2.4 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 1 reel))
15 Items (ADDITION)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketchbooks
Date:
1930-1986
Scope and Contents:
Biographical material, artwork, photographs, printed material and letters.
REEL D287: Biographical information; correspondence, primarily professional; clippings; book and art reviews; legal and personal documents; exhibition catalogs; photographs of Groth and his work; 8 small sketchbooks and a portfolio of sketches covering his artistic activities during World War II; and 10 sketchbooks and a portfolio of drawings on the Korean War.
UNMICROFILMED: Groth's birth certificate; art, education and military awards, 1948-1980; a few sketches, 5 sketchbooks, 2 watercolor paintings and many ink sketches; photographs of Groth's illustration class, works of art, Korea and Vietnam; and printed material, including newspapers, clippings, magazines, book covers and catalogs, 1930-1982.
ADDITION: Fifteen pen and ink and water color sketches by John Groth, ca. 1951.
Biographical / Historical:
Art instructor, painter, book illustrator, war correspondent; New York, NY; d. 1988.
Provenance:
Material on reel D287 lent for microfilming 1966 by Groth. Unmicrofilmed materials donated 1988 by Patricia Dowling, a relative of Groth. Addition donated by Anita MacGregor, wife of Greg MacGregor who was given the sketches by Groth.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Biographical material, letters, financial material, an interview transcript, notes, writings, a scrapbook, printed material, photographs, and an audio tape document Gikow's career as a painter of social commentary.
REEL D230: Exhibition catalogs, 1948-1965; a scrapbook containing a biographical account and clippings, 1937-1965; an undated photograph of Gikow; and 164 photographs of works of art.
REELS 4874-4875: Biographical accounts, 1959-1971; 7 passports, 1947-1972; letters, 1949-1981, from Gikow to critics and galleries, and from colleagues including Karl Fortess and Lee Nordness, and one letter each from Werner Drewes, Jo Hopper, and Raphael Soyer; a file concerning the Kent State Memorial Exhibition, 1971; receipts, 1951-1978; price lists, 1967-1980; a 3 p. interview transcript; an engagement calendar, 1971; miscellaneous notes and writings by Gikow and others; printed material, including clippings, 1947-1979; exhibition announcements and catalogs, 1940-1982; a book, History of the Jews in America, 1957, by Deborah Pessin, illustrated by Gikow; a book, Gikow, 1970, by Matthew Josephson, with reproductions of art works used in the book; and brochures; photographs of Gikow, her husband Jack Levine, her studio, artists, including Chaim Gross, Jacob Lawrence, and Raphael Soyer, and works of art; and an untranscribed reel-to-reel tape of an interview of Gikow conducted by Karl Fortess.
UNFILMED: Correspondence; photographs of Gikow and of her art work, including one of her demonstrating mural painting at the 1939 World's Fair; reproductions of her book and magazine illustrations; and a yearbook, 1933, from the Women's Art School at The Cooper-Union, where Gikow studied with John Steuart Curry. Also found are writings by Gikow including reminiscences about her life as an artist and as an artist's wife; address books; and exhibition announcements and catalogs.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, mural painter, illustrator, serigrapher. Died 1982. Gikow was born in the Russian Ukraine, emigrating to New York City with her parents in 1920. She studied under John Steuart Curry at the Cooper Union Art School from 1932-1935. She also studied with Louis Ross, Louis Schanker and Raphael Soyer. After working as an assistant mural painter on the Federal Art Project, Gikow was awarded a commission to paint a mural for the Bronx Hospital. Her book illustrations include Crime and Punishment, and History of the Jews in America. Gikow was married to painter Jack Levine.
Provenance:
Material on D230 was lent by Gikow, 1965. Gikow and her husband Jack Levine donated the remainder in 1978 and 1983, which was microfilmed in 1994 with grants from the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund, the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, the Samuel Bronfman Foundation, and the Louis and Anne Abrons Foundation. After microfilming, an addition to the collection was donated by Levine in May 1999. Papers of Jack Levine donated at the same time have been cataloged separately.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Illustrators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Serigraphers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Women artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Women artists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of painter and art critic Guy Pène Du Bois measure 2.0 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1963 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1920 to 1963. Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including letters from Royal Cortissoz and Edward Hopper; writings, including essays, journals, short stories, and drafts of the autobiography Artists Say the Silliest Things; personal business records; printed material; and artwork.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of painter and art critic Guy Pène Du Bois measure 2.0 linear feet and date from circa 1900 to 1963 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1920 to 1963. Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including letters from Royal Cortissoz and Edward Hopper; writings, including essays, journals, short stories, and drafts of the autobiography Artists Say the Silliest Things; personal business records; printed material; and artwork.
Biographical materials consist of certificates, a curriculum vitae, passport, and a photograph of two unidentified women.
Correspondence is primarily with Pène Du Bois' family, friends, and business associates. The series includes significant correspondence from fellow art critic Royal Cortissoz; artists Raphael Soyer and Edward Hopper; and writers Samuel Duff McCoy, Lincoln Isham, and Newton Booth Tarkington. Other correspondents of note include C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries and Pène Du Bois' son, the children's book illustrator William Pène Du Bois.
Writings include book drafts of Pène Du Bois' autobiography, Artists Say the Silliest Things, journal entries, 35 essays, 8 short stories, and various writing fragments and notes.
Personal business records consist of account and sales records from C.W. Kraushaar Art Galleries, book and publishing contracts, and receipts for art supply purchases.
Printed material includes a brochure for the Guy Pène Du Bois School of Art, clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, and miscellaneous printed material.
Artwork consists of pen and ink sketches by Pène Du Bois and a print by an unknown artist.
Correspondence, 1908-1958 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Writings, circa 1900-1954 (1.1 linear feet; Box 1-4)
Personal business records, circa 1920-1949 (3 folders; Box 3)
Printed material, circa 1920-1963 (0.3 linear feet; Box 3)
Artwork, circa 1920-1954 (2 folders; Box 3)
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and art critic Guy Pène Du Bois (1884-1958) lived and worked in New York City, New York and was known for his realist paintings, essays, and art reviews.
Pène Du Bois was born in Brooklyn, New York to the art critic Henri Pène Du Bois and his wife Laura. After he showed an early interest in art, his' family supported his decision to enroll in William Merritt Chase's New York School of Art at the age of 15. There, Pène Du Bois trained with the realist painters Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller along with fellow students George Bellows, Edward Hopper, and Rockwell Kent. In 1905, he traveled to Paris and studied briefly with the artist Thèophile Steinlen, but returned to New York the following year after the death of his father. To help support his family, he found work as an illustrator and cartoonist for the New York American, and was promoted to the position of art critic for the newspaper in 1909.
In 1911, Pène Du Bois married his wife, Florence Duncan, and became an assistant writer for the New York Tribune under Royal Cortissoz (1913). Pène Du Bois also wrote art reviews for the New York Post (1916-1918), and was a writer and later editor of Arts and Decoration (1913-1915, 1917-1921). During these years, Pène Du Bois also began to establish a career as a realist painter of note. His work was included in the 1913 Armory Show, after which he signed on as a member of the Kraushaar Gallery stable. Throughout the 1910s, Pène Du Bois exhibited in numerous galleries and museums, and held his first one-man show in 1918 at the Whitney Studio Club.
From 1920 to 1924, Pène Du Bois taught at the Art Students League, and spent the latter part of the 1920s in France with his family. After seven years, he moved his family back to Connecticut and opened the Guy Pène Du Bois School of Art in Stonington, Connecticut. Throughout the 1930s, Pène Du Bois continued painting and received commissions to design federal murals in upstate New York (1937) and Boston (1942). In 1940, Pène Du Bois published his autobiography, Artists Say the Silliest Things. After the death of his wife in 1950, Pène Du Bois lived and traveled with his daughter's family and died in her home in Boston in 1958.
Related Materials:
The Archives also holds the Guy Pène Du Bois and Mary Lightfoot Tarleton correspondence.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (reel 28) including sketches and etching proofs. Lent material was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Sketches and etching proofs were lent to the Archives of American Art in 1970 for microfilming by Pène du Bois' children, Yvonne McKenney and William Pène du Bois. Yvonne McKenney donated papers in 1971. In 1980, two journals dating from 1913 to 1955, were loaned for microfilming by Pène du Bois' daughter-in-law, Willa Kim. These journals were subsequently donated by Martha Fleishman in 2017.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Guy Pène Du Bois papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Painting, American -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Art critics -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Prints
Sketches
Citation:
Guy Pène Du Bois papers, circa 1900-1963, bulk 1920-1963. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Processing of this collection was funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts -- Faculty Search this
Extent:
3.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sketches
Photographs
Sketchbooks
Date:
1858, 1870, 1900-1993
bulk 1920-1993
Summary:
The papers of Italian-American painter, engraver, and printmaker Letterio Calapai measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1858 through 1993 (bulk 1920s-1993). Found are correspondence, teaching and project files, writings and notes, printed materials, photographs, and sketchbooks, including one with scenes of Rockwell Kent's dairy farm in upstate New York.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Italian-American painter, engraver, and printmaker Letterio Calapai measure 3.4 linear feet and date from 1858 through 1993 (bulk 1920s-1993). Found are correspondence, teaching and project files, writings and notes, printed materials, photographs, and sketchbooks, including one with scenes of Rockwell Kent's dairy farm in upstate New York. Calapai's teaching career is documented through correspondence, writings and notes, as well as files concerning his position at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. Projects files are found for Calapai's reprint of an 1845 engraving of The Capture of Major Andre by Asher B. Durand for the Historical Society of the Tarrytowns, New York, reprints of print originals by Thomas Bewick, the Look Homeward Angel engravings, and a possible exhibition and book about British engraver William Hogarth.
Arrangement:
The Letterio Calapai papers are arranged into eleven series based primarily on type of material. Documents within individual folders are arranged chronologically by year.
Series 2: Correspondence, 1858, 1870, 1934-1992, undated (Boxes 1-2; 0.6 linear feet)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1925-1991, undated (Box 2; 12 folders)
Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1921, 1941-1992, undated (Boxes 2-3; 6 folders)
Series 5: The Historical Society of the Tarrytowns, New York, Project File, 1966, 1970-1980, undated
Series 6: Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine, Teaching Files, 1965-1981, undated (Box 3; 5 folders)
Series 7: Thomas Bewick Project Files, 1938-1988, undated (Box 3; 4 folders)
Series 8: Thomas Wolfe, -- Look Homeward Angel -- Portfolio Project Files, 1929-1990, undated (Box 3; 7 folders)
Series 9: William Hogarth Engravings Project Files, undated
Series 10: Photographs, 1900-1990, undated
Series 11: Artwork and Sketchbooks, 1960-1988, undated
Biographical Note:
Italian-American painter, engraver, and printmaker Letterio Calapai was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1903. His parents emigrated from Sicily and encouraged his participation in the arts at an early age. Calapai studied at the Massachusetts School of Art, the Beaux Arts Institute of Design, under artist Robert Laurent at the Art Students League, and at the American Artists School under Ben Shahn.
While in New York, Calalpai worked as a lithographer in a commercial printing shop but eventually abandoned this to pursue his own printmaking and painting full time, an endeavor made possible with the financial help of his former professor, Charles Hopkins. In 1933, Calalpai received his first exhibition, a one man show of his oil paintings, at the Art Center in New York City.
In the 1940s, Calapai became William Hayter's personal assistant at the Atelier 17 printmaking workshop and began to focus much of his work on this medium. He created a hugely successful portfolio of wood engravings inspired by the Thomas Wolfe play Look Homeward Angel. New York's George Binet Gallery hosted an exhibition of these prints the same year, a show that resulted in purchases of the portfolio by the libraries of Harvard University, Princeton, and the Boston and New York Public Libraries. Calapai also created book illustrations for a number of manuscript projects including 45 wood engravings for How God Fixed Jonah (1946), a West African adaptation of Old and New Testaments accounts in the Bible.
Calapai founded and chaired the Graphic Arts Department of the Albright Art School in Buffalo from 1949-1955 and taught at various universities and colleges, including the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, the New School for Social Research, and New York University. He also established the Intaglio Workshop for Advanced Printmaking in Greenwich Village. He later left New York to teach at the University of Illinois, where he established a training studio and gallery.
Letterio Calalapi died in Glencoe, Illinois in 1993.
Provenance:
The Letterio Calalapi papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by the artist in 1992.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
The Letterio Calapai papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Biographical information, correspondence, writings, photographs, printed material, including clippings, exhibition and auction catalogs, monographs, and art works by Perrine and his students. A small amount of papers of Perrine's wife Theodora Snow and daughter, Mary Perrine, are also included.
REEL D23: Photos of works of art and one photo of Perrine; and catalogs, announcements, and articles about Perrine.
UNMICROFILMED: Ten biographical accounts, an award from the Carnegie Institute for "The Robbers," 1903; letters; exhibition catalogs; a scrapbook with clippings, sketches, and a photograph, 1894-1906; clippings; 2 scrapbooks of clippings, 1897-1915; bulletins and reports from art organizations concerning the League for the Preservation of the Palisades, 1893-1973; exhibition and auction catalogs; a book A FULL LIFE--THE STORY OF VAN DEARING PERRINE by Lolita L. W. Flockhart, 1939; photographs of Perrine, 1912-1950, his family, 1912-1960, his works of art, Perrine working with children, and miscellaneous photographs of a model and works of art by others; and printed material. Among the photographers are A. D. Chapman, and Alvin Langdon Coburn.
ADDITION (N.Y) Drafts of writings on art, many written in pencil (1905, n.d.); a scrapbook of Perrine's manuscript writings; a small amount of correspondence with Carlton Noyes (1903-1945); monographs, many of them presentation copies, some illustrated by Perrine, from Claude Bragdon, Isadora Duncan, J.P. Mowbray, and Carlton Noyes. Artwork includes fifty-three small pastels, crayon and pencil drawings by children who studied with Perrine during the 1940s and 1950s, fourteen large pastels, many of which were published in LET THE CHILD DRAW, one roll of twenty murals done by children, and three large pastels. Photographs are of Perrine's paintings and book illustrations, his Mt. Tremper, New York and Milburn studios, and family photographs (1905-1955, n.d.). Papers of Perrine's wife, Theodora Snow Perrine, consist of biographical material, correspondence (1933-1964), published articles, and photographs of Theodora teaching rhythmics and music to children; and a small portion of material on the Perrines' daughter, Mary Perrine, includings correspondence (1949-1953), playbills, and writings on rhythmics (ca. 1960).
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, art educator; New York, N.Y. b. 9/10/1868, Garnett, Kan.; d. 12/10, 1955, Stamford, Conn.
Provenance:
Material on reel D23 lent for microfilming 1962 by Joyce Malcolm; unmicrofilmed material donated 1985 and 2002 by Kristina Leeb-Lundberg, the executor of Perrine's daughter's estate.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Microfilmed materials must be consulted on microfilm. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Art teachers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The papers of Romare Bearden measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1982. The collection includes biographical information, correspondence, writings by and about Bearden, miscellaneous legal and financial material, photographs, drawings, and printed material. Found are numerous letters referring to African-American arts movements of the 1960s and 1970s, including exhibitions, publications, associations, and scattered letters of a more personal nature.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Romare Bearden measure 2.1 linear feet and date from 1937 to 1982. The collection includes biographical information, correspondence, writings by and about Bearden, miscellaneous legal and financial material, photographs, drawings, and printed material.
Correspondence is with family, friends, artists, galleries, museums, publishers, universities, arts associations, and colleagues, primarily concerning gallery space, exhibitions, sales of artwork, publishing, and arts events. Also found are numerous letters referring to African-American art movements of the 1960s and 1970s, including exhibitions, publications, associations, and scattered letters of a more personal nature. Many of the letters are illustrated with Bearden's doodlings and drawings. Although most of the letters are from galleries, museums, publishers, and arts associations, scattered letters from Charles Alston, Jacob Lawrence, Ad Reinhardt, Carl Holty, and Sam Middleton are found. In addition, there are letters from the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, and letters concerning its founding.
Writings by Bearden include lectures, speeches, talks, essays, and prose. Many are handwritten, annotated, and edited in Bearden's hand and several are illustrated with Bearden's doodlings and sketches. Included are a memorial delivered upon artist Carl Holty's death, a tribute to Zell Ingram, autobiographical essays, essays on art, and African-American art, artists, and cultural life. Also found are several handwritten examples of Bearden's prose and poetry. There are also writings by others and one folder of fragments and notes assumed to be by Bearden.
The collection houses two folders of photographs and snapshots of Bearden, family members, other unidentified artists or friends, classes and/or lectures, and works of art. Also found are several undated ink drawings, sketches in pencil and ink, and a hand-drawn and colored map with overlay of Paris. Printed material includes examples of Bearden's commissioned artwork for publications, press releases, exhibition catalogs and announcements, invitations, newspaper and magazine clippings, and miscellaneous printed materials. Although much of the printed material concerns Bearden's work, a fair portion concerns African-American art, artists, and cultural movements.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into seven series based on type of materials. Documents within each of the seven series have been arranged in chronological order, except for the writings which have been further subdivided by creator and are undated. Printed materials have been arranged primarily according to form of material and are in rough chronological order.
Series 1: Biographical, 1977, undated (Box 1; 1 folder)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1944-1981, undated (Box 1-2; 0.8 linear feet)
Series 3: Writings By and About Bearden, circa 1950s-1980s (Box 3; 6 folders)
Series 4: Legal and Financial Material, 1970-1977 (Box 3; 3 folders)
Series 5: Photographs, undated (Box 3; 2 folders)
Series 6: Drawings, undated (Box 3, OV 6; 4 folders)
Series 7: Printed Material, 1937-1982 (Box 3-5; 1 linear foot)
Biographical / Historical:
Born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1914, Bearden's family relocated to New York City when Bearden was a toddler. Living in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, Bearden was exposed to such luminaries as writer Langston Hughes, painter Aaron Douglas, and musician Duke Ellington. While attending New York University, Bearden became interested in cartooning and became the art editor of the NYU Medley in his senior year. He received his B.S. in mathematics in 1935, initially planning to pursue medical school. Realizing that he had little interest in the other sciences however, Bearden began attending classes at the Art Students League in the evenings, studying under George Grosz.
In the mid-1930s Bearden published numerous political cartoons in journals and newspapers, including the Afro-American, but by the end of the decade, he shifted his emphasis to painting. Bearden's first paintings, on large sheets of brown paper, recalled his early memories of the South. After serving in the Army, Bearden began exhibiting more frequently, particularly in Washington, D.C. at the G Street Gallery and in New York with Samuel Kootz.
During a career lasting almost half a century, Bearden produced approximately two thousand works. Although best known for the collages of urban and southern scenes that he first experimented with in the mid-1960s, Bearden also completed paintings, drawings, monotypes, edition prints, public murals, record album jackets, magazine and book illustrations, and costume and set designs for theater and ballet. His work focused on religious subjects, African-American culture, jazz clubs and brothels, and history and literature. Not confining his abilities to the visual arts, Bearden also devoted attention to writing and song writing. Several of his collaborations were published as sheet music, among the most famous of which is "Seabreeze," recorded by Billy Eckstine. In addition, Bearden coauthored three full-length books: The Painter's Mind: A Study of the Relations of Structure and Space in Painting (1969) with painter Carl Holty; Six Black Masters of American Art (1972); and A History of African-American Artists: From 1792 to the Present (posthumously, 1993), the latter two with journalist Harry Henderson.
Bearden was also active in the African-American arts movement of the period, serving as art director of the Harlem Cultural Council, a founding member of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, and organizer of exhibitions, such as the Metropolitan Museum's "Harlem on My Mind" (1968). Romare Bearden died in 1988.
Related Materials:
Within the Archives holdings are two oral history interviews with Romare Bearden. One was conducted in 1968 by Henri Ghent and another in 1980 by Avis Berman.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reel N68-87) including correspondence, a scrapbook, photographs, catalogs, clippings, and writings. Except for the correspondence, loaned materials were returned to the donor and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Provenance:
Romare Bearden lent material for microfilming to the Archives of American Art in 1968, donating the correspondence. Bearden also gave additional papers between 1977 and 1983.
Restrictions:
The bulk of the collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not digitized requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Romare Bearden papers are owned by the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Literary rights as possessed by the donor have been dedicated to public use for research, study, and scholarship. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Collagists -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
