Search Results

Creator:

Colker, Ed, 1927-  Search this

Names:

Atelier Desjobert  Search this

Haybarn Press  Search this

United States. Army  Search this

Barnet, Will, 1911-2012  Search this

Johnson, J. Curtis  Search this

Konner, Melvin  Search this

Norris, Kathleen, 1947-  Search this

Pease, Deborah  Search this

Takaezu, Toshiko  Search this

Walker, Jeanne Murray  Search this

Extent:

3.4 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Date:

1944-2020

Summary:

The papers of painter, printmaker, educator and administrator Ed Colker are dated 1944-2020 and measure 3.4 linear feet. Colker's painting, printmaking, and Haybarn Press, as well as his career as an art teacher and university administrator, are documented through biographical materials, correspondence, interviews, writings, subject files, printed material, and photographs. There is a 0.2 linear ft. addition to the collection donated in 2020 that includes lists of works of art, exhibition information, letters to Colker, talks and lecutres by Colker, printed material and miscellany.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter, printmaker, educator and administrator Ed Colker are dated 1944-2020 and measure 3.4 linear feet. Colker's painting, printmaking, and Haybarn Press, as well as his career as an art teacher and university administrator, are documented through biographical materials, correspondence, interviews, writings, subject files, printed material, and photographs. There is a 0.2 linear ft. addition to the collection donated in 2020 that includes lists of works of art, exhibition information, letters to Colker, talks and lecutres by Colker, printed material and miscellany.

Biographical materials include official letters regarding Colker's performance in the Army, caricatures of him, diplomas, resume, awards, and certificates.

Correspondence, mainly professional in nature with a few scattered personal letters, concerns Colker's academic and artistic work, Haybarn Editions, exhibitions, projects, and various interests. Poet correspondents are J. Curtis Johnson, Kathleen Norris, Deborah Pease, and Jeanne Walker; translators include Melvin Konner and others.

Interviews with Ed Colker, conducted between 1982 and 2008 for various purposes, are preserved as 1 sound cassette and published transcripts. Also found are 1 sound cassette, 1 videocassette, and a published transcript of interviews Colker conducted with Will Barnet and Toshiko Takaezu in 1981 and 1994 respectively.

Among Colker's writings are the published versions of several articles and the manuscript of an unpublished one; two proposed books for students of design and typography; lectures delivered to students (3 videocassettes), miscellaneous writings, notes, and 1 videocassete of readings by artists from one of Colker's Haybarn Press poetry portfolios.

Subject files document many of Colker's professional interests, activities, projects, and relationships. Also of note are files about Haybarn Press.

The bulk of the printed material consists of exhibition catalogs, announcements, and school catalogs. Almost all is about or mentions Colker, or features reproductions of his work. Of note is the first and only issue of Re-Art: A Reflection of Current Ideas on the Arts (1954), published by Colker and Gene Feldman.

Photographs are of Colker and his family; Colker at events related to his artistic, academic, and publishing activities; artwork by Colker, and his work as reproduced in Haybarn Editions. Also found are an exterior view of the barn studio and one of printers working at Desjobert Press.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 8 series:

Series 1: Biographical Materials, 1946-circa 2011 (Box 1; 1 folder)

Series 2: Correspondence,1954-2011 (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Interviews, 1981-2008 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Writings, 1961-1990s (Box 1; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Subject files, 1952-2013 (Boxes 2-3; 1.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Printed Material,1944-2011 (Box 3; 0.7 linear feet)

Series 7: Photographs, circa 1960s-2010 (Box 4; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 8: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1963-2020 (Box 5; 0.2 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Ed Colker (b. 1927) is a painter, printmaker, educator, and administrator who has worked in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York City. Colker founded the not-for-profit fine art publisher Haybarn Press. He is married to artist Elaine Galen and resides in Mt. Kisco, NY.

After high school, Colker was awarded a scholarship and began his art education at the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Arts. He interrupted his studies to serve in the U.S. Army (1944-1946). He graduated in 1949, by which time the school had become the Philadelphia Museum School of Art; today it is the University of the Arts. He taught art in the Philadelphia area before moving to New York City in 1956. Later, Colker earned degrees from New York University (B.S. Ed, 1964; M.A., 1985).

Colker taught art and design courses at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, Cornell University, Pratt Institute, and Philadelphia College of Art. By the 1980s, he had become an administrator as well as a professor. Throughout his academic career, Colker published and lectured widely, served as a visiting artist, acted as a consultant, and participated in professional organizations. He occasionally organized exhibitions and served on exhibition juries.

Since 1960, under the imprints Editions du Grenier, Haybarn Editions, and Haybarn Press, Colker has published limited edition books, portfolios, broadsides, individual pages, and folders of poetry. Most are accompanied by Colker's etchings and lithographs inspired by the texts. Haybarn Press, under the Ambor Edition imprint, also produced four portfolios with text and drawings by Elaine Galen, 1996-2008. From its inception, the work of Haybarn Press has been featured in many exhibitions of book arts. Colker also participated in group shows throughout the United States and enjoyed solo exhibitions of his paintings and prints. Haybarn Press productions and Colker's prints and paintings are in the permanent collections of Brown University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Library of Congress, Museum of Modern Art, New York Public Library, University of Arizona Museum of Art, and others.

Now retired from university administration and teaching, Colker continues to operate Haybarn Press and occasionally serves as an exhibition juror and visiting artist.

Provenance:

Donated by Ed Colker in 1991, 2013 and 2020.

Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. 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.

Occupation:

Arts administrators -- United States  Search this

Painters -- United States  Search this

Topic:

Printmakers -- United States  Search this

Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this

Printing  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Transcripts  Search this

Design  Search this

Educators -- United States  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Identifier:

AAA.colked

See more items in:

Ed Colker papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-colked

Creator:

Manly, Charles Matthews, 1876-1927  Search this

Names:

Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company  Search this

Smithsonian Institution  Search this

Adler, Cyrus, 1863-1940  Search this

Curtiss, Glenn Hammond, 1878-1930  Search this

Lahm, Frank Purdy, 1877-1963  Search this

Langley, S. P. (Samuel Pierpont), 1834-1906  Search this

Manly, Charles Matthews, 1876-1927  Search this

Myers, Carl, 1842-1925  Search this

Post, Augustus  Search this

Walcott, Charles D. (Charles Doolittle), 1850-1927  Search this

Extent:

0.9 Cubic feet (2 legal document boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Publications

Correspondence

Programs

Clippings

Notebooks

Date:

1895-1925

bulk 1903-1915

Summary:

This collection consists of material relating to Manly's aeronautical career, specifically his work with Samuel Langley's Aerodrome. The material consists of programs, publications, newspaper clippings, work notebooks, waste books, (mostly letterpress) and correspondence between Manly and the aviation and Smithsonian communities, circa 1885-1925. Correspondents include the following personalities: Glenn Curtiss, Carl Myers, Charles Walcott, Frank Lahm, Cyrus Adler, Augustus Post, and Samuel Langley.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of material relating to Manly's aeronautical career, specifically his work with Samuel Langley's Aerodrome. The material consists of programs, publications, newspaper clippings, work notebooks, waste books, (mostly letterpress) and correspondence between Manly and the aviation and Smithsonian communities, circa 1885-1925. Correspondents include Samuel Langley, Charles Walcott and Richard Rathbun of the Smithsonian; Cyrus Adler, Glenn Curtiss, Benjamin D. Foulois, Carl Myers, Frank Lahm, and Augustus Post. Of particular interest is the correspondence between Manly and Smithsonian Secretary Charles Walcott on Manly's work on the preparation of the Langley Memoir on Mechanical Flight for publication between 1908 to 1911; and his correspondence with Glenn Curtiss concerning the test flights of the rebuilt Great Aerodrome on Lake Keuka, Hammondsport, New York, in 1914, and the resulting controversy between the Smithsonian and Orville Wright.

Researchers may also wish to consult the National Air and Space Archives Division's Samuel P. Langley Collection (Accession No. XXXX-0494), and these collections held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives:

Record Unit 31, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1866-1906, with related records to 1927.

Record Unit 34, Office of the Secretary, Correspondence, 1887-1907

Record Unit 7268, J. Elfreth Watkins Collection, 1869, 1881-1903, 1953, 1966 and undated.

Arrangement:

The Charles M. Manly Papers are organized in three series:

Series I --Letter Copy Books and Notebooks

Letter copy books were used to make and preserve copies of letters and memoranda --one placed a sheet of oiled paper under a page of the copy book, dampened the tissue copy page, then laid the original letter in the book under pressure for a few seconds. The quality of the copies ranges from quite readable to very faint. Because of the fragility of the paper, Archives Division staff should be consulted before working with the material.

The two notebooks in the series (Folder 4) were carried by Manly in his day to day work on the Aerodrome project and contain his notes on the progress of the work.

Series II --Correspondence

Letters in this series are arranged by year.

Series III --Additional Material

Newspaper clippings, Manly Family records, a photograph of Langley's Aerodrome No.5 in flight, and miscellaneous material.

Biographical/Historical note:

On May 9, 1898, Smithsonian Secretary Samuel P. Langley wrote to Professor Robert Thurston of Cornell University, looking for a "young man who is morally trustworthy ('a good fellow') with some gumption and a professional training" to serve as Langley's assistant in his aeronautical work. Thurston recommended a senior majoring in electrical and mechanical engineering, Charles Matthews Manly (1876-1927) of Staunton, Virginia. Langley hired Manly and placed him in charge of the construction of his Great Aerodrome, the large manned aircraft being built under the sponsorship of the Army's Board of Ordnance and Fortification. One of Manly's main contributions to the project was his vastly improved redesign of Stephen M. Balzer's five-cylinder water-cooled radial gasoline engine. Manly piloted the Great Aerodrome on its two unsuccessful launch attempts in 1903. He resigned from the Smithsonian in 1905. Manly served as a consulting aviation engineer for different government agencies and corporations, including the British War Office, 1915; the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corporation 1915-1919 (from 1919-1920 as the assistant general manger); and as a member of the US Commission to the International Aircraft Conference, London, 1918. Manly also completed and edited Langley's Memoir on Mechanical Flight which was published by the Smithsonian in 1911. Manly was granted over fifty 50 patents relating to automotive transportation, power generation, and transmission. In 1929, Manly was posthumously awarded the Langley Medal for outstanding aeronautical achievements.

Provenance:

Brian Bailey, gift, 1998, 1999-0004, deed pending.

Restrictions:

No restrictions on access.

Rights:

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Topic:

Aeronautics -- 1903-1916  Search this

Airplanes -- Motors  Search this

Test pilots  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

Langley Aerodrome Family  Search this

Genre/Form:

Publications

Correspondence

Programs

Clippings

Notebooks

Citation:

Charles M. Manly Papers, Acc. 1999-0004, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsoinan Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.1999.0004

See more items in:

Charles M. Manly Papers

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-1999-0004

Creator:

Dwight, Edward H., 1919-1981  Search this

Names:

American Museum of Natural History  Search this

Cincinnati Historical Society  Search this

Louisiana State Museum  Search this

Mohammed Center for Restricted Communications  Search this

National Audubon Society  Search this

R. Havell & Son  Search this

Peale family  Search this

Audubon, John James, 1785-1851  Search this

Audubon, Maria R. (Maria Rebecca), 1843-1925  Search this

Audubon, Victor Gifford, 1809-1860  Search this

Bachman, John  Search this

Bakewell, Benjamin  Search this

Bell, John G.  Search this

Coffin, Annie R.  Search this

Corwine, Aaron H.  Search this

Duncanson, Robert S., 1821-1872  Search this

Fries, Waldemar H., 1889-  Search this

Gifford, George Edmund  Search this

Held, John, 1947-  Search this

Laning, Paul F.  Search this

Lichtner, Ruth  Search this

Lichtner, Schomer, 1905-2006  Search this

Martin, Maria  Search this

McDermott, John Francis, 1902-  Search this

Peale, Charles Willson, 1741-1827  Search this

Peale, James, 1749-1831  Search this

Peale, James, 1789-1876  Search this

Peale, Raphaelle, 1774-1825  Search this

Peale, Rembrandt, 1778-1860  Search this

Tyler, Morris F.  Search this

Extent:

18.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Business records

Typescripts

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Date:

1821-2001

bulk 1950-1979

Summary:

The papers of Cincinnati art historian, museum director, and Audubon and Peale scholar, Edward H. Dwight (1919-1981), measure 18.6 linear feet and date from 1821-2001, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950-1979. Dwight's papers include biographical material, writings by Dwight, and research files on John James Audubon, Raphaelle Peale, and others, documenting Dwight's extensive contribution to the study of American painting, particularly naturalist, portrait, and still-life painting.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of Cincinnati art historian, museum director, and Audubon and Peale scholar, Edward H. Dwight (1919-1981), measure 18.6 linear feet and date from 1821-2001, with the bulk of the material dating from 1950-1979. Dwight's papers include biographical material, writings by Dwight, and research files on John James Audubon, Raphaelle Peale, and others, documenting Dwight's extensive contribution to the study of American painting, particularly naturalist, portrait, and still life painting.

Dwight's biographical material includes two address books, a calendar, a small amount of personal correspondence including letters and postcards from Schomer and Ruth Lichtner, and printed material documenting his work as a museum curator and director.

Writings and notes include correspondence about Dwight's writings, drafts and typescripts of articles on Audubon and other artists, and lecture notes.

The bulk of the collection comprises Dwight's research material on Audubon and includes correspondence related to his research with scholars, collectors, publications, museums, and libraries, including: the American Museum of Natural History, the Audubon Society, the Cincinnati Historical Society, the Louisiana State Museum, Annie R. coffin, Waldemar H. Fries, John Francis McDermott, and the collections of G. Edmund Gifford, Jr., Paul F. Laning, and Morris Tyler.

Copies of Audubon's correspondence, including letters from Audubon's father-in-law, Benjamin Bakewell, son Victor G. Audubon, and grandchildren, form a substantial portion of Dwight's research files. Notes and card files reflecting Dwight's research by categories such as life event, activity, geographical area, and subject of study, further illuminate his research and provide cross references to the Audubon letters and other material.

Data compiled and supplemented with reproductions of Audubon's artwork forms another substantial portion of Dwight's research, and provides detailed information about individual Audubon works and works attributed to him.

Dwight's subject files on Audubon house collated research on individuals, subjects, and events that intersected with Audubon's life and work, as well as Audubon research from other sources and scholars. They include copies of documents, such as the journal of Audubon collaborator John G Bell, and a scrapbook of granddaughter, Maria Audubon; documents relating to Audubon collaborators such as John Bachman and Maria Martin; material related to collections of Audubon's work; and information concerning editions of his prints, such as the Havell Edition, engraved and hand-colored by the firm of Robert Havell Sr. and Jr. in the 1830s.

Printed material used by Dwight in his research includes original American newspapers, from states including New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, dating from 1821 to the 1870s, which include articles on Audubon, as well as later magazines, journals, catalogs, and news clippings on Audubon. A small number of photographs, slide transparencies, and negatives of Audubon's artwork can be found at the end of the series.

Dwight's research material on Raphaelle Peale, Charles Willson Peale, Rembrandt Peale, James Peale, and other Peale family members, includes correspondence requesting and responding to requests for information; material collated by subject on Peale collectors, family history, miniatures, portraits, silhouettes, still lifes, and other subjects; and photographs of artwork.

Other research files document Dwight's interest in other artists such as Aaron H. Corwine, Robert S. Duncanson, and artists from the Cincinnati area in general. They include catalogs of data compiled on individual works of art, subject files, notes and index card files, printed material, and photographs of artwork. Of special note are eleven issues of John Held, Jr.'s, mail art correspondence sent to Dwight by the Mohammed Center for Restricted Communications.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged as five series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1944-1980 (8 folders; Box 1, OV 20)

Series 2: Writings and Notes, 1954-circa 1979 (0.9 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Audubon Research Material, 1821-circa 1979 (13 linear feet; Boxes 1-14, OVs 20-23)

Series 4: Peale Research Material, circa 1930-2001 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 14-16)

Series 5: Other Research, 1881-1980 (2.7 linear feet; Boxes 16-19)

Biographical / Historical:

Cincinnati art historian and museum director, Edward H. Dwight (1919-1981), conducted extensive research on American painting, in particular the works of John James Audubon, Charles Willson Peale, and Raphaelle Peale. He was also credited with rediscovering the Cincinnati artist, Aaron H. Corwine.

Dwight attended Yale and Cornell Universities, and studied art at the Cincinnati Art Academy and the School of Fine Arts of Washington University, St. Louis. From 1946 he held posts, including curator of American Art, at the Cincinnati Art Museum, until becoming director of the Milwaukee Art Center in 1955. In 1962 he left Milwaukee to direct the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute Museum of Art, where he remained until the end of his career. He was the author of numerous articles for publications including Antiques, Audubon, Art in America, The Art Gallery, The Art Quarterly, and Canadian Art, and lectured widely on contemporary art, Spanish painting, and American painting.

In 1955 Dwight published the article "Aaron Houghton Corwine: Cincinnati Artist" in Antiques magazine. With this, and the exhibition, Rediscoveries in American Painting (1955), which he launched at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Dwight revived interest in this all but forgotten painter.

Dwight wrote many scholarly articles on Audubon's life and work throughout his career, in addition to writing catalogs for, and curating, exhibitions of Audubon's work. In 1960 he was awarded a $7,500 fellowship from the Ford foundation to pursue a reevaluation of Audubon, and to reexamine some long-held assumptions and exagerrations about Audubon's life and personality. He focused primarily on the artist-naturalist's original drawings and paintings, especially portraits and pictures of birds, animal life, and insects. Dwight was awarded an additional fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1973, to continue his research on Audubon.

Dwight's scholarly interest also extended to Raphaelle Peale and the Peale family of artists. In the 1960s and 1970s he wrote and published several articles about Raphaelle Peale, his father, Charles Willson Peale, and his brothers, Rembrandt and James. Dwight was working on a book about the family, and a catalog raisonné of Raphaelle Peale, when he died.

Dwight was an accomplished photographer and his work was included in at least eight exhibitions from 1951 to 1972, including two one-man exhibitions at Louisiana State University (1952), and Weyhe Gallery (1972).

Provenance:

The Audubon materials were donated to the Archives of American Art by Dwight's widow, Ruth R. White, in 1982-1983. The Peale material was donated in 2002 by the Barra Foundation, Inc., which had received them from Ruth R. Dwight as they relate to the Foundation's mission to support scholarship in cultural history in the Philadelphia area. In 1983, the Barra Foundation loaned the documents to Dr. William H. Gerdts, an art historian, who was to continue Dwight's work on a catalog raisonné of Raphaelle Peale. Dr. Gerdts made limited use of the materials and the Barra Foundation then transferred them to the Archives of American Art in 2002.

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

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:

Museum curators -- Ohio -- Cincinnati  Search this

Artists -- Ohio -- Cincinnati  Search this

Art historians -- Ohio -- Cincinnati  Search this

Painters  Search this

Museum directors -- Ohio -- Cincinnati  Search this

Topic:

Still-life painting  Search this

Mail art  Search this

Art, American  Search this

Painting, American  Search this

Portrait painting  Search this

Genre/Form:

Business records

Typescripts

Photographs

Scrapbooks

Sketches

Citation:

Edward H. Dwight papers, 1821-2001, bulk 1950-1979. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

This collection was processed with funding from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund.

Identifier:

AAA.dwigedwa

See more items in:

Edward H. Dwight Papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-dwigedwa

Creator:

Leavitt, Thomas W.  Search this

Names:

Brown, George Loring, 1814-1889  Search this

Extent:

226 Pages ((on partial microfilm reel), ill.)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Pages

Date:

undated

Scope and Contents:

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Fine arts department, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., September 1957.

Biographical / Historical:

Leavitt: Museum director and art historian. Born January 8, 1930. Director of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. The subject of his dissertation, George Loring Brown (1814-1889), was a painter, engraver and etcher, Massachusetts, who studied and travelled in Europe, primarily Italy.

Provenance:

Donated 1964, provenance unknown.

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  Search this

Museum directors  Search this

Topic:

Painting, American  Search this

Landscape painting  Search this

Identifier:

AAA.leavthom

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-leavthom

Creator:

Brauner, Olaf M., 1869-1947  Search this

Names:

Cornell University. -- Faculty  Search this

Beal, Gifford, 1879-1956  Search this

Bellows, George, 1882-1925  Search this

Benson, Frank Weston, 1862-1951  Search this

Bitter, Karl Theodore Francis, 1867-1915  Search this

Burroughs, Edith Woodman, 1871-1916  Search this

Caffin, Charles Henry, 1854-1918  Search this

Carlsen, Emil, 1853-1932  Search this

Carlson, John F., 1874-1945  Search this

Crisp, Arthur, 1881-1974  Search this

Davey, Randall, 1887-1964  Search this

Dougherty, Paul, 1877-1947  Search this

Garber, Daniel, 1880-  Search this

Genth, Lillian Mathilde, 1876-1953  Search this

Glackens, William J., 1870-1938  Search this

Hassam, Childe, 1859-1935  Search this

Henri, Robert, 1865-1929  Search this

Hopkinson, Charles, 1869-1962  Search this

Hubbell, Henry Salem, 1870-1938  Search this

Johansen, John C. (John Christen), 1876-1964  Search this

Kendall, William Sergeant, 1869-1938  Search this

Kroll, Leon, 1884-1974  Search this

Lie, Jonas, 1880-1940  Search this

Macbeth, William, 1851-1917  Search this

Mason, William, 1829-1908  Search this

Melchers, Gari, 1860-1932  Search this

Metcalf, Willard Leroy, 1858-1925  Search this

Ochtman, Leonard, 1854-1934  Search this

Pratt, Bela Lyon, 1867-1917  Search this

Prendergast, Maurice Brazil, 1858-1924  Search this

Proctor, Alexander Phimister, 1862-1950  Search this

Redfield, Edward Willis, 1869-1965  Search this

Ritschel, William, 1864-1949  Search this

Sargent, Walter, b. 1868  Search this

Speicher, Eugene Edward, 1883-1962  Search this

Spencer, Robert, 1879-1931  Search this

Tryon, Dwight William, 1849-1925  Search this

Walker, C. Howard (Charles Howard), 1857-1936  Search this

Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915  Search this

Waugh, Frederick Judd, 1861-1940  Search this

Extent:

200 Items

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1895-1938

Scope and Contents:

Letters to Brauner, mainly from artists invited to participate in exhibitions arranged by Brauner at Cornell University. Prominent correspondents include: Giffford Beal, George Bellows, Frank Benson, Karl Bitter, Edith Burroughs, Emil Carlson, John Carlson, Charles Caffin, Arthur Crisp, Randall Davey, Paul Dougherty, Daniel Garber, Lillian Genth, William Glackens, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, Charles Hopkinson, Henry Hubbell, John Johansen, William Sargent Kendall; Leon Kroll, Jonas Lie, William Macbeth, William Mason, Gari Melchers, Willard Metcalf, Leonard Ochtman, Bela Lyon Pratt, Maurice Prendergast, A. Phimister Proctor, Edward Redfield, William Ritschel, Walter Sargent, Eugene Speicher, Robert Spencer, D. W. Tryon, C. Howard Walker, Booker T. Washington, Frederick Judd Waugh, and others.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Biographical / Historical:

Olaf Brauner (1869-1947) was a portrait painter, occasional sculptor, and first professor of art at Cornell University.

Provenance:

The donor, Erling Brauner, is Olaf Brauner's son.

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:

Painters  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Exhibitions  Search this

Function:

Art museums, University and college -- New York (State) -- Ithaca

Identifier:

AAA.brauolaf

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-brauolaf

Creator:

Clements, Gabrielle de Veaux, 1858-1948  Search this

Names:

Cornell University. -- Students  Search this

Hale, Ellen Day, 1855-1940  Search this

Extent:

1 Linear foot

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Prints

Photographs

Diaries

Sketchbooks

Sketches

Place:

Egypt -- description and travel

Date:

1860-1948

Summary:

The papers of painter, etcher, printer, muralist, and art teacher Gabrielle de Veaux Clements measure 1 linear foot and date from 1860 to 1948. Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including extensive correspondence from Clements to her mother; writings, including notes and essays on art history and etching techniques; printed material; artwork; eight sketchbooks; and photographs of Clements, her family and friends, and her work.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter, etcher, printer, muralist, and art teacher Gabrielle de Veaux Clements measure 1 linear foot and date from 1860 to 1948. Found within the papers are biographical material; personal and professional correspondence, including extensive correspondence from Clements to her mother; writings, including notes and essays on art history and etching techniques; printed material; artwork; 8 sketchbooks; and photographs of Clements, her family and friends, and her work.

Biographical material consists of an address book, artwork sales and price lists, and autobiographical notes.

Correspondence is primarily with Clements' family, friends, and business associates. The series includes significant correspondence from Clements to her mother during her college years at Cornell University.

Writings include notes and essays on art history and etching techniques, 2 notebooks of poetry, and a travel diary chronicling a trip to Egypt with Ellen Day Hale.

Printed material includes clippings, exhibition catalogs, a map of the artists' colony at Rockport, Folly Cove in Massachusetts, and a copy of the book Suggestions for Illuminating by W. Randle Harrison.

Artwork consists of sketches and original etchings by Clements and artwork by others.

There are 8 sketchbooks consisting primarily of cityscapes, landscapes, and figure and portrait studies.

Photographs are of Clements, her family and friends, artists models, and work by Clements and others.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 7 series.

Series 1: Biographical materials, circa 1920-1944 (3 folders; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1875-1945 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1885-1940 (8 folders; Box 1)

Series 4: Printed material, circa 1860-1948 (5 folders; Box 1)

Series 5: Artwork, circa 1895-1940 (3 folders; Box 1)

Series 6: Sketchbooks, circa 1884-1940 (0.3 linear feet; Box 1)

Series 7: Photographs, circa 1875-1940 (0.2 linear feet; Box 1)

Biographical / Historical:

Painter, printer, and art teacher Gabrielle de Veaux Clements (1858-1948) lived and worked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; and Folly Cove near Gloucester, Massachusetts. She was known for her etchings and her commissioned murals for the cities of Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

Clements was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to physician Richard Clements and his wife, Gabrielle De Vaux. Her interest in art was supported by her family and, at the age of seventeen, she began studying lithography with the designer Charles Page at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women. After graduating in 1880 from Cornell University, where she had produced a number of scientific drawings and lithographs, Clements studied with painter Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and won the school's Toppan Prize. In 1883, Clements was introduced to etching techniques by the artist Stephen Parrish and began exhibiting and printing her works professionally.

In 1884, Clements traveled abroad to Paris to study at the Academie Julian where she was joined in 1885 by fellow painter and future lifelong companion Ellen Day Hale. Upon returning to her Philadelphia studio in 1885, Clements taught other female artists, including Margaret Bush-Brown, and exhibited in numerous institutions, including the National Academy of Design and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In 1895, Clements moved to Baltimore to teach art at the newly established Bryn Mawr School, where she remained until 1908. During her tenure in Baltimore, she was commissioned by the Bendann Galleries to etch nine views of Baltimore and also painted five church murals in Washington, D.C., which led to subsequent murals in Detroit, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

Clements and Hale frequently traveled abroad, visiting France, Italy, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, and spent summers at "The Thickets," the house they purchased in the artists' colony at Folly Cove. During World War I, they wintered in Charleston, South Carolina where they opened their studios to young female artists and taught innovative etching, painting, and color printmaking techniques. After the war, they again opened their studios in Folly Cove to young artists and continued to teach and experiment with soft-ground etching and aquatints in color. This work was highlighted in special exhibitions at the J.B. Speed Art Museum and the Smithsonian Institution. Clements died in Rockport, Massachusetts in 1948.

Provenance:

The Gabrielle de Veaux Clements papers were donated by Mrs. Harlan Starr, Jr. in 1983.

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.

Occupation:

Art teachers -- Massachusetts  Search this

Topic:

Muralists -- Massachusetts  Search this

Etching -- Technique  Search this

Women painters -- United States  Search this

Printmakers -- United States  Search this

Art -- History  Search this

Etchers -- Massachusetts  Search this

Genre/Form:

Prints

Photographs

Diaries

Sketchbooks

Sketches

Citation:

Gabrielle de Veaux Clements papers, 1860-1948. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Processing of this collection was funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art

Identifier:

AAA.clemgabr

See more items in:

Gabrielle de Veaux Clements papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-clemgabr

Creator:

Smith, Huron H. (Huron Herbert), 1883-1933  Search this

Names:

Milwaukee Public Museum  Search this

Satterlee, John V.  Search this

Extent:

26 Photographic prints

11 Copy negatives

Culture:

Menominee (Menomini)  Search this

Sac and Fox (Sauk & Fox)  Search this

Minnesota Chippewa [Leech Lake, Minnesota]  Search this

Minnesota Chippewa [Mille Lacs, Minnesota]  Search this

Lake Superior Chippewa [Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin]  Search this

Ho-Chunk (Winnebago)  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographic prints

Copy negatives

Place:

Minnesota

Wisconsin

Iowa

Date:

1921-1924

Summary:

This collection includes photographs made by Huron H. Smith during his ethnobotanical studies among Native communities in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota between 1921 and 1924. These include photographs made among the Menominee (Menomini), Minnesota Chippewa [Mille Lacs and Leech Lake], Lake Superior Chippewa [Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin], Ho-Chunk (Winnebago), Sac and Fox (Sauk & Fox) on the Mesquakie Indian Settlement in Tama, Iowa.

Scope and Contents:

This collection includes 26 photographic prints (11 copy negatives) made by ethnobotanist Huron H. Smith during field work for the Milwaukee Public Museum in 1921-1924. Many of the photographs are portraits of Native community members wearing traditional outifts or demonstrating local plant use, such as mat making.

Six photographs are from Smith's 1921-1922 trip to the Menominee (Menomini) reservation in Wisconsin. These include portraits of John Valentine Satterlee, Smith's guide and interpreter, and the Satterlee family. There are also as well as several restricted photographs of a Menominee cemetery and of the Menomini Spirit Rock. Seven photographs are from Smith's 1923 trip to the Meskwaki (Sac and Fox (Sauk & Fox)) Reservation in Tama, Iowa. These include portraits of William Davenport, Charles Keosatok and wife Qua-tau-che, White Breast and his family, and doctor John McIntosh (Kepeosatok). There are also several restricted images of Sac and Fox (Sauk & Fox) cemeteries.

Eleven photographs are from Smith's 1923-1924 trips to the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in Wisconsin, working among the Lake Superior Chippewa, and to the Leech Lake and Mille Lacs Reservations in Minnesota, working among the Minnesota Chippewa. Images made in Lac de Flambeau include portraits of Big George Skye, John White Feather (We-bu-ju-o-no-kwe) and wife Na-Wa-Que Go-Kwe, We hre-gu-o-no-kwe, Chief A-mi-kons and wife Pa-ma-ju-o-no-kwe, and Maxiwika [Ho-Chunk (Winnebago)]. Also included are scenic views of a Lac De Flambeau village and a view shot during a Lake Superior Chippewa community dance. Images made in Minnesota include portraits of John Smith, Young Duck and Ajoybenais. There is also a photograph of the balsam Wigwam used by Huron Smith in Leech Lake and a restricted image of a Minnesota Chippewa cemetery. There is also a portrait of Stockbridge Mahican woman Harriet Quinney also taken in 1923.

Some of these photographs were included as illustrations in Smith's articles "Ethnobotany of the Menominee Indians," "Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians," and "Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians" in the Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee.

The copy negatives were created by the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation (NMAI's predecessor museum) during a photo conservation project in the 1960s.

Photographic prints: P10326-P10351. Copy Negatives: N20758, N36526-N36532, N38018-N38020

Arrangement:

Physcially arranged by catalog number. Intellectually arranged chronologically by community and then catalog number.

Biographical / Historical:

Huron Herbert Smith was born in Danville, Indiana in 1883. After receiving degrees from De Pauw and Cornell Universities he served as assistant curator of Botany at the Field Museum of Natural History from 1907 and 1917. In 1917, Smith began working at the Milwaukee Public Museum as head of the Botany Department. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s Smith conducted studies on the use of plant by Native American communities in Wisconsin and surrounding states. This research was supported by then-Museum director Samuel Barrett and anthropologist Alanson Skinner. Smith's ethnobotanical studies began on the Menominee Reservation in Wisconsin (1921-1923), and were followed by trips to the Meskwaki (Sac and Fox (Sauk & Fox)) Reservation in Tama, Iowa (1923), the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in Vilas County, Wisconsin and the Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota (1923-1924), the Potawatomi bands in Forest County, Wisconsin (1925), the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) south of Wisconsin Rapids (1928), and the Oneida Reservation in Wisconsin (1929).

Smith's work came to a sudden end with his death in 1933 as the result of an automobile accident. At the time of his death, four manuscripts had been published (Smith 1923, 1928, 1932, 1933), one was in process and published in 1998 by Kindscher & Hurlburt, and field notes remained for a sixth on the Oneida.

For more information on Huron Smith see the Milwaukee Public Museum's website on their Ethnobotany collections: http://archive.mpm.edu/research-collections/botany/online-collections-research/ethnobotany.

Related Materials:

A large collection of Huron H. Smith photographs and field notes can be found in the Milwaukee Public Museum Archives.

Provenance:

Gift of Charles Schoewe in 1932.

Restrictions:

Access to NMAI Archives Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu). Several photographs have been restricted due to cultural sensitivity.

Rights:

Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not modified in any way, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian. For more information please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use and NMAI Archive Center's Digital Image request website.

Topic:

Ethnobotany  Search this

Indians of North America  Search this

Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Huron H. Smith photograph collection, image #, NMAI.AC.145; National Museum of the American Indian Archives Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NMAI.AC.145

See more items in:

Huron H. Smith photograph collection

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmai-ac-145

Collector:

Rumsey, Mary Harriman, 1881-1934.  Search this

Names:

Harriman Alaska Expedition (1899)  Search this

Photographer:

Averell, William H.  Search this

Coe, Wesley R. (Wesley Roswell), 1869-1960  Search this

Cole, Leon J. (Leon Jacob), 1877-1948  Search this

Curtis, Edward S., 1868-1952  Search this

Devereux, W. B.  Search this

Gilbert, Grove Karl, 1843-1918  Search this

Harriman, Edward Henry, 1848-1909  Search this

Keen, Dora, 1871-  Search this

Merriam, C. Hart (Clinton Hart), 1855-1942  Search this

Pillsbury, Arthur C. (Arthur Clarence)  Search this

Ridgway, Robert, 1850-1929  Search this

Artist:

Schreyvogel, Charles, 1861-1912  Search this

Extent:

396 Lantern slides

286 Photographic prints

1 Map

Culture:

Suquamish  Search this

Hopi Pueblo  Search this

Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan)  Search this

Yakutat Tlingit  Search this

A:shiwi (Zuni)  Search this

Apache  Search this

Yuit (Siberian Yup'ik)  Search this

Tlingit  Search this

Alaskan Eskimo  Search this

Unangan (Aleut)  Search this

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Lantern slides

Photographic prints

Maps

Place:

British Columbia

Siberia (Russia)

Alaska

Date:

1898-1900

1903

1914

bulk 1899-1899

Summary:

The Mary Harriman Rumsey collection largely consists of photographic prints and lantern slides documenting the Harriman Expedition to Alaska in summer 1899. These depict members of the expedition and Alaskan scenery and people. The collection also includes scenic photographs of Alaska taken by Dora Keen in 1914 and photographs of Blackfeet, Hopi, Apache, and Suquamish Indians made by Edward Curtis in 1900 and 1903.

Scope and Contents:

The bulk of the collection comprises photographic prints, lantern slides, and one map documenting the Harriman Alaska Expedition from May to July of 1899. These photographs were made by members of the expedition, most prominently its official photographer Edward S. Curtis, funder Edward Henry Harriman, and lead scientist C. Hart Merriam. They depict Alaskan scenery, members of the expedition, and Native people and settlements that they encountered. Mary Harriman Rumsey's collection also includes later platinum prints of American Indians made and signed by Curtis (1900, 1903), photographs of glaciers in Alaska by Dora Keen (1914), a photograph of a painting by Charles Schreyvogel (1903), and a photograph of White Pass by Arthur Clarence Pillsbury (1898).

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in three series: photographs relating to the Harriman Expedition; photographs of Alaska that were not made on the Harriman Expedition; and other photographs relating to American Indians. The Harriman series is arranged in a rough chronological order.

Biographical / Historical:

Mary Harriman Rumsey (1881-1934) was an important American philanthropist and the oldest child of railroad tycoon Edward Henry Harriman. In 1901, while studying at Barnard College, she co-founded the Junior League for the Promotion of Settlement Movements (later named the Junior League of the City of New York), which facilitated charitable work by privileged women among New York's impoverished groups. Rumsey's efforts lead to the establishment of the Association of Junior Leagues International Inc. in 1921. Additionally, Rumsey co-founded Today magazine with her brother Averell Harriman and others, and in 1933 she chaired the Consumer Advisory Board of the National Recovery Administration.

In 1899, Mary Harriman was among the Harriman family members who accompanied the Harriman Alaska Expedition. Originally planned as a bear-hunting trip for the family, the expedition, was funded by Edward Henry Harriman and organized with the help of ethnographer and naturalist Clinton Hart Merriam. The party of accomplished scientists, naturalists, photographers, artists, and writers cruised from British Columbia to Siberia and back on a private ship, the SS George W. Elder, in June and July of 1899. The scientists' findings were published in the thirteen-volume Harriman Alaska Series, and Harriman also paid the expedition's official photographer, Edward S. Curtis, to compile souvenir albums from the over 5,000 photographs made during the course of the expedition.

Related Materials:

The Smithsonian Institution Archives, University of Washington Special Collections, and Library of Congress have photo albums relating to the Harriman Alaska Expedition. The SI Archives also holds the Harriman Alaska Expedition Collection and photogravure plates from the Harriman Alaska Series.

NMAI holds photogravure plates and proofs made from Edward Curtis's later photographs and Frederick Dellenbaugh's expedition notes in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation records. The National Anthropological Archives also holds Curtis photographs and papers.

Separated Materials:

The following materials were also part of Mary Harriman Rumsey's estate, gifted to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, in 1934. Where possible, their current locations have been noted.

33 artifacts, most of which were likely collected in Alaska by the Harriman Alaska Expedition, are now housed in the NMAI object collection (catalog numbers 18/6460 - 18/6494)

A set of Harriman Alaska Expedition books, probably now in the Cornell University Libraries

4 phonograph records

A bundle of botanical specimens

Provenance:

This collection was donated as part of the estate of Mary Harriman Rumsey to the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, in May 1934.

Restrictions:

Access to NMAI Archive Center collections is by appointment only, Monday - Friday, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Please contact the archives to make an appointment (phone: 301-238-1400, email: nmaiarchives@si.edu).

Rights:

Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center. Please submit a written request to nmaiphotos@si.edu. For personal or classroom use, users are invited users to download, print, photocopy, and distribute the images that are available online without prior written permission, provided that the files are not changed, the Smithsonian Institution copyright notice (where applicable) is included, and the source of the image is identified as the National Museum of the American Indian.

Topic:

Scientific expeditions  Search this

Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Mary Harriman Rumsey Collection of Harriman Alaska Expedition Photographs, Box and Folder Number; National Museum of the American Indian Archive Center, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

This collection was processed with funding from the Smithsonian Women's Committee.

Identifier:

NMAI.AC.053

See more items in:

Mary Harriman Rumsey collection of Harriman Alaska Expedition photographs

Archival Repository:

National Museum of the American Indian

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nmai-ac-053

Creator:

Soyer, Raphael, 1899-1987  Search this

Names:

Ahlas, Lambro  Search this

Baranik, Rudolf  Search this

Biddle, George, 1885-1973  Search this

Bratby, John, 1928-  Search this

Burliuk, David, 1882-1967  Search this

De Francia, Peter  Search this

Goodrich, Lloyd, 1897-1987  Search this

Hirsch, Joseph, 1910-1981  Search this

Hirshhorn, Joseph H.  Search this

Hopper, Edward, 1882-1967  Search this

Lasker, Joe  Search this

Poor, Henry Varnum, 1887-1970  Search this

Singer, Isaac Bashevis, 1904-  Search this

Extent:

3.9 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Writings

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Date:

1933-1989

Summary:

The papers of realist painter Raphael Soyer date from 1933 to 1989 and measure 3.9 linear feet. They document Soyer's career as a painter, printmaker, and writer. Found within the papers are scattered biographical materials, including several transcripts of interviews with Soyer; extensive personal and professional correspondence; writings and notes by Soyer and others; scattered legal and financial records; exhibition materials, clippings and other printed material; and photographs of Soyer in his studio, with artists and friends, and at art events. Also found are one sketch and a facsimile of Soyer's 1968 sketchbook produced by Forum Gallery.

Scope and Content Note:

The papers of realist painter Raphael Soyer date from 1933 to 1989 and measure 3.9 linear feet. They document Soyer's career as a painter, printmaker, and writer. Found within the papers are scattered biographical materials, including several transcripts of interviews with Soyer; extensive personal and professional correspondence; writings and notes by Soyer and others; scattered legal and financial records; exhibition materials, clippings and other printed material; and photographs of Soyer in his studio, with artists and friends, and at art events. Also found are one sketch and a facsimile of Soyer's 1968 sketchbook produced by Forum Gallery.

Biographical materials include award certificates, including a 1975 certificate from the National Academy of Design, lists of artwork by Soyer, and several transcripts of interviews with Raphael Soyer in which he discusses topics such as his career as an artist, artists in New York City, and the inspiration for his artwork.

Personal and professional correspondence is with numerous artists, writers, art historians, curators, gallery owners, arts organizations, museums, and universities. Correspondents include Lambro Ahlas, Rudolf Baranik, George Biddle, John Bratby, David Burliuk, Peter De Francia, Lloyd Goodrich, Joseph Hirsch, Joseph Hirshhorn, Edward Hopper, Joe Lasker, Henry Varnum Poor, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and many others. Additional correspondence is addressed to Reality magazine, for which Soyer was an editor.

Writings and notes by Soyer include several drafts and notes for his four published books A Painter's Pilgrimage (1962), Homage to Thomas Eakins (1966), Self-Revealment: a Memoir (1969), and Diary of an Artist (1977). Also by Soyer are draft essays, lectures, and articles - many about social realism. Writings by others include essays and articles by artists and art scholars sent to Soyer for review.

Scattered legal and financial records include bank statements, receipts, leases, and documents related to the publishing of his books. Printed material consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements, clippings, and other published items.

Photographs depict Soyer in his studio, with other artists and friends such as Chaim Gross, Edward Hopper, and Jose De Creeft, and at art events, and include a few photographs of his artwork. Also found are one pencil sketch and a facsimile of Soyer's 1968 sketchbook produced by Forum Gallery.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into 7 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1939-1986 (Box 1, OV 6; 12 folders)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-1988 (Box 1-2; 1.0 linear foot)

Series 3: Writings & Notes, circa 1946-1987 (Box 2-3; 1.5 linear feet)

Series 4: Legal & Financial Records, 1959-1988 (Box 3; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 5: Printed Material, 1933-1989 (Box 3-4; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1953-1987 (Box 5, OV 6; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Artwork, 1968, undated (Box 5; 2 folders)

Biographical Note:

Raphael Soyer (1899-1987) and his twin brother Moses (1899-1974) were born on December 25, 1899, in the Russian town Borisoglebsk. Their father Abraham was a scholar and Hebrew teacher who encouraged all of his children to sketch and paint. After the family was deported from Russia, they settled in the Bronx, New York, in 1912. Raphael and Moses briefly attended school, but at 16 they began working various jobs to help support their family. They also began taking free art classes at Cooper Union and later Raphael attended the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League where he studied with Guy Pene du Bois. He began to show his paintings in 1926 and in 1929 gallery owner Charles Daniel gave him his first one man show. Soyer became one of the leading realist painters and printmakers, often depicting Depression-era transients, Manhattan streetscapes, shoppers, and women at work. He also painted and sketched numerous self-portraits and portraits of fellow artists and cultural figures, many of whom were also his friends, including Allen Ginsberg, Chaim Gross, Edward Hopper, and Arshile Gorky.

Beginning in the 1930s Soyer showed his work frequently at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Associated American Artists Galleries, National Collection of Fine Arts, and other national and international exhibitions. During the 1940s and 1950s he was a leading advocate of realism and spoke out against the abstract style that was dominating the New York art scene. In 1953 he co-founded Reality magazine.

Soyer joined the Forum Gallery in New York in the early 1960s and became good friends with his dealer Bella Fishko. Also during the 1960s he published three books, A Painter's Pilgrimage (1962), Homage to Thomas Eakins (1966), and Self-Revealment: a Memoir (1969), and had his first retrospective at the Whitney Museum in 1967.

Throughout his career Soyer also occasionally taught at art schools including the Art Students League and the New School. He also collaborated with his friend, writer Isaac Bashevis Singer, by illustrating several of Singer's books. Soyer and his wife Rebecca, whom he married in 1931, lived the rest of their lives in New York City, but often traveled to Europe. They had one daughter, Mary. Soyer's final book, Diary of an Artist, was published in 1977 and in 1979 he received the Gold Medal from the National Arts Club. He continued painting realist subjects until his death in 1987.

Related Material:

Also found at the Archives of American Art are several collections related to Raphael Soyer: Esther Reier letter from Raphael Soyer, 1978 May 29; Raphael Soyer's Artist Statement from 1947; a Raphael Soyer lecture from 1960; the papers of his twin brother, Moses Soyer; Brooklyn Museum interviews of artists, circa 1965-1968 (includes an interview of Soyer); and the Karl E. Fortess taped interviews with artists, 1963-1985, which also includes an interview with Raphael Soyer. The Archives of American Art's Oral History collection has an interview of Raphael Soyer dated May 13-June 1, 1981 conducted by Milton Brown.

Additional Raphael Soyer papers, 1949-1954, are available at Cornell University.

Separated Material:

The Archives of American Art also holds material lent for microfilming (N68-1) including a small amount of correspondence and three sketchbooks. Lent materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.

Provenance:

Raphael Soyer donated portions of the collection between 1961 and 1980. He also loaned materials for microfilming in 1968. His widow, Rebecca, and his grandson, Joseph Leiber, on behalf of the entire Soyer family, donated additional materials in 1991 and 1993.

Restrictions:

Use of the 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.

Topic:

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

Social realism  Search this

Realism  Search this

Painting, American  Search this

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

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

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Writings

Photographs

Sketchbooks

Citation:

Raphael Soyer papers, 1933-1989. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Identifier:

AAA.soyeraph

See more items in:

Raphael Soyer papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-soyeraph

Creator:

Richenburg, Robert  Search this

Names:

Club (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Ozenfant School of Fine Arts -- Students  Search this

Pratt Institute  Search this

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum  Search this

Tibor de Nagy Gallery  Search this

United States. Veterans Administration  Search this

Amgott, Madeline  Search this

Ashton, Dore  Search this

Cavallon, Giorgio, 1904-1989  Search this

Cherry, Herman  Search this

Geist, Sidney  Search this

Grad, Bonnie Lee, 1949-  Search this

Hofmann, Hans, 1880-1966  Search this

Kline, Franz, 1910-1962  Search this

Lassaw, Ernestine  Search this

Lassaw, Ibram, 1913-2003  Search this

Matter, Mercedes  Search this

Moulton, Lynne  Search this

Ortiz, Rafael Montanez  Search this

Pavia, Philip, 1915-2005  Search this

Rebay, Hilla, 1890-1967  Search this

Slivka, David, 1913-  Search this

Extent:

5.3 Linear feet

4.32 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Illustrated letters

Sound recordings

Greeting cards

Video recordings

Photographs

Interviews

Date:

circa 1910s-2008

Summary:

The Robert Richenburg papers, circa 1910s-2008, measure 5.3 linear feet and 4.32 GB. Biographical material, correspondence, subject files, writings, sound and video recordings, printed material, and photographs document the professional career and personal life of the educator and New York School painter and sculptor best known for his Abstract Expressionist paintings.

Scope and Content Note:

The Robert Richenburg papers, circa 1910s-2008, measure 5.3 linear feet and 4.32 GB. Biographical material, correspondence, subject files, writings, audio/visual recordings, printed material, and photographs document the professional career and personal life of the educator and New York School painter and sculptor best known for his Abstract Expressionist paintings.

Biographical material includes educational records from high school through his studies at the Ozenfant School of Fine Arts using G.I. benefits. Birth, marriage,and death certificates are also found, along with Richenburg family memorabilia. There is a digital video recording of Robert Richenburg's memorial service.

Correspondence consists mostly of family letters, including some illustrated letters and many handmade cards featuring original artwork. Condolence letters addressed to Marggy Kerr are from friends, relatives, colleagues, neighbors, and acquaintances.

Subject files contain various combinations of correspondence, printed material, photographs, writings and notes relating to Richenburg's professional career and personal life. They document exhibitions, gallery representation, gifts of art work to museums and individuals, memberships, teaching activities, former students, friendships, and other aspects of his life. Files of significant interest are: The Club, Tina Dicky and Madeline Amgott, Former Students (particularly Raphael Montanez Ortiz), Bonnie L. Grad and Lynne Moulton, Hans Hofmann, Ibram Lassaw, Philip Pavia, Pratt Institute, Hilla Rebay and the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, Tibor De Nagy Gallery, and Veterans Administration.

Writings by Richenburg consist of notes, reviews, artist's statements, and the text of a speech. Also included are quotations compiled over the years by Marggy Kerr of Richenburg's comments on art and life. Among the writings by others are student papers, reviews, and poems.

Sound and visual recordings include interviews with Robert Richenburg, often conducted as research for exhibitions. Videocassettes document events such as panel discussions, and artist gatherings; a few were produced in conjunction with museum exhibitions. Also found are videotapes by video artist Raphael Montanez Ortiz, Richenburg's friend and former student.

Printed material includes items that are specifically about Robert Richenburg as well as items that incidentally mention him. The majority consist of exhibition catalogs and announcements.

Photographs show art work by Richenburg, exhibition openings and other events, and a variety of people and places. Among the events recorded is the "Artists Roundtable on Art of the '50s." Moderated by Dore Ashton, the panel included Herman Cherry, Sidney Geist, Ibram Lassaw, Mercedes Matter, and David Slivka. There are photographs of Richenburg's boyhood home in Roslindale, MA, and his house in Ithaca, NY. He is pictured with others including family members, dealers, and curators. Of particular interest are photographs of Richenburg in Provincetown, MA, 1952-1953, with friends, including: Giorgio Cavallon, Franz Kline, Ibram and Ernestine Lassaw, and Philip and Marcia Pavia. World War II photographs consist of images of art work (not by Richenburg), Richenburg and other individuals taken in France and England; a number include views of Shrivenham American University.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 7 series:

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1910s-2006 (Box 1; 0.1 linear ft., ER01; 1.66 GB)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1940-2007 (Box 1; 0.4 linear ft.)

Series 3: Subject Files, 1942-2008 (Boxes 1-3, OV 7; 2.25 linear ft.)

Series 4: Writings, circa 1950-2006 (Box 3; 0.1 linear ft.)

Series 5: Sound and Video Recordings, 1996-2006 (Boxes 3-4; 0.75 linear ft., ER02; 2.66 GB)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1947-2008 (Boxes 4-5; 1.25 linear ft.)

Series 7: Photographs, circa 1923-2006 (Boxes 5-6; 0.45 linear ft.)

Biographical Note:

Robert Bartlett Richenburg (1917-2006) was a painter and educator in New York City, Ithaca, New York, and East Hampton, New York.

At age 13, Bob Richenburg's artistic talent earned him a place in a daily class for Boston Public School students at the Museum of Fine Arts. Most classes focused on copying; of far greater benefit to the young art student was the opportunity to wander through the museum and look at art nearly every day of his high school career.

Richenburg's father was an architect who also ran a stained glass lampshade business; neither endeavor was profitable, so the family endured very hard times during the Depression. To help support the family, after school and on weekends, Bob delivered ice and coal with an older brother, a job he continued while attending night school courses in liberal arts at Boston University. He studied at George Washington University in Washington, DC, 1937-1939, often working as many as four part-time jobs to cover tuition and living expenses; during summers and school vacations, he returned to Boston to work with his brother. Due to his difficult financial situation, Richenburg's college career ended before he earned a degree.

After learning that the Corcoran School of Art charged no tuition, Richenburg returned to Washington in 1940 to study painting and sculpture. Although uninformed about the art world, he realized that New York was a better place for an aspiring artist. In 1941, he began studying with George Grosz and Reginald Marsh at the Art Students League. On his own, he studied materials and techniques and copied paintings at the Metropolitan Museum Art.

With war looming and the near certainty of being drafted, Robert Richenburg and Libby Chic Peltyn (always called Chic) married in November 1942; two weeks later, he entered the army. Richenburg spent three years in England and France as a combat engineer, transporting explosives and instructing troops in the demolition of mines and booby traps. In England, he managed a photo lab and taught drawing in the fine arts section of Shrivenham American University, a school run by the U. S. Army.

Once discharged, Richenburg returned to New York and took advantage of the G.I. Bill to continue studying painting (and for the subsistence allowance that provided modest support for his family - son Ronald was born in 1947). Richenburg studied at the Ozenfant School, 1947-1949, where he developed a life-long friendship with fellow student Ibram Lassaw.

He continued his art education with Hans Hofmann in New York and Provincetown, 1949-1951. During this period, Richenburg taught drawing, painting, and art history classes sponsored by the Extension Division of City College of New York and held at venues such as Brooklyn's Central YMCA, and branches of the New York Public Library. Richenburg quickly discovered that he liked teaching and enjoyed the students.

In 1951, Richenburg joined the Pratt Institute faculty and taught studio courses at night; soon, he was teaching full time during the day. Richenburg began to achieve recognition as the youngest of the Abstract Expressionists and by the early 1960s his career was well established. Tibor De Nagy Gallery in New York and Dwan Gallery in California represented Richenburg, and a number of paintings were sold to museums and private collectors. As Richenburg experimented with new ideas and materials, his work began changing. He was a popular instructor at Pratt with several promising students who also began experimenting. In 1964, when the unorthodox work of one student in particular caught the attention of Pratt administrators, Richenburg was asked to change his approach to teaching. This roused student protests, and press coverage focused on the specific situation and academic freedom in general. He chose to resign rather than alter his teaching philosophy.

Richenburg secured a position at Cornell University. The confluence of his absence from New York City and the ascendance of Pop Art were damaging, and his career was derailed when De Nagy and Dwan dropped him from their rosters a few years later. After it was clear that he would not secure tenure at Cornell, Richenburg returned to New York in 1967 and began teaching at Hunter College. Daily life in New York was harder than he remembered and, for him, the City had lost its allure.

When offered the chairmanship of the Ithaca College art department, the Richenburgs were delighted to return to tranquil Ithaca, New York. Chic died in 1977, and Bob remained at Ithaca College until retiring in 1983. In addition full-time teaching and handling administrative activities as department chairman, Richenburg made time to work in his studio practically every day. He created a large body of work in a wide variety of media and styles, moving on to new ideas and experiments after exhausting his possibilities or interest.

Beginning in 1949 with a loan exhibition organized by The Museum of Non-Objective Art, Richenburg participated in a wide range of group shows. His first solo exhibition was held in 1953 at the Hendler Gallery, Philadelphia. Over the years, he enjoyed other solo exhibitions at venues such as: David Findlay Jr. Fine Art, Dwan Gallery, Hansa Gallery, Ithaca College Museum of Art, McCormick Gallery, Rose Art Museum (Brandeis University), Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Sidney Mishkin Gallery (Baruch College), and Tibor De Nagy Gallery. In the 1960s and 1970s, Richenburg's work was seldom shown, but from the mid-1980s onward there has been renewed interest.

Richenburg's work is represented in the permanent collections of many museums including Hirshhorn Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art. In addition, his work was acquired by many highly regarded private collectors including Larry Aldrich, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., Joseph H. Hirshhorn, J. Patrick Lannon, and James A. Michener.

Robert Richenburg and Margaret (Marggy) Kerr, a painter and sculptor living in Ithaca, were married in 1980. Ms. Kerr is known for "brick rugs" made from cut bricks forming designs for site specific sculpture and garden walks. Richenburg became close to his stepfamily of three children, Marggy's grandchildren and her mother. After he retired from Ithaca College, Bob and Marggy moved to Springs in East Hampton, New York.

Although Richenburg suffered from Parkinson's disease during the last six years of his life, he continued to work in his home studio until physically unable to produce art. He died on October 10, 2006.

Related Material:

An oral history interview of Robert Richenburg was conducted by Dorothy Seckler for the Archives of American Art, circa 1968.

Provenance:

Donated in 2008 by Margaret Kerr, widow of Robert Richenburg, on behalf of herself and his son Ronald Richenburg.

Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment. Use of audiovisual material 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:

Educators -- New York (State) -- East Hampton  Search this

Abstract expressionism  Search this

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Sculptors -- New York (State) -- East Hampton  Search this

New York school of art  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Illustrated letters

Sound recordings

Greeting cards

Video recordings

Photographs

Interviews

Citation:

Robert Richenburg papers, circa 1910s-2008. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.richrobe

See more items in:

Robert Richenburg papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-richrobe

Creator:

Mitchell, Fred, 1923-  Search this

Names:

Mississippi Art Colony  Search this

Gonzales, Justo  Search this

Kline, Franz, 1910-1962  Search this

McQuade, James M.  Search this

Ochman, Jim  Search this

Pajerski, Elizabeth  Search this

Reed, Harry Hope  Search this

Rooney, Peter  Search this

Rucker, Patrick  Search this

Stevens, Dick, 1928-  Search this

Sultz, Phil  Search this

Extent:

14.3 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Diaries

Photographs

Sketches

Scrapbooks

Watercolors

Drawings

Date:

1938-2007

Summary:

The papers of Fred Mitchell, 1938-2007, measure 14.3 linear feet. Correspondence, writings, 29 diaries, and subject files, document his personal life and career as a painter and educator in New York City. The papers also include biographical materials, artwork, sketchbooks, printed material, and photographs.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of Fred Mitchell, 1938-2007, measure 14.3 liner feet. Correspondence, writings, 29 diaries, and subject files document his personal life and career as a painter and educator in New York City. The papers also include biographical materials, artwork, sketchbooks, printed material, and photographs.

Among the biographical materials are biographical notes, military records, passports, and resumes. Correspondence includes both professional and personal letters. Correspondents include friends, former students, colleagues, and individuals of romantic interest.

Writings by Mitchell include notebooks containing names and addresses, appointments, lists and a variety of notes. Diaries record Mitchell's personal and professional activities, plans, aspirations, and memories; also, many volumes contain loose items such as printed material, drawings, notes and letters. Other authors represented are Harry Hope Reed, Peter Rooney, and Patrick Rucker.

Subject files maintained by Mitchell concern friends, teaching activities, exhibitions; also, interests in art, dance, poetry, and music. Files on the Mitchell family concern four generations and include Elizabeth Pajerski, his artist sister with whom he sometimes exhibited. There are files on Coenties Slip artists and related exhibitions. Other subjects of note are a Franz Kline traveling exhibition curated by Mitchell, and Mississippi Art Colony. Individuals for whom threre are substantial subject files include Justo Gonzales, James M. McQuade, Jim Ochman, Peter Rooney, John W. ("Dicky") Stevens, and Phil Sultz.

Most artwork is by Mitchell and consists mainly of drawings and sketches. Artwork by others includes drawings and watercolors by Peter Rooney, students, and unidentified artists. Mitchell's sketchbooks (16 volumes) contain sketches, drawings, and a few finished watercolors.

Printed material is about or mentions Mitchell. Included are a variety of items such as exhibition catalogs and announcements, brochures, clippings, press releases, and concert programs. Photographs are of Mitchell with family and friends; artwork by Mitchell and other artists; exhibition installations and openings; and places including the Wall-South neighborhood just before the destruction of his studio and travel pictures.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in 9 series:

Series 1: Biographical Materials,1942-circa 2005 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1947-2004 (Boxes 1-2; 1.9 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1940s-2004 (Boxes 2-3; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 4: Diaries, 1949-2002 (Boxes 4-6; 2.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Subject Files, 1943-2002 (Boxes 6-12; 6 linear feet)

Series 6: Artwork, circa 1940s-2002 (Boxes 12-13; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 7: Sketchbooks, 1955-1993 (Boxes 13, 15; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1938-2004 (Boxes 13-14; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 9: Photographs, 1940s-2002 (Box 14; 0.5 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Fred Mitchell (1923-2013), a painter and educator who worked in New York City, was among the first artists to open a studio in Coenties Slip on the East River in downtown Manhattan.

A native of Meridian, Mississippi, Madison Fred Mitchell (always called Fred), won a Scholastic Magazine award and his work was shown in its "15th Annual National High School Art Exhibit" held at the museum of the Carnegie Institute in 1942. Mitchell studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology for a year before entering the U. S. Army. After World War II ended, he resumed his education at Cranbrook Academy of Art (BFA 1946 and MFA 1956). He moved to New York in 1951 and became a member of the "Downtown Group." In 1952 he was among the organizers of Tanager Gallery and in 1954 founded the Coenties Slip School of Art.

Mitchell enjoyed a long career as a highly regarded teacher of drawing, painting, and art history. He taught at Finch College, the Positano Art Workshop in Italy, and Cranbrook Academy in the 1950s. During the 1960s, he was affiliated with Downtown Art Center at Seamens Church Institute in Coenties Slip, New York University, Cornell University, and Ithaca College. In the early 1970s Mitchell taught at Queens College, and from the mid-1980s-early 2000s served on the faculties of Parsons School of Design, Art Students League of New York, and City University of New York's Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn.

He exhibited widely in group shows and solo exhibitions in the New York area and throughout the United States. Among these venues were: Howard Wise Gallery, Meridian Museum, Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute, State University of New York Binghamton, University of Oregon, and Whitney Museum of American Art.

After several years of declining health, Fred Mitchell died in New York City in 2013.

Provenance:

Fred Mitchell donated a small amount of printed material and photographs in 1972. The majority of the papers were donated in 2013 by Fred Pajerski, Fred Mitchell's nephew.

Restrictions:

Use of original material 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:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Diaries

Photographs

Sketches

Scrapbooks

Watercolors

Drawings

Citation:

Fred Mitchell papers, 1938-2007. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.mitcfred

See more items in:

Fred Mitchell papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-mitcfred

Creator:

Kleinman, Kent, 1956-  Search this

Names:

Arnheim, Rudolf  Search this

Libeskind, Daniel, 1946-  Search this

Rand, Paul, 1914-  Search this

Scully, Vincent Joseph, 1920-  Search this

Extent:

4 Items (sound cassettes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1995-1996

Scope and Contents:

Three discussions between Rudolf Arnheim and architect Daniel Libeskind, art historian Vincent Scully and graphic artist Paul Rand, portions of which were used for a Festchrift in honor of Arnheim, "Rudolf Arnheim: Revealing Vision," (University of Michigan, 1998), edited by Kent Kleinman and Leslie Van Duzer.

Biographical / Historical:

Kent Kleinman (1956- ) is an author, dean of Cornell University's College of Architecture and a former professor at State University of New York, Buffalo, New York and University of Michigan. Rudolf Arnheim (1904-2007) was an art historian, educator, writer and psychologist, who taught at Harvard and at the University of Michigan.

Provenance:

Donated 2013 by Kent Kleinman.

Restrictions:

Use of original cassettes requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Identifier:

AAA.kleikent

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-kleikent

Creator:

Deem, George, 1932-2008  Search this

Names:

Allan Stone Gallery  Search this

Nancy Hoffman Gallery  Search this

New Britain Museum of American Art  Search this

Pavel Zoubok Gallery  Search this

Andrews, Benny, 1930-2006  Search this

Bal, Mieke, 1946-  Search this

Copy, Richard  Search this

Dydo, Ulla E., 1925-  Search this

Evans, John, 1932-  Search this

Fattal, Simone  Search this

Guilliatt, Lee  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this

Komar, Vitaly  Search this

Lazlo, Jean-Noel  Search this

Liedtke, Walter A.  Search this

Molesworth, Charles, 1941-  Search this

Rosenblum, Robert  Search this

Sassu, Antonio  Search this

Tanning, Dorothea, 1910-2012  Search this

Vermeer, Johannes, 1632-1675  Search this

Wheeler, Arthur K.  Search this

Wiener, Sam  Search this

William, Patricia  Search this

Extent:

18.2 Linear feet

10.71 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Photographs

Date:

1904-2015

bulk 1960-2008

Summary:

The papers of painter, writer, and dancer George Deem measure 18.2 linear feet and 10.71 GB and date from 1904-2015, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960-2008. The collection documents Deem's path from Midwestern farm child to New York City artist and teacher who specialized in recreating works of great masters, especially Johannes Vermeer. Correspondence, exhibition files, subject files, project files, writings by and about Deem, printed and digital material and photographic materials all show the trajectory of Deem's development as an artist.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of painter, writer, and dancer George Deem measure 18.2 linear feet and 10.71 GB and date from 1904-2015, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960-2008. The collection documents Deem's path from Midwestern farm child to New York City artist and teacher who specialized in recreating works of great masters, especially Johannes Vermeer. Correspondence, exhibition files, subject files, project files, writings by and about Deem, printed and digital material and photographic materials all show the trajectory of Deem's development as an artist.

Biographical materials include resumes, an address book, appointment books, birth and death certificates, obituaries and memorial tributes, passports, family histories, jury summons, grant applications, military and educational records.

Correspondence is with family, friends, colleagues, curators, and art dealers. Much of the professional correspondence concerns commissions and reproduction permission requests. Among the correspondents are: Benny Andrews, Mieke Bal, Ulla Dydo, John Evans, Simone Fattal, Lee Guilliat, Vitaly Komar, and Dorothea Tanning. Correspondence with Walter Liedtke, Charles Molesworth, Robert Rosenblum, Arthur K. Wheeler, and Patricia William discusses proposed exhibitions and writings by Deem and others about his work.

Writings include some of Deem's classroom lectures, poems, and short pieces that appeared in independent literary arts publications.

Subject files document Deem's dealings with art consultants and galleries regarding placement of his work, participation in benefit auctions, and gifts of his artwork to the New Britain Museum of American Art. There is extensive correspondence with Allan Stone Gallery, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, and Pavel Zoubok Gallery. Deem's participation in mail art exhibitions is documented by exhibition announcements and correspondence. Also found is mail art correspondence from Richard Copy, Ray Johnson, Jean-Noel Lazlo, Antonio Sassu, Sam Wiener and others: some pieces are copies. The bulk of the project files chronicle Deem's artistic output. Information sheets and photographic materials provide provenance and source references for over 500 works. Files also document commissions undertaken by Deem including book projects, and set designs for dance and theater workshops. Exhibition files document solo and group exhibitions in the United States and abroad.

Printed material includes books by Deem, exhibition catalogs, reviews, and reproductions. In addition, there are articles and academic papers about Deem and his work. Photographic materials include photographs, digital prints and transparencies; subjects include Deem, family, friends, travels, studio, exhibition installations, and his artwork.

The addition to the George Deem papers consists of scattered biographical materials, correspondence, project and subject files, printed and digital material, and photographic materials. The bulk consists of writings, including a memoir of his early days in New York. Twenty-three notebooks include notes and drafts of writings about his artwork; activities and meetings with colleagues and friends are also recorded. Among the photographic materials are five photograph albums - four are devoted to George Deem, his family, and friends; the fifth houses photographs of Deem's artwork.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 9 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1938-circa 2013 (Boxes 1-2; 1.8 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1954-2013 (Boxes 2-6; 4.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Writings, 1978-2012 (Box 6; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 4: Subject Files, circa 1960-circa 2013 (Boxes 6-8; 1 linear feet)

Series 5: Project Files, 1952-circa 2013 (Boxes 8-13, Box 20; 5.0 linear feet, ER01-ER02; 3.60 GB)

Series 6: Exhibition Files, 1960-circa 2013 (Boxes 13-15; 1.4 linear feet)

Series 7: Printed Material, 1966-circa 2013 (Boxes 15-16, OV 21; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 8: Photographic Materials, 1904-circa 2013 (Boxes 16-17, Box 20; 1.1 linear feet)

Series 9: Addition to the George Deem Papers, 1957-2015 (Boxes 17-19; 1.8 linear feet, ER03-ER04; 7.12 GB)

Biographical / Historical:

George Deem (1932-2008), a New York City based painter was best known for his original reinterpretations of the works of master painters. Raised on an Indiana farm, Deem showed an early interest in art and after graduating from Vincennes University in 1952 enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His studies were interrupted by service in the U.S. Army. He completed his program at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1955.

After moving to New York City in 1958, Deem worked in the display department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art while continuing to paint original works after hours. His work was first exhibited at Barnard College, and in 1963 he had his first one man show at the Allan Stone Gallery, which represented him throughout his career. Later he also was affilated with Nancy Hoffman Gallery and Pavel Zoubok Gallery.

Deem travelled abroad, spending considerable time in Italy where he was influenced by classical art and architecture and began painting realistic figural images. He was interested in reinventing and reconstructing the art of the past, borrowing from artists such as Vermeer, Caravaggio, Goya and Millet. Deem produced a series of paintings relating to Vermeer's work, finally writing a book about this endeavor, Art School and How to Paint a Vermeer. Deem also wrote poetry, was involved in set design, and danced at Bennington College and other venues.

Deem's work was acknowledged in the academic world and he served as artist in residence or visiting artist at MacDowell Colony, Illinois State University, and other institutions. His work appeared in museum exhibitions in the United States and abroad, and is included in the permanent collections of museums including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, New Britain Museum of American Art, and Herbert F. Johnson Museum at Cornell University, as well as in private collections.

George Deem died in 2008 of lung cancer in New York City.

Provenance:

The George Deem papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2013 and 2015 by Ronald Vance, executor of the George Deem estate.

Restrictions:

Use of original material 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.

Occupation:

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

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Artists' studios -- Photographs  Search this

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

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

Mail art  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

George Deem papers, 1904-2015, bulk 1960-2008. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

AAA.deemgeor

See more items in:

George Deem papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-deemgeor

Creator:

Brown, Bolton, 1864-1936  Search this

Names:

Coit, Martha Day, 1840-1920  Search this

Elliott, Ellen Coit  Search this

Lankes, Julius J., 1884-1960  Search this

Extent:

1.7 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Sketches

Photographs

Illustrated letters

Date:

1882-1987

bulk 1882-1936

Summary:

The papers of lithographer, educator, and author Bolton Coit Brown measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1882 to 1987 with the bulk of the material dating from 1882 to 1936. Found within the papers are biographical material; extensive personal correspondence with family members and friends; writings, including drafts of Art of Art Study and Lithography Since Whistler; and printed material.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of lithographer, educator, and author Bolton Coit Brown measure 1.7 linear feet and date from 1882 to 1987 with the bulk of the material dating from 1882 to 1936. Found within the papers are biographical material; extensive personal correspondence with family members and friends; writings, including drafts of Art of Art Study and Lithography Since Whistler; and printed material.

Biographical information consists of a curriculum vitae, job application, list of artworks, and a photograph of Bolton Coit Brown.

Correspondence is primarily with Brown's immediate and extended family and with friends. The series includes extensive correspondence to his mother, Martha C. Brown, his sister, Ellen Coit Elliott, and letter drafts to his wife Lucy Fletcher Brown. Letters to Brown's family dating from 1887 to 1888 document his travels to Europe as an art student and include pen and ink and color washes of historical sites, art deco details, and illustrative scenes.

Writings include essays on lithography and the artist J.J. Lankes; typescripts of Art of Art Study and Lithography Since Whistler; and miscellaneous notes and writings on lithography. There is also a copy of a short play by Brown titled Spoiled Meat.

Printed material includes articles by and on Bolton Coit Brown, clippings, exhibition catalogs, and periodicals.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 4 series.

Series 1: Biographical materials, circa 1914-1936 (4 folders; Box 1)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1882-1949 (0.9 linear feet; Box 1, 3)

Series 3: Writings, circa 1914-1933 (0.4 linear feet; Box 1-2)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1882-1987 (0.3 linear feet; Box 2)

Biographical / Historical:

Lithographer, educator, and author Bolton Coit Brown (1864-1936) lived and worked in Woodstock and New York City, New York, and Stanford, California. He is known for his extensive writings on lithography technique, and for his interest in tonalism effects in painting and printmaking.

Brown was born in Dresden, New York to Edmund Woodward Brown, a minster of the Presbyterian church, and his wife Martha Coit Brown. His early aptitude in art was supported by his family and he received a Bachelor's and Master's degree in painting from Syracuse University. Upon graduation, Brown taught art at Cornell University, became principal of the Toronto Government Art School, and was invited to head the newly formed art department at Stanford University from 1891 to 1902. During his tenure at Stanford, his proximity to the Sierra Nevada ranges inspired him to climb the mountains and he published several articles, line drawings, and maps that document his explorations in the Sierra Club Bulletin.

In 1901, Ralph Radcliffe Whitehead, an aristocrat and progressive idealist, approached Brown with the idea of developing an arts and crafts colony based on the utopian ideals of John Ruskin. Brown agreed to the project and worked with Whitehead and Hervey White to establish Byrdcliffe Colony near the village of Woodstock, New York. After a break from Whitehead over management of the Colony, Brown focused his energies on landscape paintings and worked out of studios located in Woodstock and New York City.

Many of his paintings experimented with tonalism, and interest in this style led him to the explore the gradational effects and mechanics of lithography. In 1915, he traveled to England and spent a year studying with the lithographer F. Ernest Jackson. When he returned home, he continued to document his experiments and technical findings in detailed journals. Many of these discoveries were published in several books and essays on the topic, including Lithography Since Whistler. He printed over 400 of his own lithographs and printed the artworks of George Bellows, John Sloan, and Rockwell Kent, among others. Brown died in Woodstock , New York in 1936.

Related Materials:

The Archives borrowed Bolton Coit Brown papers held by Bryn Mawr College Library, Special Collections in 1990 and microfilmed them on reels 3654-3655 as part of the Archives' Philadelphia Arts Documentation Project.

Provenance:

The Bolton Coit Brown papers were donated in 1987 and 1991 by Brown's granddaughter, Marian Sweeney. Brown's great granddaughter, Barbara Bandy, donated additional materials in 1989.

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.

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

Lithographers -- New York (State)  Search this

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

Lithography  Search this

Genre/Form:

Sketches

Photographs

Illustrated letters

Citation:

Bolton Coit Brown papers, 1882-1987, bulk 1882-1936. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Processing of this collection was funded by the Terra Foundation for American Art

Identifier:

AAA.browbolt

See more items in:

Bolton Coit Brown papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-browbolt

Creator:

Artschwager, Richard, 1923-  Search this

Names:

Adair Margo Gallery  Search this

Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts  Search this

Cornell University.  Search this

Gagosian Gallery  Search this

Galerie Franck + Schulte  Search this

Harvard University  Search this

Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art  Search this

Leo Castelli Gallery  Search this

Lorence-Monk Gallery (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Museum Ludwig  Search this

Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.)  Search this

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  Search this

Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this

Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture  Search this

University of Wisconsin  Search this

Whitney Museum of American Art  Search this

Alloway, Lawrence, 1926-1990  Search this

Castelli, Leo  Search this

Copley, William Nelson, 1919-1996  Search this

Fischl, Eric, 1948-  Search this

Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this

Karp, Ivan C., 1926-2012  Search this

Katz, Alex, 1927-  Search this

Kimmelman, Michael  Search this

Lawler, Louise  Search this

LeWitt, Sol, 1928-2007  Search this

Murray, Elizabeth, 1940-  Search this

Namuth, Hans  Search this

Neuendorf, Hans  Search this

Ruscha, Edward  Search this

Schaffner, Ingrid  Search this

Schjeldahl, Peter  Search this

Waters, John, 1946-  Search this

Woodman, Betty, 1930-  Search this

Extent:

5.6 Linear feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Illustrated letters

Transcripts

Sketches

Photographs

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Date:

1959-2013

Summary:

The papers of New York painter and sculptor Richard Artschwager measure 5.6 linear feet and date from 1959-2013. The papers include extensive correspondence, recorded talks and a lecture, exhibition files, printed material, and photographs.

Scope and Contents:

The papers of New York painter and sculptor Richard Artschwager measure 5.6 linear feet and date from 1959-2013. The papers include extensive correspondence, recorded talks and a lecture, exhibition files, printed material, and photographs.

Artschwager's correspondence is with museums, galleries, artists, art historians, academic institutions, and publishers and concerns exhibitions, speaking engagements, and teaching. Frequent correspondents include Lawrence Alloway, Leo Castelli Gallery, Gagosian Gallery, Galerie Franck + Schulte, Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Ivan Karp, Museum Ludwig, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Ingrid Schaffner, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Also found are letters from fellow artists, including William Copley, Eric Fischl, Ray Johnson, Louise Lawler, Sol Lewitt, Ed Ruscha, John Waters, and Betty Woodman. Some letters are annotated or illustrated with sketches by Artschwager.

The collection includes a lecture and recorded talks by Richard Artschwager held at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, and the Carpenter Center of the Visual Arts, Harvard University, and other venues. One of the recordings is from the "Conversations with Contemporary Artists" series of the Museum of Modern Art. Also included in this series is a recorded discussion with artists Alex Katz and Elizabeth Murray and art critics Michael Kimmelman and Peter Schjeldahl.

Exhibition files are found for exhibitions held at Adair Margo Gallery, Lorence Monk Gallery, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Cornell University, and numerous others, including many in Europe. Files typically contain correspondence, price lists, announcements, printed material, photographs, and a few sound and video recordings.

Printed material includes invitations and announcements as well as posters, reproductions, and brochures, mostly related to Richard Artschwager's exhibitions. Newspaper and magazine clippings document exhibition openings and the critical reception of his work.

There are also a few photographs including images of Leo Castelli by Hans Namuth used by Artschwager in preparing for his portrait of Castelli.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged as 5 series.

Series 1: Correspondence, circa 1970-2013 (Boxes 1-3; 3.0 linear feet)

Series 2: Talks and Lecture, 1985-2009 (Box 4; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 3: Exhibition Files, 1973-2007 (Boxes 4-5; 1.0 linear feet)

Series 4: Printed Material, 1959-2012 (Boxes 5-6, OV 7; 0.6 linear feet)

Series 5: Photographs, circa 1973, 2007 (Box 6, OV 8; 0.1 linear feet)

Biographical / Historical:

Richard Artschwager (1923-2013) lived and worked in New York City and Hudson, New York and was known primarily for his paintings and sculptures. Artschwager was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in New Mexico. As a youth, Artschwager showed a talent for drawing. He studied chemistry and mathematics at Cornell University. In 1944, Artschwager interrupted his studies to enlist in the U.S. Army. After the war, he returned to Cornell to complete his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948. Encouraged by his first wife, Elfriede Wejmelka to develop his interest in art, Artschwager moved to New York to study at the Studio School of Amédée Ozenfant. His paintings and drawings from this period were featured in two group shows at the Terrain Gallery in 1957 and at the Art Directions Gallery on Madison Avenue in 1959, where they were recognized by Donald Judd.

In the 1950s, in order to support his family, Artschwager turned to designing and manufacturing modern furniture. His woodworking skills inspired him to create sculptures from utilitarian objects such as tables, chairs, and mirrors. He is best known for the use of building materials Celotex and Formica in his work and for inventing an abstract form he called "blps" reliefs, stencils or decals that were installed randomly in museum, gallery and public spaces. From the mid-1980s to late 1990s, Artschwager designed large scale projects, though he continued to incorporate everyday domestic objects in his sculptures and paintings.

In 1965, Artschwager was given his first one-man exhibition at the Castelli Gallery and he remained with the Gallery for thirty years. He was also represented by Mary Boone, David Nolan, and the Gagosian Gallery. In the 1980s, Artschwager served on the Visual Arts Policy Committee at the National Endowment of the Arts. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts in 1992. He was a visiting artist at New Mexico State University, Soka University, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and the University of Arizona. Artschwager's work was the subject of a major surveys, including the Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Neues Museum, and Serpentine Gallery. He participated in numerous international group shows including the Venice Biennale and Documenta in Kassel, Germany. The Whitney Museum of American Art honored Artschwager with two travelling retrospective exhibitions in 1988 and 2012. In late 2012, Artschwager had one-man shows at the Gagosian Gallery and David Nolan Gallery.

Richard Artschwager died at the age of 89 years in 2013. He is survived by his wife, Ann Sebring Artschwager and three children from previous marriages.

Related Materials:

Also found among the resources at the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Artschwager, March 3-28, 1972, conducted by Paul Cummings.

Provenance:

The collection was donated by Richard Artschwager and his wife Ann Artschwager in 2013.

Restrictions:

Use of original material requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

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:

Art critics  Search this

Topic:

Art -- Study and teaching  Search this

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

Art, Modern -- 20th century  Search this

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

Genre/Form:

Illustrated letters

Transcripts

Sketches

Photographs

Sound recordings

Video recordings

Citation:

Richard Artschwager papers, 1959-2013. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.

Identifier:

AAA.artsrich

See more items in:

Richard Artschwager papers

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-artsrich

Collection Creator:

Marcus, Marcia, 1928-  Search this

Container:

Box 2, Folder 8

Type:

Archival materials

Date:

1974-1981

Collection Restrictions:

Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Use of archival audiovisual recordings and born-digital records with no duplicate copy requires advance notice.

Collection 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.

Collection Citation:

Marcia Marcus papers, 1928-2016, bulk 1950-2000. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Sponsor:

Funding for the processing and digitization of this collection was provided by the family of Marcia Marcus, and the Lily and Earle M. Pilgrim Art Foundation.

See more items in:

Marcia Marcus papers

Marcia Marcus papers / Series 2: Correspondence

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_component:sova-aaa-marcmarc-ref682

Creator:

W. Atlee Burpee Company  Search this

W. Atlee Burpee Co.  Search this

Burpee, W. Atlee (Washington Atlee), 1858-1915  Search this

Burpee, David, 1893-1980  Search this

Wm. Henry Maule (Firm)  Search this

James Vick's Sons (Rochester, N.Y.).  Search this

Extent:

200 Cubic feet

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Trade catalogs

Business records

Commercial correspondence

Instructional materials

Ledgers (account books)

Date:

circa 1873-1980

Summary:

The W. Atlee Burpee & Company records, dated circa 1873-1986, document the firm's business activities developing plant varieties, working with contract seedsmen, and marketing and selling seeds. They include seed trial records, seed contracts, sales and acccounting records, inventories, office correspondence, seed catalogs, promotional and instructional materials, advertisements and advertising reports, contest letters, daybooks, photographs, reference materials, and other items relating to the company and some of its competitors. The collection also includes Burpee family papers.

Content Description:

This collection documents W. Atlee Burpee & Co., a mail-order seed company based in Philadelphia, from its early beginnings in 1876 when its founder, W. Atlee Burpee, started in the agricultural business, to the 1970s when his son, David Burpee, sold the firm. The collection also includes personal papers of the Burpee family dating back to the mid-nineteenth century.

Business-related content in the collection consists of crop propagation and management records; company correspondence; administrative and personnel records; advertising files; legal papers; property records and plans; reports, studies, and technical data; notes and drafts; files on professional outreach activities and events; trade literature (published by both the Burpee company and a number of its competitors); and awards and certificates received by the company. Significant topics documented in these files include the development of notable flower and vegetable varieties introduced by the company; the impact of World Wars I and II on gardening and the global seed trade; advertising strategies, technology, and innovation; and David Burpee's advocacy of the marigold as the national floral emblem of the United States.

The Burpee family papers consist of personal files unrelated to the company's business operations. These include records generated by W. Atlee's father (David Burpee, 1827-1882) and grandfather (Washington L. Atlee, 1808-1878), as well as W. Atlee's wife, Blanche (1863-1948); David Burpee (1893-1980) and his wife, Lois (1912-1984); and W. Atlee Burpee II (1894-1966). There are genealogical surveys conducted on both the Atlee and Burpee families as well as clippings about family members. W. Atlee and David Burpee's series are the most extensive, and cover their involvement with numerous social and philanthropic clubs and organizations. The series include personal correspondence; financial, accounting, and tax records; travel-related files; reference material; and will and estate papers.

The Burpee collection also has a large number of images related to the Burpee business and family in a variety of formats including photographs, film and glass plate negatives, and advertisement mock-ups. Other formats include architectural and site plans, original artwork for advertisements, films, cassettes, audio tapes, and ephemera.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged into six series:

Series 1: Plant/Farm Related Material Series 2: Business Records Series 3: Material Published About the Burpee Company Series 4: Awards and Certificates Series 5: Photographic and A/V Materials Series 6: Burpee Family Papers

The collection's original order was maintained wherever possible, though many records were found scattered throughout the collection and artificial files were necessarily created for them.

Most files are arranged chronologically or alphabetically by person or topic.

Various photographs interspersed in correspondence files were kept where they were originally found. All other photographic and audio/visual materials found on their own were grouped in Series 5 Photographic and A/V Material which documents aspects of both the Burpee company and Burpee family.

Biographical / Historical:

Washington Atlee Burpee (1858-1915) began a mail-order poultry and livestock business in 1876 in Philadelphia, which he soon expanded to include corn seed for chicken feed. In 1878, he founded W. Atlee Burpee & Co. to sell livestock and vegetable, fruit, and flower seeds through the mail. His company went on to become one of the most notable seed distributors in the world.

In 1888, W. Atlee bought a tract of land named Fordhook Farms in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. It was initially established as an experimental farm to test and evaluate new varieties of vegetables and flowers and to produce seeds for the mail-order market. Burpee spent many summers traveling throughout the United States and Europe visiting farms and searching for the best flowers and vegetables. Certain plants he found were shipped back to the firm for testing and propagation; other seeds were obtained through contracts with growers throughout the U.S., a practice common in the seed industry at that time. Promising varieties were bred with healthier specimens to produce hardier hybrids that were more resistant to disease. Other Burpee trial grounds were later established at Sunnybrook Farm near Swedesboro, New Jersey, and at Floradale Farms in Lompoc, California (1909/1910). The company went on to purchase more land for farming in California, and established sales branch headquarters in Sanford, Florida (circa 1930s), Clinton, Iowa (1942), and Riverside, California (1949).

W. Atlee Burpee married Blanche Simons (1863-1948) in 1892. They had three sons: David (1893-1980); W. Atlee Jr. ("Junior") (1894-1966); and Stuart Alexander (1901-1934). Both David and Junior attended the Blight School in Philadelphia for elementary school and Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana for preparatory school. While they both attended Cornell University as undergraduates, they left before graduating due to W. Atlee's poor health. Junior married Jeanetta Lee (1893-1981) in November, 1916, and they had two children: W. Atlee III (1917-1971) and Jeanette (1919-2002). David married Lois Torrance (1912-1984) in 1938, and they had two children: Johnathan (b. 1941) and Blanche (b. 1943). Stuart Alexander was apparently born with a disability; according to census records he worked on farms during his lifetime.

David Burpee took over the family business upon his father's death in 1915; W. Atlee Burpee, Jr. served as treasurer of the firm once he returned from serving in the military. At that time, the Burpee company had 300 employees and was the largest mail-order seed company in the world. It distributed over one million catalogs a year and received on average 10,000 orders a day. Under David's tutelage, the company adapted to contemporaneous shifts in business and advertising methods, advancements in plant science, ever-changing consumer demands, and two World Wars. In response to food shortages experienced during World War I, the Burpee company helped promote a "war gardens" campaign that evolved into a "victory gardens" campaign during World War II.

Both W. Atlee and David used their position as head of a major seed house to lobby congressional debates in regard to two topics: postage rates (W. Atlee) and the designation of a national floral emblem for the United States (David). Both men belonged to The Union League of Philadelphia and The Canadian Society of Philadelphia (which W. Atlee helped found), and served on the boards of directors for hospitals and other charitable organizations. Both father and son were politically aligned with the Republican Party.

The firm reorganized its governing structure in 1917 at which time it changed its name from W. Atlee Burpee & Co. to W. Atlee Burpee Co. Burpee's acquired three seed companies between 1878 and 1970: Luther Burbank Seed Company, James Vick's Seeds, Inc., and the William Henry Maule Company. David Burpee sold the company to the General Foods Corporation in 1970 and served as a consultant for the business until 1973. The Burpee brand was bought by its current owner, George J. Ball, Inc., in 1991.

Related Materials:

Burpee seed catalogs donated to the Smithsonian in 1982 by the W. Atlee Burpee Co. can be found in the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' Trade Literature Collection at the National Museum of American History.

The Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division includes a series of images of Burpee company operations taken in 1943.

The Black Gold Cooperative Library System's Asian/Pacific - Americans on the Central Coast Collection includes images dated 1933-1939 of Japanese employees of the Burpee Co. working at Floradale Farms in Lompoc, California.

Restrictions:

Access to original images by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.

Rights:

Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by the Archives of American Gardens.

Topic:

Seed industry and trade  Search this

Mail-order business -- Catalogs  Search this

Gardens -- United States  Search this

Horticulture  Search this

Vegetables  Search this

Trial gardens  Search this

Victory gardens  Search this

Prize contests in advertising  Search this

Advertising, Newspaper -- 20th century  Search this

Advertising, magazine -- 20th century  Search this

Flower shows  Search this

Genre/Form:

Trade catalogs

Business records

Commercial correspondence

Instructional materials

Ledgers (account books)

Citation:

Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records

Identifier:

AAG.BUR2

See more items in:

W. Atlee Burpee & Company Records - Accretion 2

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Gardens

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aag-bur2

Creator:

Collier, Jr., John filmmaker  Search this

Physical description:

reference video cassettes (1 hour 41 minutes) silent color/b&w 3/4 inch

master video cassettes (1 hour 41 minutes) silent color/b&w 3/4 inch

archival original film reels (3,455 feet) silent color/b&w video

Culture:

Quechua Indians  Search this

Type:

Motion pictures (visual works)

Collection descriptions

Place:

Peru

South America

Date:

1954-1955

Topic:

Agriculture--ox and plow  Search this

Cultivation--potatoes  Search this

Funerals--processions--coffins  Search this

Tools--hoes  Search this

Harvests--potatoes  Search this

Planting--potatoes  Search this

Bricks--construction of  Search this

Houses--construction of  Search this

Schools--activities in  Search this

Meals--school children  Search this

Food preparation--schools  Search this

Wool--spinning  Search this

Division of labor--sexual  Search this

Breastfeeding--Quechua  Search this

Looms--operation of--Quechua  Search this

Curing--curandera--Quechua  Search this

Curers--curandera  Search this

Divination--guinea pig entrals--curandera  Search this

Musical instruments--drums--flutes--violins  Search this

Churches--ceremonies--processions  Search this

Costumes--ceremonies--"Indians"  Search this

Statues--Virgin Mary--ceremony  Search this

Dance--ceremony  Search this

Language and culture  Search this

Local number:

HSFA 1988.12.1

Restrictions & Rights:

Information on reproduction and fees available from Human Studies Film Archives

Data Source:

Human Studies Film Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_arc_218425

Interviewee:

Goldsmith, Caroline Lerner, 1925-2004  Search this

Interviewer:

Munro, Eleanor, 1928-  Search this

Subject:

ArtTable, Inc.  Search this

Type:

Sound recordings

Interviews

Topic:

Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Record number:

(DSI-AAA_CollID)12528

(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)248951

AAA_collcode_goldsm04

Data Source:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_248951

Interviewee:

WalkingStick, Kay  Search this

Interviewer:

Ho, Melissa  Search this

Names:

Pandemic Oral History Project  Search this

Extent:

1 Item ((19 min.), digital, mp4)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Interviews

Video recordings

Date:

2020 August 29

Scope and Contents:

An interview with Kay WalkingStick conducted 2020 August 29, by Melissa Ho, for the Archives of American Art's Pandemic Oral History Project, at WalkingStick's home in Easton, Pennsylvania.­

Biographical / Historical:

Kay WalkingStick (1935- ) is a Cherokee painter in Easton, Pennsylvania. She is especially noted for her landscapes, diptychs, and integration of Native culture throughout her work. From the late 1980s to 2005, she taught at Cornell University, where she is professor emerita.

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 administrators.

Restrictions:

This interview is open for research.

Rights:

The Archives of American Art makes its Oral History Program interviews available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. Quotation, reproduction and publication of the audio is governed by restrictions. If an interview has been transcribed, researchers must quote from the transcript. If an interview has not been transcribed, researchers must quote from the audio recording. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.

Occupation:

Painters -- Pennsylvania  Search this

Topic:

Native American artists  Search this

Women artists  Search this

Pandemics  Search this

COVID-19 (Disease)  Search this

COVID-19 (Disease) and the arts  Search this

COVID-19 (Disease) -- Social aspects  Search this

Genre/Form:

Interviews

Video recordings

Identifier:

AAA.walkin20

Archival Repository:

Archives of American Art

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-aaa-walkin20