The papers of writer, art critic and collector Bernard Harper Friedman, 1926-2011, bulk 1943-2010, measure 30.6 linear feet. Extensive professional and personal correspondence, 41 diaries, a large number of his published and unpublished writings, and subject files document Friedman's career as a writer, relationships with cultural institutions and art world figures, and his personal life. Also included are biographical materials, interviews, printed material, 5 scrapbooks and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of writer, art critic and collector Bernard Harper Friedman, 1926-2011, bulk 1943-2010, measure 30.6 linear feet. Extensive professional and personal correspondence, 41 diaries, a large number of his published and unpublished writings, and subject files document Friedman's career as a writer, relationships with cultural institutions and art world figures, and his personal life. Also included are biographical materials, interviews, 5 scrapbooks, and photographs.
Biographical materials include educational records, documentation of Friedman's World War II service in the U.S. Navy, and birth, marriage, and death certificates.
Correspondence is with friends, family, artists, art world figures and institutions, writers, publishers, and literary agents. Among the correspondents are: John I. H. Baur, Harry Bertoia, Flora Biddle, Norman Bluhm, James Brooks, Fritz Bultman, Leo Castelli, William N. Copley, Jim Dine, Helen Frankenthaler, Brendan Gill, Robert Goodnough, Cleve and Francine Gray, Howard Kanovitz, Grace Knowlton, Stanley Kunitz, Conrad Marca-Relli, Mercedes Matter, Fred W. McDarrah, Rory McEwen, Robert Motherwell, Arnold Newman, Barnett Newman, Dorothy Norman, Alfonso Ossorio, Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, Robert Richenburg, Barney Rosset, Philip Roth, Judith Rothschild, Irving Sandler, Salvatore Scarpitta, Jon Schueler, Sidney Simon, David Slivka, Clyfford Still, Myron Stout, Calvin Tompkins, and David Windham.
There are transcripts of interviews with B. H. Friedman, his daughter and wife conducted by the Yale University School of Medicine's "Adult Development Study," and 2 recordings of interviews with Friedman for radio broadcast.
Writings by Friedman include manuscripts of novels, short stories, plays, articles, monographs, and art criticism, some published versions of his work, and a variety of notes. Also found are recordings of lectures by B. H. Friedman and panel discussions in which he participated. Other authors represented are John Cage, W. B. Henry, and Jon Schueler. Friedman's diaries, 1948-1993 (41 volumes) record activities, thoughts, and events.
Subject files compiled by Friedman reflect professional and personal interests, activities, and projects. Many concern publicity for published writings or efforts to find publishers. Especially well documented is his interest in Jackson Pollock, Timothy Leary, and Alfonso Ossorio, and his affiliation with the Whitney Museum of American Art.
The majority of printed material is about or mentions Friedman. Five scrapbooks consist mainly of printed material.
Most photographs are of B. H. and Abby Friedman, their family, and friends. Among the individuals pictured are: Elise Asher, Cary and Norman Bluhm, Sandy Friedman, Joellen Hall, Doug Huebler, Howard Kanowitz, Stanley Kunitz, Lee Krasner, Sheridan Lloyd, Barnett and Annalee Newman, Alfonso Ossorio, Magda Salvesen, Salvatore Scarpitta, John Schueler, and Myron Stout. A photograph album records scenes from a 1979 performance of Whispers, a stage adaptation by Alan Wynroth from Friedman's novel of the same title.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged as 9 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1926-2011 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1946-2011 (Boxes 1-15; 14.7 linear feet)
Series 3: Interviews, 1969-2001 (Box 15; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings, 1940s-2010 (Boxes 16-23; 8 linear feet)
Series 5: Diaries, 1948-1993 (Boxes 24-25; 1.75 linear feet)
Series 6: Subject Files, 1940-2010 (Boxes 25-30; 4.45 linear feet)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1954-2010 (Box 30-31; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 8: Scrapbooks, 1960-2006 (Boxes 30-32; 0.8 lilnear feet)
Series 9: Photographs, circa 1950s-2008 (Box 30; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Bernard Harper Friedman (1926-2011), a writer best known as the author of the first biography of Jackson Pollock, was also an art critic and art collector involved in the cultural life of New York City.
Bernard Harper Friedman, known professionally as B. H. Friedman, was called Bob by family and friends. After interrupting his studies at Cornell University to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he graduated in 1948 with a degree in English. Friedman and his new bride, fellow student Abby G. Noselson (1926-2003), returned home to New York City and he began a real estate career in his uncles' firm, Uris Buildings Corporation. While a businessman, Friedman spent much of his spare time writing. He produced fiction, plays, and criticism; Friedman's articles on art, literature and music appeared in a wide variety of periodicals. During this period, Friedman also pursued his interests in jazz, collecting abstract art, and psychedelic drug experiences with Timothy Leary.
His first published novel, Circles, about the Abstract Expressionist milieu, appeared in 1962. A year later, B. H. Friedman became a full-time writer. For nearly 20 years, he divided his time between New York City and Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he was affiliated with the Fine Arts Work Center as a director and consultant. During this period, he published several novels and two biographies: Jackson Pollock: Energy Made Visible and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, written with Flora Biddle. More novels and short story collections were published, and staged readings of seven plays were presented between 1987 and 2007. Tripping, a memoir of using psychedlics with Timothy Leary, appeared in 2006.
A founding member of Fiction Collective, a nonprofit publishing group run by and for writers, Friedman was also a member of several national writers' organizations. He served as a trustee of the Whitney Musuem of American Art, 1961-1968, and then as honorary trustee. B. H. Friedman died from complications of pneumonia on January 4, 2011 in New York City.
Related Materials:
Also available is an oral history interview with Bernard Harper Friedman, 1972 November 10, conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art.
Provenance:
The Bernard Harper Friedman papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2012 by his daughter, Daisy Friedman.
Restrictions:
The collection is ACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission is required. Use of original materials requires an appointment. Use of archival audiovisual recordings with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art -- Collectors and collecting -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Writings, talks, lectures, and contributions to publications, notably his work on the book, NEW ART IN AMERICA; correspondence, writings, memos, and clippings concerning museums (other than the Whitney Museum of American Art), galleries, colleges, the American Federation of Arts, and others; correspondence, printed material, and miscellany relating to committees and organizations, such as the American Studies Association and the International Association of Art Critics; correspondence and printed material concerning exhibition jury service; and miscellany.
ADDITION: Artists' files, photographs, correspondence, notes, writings, including an annotated draft for Baur's book, REVOLUTION & TRADITION IN MODERN AMERICAN ART.
Biographical / Historical:
Museum curator, museum director, and writer; New York, N.Y. Curator Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1936-1952; curator, director, and director emeritus, Whitney Museum of American Art, 1952-1987. Author of several books on American art.
Provenance:
Donated 1989 by Louise C. Bauer, the widow of the artist, John I. H. Baur.
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.
Baur, John I. H. (John Ireland Howe), 1909-1987 Search this
Extent:
2 Sound tapes ((198 p. transcript), 7 in.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound tapes
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1959 June
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Philip Evergood conducted by John I. H. Baur for the Whitney Museum. Evergood speaks of the stylistic qualities of his paintings, his method of painting, and the sources of subject matter and symbolism in his work. He comments on BOY FROM STALINGRAD, LILY AND THE SPARROWS, MEN AND MOUNTAIN, THE SIDING, AMERICAN TRAGEDY, MY FOREBEARS WERE PIONEERS, MOON MAIDEN, LEDA IN HIGH PLACES, THE HIDDEN APPLE, PORTRAIT OF MY MOTHER, THE LITTLE CAPTAIN, and other paintings.
An interview of John I. H. Baur conducted 1970 January 22-February 19, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Baur speaks of his education, his work at the Brooklyn Museum, WNYC radio programs, art dealers in the 1940s, museum acquisitions and his research on William Sidney Mount, John Quidor and Theodore Robinson. He discusses exhibitions and scholarship, joining the staff of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the organization of the Friends of the Whitney, art critics, Whitney Annuals, and the "Black Emergency Cultural Coalition." Baur recalls Edith Halpert, Samson Lane Faison, Jr., Henri Focillon, Lloyd Goodrich, Roy R. Neuberger, Theodore Sizer and others.
Biographical / Historical:
John I. H. Baur (1909-1987) was a museum curator from New York, New York.
General:
Originally recorded on 3 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 10 digital wav files. Duration is 7 hr., 33 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Topic:
Museum curators -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Philip Howard Evergood and John I. H. (John Ireland Howe) Baur. Interview with Philip Evergood conducted by John I.H. Baur, 1959 June. Philip Evergood interview, 1959 June. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Baur, John I. H. (John Ireland Howe), 1909-1987 Search this
Type:
Writings
Date:
between 1930 and 1940
Citation:
John I. H. (John Ireland Howe) Baur. Literature notes on Street, between 1930 and 1940. John I.H. Baur papers, 1946-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with John I. H. Baur, 1970 January 22-February 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Museum curators -- New York -- Interviews Search this
Charles Burchfield : [exhibition at] Whitney Museum of American Art, January 11-February 26, 1956 ... [et al. / text by John I.H. Baur ; research by Rosalind Irvine] ; exhibition and catalogue by the Whitney Museum of American Art
Landmarks in American art, 1670-1950; a loan exhibition of great American paintings. For the benefit of the American Federation of Arts, Feb. 26th to Mar. 28th, 1953, at Wildenstein
Author:
Wildenstein and Company (New York, N.Y.) Search this
Baur, John I. H (John Ireland Howe) 1909-1987 Search this
Nature in abstraction; the relation of abstract painting and sculpture to nature in twentieth-century American art. [Text by John I.H. Baur ; artists' biographies by Rosalind Irvine.]
Author:
Baur, John I. H (John Ireland Howe) 1909-1987 Search this
A panel discussion, "Your Part of Art," moderated by Alvin C. Hollingsworth. Panelists include: John I. H. Baur, Wilder Green, Thomas Messer, Jeanne Paris, and Theodore Rousseau.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donor is unspecified.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Baur, John I. H. (John Ireland Howe), 1909-1987 Search this
Extent:
1 Item (sound cassette (1 hr., 2 min.))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Date:
1980 Nov. 18
Scope and Contents:
A panel discussion held 1980 Nov. 18, at the National Academy of Design, New York, N.Y.
Panel members are John I. H. Baur, Linda Ferber, and John Wilmerding, with Barbara Novak as moderator. John Howard Dobkin and William McNaught introduce the speakers.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound cassette. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 2 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
