Interview of Alfonso A. Ossorio conducted 1968 November 19, by Forrest Selvig, for the Archives of American Art.
Ossorio speaks of his youth and education in England and the United States; attending Harvard; working as a medical illustrator for the Army; coming to New York and becoming acquainted with Jackson Pollock and other New York artists; a mural commission he received for a church in the Philippines; the difficulty of introducing new ideas into Catholic art; traveling to Paris; his association with Jean Dubuffet; changes in his technique; his work in collage; his affiliation with the Signa Gallery; abstract expressionism.
Biographical / Historical:
Alfonso Ossorio (1916-1990) was a painter in Wainscott, New York.
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 others.
Restrictions:
Patrons must use transcript.
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Collagists -- New York (State) -- Interviews Search this
Levy, Florence N. (Florence Nightingale), 1870-1947 Search this
Extent:
6.6 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 5 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Date:
1890-1947
Scope and Contents:
Letters, scrapbooks, subject files, and printed material, much of it related to her work as editor of American Art Annual and her guidebooks to art in New York.
REELS D43-D46: Scrapbooks, 1890-1920's, containing newspaper clippings and articles reflecting a wide variety of interests in the art world files of obituary notices collected for the American Art Annual; and subject files containing clippings, letters, pamphlets and handbooks on collectors and private collections, art work in and around New York, mural and fresco work in New York public buildings, and art in New York churches.
REEL N12: Correspondence, 1890-1947; minutes of American Art Annual, 1903-1914; writings on art education and other topics in the form of lectures, radio scripts, book reviews, and articles; clippings; and miscellany.
UNMICROFILMED Ca. 7000 file cards of biographical material used in compiling American Art Annual.
Biographical / Historical:
Editor and art historian; New York City. Founder and art editor of American Art Annual, 1898-1917. On staff of Metropolitian Museum of Art, 1908-1917. Director, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1922-1926. Author of Art in New York; a Guide to Things Worth Seeing (1916, 1922, and 1939).
Related Materials:
Florence Nightingale Levy papers, 1870-1947, are located at The New York Public Library Archives & Manuscripts.
Provenance:
Material on reels D43-D46 and unmicrofilmed material donated by the library of the Metropolitian Museum of Art, 1956-1961. Material on reel N12 was microfilmed in 1956 by the Archives of American Art with other art-related papers in the Manuscript Division of the New York Public Library.
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 historians -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Editors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Artists -- United States -- Directories Search this
The records of nationally renowned Boston, Massachussetts, stained glass design company, Wilbur H. Burnham Studios, measure 40.3 linear feet and date from circa 1901-1991. The majority of the collection consists of project files for the studio's stained glass window contracts throughout the United States from the 1920s-1980s. In addition to project files, records include biographical material for the owners, correspondence relating to personal and studio business, general business and financial records, writings such as published articles by Wilbur H. Burnham, scrapbooks and other printed material documenting the history of the company, artwork including extensive watercolor design studies for stained glass, and photographic material. There is a 3.4 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes sketches, awards, printed material, passports, biographical material, Christmas cards, photographs and negatives of Burnham and works of art, slides and postcards of stained glass windows, posthumous material, a bound ledger, legal papers, invoices and receipts, project files and glass plate negatives. Materials date from circa 1901-1991.
Scope and Content Note:
The records of nationally renowned Boston, Massachussetts, stained glass design company, Wilbur H. Burnham Studios, measure 40.3 linear feet and date from circa 1901-1991. The majority of the collection consists of project files for the studio's stained glass window contracts throughout the United States from the 1920s-1980s. In addition to project files, records include biographical material for the owners, correspondence relating to personal and studio business, general business and financial records, writings such as published articles by Wilbur H. Burnham, scrapbooks and other printed material documenting the history of the company, artwork including extensive watercolor design studies for stained glass, and photographic material. There is a 3.4 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes sketches, awards, printed material, passports, biographical material, Christmas cards, photographs and negatives of Burnham and works of art, slides and postcards of stained glass windows, posthumous material, a bound ledger, legal papers, invoices and receipts, project files and glass plate negatives. Materials date from circa 1901-1991.
Biographical material includes resume details and autobiographical notes for Burnham and Burnham, Jr., in addition to membership and fellow certificates.
Correspondence documents general studio business and includes correspondence with current and prospective clients, correspondence related to exhibitions, Burnham, Jr.'s activities on the Executive Committee of the America Arts Exposition, Inc., and the 1940 annual meeting of the Stained Glass Association of America and related business. Also found is some personal correpondence with friends and colleagues. Of note are 4 letters from stained glass artist Charles J. Connick giving his opinions on other stained glass artists, including Burnham, and a letter written by sculptor and designer, Joseph D. Portanova.
General business files include personnel records, records relating to a studio apprenticeship in stained glass design, a 1932 inventory of the studios, and leases and other legal documentation.
Writings include published articles by Burnham, in addition to draft typescripts for a book on stained glass which was never published, and research notes used as background material for stained glass studies. These notes include a number of pencil sketches.
19 diaries and journals consist of travel diaries and date books containing notes on daily appointments, financial notes, and addresses.
Project files form the bulk of the collection and document projects in circa 250 locations throughout the United States and Bellau, France, from the 1920s-1980s through correspondence with clients, architects and builders, contracts, purchase orders, building plans, sketches, scattered photographs and some printed material. Of particular note are extensive files on stained glass for New York's Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, Saint Mary's Cathedral in Peoria, Illinois, Saint Martin's Church in Providence, Rhode Island, and the National Cathedral in Washington D. C. The series also includes a group of contract files for the company Reynolds, Francis & Rohnstock (later Joseph G. Reynolds), a contemporary of Wilbur H. Burnham Studios.
Financial records include payment and receipt journals, expense reports, bills, account books and general ledgers which provide finanical documentation from the 1930s to the 1980s.
Printed material includes news clippings about Burnham studios and stained glass in general, in addition to source material used in subject research.
Additional newsclippings about Burnham Studios can be found in three scrapbooks which also house announcements and invitations, and scattered photographs. One scrapbook contains photographs of windows designed by the studios for the Church of Saint Vincent De Paul in Los Angeles, California.
Artwork and sketchbooks include some artwork by Burnham, Jr., such as pencil and ink sketches, life drawings, and some watercolors. The bulk of the series consists of watercolor design studies on board for many of the studio's projects documented in the project files. Also found are some stained glass design sketches and cartoons, primarily in pencil and charcoal with scattered watercolors, as well as seven folders of material used in creating stained glass patterns and templates.
Photographic material includes photos of Burnham and Burnham, Jr., and of studio work in progress, as well as photographs of artwork, primarily of stained glass created for a significant number of the studio's contracts.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 12 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Materials, circa 1930s-circa 1970s (Boxes 1, 27; 4 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1920s-1991 (Box 1; 0.9 linear feet)
Series 3: General Business Files, 1930s-1970 (Box 2; 0.38 linear feet)
Series 4: Writings and Notes, 1920s-1950s (Box 2; 6 folders)
Series 5: Diaries and Journals, circa 1920s-circa 1960s (Box 2; 4 folders)
Series 6: Project Files, 1916-1980s (Boxes 2-12, 42; 10.6 linear feet)
Series 7: Financial Records, 1928-1982 (Boxes 13-14; 1.14 linear feet)
Series 8: Printed Material, circa 1920s-1980s (Boxes 14-15, 27-28; 1.89 linear feet)
Series 9: Scrapbooks, circa 1920s-circa 1970s (Boxes 15-16, 28, OVs 48-49, BV 84; 1.05 linear feet)
Series 10: Artwork and Sketchbooks, circa 1920s-circa 1980s (Boxes 16-23, 29-39, OVs 50-73, 85, RD 83; 13.15 linear feet)
Series 11: Photographic Materials, circa 1904-circa 1980s (Boxes 23-26, 29, 40-41, 43-47, OVs 74-82; 5.8 linear feet)
Series 12: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1901-1991 (Boxes 86-88, 91-93 OVs 89-90, 94; 3.4 linear feet)
Historical Note:
Boston, Massachussets stained glass design firm, Wilbur H. Burnham Studios, was founded by master stained glass craftsman Wilbur H. Burnham, in 1922. Together with Charles J. Connick and Joseph G. Reynolds, Burnham studios became recognized as one of the most prominent stained glass design companies in the United States. Burnham took early commissions from influential American architect Ralph Adams Cram, and believed strongly in the medieval stained glass tradition. In the late 1930s his son, Wilbur H. Burnham, Jr., who had received an informal education on tours of Europe with his family, and a BFA from Yale University, joined the firm.
Some of the studio's most notable commissions included seventeen windows for the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D. C., all the windows and murals for Saint Mary's Cathedral, Peoria, Illinois, ten windows for the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City, and five for the Riverside Church, also in New York City.
Both Burnham and Burnham, Jr., served as presidents of the Stained Glass Association of American from 1938-1941 and 1956-1957 respectively. Burnham, Jr., took over the studio in 1968 when his father retired, and sold the studios in 1982.
Provenance:
The Wilbur H. Burnham Studios records were donated in 8 accessions by Wilbur H. Burnham, Jr., from 1977-1981 and by Wilbur C. Burnham, grandson of the founder, in 1990-1991 and 2021. Scott McDaniel, co-owner of the firm, contributed to the 1990 donation.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
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:
Stained glass artists -- Massachusetts Search this
Biographical material, correspondence files, writings, photographs, and printed material.
Biographical material includes Zeigler's Works Progress Administration identification card, 1936, obituaries, 1952, a biographical sketch, pages from an engagement book, 1914-1917, and an address book.
Correspondence, 1920-1941, relates to Zeigler's freelance painting, mural designs for Tiffany Studios, mural commissions for churches and other public and private commissions, including the Chapel of the Transfiguration Glendale, Oh. (1927-1928), St. Michael's Church, N.Y.C. (1929); Calvary Church, Cincinnati, Oh. (1936-1937), the "Faerie Queene" murals in the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Md. (1933-1941); WPA-FAP projects in New York State (1933-1937), including murals for Washington Hall, West Point Military Academy, the Stony Point Battlefield Museum, Stony Point-on-the Hudson, and the Newburgh Free Academy, Newburgh. Among the correspondents are architects responsible for the designs of the buildings, such as Ralph Adams Cram and O.H. Murray, individuals associated with the execution of the projects, including Charles Osgood and Joseph L. Wheeler; and WPA adminstrators Edward Bruce and Juliana Force.
Printed material includes clippings, ca. 1910-1948, regarding Zeigler's works of art and his involvement in the war effort and local politics; exhibition catalogs and programs, ca. 1925, 1940-1968; and reproductions of Zeigler's illustrations for bookplates, Christmas cards, magazines, including Gunter's Magazine, Harper's Weekly, and Life, ca.1890-1900, and for limited edition books by such authors as Jane Austen, Honore' de Balzac, Amelia E. Barr, Theophile Gautier, Charles Kingsley, and William Stearns Davis, ca.1890-1915.
Photographs consist of three portraits of Zeigler, ca. 1930-1940, and photographs of works by him, ca.1900, 1915, 1993, and by others ca. 1900-1913. Also included are portrait of actor Fritz Leiber, ca. 1900, a snapshot of Percy and Ella Grainger, 1929.
Also included are copyrights for Zeigler's art work, 1911, 1944, 1945, 1979; an unpublished typescript of a short story by Zeigler, "Story of the Son of Roland"; a sketch of a suit of armor created by Zeigler, ca. 1945; a project file regarding a statue of "Ushabti," created by Zeigler, 1923-1924; and a guestbook from an exhibition at the Vanderbilt Galleries, 1941.
Biographical / Historical:
Illustrator, muralist; Baltimore, Md. Studied at the Maryland Institute of Art and was founding member of the Charcoal Club of Baltimore. He began his career as an illustrator and later specialized in mural painting.
Provenance:
Donated 1979 and 1994 by Audrey Z. Archer-Shee; Zeigler's daughter.
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.
Correspondence, notes, art works, clippings, and photographs document the sculptural projects, primarily for churches, undertaken by Andrew Dreselly and his colleagues.
Correspondence (1927-1972), primarily letters exchanged with sculptors, architects, and other colleagues, concerning sculpture projects; two pages of writings, and 2 drawings (one annotated) concerning the ornamentation of the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Va.; eight pencil outlines for crucifixion figures will related reproductions; an outline and 2 rubbings depicting a memorial stone for Katherine Sullivan (1938); and several clippings (1929-1933).
Photographs include one, taken by his son David, of Dreselly (ca. 1981) and prints and ca. 1000 unprinted negatives (1900-ca. 1960) of Dreselly's work and that of his colleagues, including John Angel, Arcangelo Cascieri, Edgar Keen, Johann Kirchmayer, and Ernest Pellegrini. Among the projects are the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, St. James Cathedral, and the Riverside Baptist Church in New York City; the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Va.; the Washington Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; and the East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor, wood carver; Cambridge, Mass. Born in Cambridge to Bavarian immigrant parents. In 1907, he was apprenticed to Johann Kirchmayer at W. F. Ross Company, becoming foreman of the woodcarving and modeling shop upon Kirchmayer's retirement in 1921. During the 1920s and 1930s, Dreselly worked, through the Ross Company, on many large church projects in New York, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, and Boston. Ancangelo Cascieri was Dreselly's apprentice. In 1943, Dreselly moved to the Schwamb Company and from 1948 until his retirement in 1967, he was head of carving and modeling at Irving & Casson.
Provenance:
Donated 1981 by Andrew Dreselly; a photograph of Dreselly was donated 1985 by his son, David Dreselly.
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.
Rockefeller, John D., Jr. (John Davison), 1874-1960 Search this
Extent:
36 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1981 June 26
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Andrew Dreselly conducted 1981 June 26, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Dreselly speaks of his childhood, apprenticeship, work with several different building firms based in Boston, Massachusetts, and his work with various donors and architects. He contributed craftwork to cathedrals and churches throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic States, as well as construction projects. He also recalls his time as a charter member of the Lexington Arts and Crafts Association. He recalls Johannes Kirchmayer, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Arcangelo Cascieri.
Biographical / Historical:
Andrew Dreselly (1893-1985) was a wood carver and sculptor from Cambridge, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 34 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 others.
An interview of Arcangelo Cascieri conducted 1972 November 21-1974 January 24, by Robert F. Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Cascieri speaks of his childhood in Italy; his art education, beginning with his apprenticeship to a wood sculptor; his early sculpture for churches; attending Massachusetts College of Art; early commissions; definitions and standards of beauty; studying at the Boston Architectural Center (BAC); meeting and becoming acquainted with Walter Gropius; becoming the administrator of the BAC; teaching experiences; changes in the BAC over the years; and his artistic philosophy.
Biographical / Historical:
Arcangelo Cascieri (1902-1997) was a sculptor, educator, and administrator at the Boston Architectural Center (BAC) of Boston, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 2 hrs., 15 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.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Boston -- Interviews Search this
Rockefeller, John D., Jr. (John Davison) Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Andrew Dreselly, 1981 June 26. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Arcangelo Cascieri, 1972 November 21-1974 January 24. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Alfonso Ossorio, 1968 November 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Heaven on earth : Orthodox treasures of Siberia and North America / Barbara Sweetland Smith, David J. Goa, Dennis G. Bell ; foreword by Metropolitan Theodosius ; edited by Barbara Sweetland Smith with assistance by Mina A. Jacobs
Louis C. Tiffany and the art of devotion / edited by Patricia C. Pongracz ; contributions by Elka Deitsch, Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, Lindsy R. Parrott, Patricia C. Pongracz, Elizabeth De Rosa, Jennifer Perry Thalheimer, Peter W. Williams, and Diane C. Wright
Bogdan Grom : oprema sakralnih objektov v Ameriki = Bogdan Grom : his religious work in America / [text in Slovene language by MilcÌŒek Komelj ; text in English language by Carole Ryavec ; translation: Laura Cuder Turk ; photography: Bogdan Grom ... et al.]
