The scattered papers of Audrey McMahon measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1935 through 1980. Found are correspondence, writings, notes and research files, and printed material assembled mainly during the late 1960s while assisting Francis V. O'Connor complete Federal Support for the Visual Arts: The New Deal and Now (1969) and The New Deal Art Projects: An Anthology of Memoirs (1970) and, to a lesser degree, miscellaneous files relating to McMahon's activities as Regional Director of the WPA Federal Art Project for New York and New Jersey . Included are photocopies of original correspondence (1935-41) between McMahon and Holger Cahill and Brehon Somervell, held by the National Archives.
Scope and Content Note:
The scattered papers of Audrey McMahon measure 0.4 linear feet and date from 1935 through 1980. Found are correspondence, writings, notes and research files, and printed material assembled mainly during the late 1960s while assisting Francis V. O'Connor complete Federal Support for the Visual Arts: The New Deal and Now (1969) and The New Deal Art Projects: An Anthology of Memoirs (1970) and, to a lesser degree, miscellaneous files relating to McMahon's activities as Regional Director of the WPA Federal Art Project for New York and New Jersey . Included are photocopies of original correspondence (1935-41) between McMahon and Holger Cahill and Brehon Somervell, held by the National Archives.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as one series:
Missing Title
Series 1: Audrey McMahon's Papers, 1935-1980 (Box 1; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Audrey McMahon served under Holger Cahill as Regional Director for the WPA Federal Art Project for New York and New Jersey from 1935 to 1939. She died at age 87 in 1981.
Related Material:
The bulk of Audrey McMahon's papers reside in the National Archives, together with the records of the WPA Federal Artist Project files. The Archives of American Art holds a 1964 interview with McMahon done by Harlan Phillips as part of the Archives New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project.
Provenance:
The Audrey McMahon papers were donated to the Archives in 1997 by Geraldine Rhoads, executor of McMahon's estate. The collection includes photocopies of papers most likely held by the National Archives.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use 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.
United States. Dept. of the Treasury. Section of Fine Arts Search this
United States. Dept. of the Treasury. Section of Painting and Sculpture Search this
United States. Federal Civil Works Administration Search this
United States. Work Projects Administration Search this
United States. Works Progress Administration Search this
Extent:
10 Microfilm reels
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Microfilm reels
Place:
New Jersey -- Antiquities
New Jersey -- Social conditions
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1918-1945
United States -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945
Date:
1934-1942
Scope and Contents:
Approximately half the records relate to the Historical Records Survey's portrait survey, 1940-1941. The remainder are records of the Indian Site Survey, 1936-1942, a WPA program operating under the Division of Professional Service Projects, and to a lesser degree, the Public Works of Art Project, the Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture, the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project and its predecessor, the Civil Works Administration.
Biographical / Historical:
The New Deal art programs were primarily administered under the Treasury Department and the Works Progress Administration (later the Work Projects Administration) as relief measures for unemployed artists.
The Historical Records Survey (HRS) had its origins in the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Civil Works Administration. In 1935 it came under the auspices of the Federal Writers' Project and eventually was designated as an independent program under Federal Project No. One. The projects, ideally suited for white collar workers, employed individuals to survey, classify and collect historical records. One program of the HRS was the survey of American portraits in public buildings. The Indian Site Survey was a WPA-New Jersey state-wide project operating under the Division of Professional and Service Projects, and sponsored by the New Jersey State Museum and the Archeaological Society of New Jersey.
Provenance:
Lent for microfilming 1964 by the New Jersey State Library, Trenton, N.J.
Restrictions:
The Archives of American art does not own the original papers. Use is limited to the microfilm copy.
Three photographs and two clippings about Stempler's discovery in 1972 of two mural panels by Gorky at the Newark, New Jersey Airport, executed while Gorky worked for the W.P.A. Federal Art Project in 1937. [Microfilm title: Arshile Gorky papers]
Biographical / Historical:
Stempler was an employee of the Port Authority of New York. He had known of the existence of the murals from Saul Wenegrat of the Port Authority's Architectural Services, and discovered them while surveying the art deco architectural details of the building.
Other Title:
Arshile Gorky papers (microfilm title)
Provenance:
Donated by Stephen Stempler, 1977.
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
Topic:
Painting, Modern -- 20th century -- New York (State) -- New York -- Photographs Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- Conservation and restoration Search this
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century -- New Jersey -- Newark Search this
