The records of New York City's Grand Central Art Galleries measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 1931 to 1968, with the bulk of the material from circa 1952 to circa 1965. The majority of the records are related the Grand Central Moderns, the modern art division of Grand Central Art Galleries. The collection includes group exhibition files, artists' files, printed material and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The records of New York City's Grand Central Art Galleries measure 1.3 linear feet and date from 1931 to 1968, with the bulk of the material from circa 1952 to circa 1965. The majority of the records are related the Grand Central Moderns, the modern art division of Grand Central Art Galleries. The collection includes group exhibition files, artists' files, printed material and photographs.
Group exhibition files consist of catalogs, announcements, clippings, artist biographies, correspondence and photographs. The art exchange exhibition between Grand Central Moderns and Galerie Jeanne Bucher is especially noteworthy.
Artists' files include exhibition catalogs, announcements, resumes, clippings, photographs and limited correspondence. The bulk of the material is on artists who had exhibitions at Grand Central Moderns. Notable artists include Elise Asher, Byron Browne, Victor Candell, Joseph De Martini, Xavier Gonzalez, Jacob Kainen, Jennett Lam, Seong Moy, Arthur Osver, Herman Rowan, Lucia Salemme, and Robert Watts, among others.
Printed material mostly consists of exhibition catalogs and announcements of other galleries. There are a few clippings on Grand Central Art Galleries.
There are a few photographs of artwork.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 4 series.
Series 1: Group Exhibition Files, 1952-1957 (Box 1, OV 3; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 2: Artists' Files, 1940-1968 (Box 1, 0.7 linear feet)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1951-1965 (Boxes 1-2; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 4: Photographs, 1931, circa 1960-circa 1965 (Box 2; 2 folders)
Biographical / Historical:
Grand Central Art Galleries (1923-1994) was a large New York-based art gallery, which also had a modern art division called Grand Central Moderns (1947-circa 1967).
The Grand Central Art Galleries was founded in 1923 and operated as the exhibition space of the Painters and Sculptors Gallery Association in New York City. Grand Central Art Galleries was located at Grand Central Terminal for nearly 30 years before moving on to the Biltmore Hotel at 40 Vanderbilt Avenue, then relocating to 24 West 57th Street. The Galleries regularly exhibited the works of its members and sometimes boasted as many as thirty to forty exhibitions annually.
From its establishment in 1923, Edwin S. Barrie was the director of Grand Central Art Galleries and he founded Grand Central Moderns in 1947, which he also managed until the early 1950s. The gallery moved from one address to another before ultimately relocating to 130 East 56th Street. Colette Roberts was the curator and she took over as director in 1952 until roughly 1965, about two years before Grand Central Moderns closed. Byron Browne, Kenneth Campbell, Lamar Dodd, Xavier Gonzalez, George Morrison and Louise Nevelson were a few of the artists represented by the gallery.
Erwin S. Barrie retired from his position as director of Grand Central Art Galleries in 1975. The gallery closed in 1994.
Separated Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming (reels NGCAG1-NGCAG2) including 23 yearbooks, 1928-1945, and exhibition catalogs, 1923-1929. The originals were returned to Grand Central Art Galleries after microfilming and are not described in the the container listing of this finding aid.
Provenance:
Grand Central Art Galleries loaned materials for microfilming in 1966. Addition records were donated to the Archives of American Art by Grand Central Art Galleries in 1966 and 1967.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center.
1 Linear foot ((partially microfilmed on 3 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Video recordings
Date:
1941-1978
Scope and Contents:
Photographs of artists; letters; printed material; and a motion picture film.
REEL D284: Exhibition catalogs, 1941-1952, from the Valente Gallery, and clippings; a letter and a sketch from Henry Miller; and a scrapbook containing photographs by Valente of 41 artists, their art work and clippings. Photographs of artists include Boris Aronson, Milton Avery, Arbit Blatas, David Burliuk, Mario Carreño, Joseph DeMartini, Alexander Dobkin, Philip Evergood, Jose Ferrer, Adolph Gottlieb, Marion Greenwood, William Gropper, Chaim Gross, George Grosz, Robert Gwathmey, Lily Harmon, Marsden Hartley, Frederick Haucke, Frank Kleinholz, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Ben Lassen,Sigmund Menkes, Jose Clemente Orozco, Abraham Rattner, Iver Rose, Sally Ryan, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Margaret Stark, Sabina Teichman, Anthony Toney, Nahum Tschacbasov, Abraham Walkowitz and Ben Wilson.
REEL 2802: A letter from the National Gallery of Art regarding Valente's film "Art Discovers America"; exhibition catalogs on and written by Valente; clippings; and 30 photographs by Valente of 20 artists.
REEL 3480: Two letters from Henry Miller, dated 1943 and 1945. The letters refer to a "watercolor pad and brushes", and Miller also thanks Valente for a portrait of Abe Rattner.
UNMICROFILMED: Photographs by Valente of artists, each accompanied with the artists' self-portrait. Included are Milton Avery, Arbit Blatas, David Burliuk, Mario Carreño, Alexander Dobkin, Philip Evergood, Chaim Gross, Lily Harmon, Frank Kleinholz, Ben Lassen, David Lax, Lawrence H. Lebduska, Jean Liberte, Jose Orozco, Harold Rome, Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, Margaret Stark, Sabina Teichman, Anthony Toney, Nahum Tschacbasov, Abraham Walkowitz, and Ben Wilson and 4 photographs of composer Eugene Ormandy which are on the back of the Blatas portraits.
UNMICROFILMED: "Art Discovers America" (MGM shorts), ca. 1945, a 16mm b&w, 400 ft. film regarding the "new public interest" in American art. The film traces the trend back to the exhibition of The Eight, and shows various artists at work, including John Sloan, Thomas Hart Benton, Reginald Marsh, and Abraham Walkowitz. The film was produced by Regency Pictures. Valente was the photographer and co-director along with Hal Frater.
REEL 439-441 AND SCANNED Photos of artists, previously microfilmed under Photos of Artists I, have subsequently been scanned and returned to the Valente papers.
Biographical / Historical:
Photographer; New York City.
Provenance:
Material on reel D284 lent for microfilming by Valente, 1966; Mrs. Valente subsequently donated the scrapbook, 1979. Material on reels 2802, and 3480 donated by Mr. & Mrs. Valente, 1966 through 1979. Unmicrofilmed material donated by Harold Rome, 1988. An additional 35 photos of artists were donated by Valente ca. 1966, and microfilmed on reels 439-441 with AAA's Photographs of Artists Collection I; search under Valente for more information. Many of the photographs are duplicates.
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:
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Art and photography -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Artists -- United States -- Photographs Search this
Portrait photography -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Video recordings
Sponsor:
Funding for the preservation of the motion picture film "Art Discovers America" provided by the National Film Preservation Foundation.
The papers of the painter, photographer, printmaker, and teacher Joseph Kaplan measure 4.8 linear feet and date from 1915-1977. The bulk of the collection consists of printed material, specifically exhibition catalogs. Also found are a large number of photographs taken of and by Kaplan. The papers also include biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, and artwork. There is a 0.3 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes travel slides taken in Mexico and Provincetown, Massachusetts by Joseph Kaplan, circa 1940-1950, and a photograph of Kaplan by Arnold Newman, circa 1950.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of the painter, photographer, printmaker, and teacher Joseph Kaplan measure 4.8 linear feet and date from 1915-1977. The bulk of the collection consists of printed material, specifically exhibition catalogs. Also found are a large number of photographs taken of and by Kaplan. The papers also include biographical material, correspondence, personal business records, and artwork. There is a 0.3 linear foot unprocessed addition to this collection donated in 2021 that includes travel slides taken in Mexico and Provincetown, Massachusetts by Joseph Kaplan, circa 1940-1950, and a photograph of Kaplan by Arnold Newman, circa 1950.
Biographical material contains a few of Kaplan's personal documents, a number of certificates and medals he recieved during his lifetime, a travel itinerary notebook, and a few hand-written notes.
Kaplan's correspondence is primarily from colleagues, art organizations, galleries, museums, and colleges and universities such as the Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Academy of Design, and Audubon Artists, inc. Also found are letters from friends and colleagues such as Chaim Gross, Adolph Gottlieb, Raphael Soyer, Louis Lozowick, Milton Avery, and Sol Wilson, as well as a large number of letters to his wife Virginia written during his travels.
Personal business records concern Kaplan's art sales, loans, exhibition notifications, and his involvment in the WPA. His artwork is documented in price lists and inventory lists. Some of the material consists of routine transactions not necessarily related to Kaplan's work, including bank records, an address list, and income and expense reports.
Printed Material includes news clippings, exhibition catalogs, exhibition annoucenments, and invitations for Kaplan shows. There are a few published copies and page proofs of Kaplan's commerical artwork.
Artwork includes four Kaplan etchings, three of which are metal plates and one linoleum block. Also included are a few unidentified pen and pencil sketches.
Photographs depict Kaplan, mainly later in his life, and his family. Also found are four of Virginia Kaplan's photograph albums containing images of her and friends from early adulthood. Photographs of Kaplan's friends and colleagues include images of Aya and Eitaro Ishigaki, Chaim Gross, Raphael Soyer, William Gropper, and Joseph De Martini. Also included are photographs taken by Kaplan of New York City, his travels, and artist demonstrations. There are also a large number of photographs of Kaplan's artwork.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into 7 series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Biographical Material, 1919-1975 (Box 1, 5, OV 7; 0.3 linear feet)
Series 2: Correspondence, 1929-circa 1975 (Box 1, OV 7; 0.4 linear feet)
Series 3: Personal Business Records, circa 1920-1977 (Box 1; 0.2 linear feet)
Series 4: Printed Material, 1915-1975 (Box 1, 2, 3, OV 7; 2.3 linear feet)
Series 5: Artwork, circa 1940-circa 1960 (Box 3, 5; 2 folders)
Series 6: Photographic Material, 1917-circa 1975 (Box 4, 6, OV 7; 1.3 linear feet)
Series 7: Unprocessed Addition, circa 1940-1950 (Box 8, OV 9; 0.3 linear feet)
Biographical / Historical:
Joseph Kaplan (1900-1980) was a painter, printmaker, photographer, and teacher who worked primarly in New York and Provincetown. He was most active in the 1940s through the 1950s. Earlier in his career he worked on several WPA Federal Art Projects and Treasury Relief Art Projects.
Joseph Kaplan was born in Minsk, Russia and immigrated with his family to the United States in 1888 at the age of 12. He married Virginia Haber in 1927 and they had no children.
Kaplan studied at the Eductional Alliance Art School and the Art Students League. He went to Provincetown in the mid-twenties as a student of Charles W. Hawthorne with whom he previously studied with at the National Academy of Design. Afterwards he revisited Provincetown intermittently and began to regard the Cape as his summer studio, working there each summer since 1948.
In 1948 he won the first of many gold medals from the Audubon Artists at the National Academy of Design for a marine painting. He was also the first recipient of the John J. Newman Memorial Medal, given by the National Society of Painters in Casein for his Wellfleet, Low Tide. The Shore Studios in Provincetown, the Harry Salpeter Gallery and then Krasner Gallery in New York City represented Kaplan's artwork.
Kaplan predominantly worked in watercolor and oil paint, depicting landscapes and seascapes, and becoming acclaimed as a Colorist and Romanticist. He occasionally painted figures and, as he gained recognition, he traveled extensively in search for subjects. In 1968 Kaplan recieved a grant from Chapelbrook Foundation to live and work for a year in Mexico.
Kaplan's work was included frequently in group exhibitions and he participated in more then 30 major shows in his lifetime. Throughout his career he was a member of many art organizations including Artists League of America, Audubon Artists, Provincetown Art Association, and Cape Cod Art Association. He was continually active in the art life in Provincetown serving as board members, trustees, and judges. He also occasionally taught at art schools including the American Artist School and John Reed Club, and taught a number of private pupils.
Joseph Kaplan died on February 28th, 1980 at the age of 79 in Brewster, Massachusetts.
Separated Materials:
307 nitrate negatives donated to the Archives of American Art with the Joseph Kaplan papers have been removed and are stored in off-site storage. Negatives were duplicated onto safety based film and only select prints were made.
Provenance:
The Joseph Kaplan papers were donated to the Archives of American Art by Marilyn Kearney in 1981. Additional papers were donated by Deborah Meyer in 2021.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Painters -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York Search this
Topic:
Photographers -- Massachusetts -- Provincetown Search this
