Correspondence; personal documents; biographical information; a list of Colescott's prints; a list of exhibitions of his work; a list of collections which include his works; essays and lectures; 42 personal photographs and photographs of works; exhibition catalogs and announcements; press releases and clippings; and a scrapbook containing clippings and catalogs, and miscellany.
Biographical / Historical:
Printmaker; Hollandale, Wisconsin.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1978 by Warrington W. Colescott.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
The papers of Wisconsin painter, educator, and draftsman John Wilde measure 21.3 linear feet and 0.008 GB and date from 1935 to 2011. The papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, interviews, writings and notes, 27 journals, personal business records, exhibition files, two scrapbooks, photographic materials, six sketchbooks, artwork, and nearly 90 limited edition, letterpress artist collaboration books – many that include artwork contributed by Wilde.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of Wisconsin painter, educator, and draftsman John Wilde measure 21.3 linear feet and 0.008 GB and date from 1935 to 2011. The papers consist of biographical material, correspondence, interviews, writings and notes, 27 journals, personal business records, exhibition files, two scrapbooks, photographic materials, six sketchbooks, artwork, and nearly 90 limited edition, letterpress artist collaboration books – many that include artwork contributed by Wilde.
Biographical materials include certificates and awards, a diploma from the University of Wisconsin, curriculum vitae, memorials, and membership files. Correspondence is with family and friends, and colleagues Karl Priebe, Gertrude Abercrombie, Sylvia Fein, Dudley Huppler, Marshall Glasier, Robert Cozzolino, Theodore Wolff, Peter and Helga Gardetto, Andrew Balkin Editions, Warrington Colescott, Tandem Press, Harvey Littleton, and others. Letters from Walter Hamady are access restricted and housed separately.
There are interviews with Wilde from Harry Bouras' radio show Critics Choice, as well as an interview with Gertrude Abercrombie by Studs Terkel's for Terkel's WFMT radio show broadcast in Chicago.
Wilde discusses his artwork and other topics in 27 journals spanning seven decades. Additional writings by Wilde include term papers, his thesis titled "A Survey of the Development of Surrealism in Painting and Its Chief Innovations with Special Emphasis on the Life and Work of Max Ernst," transcriptions for gallery talks and speeches, notes, and various other writings. Writings about Wilde are by Theodore Wolff, Michael Seefeldt, and other authors. Wilde's personal business records include account books, appraisals, donation papers, inventory books and lists, and a draft of Wilde's last will and testament.
There are exhibition files for Leaders in Wisconsin Art (1982), John Wilde: Drawings 1940-1984 (1984), Wildeworld: The Art of John Wilde (1999), John Wilde: Recent Work (2003), With Friends: Six Magical Realists (2005), and others.
Printed materials include art auction catalogs, calendars, clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, invitations, magazines and journals, poetry booklets, press releases, programs, and an annual report. There are also two scrapbooks containing clippings and other printed materials compiled by Wilde. There are photographs of Wilde, his studio and estate, his close friends and fellow artists, and of works of art by Wilde and others. Few photographs are in digital format.
A series of nearly 90 artists collaboration books, many illustrated by Wilde, include Five Poems by Khatchik Minasian, Poems for Self Therepy by George Economou, Six Poems by J.D. Whitney, John's Apples by Reeve Lindbergh and 44 Wilde 1944, What His Mother's Son Hath Wrought (WHMSHW), The Story of Jane and Joan, and A Hamady Wilde Sampler/Salutations 1995. Other books are by Walter Hamady, Mary Laird Hamady, and others.
Six sketchbooks contain drawings and studies, as well as sketches of himself, his friends, and of his first wife Helen. Interspersed througout the sketchbooks are lists of artworks, accounting notes, and other notes and writings. Additional artwork includes files marked as preparatory drawings by Wilde, a large collage by Jerome Karidis titled Homage to the Queen Gertrude Abercrombie, and a few drawings by others.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 13 series.
Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1939-2006 (0.5 linear feet; Box 1)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1935-2011 (9.6 linear feet; Boxes 1-9, 21, 25-27)
Series 3: Interviews, circa 1959-circa 1975 (0.2 linear feet; Box 9)
Series 4: Journals, 1935-2006 (1.5 linear feet; Boxes 9-11)
Series 5: Writings and Notes, 1936-2006 (0.5 linear feet; Box 11)
Series 6: Personal Business Records, 1940-2006 (0.5 linear feet; Box 12)
Series 7: Exhibition Files, 1963-2010 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 12-13)
Series 8: Printed Materials, 1940-2010 (0.5 linear feet; Boxes 13-14, 21)
Series 9: Scrapbooks, 1948-1963 (0.4 linear feet; Box 21)
Series 10: Photographic Materials, circa 1940-2000s (3.5 linear feet; Boxes 14-17, 21, 0.008 GB; ER01)
Series 11: Artists Collaboration Books, circa 1970-circa 2000 (4.0 linear feet; Box 17-20, 22)
Series 12: Sketchbooks, 1940-1985 (0.2 linear feet; Box 20, 22)
Series 13: Artwork, circa 1943-circa 2000 (0.3 linear feet; Box 20, OVs 23-24)
Biographical / Historical:
John Wilde (1919-2006) was a painter, educator, and draftsman who specialized in silver point and was associated with Magic Realism. He lived and worked in Wisconsin.
Wilde was born near Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 12, 1919. He lived his whole life in Wisconsin except when he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison for his bachelor and master degrees in art and art history. While at university, Wilde, along with Marshall Glasier, Sylvia Fein, Karl Priebe, Dudley Huppler, and Gertrude Abercrombie, formed a close-knit circle of friends who shared similar ideas on art and painted in the style of Magic Realism. They often met at Priebe's studio in Milwaukee or Abercrombie's house in Chicago. Wilde also met his first wife and fellow art student, Helen Ashman, during this time. Wilde later married Shirley Grilley after Helen's death in 1966.
Wilde completed artwork for several books published by Perishable Press, a publishing company owned by Walter Hamady. He contributed illustrations to John's Apples by Reeve Lindbergh, 1985- The Twelve Months by Hamady, and Five Poems by Khatchik Minasian. Wilde also wrote and illustrated 44 Wilde 1944, What His Mother's Son Hath Wrought (WHMSHW), The Story of Jane and Joan, and co-authored A Hamady Sampler, Salutations 1995 with Hamady. In addition to his collaborations with Perishable Press, Wilde worked with Warrington Colescott, Harvey Littleton, Tandem Press, and Andrew Balkin Editions on various projects.
The Elvehjem Museum of Art, now the Chazen Museum of Art, located at the University of Wisconsin in Madison where Wilde taught art for 35 years, held several exhibitions of Wilde's work including John Wilde: Drawings 1940-1984 (1984), Wildeworld: The Art of John Wilde (1999), and With Friends: Six Magical Realists (2005).
The Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin began representing Wilde in 1993 and continued to represent Wilde's work after his death in Cooksville, Wisconsin on March 9, 2006.
Related Materials:
An interview with John Wilde conducted in 1979 by Michael Danoff for the Archives of American Art and the collection, Maurice W. Berger correspondence with John Wilde, 1952-1959, are also found in the Archives of American Art.
Separated Materials:
Also avaialbe at the Archives of American Art are materials lent for microfilming (reel 5661 and 4710) including letters from Walter Hamaday. Lent material was returned to the lender and is not described in the collection container inventory.
Portions of the loaned material on reel 4710 were subsequently donated, but a comparison of the film and papers was not completed.
Provenance:
The John Wilde papers were donated incrementally between 1975 and 2015 by John Wilde and his estate. Portions were previously lent for microfilming. Additional letters from Walter Hamady were lent for microfilming by John Wilde in December 1999.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. Research Center. One box of letters from Walter Hamady is ACCESS RESTRICTED; use requires written permission. The Walter Hamady letters microfilmed on 2539a, 4710a, and 5661 are also ACCESS RESTRICTED.
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.
Interviews conducted by Helena E. Wright of Helen Boyer and Warrington Colescott for research related to her position as curator in the division of Graphic Arts in the Department of Social and Cultural History at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
Colescott discusses his suite of prints "The History of Printmaking" purchased by the Division of Graphic Arts, National Museum of American History in 1985. He mentions Rembrandt states and proofs; Robert Rauschenberg; Tamarind; viscosity printing; Slade School; Anthony Gross; and printmaking at the university level.
Boyer discusses being a member of a family of printmakers in Pittsburgh PA; the background and career of her mother, printmaker Louise Boyer; her mother's involvement in the development of anodized aluminum plates for drypoint; her mother's printmaking techniques; her father, architect and printmaker Ernest W. Boyer and his printmaking techniques; her own artistic development and career; the print market; the satirical and political content of her work from the 40s, her silk paintings; exhibitions; working for a toy manufacturer; working various jobs; and working in toy design.
Biographical / Historical:
Curator; National Museum of American History.
Provenance:
Transferred from the National Museum of American History, Division of Graphic Arts, 1993.
The papers of Wisconsin printmaker and educator Raymond Gloeckler measure 1.4 linear feet and date from 1952 to 2008. Gloeckler's career is documented through biographical material, correspondence with galleries and art organizations, exhibition and commission files, printed material, and artwork.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of Wisconsin printmaker and educator Raymond Gloeckler measure 1.4 linear feet and date from 1952 to 2008. Gloeckler's career as an artist is documented through biographical material, correspondence with galleries and art organizations, exhibition and commission files, printed material, and artwork.
Biographical material includes a professional application, award certificates, and biographical documentation compiled for the book Progressive Printmakers: Wisconsin Artists and the Print Renaissance. The bulk of Gloeckler's correspondence consists of handmade holiday and greeting cards sent to him from friends and fellow printmakers including Warrington Colescott, Rosemary Feit Covey, Arthur Geisert, William Haendel, Mary Meyer, and David Rynning. Also found is scattered correspondence regarding the sale and exhibition of his work. Exhibition and commission files only document select projects and may include notes, correspondence, exhibition lists, and agreements. Printed material consists chronological files containing newspaper and magazine clippings, exhibition announcements and catalogs, newsletters, university publications, and brochures. Also found are three limited edition books containing prints by Gloeckler. This collection also contains two pencil drawings and four holiday prints by Gloeckler.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 5 series:
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1959, circa 1993-1999 (Box 1; 5 folders)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1962-2005 (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)
Series 3: Exhibition and Commission Files, 1959-1994 (Box 1; 9 folders)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1952-2008 (Box 1-2; 0.7 linear feet)
Series 5: Artwork, circa 1980-2004 (Box 2; 3 folders)
Biographical Note:
Raymond Gloeckler (1928- ) is a printmaker and educator in Madison, Wisconsin. Gloeckler was born on December 13, 1928 in Portage, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, receiving his B.S. in 1950 and his M.S. in 1952. After holding several teaching positions at colleges in Michigan, he returned to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1961 as a professor and taught there until his retirement in 1993. Gloeckler established himself as a leading figure in 20th-century woodcuts and wood engraving, exhibiting his works nationally and internationally, and receiving numerous awards.
Provenance:
The papers were donated in 2010 by Raymond Gloeckler.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment.
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.
Researcher may use study prints on file in the Photograph Archives, Smithsonian American Art Museum. Advance appointments are required. Original negatives are stored off-site in cold storage and are not accessible to the public.
Collection Rights:
Copyright to photographs from the Walter Rosenblum Collection is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Requests for permission to reproduce photographs from the collection must be submitted in writing to the Photograph Archives. Certain works of art, as well as photographs of those works of art, may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy or publicity rights, or other interests not owned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It is the applicant's responsibility to ascertain whether any such rights exist, and to obtain any other permission necessary to reproduce and publish the image.
Collection Citation:
Walter Rosenblum Collection, Photograph Archives, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Sponsor:
Funding for the re-housing, preservation, and digitization of the collection was provided by Smithsonian Research Resource funds, the Smithsonian Womens' Committee and the Smithsonian Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Warrington Colescott, forty years of printmaking : a retrospective, 1948-1988 : Elvehjem Museum of Art, November 26, 1988-January 15, 1989 / catalogue essays by Richard Cox and Carlton Overland ; organized by Russell Panczenko
