Search Results

Creator:

Tobias, Abraham Joel, 1913-1996  Search this

Subject:

Gaber, George  Search this

Gill, Brendan  Search this

La Gambina, Vincent  Search this

Lishinsky, Abraham  Search this

Orozco, José Clemente  Search this

Spivak, Max  Search this

Tobey, Alton S. (Alton Stanley)  Search this

Block, Irving  Search this

Caswell, Edward C.  Search this

Brooks, James  Search this

Evergood, Philip  Search this

Fine Arts Federation of New York  Search this

Congress of Industrial Organizations (U.S.)  Search this

United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this

Type:

Interviews

Video recordings

Photographs

Citation:

Abraham Joel Tobias papers, 1913-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Topic:

Mural painting and decoration  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Theme:

Lives of artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)5976

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)228104

AAA_collcode_tobijoel

Theme:

Lives of artists

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_228104

Creator:

Tobias, Abraham Joel, 1913-1996  Search this

Names:

Congress of Industrial Organizations (U.S.)  Search this

Fine Arts Federation of New York  Search this

United States. Work Projects Administration  Search this

Block, Irving  Search this

Brooks, James, 1906-1992  Search this

Caswell, Edward C.  Search this

Evergood, Philip, 1901-1973  Search this

Gaber, George  Search this

Gill, Brendan, 1914-1997  Search this

La Gambina, Vincent, 1909-1994  Search this

Lishinsky, Abraham  Search this

Orozco, José Clemente, 1883-1949  Search this

Spivak, Max, 1906-1981  Search this

Tobey, Alton S. (Alton Stanley), 1914-2005  Search this

Extent:

2.8 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Video recordings

Photographs

Date:

1913-2000

Summary:

The Abraham Joel Tobias papers date from 1913 to 2000 and measure 2.8 linear feet. Through project and exhibition files, printed material, correspondence, and photographs, the collection provides an overview of Tobias's career as a painter and muralist in New York City.

Scope and Content Note:

The Abraham Joel Tobias papers date from 1913 to 2000 and measure 2.8 linear feet. Through project and exhibition files, printed material, correspondence, and photographs, the collection provides an overview of Tobias's career as a painter and muralist in New York City.

General correspondence regards mural proposals, exhibitions, professional activities, and museums' acquisitions of artwork by Tobias. A file of correspondence with the Fine Arts Federation of New York concerns efforts to recognize murals by Irving Block, James Brooks, Philip Evergood, Abraham Lishinsky, José Clemente Orozco, and Max Spivak as landmarks; it also includes minutes of meetings, 1988-1995, that reflect Tobias's service as a board member. Other correspondence is with friends and artists including Edward Caswell, George Gaber, Filia Holtzman, Vincent La Gambina, and Alton S. Tobey.

Project files document murals such as: The Four Freedoms, Midwood High School, Brooklyn, New York, honoring students and teachers who died in World War II (circa 1946); Birth for the maternity ward at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City (1951-1953); and Medical Science and Medical Research, Long Island Jewish Hospital (1954). The Science and Engineering project file (1958) contains a patent certificate for striated plastic, a material Tobias used in two murals. Also of interest is correspondence with the Harman Foundation regarding a documentary film about Tobias's use of ethyl silicate for outdoor murals. Among the exhibitions documented are: "Plastics U.S.A.," "New York WPA Artists Then and Now," and "Abraham Joel Tobias: Sculptural Paintings of the 1930s."

Printed material consists of announcements, invitations, solo and group exhibition catalogs, and clippings relating to Tobias's artistic career. Also found are pamphlets he designed for the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Photographs are of Tobias's artwork and the artist with friends and family. There is a video recording of an interview with Tobias conducted by Brendan Gill in 1995.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 8 series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1913-1996 (Boxes 1, 4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1933-1997 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 3: Project and Exhibition Files, 1938-2000 (Boxes 1, 2, 4, OV 5; 1.6 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, circa 1928-1992 (Box 2; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1913-1999 (Boxes 3, 4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1990s (Box 3; 1 folder)

Series 7: Photographs, 1929-1970 (Box 3; 0.1 linear feet)

Series 8: Video Recording, 1995 (Box 3, 1 folder)

Biographical Note:

Abraham Joel Tobias (1913-1996) was a painter, muralist, and educator in New York City. He was a pioneer in the use of shaped canvases.

A native of Rochester, New York, Tobias came to New York City to study at the Cooper Union School of Art, 1930-1931, and at the Art Students League, 1930-1933. He worked for the Federal Arts Project,1938-1940, where he continued his training as a muralist, working with artist and technicians.

During World War II, Tobias served in the armed forces. He was an art director with the Intelligence Division, Army Air Force, and in 1945 was employed as a graphic designer for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Tobias was artist-in-residence and served as instructor in painting and drawing at Adelphia College, Garden City, Long Island, 1947-1957. He also was was a visiting lecturer at various schools including Howard University, Brooklyn Museum Art School, Pratt Institute Art School, as well as at colleges in Illinois and Kansas.

Tobias completed over ten mural commissions for governmental agencies and educational institutions, including: United States Post Office, Clarendon, Arkansas; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; James Madison High School, Brooklyn, New York; Beth Israel Hospital, New York City; Domestic Relations Court Building, Brooklyn, New York; and Adelphi College, Garden City, New York. In 1962, Tobias began The History of Science mural for the lobby of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn; it was never completed.

Tobias experimented with diverse materials such as terrazzo and mosaic for mural application. He also broke new ground with the use of ethyl silicate paint as a permanent medium for outdoor murals. In 1958, he patented striated plastic, a pliable material used to achieve an effect similar to stained glass.

He participated in many solo and group exhibitions. In 1935, Tobias presented his shaped canvas painting in the "Sculptural Painting" exhibition at Delphic Studios in New York City. In 1987, Tobias was recognized for his earlier pioneering work with a retrospective exhibition, "Abraham Joel Tobias: Sculptural Paintings" at The Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum of Rutgers University. Other exhibitions included: "Plastics U.S.A.," the United States Information Service's exhibition in Moscow (1961); "New York City WPA Art," Parsons School of Design, New York City (1977); "For a Permanent Public Art," Tweed Gallery, New York City (1989); and "The Technological Muse," Katonah Museum of Art, New York (1991).

Tobias's professional memberships included the Architectural League of New York, National Society of Mural Painters, and New York Artists Equity Association. He served on the Board of Directors for the Fine Arts Federation of New York from 1988-1996. He won the Architectural League Award in 1952. The Art Commission of the City of New York recognized Tobias, posthumously, for distinguished service to public art.

Abraham Joel Tobias married Carolyn Pratt in 1949; the couple had one daughter. Abraham Joel Tobias died in Rego Park, New York, in 1996 at the age of 82.

Provenance:

The papers were donated in 2001 by Carolyn Tobias, the widow of Abraham Joel Tobias.

Restrictions:

Use of original papers 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.

Topic:

Mural painting and decoration  Search this

Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Muralists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Video recordings

Photographs

Citation:

Abraham Joel Tobias papers, 1913-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.tobijoel

See more items in:

Abraham Joel Tobias papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw98be0c478-da69-4155-9f53-1ac5d5ac617b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-tobijoel

Contents:

Folder(s) may include exhibition announcements, newspaper and/or magazine clippings, press releases, brochures, reviews, invitations, illustrations, resumes, artist's statements, exhibition catalogs.

Topic:

Artists  Search this

Location:

Art & Artist files at the Smithsonian American Art Museum/ National Portrait Gallery Library

Data source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:SILAF_10298

Creator:

Caswell, Edward C.  Search this

Partridge, William Ordway, 1861-1930  Search this

Type:

Correspondence

Date:

1900 June 7

Citation:

Edward C. Caswell. Edward C. Caswell letter to William Ordway Partridge, 1900 June 7. William Ordway Partridge papers, 1879-1920. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Record number:

(DSI-AAA)22317

See more items in:

William Ordway Partridge papers, 1879-1920

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_item_22317

Creator:

Caswell, Edward C.  Search this

Partridge, William Ordway, 1861-1930  Search this

Type:

Correspondence

Date:

circa 1900

Citation:

Edward C. Caswell. Thomas Shields Clarke letter to William Ordway Partridge, circa 1900. William Ordway Partridge papers, 1879-1920. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Record number:

(DSI-AAA)22319

See more items in:

William Ordway Partridge papers, 1879-1920

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_item_22319

Author:

Caswell, Edward C  Search this

Smithsonian Libraries Art and Artist Files Collection DSI  Search this

Subject:

Caswell, Edward C  Search this

Type:

Books

Vertical files

Artist files

Call number:

AAF--Caswell, Edward C

Restrictions & Rights:

FOLDER(S) DO NOT CIRCUATE. FOLDERS MUST BE CONSULTED ON SITE

Data Source:

Smithsonian Libraries

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_sil_562563