Biographical information, correspondence, photographs, writings, works of art, scrapbooks, artists' and organization files, and inventories documenting William Littlefield's career and a painter, writer, and art collector.
Biographical material includes resumes and awards. Correspondence is with family, friends, galleries, and others, including letters from Littlefirld written while studying in Paris and other European cities. Correspondents include Jean Paul Slusser, Vincent Grimaldi, Stanley William Hayter, Monroe Wheeler, Paul Sachs, Mary Rockwell, Lincoln Kirstein, Duncan Phillips, Muriel Draper, A. Hyatt Mayor, Peter Busa, Archibald MacLeish, among others. Photographs are of Littlefield, his work, friends, and works of art by others. Writings include poetry, articles, essays, notes, a draft for "The Son," a ballet by Littlefield, 1934, and a transcript of a speech by Hans Hofmann given at the Riverside Museum, New York City, Feb. 16, 1941. Works of art include sketches by Littlefield and Stanley Hayter.
Scrapbooks and artists' files contain printed material, correspondence and photographs pertaining to Frank and Isabel Moser, and Mary Peixotto, Herman Heilborn and Alexis Arapoff and others. Organization files include the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts, the New School for Social Research, and The Club, of which he was a member. Inventories include works of art by Littlfield and in his estate.
Biographical / Historical:
William Horace Littlefield (1902-1969) was a painter, writer, and art collector in New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 1971 by Nancy Stiner, an antique dealer who bought the papers, in 1992, by Fred J. Stone who purchased the estate, in 2007 by Peggy Stone, Fred Stone's daughter, and in 2011 by Arthur Hughes, who purchased the additional material from Nancy Stiner.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Authors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Peter Busa and Laurie Lisle. Interview with Peter Busa, 1983 July 12. Laurie Lisle research material on Georgia O'Keeffe and Louise Nevelson, 1902-1990. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Peter Busa, 1965 September 5. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Peter Busa conducted 1965 September 5, by Dorothy Seckler, for the Archives of American Art. Busa speaks of family background; influences on his work; and his work on the WPA. He recalls Arshile Gorky, Stuart Davis, Jackson Pollock, William Baziotes, Kamrowski, and discusses his work being purchased by art patron Walter Chrysler in the late 1950's.
Biographical / Historical:
Peter Busa (1914-1985) was a painter and sculptor from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
General:
Originally recorded as 2 sound tapes. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 37 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Elaine De Kooning and Peter Busa. Interview with Elaine De Kooning, circa 1973-1978. Oral history interviews of artists conducted by Susan C. Larsen, 1973-1978. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Life colors art : fifty years of painting by Peter Busa / curated by Sandra Kraskin with essays by Sandra Kraskin and Robert Metzger ; foreword by Bill Jensen
Correspondence; exhibition catalogs; clippings; writings; photographs; and interviews with David Smith and with Ad Reinhart. Among the correspondents are Anne Arnold, Paul Burlin, Peter Busa, Franz J. Kline, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Abstract painter, educator; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1969 by Pat Passloff.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Educators -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
University of Massachusetts University Museum of Contemporary Art Fine Arts Center, 151 Presidents Drive Amherst Massachusetts 01003 Accession Number: 1963.17
