Correspondence; U.S. Army records; postcards; telegrams; a monologue; photographs; catalogs; clippings; and publications.
REEL N69-131: U.S. Army records commenting on Lekakis' work in camouflage during World War II; 11 letters, postcards and telegrams, 1951-1963, from Marion and E.E. Cummings concerning translations, from U.S.I.S. officers, and from the Baltimore Museum of Art, the last concerning a Lekakis painting rejected by the Trustees; a xerox monologue, "Medea at Corinth," by Joseph Freeman, and a comment on Lekakis by Henry Gilford; photographs; catalogs; and clippings.
REELS 3090-3091: Papers pertaining to poets Charles Olson and Ezra Pound. Included are 12 letters and postcards from Olson, a letter from the University of Connecticut Archives requesting information about Olson, and two publications (Y & X, 1948 and Right Angle, 1949) which contain poems by Olson. In addition there are 32 letters and postcards, 1953-1958, from Ezra Pound, two letters from Dorothy Pound, and a letter from James Johnson Sweeney to Ezra Pound about the possibility of acquiring Lekakis's sculpture for the Guggenheim.
ADDITION: Biographical information, including records from the memorial service for Lekakis held at the Art Students League, March 6, 1988; clippings, 1962-1988; exhibition announcements, 1946-1990, and catalogs, 1980-1988; poems by Lekakis; and a transcript of a Voice of America radio interview.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter, sculptor, poet; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 1969-1978 by Michael Lekakis, except for Cummings & Pound letters which were returned to Lekakis after microfilming, and in 1992 by Catherine Lekakis Hios, sister of Michael Lekakis.
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:
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
15.7 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Sketchbooks
Video recordings
Date:
1910-2007
Scope and Contents:
Biographical material, correspondence, photographs, project files, writings, financial records, works of art, audio visual material, and printed material regarding the career of sculptor William King.
Biographical material includes a yearbook and an award from the National Academy of Design. Business and personal correspondence is with family, friends, and others among them Terry Dintenfass, John Waggaman, Willard Cummings, E. E. Cummings, Gay Talese, and John Canaday. Photographs are of King's family, friends, works of art, and installation shots. Detailed project files contain notes, diagrams, paper cut-outs, blueprints, and technical material. Writings include 16 v. of daily diaries and notes by King and the book "Uncle King's Album". Financial records include sales ledgers and records, contracts for sculptures, cancelled checks, receipts, deposit books, bank statements, and income tax records. Works of art include sketches, a sketchbook, drawings for editorial cartoons, and illustrated cards.
Audio visual material includes six untranscribed cassettes of an interview with King's mother, Florence D. King, a videocassette of King creating Amitie at SUNY Plattsburgh, 1977, 8 mm motion picture films and VHS videocassette copies relating to sculptures Twins and The Creative Spirit, a DVD video recording of King's profile for the Luce Center, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and an audio cassette recording of the 11th International Sculpture Conference (and corresponding program booklet) honoring King. Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, invitations, announcements, and newspaper clippings. Also included is a memorandum book belonging to King's father Walter Blake King.
Biographical / Historical:
Sculptor; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
This collection was donated in installments from 1969-2008 by William King. Two linear feet of material was micorfilmed upon receipt (reels 487-488).
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:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
The records of the Washington, D.C. arts and educational organization, Institute of Contemporary Arts, measure 36 linear feet and date from 1927-circa 1985, with the bulk of the material spanning the organization's active years, 1947-1967. The collection documents the arts and cultural programming organized by the ICA through correspondence, artists' files, program and exhibition files, administrative and financial records, printed materials and photographs. Also found are administrative, student, and teacher records of the ICA school; records of the Fine Arts Committee of the People-to-People Project; and some personal papers of the ICA's founder, Robert Richman.
Scope and Contents:
The records of the Washington, D.C. arts and educational organization, Institute of Contemporary Arts, measure 36 linear feet and date from 1927-circa 1985, with the bulk of the material spanning the organization's active years, 1947-1967. The collection documents the arts and cultural programming organized by the ICA through correspondence, artists' files, program and exhibition files, administrative and financial records, printed materials and photographs. Also found are administrative, student, and teacher records of the ICA school; records of the Fine Arts Committee of the People-to-People Project; and some personal papers of the ICA's founder, Robert Richman.
Robert Richman's professional and personal relationships with numerous artists and writers which the ICA hosted in D.C. are documented in Correspondence and Artists' Files. Correspondence files include letters from Joseph and Anni Albers, Alfred Barr, e.e. cummings, Alexander Giampietro, Naum Gabo, Walter Gropius, Erick Hawkins, Duncan Phillips, Hans Richter, Kay Sage and Yves Tanguy, and William Carlos Williams. Also found is correspondence with benefactors, board members, and arts organizations regarding exhibitions and administrative details; and with teachers and the Veteran's Administration regarding school issues.
Artists' Files contains mostly incoming and outgoing correspondence, but also found are biographies, exhibition printed materials, handwritten notes, newspaper clippings and scattered portrait photographs. Of interest are files on Aaron Copland, e.e. cummings, T.S. Eliot, Wojciech Fangor, Nadine Gordimer, Robert Graves, Aldous Huxley, Janheinz Jahn, Kathleen Raine, and Sir Herbert Read.
In addition to Correspondence and Artists' Files, materials regarding ICA's programming, such as correspondence with artists and galleries, press releases, shipping records, financial records, printed materials, photographs, inventory and price lists, are found in ICA Program Files.
The ICA and Robert Richman collaborated with numerous arts and international exchange organizations to organize exhibitions, performances, symposium, and to host visiting artists. Materials regarding such collaborations are found in Organizations and includes correspondence, scattered financial records, notes, and printed materials such as bulletins, brochures, schedules, reports, and press releases. This series also includes substantial material related to the Fine Arts Committee of the People-to-People Program, an international exchange initiative of President Dwight D. Eisenhower begun in 1956.
The school's records include correspondence, notebooks (attendance books), teacher files documenting classes and grades, extensive student files and student enrollment cards, mailing lists, class cards, and notes for classes taught by Robert Richman.
Administrative and Financial Files include accounting and banking records, budgets, founding documents, fundraising records, grants records, mailing lists, membership lists, and Meridian House Foundation records.
ICA's programs are also documented by comprehensive printed materials arranged by ICA seasons, 1947-1967. Printed materials include program calendars, exhibition announcements, invitations, membership forms, and press releases. Also found are newspaper clippings and three oversized clippings scrapbooks.
Photographs include black and white photographs and negatives of people, most of whom are unidentified. Robert Richman's personal papers includes personal correspondence, correspondence related to "New Republic," handwritten and typed writings, some bills, and his curriculum vitae.
Unrepresented in this collection are records of ICA's ICONART Collection (Contemporary Arts Archives), an archive of films and tapes of artists' performances, lectures and events held by ICA.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 9 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1937, 1944-1980 (2.7 linear feet; Boxes 1-3)
Series 2: Artists' Files, 1943-1967, 1970-1979 (4.9 linear feet; Boxes 3-8)
Series 3: ICA Program Files, circa 1947-1968 (5.2 linear feet; Boxes 8-13, 27)
Series 4: Organizations, 1927, 1940s-1967 (7.3 linear feet; Boxes 13-20, OV 39)
Series 5: ICA School Files, 1945-1953 (7.0 linear feet; Boxes 21-27)
Series 6: Administrative and Financial Files, 1945-1979, 1983 (5.2 linear feet; Boxes 28-33, 38)
Series 7: Printed Materials, 1945-1970 (2.9 linear feet; Boxes 33-35, 38)
Series 8: Photographs, circa 1930s-1960s, circa 1985 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 35-36)
Series 9: Personal Papers of Robert Richman, 1940s-1980 (0.4 linear feet; Boxes 36-37)
Biographical / Historical:
The Washington, D.C. arts and educational organization, Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), was founded by poet Robert Richman in 1947 to bring arts and culture to the nation's capital. The school, originally named the King-Smith School of Creative Arts, was redesigned and renamed Institute of Contemporary Arts by Richman in 1948. The school's philosophy was based on Sir Herbert Read's Education Through Art, and provided professional training in painting, sculpture, literature, music, and theater. In addition, the ICA operated an evening school and brought prominent artists and literary figures to the nation's capital for exhibitions, concerts, workshops, lectures, readings, and performances. Teachers at the school included potter Alexander Giampietro, sculptor David Aaron, designers Beatrice Takeuchi and Hubert Leckie, and painter Kenneth Noland.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the ICA was successful in securing some large grants to continue and expand its programming and to secure permanent space at the Meridian House Foundation. However, by the late 1960s the organization's programming declined.
ICA founder Robert Richman was a poet and literary editor at New Republic magazine in the early 1950s. He was active in the arts community in D.C. and in international exchange organizations, including the Fine Arts Committee of the People-to-People Project, an initiative started by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the late 1950s. Robert Richman passed away in 1987.
Provenance:
The Institute of Contemporary Arts records were donated by Maida Richman, the wife of the ICA's founder, Robert Richman, in 1986.
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.
Function:
Arts organizations -- Washington (D.C.)
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Photographs
School records
Citation:
Institute of Contemporary Arts records, 1927-circa 1985, bulk 1947-1967. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Smithsonian Institution Collection Care Preservation Fund.
E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings. E.E. Cummings letter to Robert Richman, 1953 Feb. 23. Institute of Contemporary Arts records, 1927-circa 1985. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
E. E. Cummings : the poet as artist : [catalogue of the exhibition held at the] Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, ... December 2, 1976 - February 6, 1977 / [Text by] Frank Gettings
Author:
Cummings, E. E (Edward Estlin) 1894-1962 Search this
