Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Search Results

Collections Search Center
18 documents - page 1 of 1

Nancy Holt Estate records

Creator:
Holt, Nancy, 1938-2014  Search this
Names:
Dia Art Foundation  Search this
James Cohan Gallery  Search this
John Weber Gallery  Search this
Lippard, Lucy R.  Search this
Smithson, Robert  Search this
Extent:
circa 65.4 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Diaries
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Drawings
Date:
1835
circa 1900-2014
Summary:
The Nancy Holt Estate records measure circa 65.4 linear feet and date from 1835, and circa 1900-2014, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960-2000. The records offer extensive documentation of Holt's career and include biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings, calendars and notebooks, Holt's project files including for unrealized projects, general business and professional files, subject files including source material, and printed material documenting Holt's professional activities from the 1960s to 2013. Also included are files Holt maintained related to her stewardship of Robert Smithson's estate and other records related to his life and work, and the John Weber Gallery records concerning Robert Smithson. These consist of the gallery's inventory and slide records of Robert Smithson's drawings and sculptures, including earthworks.

The collection total also includes 30 linear feet of unprocessed records including 18 linear feet of Holt's photographic material; 1 linear feet of Holt's preliminary project plans and sketches; 2 linear feet of financial records; and 9 linear feet of Holt's annotated library.
Scope and Contents:
The Nancy Holt Estate records measure circa 65.4 linear feet and date from 1835, and circa 1900-2014, with the bulk of the material dating from 1960-2000. The records offer extensive documentation of Holt's career and include biographical material, personal and professional correspondence, writings, calendars and notebooks, Holt's project files including for unrealized projects, general business and professional files, subject files including source material, and printed material documenting Holt's professional activities from the 1960s to 2013. Also included are files Holt maintained related to her stewardship of Robert Smithson's estate and other records related to his life and work, and the John Weber Gallery records concerning Robert Smithson. These consist of the gallery's inventory and slide records of Robert Smithson's drawings and sculptures, including earthworks.

The collection total also includes 30 linear feet of unprocessed records including 18 linear feet of Holt's photographic material; 1 linear feet of Holt's preliminary project plans and sketches; 2 linear feet of financial records; and 9 linear feet of Holt's annotated library.

Biographical material includes some vital records for Holt such as birth and marriage certificates, as well as resumes, biographical notes, and academic and family history records. Also found are records related to Smithson's death and information Holt gathered about Smithson's childhood and military service in circa 2005.

Correspondence files document many personal friendships including with artists and writers such as Carl Andre, Robert Fiore, Dee Dee Halleck, Lucy Lippard, Stanley Marsh, Serge Paul, May Stevens, Dennis Wheeler, and others. The series includes some personal family correspondence with Holt's aunts Dorothy Lopez and Ethel Tate, as well as copies of two letters and a postcard sent to Holt by Robert Smithson in 1961 and 1968, and many greeting and holiday cards sent to Holt from the 1970s to the end of her life. Over five linear feet of professional correspondence documents many aspects of Holt's career and includes correspondence with galleries, museums, writers, and researchers interested in Holt's work or requesting permissions for publication and duplication of images and other records. Arranged in rough chronological order spanning from the early 1970s to 2014, these files also provide a chronological point of access to material about specific projects including Dark Star Park, Rock Rings, Sky Mound, and many others.

Holt's writings include many artist statements on specific works, and notes revealing something of the development of her ideas. These are further supplemented by her notebooks and her calendars which provide another point of access to her activities throughout her career beginning in the 1970s. A series of interviews includes transcripts and two sound recordings primarily of interviews of Holt by various people. Also found are transcripts and related material pertaining to a conversation between Holt, Robert Smithson, and Lucy Lippard about Eva Hesse.

Holt's project files document over fifty of her realized and unrealized projects from the late 1970s to the late 1990s including earthworks and land art, film and video, publications, and gallery installations. They include Holt's proposals, correspondence and memoranda, background records such as site studies and reports, Holt's plans and photographs showing the development of her ideas, and printed material such as publicity about her projects and reviews of her work. Noticeably missing from the files is substantial documentation of Sun Tunnels. The project files are supplemented by Holt's business and professional files with include some project-related material such as records of maintenance work carried out on specific sites, contractual records which may duplicate those found in the project files, and some reference material. Other business and professional files include exhibition records, grant material, documentation of loans and permissions, inventories of Holt's work, and legal records including real estate agreements for land purchased in Utah and Maine by Holt and Smithson.

Holt's subject files include primarily printed material such as a clippings file of subjects of interest to Holt. A separate series of printed material includes announcements, catalogs, invitations, and programs related to exhibitions, installations, film and video screenings, and other events and documents press coverage Holt's work over the course of her career. Also found are extensive clippings and articles about her work published in newspapers, art journals, and other publications.

Artwork by others consists of four items including a computer portrait of Holt by an unknown artist. Records documenting Holt's stewardship of Robert Smithson's estate and legacy includes agreements and contracts, authentications for some artwork, inventories and invoices for Smithson's work from John Weber Gallery and James Cohan Gallery, appraisal records for Smithson's library, permissions for reproductions and use of his work, and records related to the maintenance of specific works. The records include documentation of donations to museums and other art organizations, including Holt's gift of Spiral Jetty to the DIA art foundation which is also the owner and steward of Sun Tunnels. Also found are transcripts of interviews with Smithson, drafts and related material for writings about Smithson, and printed material about his work including announcements, catalogs, clippings, posters, and other publicity. Additionally, the John Weber Gallery records concerning Robert Smithson consist of the gallery's inventory and slide records of Robert Smithson's drawings and sculptures, including earthworks, and incorporate some slides from the James Cohan Gallery. James Cohan worked for John Weber before establishing his own gallery in 2001.
Arrangement:
The Nancy Holt Estate records are arranged as 11 series.

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1912-2014 (0.6 linear feet; Box 45, OV 64)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1966-2014 (7.5 linear feet; Boxes 45-52, 63)

Series 3: Writings, Calendars, and Notebooks, 1947-2013 (2.6 linear feet; Boxes 40-42, 52-53, OVs 43-44, 65)

Series 4: Interviews, 1973-2007 (0.3 linear feet; Box 53)

Series 5: Project Files, circa 1900-2014 (bulk 1970-2000) (12.8 linear feet; Boxes 3-10, OVs 11-31, RDs 32-39)

Series 6: Business and Professional Files, 1967-2013 (2.5 linear feet; Boxes 53-55, 63, OVs 64, 66-67)

Series 7: Subject Files, 1835, circa 1960s-circa 2013 (1.9 linear feet; Boxes 55-57, 63, OVs 65-66)

Series 8: Printed Material, 1964-2013 (2 linear feet; Boxes 57-59, 63, OV 65, RD 68)

Series 9: Artwork by Others, circa 1960s-circa 2006 (0.1 linear feet; Box 63)

Series 10: Robert Smithson Estate and Legacy, circa 1961-2013 (3.1 linear feet; Boxes 59-62, OV 66)

Series 11: John Weber Gallery Records Concerning Robert Smithson, circa 1960-circa 2001 (2 linear feet; Boxes 1-2)
Biographical / Historical:
Nancy Holt (1938-2014) was an environmental and installation artist, sculptor, filmmaker, and photographer, based in New York, New York. She was best known for her large-scale public land art installations including her seminal work Sun Tunnels (1973-1976) located in the Great Basin Desert, Utah. Her work engaged with the natural environment and the celestial realm, tracing the rotation of the earth and the movement of the sun and stars. Holt was also fascinated by mechanical systems such as those used for heating, drainage, and ventilation, and her functional sculptural installations explored the relationship between architecture and the built environment.

Holt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, grew up in New Jersey, and graduated from Tufts University in 1960 with a degree in biology. She moved to New York City later that year where she met the artist Robert Smithson, to whom she was married from 1963 until Smithson's death in 1973.

Holt's landmark work Sun Tunnels was executed in 1973-1976 in Utah's Great Basin Desert, where Holt and Smithson had purchased surrounding land specifically to ensure an unimpeded view of the horizon. Holt went on to produce many site-specific outdoor works including 30 Below (1980), Dark Star Park (1984), Solar Rotary (1995), and Up and Under (1998). Her exploration of what she termed Systems Works included Catch Basin (1982), Flow Ace Heating (1985), and Spinwinder (1991).

Holt's photography was essential in the development of her ideas. In Missouri Ranch Locators: Vision Encompassed (1972) she used photography in her development of "seeing devices," creating eye-level steel pipes to direct viewers to a specific site in the surrounding landscape, and developing a concept that was central to Sun Tunnels and other works. Her book Ransacked, Aunt Ethel: An Ending (1980) documented through text and photographs the abuse and theft her aunt was subjected to at the end of her life. In Time Outs (1985) Holt used photographs of football games taken from a television screen to create a book born out of her childhood love of TV sporting events.

Holt's work can be found in the collections of major institutions including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum für Gegenswartkunst, Germany. Her permanent installations can be found at public institutions including Miami University Art Museum, Southern Connecticut State University, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, Western Washington University, and University of South Florida.

In 2012 Nancy Holt was made a Chevalier of the of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government. In 2013 she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the International Sculpture Center in New York. Holt received five National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, two New York Creative Artist Fellowships, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of South Florida, Tampa.

Holt lived in Galisteo, New Mexico, from 1995-2013. She died in New York City in 2014.
Related Materials:
The Archives of American Art also holds the Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, an interview with Nancy Holt conducted 1992 July 6 by Scott Gutterman for the Archives of American Art, an interview with Nancy Holt conducted 1993 August 3 by Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz for the Archives of American Art, and the James Cohan Gallery records relating to Robert Smithson.
Provenance:
Bequest of Nancy Holt, 2014.
Restrictions:
Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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.
Items created by Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson copyright held by Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Requests for permission to reproduce should be submitted to ARS.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Installation artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Photographers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New Mexico -- Galisteo  Search this
Installation artists -- New Mexico -- Galisteo  Search this
Environmental artists -- New Mexico -- Galisteo  Search this
Photographers -- New Mexico -- Galisteo  Search this
Filmmakers -- New Mexico -- Galisteo  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Earthworks (Art)  Search this
Women photographers  Search this
Women filmmakers  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Diaries
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Drawings
Citation:
Nancy Holt Estate records, 1835, circa 1900-2014. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.holtnanc
See more items in:
Nancy Holt Estate records
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw95e0b7a8b-3fdb-4cd3-91fb-a6bec00cc668
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-holtnanc
Online Media:

Mierle Laderman Ukeles papers

Creator:
Ukeles, Mierle  Search this
Extent:
183.3 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
circa 1960-2016
Scope and Contents:
The Mierle Laderman Ukeles papers measure 183.3 linear feet and date from circa 1960-2016. Included are correspondence, project files, fiscal files, teaching files, writings, interviews and printed material. A portion of the collection contains electronic media.
Biographical / Historical:
Mierle Laderman Ukeles (1939- ) is a conceptual artist, environmental artist, and public artist in New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Donated 2020 by Mierle Laderman Ukeles.
Restrictions:
This collection is temporarily closed for processing. Contact References Services for more information.
Occupation:
Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Public artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Feminism and art  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.ukelmier
See more items in:
Mierle Laderman Ukeles papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw974da2f2c-cf8b-4b65-b2ac-3191ca410ba6
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-ukelmier

Oral history interview with Christy Rupp, 2012 July 16-17

Interviewee:
Rupp, Christy, 1949-  Search this
Interviewer:
Richards, Judith Olch  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Christy Rupp, 2012 July 16-17. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Theme:
Women  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)16056
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)310377
AAA_collcode_rupp12
Theme:
Women
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_310377
Online Media:

Oral history interview with Robert Smithson

Interviewee:
Smithson, Robert  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Names:
Dwan, Virginia  Search this
Extent:
59 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1972 July 14-19
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Robert Smithson conducted 1972 July 14-19, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art at 799 Greenwich Street in New York on July 14 and 19 1972. Smithson speaks of growing up in Passaic, New Jersey; primary and high school; high school art education; going to New York Museums; writing and its impact on art work; the Artists Gallery; the Art Students League; his time in the army; the Cedar Bar; Quicksand; the Museum of Modern Art; art education; Sam Smithson; his father; traveling the U.S.; Brooklyn Museum School; impact of the Museum of Natural History; moving to New York; visiting Europe; psychology; show at the George Lester Gallery; the Broken Circle; Dallas-Fort Worth Airport; crystalline structures; meeting William Carlos Williams; cosmology; Enantiomorphic Chambers; mapping; painting and drawing; the Dwan Gallery; getting married; Aerial Art; earthworks; sculpture; the Cryosphere; Alogon; Rome; stratas; nonsites; When Attitudes Become Form; Attitudes; mining sites and quarries; light and reflection; the Spiral Jetty; coordination of large works; documentation; selection of sites; Gyrostasis; weather's impact and seasonal change of the Spiral Jetty; confines of the gallery and museum; mirrors; landscapes; artist materials; art education; traveling; art and vacations; documenta; Smithson also recalls Federica Beer-Monti , Hugh Stix , Danny Donohue, Joe Levin, Charlie Hasloff, John Cassavetes , Alan Brilliant, Irving Sandler, Barnett Newman, Richard Bellamy,John Groth, Lawrence Alloway, T. S. Elliot, Donald Judd, William Carlos Williams, Jackson Pollock, William Burroughs, Ad Reinhardt, Dan Flavin, Virginia Dwan, Rosalind Krauss, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Smithson (1938-1973) was a sculptor well known for his earthworks.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 3 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Art -- Philosophy  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.smiths72
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a3c8b740-0374-4dc6-87f9-616fbbc142c1
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-smiths72
Online Media:

Interview with Robert Smithson, 1968

Creator:
Smithson, Robert  Search this
Robbin, Tony, 1943-  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Interview with Robert Smithson, 1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11008
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214949
AAA_collcode_smitrobe3
Theme:
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_214949

Oral history interview with James N. Wines, 1968 May 1

Interviewee:
Wines, James, 1932-  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Type:
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with James N. Wines, 1968 May 1. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12803
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)213197
AAA_collcode_wines68
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_213197

Aleksandra Kasuba papers

Creator:
Kasuba, Aleksandra, 1923-2019  Search this
Names:
Columbia University  Search this
Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies  Search this
Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)  Search this
Berlind, Jerilyn  Search this
Freudenheim, Nina  Search this
Whitridge, Thomas  Search this
Extent:
12.4 Linear feet
42.7 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Drawings
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Interviews
Video recordings
Date:
circa 1900-2019
bulk 1960-2010
Summary:
The papers of sculptor and environmental artist Aleksandra Kasuba measure 12.4 linear feet and date from circa 1900-2019, with the bulk of the material from 1960-2010. The collection documents Kasuba's career through biographical material, correspondence, interviews, lectures and writings, extensive project files, printed material, a scrapbook, artwork, and photographs.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of sculptor and environmental artist Aleksandra Kasuba measure 12.4 linear feet and date from circa 1900-2019, with the bulk of the material from 1960-2010. The collection documents Kasuba's career through biographical material, correspondence, interviews, lectures and writings, extensive project files, printed material, a scrapbook, artwork, and photographs.

Biographical material includes artist's statements and letters of recommendation. Biographical data consists of curriculum vitae, bibliographies, checklists of commissioned work and biographical entries; also found are drafts of biographical accounts used for press releases. Included is a citation to Kasuba from the Women's Architectural Auxiliary, New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in honor of her participation in a West Side urban renewal project. Digital biographical materials include a CV and preserved copies of Kasuba's various websites.

General correspondence mostly consists of invitations to lecture at academic institutions and professional associations. There are letters between Kasuba and interior design firms, publishers, museums, and academic institutions. Included are letters from Columbia University, Museum of Modern Art, and the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies. Correpondence relates to commissioned projects, proposed exhibitions, and the scheduling of workshops and speaking engagements. Also found is correspondence with Thomas Whitridge about the publication of a monograph by Kasuba, extenisve family correspondence in Lithuanian, and correspondence with Algirdas Julien Greimas later organized for a publication.

Writings include various manuscripts and complementary visual schematics that Kasuba worked on throughout her career. Also included are Aleksandra Kasuba's lectures on the effects of alternative living environments on human behavior presented at academic forums and corporations. Writings include an essay by Kasuba and a typescript of an article on Kasuba that was published in Woman's Art Journal (Fall 1988/Winter 1984). Also included is a subseries of journals kept by Kasuba since the 1940s, before her successful emigration to the United States. Many of the earlier journals throughout the 1960s are of mixed Language content, much of them being written in Lithuanian.

Project Files document Kasuba's installations, exhibitions, tensile-fabric dwellings, shell dwellings, and live-in environments. Included are correspondence, artist's statements, project notes, plans, sketches and diagrams, business-related materials including agreements and cost estimates, printed material, clippings, and exhibition installation photographs and slides of artwork. There are files on Aleksandra Kasuba's professional activities, including teaching positions, speaking engagements, and publishing projects. Digital Project Records related to many of Kasuba's projects including digital video recordings are found in this series, as well as one super 8 mm film reel and two 8 mm motion picture film reels.

Printed material includes exhibition catalogs, announcements, and brochures; news and magazine clippings document various projects, including Kasuba's wall mosaics, shell dwellings, and alternative living environments. Many of the later tiles in this series are self-published. A scrapbook consists mainly of news clippings and reviews on Kasuba's work.

Artwork consists of sketches and drawings used as preliminary designs for Kasuba's projects. Also included are prints and elements used in the creation of the Jetty print series. Photographs are of Kasuba's wall mosaics, reliefs, space shelters, and live-in environments. Also found are slides and three slide binders of wall installations, shell dwellings, and environments made of tensile fabrics; included are slides used for lectures. Also included are photographs of Kasuba's New York City and New Mexico homes and studios, many in digital format.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in 9 series.

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, circa 1900-2017 (Boxes 1, 11: 0.5 linear ft.; 0.037 Gigabytes: ER001-ER005)

Series 2: Correspondence, circa 1941-2015 (Boxes 1, 11: 0.5 linear ft.)

Series 3: Interviews, 1976-1983 (Box 1: 0.2 linear ft.)

Series 4: Lectures and Writings, circa 1938-2019 (Boxes 1, 11-14, 16 3.8 linear ft.; 5.81 Gigabytes: ER006-ER0024)

Series 5: Project Files, 1960-2018 (Boxes 1-4, 15, Film cans FC 8-10: 4.6 linear ft.; 33.44 Gigabytes: ER025-ER057)

Series 6: Printed Material, 1950-2016 (0.5 Linear feet: Boxes 5, 15)

Series 7: Scrapbook, 1971-2010 (Box 6; 1 folder)

Series 8: Artwork, circa 1938-2017 (0.8 Linear feet: Boxes 5-6, 15, 17)

Series 9: Photographs, circa 1920-2017 (0.9 Linear feet: Boxes 5,7, 16-17; 3.35 Gigabytes: ER058-ER072)
Biographical / Historical:
Aleksandra Kasuba (1923-2019) was a Lithuanian-born sculptor, best known for her innovative architectural environments, who lived in New York and New Mexico. She attended the Kaunas Art Institute and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vilnius, Lithuania from 1941-1943. She studied with the sculptor, Vytautus Kasuba, whom she married in 1944. In response to the Soviet Army's occupation of their country, Aleksandra Kasuba and her husband emigrated to the United States in 1947. By 1963, Aleksandra Kasuba, her husband, and two children had moved to the Upper West Side in New York City. At the start of her career, Kasuba received commissions to make ceramic tiles for use in furniture. About the same time, she was also collaborating with architects in designing mosaic wall installations for public works. Aleksandra Kasuba's commissioned projects have included a plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C., and wall mosaics for the Container Corporation in Chicago, and 560 Lexington Avenue in New York City. Some of Kasuba's mosaic compositions were made as individual pieces to be included in museum and gallery exhibitions.

Aleksandra Kasuba has also devoted her career to designing alternative living environments. In the late 1960s, Kasuba built dwellings that she referred to as Space Shelters, which were made from a fabric of her own design. In 1970, the American Craft Museum featured Kasuba's tensile-fabric structure in an exhibition "Contemplative Environments." She has also used nylon fabric to build her alternative or live-in environments. In addition, Kasuba has held several faculty positions. She taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City from 1971-1972 and was an artist-in-residence at Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1976 and the Philadelphia College of Textiles & Science in 1977. Kasuba has received awards from the American Institute of Architects in 1971 and 1972; in 1983, she was granted a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Aleksandra Kasuba has written several books, including a memoir published in 2001. Kasuba's husband, Vytautus died in 1997. From 2001 on, Aleksandra Kasuba had been living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she purchased a tract of land in the desert to continue her work on experimental housing. She died in 2019.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2013 by Aleksandra Kasuba. Additions were donated in 2018 by Aleksandra Kasuba and in 2019 by Guoda M. Burr, Kasuba's daughter.
Restrictions:
Subseries 4.2 (Journals) is access restricted; written permission is required.

This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References 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:
Sculptors -- New Mexico  Search this
Environmental artists -- New Mexico  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New Mexico  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Sound recordings
Scrapbooks
Interviews
Video recordings
Citation:
Aleksandra Kasuba papers, circa 1900-2019. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.kasualek
See more items in:
Aleksandra Kasuba papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9378418f6-5e0a-4239-a5b4-cd8faffe3d0d
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-kasualek
Online Media:

Herbert Ferber papers, 1932-1987

Creator:
Ferber, Herbert, 1906-1991  Search this
Type:
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Citation:
Herbert Ferber papers, 1932-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Environment (Art)  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)7042
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)209175
AAA_collcode_ferbherb
Theme:
Sketches & Sketchbooks
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_209175

Oral history interview with Herbert Ferber, 1968 Apr. 22-1969 Jan. 6

Interviewee:
Ferber, Herbert, 1906-1991  Search this
Interviewer:
Sandler, Irving, 1925-  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Herbert Ferber, 1968 Apr. 22-1969 Jan. 6. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12772
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)212671
AAA_collcode_ferber68
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_212671

Oral history interview with Herbert Ferber, 1962

Interviewee:
Ferber, Herbert, 1906-1991  Search this
Interviewer:
Seckler, Dorothy Gees, 1910-1994  Search this
Subject:
Goossen, E. C.  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Herbert Ferber, 1962. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculpture -- Technique  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)12988
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)214096
AAA_collcode_ferber62
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_214096

Oral history interview with Herbert Ferber, 1981 June 2

Interviewee:
Ferber, Herbert, 1906-1991  Search this
Interviewer:
Tuchman, Phyllis  Search this
Subject:
Rothko, Mark  Search this
Motherwell, Robert  Search this
Still, Clyfford  Search this
Newman, Barnett  Search this
Gottlieb, Adolph  Search this
Reinhardt, Ad  Search this
Gorky, Arshile  Search this
Baziotes, William  Search this
Rothko Chapel (Houston, Tex.)  Search this
Marlborough Gallery  Search this
Betty Parsons Gallery  Search this
Mark Rothko and His Times Oral History Project  Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Herbert Ferber, 1981 June 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Abstract expressionism  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)11872
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)215629
AAA_collcode_ferber81
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_oh_215629
Online Media:

Interview with Robert Smithson

Interviewee:
Smithson, Robert  Search this
Interviewer:
Robbin, Tony  Search this
Extent:
2 Items (sound cassettes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1968
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Robert Smithson conducted 1968 by Tony Robbin. Smithson discusses the conceptual theories that he employs in creating his artwork; the relationship between the "site" and the "nonsite" in his work; systems; and maps. Some works are physically described and a list of works and their measurements is read by Smithson.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Smithson (1938-1973) was a sculptor based in New York, N.Y. and was a founder of the land art movement.

Tony Robbin, the interviewer is a writer, painter and sculptor.
General:
Audio quality is poor; one side of each tape is blank.
Provenance:
Gift of interviewer Tony Robbin, 1992.
Restrictions:
Untranscribed; use requires an appointment.
Occupation:
Conceptual artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Topic:
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Robert Smithson interview conducted by Tony Robbin, 1968.
Identifier:
AAA.smitrobe3
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9cfaa4bc2-1c29-4f72-9b61-5819c848551e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-smitrobe3

Oral history interview with Mary Miss

Interviewee:
Miss, Mary, 1944-  Search this
Interviewer:
Leddy, Annette  Search this
Names:
Heresies Collective, Inc.  Search this
Extent:
9 Items (sound files (4 hrs., 3 min.), digital, wav)
86 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2016 July 18 and 20
Scope and Contents:
An interview with Mary Miss conducted 2016 July 18 and 20, by Annette Leddy, for the Archives of American Art, at Miss' home and studio in New York, New York.
Biographical / Historical:
Mary Miss (b. 1944) is an artist in New York known for her largescale environmental installations that draw attention to human interference in the natural world. She collaborates with scientists, historians, civil administrators, and engineers to raise public awareness around issues of sustainability and the environment.
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.
Occupation:
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Environment (Art)  Search this
Site-specific art  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.miss16
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e861785d-ad6e-4f22-abc6-bd0cf6f50e2e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-miss16
Online Media:

Barbara A. Roux papers

Creator:
Roux, Barbara A., 1946-  Search this
Names:
Johnson, Ray, 1927-  Search this
Extent:
0.2 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Interviews
Video recordings
Date:
circa 1979-2017
Summary:
The papers of environmental artist and sculptor Barbara A. Roux measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1979-2017. Included are biographical material and printed material consisting of press releases, exhibition catalogs and announcements relating to Roux's ecological and environmental themed installations and sculptures. Also found are two video recordings of televised interviews with Roux,1988 and 2000. Of note, is a letter featuring a drawing of a flower by Ray Johnson,"Poppy Day/ febr. 4, 1979" inscribed, "for Barbara R. from R. Johnson."
Scope and Contents:
The papers of environmental artist and sculptor Barbara A. Roux measure 0.2 linear feet and date from circa 1979-2017. Included are biographical material and printed material consisting of press releases, exhibition catalogs and announcements relating to Roux's ecological and environmental themed installations and sculptures. Also found are two video recordings of televised interviews with Roux,1988 and 2000. Of note, is a letter featuring a drawing of a flower by Ray Johnson,"Poppy Day/ febr. 4, 1979" inscribed, "for Barbara R. from R. Johnson."
Arrangement:
Due to the small size of this collection the papers are arranged as one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Barbara A. Roux (1946- ) is an environmental artist and sculptor living in New York, N.Y. Working within the spheres of installation and environmental art, Barbara Roux regularly references ideas about natural history, habitat loss, and preservation. Roux engages with nature and the landscape with a sensibility towards conservation, inspired by her father who was a pharmacologist who worked with plants and animals in the Brazilian Amazon while conducting research on Yellow Fever. Roux received her Master of Fine Arts from Hunter College in New York City. She has exhibited and lectured widely throughout the United States since the early 1980s.
Provenance:
The Barbara A. Roux papers were donated in 2003 and 2018 by Barbara A. Roux.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Archival audiovisual recordings must be digitized for research access. Researchers may access digitized audiovisual materials in the Archives' Washington, D.C. or New York, N.Y. Research Centers by appointment. 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:
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Genre/Form:
Drawings
Interviews
Video recordings
Citation:
Barbara A. Roux Papers, circa 1979-2017. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.rouxbarb
See more items in:
Barbara A. Roux papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9e0e8b78d-14c6-402d-ac24-85f1c0afe067
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-rouxbarb

Oral history interview with Christy Rupp

Interviewee:
Rupp, Christy, 1949-  Search this
Interviewer:
Richards, Judith Olch  Search this
Extent:
136 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
2012 July 16-17
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Christy Rupp conducted 2012 July 16-17, by Judith Olch Richards, for the Archives of American Art, at Rupp's summer welding studio, in Saugerties, N.Y.
Biographical / Historical:
Christy Rupp (1949- ) is an environmental artist in New York, N.Y. Judith Olch Richards (1947- ) is former executive director of iCI in New York, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded as 6 sound files. Duration is 5 hr., 46 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Restrictions:
For information on how to access this interview contact Reference Services.
Topic:
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Women artists  Search this
Genre/Form:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.rupp12
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9a9f9301c-5ef4-4ad5-9278-11b5eb098f64
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-rupp12
Online Media:

Agnes Denes papers

Creator:
Denes, Agnes  Search this
Extent:
185 Items ((on one microfilm reel))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1968-1971
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence and drafts of letters, catalogues, blueprints, clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Environmental artist, sculptor, painter; New York, N.Y.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1971 by Agnes Denes.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Occupation:
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Painters -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women sculptors  Search this
Women painters  Search this
Identifier:
AAA.deneagne
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw981864828-0102-421e-9808-00f155e25a4e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-deneagne

Herbert Ferber papers

Creator:
Ferber, Herbert, 1906-1991  Search this
Extent:
1 Linear foot ((on 6 microfilm reels))
0.8 Linear feet (Addition)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Date:
1932-1987
Scope and Contents:
Personal and business correspondence; photographs; writings; biographical materials; and printed materials.
REELS N69/133-N69/136: Personal correspondence, including letters and postcards from friends Wayne Anderson, composer Richard Arnell, E. Leontief, Barnett Newman, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko and others; business correspondence, including letters from galleries and universities, regarding exhibitions, sculpture contracts and invitations for lecture, his donation of his paper to Syracuse University, and teaching positions; ground plans, estimates, and correspondence regarding Ferber's "environmental sculpture" for Harlow Carpenter and Bundy Gallery and the ensuing case against them;
contract and letters concerning the courtyard sculpture for the John F. Kennedy GSA building in Boston; letters regarding insurance and damage done to works lent for exhibition through the Walker Art Center; writings by Ferber for various journals including art journals and a scientific journal (using an pseudonym, Herbert F. Silver, D.D.S.); drafts of lectures given at art institutions and colleges; a catalog raisonne; transcript of an interview with Ferber; licenses, degrees and diplomas; a book, THREE AMERICAN SCULPTORS: FERBER, HARE, LASSAW, by E.C. Goossen, Robert Goldwater, and Irving Sandler; sketchbooks, 1933-1937; clippings; exhibition catalogs and announcements; scrapbook relating to his career and work at Midtown Galleries, New York.
REEL N/70-39: Photographs of Ferber at work and of his sculptures.
REEL 2804: A typescript, "Sculpture as Environment," by Ferber, January 1960.
ADDITION: Biographical materials; correspondence, 1979-1980; records concerning Williams College exhibition, 1975-1980; writings, 1970-1986; exhibition catalogs and announcements; photographs, including one of Ferber ca. 1935, one of Helen Frankenthaler and Andrew Heiskell, and one of a painting signed on back by Beck Balken. Additional records concerning his career as a dentist include diplomas and certificates, published articles on dental subjects by Dr. Silvers, and letters of appointment to the dental school faculty, Columbia University, 1980-1985.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter and environmental sculptor; New York, N.Y. d. 1991. Ferber was also a dentist, who practiced under the name Herbert Ferber Silvers.
Provenance:
Material on reels N69/133-136 and reel N70/39 lent by Herbert Ferber 1969-1970; the unmicrofilmed material was donated 1991 by Herbert Ferber. The donor of the typescript on reel 2804 is unspecified.
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:
Dentists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Environment (Art)  Search this
Sculpture, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Scrapbooks
Sketchbooks
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.ferbherb
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw93632563c-6523-4a13-b71c-e2e6bb8c75be
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-ferbherb

Oral history interview with James N. Wines

Creator:
Wines, James, 1932-  Search this
Interviewer:
Cummings, Paul  Search this
Extent:
62 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Interviews
Date:
1968 May 1
Scope and Contents:
Interview of James Wines conducted 1968 May 1, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
James N. Wines (1932- ) is an architectural sculptor and environmental artist in New York, New York.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives' Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Restrictions:
Use requires an appointment.
Topic:
Art, American  Search this
Environmental artists -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York -- Interviews  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Identifier:
AAA.wines68
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9520aef7b-4aa6-40e2-b6c6-40e352479a20
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-wines68

Modify Your Search







or


Narrow By
  • Archives of American Art