Biographical materials, correspondence, business records, writings, art works, photographs, and printed material.
Biographical material includes ID cards and an autobiographical statement. Correspondence, 1935-1964, includes letters sent to Nickelsen as Supervisor for the WPA Massachusetts Federal Art Project; correspondents include Beaumont Newhall and muralist Elizabeth Tracy. Project files regard mural and stained glass commissions, among them the East Boston murals; Nebraska capitol murals; Springfield, Mass. Museum of Fine Arts library murals; Worcester, Mass. Parcel Post Building murals; and stained glass commissions, ca.1938-1942. Files contain correspondence, art work, including large mural cartoons, reference photographs, photographs of works of art, and printed material. Also included are a list of mural ingredients and notes; business records, 1927-1937; photocopies of articles and writings, 1930-1967; art work by Nickelsen including stained glass rendering and mural drawings by Elizabeth Tracy Montminy; exhibition catalogs, clippings, photographs of Nickelsen and his art work, including one of him painting a window for St. Patricks Church, N.Y. in the Charles Connick Studio, Boston, 1950; and of Montminy and her murals.
Biographical / Historical:
Stained glass artist; mural painter; Boston, Mass. Born in Hamburg, Germany. Initially studied at the stained-glass studio of his father, John R. Nickelsen, and later went to the State Art School, Hamburg. He came to the United States in 1922 and attended the Art Students' League, N.Y. and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Participated as an artist and as a supervisor on the WPA Art Project in Boston, and was associated with the stained-glass design firm of Charles J. Connick Associates for many years.
Provenance:
Donated 1991-1999 by Nickelsen's widow, Ingeborg R. Nickelsen.
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.
Sherman, Frederic Fairchild, 1874-1940 Search this
Extent:
1.4 Linear feet ((partially microfilmed on 2 reels))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Date:
1910-1984
Scope and Contents:
Correspondence (1929-1984), a price list, subject files, notes, writings, art works (1929-1935), scrapbooks, printed material (1931-1984), and photographs document the life and career of Elliot Orr.
Reel D23 (frames 905-1246): One hundred twenty-five letters exchanged between Orr, his wife Elizabeth, and Frederic Fairchild Sherman discuss their art work (1934-1940). Other materials consist of a 6-page typescript, ELLIOT ORR: A CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PAINTER, by Marchal Landgren and an exhibition catalog for Orr (1936). A scrapbook about Frederic Fairchild Sherman contains clippings, photographs of works of art and illustrated poems by Sherman (1938-1940).
Reel 497: Letters were exchanged between Elliot Orr and his colleagues, dealers, galleries, and purchasers. Correspondents include Lester Burbank Bridaham, Marchal Landgren, Macbeth Gallery, Vose Galleries, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Wildenstein Galleries (1935-1955). Other materials consist of a curriculum vitae (1938), a Christmas card (1935), a clipping, and 3 exhibition catalogs (1938-1956).
Unfilmed: Correspondence, primarily between Orr, his family, and his colleagues including Frederic Fairchild Sherman (1929-1984), includes one letter with a sketch of "Andrews Mill and Farm". Subject files contain letters, printed material, and photographs concerning Orr's work for the Federal Art Project of Massachusetts (1938-1974) and the auction of Orr's collection of primitive art (1961-1969). Other materials consist of lists of works of art, a hand-made book, SONNETS, containing poems by Sherman and illustrated by Orr (1940), and a price list of works consigned to the Munson Gallery (1972).
Unfilmed: Art works include 6 studies for Orr's painting MacDOUGAL STREET (1935) and a sketch of Orr by Eugene Thomason (1929). Three scrapbooks contain letters, clippings, and exhibition announcements and catalogs (1928-1942). Printed material includes clippings (1931-1984), exhibition catalogs (1934-1984), and 2 books, ROMANTIC PAINTING IN AMERICA (1943) and AMERICAN WATER COLORS, DRAWINGS, AND PRINTS (1952), which contain reproductions of Orr's works. An album contains photographs of Orr, his family, home, and studio (1910-1957). Other photographs show Frederic Fairchild Sherman (1940) and Orr's works of art.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Chatham, Massachusetts. Born Flushing, New York. In 1927, Orr was a student of Charles Hawthorne in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and from 1927 to 1929, he studied at the Grand Central School of Art in New York under George Pierce Ennis, Henry B. Snell, and Wayman Adams. From 1929 to 1930 he studied under George Luks.
Provenance:
Portions of material on D23 (fr. 905-1214) lent for microfilming 1962; portions of material on D23 (fr. 1215-1246), reel 497 and unmicrofilmed donated 1971-1984 all by Elliot Orr.
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.
An interview of Edward Landon conducted 1975 Apr. 17-May 28, by Robert Brown, for the Archives of American Art.
Landon speaks of working with the local theater in high school; leaving Hartford at age 17 or 18 for Greenwich Village in New York and the Art Students League; studying figure drawing with George Bridgman; getting married and moving to Springfield, Mass.; exhibiting with the Springfield Art League; the Artist Union and the Artist Congress in the 1930s; spending a summer with Georgia O'Keeffe and Paul Strand in Taos, N.M.; the cooperation amongst artists that lasted into the 1950s to establish serigraphs as an American fine art print medium; when he received the Solomon Guggenheim Scholarship for Non-objective Art in 1939; when he made furniture and picture frames and the publishing of his book on making picture frames in 1946; when he began working as an easel painter in the Massachusetts Federal Art Project of the WPA in 1933; becoming president of the Western Chapter of the Artists Union in 1934; when he corresponded and visited Arthur Dove; his friendship with Elizabeth McCausland; his introduction to Harry Gottlieb and silk screen printing; the love of color and currently trying for emotional effects in his work; initiating silk screen exhibitions in the Springfield Museum; the beginning of the National Serigraph Society and his work as the exhibition secretary; his teaching approach; the first class held in his garage with fellow artists; more on his relationship with Elizabeth McCausland; Arthur Dove's influence on a recent painting Landon finished; his trip to Taos in 1930 and the importance of artist colonies for him early on; the feeling of not having roots, but being comfortable with the idea; the purpose of the National Serigraph Society; his feelings about printmakers moving away from traditional printing; organized exhibitions for the United States Information Service; his enjoyment in organizing things; the commercialization of creating "prints;" how photo-realism does not translate well in the print medium; the importance of trying to convey an idea in his work; his success in covering small boxes, address books and other items, as well as book binding; his preference for printing small editions of 25 to 35 prints; of a description of his method of printing; his Fulbright Fellowship in 1950 to travel to Norway and lecture; an interest in early Scandinavian art; publishing a silkscreen portfolio of pre-Viking art for the American Scandinavian Foundation; traveling through Europe; his influence as an innovator in France and Scandinavia; meeting with silk screen artists in Oslo; art forms in his work at this time; his inclusion in "Who's Who in American Art;" the avoidance of art movements; how by the 1950s the reason for the National Serigraph Society no longer existed because the medium was popular by that time; his move to Vermont in 1957 or 1958; work as a color mixer, book binder, and returning to framing because of health reasons; his second illness changing what he found important in his life; and how the content of his work became more emotional. Landon also recalls Louie Lozowick, Gertrude Stein, Marian Hughes, Elizabeth Olds, John Marin, Alfred Stieglitz, Berenice Abbott, Marvo Perry, Hilla Rebay, Sir William T. Rogers, Max Weber, Dennis Hartley, Alfred Maurer, Bernie Sabbath, and Henry Mark.
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Landon (1911-1984) was a printmaker from Weston, Vt.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 39 min.
Provenance:
These interviews are 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 others.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Beaumont Newhall, 1965 Jan. 23. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
An interview of Beaumont Newhall conducted 1965 Jan. 23, by Joseph Trovato, for the Archives of American Art. Newhall speaks of his education and first jobs in museums; his administration of the WPA Federal Art Project in Massachusetts; Berenice Abbott's photographs of New York; and the Farm Security Administration's photography project. He speaks of early photography and William Henry Fox Talbot; photography and the Armory Show; the 1937 photography exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and Edward Steichen; and the George Eastman House. Newhall comments on museums accepting photography as art; the amateur photographer versus the artistic photographer; and his view of photography as a discoverer and a "partaker" of nature.
Biographical / Historical:
Beaumont Newhall (1908-1993) was an art administrator and art historian from Rochester, N.Y.
General:
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 21 min.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
Transcript available on the Archives of American Art website.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- New York (State) -- Rochester -- Interviews Search this
Art historians -- New York (State) -- Rochester -- Interviews Search this
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Edward Landon, 1975 Apr. 17-May 28. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview with Herbert J. Brown, 1965 November 29. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview Thaddeus Clapp, 1965 November 19. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Type:
Sound recordings
Interviews
Citation:
Quotes and excerpts must be cited as follows: Oral history interview Vernon B. Smith, 1965 November 24. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
1 Sound tape reel (7 in.)
45 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Sound tape reels
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1965 November 19
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Thaddeus Clapp conducted 1965 November 19, by Geoffrey Swift, for the Archives of American Art New Deal and the Arts Project.
Biographical / Historical:
Thaddeus Clapp was an art administrator from Massachusetts. He worked on the Index of American Design for the Federal Art Project.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 2 digital wav files. Duration is 1 hr., 26 min.
Provenance:
This interview conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
22 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1965 November 29
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Herbert J. Brown conducted 1965 November 29, by Geoffrey Swift, for the Archives of American Art. Brown speaks of his background in music, duties in the Federal Art Project of Massachusetts, artists and their works associated with the Project, the Index of American Design, and government support of artists.
Biographical / Historical:
Herbert J. Brown was an art administrator from Natick, Massachusetts. Assistant State Director for Federal Art Project, Massachusetts.
General:
Originally recorded on 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav file. Duration is 47 min.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Restrictions:
This interview is open for research. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Occupation:
Arts administrators -- Massachusetts -- Natick -- Interviews Search this
Letters received; notes and printed material regarding his activities with the WPA-FAP in Massachusetts; a diary, 1936-1937, including later memoranda; a travel journal recounting Smith's trip to Alaska; 2 sketches; records of Smith's works exhibited; vouchers; and photographs of Smith and friends.
Biographical / Historical:
Painter; Orleans, Mass.
Provenance:
Donated by Vernon B. Smith.
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.
New Deal and the Arts Oral History Project Search this
Extent:
11 Pages (Transcript)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Pages
Sound recordings
Interviews
Date:
1965 November 24
Scope and Contents:
An interview of Vernon B. Smith conducted 1965 November 24, by Geoffrey Swift, for the Archives of American Art.
Biographical / Historical:
Vernon B. Smith (1894-1969) was an arts administrator from Massachusetts. Worked for the Federal Art Project and the Public Works of Art Project.
General:
Originally recorded 1 sound tape reel. Reformatted in 2010 as 1 digital wav files. Duration is 14 min.
Provenance:
Conducted as part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project, which includes over 400 interviews of artists, administrators, historians, and others involved with the federal government's art programs and the activities of the Farm Security Administration in the 1930s and early 1940s.
