biographical / Historical:
María Brito (1947-) is a sculptor from Miami, Florida. Born in Havana, Cuba.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hr., 2 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics, and administrators.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- Florida -- Miami  Search this
Installation artists -- Florida -- Miami  Search this
Topic:
Latino and Latin American artists  Search this
Cuban American art  Search this
Cuban American artists  Search this
Art, Modern  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Sound recordings
Identifier:
AAA.brito97
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c7eace33-3c67-4409-bffe-43cd9b581d10
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-brito97
Online Media:

Mark Green papers

Creator:
Green, Mark L., 1932-2004  Search this
Names:
Nanny Goat Hill Gallery (San Francisco, Calif.)  Search this
Albright, Thomas  Search this
Berman, Shirley  Search this
Berman, Wallace, 1926-1976  Search this
Coppola, Francis Ford, 1939-  Search this
DeFeo, Jay, 1929-1989  Search this
Eisenlord, William J., 1926-1997  Search this
Ferlinghetti, Lawrence  Search this
Frankenstein, Alfred V. (Alfred Victor), 1906-1981  Search this
Ginsberg, Allen, 1926-1997  Search this
Hull, Leonard  Search this
Johnson, Robert E. (Robert Emory), 1932-  Search this
Kauffman, Bob  Search this
Kerouac, Jack, 1922-1969  Search this
Kessler, Chester  Search this
Mitchell, J. Oliver  Search this
Rauschenberg, Robert, 1925-2008 -- Photographs  Search this
Rennie, Helen J., 1906-1989  Search this
Rigney, Francis J. (Francis Joseph), 1923-  Search this
Stauber, Jerome  Search this
Taylor, Edward Silverstone  Search this
Whalen, Philip  Search this
Extent:
1.1 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Writings
Photographs
Date:
1954-1991
bulk 1954-1978
Summary:
The papers of San Francisco Beat era photographer, journalist, and poet Mark Green consist of correspondence, biographical information, photographs, Nanny Goat Hill Gallery exhibition announcements, printed materials, and exhibition files for "Rolling Renaissance" (1968) and "A Kind of Beatness: Photographs of a North Beach Era, 1950-1965" (1975) exhibitions that Green helped to organize. Photographs by Mark Green are of notable figures and places in the Beat movement, including Allen Ginsberg, Robert Rauschenberg, and Clyfford Still, as well as photographs by others of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Mark Green, and Jack Kerouac among others.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of San Francisco Beat photographer, journalist, and poet Mark Green consist of biographical information, correspondence, exhibition files, printed materials, scattered writings, and photographs. Photographs by Mark Green are of notable figures and places in the Beat movement, including Allen Ginsberg, Robert Rauschenberg, and Clyfford Still, as well as photographs by others of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Mark Green, and Jack Kerouac among others.

One folder of correspondence includes letters from Jay DeFeo, Wallace and Shirley Berman, and Robert Emory Johnson. Exhibition files are found for two Beat exhibitions that Mark Green assisted in organizing: "Rolling Renaissance", 1968 and "A Kind of Beatness: Photographs of a North Beach Era, 1950-1965", 1975. Exhibition files contain correspondence, photographs of work exhibited and installation views, clippings, announcements and catalogs. Photographs are of Thomas Albright, Francis Ford Coppola, Allen Ginsberg, Leonard Hull, Robert Emory Johnson, Bob Kauffman, J. Oliver Mitchell, Francis Rigney, Jerome Stauber, and Edward Silverstone Taylor. Correspondents include include Thomas Albright, Wallace Berman, Bill Eisenlord, Alfred Frankensten, Allen Ginsberg, Helen Johnson of the Focus Gallery, Robert Emory Johnson, Chester Kessler, and Philip Whalen.

Mark Green's writings include a history of the Nanny Goat Hill Gallery, a statement about his photography, and various notes.

Printed materials consist of clippings, exhibition announcements for the San Francisco area and Nanny Goat Hill Gallery, and comic books.

The series of photographs is particularly rich due to Green's thoughtful and informative reflections written on the back of many of the photographs. The majority of the photographs identify the photographer, sitter, date, and place. Many times, Green included his own recollections of the particular sitter or photographer as well. In addition to photographs of Mark Green, there are photographs taken by Green and others of important Beat Movement figures. There are also photographs of beatnick "hot-spots" including the Co-Existence Bagel Shop, The Cellar, and The Place.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 6 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Information, 1967-1970s (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1959-1976 (Box 1, 3; 1 folder)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1954-1975 (Box 1, 3; 13 folders)

Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1974-1978 (Box 1; 3 folders)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1959-1978 (Box 1-3; 8 folders)

Series 6: Photographs, 1950s-1970s (Box 2-3; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Mark Green (1932-) moved to San Francisco and became active in the "Beat Movement" as a photographer, writer, and arts advocate. He helped organize two major group exhibitions of beat-era arts and also founded the Nanny Goat Hill Gallery in San Francisco.

Green was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in 1932, and attended the University of Miami, Florida from 1950-1952. After taking classes in journalism and philosophy, Green began a career in media and worked as a copy-boy, reporter, and correspondent at various newspapers throughout the United States until 1956.

In 1957, Green moved to San Francisco and worked as a bartender at the Co-Existence Bagel Shop, a local spot for Beat gatherings. It was during this time that Green became involved with the Beat Movement and the San Francisco Renaissance. Green became friends with "Beatnick" figures including Edward Silverstone Taylor and Patricia Marx who encouraged him to take up photography. Green's poems were published in Beatitude and The Real Bohemia.

A more prolific photographer than poet, Mark Green exhibited his photographs at Seven Arts Gallery, the Critic's Choice San Francisco Art Festival (1964), the Focus Gallery, and the "San Francisco Renaissance" at the Gotham Book Mart and Gallery (1975). He was active in organizing group exhibitions including the "Rolling Renaissance" (1968) and "A Kind of Beatness: Photographs of a North Beach Era, 1950-1965" (1975). Additionally, Green founded the Nanny Goat Hill Gallery (1972-1974) to give little-known artists an outlet to exhibit their works.
Related Material:
The Archives of American Art holds an oral history interview with Robert Emory Johnson by Paul Karlstrom on March 14, 1975 that details the history of the Rolling Renaissance exhibition organized in part by Mark Green.
Provenance:
Mark Green donated his papers in 1974, 1976, 1979, and 1991.
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:
Poets -- California -- San Francisco  Search this
Beat generation  Search this
Bohemianism -- California -- San Francisco  Search this
Photography -- Exhibitions -- California -- San Francisco  Search this
Photographers -- California -- San Francisco  Search this
Journalists -- California -- San Francisco  Search this
Photography -- California -- San Francisco  Search this
Genre/Form:
Writings
Photographs
Citation:
Mark Green papers, 1954-1991, bulk 1954-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.greemark
See more items in:
Mark Green papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw924583c36-96f1-4e50-a6a8-a3468f012d0e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-greemark
Online Media:

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By